Chapter 154: Battle
Fang Hao was like a lump of rock, shrinking behind that large boulder, not daring to breathe a single heavy breath, his eyes wide like copper bells, staring intently at the small black boat slowly swaying on the lake surface.
The three people from Xuan Shui Pavilion clearly weren’t easy to deal with. Two men at the Early Golden Core Stage; one had a square face and eyes like a hawk, scanning back and forth, while the other was tall and thin, holding a compass-like object, looking down at it from time to time. The remaining one was a woman at the Great Perfection Foundation Establishment stage; she looked quite pretty, but her eyes were also very crafty, and she held several Talismans in her hand, looking ready to strike at any moment.
"Damn it, people from Xuan Shui Pavilion have their eyes on Meteor Star Lake too? They moved fast!" Fang Hao cursed inwardly. These water-users were like they were back home once they reached the lakeside; their advantage was too great. That small black boat was clearly no ordinary item; it glided across the water quickly and steadily without making a sound.
The small boat wandered on the lake for nearly an hour, moving east then west, as if searching for something. The tall, thin man would occasionally dip the compass into the water and then shake his head.
"Senior Brother, the compass induction is still very weak, coming and going, I can’t pin down a location," the tall, thin man said with a frown to the square-faced man. His voice wasn’t loud, but Fang Hao’s Divine Sense was strong, and he heard it clearly.
The square-faced Senior Brother’s expression was somewhat unsightly. "It seems that’Star Core’ is hidden very deep, or it’s being interfered with by the meteorite’s own magnetic field. Keep looking! The Elder said there is definitely a companion Star Core in this lake, at least a Tier 4 Material, which would be of great benefit to our sect’s water-attribute Cultivation Technique. We must not miss it!"
"Star Core?" Fang Hao’s ears perked up. Good stuff! You could tell from the name it was related to the stars in the sky; it must be a treasure nurtured within a meteorite! No wonder these guys were so intent on it.
After searching for a while longer, the boat approached the largest floating meteorites in the center of the lake. Getting closer, Fang Hao finally saw clearly that these meteorites were truly massive, like small mountains, pitch black and pitted on the surface, even emitting a faint suction that caused the surrounding mist to swirl around them.
Suddenly, the tall, thin man holding the compass let out a low cry of pleasant surprise: "There’s a reaction! It’s under the largest meteorite on the left! The water is very deep!"
The square-faced Senior Brother’s spirits rose. "Good! Let’s go take a look! Be careful, I heard that people from the Qingyang Sect and the Black Fiend Sect had a fight here before and neither side gained anything. There might be an ambush."
The small boat slid silently toward the largest meteorite. Upon reaching it, the three became even more cautious. The square-faced Senior Brother signaled to stop, then leaped up, landing lightly on the meteorite’s surface. He crouched down, pressed his palm against the stone, and closed his eyes to sense.
Watching from a distance, Fang Hao’s heart felt itchy. A Star Core! It sounded awesome! If he could get his hands on it... but he didn’t dare move. There were three of them, coordinating perfectly; if he rushed out recklessly, he would definitely be delivering himself on a silver platter. He could only wait—wait for an opportunity!
After a while, the square-faced Senior Brother opened his eyes, a hint of joy appearing on his face. "That’s right! The Star Core is right below, the energy is very pure! However... it seems something is guarding it." His expression turned solemn again.
"There’s a guardian Demon Beast?" The tall, thin man and the Female Disciple both became tense.
"I’m not sure, but the energy fluctuations underwater are a bit abnormal." The square-faced Senior Brother pondered for a moment. "I’ll go down to check. You guys support from above and stay alert!"
Having said that, he performed a Water-Repelling Art, a layer of blue light shimmering on his body. With a splash, he dove into the lake, his figure quickly disappearing into the dark waters.
Only the tall, thin man and the Female Disciple remained on the lake surface, controlling the small boat to slowly circle around the meteorite, staring tensely at the water.
Time passed bit by bit, and it was quiet beneath the lake surface, without the slightest movement. On the shore, Fang Hao was waiting so long he almost started dozing off.
Suddenly!
Boom!!!
A muffled explosion came from underwater, and the entire lake surface suddenly bulged upward! Immediately after, a massive water column shot into the sky! The square-faced Senior Brother’s figure was blasted out like a cannonball, spitting out a mouthful of blood while still in mid-air, his face deathly pale!
"Senior Brother!" the two on the boat cried out in alarm!
Splash! Amidst the splashing water, a massive dark shadow suddenly lunged out from underwater, opening its bloody maw to bite at the square-faced Senior Brother in mid-air!
