Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

Chapter 99 Python-shaped Bizarre Species, Mysterious Deep Waters

Composing himself, Xilun changed out of his training clothes and went to the front desk on the first floor of the club.

The receptionist was much more respectful to Xilun than ever before.

"Your Excellency Sir Lun, how may I help you?"

Siren tapped the marble countertop with one hand and asked, "Are there any suitable occult training courses available right now?"

After being baptized, he realized how profoundly lacking he was in common sense about the world.

Whether it's choosing subsequent cultivation methods or guarding against the devouring words of evil gods, knowledge of mysticism is an indispensable foundation.

The receptionist immediately opened a thick, gold-edged booklet, examined it carefully, and said, "We happen to have a five-person course available recently. The instructor is a seasoned occult enthusiast with extensive knowledge of ancient texts. The course lasts four weeks."

Xilun asked, "When will it begin?"

The young woman replied, "The night after tomorrow."

Xilun nodded, quickly calculating his recent schedule in his mind.

Although the boating duties on the Greywater River are heavy, time can still be squeezed out at night.

He hesitated for a moment, then took out two crumpled banknotes from his inner pocket, weighing a total of two pounds, and pushed them over.

"I'll sign up, and pay the remaining three pounds after the course is finished."

The woman deftly pocketed the money and handed Siron a receipt bearing the Iron Cross Club seal.

After completing the formalities, Xilun pushed open the club's door.

When I went out, it was already late at night.

The sky over the foggy city is always gloomy, and now a light drizzle is falling.

The cold rain, mixed with the smell of coal dust wafting from the factory area, made the air feel particularly stuffy.

When Xilun saw that it was raining, he opened the black umbrella he was carrying.

The black umbrella, bathed in the dim yellow light of the streetlamp, gleamed with a cold, watery sheen.

He walked slowly and steadily along the puddle-strewn stone path toward the White Crow Wharf.

By the time he arrived at the fishing boat cargo terminal, the night had deepened, and the surrounding fog had become even thicker, almost completely engulfing the river.

However, in Xilun's eyes, the dock in front of him had undergone a completely different change.

The life-altering experience brought about by his successful baptism granted him an astonishing level of hearing and sight.

Through the thick rain and fog, he could clearly see the undulations of every ripple on the water's surface, hear the faint sound of the cable rubbing against the wooden stake a dozen meters away, and even distinguish the mixed smells of rotten fish and shrimp, engine oil, and cheap tobacco in the air.

In his perception, the world was stripped of its hazy outer shell, revealing incredibly clear details.

He walked straight to a familiar medium-sized fishing boat.

Captain Mark, wearing a heavy raincoat, sat at the cabin door to avoid the rain, slowly rolling a cigarette in his hand.

The flickering firelight illuminated his weathered, rugged face.

Hearing footsteps, Mark subconsciously looked up and glanced at Xiren.

In that instant, Mark's hand holding the cigarette trembled violently, and he froze.

In the dim light and the reflection of the rain, the Siren in his eyes seemed to be shrouded in an extremely oppressive life force, just like those high and mighty baptists he had seen before.

Siren folded his umbrella, a faint smile playing on his lips. "What's wrong, Captain Mark?"

Mark was pulled back to reality by the call. He hesitated for a moment, then rubbed his eyes hard.

Looking again, Xilun was still the same young man in the old trench coat, with no sign of any life force.

He shook his head, gave a self-deprecating laugh, and said, "It's nothing."

Mark continued rolling his cigarette, muttering to himself.

He had just had a slight illusion, mistaking Siron for some great baptist.

It seems I'm really getting old. I've been drifting on this greywater river for too long, and even my eyesight isn't what it used to be.

Once the crew had all arrived and inspected the fishing nets and muskets, they worked together to untie the mooring lines and set sail.

Under Mark's control, the fishing boat smoothly cut through the water and headed towards the deeper water.

Mark, while steering the ship, looked at Siron standing at the bow and laughed, "You haven't been here for days. What have you been up to lately? You haven't even come to catch the fattest black trout."

Xilun, facing the river breeze, said calmly, "Focus on your training."

Mark looked him up and down, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes: "Looks like you've made some progress."

Xilun nodded slightly, making no attempt to hide anything: "I've made some progress."

Mark secretly admired him; after spending the past few months together, he knew this young man all too well.

