Chapter Twenty: Returning to the Underwater Palace

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By night, the waters of the Hun River glimmered with radiant lights, the brilliance of the Wang family’s fleet casting shimmering, dreamy reflections across the surface. Within one of the cabins, Yang Nan and the girl in white sat across from each other, alternating between attack and defense as they practiced the Water Path techniques from the Mysterious Azure Water Manual.

When Yang Nan attacked, the girl in white defended; when she attacked, Yang Nan defended. The Water Path was infinitely versatile—its offensive forms could turn into blades, spears, swords, and halberds; its defensive forms could become shields, cloth, walls, or pillars, able to appear and disappear at will, truly wondrous. The manual once declared: “Water is the mother of all things, the softest under heaven, its forms myriad and ever-changing. Hardened, it becomes ice, unyielding and strong. The utmost softness cannot be guarded, the utmost hardness cannot be resisted. If one wields both softness and strength, all obstacles will fall.”

As his cultivation deepened, Yang Nan’s understanding of the Water Path grew ever more profound. The essence of these arts lay in probing the mysteries of heaven and earth. Though he had not set out to become a true adept of the Daoist arts, his ongoing practice of the Mysterious Azure Water Manual gradually revealed to him the hidden wonder of the Dao in all things.

Despite days of diligent cultivation, Yang Nan was still some distance from reaching the second level of the Adept’s realm. At that stage, he would be able to summon two azure dragon phantoms to draw spiritual energy. But even so, these were but phantoms; to reach the stage where, like Master Void-Step, one could split into twelve true forms, he would have to ascend to the rank of Daoist Venerable!

A Daoist Venerable is guarded by twelve spiritual entities, able to employ twelve different arts in an instant—truly a terrifying power! With magical artifacts in hand, Daoist Venerables were even more formidable, surpassed only by the martial Venerables of the Warrior Sect; neither Buddhist nor Confucian masters of the same rank could compare.

The marvels of Daoist arts were indeed inexhaustible.

Yang Nan was deeply engrossed, practicing with utmost focus, when suddenly the sound of rushing water resounded from the river. A figure leapt through the window. The butterfly-clad attendant, ever vigilant, sprang forward, but the newcomer was clad in green, his face plain and homely—was it not Yufu?

Yang Nan, interrupted in his demonstration, withdrew his water aura and rose. Seeing Yufu covered in blood, he was both startled and uncertain. It was clear Yufu had fought his way to the river after a bloody struggle—could something have happened to Yuniang?

As Yang Nan speculated, Yufu coughed up blood and, his voice feeble, gasped, “Master… please, save my sister…”

“It must be that treacherous flood dragon again, acting with ill intent!” Yang Nan immediately understood the situation. He turned to the girl in white and said, “Go fetch Brother Chiyang. Tell him there’s trouble beneath the river again.”

Noting her master’s grave expression, the girl in white hurried away. Yufu, in fits and starts, recounted what had transpired: after the flood dragon had sent Yang Nan away, he turned hostile, and Yuniang was seized by the Crab General, dragged into a cave and whipped. Indignant and unyielding, Yuniang suffered torture but refused to submit. The Crab General, enraged, bound her to a pillar and subjected her to cruel torment, intent on breaking her will but refraining from taking her life. Yufu, weak in power, could not even contend with the lesser monsters and was thrown into a water cell after being captured.

Yet the lesser demons, considering him too feeble, left him to his own devices in the cell. Knowing his sister was suffering, Yufu waited until the deep of night, when the guards were lax, and managed to slip away. But as soon as he emerged, he was discovered by sentries and struck several times before escaping to the river surface. The lesser demons, knowing there were two Daoists aboard the ship, dared not pursue and simply returned to report.

Yang Nan could not help but smile wryly at the endless troubles the fish siblings seemed to attract. “Truly, doing good brings no reward—no benefit, only more and more trouble!” Yet he also realized that with the flood dragon’s betrayal, it was not just the sibling spirits who were in danger; even Master Wang, owner of the fleet, was now marked. Once Yang Nan departed, the Wang family’s voyages would become perilous.

