The underwater space was much more expansive than imagined. The turbulent waterfall stirred up silt, carving out a massive hidden lake.
Undercurrents surged and whirlpools raged wildly. Even Ji Qingzhu found it difficult to steady herself in the water, but fortunately, the cultivation technique she practiced was water-aligned. After a brief adjustment, she was unfazed by these disturbances.
Taking out a massive luminous pearl to illuminate her surroundings, she found, as expected, nothing to be gained from a quick patrol of the underwater lake.
Ji Qingzhu's beautiful eyes flickered. She locked her gaze on the even gloomier and more profound depths of the lake and chose to continue descending to investigate.
The deeper she went, the greater the water pressure became. Fortunately, the Suyue Robe was a magical garment; even a hundred meters underwater, its protective barrier could still hold.
Yet at this exact moment, a violent undercurrent swept toward her!
"There really is something fishy here!"
Far from being alarmed, Ji Qingzhu was delighted. Pushing off the water with her tide-stepping boots, she sidestepped to dodge the behemoth attacking from behind.
By the faint light, she saw it clearly: it was a ferocious giant fish, shaped much like a barramundi, but its mouth was lined with two rows of sharp, vicious teeth. Its head was larger than a human's, lacking a typical fish's shape and resembling instead a menacing tiger's head. It flung its wide jaws open, poised to bite!
"A great spirit beast!"
A thought stirred in her heart. The upper reaches of the Qinglan River were navigable waterways with many populated towns, so spirit beasts and their kind had naturally been driven away entirely. However, the lower reaches entered wild mountainous terrain where human reach could not easily extend, and all sorts of mountain spirits and wild monsters became much more common.
It was just that the aura emanating from this "tiger-headed barramundi" clearly marked it as a great spirit beast. In the water, even a Divine Ability Realm expert would find it troublesome to deal with, and for it to be holed up here like this seemed somewhat suspicious.
It was worth noting that so-called "monsters" were fierce beasts comparable to human Body Refining martial artists. When they grew stronger and gained momentum—commonly known as "becoming spirited"—they were referred to as "spirit beasts."
Once spirit beasts swallowed the vital energy of heaven and earth and awakened their bloodline innate abilities, they became "fierce beasts" capable of rivaling human Divine Ability Realm experts!
The tiger-headed barramundi missed its first strike, its full three-zhang-long body flashing past rapidly. Its massive, powerful fish tail suddenly exerted force once more, lashing out with the strength of a myriad jun at this uninvited guest.
As the saying goes, "one catty of fish packs ten catties of force," let alone a tiger-headed barramundi of this great spirit beast caliber. Even a Divine Ability Realm expert taking such a massive tail strike at close range would not be able to withstand it.
Yet she had not forgotten that Ji Qingzhu had come prepared.
What she held in her hand was the finest treasured sword from her family—a spirit sword of Spirit Artifact grade!
Slash!
The spirit sword cleared its scabbard, moving second but arriving first. A sharp, piercing gleam flashed across the blade, and with a single stroke, it severed the tiger-headed barramundi's tail.
Without letting up, Ji Qingzhu swung her sword in successive strikes, making quick work of the tiger-headed barramundi and slaying it on the spot.
The might of a spirit sword was truly terrifying!
Paying no mind to the fish carcass split into several pieces, Ji Qingzhu dove to the bottom of the lake and spotted an abrupt, massive boulder.
This was the very anomaly she had previously sensed using her Innate Divine Ability.
After a moment's thought, she raised the sharp gold sword and cleaved the boulder apart in a few strikes.
Suddenly, an unimaginable vortex appeared, carrying a terrifying suction force that "swallowed" the shattered rocks, dragging along Ji Qingzhu who stood beside them. The protective barrier raised by her Suyue Robe instantly began to teeter on the verge of collapse.
"Oh no, this place connects to an underground river!"
Ji Qingzhu thought to herself in dismay. Before the barrier shattered, she drew in a final breath, channeling a wisp of Dharma Power from the sharp gold sword to shield herself. Even so, her delicate body inevitably became soaked, tracing out breathtaking, exquisite curves beneath the gloomy water.
