novelraw Chapter 326: The Mysterious Soul
Chapter 326: The Mysterious Soul
Just as Long Xuan was feeling utterly disappointed, a sudden sound came from behind him.
His expression changed, and he instinctively darted to the side. A silver snake, crackling with lightning, brushed past him and disappeared into a small lake ahead after its initial strike failed.
"In a place so dense with lightning, for a living creature to survive... It seems this species is immune to lightning strikes. Truly, even in the most treacherous of lands, unknown life can find a way to exist."
Long Xuan didn’t waste time on the thunder serpent and continued forward.
This area was riddled with puddles and lakes. For others, these hidden aquatic creatures could pose a major threat, launching ambushes from the water.
However, Long Xuan could perceive movement within the water. As long as he remained cautious of his rear, these aquatic creatures were no danger to him.
As expected, the deeper he ventured, the more varieties of creatures he encountered.
Some giant-eyed frogs could even spit lightning. The speed of their lightning attacks was terrifyingly quick, making them nearly impossible to defend against.
For anyone else who ventured here, even if they managed to avoid being struck by the lightning in the sky, they would likely be killed by these lightning-covered creatures.
Only someone like Long Xuan could navigate this treacherous land with ease. Before long, he reached the very center of the Thunder Swamp, where the lightning was most concentrated.
Here, he had to change his position every ten seconds to avoid being struck by the relentless lightning from above. The frequency of the strikes was alarmingly high.
However, the greater his expectations, the greater his disappointment.
He had believed that the center of the Thunder Swamp would hold a treasure defying the heavens. His heart had been filled with anticipation.
But upon reaching this point, he found... nothing. Other than some living creatures in the lakes, which could provide beast materials when killed, he found no valuable items.
Unwilling to give up, Long Xuan searched the area further and finally stopped before a particular lake.
Gazing at the calm, undisturbed surface of the lake, Long Xuan frowned slightly.
He hadn’t stopped because he found treasure, but because he noticed something unusual—while all the other lakes had living creatures, this one had none.
"When something appears abnormal, there must be something unusual about it." This lake might be hiding a great secret.
That secret could be a rare opportunity—or an even greater danger.
Raising his guard, Long Xuan retrieved a random spiritual herb from his storage ring and tossed it into the lake, guiding it to sink quickly using his soul power.
However, the herb had barely sunk a few meters before it was crushed into fine threads.
Long Xuan was shocked and instinctively stepped back a few paces, his expression growing grave.
He now understood the nature of this lake. Its water had an incredibly high density.
By his estimation, a human would be crushed into pulp within a few meters of submersion due to the terrifying water pressure.
This explained why no living creatures inhabited the lake. What kind of lifeform could survive under such overwhelming pressure?
Yet, for such immense pressure to exist in such shallow water was beyond ordinary logic. This place wasn’t known for extreme gravity, either.
Long Xuan fell into deep thought.
"Nine-Origin Heavy Water?"
Suddenly, a term flashed through his mind. His eyes lit up with excitement.
Ever since he planned to incorporate unique materials like Heavenly Water, Heavenly Wind, and Heavenly Earth into his body refinement regimen, he had been gathering information on such items.
Nine-Origin Heavy Water was a highly ranked Heavenly Water, placing ninth on the Heavenly Water List.
Its unique ability was compression—it could compress water to an extreme degree.
A single drop of Nine-Origin Heavy Water could weigh tens of thousands of pounds, heavier than a mountain.
When unleashed, a single drop could transform into a lake—or even an entire sea.
Its defining traits were its immense weight and density, which matched the characteristics of this lake.
Long Xuan’s breathing quickened.
The center of the Thunder Swamp truly held a treasure defying the heavens. His efforts had not been in vain.
To him, Nine-Origin Heavy Water was invaluable—practically a divine artifact for body refinement. It was as though it had been designed specifically for his Purgatory True Demon Technique.
"Kid, you’ve got a sharp eye to recognize Nine-Origin Heavy Water at a glance."
Suddenly, a mysterious voice echoed, startling Long Xuan.
"However, you’ve only guessed half right. True Nine-Origin Heavy Water is far more formidable than this."
"If this were genuine Nine-Origin Heavy Water, do you think a mere Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivator like you could subdue it?"
"Before you even got close, the Nine-Origin Heavy Water, having gained sentience, would’ve already killed you."
Suddenly, a hoarse and aged voice sounded from the side, startling Long Xuan. He hurriedly turned toward the source of the sound.
What he saw was an elderly soul floating above the Nine-Origin Heavy Water. This soul had used the heavy water to form a towering humanoid figure to resist the thunderbolts descending from the heavens.
For a soul body, thunder was the most terrifying force. Without the protection of the Nine-Origin Heavy Water, this soul would have been struck down by the thunder hundreds of times over.
“Who are you? Why have you come to a place like this?”
Long Xuan’s expression turned wary as he gazed at the mysterious soul.
Judging by the circumstances, this person was undoubtedly a Gu King.
The Gu King’s soul was hiding in a place filled with thunderbolts, the most dangerous environment for souls. He was either utterly insane or extraordinarily powerful.
Having encountered many enigmatic souls recently, Long Xuan was growing increasingly apprehensive. Such beings were not only insidious but also notoriously difficult to deal with.
Moreover, they often sought hosts to possess and reincarnate. Long Xuan feared his body might become the target of such a sinister soul.
