The Heavenly Court is gone, I don't want to be a True Lord.

One large and two small, three water ghosts slowly rose from the river surface, their bodies covered in river water that mingled with the rain.

The largest one was the largest water ghost Zuo Qi had ever seen, and he suspected it was a being with twenty years of cultivation.

"Ni Heng, take Da Hong and run. These ghostly things are also interested in your Lifeblood. Lead them away from the river."

Ni Heng didn't dare to delay. Ignoring Da Hong's current state, he picked Da Hong up in one go. Although he wasn't born with superhuman strength, it was still easy for him to carry a dog weighing seventy or eighty pounds.

Just run away.

The three water ghosts, their eyes bloodshot, stared intently in the direction of Big Red before charging madly towards it.

Zuo Qi stepped forward, blocking the path that the three water ghosts were bound to take.

The water ghost didn't even glance at him, heading straight for Ni Heng.

Zuo Qitian opened his eyes and looked at the weaknesses of the three water ghosts, focusing on the water ghost on the left. The water ghost's weakness was actually on its back!

As the three water ghosts passed by him, Zuo Qi darted forward and, in a flash, stabbed the water ghost in the back with his dagger.

[Slay demons and monsters, Heavenly Fortune +2]

Only the essence.

Before any emotion could arise, the two water ghosts seemed to sense the death of their companion, and suddenly turned around, their scarlet eyes landing on Zuo Qi.

One against two, one of which was suspected to be twenty years old. The opponent's weakness was its mouth, but unlike those low-level water ghosts, its mouth was always open, revealing a long tongue that looked like a rope.

Instead, it has a tightly closed mouth and well-developed limbs.

Zuo Qi turned and ran.

The two water ghosts roared, looked at Zuo Qi, and then looked in Ni Heng's direction.

To Zuo Qi's astonishment, the two separated. The smaller one chased after Zuo Qi, while the larger one continued to pursue Ni Heng.

He quickly realized that he had already killed five water ghosts with ten years of cultivation and was quite adept at it.

Just then, as the water ghost with ten years of cultivation rushed towards him, he suddenly turned around, grabbed the water ghost's tongue and right forelimb with both hands, and with a ramming motion, he forcefully suppressed the water ghost.

Amidst the water ghost's furious roar, the opponent was defeated.

This time, he was very lucky. He got both the essence and the ice pearl, and even something that Zuo Qi had never seen before: a claw that looked like a dagger, about seven or eight centimeters long, sharp and cold.

He didn't have time to deal with it, so he took out the yellow jade he had bought on the black market and stuck it on the water ghost's spirit, similar to human skin contact, and it was quickly absorbed into the jade.

Zuo Qi put away the ice bead and the ice claw, and without looking back, chased after Ni Heng.

……

The terrain below the cliff was quite complex, and Zuo Qi had previously built a shelter from the rain using wooden planks.

At this moment, Ni Heng had already lit a campfire and was sitting by the fire, with Da Hong lying on his chest.

Upon seeing the giant water ghost chasing after them, Ni Heng's expression changed slightly.

This water ghost is definitely not something he can handle.

Fortunately, the water ghost feared fire, and standing in the rain, it roared angrily at Ni Heng under the wooden plank.

They were locked in a brief standoff.

Just when Ni Heng thought he could stall until Zuo Qi arrived, the water ghost suddenly sprayed out a viscous liquid.

The campfire suddenly emitted a series of unpleasant hissing sounds. The flames remained, but strangely, the heat was gone!

Before Ni Heng could react, the long tongue shot out from the giant water ghost's open mouth.

Even a water ghost with ten years of cultivation could only have a tongue that stretched to three meters at most, but this water ghost in front of us had a tongue that was over six meters long.

Ni Heng was greatly surprised.

He slashed down with a short knife.

But the long tongue was too fast; by the time he raised his hand, it had already landed on Big Red.

Seeing Da Hong being dragged towards the water ghost, Ni Heng's eyes widened in fury. He roared and swung his short sword wildly.

His strength was too weak to even cause the long tongue to deviate from its trajectory.

The giant water ghost didn't look at Ni Heng. Its long tongue wrapped around Da Hong's body, and it ran wildly towards Lianghe on all fours.

At the critical moment, a dark figure descended from the sky.

Zuo Qi plopped down on the giant water ghost, his dagger aimed at its mouth.

