Chapter 105: Fish Demon

With a muffled sound, dozens of blue water arrows shot out from the river without warning, aiming directly at Wang Changsheng.

The dozens of blue water arrows struck the shield enveloping Wang Changsheng, causing it to ripple several times.

Given the abundant water spiritual energy here, the presence of demonic beasts was not surprising.

Wang Changsheng patted his storage bag, and a blue flying sword flew out, soaring straight into the river.

Soon, a crimson hue spread through the water, and several strangely shaped fish-like monsters surfaced.

These creatures resembled catfish but possessed a pair of black claws on their undersides, snake-like tails, and bodies covered in black scales.

"What kind of demonic beast is that?" A hint of surprise flickered in Wang Changsheng's eyes. The cultivation world teemed with countless varieties of demonic beasts, and his knowledge of them was limited.

A strange cry echoed, and a massive demonic beast emerged from the water.

It was a giant catfish, distinguished by several long whiskers around its mouth.

"A second-tier demonic beast!" Surprise flashed in Wang Changsheng's eyes, and he swiftly released three second-tier puppet beasts.

The fish demon opened its gaping maw, spewing out dozens of blue water arrows. These struck the three second-tier puppet beasts but inflicted little damage.

The Azure Eagle puppet spread its wings and swooped directly towards the fish demon.

The Giant Python puppet opened its mouth and unleashed a thick torrent of crimson flame, striking the fish demon.

The fish demon let out a pained shriek and hastily dove into the river, extinguishing the flames amidst a cloud of white mist. The Azure Giant Eagle puppet’s attack landed on empty water.

The abundant water spiritual energy here would undoubtedly accelerate cultivation. However, he first needed to eliminate the second-tier fish demon. As a water-attribute spiritual beast, its demise would also provide him with valuable water-attribute materials for refining magical artifacts.

Having suffered a blow, the fish demon ceased to surface, instead continuously launching water arrows from beneath to attack the puppet beasts.

Each time the Azure Eagle puppet swooped down, the fish demon would dive deep beneath the surface.

Unsure how many other second-tier fish demons might reside in the depths of the spiritual river, he hesitated to enter the water.

Just as Wang Changsheng was contemplating how to slay the fish demon, Wang Yaozong descended from the grotto's ceiling, landing beside him.

"Second Elder Uncle, why did you come down?"

Wang Yaozong replied with concern, "I was worried you might be in danger, so I followed. What's wrong? Are there demonic beasts in the river?"

"Yes, I've located one second-tier fish demon for now, but I'm unsure if there are others. Second Elder Uncle, your timing is perfect. Let's work together to eliminate it! This spot could serve as one of our strongholds."

Wang Yaozong nodded, conjured two azure short swords, and thrust them towards the river.

The fish demon was incredibly agile, lurking deep at the riverbed, making it difficult to strike. If they were to enter the river, and there happened to be several second-tier fish demons, both Wang Changsheng and Wang Yaozong would be in grave danger.

Though the fish demon was no match for them, it refused to retreat, instead persistently engaging them, clearly unwilling to leave.

Wang Changsheng turned his head towards the dozen or so black flowers to his left. He crouched down and quickly approached them, carefully noting some claw marks on the ground, which resembled those of a crawling demonic beast. Connecting this to the pair of black claws beneath the fish demon’s belly, Wang Changsheng immediately understood the situation.

These dozen spiritual herbs were all over a hundred years old; no wonder the fish demon was reluctant to depart.

"Second Elder Uncle, let's stop attacking! We can employ the strategy of 'waiting by the tree for a rabbit to come.'" Wang Changsheng suggested, pointing to the black flowers.

Wang Yaozong followed Wang Changsheng's gaze and immediately understood. He nodded and said, "That's a good idea, but I'll return to the surface first to instruct Mingjiang and the others. We wouldn't want them to worry and come down, potentially disturbing the fish demon."

Wang Yaozong put away his magical artifacts, and a yellow light glowed around his body before he vanished into the rock wall.

Wang Changsheng put away his magical artifacts and puppet beasts, then waited silently.

A day quickly passed, yet the fish demon did not emerge.

The grotto was pitch black, with only the sound of flowing water echoing.

A strange shriek pierced the silence, and with a 'splash,' the fish demon climbed onto the shore.

It did not immediately rush towards the dozen black flowers. Instead, it opened its mouth and sprayed dozens of blue water arrows in every direction.

A muffled thud followed, but nothing unusual appeared in the surroundings.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Yaozong, hidden near the black flowers, broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, they had anticipated this and concealed themselves near the spiritual herbs, which prevented the fish demon from discovering them.

This fish demon was a low-grade second-tier demonic beast, measuring three zhang in length with a tail half a zhang long. Its speed was remarkable as it darted towards the black flowers.

Just as it was five zhang away from the black flowers, Wang Changsheng and Wang Yaozong revealed themselves.