The mysterious soul let out a bitter smile and sighed. “Who I am doesn’t matter to you. Just call me Shui Lao.”
“As for why I’m here, it’s naturally to escape a powerful pursuer. Otherwise, what soul would dare come to this thunder-filled place unless they were completely out of their mind?”
“Only because the density of my One-Origin Heavy Water is so great that it can diffuse the power of the thunderbolts. Without it, any soul here would have long perished.”
Hearing this, Long Xuan’s heart sank. Shui Lao seemed to be implying that the Nine-Origin Heavy Water belonged to him.
This was a problem. Long Xuan was determined to obtain the Nine-Origin Heavy Water, whether for his physical cultivation or for the expansion of the Heaven-Devouring World Toad. He couldn’t give up on it.
He believed the Heavenly Water was on par with the Divine Tree. If he could acquire the Heavenly Water, the Heaven-Devouring World Toad’s size would increase significantly.
However, since the Nine-Origin Heavy Water was in the hands of the Gu King, how could he muster the courage to seize it?
Long Xuan’s expression grew thoughtful as he looked at the mysterious soul and asked, “Senior, you just referred to this Nine-Origin Heavy Water as One-Origin Heavy Water. Is it not Heavenly Water?”
Shui Lao shook his head and chuckled. “It is Heavenly Water, but your understanding is limited.”
“In ancient times, the Nine-Origin Heavy Water was so rampant that countless human cultivators drowned in its floods.”
“A single drop of Nine-Origin Heavy Water could form an entire lake. If it exploded in a crowd, few could withstand the torrent’s devastating impact.”
“At that time, no one could resist the power of Nine-Origin Heavy Water.”
“In the end, the human race paid a heavy price to suppress it. To weaken its strength, the ancients used extraordinary means to split the Nine-Origin Heavy Water into nine portions, creating One-Origin to Nine-Origin Heavy Water.”
“One-Origin Heavy Water is the weakest, ranked lowest on the 'Heavenly Water List', while Nine-Origin Heavy Water remains the strongest. Even after being divided, it still holds the ninth rank on the list.”
“As such, Heavy Water became the collective term for these nine types of Heavenly Water.”
“That’s why, with the power of a mere Gu King, I could only subdue One-Origin Heavy Water. In its prime, Nine-Origin Heavy Water wouldn’t have been something a Gu King like me could even dream of controlling.”
“You are the first person in a hundred years to enter the Thunder Swamp, so I must ask for your help.”
“I want to make a deal with you. You have two choices. First, kill the current Shui Clan patriarch, Shui Wuqing, and bring me his head.”
“Second, find me a suitable body. It must possess a pure water attribute and the Heavenly Water Constitution.”
“Complete either of these tasks, and I will give you the seed of One-Origin Heavy Water!”
Shui Lao’s eyes burned with anticipation, his emotions slightly agitated.
Long Xuan’s heart stirred, confirming his suspicion that this mysterious soul was indeed searching for a host body.
However, as long as it wasn’t his body, he felt relieved.
Still, the requirements for this host body were excessively high.
Finding a pure water-attribute genius or one with the Heavenly Water Constitution was already challenging but not impossible.
But for both conditions to be met in the same person was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.
A genius meeting these criteria might only appear once in ten thousand years. Where would he find such a person?
Compared to searching for a water-attribute Heavenly Water Constitution genius, killing the Shui Clan patriarch seemed slightly less difficult.
Long Xuan’s gaze turned contemplative. He could guess that the current patriarch, Shui Wuqing, was likely the one who had destroyed Shui Lao’s body.
Shui Lao had been hunted by the Shui Clan’s Gu cultivators and forced to flee to the Thunder Swamp, a place even they dared not enter.
Considering that Shui Lao called himself “Shui Lao,” he might have been part of the Shui Clan.
Long Xuan suddenly thought of a classic scenario: a power struggle for the position of patriarch.
“Senior, could it be that you failed in a struggle for the Shui Clan patriarch position and were hunted by your rival here?” Long Xuan asked tentatively.
At this, Shui Lao erupted in anger and roared, “Nonsense! What do you mean by ‘failed in a struggle’? That position was rightfully mine!”
“The Shui Clan’s rule is survival of the strongest. Whoever is the strongest becomes the patriarch.”
“With One-Origin Heavy Water, who could stand against me at the same level?”
“Shui Wuqing, that despicable scoundrel, couldn’t even withstand three moves from me!”
“Compete with me for the patriarch position? He’s not worthy!”
“The patriarch’s position was mine by right!”
Shui Lao’s eyes flared with rage as he shouted, “But he somehow obtained Two-Origin Heavy Water and used it to kill the previous patriarch—his own father! He then easily framed me for it.”
“Everyone knew I was the only one with Heavy Water, so I couldn’t defend myself.”
“I wasn’t even given a chance to explain before the clan’s experts besieged me, destroying my body and forcing me to flee here to survive.”
“For souls, thunder is the ultimate terror. Everyone assumed I would die in the Thunder Swamp and gave up their pursuit.”
“Of course, none of them, including Shui Wuqing, dared to enter. He can’t even fully control Two-Origin Heavy Water, let alone withstand the thunder’s power.”
“That fool thought I’d die here. Since he doesn’t understand the importance of eliminating threats completely, I’ll make him pay dearly for leaving me alive!”
Shui Lao clenched his fists, his gaze fierce as he spoke.