Becoming a God by Searching Mountains and Subduing Demons

The night was as dark as ink, splashing on the winding river surface. Only a few sparse stars, through the thin clouds, left a faint light on the water surface. The river breeze, with the coolness of water vapor, blew on the reeds on the shore, making a rustling whisper. In this silence, a figure, like an arrow from a bow, cut through the night sky, with a resolute momentum, and rushed straight into the bottomless dark river.

There was a dull "plop" sound, more like a huge rock dropped into cotton wool than a splash. The sound was dull and short. The moment Jiang Yue's figure sank into the water, the surrounding river water seemed to have life and slightly moved to the sides. A layer of light as thin as a cicada's wing, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, enveloped his whole body. This was the "water avoidance tactic" that made him famous, a magical method that allowed him to move freely in the water without getting wet.

The bone-chilling pressure of the river water surged from all directions, but was cleverly isolated by the halo. Jiang Yue could even clearly feel the pulsation of the water, the swimming of fish and shrimp, and the swaying of water plants, but none of them could really touch his body. He was like a torpedo wrapped in an invisible force, diving down, down, towards the deepest part of the river.

What drove him to be so determined, even to the point of wasting a lot of his energy to maintain the "Water Avoidance Technique", was an urgent call from the depths of his soul. That call was not a sound, but a strong wave of thoughts, like the most rapid drumbeat, hitting his mind directly. He was very familiar with the owner of this thought - Xia Qi.

Xia Qi, an old shrimp spirit who has been practicing at the bottom of the river for hundreds of years, is a rare jade crayfish. Although he is a little lazy on weekdays, he is calm and knowledgeable, and has a life-and-death friendship with Jiang Yue. If it weren't for a life-threatening and extremely urgent situation, Xia Qi would never make such an anxious call, even with a hint of fear.

"Xia Qi, hold on! I'm coming!" Jiang Yue muttered to himself, while increasing his speed to the extreme.

The halo of the "Water Avoidance Technique" drew a faint stream of light in the turbulent undercurrent. He seemed to be integrated with the water, but also clearly separated. The depths of the river were a completely different world from the surface of the water. The light had long disappeared, leaving only endless darkness and silence. The water pressure was so great that it could easily crush steel. Even if ordinary practitioners could sneak in, they would have a hard time and consume a lot of their true energy. But Jiang Yue relied on the "Water Avoidance Technique" to walk on flat ground, but the suffocating pressure and darkness around him were still like an invisible giant hand, constantly squeezing his perception.

He followed the increasingly clear and urgent call of his thoughts and moved quickly across the riverbed. Under his feet was thick mud, and occasionally he could step on hard reefs or the remains of sunken ancient artifacts. From time to time, deep-water creatures with strange shapes and even emitting faint phosphorescence flashed by. They seemed to have noticed this uninvited guest, but they all avoided him when they felt the powerful aura emanating from Jiang Yue.

They had traveled nearly a hundred miles to the bottom of the river. The environment here was getting worse and worse, and the water flow was becoming more treacherous. Sometimes it was as smooth as a mirror, and sometimes it suddenly formed a terrifying whirlpool and undercurrent, as if there was an invisible beast breathing underwater. Jiang Yue had to stay alert at all times and devote part of his mind to dealing with the unpredictable water flow.

However, what made him more nervous than the harsh environment was the lingering sense of crisis.

It was like an invisible needle that kept piercing his heart. At first, it was just a vague sense of uneasiness, but as he went deeper, this feeling of uneasiness became stronger and stronger, gradually turning into a heavy sense of oppression, as if some extremely terrifying existence was awakening in front of him, or a huge disaster was brewing.

His spiritual perception has always been sharp, and this strong sense of crisis is definitely not groundless. What is it?
Is it a powerful water monster? This river is called the "Molong River". Legend has it that an ancient monster lurks deep in the river, but it has not appeared in the world for hundreds of years. Could it be that it has revived now?
Or is it some kind of natural deadly place? Deep in the river, the earth veins are crisscrossed and the water holes are dense, so it is not impossible that some natural dangerous places have been formed.

