There were two beings. Their bodies were dark, yet possessed a strange luminescence. Though no mouth or eyes were visible, a continuous undulation was present. The shape was vaguely reminiscent of a living eel!
What in the world—what kind of ghastly thing was this?
Everyone stared blankly, yet not a single person dared to utter a question. At that moment, Anjifeya and Xia Luo’s expressions were particularly strange; the creature in Zhong Shenxiu’s hand seemed vaguely familiar to them both.
Where had they seen it before?
The two women scrutinized the creature while racking their brains, trying to recall. Suddenly, their bodies jolted, as if a realization had struck them. They exchanged a look, and in each other’s eyes, they saw utter disbelief!
This creature, save for its color, was identical to the thing Zhong Shenxiu had pulled from the water when they were bathing last time!
Simultaneously, Zhong Shenxiu had reached the same conclusion. He hadn't expected this thing to bear such a strong resemblance to the "jellyfish" he had caught in the "Wet Forest" previously.
Were they the same species, or was there some connection between them?
Though Zhong Shenxiu had captured that strange creature last time, he hadn't found the time to study it. Now, encountering it again genuinely piqued his interest! However, to truly understand its extraordinary nature, continuous observation and experimentation would be necessary!
Having prior experience, Zhong Shenxiu knew this thing was highly likely to die if removed from the water for too long. Therefore, he quickly retrieved a bamboo tube, placed the creature inside, and then injected some of the black water into it.
After sealing the lid, Zhong Shenxiu handed it to Robin for safekeeping! Current-day Robin had nearly become his steward, as Zhong Shenxiu entrusted all his belongings to her care!
While everyone was still astonished by the creature, Zhong Shenxiu and Robin did something that shocked them even more—they walked straight toward the black water!
This in itself was not entirely unheard of, but the scene that followed nearly caused the onlookers to pop their eyes out!
To everyone’s astonishment, Zhong Shenxiu and Robin proceeded to walk on the surface of the water, no differently than if they were traversing solid ground!
This—how could this be possible?
In that moment, the entire group was dumbstruck. They had never witnessed such a bizarre technique, nor had they ever even heard of one!
If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn't have believed it was real even if they were beaten to death!
Yet, what seemed so utterly unbelievable to them was utterly commonplace for Zhong Shenxiu and Robin.
There was no need to elaborate on Zhong Shenxiu; his tricks were always endless and wildly ingenious. As for Robin being able to accomplish this, she was, after all, a cultivator whose power had already reached the "Heart-Stirring Stage." If she couldn't manage something like this, she would have followed Zhong Shenxiu in vain for so long!
The two walked slowly forward. Aside from leaving concentric ripples on the water’s surface, not a single drop of water splashed up. The sensation was akin to a dragonfly lightly touching the water.
"Kainai, can you do this too?" Xia Luo whispered curiously to Kainai beside her.
Having spent so much time with Kainai, she knew that with Zhong Shenxiu's help, Kainai’s strength had far surpassed theirs.
"No, I cannot," Kainai replied quietly, shaking her head.
This was not false modesty; she truly couldn't manage it. While her Qinggong was excellent, it hadn't reached that level of ethereal mastery. She could skim across the water by lightly touching the surface with her toes, but walking as slowly as they were doing was absolutely beyond her capability!
No matter how formidable she was, she was not a cultivator, and in terms of sheer power compared to Robin, the gap was vast, spanning a hundred thousand li!
Xia Luo asked no further questions, redirecting her gaze to Zhong Shenxiu and Robin. By now, the pair had stopped, standing perfectly still above the water.
Zhong Shenxiu could clearly sense several pairs of eyes fixed upon him and Robin from beneath the surface. The reason they hadn't attacked was that they were waiting for an opportunity. And at this precise moment, Zhong Shenxiu was granting them that chance—though it was a chance to "walk straight into a trap"!
The water remained as calm as the night sky. No one would suspect that beneath such a placid surface, lethal danger was lurking.
The owners of those eyes finally moved, approaching Zhong Shenxiu and Robin with extreme caution, inch by painstaking inch. Their skill underwater was formidable; even as their massive bodies shifted, the water’s surface remained undisturbed—everything remained as placid as before!
The mercenaries watched Zhong Shenxiu and Robin with curiosity. They had no idea Zhong Shenxiu was using himself as bait to lure the submerged creatures out. They all assumed Zhong Shenxiu was simply devising a method for the group to cross the pool!
"Something isn't right!"
Xia Luo’s body suddenly trembled. A woman’s sixth sense told her that things were absolutely not as simple as they appeared; something significant was about to happen.