It was a giant python! Its entire body was covered in silver scales, which shimmered with starlight-like glints, just like a meteorite! A single horn grew from its head, its eyes were cold vertical pupils, and its body was over thirty meters long. The Demonic Qi it emitted had actually reached the Medium Grade of Tier 4! It was even a notch stronger than the Thunder-Horned Azure-Scaled Beast Fang Hao had killed!
"It’s a Tier 4 Medium Grade ’Star-Spotted Water Python’! Quick, save Senior Brother!" the tall, thin man shouted in terror, violently throwing the compass in his hand, which turned into a streak of blue light and smashed toward the python’s head! The Female Disciple also hurriedly activated the Talismans in her hand, firing several ice spears at the giant python!
Bang! Bang! Bang! The attacks hit the python’s body, only creating a few sparks without even breaking the scales! The giant python ignored them completely, its tail whipping out like a steel lash toward the square-faced Senior Brother, who had no way to maneuver in mid-air!
The square-faced Senior Brother forced his spiritual power to circulate, summoning a blue shield to block in front of him!
Clang! Crack!
The shield was instantly smashed to pieces! The square-faced Senior Brother let out a miserable scream as he was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, slamming hard into the meteorite behind him. He spat out another mouthful of blood, clearly heavily injured!
"Vile beast!" The tall, thin man’s eyes turned red, and he summoned a water-blue Flying Sword, ready to fight for his life!
Having succeeded in its strike, the Star-Spotted Water Python’s cold vertical pupils glanced at the small boat. Seemingly deciding it wasn’t much of a threat, its massive body twisted, about to retreat back into the water.
Right at the moment when everyone’s attention was drawn by the water python!
A sudden change occurred!
An extremely obscure shadow, almost merging with the lake water, lunged silently from the deep water on the other side like a ghost, pouncing toward the bottom of the largest meteorite at an incredible speed! Its target was directed straight at the hidden Star Core!
This shadow’s speed was too fast, and its timing was extremely precise! It was exactly at the moment the water python appeared and the three from Xuan Shui Pavilion were in disarray!
"There’s someone else?!" Fang Hao saw it clearly from a distance and was startled! Such brilliant stealth and timing! This was someone trying to fish in troubled waters!
"How dare you, thief!" The injured square-faced Senior Brother also noticed, coughing up more blood in his rage as he let out a hoarse roar!
But the shadow ignored him completely, seemingly about to succeed!
Just then, the Star-Spotted Water Python, which was originally about to retreat into the water, also seemed to sense someone was moving its treasure. It let out a sudden, angry hiss, abandoning the three from Xuan Shui Pavilion. Its massive tail, carrying the force of ten thousand catties, lashed out fiercely at the shadow! Its speed was even faster!
Boom!
The water splashed thirty meters high! The shadow seemingly hadn’t expected the water python to react so quickly. In its haste, it took a direct hit and was sent flying backward, revealing its form in the air—it was actually a cold-faced Solitary Cultivator dressed in tight black clothes! His cultivation was also at the Early Golden Core Stage!
"Damn it!" the Black-Clothed Cultivator cursed, clearly having failed and been forced out.
With this, the scene was in complete chaos! The three from Xuan Shui Pavilion, the Star-Spotted Water Python, and the Black-Clothed Cultivator were in a three-way standoff! Everyone wanted the Star Core, but no one dared to move first, each wary of the others!
Fang Hao watched from a distance with his heart pounding, while also feeling secretly lucky. "Fortunately, I wasn’t impulsive! This water is muddy as hell!" With Demon Beasts and yellow sparrows everywhere, a fight had almost broken out.
He dared even less to move now, wishing they would start fighting, preferably until all sides were injured so he could fish for advantages.
But just then, his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes unintentionally swept across the other side of the lake, and his pupils suddenly constricted!
In that area of dense aquatic weeds, an almost transparent, flickering shadow was clinging to the lake bottom, moving toward the underside of the meteorite at an extremely slow and cautious pace! This shadow was hidden so well that even Divine Sense would find it hard to detect; if not for the Clear Spring Spirit Eyes seeing through the illusion, it wouldn’t have been discovered at all!
"Holy shit! Another one?!" Fang Hao’s scalp went numb! How many of them were there? Did someone poke a hornet’s nest at Meteor Star Lake? Why were there so many scheming bastards?!
This fourth fellow’s stealth methods were even more brilliant than the Black-Clothed Cultivator from before! Taking advantage of the three-way standoff and the distraction of their attention, this person was quietly raiding the base!
Fang Hao’s heart suddenly leaped into his throat. The attraction of this Star Core was just too great! Should he really get involved in this mess?