Yet she had no leisure to attend to these trivial details, for within the underground river, a terrifyingly vicious aura had emerged!
A fierce beast—that was undoubtedly a true fierce beast blocking her path ahead!
"Roar!"
The giant beast opened its jaws, unleashing an unmatched suction force. Whether or not it was casting an innate ability, it actually attempted to swallow her whole.
Ji Qingzhu twisted her waist, forcibly stabilizing her stance. A cold light flashed across the sharp gold sword in her hand, its sword Qi fierce and biting as it tore through the spinning vortex. The weapon then left her hand, transforming into a dark golden beam of light that trembled as it ripped through the currents.
Guided by her mind, the sharp gold sword swayed unpredictably like a swimming fish. Upon nearing the giant beast, it abruptly erupted with bone-chilling sword radiance, piercing directly through the creature's maw!
The giant beast instantly felt a jolt of pain, hurriedly snapping its jaws shut and subconciously retreating a short distance. At that very moment, a white phantom flashed past its mouth like a dragon dancing gracefully.
"Roar!"
Furious, the giant beast had never suffered such a grievance before. A violent column of water tinged with the stench of blood spewed from its mouth, crashing the white figure against the cliff face.
"Ugh..."
Ji Qingzhu let out a muffled groan, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, though her phoenix eyes erupted with towering killing intent.
With a beckoning gesture, the sharp gold sword returned to her hand. Meanwhile, the luminous pearl she had dropped during the attack allowed her to catch a glimpse of the true appearance of this underwater behemoth.
It was a dark, menacing Vicious Flood Dragon!
Phoenixes do not alight on barren lands; how could a flood dragon willingly trap itself in shallows?
A flood dragon fierce beast comparable to the Divine Ability Realm possessed an intelligence scarcely inferior to that of humans. For it to willingly hole up in this underground river, it must have had a deliberate plan. Even if it wasn't for the legacy treasures of ancient sages, there were bound to be immense benefits hidden within this underground river!
And regardless of which one she wanted to obtain, she had to kill or drive away this flood dragon.
Countless thoughts raced through Ji Qingzhu's mind, and in a fraction of a second, she launched her counterattack.
Facing a fierce beast a major realm higher than her own—and a formidable, water-adept creature like a flood dragon at that—she no longer held anything back, channeling her Innate Divine Ability, "Heaven's Will Is My Will."
In an instant, Ji Qingzhu's aura underwent a complete transformation: supreme, ethereal, and utterly detached from the mortal realm. All color faded from her beautiful eyes, leaving behind only the ultimate indifference.
"Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things as straw dogs."
In the eyes of the heavens, all things and matters were as insignificant as dust, without distinction of high or low.
And in Ji Qingzhu's eyes at this moment, what difference was there between this flood dragon and an ant on the ground?
Golden sword radiance illuminated the entire underground river space. The thirty-six forms of the Soft Water Sword Technique she had practiced at Liyu Mountain Academy reached the pinnacle of perfection in her hands, complementing the top-grade Spirit Artifact sharp gold sword to rival an offensive divine ability!
Before the Vicious Flood Dragon even understood what was happening, it saw the human's aura undergo a sudden, bizarre transformation, feeling its own ten-zhang-long body instinctively shrink into insignificance.
Immediately afterward, overwhelming sword radiance descended. Each streak of sword light was several zhang long and more than enough to pierce its dragon scales—every single blow drew blood!
The entire space was filled with Ji Qingzhu's sword light. The massive body the Vicious Flood Dragon usually took such pride in now became a liability, because no matter how it writhed and twisted, it could not escape the fate of being hacked.
Beaten bloody and battered, the Vicious Flood Dragon could not comprehend what had gone wrong, but it knew very well that its life force was draining away. One sword strike had slashed directly into a major blood vessel; if it didn't leave now, it would truly die here!
Ji Qingzhu was actually far from comfortable either. Her Innate Divine Ability consumed a terrifying amount of energy; her mental focus and physical strength were draining away like an unlocked floodgate. Just as she was about to unleash a final blow to heavily injure the Vicious Flood Dragon, the creature shrouded itself in a flash of blood and bolted into the depths of the underground river, escaping at full speed.