Trapped

I think...

In the large lake of Gaoyou, Gongsun Hong remained submerged for half an hour without bubbling up.

Either Gongsun Hong's abilities had exceeded Dong Zhongshu's expectations, or Gongsun Hong had encountered an accident.

Compared to the former, Dong Zhongshu felt the latter was more likely.

Zhang Xuezhou agreed with Dong Zhongshu's calculations, but he was someone who was supposed to return to the real world tomorrow. He was just there to keep things going and couldn't do any work at all.

He wasn't afraid of being incapable of doing the work; he was afraid that he would suddenly be transported back to the real world halfway through his task.

Just like when he gambled on retrieving the eye of the Bashe snake, he got the item but lost control and fell into the river, his fate unknown.

Having done this kind of thing before, Zhang Xuezhou was no longer interested in adhering to time limits.

He hopes that when he returns to the real world, everything will go smoothly and safely.

"Should we wait a little longer?" Zhang Xuezhou suggested. "If something really happens to Mr. Gongsun, rushing in won't help. What if he can hold his breath for even longer and is currently listening and gathering information about the underwater palace? If we go in, it will only cause him trouble!"

"What you said makes some sense, but..."

Dong Zhongshu's advice to Zhang Xuezhou was simply ineffective.

If it didn't align with the young man's interests, Zhang Xuezhou's arguments often left him speechless.

As time goes by, this guy will close his eyes and then dump everything on him.

"Ciqing's swimming skills shouldn't be that good," Dong Zhongshu said anxiously. "I really can't resist the urge to go into the water and find him. I should have taken a drop of his blood or something else that would make it easier to track him with magic!"

"If you truly wish to go into the water yourself, then I will not stop you!"

Upon hearing that he wasn't being asked to go into the water to find Gongsun Hong, Zhang Xuezhou immediately declined.

His straightforward manner left Dong Zhongshu speechless.

"I remember this young man is good at holding his breath?" Dong Zhongshu said, pointing to Zhang Changgong.

"He may be frustrated, but he'll be finished if he encounters a crab demon," Zhang Xuezhou said. "Unless you have some kind of powerful protective treasure, he can't enter that area of water to search!"

"Actually, you don't need to worry about hurting people. I've heard that the Immortal Court has restricted the Dragon Clan, forbidding them from harming people without permission," Dong Zhongshu said. "Look at that crab demon, it only dares to stab at the boat, not to hurt anyone. They won't face any life-threatening risks when they enter the water."

"If that's the case, then we have even less to worry about Mr. Gongsun's safety. He's so skilled in water, he won't drown," Zhang Xuezhou replied.

You're not wrong about that!

Seeing that he could not persuade Zhang Xuezhou, and that even Zhang Changgong was unlikely to be transferred to work, Dong Zhongshu had no choice but to roll up his sleeves and go into the water.

Watching Dong Zhongshu dog-paddle his way forward in the water, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but stand on tiptoe and peer into the distance to look for him.

His Law Power perception was similar to the ability of his eyes to see, making it difficult to penetrate beneath the water's surface. He peered around but found nothing unusual.

Zhang Xuezhou's expression turned serious only after Dong Zhongshu swam to the bottom of the cliff, plunged into the water, and never resurfaced.

"Stay away from the shore. No matter what happens, don't come over. If I get stuck there and don't get out on time, then we'll meet again in thirteen days!"

Zhang Xuezhou made Lady Yourong and Zhang Changgong retreat dozens of steps, then pointed with his hand, and he floated away using his cloud-riding technique.

"Fly, fly, fly..."

Zhang Changgong's barely suppressed excitement drifted over, then faded into the distance until it was no longer audible.

Zhang Xuezhou did not enter the water directly; instead, he chose to land on the rocks above the cliff.

Standing atop a cliff over ten zhang high, Zhang Xuezhou looked down and saw only pitch-black water, barely able to spot a glimmer of light or anything unusual.

As if Gongsun Hong and Dong Zhongshu had not explored the area before, there was no trace of it being swallowed up.