To receive another’s hospitality, to be served with such care, only to bring disaster upon them—no matter how he thought of it, it was simply not right.

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Chiyang soon arrived from the lower deck. Seeing Yufu’s bloodied and wretched state, he immediately grasped the situation. His face grave, he declared, “A-Nan, I fear there’s no peaceful resolution this time. It seems we must confront that flood dragon directly!”

A cold glint of killing intent flashed in Yang Nan’s eyes, and he nodded. “You are absolutely right, brother. If you strike a snake but fail to kill it, it will bring calamity for years to come. If we do not rid the river of this flood dragon and that crab, Master Wang will never again be able to sail safely through Deyang and Dejiang.”

Their resolve set, they left the two girls in white to tend Yufu’s wounds. Yang Nan formed a water-repelling seal, and with Chiyang plunged into the river, heading for the flood dragon’s lair.

This time, Yang Nan did not need Yuniang to guide him; he already knew the location of the lair. Preparing for imminent combat, he took out the Scroll of the Sages—a relic made from the hide of an ancient, monstrous fish, impervious to fire and water. Though Yang Nan possessed Daoist arts, the flood dragon and crab were not foes to be underestimated. Just in case, he also retrieved the small bronze coin hanging at his chest, which since emitting its mystical light on Green Brush Mountain, had remained dark and unremarkable. Yang Nan knew the coin’s power was extraordinary; with danger imminent, he could only hope it would reveal its might once more.

Navigating through the eerie, rocky valleys beneath the river, Yang Nan soon reached the entrance of the flood dragon's cave. The shrimp sentries at the gate, seeing the two approach, immediately flung aside their spears and fled into the cave, shouting, “Disaster! Master, trouble is upon us!”

This time, Chiyang showed no mercy. Five small swords of flame spun around him, and wielding the Fire Yuan Sword, he dispatched the fleeing shrimp and crab soldiers with single, decisive strokes.

Yang Nan, too, gathered water energy in his core and conjured an ice sword. Though still young, he had studied swordsmanship at the Duke’s manor and was more than a match for these lesser monsters. Following close behind Chiyang, he thrust and parried with practiced skill, displaying the poise of a true adept.

Within the cave, the flood dragon, having learned of Yufu’s escape and anticipating the Daoists’ arrival, was enraged by the sounds of his minions’ screams. With a sinister glare, he turned to the Crab General and said, “Brother, these impudent Daoists have dared to attack our lair! Let us kill them both, and have our underlings devour their corpses. Their sect will never know what became of them!”

The Crab General clashed his massive pincers together and replied, “Well said, brother! These wild Daoists have gone too far. We shall make them regret it!” Backed by the powerful flood dragon, the crab’s courage soared. He was eager to avenge his previous humiliation.

The flood dragon, grasping a long spear gleaming with blue light, sneered. “Two wild Daoists dare to act so brazenly in my Dejiang waters? I’ll pierce them with this Dragon Horn Spear and see who dares challenge the might of the river!”

The spear in his hand was forged from a horn he had grown over a thousand years of cultivation. Centuries ago, when he stirred up storms, the Hun River god captured and severely punished him, causing him to lose that hard-won dragon horn. Upon becoming a river lord, he refined the horn into a spear, which greatly increased his power.

The two monsters emerged from the cave to find their minions dead and wounded all around. The flood dragon roared, “Wretch! How dare you harm my river kin?”

Chiyang, seeing the dragon emerge, laughed heartily. “You treacherous beast! You dare deceive us? I’ll see you wiped out—then you’ll know the might of human Daoists!”

The flood dragon sneered, “Such boastful words!” With a flick of his spear, he sent a flurry of dazzling spear flowers toward Chiyang. As a disciple of the Warrior Sect, Chiyang had first mastered martial arts before delving into sorcery. His swordsmanship was already that of a grandmaster. Seeing the flood dragon forsake magic for martial skill, he was delighted, and met spear with sword.

