Chinese Superman

Chapter 184 The Old Ones, the Sword Immortal of Mount Shu

A fish-man tribe, beside a reed marsh.

Not long after Qiao Chunxia left, a twisted symbol, seemingly branded with dark red mineral pigment, suddenly appeared on the fish-man hero's corpse, whose fish head had been brutally ripped open. It now glowed slightly, enveloping the entire corpse.

The next moment, a faint, almost invisible, transparent soul shadow floated out from the corpse, carrying resentment and hatred, and quickly flew into the depths of the swamp forest.

The core area of ​​the Swamp Forest is home to an even larger murloc tribe.

This is the real "Filthy Scale Tribe"!

The stronghold of the Filthy Scale tribe was not built on the surface of swamps and pools, but rather, like an otter's den, it was mostly hidden underwater.

A hollowed-out underwater cave is guarded by dozens of fish-man warriors, while in the middle of the cave stands a bizarre altar made of black silt, white bones, and glowing moss.

The altar was an irregular polygon with a sunken pool of blood in the center, where dark red, viscous liquid churned, emitting a strong stench of blood and decay.

In front of the altar stood a monstrous fish-man, much larger than an ordinary fish-man but slightly smaller than a mermaid hero, nearly two meters tall.

It is the max-level mid-tier species—the Murloc King!

It was clad in rough bone armor, wore a huge crown, and was holding a twisted scepter inlaid with several magic cores, presiding over some kind of ritual.

Around Cai Tan, dozens of the strongest murloc warriors and several elderly murloc shamans knelt, chanting obscure syllables in low voices.

The faint shadow of the merman hero flew over and disappeared into the blood pool of the altar, causing the blood pool to glow slightly.

The Fishman King, the ruler of the Filthy Scale tribe, felt another elite soul being injected into him, and a hint of anger flashed in his savage, crimson eyes.

"Yet another one—these greedy, filthy human adventurers continue to slaughter my warriors!"

"Ten years, a full ten years, and people have been constantly entering our world."

"The lowly dungeons that were once only fit to serve as provisions have now turned the tables and killed countless of my people."

It roared in a low, fish-man tongue, slamming its scepter heavily on the ground, "But your sacrifice will not be in vain! Your souls and blood will become the foundation upon which I, the king, ascend to a higher realm! I—will surely avenge you!"

It raised its scepter high, and its chanting became high-pitched and sharp.

The runes on the altar lit up one by one, the blood pool boiled, and a vast, obscure will, filled with the aura of the ancient ocean and the abyss, seemed to cast a wisp of attention from an infinitely distant time and space.

The Fishman King was so excited that its scales trembled. It felt the majestic presence that made its soul tremble and filled it with boundless worship.

"Great Father Dagon! Lord of the deep ocean currents, slumbering Great Old One! Hear the cry of your humblest servant!" The Murloc King prostrated himself, shouting fervently, "Grant me the power to ascend, so that I may lead my people to cleanse this defiled land!"

That obscure will hovered above the altar, seemingly scrutinizing the offerings and the summoner.

A moment later, a cold, chaotic whisper, directly affecting the soul, exploded in the Merman King's mind: [Sacrifice—Insufficient—Barely enough to grant a trace of power—Advancement—Not enough—]

The path to another world is leveling up.

To become stronger, level up; to advance, level up is also a process.

If the Fishman King wants to advance to a higher-level species but avoids leveling up, then it needs the intervention of a more powerful and advanced force.

It is indeed a deity!

A true deity, not a god-like being like the Seven Demon Kings.

Gods and divine beings—a difference of one word, yet worlds apart!

Even so, bypassing the underlying logic of the "other world" to advance is still not that simple.

The Fishman King's fervor cooled slightly, but was soon replaced by even more insane ideas.

There may not be enough opportunities for promotion, but what if—what if we could receive a wisp of the Father God's consciousness or even his incarnation?

Even a tiny fraction of that power is enough to crush all the humans in the entire instance!

It suddenly raised its head, a bloodthirsty glint flashing in its eyes.

"No! I don't want to be promoted!" the Merman King roared at the altar. "Great Father God! I'm willing to offer all sacrifices, forgo promotion, just asking for a wisp of your consciousness to descend upon me! Wipe away these human ants!"

The blood pool at the altar churned violently, and the obscure will seemed to hesitate for a moment, conveying a vague sense of fulfillment and even greater yearning.

More—more—fresh flesh and soul—are needed.

"As you wish!!"

The Murloc King, his eyes bloodshot, turned to face the dense swarm of Murlocs in his lair. He brandished his scepter, opened his enormous maw filled with sharp teeth, and roared shrilly, "Kill—!"

"Fish-man warriors! Take up your weapons!"

"Slay all the humans who enter this place! Use their blood and souls to please the great Father God Dagon!"

"For the coming of the Father! For revenge! Kill!!!"

The sound waves spread out along with the light from the magic core on the scepter.

In an instant, the entire Filthy Scale Tribe's lair erupted in chaos!

The pool churned, and hundreds of merman soldiers and warriors roared as they scrambled ashore, taking up their weapons.

More fishmen emerged from the surrounding huts and water caves.

Their eyes turned red, driven into a frenzy by the orders of the Fishman King and the hormones of the breeding season. Their dorsal and ear fins vibrated at a high frequency, and they roared with their mouths open.

"Awooooo—!"

"Kill! Kill all of humanity!"

The chaotic and violent sound waves echoed through the swamp forest, even reaching the small and medium-sized settlements of other merfolk.

Soon, all the merfolk in the entire dungeon [Murloc Swamp Forest] were mobilized, like hornets whose swarms had been disturbed, and began to frantically search for and attack any human adventurers.

