A Grand Sweep! A Frenzied Haul!

Over the past few days, Lu Changsheng had traveled more than ten li.

He roughly estimated that the exit was probably not far from here.

He had killed a huge number of the piranhas in this underground river, and few of them still came to swarm him.

Every time, he lured them onto the stone platform and killed them outright—a living, breathing case of Fishing Enforcement.

"Splash..."

Lu Changsheng kicked off and leapt, plunging headlong into the icy underground river.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

The current was quite swift, its surging echoes rolling through the water.

The aquatic grass at the riverbed gently brushed against his scales, leaving a slightly tingling sensation.

Waves of coolness washed over him in the water, carrying with them the fragrance of earth.

Lu Changsheng followed the current, exploring onward.

More than half an hour passed, yet not a single piranha came to attack him.

Seeing this, he secretly let out a sigh of relief.

It seemed the number of piranhas at the riverbed was limited after all.

He swam on, and just as he was preparing to go ashore for a breath of air, he suddenly saw a glimmer of light ahead.

"The exit is here."

Lu Changsheng's face lit up with delight.

He began paddling his limbs quickly, accelerating forward.

Before long.

He arrived before a massive waterfall.

Lu Changsheng offered no resistance and simply let the current carry him down.

"Splash..."

Very soon, Lu Changsheng fell into a vast lake.

Just as he had expected, this lake lay in a corner of the Cangyun Mountain Range. It was neither too large nor too small.

The sun blazed overhead, golden light spilling across the lake and scattering shimmering ripples.

Lu Changsheng did not immediately begin exploring the lakebed. Mainly, his time underwater was nearly up, and he needed to surface for air.

Without further hesitation, he quickly swam toward the shore.

Soon, he reached the side of a large tree by the lake.

"Puff, puff..."

He began waving his hands, digging out a small hole and burrowing directly inside to rest.

An hour later.

Lu Changsheng had recovered his strength. He crawled straight out of the hole and dashed toward the lakeshore.

"Glug..."

Reaching the shore, he plunged headfirst into the icy lake water.

Using the faint sunlight filtering down to the lakebed, he began searching carefully.

By his estimation, since the underground river connected to the lake, Ice Spirit Grass surely grew at the bottom of this lake as well.

After all, the water quality was more or less the same. Spiritual herbs generally could only grow in the environments they required.

Lu Changsheng was in no rush and slowly drifted ahead.

Green aquatic grass covered the surroundings, while many jagged rocks lay scattered across the depths of the lakebed.

He explored all the way until, after the time it took to drink half a cup of tea.

A faint fragrance suddenly drifted over from ahead.

"Something's here."

Sensing that familiar scent, his heart jolted.

Lu Changsheng immediately used both hands and feet to swim rapidly toward its source.

Before long, he arrived at the center of a basin on the lakebed.

There, an Ice Spirit Grass grew quietly from the silt, giving off a faint glow.

He hurried closer and placed his claw on the spiritual herb's leaves.

A hundred-year Ice Spirit Grass detected. Collect?

"Collect."

Lu Changsheng answered silently.

The spiritual grass before him instantly vanished from the lakebed.

Obtaining a spiritual herb so soon filled him with delight.

It seemed there would be at least some more gains to be made on this lakebed. As long as he found some of them, his strength would increase greatly.

The situation was becoming increasingly strange, and he did not dare relax in the slightest.

Lu Changsheng gathered his thoughts and once again set out in search of treasure.

For the next half day.

He kept roaming the lakebed. Whenever he could no longer hold on, he went ashore to catch his breath and rest for a while before diving back down to continue exploring.

Through his unremitting efforts, he had roughly explored the entire eastern region of the lakebed.

His harvest was considerable as well.

Lu Changsheng looked at the dozen-plus spiritual herbs in his system space with great satisfaction.

Among these spiritual herbs were two hundred-year Ice Spirit Grasses. The rest were around fifty years old.

Another huge wave of Source Energy Points had come rolling in.

By his estimation, the remaining areas would likely contain some as well.

Lu Changsheng rallied his spirits and swiftly swam toward the center of the lake.

Just as he had swum several li.

A sudden change erupted.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The surrounding lake water suddenly churned madly, whipping up a vortex that dragged even him into spinning.

Lu Changsheng focused his gaze.

A pitch-black Lake Monster was charging toward him, sending layers of lake water surging outward.

The Lake Monster was more than ten meters long, its body covered in tentacles. Its teeth jutted out from its mouth, incomparably sharp.

He even doubted whether his scales could withstand its bite force.

"What kind of monster is this?"

Lu Changsheng was greatly shocked.

It looked extremely similar to an octopus, except it had far more razor-sharp teeth, and its tentacles were covered in barbs.

Its entire body was practically a weapon.

Lu Changsheng had no time to think. His limbs frantically scraped at the silt on the lakebed, and within a few breaths, a small hole had formed.

He slipped into it in one smooth motion.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Just as he entered the hole, the Lake Monster slammed into it violently, making the surroundings feel as though an earthquake had struck.

Lu Changsheng hurried even deeper inside, his heart hammering wildly.

Luckily, it could not get in. Otherwise, he would have been in danger.

No wonder he had not found any large creatures on the lakebed for so long. They had probably all been devoured by this monster.

Still, hiding in the silt forever was not realistic. His time underwater was limited as well.

If the time ran out, he would probably suffocate to death.

Lu Changsheng decided to return to the shore first and carefully think of a countermeasure.

He did not hesitate any longer. He began digging frantically, rapidly making his way toward the lakeshore.

Fortunately, the lake was not too large. Before long, he returned beneath that same large tree.

Lu Changsheng silently gazed at the lake surface ahead, his mind racing.

This was clearly the creature's territory. If it discovered him, it would fight to the death.

There were still several areas of the lake he had not finished searching. Giving up now left him rather unwilling.

A moment later.

Lu Changsheng decided to use the old method.

He would advance using the Earth and Wood Excavation skill.

But this time, he needed to change his approach.

The air beneath the lakebed was extremely thin. If he stayed down there too long, he definitely would not last. Trying to dig straight through the lakebed was likely unrealistic.

With that thought, he stopped hesitating and immediately took action.

"Pfft..."

His two foreclaws began clawing forcefully at the soil. He first dug a small hole, then rapidly advanced toward the center of the lake.

He dug all the way until several hours had passed before Lu Changsheng finally reached the central region of the lake.

Whenever he grew tired, he rested awhile. Whenever he grew hungry, he took out some piranhas from his space to eat.

Through his tireless efforts, he finally dug out a long passageway.

And since the entrance to the passage was on the lakeshore, the circulating air kept him from feeling suffocated.

With this initial result, he began his next move.

Lu Changsheng carefully sensed the aura around him and slowly excavated forward.

After less than half an hour.

A fragrant scent rushed into his nostrils, greatly lifting his spirits.

"Is there hope?"

Lu Changsheng quickly dug toward the scent. Before long, he arrived not far from its source.

He did not rashly burst out from the lakebed. Who knew whether the Lake Monster was lying in wait for him?

Then, he carefully dug upward.

"Zzt..."

As the lakebed silt was broken open into a small hole, Lu Changsheng's head emerged.

He carefully swept his gaze around, but found nothing unusual.

He fixed his eyes in the direction from which the fragrance came.

A large Ice Spirit Grass was growing on the lakebed, its radiance dazzlingly bright.

"This... a two-hundred-year spiritual herb?"

This spiritual herb was clearly a full size larger than the hundred-year spiritual herbs from before.

The discovery filled Lu Changsheng with boundless delight.