Not only is Xilun exceptionally gifted, able to master underwater combat skills in a very short time, but what is even more remarkable is his almost ascetic diligence.

Looking at Xilun's tall and straight back, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

If only his good-for-nothing son had half of Xilun's perseverance.

His son spends all his time in the casinos of the downtown area, neglects his studies, and has no intention of following him into this unsafe boat business. He's utterly hopeless.

Following the familiar route, the group waded through the rainy night, gradually venturing deeper into the heart of the Greywater River.

Xilun held a hardwood harpoon in one hand, gazing intently at the churning dark blue water.

After being baptized, he found himself able to take a better look around him.

Even without turning around, he could construct a three-dimensional image of the area within thirty meters around the ship in his mind based on the changes in airflow and the feedback from the sound of water.

Perhaps this is why only extraordinary individuals can captain those large merchant ships and warships.

It was not only because they were powerful enough to suppress rebellions, but also because they possessed extraordinary keen observation and reaction abilities, enabling them to anticipate and avoid dangerous reefs and waterways in the ever-changing ocean.

This voyage was surprisingly calm.

The rain gradually stopped, and a thin mist rose from the river.

The four nets yielded a bountiful harvest, filling the hold with lively white-scaled fish and plump river shrimp.

Four hours later, estimating that it was already late at night, the group began to collect the nets and head back.

Xilun gripped the pitchfork, remaining vigilant, his eyes fixed on the water's surface.

But the other sailors, having returned laden with cargo, had let their guard down and began chatting and laughing on deck.

"Great job on that tonight's pull! We're going to get a lot of money back here!"

"That's right. After we get ashore, we'll go to Old John's tavern for a few rye drinks and then buy some hot roast meat to treat ourselves."

Just as everyone was getting into the conversation, Mark, who had been silently steering the ship, suddenly changed his expression and shouted, "Wait!"

Almost at the same instant Mark spoke, Siren's voice rang out, like a cold blade severing all laughter: "Stop!"

Mark glanced at Xilen in surprise.

He only realized something was wrong based on his decades of experience on the water, and he didn't know how this young man had observed the same information as him.

But in this life-or-death situation, Mark didn't hesitate. He slammed the rudder shut, bringing the fishing boat to a complete stop on the water.

Following Mark's gaze, everyone looked at the water ahead.

Xilun squinted, looking at the water in the distance.

red.

A glaring crimson hue appeared on the originally dark blue water surface at some unknown time.

Looking from here, following the direction of the river, scattered chunks of meat float in the distance, their edges jagged, clearly torn apart by some enormous external force.

Further away, in the thick fog, there appeared to be a huge wooden floating object.

Xilun possessed the vision of a baptized being. He stared intently at the object for two seconds, his expression instantly becoming extremely solemn.

"It was a ship that capsized."

It was a cargo ship, much larger than their fishing boat. At that moment, its keel was pointing skyward, and its hull was covered with terrifying holes and deep scratches, as if it had been trampled on like a toy by some giant beast.

Mark stared intently at the water less than thirty meters away from them, an instinctive sense of crisis making the hairs on his body stand on end.

He swallowed hard and said in a hoarse voice, "Underwater—there's something."

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere on the deck instantly plummeted to freezing point.

All the sailors were jolted awake from their relaxation and immediately became alert, staring at the blood-red water in the distance, their hands gripping their harpoons, spears, and other weapons tightly.

The surroundings were deathly silent, with only the sound of the river water lapping against the side of the boat.

Suddenly, the water ten meters ahead slowly rippled to both sides, creating an unusual ripple on the surface.

next moment.

"boom!"

With a deafening roar, a colossal creature burst through the water, sending spray flying everywhere.

It was an extremely terrifying python-like monster!

A strong wind, carrying a foul-smelling vapor, rushed towards us.

The moment the monster broke through the water, it headed straight for Siron, who was standing at the bow of the ship.

Xilun's pupils suddenly contracted, and his eyes widened.

This strange snake was enormous, its thick body resembling a hundred-year-old tree trunk, and was over nine meters long.

Its triangular head had two dark yellow vertical pupils that exuded a cold and cruel killing intent.

If it were just a matter of being huge, that would be one thing; in this Greywater River, Xilun has seen plenty of large fish and snakes.