Wang Changsheng summoned three second-tier puppet beasts to cut off the fish demon's escape route, while simultaneously casting a defensive shield upon himself.

This fish demon's strength was not formidable. While Wang Changsheng had been unable to deal with it effectively in the river, on dry land, it was as helpless as fish on a chopping board.

Wang Yaozong conjured two azure short swords and slashed them towards the fish demon.

The sudden appearance of Wang Changsheng and Wang Yaozong startled the fish demon. It spewed out dozens of blue water arrows from its mouth, then turned to flee.

With a muffled impact, dozens of blue water arrows struck the shields protecting Wang Changsheng and Wang Yaozong, causing them to flicker violently.

Before the fish demon could escape back into the river, its tail was seized by the Black Bear puppet. The Giant Python puppet opened its massive maw and swiftly bit into the fish demon's abdomen. The Azure Eagle puppet, with an open mouth, launched dozens of foot-long azure flying swords, which eagerly struck the fish demon's body, causing several scales to shed.

The two azure short swords then struck the fish demon's abdomen one after another, though they failed to pierce it.

With a fierce shout, a long blue staff smashed down onto its head. The fish demon felt an excruciating pain in its skull, leaving it disoriented.

Seizing the opportunity, the Black Bear puppet's spiked club crashed heavily into the fish demon's abdomen.

The Giant Python puppet released its bite and spewed forth a large torrent of crimson flame, engulfing more than half of the fish demon's body.

A strange, agonizing shriek erupted as the fish demon's tail lashed out, striking the Giant Python puppet and sending it flying into the river.

"Strike!" Wang Yaozong gave a soft cry, changing his incantation. The two azure short swords flared brightly, their surfaces now wreathed in azure flames, and pierced through the fish demon's abdomen.

The Blue Cloud Staff in Wang Changsheng's hand glowed intensely before smashing down violently onto the fish demon's head, crushing it into a bloody pulp and spilling crimson and white fluids across the ground.

The fish demon lay motionless on the ground, completely devoid of life.

Wang Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief, then swiftly went to the riverbank to retrieve the Giant Python puppet.

"Chang Sheng, this snake-catfish is a water-attribute demonic beast. You should collect its corpse!"

Wang Changsheng accepted without ceremony, placing the fish demon's corpse into his storage bag.

He was currently carrying a magical artifact-grade storage bag, which, with its five-zhang capacity, was ample to contain the fish demon's corpse.

Feeling the abundant water spiritual energy within the grotto, Wang Yaozong smiled and said, "The spiritual energy here is so rich! I wonder if there are any other second-tier demonic beasts. But if we can secure this place, your cultivation speed will certainly accelerate here. It's akin to gaining an extra second-tier spiritual vein. Mingjiang and the others have truly made a great contribution."

"Second Elder Uncle, let's clear out the demonic beasts from the spiritual river! We should also see how long the river extends; perhaps we'll discover something else."

The spiritual river was merely a dozen zhang deep, teeming with numerous fish demons. However, most were low-grade first-tier, and Wang Changsheng easily slew them, collecting their bodies into his storage bag.

If these fish demons were prepared as spiritual cuisine, they would also prove beneficial to his cultivation.

Less than half an hour later, Wang Changsheng and Wang Yaozong surfaced, their faces beaming with excitement.

This spiritual river wound in a serpentine path, over ten zhang deep and seventy to eighty zhang long. Beneath it lay a small segment of a low-grade second-tier spiritual vein, three zhang in length and two zhang in width. The entire existence of this spiritual river was attributable to this small second-tier spiritual vein.

The second-tier spiritual vein continuously emanated spiritual energy, gradually transforming the small river into a spiritual river. Over time, this led to the emergence of second-tier fish demons. As the spiritual vein continued to release energy, some of it seeped through fissures and rose towards the surface. The roots of the Yellow Moon Mango trees, deeply embedded, absorbed sufficient spiritual energy to produce plump fruits.

Apart from being a place for cultivation, this grotto could also be used to raise spiritual fish.

Wang Yaozong identified numerous snake-catfish in the spiritual river, noting that their succulent flesh was particularly beneficial for cultivators. Moreover, a small spiritual field could be cultivated in the open space to grow water-attribute spiritual herbs.

In the current Great Song cultivation world, the social hierarchy has solidified. Not only are second-tier spiritual veins incredibly rare, but even low-grade first-tier ones are fiercely contested. Only in the deepest mountains and ancient forests might one find scattered first-tier spiritual veins; second-tier veins are almost unheard of.

With this territory, it would take less than a century for the Wang family to surely add several more cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refinement.

"Second Elder Uncle, Sixteenth Brother and the others must surely be aware of the underground anomalies here. For caution's sake, I suggest recalling Sixteenth Brother and his group to Green Lotus Mountain, assigning them less demanding tasks, and increasing their monthly stipends. I will personally oversee this location. As for Twenty-First Uncle, since he cultivates water-attribute techniques, he can remain here to practice."