After staring at it for more than ten seconds, Zhang Xuezhou steadied himself and pried hard, pushing a large rock about half the length of his body off the cliff.

The stone hit the water, creating a wave several meters high, before quickly sinking.

"This water is indeed quite deep; I wonder if this cliff can fill in the area below!"

Zhang Xuezhou dared not enter the water to search for people for the time being, lest he himself encounter misfortune. He could only look for stones to push down, and when he encountered huge rocks that were difficult to move, he relied on using fossil magic to cut them.

Gongsun Hong and Dong Zhongshu chose to sneak in and investigate silently, while Zhang Xuezhou did not enter the water to investigate, but he made a great commotion, their methods being almost completely opposite.

Of course, Zhang Xuezhou had few other methods besides this.

He can escape by leaping and bounding when he encounters an accident on a cliff, but he becomes restricted in the water, only able to part the waves to move forward, lacking the ability to use other skills.

Theoretically speaking, any illusion, formation, or natural feature can be destroyed by brute force. No matter how deeply hidden, unless the opponent does not want to come out of this exit, the external obstruction will inevitably have an impact.

Zhang Xuezhou was using a clumsy method at this time, but it was the best solution he could think of.

"You seem to enjoy pushing stones so much, are you perhaps the reincarnation of Jingwei?"

Zhang Xuezhou repeatedly sliced through the towering cliffs and pushed them down into the water.

Only when he heard voices asking questions from behind did Zhang Xuezhou quickly adjust his posture and prepare to flee.

But when he turned around and saw that it was just a boy who looked about six or seven years old, Zhang Xuezhou lowered his guard a little.

He carefully examined the other person and saw that the boy, despite his young age, had a heroic air about him, and his deep black eyes were clear, yet they also concealed a rare unruliness in a boy.

Judging by his appearance alone, the other person undoubtedly comes from a prominent family and has a dignified appearance.

The other person's hair was black with a bluish tinge and was still damp, as if it had just been pulled out of the water. Below the neck, the other person's body was completely naked, and there were several bluish spots on their buttocks that looked like birthmarks.

"You're not even wearing clothes, are you some kind of little water demon?" Zhang Xuezhou laughed. "It's too dangerous outside, don't wander around aimlessly!"

If he were skilled enough, Zhang Xuezhou felt he would choose to strike first, kidnap the water demon, and then slowly interrogate it.

However, Zhang Xuezhou's skills were indeed limited. Even though he had retrieved the Yellow Sand Sect's secret scroll, the Yellow Sand Technique, he didn't have time to quickly advance his cultivation to the required level. Moreover, the area he was currently in wasn't entirely covered in sand.

The fact that skilled practitioners like Dong Zhongshu and Gongsun Hong were dealt with so quietly suggests that their power of spiritual pressure was completely ineffective.

This made him appear extremely peaceful, and he did not engage in any direct conflict with the other party.

"You're incredibly rude! Not only did you bang on our door, but you also laughed at me for not being dressed!" the boy said angrily.

"Where's the door here?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"There's a door down here!" the boy cried.

"I can't see it!"

"So you can smash things just because you can't see them!"

"I see the cliffs and precipices in this large lake are treacherous, and I was thinking of doing a good deed by leveling this area to fill in the lake. Don't bother me, though. I just saw two people drown here. If we don't fill in this deep area quickly, it will cause more deaths!"

"Those two people you mentioned were acting suspiciously; they didn't look like they were here to do good deeds. They're being tortured in the water dungeon by my father, and they're not dead yet!"

"Your father is here too? What's his name?"

Looking at this little water sprite that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, Zhang Xuezhou felt that it would be extremely easy and convenient to get information from it.

The good news is that Gongsun Hong and the others survived; the bad news is that the two were captured by the other's father and imprisoned in a water dungeon for torture.

While the opponent's father's abilities might not be entirely superior to Dong Zhongshu's, he could clearly subdue Dong Zhongshu in the water with ease, plunging both Dong Zhongshu and Gongsun Hong into the water with minimal disturbance.

This further solidified Zhang Xuezhou's resolve not to go into the water.