However, what posed a fatal threat to Xilun was that wisps of electricity were moving across the scales of this giant python!

The arcs of electricity had an eerie purplish-blue hue, crackling in the darkness, each flash carrying a chilling aura of destruction.

He took a deep breath, and the power of the baptized within him erupted like a volcano.

He condensed his hands into claws, lowered his body's center of gravity, and crossed his arms in front, forcefully blocking the sweeping snake's body.

"Bang!"

The immense impact left two deep grooves in the deck where Celen's feet had been.

A purple-blue arc of electricity surged wildly into Xilun's body from the point of contact. If this had happened before his baptism, it would have been enough to paralyze half of his body.

But at this moment, the iron-clad body forged by the Iron Wall Breathing Technique, along with the enhancement of the black scale patterns, allowed him to withstand the onslaught of this electric current.

With a roar, Xilun yanked out his right arm, his claws flashing forward.

Ten dark gray, bony claws extended from the fingertips, and a faint aura of decay and corrosion permeated the air.

Xilun's eyes were cold and fierce as he viciously stabbed at the giant python's abdomen below its seventh inch.

"Creak—"

—

A piercing scraping sound rang out. Xilun's attack hadn't completely pierced the python's body!

Those seemingly slippery snake scales are actually tougher than steel.

The sharp, corrupting claws only pierced the surface scales before being firmly trapped by the tough muscle fibers beneath, stopping at the surface.

"Back off! This is at least a low-level alien!" Siren shouted to the sailors behind him.

Just as they were talking, the giant python cried out in pain.

Its thick tail suddenly coiled up like a steel whip, instantly wrapping tightly around Xilun's waist.

A terrifying strangulation force erupted instantly, and Xilun felt his ribs groaning under the unbearable pressure.

Before he could break free, the giant python suddenly shrank back, dragging Xilun directly into the bottomless Greywater River with its immense momentum.

The moment he fell into the water, Xilun reacted quickly, grabbing a spare steel harpoon from the deck and stabbing it into the gaps in the snake's scales to steady himself.

"Fire!"

On the ship, the veteran sailors, having finally realized what was happening, roared furiously.

In the distance, "Bang! Bang! Bang!" Several muffled harpoon shots rang out in succession.

A thick, barbed spear, trailing a rope, shot out and struck the giant python's exposed skin on the water's surface.

However, those harpoons that were strong enough to pierce through wooden planks could only leave a few white marks on the purplish-blue snake scales before being deflected and falling into the water.

The other two sharpshooters raised their large-caliber muskets and decisively fired at the constantly swaying snake's head.

Amidst the burst of fire, the lead bullet struck its target with pinpoint accuracy.

This finally broke through the snake's defenses, causing a small tear in its flesh and dripping a few drops of dark red, bloody blood.

But this negligible damage only further enraged the python.

It suddenly rolled over and accelerated its descent into the water.

"Keep it!"

Just as Xilun was about to be completely dragged underwater, Mark shouted.

This man, who usually appeared to be just an experienced old captain, was now exuding an astonishing aura.

He ripped off his raincoat, exposing his hands to the air.

His ten fingers and palms instantly turned as black as ink, as if they had been soaked in thick ink.

Mark gripped a heavy black iron harpoon, stood on the gunwale, and looked down at the giant python's back with a fierce thrust!

A peculiar, dark, and violent force surged from Mark's arms, pouring down the metal shaft of the harpoon.

Previously, during the long time that Xiren had been on the ship, he had hardly seen Mark use this power more than a few times.

This dark power, accompanied by the sharp tip of the harpoon, pierced the python's seemingly indestructible body with overwhelming force, tearing it in and dragging away a large chunk of flesh mixed with purple and blue scales.

The giant python let out an extremely shrill scream. It turned its head sharply, its dark yellow vertical pupils coldly glancing at the people on the boat, as if trying to etch the image of these ants into its mind.

Then, it ceased its fight, leaped forward, and dragged Xilun completely into the cold, dark waters.

underwater.

The icy river water instantly swallowed up all the light and sound.

Xilun was tightly bound by the giant python's ever-tightening body, and the immense water pressure and strangulation force rendered him almost unable to move.

But thanks to his "slippery black skin" swimming talent, he is as free underwater as he is on land.

He took a deep breath of dissolved oxygen underwater, his eyes icy cold.