Or... was it man-made? Were there other practitioners or forces carrying out some secret operation at the bottom of the river, and Xia Qi happened to discover it, leading to his death?
Jiang Yue's heart sank. In Xia Qi's call, besides urgency, he seemed to catch a faint despair. This made him even more anxious. He and Xia Qi had known each other since childhood and had experienced many storms together. This friendship had long surpassed the boundaries between humans and monsters. Xia Qi was not only a teacher but also a friend to him, and even a partner he could trust.

"What on earth happened?" Jiang Yue frowned, his eyes scanning the darkness around him sharply.

The light of the "Water Avoidance Technique" fluctuated slightly, showing his inner restlessness. He forced himself to calm down. The more critical the moment, the more he needed to keep a clear mind. He began to carefully sense the changes in the surrounding water flow, capturing any unusual energy fluctuations.

After traveling for several dozen miles, something strange happened in the water ahead. The originally turbid river water seemed to become more viscous, and there seemed to be a faint... sweet fishy smell?

is blood!

Jiang Yue's heart trembled. This was definitely not the blood of ordinary fish or shrimp. The fishy smell was accompanied by a strange energy aura, which made him feel inexplicably irritated.

He slowed down and moved forward more cautiously. In the mud under his feet, some broken shell fragments began to appear, flashing a faint spiritual light, which was the unique material of the jade lobster. Some of the fragments still had claw marks and tear marks.

Xia Qi was injured! And the injury was serious!

Jiang Yue's heart tightened. He could imagine what kind of hard struggle and torture the old shrimp, who was always cheerful and liked to take a nap in his underwater cave, was going through at this moment.

The call in my mind suddenly became weak at this moment, like a candle in the wind that could go out at any time.

"Xia Qi!" Jiang Yue roared in his heart and burst into speed again. He poured his true energy into the "Water Avoidance Technique" without reservation. The halo suddenly became brighter, forcing back the surrounding darkness a little.

He followed that last bit of faint sensation, broke through a strong undercurrent, and suddenly the scene in front of him became clear.

This seemed to be a wide riverbed basin. But at this moment, the basin was in a mess. The scene that was supposed to be full of exotic aquatic plants and dotted with glowing corals was gone. Instead, there was rolling mud, broken crystal-like reefs, and a stronger smell of blood and a... evil, cold breath that permeated the water.

This breath made Jiang Yue feel extremely uncomfortable, as if his soul was frozen. It was full of violence, greed and destruction, and was incompatible with the water spirit of the Molong River itself, and seemed extremely abrupt.

And in the center of the basin, he finally saw Xia Qi.

The huge body of the old shrimp demon was curled up at this moment. The hard jade-like carapace that it was proud of was covered with cracks, and there were even several deep wounds that could be seen to the bone. Dark green blood was slowly oozing out of it, dyeing the surrounding water black. One of his two most eye-catching huge claws was cut off at the root. The broken end was as smooth as a mirror, and there were traces of black, evil energy like maggots on the tarsal bones, preventing the wound from healing. Shrimp Seven's breath was extremely weak, and the fire of life was shaky. He was supported only by a tenacious will. His eyes were closed, but he seemed to sense Jiang Yue's arrival. The weak thought fluctuated again, full of relief, but with endless worries.

And in front of Xia Qi, there was a huge, wriggling...shadow floating?
It was hard to describe the thing. Its main body was like a huge black tumor, and its surface was covered with countless twisted tentacles, swaying slowly like a sea anemone. On each tentacle, there were scarlet eyes without pupils, flashing greedy and crazy light. Thick black gas emanated from the tumor, corroding the surrounding waters, turning the riverbed into a scene like purgatory.

It was the evil aura emitted by this monster that made Jiang Yue feel an unprecedented sense of crisis. This was definitely not a water monster native to Molong River, but more like an evil creature from a foreign land, or a creation of some forbidden power.

"What...is this?" Jiang Yue's heart was shocked, and a chill rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

He saw that several tentacles of the monster were slowly reaching out to the dying Shrimp Seven. The red eyes on the top of the tentacles were staring at the old shrimp, full of undisguised desire to devour.