The flood dragon, versed in some dragon clan techniques, made his spear whirl like snowflakes drifting through the air, making it seem as if Chiyang were surrounded by countless icy spear points. Chiyang smiled coldly, raising his Fire Yuan Sword—unleashing the Fire Hao Sword Technique, a blaze of crimson light and murderous intent!

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The two were evenly matched, their battle fierce and unyielding. Off to the side, the Crab General, seeing the bearded swordsman held at bay by the flood dragon, set his sights on the lone young boy. Grinning hideously, he lunged at Yang Nan with his enormous pincers.

These pincers, transformed from his own claws, gleamed with a black luster—they were formidable magical weapons. In the water, they suddenly became two massive hands reaching for Yang Nan. But Yang Nan only chuckled, invoked the Water Concealment Art, and vanished into the depths. The Crab General, a master of aquatic arts, grew even more confident seeing the boy attempt to match him in his own domain.

With a shout of “Now!” he transformed his pincers into two black ribbons, stirring up a dense black fog that filled the water, plunging the surroundings into darkness. In this miasma, Yang Nan’s concealment was rendered useless, and his figure appeared at once.

Delighted, the Crab General manipulated the black ribbons to encircle Yang Nan. Realizing danger, Yang Nan knew his Water Path was far inferior to the crab’s. He drew forth the Scroll of the Sages and began to recite its maxims. A sphere of golden light enveloped him. The black ribbons wrapped him tightly, but could not penetrate the golden aura. The Crab General was stunned—what kind of treasure was this, that even his own Black Curtain Pincers could not harm the boy?

Yang Nan recited faster and faster, the golden light blazing ever brighter, until the black ribbons binding him began to fray and split. The Crab General howled, “Cursed brat! You’re breaking my treasure—my Black Curtain Pincers!” Distraught over his weapon, he had no choice but to retract his ribbons.

Yang Nan seized the moment, vanishing again with the Water Concealment Art to appear behind the giant crab. In the riverside villages, it was common knowledge that the back was a crab’s blind spot—press a crab’s shell, and it was helpless, unable to escape. Even as a spirit, the Crab General could not overcome this flaw.

Yang Nan kicked him hard from behind, sending the Crab General sprawling to the riverbed. Seizing the advantage, Yang Nan pressed down and stabbed wildly with his ice sword. Though he could not wield the most powerful arts, his ice blades were his only means of attack.

Yet the Crab General’s armored shell was impenetrable, and after many strikes, Yang Nan had not left a scratch. The Crab General, lying prone, chuckled, “Boy, let me up! Your little blades can’t harm me. Best surrender now!” He struggled mightily, and had it not been for the righteous aura of the Confucian sect protecting Yang Nan, the crab’s immense strength would have flung him away long ago.

Frustrated by the crab’s arrogance, Yang Nan’s chants grew more intense, the golden light pressing ever more firmly down. The Crab General staggered upright but could not shake Yang Nan off, no matter how he thrashed. Desperate, he darted and spun through the water, but could not reach his own back.

Yang Nan clung on, his strength waning. He thought, “This crab’s shell is invulnerable, but surely his limbs and eyes are not so hard?” Acting on this, he turned his ice sword against the crab’s legs and eyes. This sent a thrill of terror through the Crab General—how did this whelp know his weak points?

Panicked, he struggled all the harder. As the power of the Scroll of the Sages was nearly exhausted and Yang Nan could barely hold on, the bronze coin at his chest suddenly rang out with a clear note, releasing a rainbow-hued divine light that enveloped him. The light arrived just in time—Yang Nan was overjoyed. With the coin’s help, he felt as immovable as a mountain, and the Crab General beneath him was quickly overwhelmed.

“Boy! What sorcery is this? Get off me at once!” Under the crushing weight of the divine light, the Crab General felt as if a mountain had been placed upon him, the pressure so great he could barely breathe...