At this moment, the giant water ghost was sticking out its tongue and wrapping around the big red thing. Zuo Qi easily stabbed it, but what shocked Zuo Qi was that when he stabbed the giant water ghost in its weak point, the creature did not turn into ashes on the spot.

After letting out a roar, it actually ran towards Lianghe.

Fortunately, he was not completely unharmed. Zuo Qi's Heavenly Eye could clearly see that the energy within the opponent's body was beginning to become disordered, and parts of his body had begun to turn into mist.

Seeing this, Zuo Qi was naturally reluctant to give up. If he could refine the essence of the water ghost with twenty years of cultivation, he didn't know how much his cultivation would increase.

The water ghost seemed to realize its own state and was about to attack Da Hong on the way. Zuo Qi held the water ghost tightly with one hand and kept interfering with it with the other, preventing the water ghost from attacking Da Hong directly.

Pfft!

Accompanied by a muffled splashing sound.

The water ghost, along with Da Hong and Zuo Qi, rushed into the water.

Ni Heng, who followed closely behind, changed his expression drastically, "Brother Qi!"

Before the sadness could fully erupt, a splashing sound suddenly came from the water.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed Zuo Qi holding the bright red bag!

"Brother Qi!?"

Zuo Qi went ashore and spat out the water-repelling bead in his mouth. "Your blood is really useful."

Once the Blood of Fate was unleashed, the demons seemed to go mad, targeting only the crimson creature that had swallowed the Blood of Fate, completely ignoring Zuo Qi and Ni Heng.

A smile appeared on Ni Heng's face.

"It's good that you're alright."

Then he looked at Zuo Qi, who was staring at the water, with some doubt.

"What's wrong, Qi-ge?"

Zuo Qitian's eyes widened. "There seems to be treasure underwater..."

However, today is not the right time. He has killed five water ghosts today, including a powerful water ghost with twenty years of cultivation. He is severely exhausted in both physical strength and energy.

It is not advisable to go into the water again.

Ni Heng naturally understood this principle as well. "I am also very tired. Condensing a drop of life-giving blood consumes a lot of energy. It will take me at least five or six days to recover. Moreover, I cannot condense life-giving blood too frequently, otherwise it will damage my foundation."

This is normal; his power to control fate is a bit too abnormal.

If this power were in a fantasy novel from the past, it would probably earn the title of "Ancestor of All Demons".

Such extraordinary power comes at a great cost.

"Don't use supernatural powers casually in the future."

Ni Heng nodded, his gaze falling on Da Hong, his eyes filled with anticipation.

It's unknown what changes this drop of life-giving blood will bring to Da Hong.

……

The rain didn't last long, only a little over two hours. However, the rain stopped, but the clouds didn't disperse, indicating that it was going to rain again.

That's how September rain is; it's not heavy, but it lasts a long time.

Seeing that it was still raining, Zuo Qi and his companion didn't go back. Instead, they started cultivating right there at the stronghold, making the most of every minute.

First came the Water Ghost Essence, five in total. Ni Heng refined one, left one for He Xiao, and the rest were all refined by Zuo Qi.

The essence of the water ghost, which had cultivated for twenty years, was indeed extraordinary. After being refined, it directly provided Zuo Qi with twenty-three strands of bone-refining blood and qi, which was almost more than the total amount of his original blood and qi!

After refining everything, Zuo Qi's bone-refining blood and qi reached sixty-two strands, and his bone tempering progress also reached forty percent.

If he had more time, he could have achieved even greater heights by investing more energy and vitality.

After refining the essence, Zuo Qi began practicing the Ice Nether Fist Seal.

The five water ghosts, including the large one, dropped a total of three ice beads: one large and two small.

After refining the two small ice beads, the Ice Sea Fist Seal broke through to the second level.

Zuo Qi left the largest ice bead behind, intending to absorb it after cultivating for a period of time.

Absorbing too much cold energy in a short period of time is not a good thing.

In addition, he killed five water ghosts, gaining a total of eleven Heavenly Fortune Points, bringing his total Heavenly Fortune Points to 100 again.

"Offer blessings and, taking advantage of the rain, continue luring the water ghosts to kill them. If this rain lasts long enough, perhaps... we could break through the third training ground in one fell swoop!"

A glimmer of hope rose in Zuo Qi's heart.

Suddenly, he recalled the scene he witnessed when he was taken to the bottom of the river by the giant water ghost.

A shipwreck…