The reason why Xia Qi made such an urgent call was not only because he encountered a powerful enemy, but also because he might have discovered some terrifying existence that could threaten the entire Molong River, or even a wider area! He called Jiang Yue not only for help, but also to issue a final warning!

The monster seemed to have sensed Jiang Yue's arrival. Countless scarlet eyes turned and locked onto Jiang Yue. A huge and evil mental force swept over like a tsunami, trying to impact Jiang Yue's mind.

"Hmph!" Jiang Yue snorted coldly, and the true essence in his sea of ​​consciousness surged, building a solid mental barrier to block the evil mental impact. At the same time, he attacked without hesitation.

He can't wait any longer, Xia Qi is in danger!

Without any fancy moves, Jiang Yue put his fingers together to form a sword. An extremely condensed platinum-colored sword energy instantly broke through the layers of water curtains, and with a fierce momentum to destroy all evil demons, it pierced straight into the monster's body!
The danger ahead is no longer "near", but "already here". The heavy sense of crisis has now turned into a cold murderous intent and a heavy responsibility. He doesn't know where this monster came from or why it appeared in the depths of the river, but he knows that he must stop it, save Xia Qi, and find out the truth of all this.

At the bottom of the Molong River, in this basin shrouded in darkness and evil, a fierce battle that was related to life and death, and might even have a far-reaching impact, suddenly broke out with Jiang Yue's earth-shattering sword! And the secrets and crises hidden deep in the river finally revealed their hideous corners in front of him. All the uneasiness and foreboding he had felt while galloping for hundreds of miles, at this moment, had an answer, a heavy and dangerous answer.

The platinum-colored sword aura that condensed Jiang Yue's essence, spirit, and soul was like the light of dawn that broke through the eternal darkness. It instantly tore through the layers of sticky water curtains and slashed at the core of the squirming tumor with incredible precision! Wherever the sword aura passed, even the deep river water was temporarily pushed aside, forming a short vacuum channel. The sharp sword intent even made the surrounding cold river water seem to boil.

Facing this sudden and fatal attack, the huge black tumor trembled violently. Countless scarlet eyes shrank at the same time, emitting a more violent and resentful light. It did not directly resist, but instead displayed a strange movement that was inconsistent with its bloated appearance.

"Om-!"

A dull hum like an ancient bell spread in the water. It was not a sound, but a pure energy vibration. The countless tentacles on the surface of the tumor danced wildly, interweaving into an airtight black net, blocking the sword. At the same time, a thicker and more evil black gas gushed out from the tumor, instantly dyeing the surrounding water dozens of feet like ink, and visibility was almost reduced to zero.

"Hey!"

The platinum sword energy slashed at the black tentacle net, making a harsh sound like metal friction and cloth tearing. The sword energy was so sharp that it instantly cut off dozens of tough tentacles. Black, smelly and corrosive juice spread in the water. However, the tentacle net was too thick, layer upon layer, and one after another. The power of the sword energy was constantly consumed and weakened. Finally, when it was about to touch the tumor body, it was completely exhausted and turned into dots of golden light that dissipated in the dark water.

The broken tentacles did not lose their vitality. Instead, they twisted like a venomous snake with an independent life and shot towards Jiang Yue! The speed was so fast that it left a black afterimage in the water.

Jiang Yue's eyes were fixed, and he was prepared. He turned flexibly in the aura of the "Water Avoidance Technique", like a fish swimming in the water, and narrowly avoided the shooting of most of the broken tentacles. But a few tentacles still brushed past his aura.

"Zizi..."

A slight corrosion sound was heard, and the light halo of the Water-avoidance Technique outside Jiang Yue's body was slightly dimmed by the evil black air carried by the tentacle, causing ripples.

Such a domineering evil energy! Jiang Yue was shocked. The power of this monster not only had amazing physical defense, but also the corrosiveness of its energy was far beyond his expectations.

And this is just the beginning.

After the attack failed, the giant tumor monster seemed to be completely enraged. It was no longer just passively defending, but actively attacking.

Its huge body suddenly shrank, and then suddenly expanded! An indescribable terrifying suction force erupted from it, and the surrounding river water, silt, gravel, and even some deep-water monster fish that did not have time to escape were all pulled by this force and rushed madly towards the tumor! (End of this chapter)