Chapter 400: Flood Dragon in the Lake

Of course, Shen Daoxing couldn't just stay in his room and cultivate forever.

On this day, Shen Daoxing was lying in his Essence Blood Bath. An indescribable comfort washed over his entire body, and the bath's medicinal properties were making his skin smoother and smoother.

However, after several days, he had nearly used up all the Demon Beast Essence Blood he had previously collected. It was time to go out and gather more.

The thing was, over the past month, Shen Daoxing and the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat had hunted so many demon beasts that they had attracted the attention of the Cyan Nether Sword Sect.

'Right. It's time to head deeper into Yun Meng Lake. The demon beasts there aren't tamed, so I can hunt them without any reservations.'

And so...

"Hui!"

Shen Daoxing called out softly.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK!"

The Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat chirped, its head popping out of the medicinal bath.

Seeing that Shen Daoxing was already dressed, it knew what he was about to do. Its eyes lit up, and with a WHOOSH, it transformed into a gray arc of light and dove into Shen Daoxing's robes.

Afterward, Shen Daoxing found a secluded spot and slipped quietly into Yun Meng Lake, making his way toward its depths.

Compared to the outer regions, the lakebed in the depths of Yun Meng Lake was much deeper. As Shen Daoxing and the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat walked along the bottom, they saw a landscape of rises and falls, crisscrossed by numerous ravines.

Shen Daoxing could clearly feel that the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi here was much denser. But the surroundings were eerily quiet, devoid of any life.

This was no surprise. The demon beasts in Yun Meng Lake were extremely territorial, and this was the habitat of powerful ones. Weaker beasts naturally wouldn't dare approach.

Shen Daoxing and the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat wandered aimlessly along the lakebed for a while. The man and his companion eventually stopped before a long ravine. It was pitch-black inside, and they couldn't see a thing.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK!"

Just then, the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat suddenly squeaked as if it had discovered something.

The next moment.

An enormous pincer, dozens of feet tall, suddenly shot out of the ravine, snapping viciously at Shen Daoxing.

Shen Daoxing spread his hands and caught the massive pincer. He found himself being lifted higher and higher off the ground.

A colossal crab, a true behemoth, crawled out of the ravine.

This was an Ao Long Crab, a demon beast with the strength of the Earth Profound Realm's Ninth Layer. Not only was its attack power exceptional, but its defense was equally impressive—even more formidable than the Extreme Thunder Ancient Eel.

But no matter how strong it was, it was meaningless before Shen Daoxing.

Abruptly, Shen Daoxing applied a bit of force with his hands.

"CRACK!"

With a sharp crack...

...the Ao Long Crab's pincer was snapped in two by Shen Daoxing.

The Ao Long Crab flew into a rage and swung its other massive pincer, bringing it down on Shen Daoxing like a hammer.

In response, Shen Daoxing simply threw a punch.

"BANG!"

With a thunderous boom...

...the enormous pincer shattered on impact.

The next moment, Shen Daoxing leaped high into the water.

"BZZZT! BZZZT!"

Black arcs of electricity flickered to life. A brilliant light erupted from Shen Daoxing's right arm, and specks of black began to appear on his skin, spreading rapidly outward.

In moments, his entire right arm had turned a shimmering black-gold, glowing as if it were forged from metal.

"Arm of the Venerable!"

Shen Daoxing roared as he brought his fist crashing down.

The very space around his fist seemed to distort and stretch downwards with the blow.

"BOOM!"

A violent shockwave erupted from his fist.

"RUMBLE!"

The Ao Long Crab was blown to pieces, its shattered remains scattering in all directions.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK!"

At the side, the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat squeaked a few times, as if scolding Shen Daoxing for being so wasteful. It darted out, opened its cavernous mouth, and began to devour the remains of the Ao Long Crab.

Meanwhile, Shen Daoxing simply twitched his fingers, drawing out the Essence Blood from the Ao Long Crab's body.

A moment later, a sphere of blue Essence Blood coalesced in his palm.

Shen Daoxing collected the Essence Blood in a vial and continued on his way.

The Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat, clutching a huge piece of the pincer and noisily slurping out the meat, hurried to follow.

As they ventured deeper, Shen Daoxing and the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat encountered many more demon beasts. All of them were at the Ninth Layer of the Earth Profound Realm, no weaker than the Ao Long Crab, but they were, of course, nothing to Shen Daoxing.

The deeper Shen Daoxing went, the deeper the lakebed became. The water before him grew murky, and the sunlight filtering down from the surface grew faint.

Before they knew it, Shen Daoxing and the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat came upon a massive, mountain-like mound rising from the lakebed. At its base were two pitch-black caverns, surrounded by the colossal skeletons of unknown creatures.

It seemed some terrifying monster was hiding within.

But this was exactly what Shen Daoxing had been hoping for.

Shen Daoxing led the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat slowly toward the pitch-black underwater caves.

Even before they got close, Shen Daoxing could feel a cold, terrifying aura emanating from within.

Without hesitation, Shen Daoxing picked one of the caves and stepped inside.

But the very moment he stepped inside...

"RUMBLE!"

A tremendous roar echoed.

The entire lakebed began to shake violently.

The next moment, a searing, turbulent blast of air erupted from the cave.

Shen Daoxing quickly crossed his arms to shield his face as he and the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat were blasted out of the pitch-black cavern.

And the next moment.

"RUMBLE!"

"RUMBLE!"

The "mountain" in front of Shen Daoxing began to move, slowly rising upward.

A ferocious Flood Dragon's head appeared before Shen Daoxing. Simultaneously, a pair of dazzling, golden, vertical pupils snapped open. He realized now that the two pitch-black caverns weren't caves at all—they were the Flood Dragon's nostrils.

It was an adult Flood Dragon. To think that a Flood Dragon was hidden deep beneath Yun Meng Lake!

Abruptly, Shen Daoxing felt a colossal, terrifying power radiating from the Flood Dragon. 'This is definitely a demon beast of the Refining Dust Realm.'

And it seemed Shen Daoxing's recent actions had enraged the creature.

"RUMBLE!"

The lakebed before Shen Daoxing heaved upward. A gigantic dragon claw burst from the ground, rising high into the water before slamming down on Shen Daoxing with terrifying force.

Shen Daoxing felt an immense pressure bear down on him, as if a mountain had been dropped on his shoulders.

He wasn't afraid. On the contrary, he was thrilled.

The demon beasts in the lake at the Ninth Layer of the Earth Profound Realm no longer posed any threat to him. A beast of the Refining Dust Realm was exactly what he had been looking for.

"CRACKLE!"

Suddenly, black arcs of electricity crackled around Shen Daoxing. He extended his right arm, and in a dazzling flash of light, the black-gold color covered it completely.

"Venerable Arm!"

Shen Daoxing bellowed, stomping his foot hard on the lakebed and launching himself upward. Then, with unstoppable momentum, he threw a ferocious punch toward the Flood Dragon's descending, colossal claw.