Even some other monsters, such as mud frogmen, swamp beasts, and slimes, felt the terrifying atmosphere and the ferocious killing intent of the fishmen, and they all hid and trembled in fear.

Inside the tree hollow, Qiao Chunxia, ​​having just killed the fishman hero, was recuperating.

She planned to recover for a while before killing a few more mermen.

At this moment, Xia Xinghan's voice suddenly rang out: "Leave immediately! A large-scale monster riot has occurred in the instance, and the source is abnormal."

"A beast tide?!"

Qiao Chunxia was startled. Without hesitation, she quickly took the items from her equipment and inventory, stuffed them into her backpack, slung it over her shoulder, and silently chanted, "Log out!"

A flash of white light, and her figure disappeared from the tree hole.

Not long after she left, several bloodshot-eyed merman soldiers discovered the tree hole and rushed over with a hiss.

In the suburbs of Ancheng, the tranquil, rotating dark green portal suddenly trembled violently.

With a flash of light, Qiao Chunxia stumbled through the [teleportation portal], her face slightly pale.

The Water Dragon Gang's gatekeeper, who was smoking a cigarette, exclaimed "Huh?" upon seeing her and looked her up and down: "Not bad, little girl, you actually made it out alive? How was it? How many merman bastards did you kill in there? Didn't you wet your pants from fright?"

Qiao Chunxia ignored the teasing in his tone and quickly said, "I only killed three or four, and completed the [escaping the mission]."

Something's wrong inside. The mermen have all gone berserk and are on a rampage. It might be a beast tide. Your Water Dragon Gang had better send someone in to check it out quickly, or temporarily close the entrance.

As she spoke, she took out a dagger of no white quality from her bag and threw it on the wooden table next to her.

This is standard practice; when leaving a gang-controlled instance, one has to pay a share of the profits, which is another form of ticket.

The gatekeeper glanced at the dagger, scoffed, and clearly looked down on it: "A beast tide? Hahaha, little girl, you were scared because you saw a dozen or so merman soldiers patrolling in groups, weren't you?"

"To tell you the truth, it's the murloc breeding season now, so there are already a lot of murlocs, and they're even more ferocious than usual."

"Little girl, this is your first time playing a normal game," don't scare yourself. Alright, put your things down and go home."

Seeing that he didn't care, Qiao Chunxia didn't say anything more.

She had already given the necessary reminders, but the other party didn't believe her, and there was nothing she could do about it.

With her backpack slung over her shoulder, she turned and hurried away, heading to the Temple of Martial Gods to exchange for resources.

Watching Qiao Chunxia's departing figure, the gatekeeper curled his lip, flicked his cigarette ash, and muttered, "She's not even fully grown yet, what does she know about a beast tide—"

"If there's a beast tide, I'll eat the ashtray."

At the top of the Great Wall.

Xia Xinghan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze seemingly piercing through endless space, landing on the small dungeon vortex on the outskirts of Ancheng. He even "saw" the altar deep within the swamp connected to the vortex, which was attempting to draw in beings from beyond the realm.

"Another restless Outer God is trying to exploit the loopholes—" he muttered to himself, his eyes calm yet carrying a hint of coldness. "While the dungeons can accelerate the world's ascension and forge civilization, they have also become springboards for these ancient shadows to infiltrate."

"Jingwei".

His consciousness stirred slightly, as if traversing thousands of mountains and rivers.

Mount Shu is shrouded in mist and clouds, with its uniquely shaped peaks vying for attention.

After the spiritual energy was restored, this place appeared even more like a celestial abode.

Ancient and sharp palaces are built against the mountain, their sword-like aura resonating with the clouds and mist.

This is the location of the Sword Palace, one of the top powers in the Great Xia Dynasty.

.

Beside the "Sword Washing Pool" in the main hall, there is not a human sitting cross-legged, but an elegant crane with pure white feathers.

It stood on one foot on a piece of green jade, its body surrounded by a fine, sharp sword aura that was visible to the naked eye.

These sword energies were not chaotic, but rather seemed to have a life of their own, swirling around a round, golden "soybean" that floated in front of the crane's beak.

Although it is a "soybean", it shines brightly, containing the immortal and sharp Taoist charm.

It is the Golden Elixir!

If anyone else were here, they would surely be shocked. Although the nationwide cultivation movement has been underway for ten years, in the vast Xia Dynasty, those at the Transcendent Realm are as rare as dogs, and those at the Innate Realm are everywhere. However, the number of top experts who have truly achieved the unity of the Five Elements and condensed a Golden Core is still no more than twenty.

There is one right in front of you.

It was a crane!

The crane closed its eyes to cultivate, and countless strands of sword energy surrounded and tempered the golden core. With each surge of sword energy, the golden core's radiance became more restrained, and its Daoist essence became more pure.

She is none other than the master of the Sword Palace, a grandmaster of swordsmanship, and revered as the contemporary sword immortal—Bai Xianshuang.

Suddenly, a communication bracelet not far from Bai Xianshuang vibrated slightly, projecting a clear afterimage.

The illusory figure was Xia Xinghan, young and handsome, full of vigor and with deep eyes.

Bai Xianshuang immediately stopped cultivating, opened her long beak, and swallowed the golden pill that had been tempered to its extreme.

It gracefully lowered its head, spoke clearly in human language, and said respectfully, "Master."

Xia Xinghan's holographic projection cut to the chase: "In Xianshuang, on the outskirts of Ancheng, in the ordinary dungeon [Murloc Swamp Forest] controlled by the Water Dragon Gang, a cult of the Outer God Dagon is attempting to draw a wisp of its consciousness down. Go and deal with it: annihilate the altar, dispel its will, and erase the Murloc King who is acting as its anchor."