Anjifeya also sensed the anomaly hidden behind the tranquility, particularly noting the light in Zhong Shenxiu and Robin’s eyes—it was clearly a light of excitement over something!
Almost simultaneously, Xia Luo and Anjifeya stood up, watching every movement ahead with grave expressions, mentally bracing themselves for shock!
The mercenaries, perhaps too focused on Zhong Shenxiu and Robin, failed to notice the vigilance of the two women, remaining lost in weaving various speculative scenarios!
Just then, a tremendous roar erupted from the black water, and immediately, a colossal monster appeared.
Its head was as large as five or six water vats, possessing only a single eye on its forehead. The head was generally round and quite flat. But its massive maw, lined with rows of razor-sharp teeth above and below, sent a tremor through the heart!
It would be no exaggeration to say this creature could effortlessly swallow both Zhong Shenxiu and Robin at once!
Its entire body was covered in countless claws sharp as halberds. From a distance, it resembled a giant black centipede! However, it was clearly piscine, as it possessed gills beneath its head, and its back was covered in enormous scales!
The instant everyone saw this monster, they collectively gasped, nearly fainting from fright.
Even Xia Luo and Anjifeya, who had mentally prepared themselves, turned pale and felt weak in the knees upon seeing such a terrifying entity!
The mercenaries were filled with lingering terror. Thank goodness they hadn't plunged into the water immediately; otherwise, such a monster would have swallowed them whole as a mere snack!
But the ordeal was not over. While everyone was stunned, the water erupted with a splash nearly two meters high, and another monster emerged.
This creature was slightly smaller, but its shape was even more bizarre: its entire body sprouted long, sharp tubes, and its spine looked like two massive, keen teeth opening and closing rhythmically!
Following that, the water surface churned again, and three more sizable monsters successively appeared. They had firmly blocked the retreat path for Zhong Shenxiu and Robin, now merely waiting to divide up the small morsels before them!
"Are you all here?" Zhong Shenxiu let out a cold snort. While these monsters viewed him as food, he had long considered them as good as captured!
These five monsters did not attack immediately but regarded the other four warily. Within this black water, each of the five monsters commanded a certain territory, reigning as king, with no interference from the others!
They had engaged in countless deadly struggles over the years, but each fight resulted in a draw, ensuring that no single one could completely suppress the others, thus establishing a tense balance! Now that rare prey had delivered itself to their doorstep, they all desired ownership, yet each one feared a combined assault from the other four. Consequently, none dared to strike first!
The location where Zhong Shenxiu and Robin stood was particularly unique, being a shared domain governed by all five monsters. It was precisely for this reason that all five chose to surface simultaneously!
Zhong Shenxiu and Robin studied the five creatures, yet far from showing terror, their faces radiated sheer delight, as if they had just discovered priceless treasures!
These five monsters clearly possessed intelligence, and their strength was considerable. While they couldn't compare to the Demonic Insect from before, ordinary aquatic monsters would truly be no match for them!
The mercenaries watching from afar held their breath, each one sweating for Zhong Shenxiu and Robin. Although they knew Robin was powerful, mistakes happen, and if even one slip occurred, none of them would ever make it out of here alive.
However, not a single member of the "Ethereal Mercenary Group" worried about Zhong Shenxiu and Robin, because they knew that whatever could harm those two little freaks hadn't even been born yet!
They would sooner believe the sun was made of ice than believe these few monsters could do anything to Zhong Shenxiu and Robin. Their shock was purely due to witnessing such horrifying monsters for the first time.
Monsters, too, had their hierarchies, and Zhong Shenxiu and Robin were undoubtedly the patriarch and matriarch among them. Trying to scratch a single hair on them was sheer fantasy!
Perhaps they had observed long enough, or perhaps they had waited too long. Zhong Shenxiu said calmly to Robin, "Robin, collect them now."
He spoke with such ease, entirely dismissing the monsters' threat! And in fact, that was exactly how it was! Hmph.
Robin had been eager to act. Upon hearing Zhong Shenxiu’s command, a ripple emanated from her, and the entire water surface vibrated intensely.
Pity the five monsters still locked in stalemate; they suddenly felt their bodies lighten, lifting away from the water surface, and then vanishing!
Considering that these five creatures were aquatic, Robin also gathered some black water along with them.
The mercenaries, seeing that Zhong Shenxiu and Robin were unharmed, should have been happy, but at this moment, they lacked the mood for it; they were simply too stupefied!
This was too much. How could those five monsters have vanished in the blink of an eye?
Only now did the mercenaries realize they had profoundly underestimated the strength of these two children.
They swore they would never worry about these two children again, because these two were truly not human!
[Ti: Dear reader, the current chapter has reached the last page of this book]