A cascade of system notifications chimed in Luo Zhen's mind. At the same time, the Great Green Fish and the Carp Demon stared in disbelief as the oppressive Yin energy around them evaporated into nothing.
In just a few short minutes, the entire peninsula had been picked clean.
Luo Zhen's eyes snapped open, a flicker of confusion in their serpentine depths. The flow of energy had stopped.
"What in the world…" the Great Green Fish stammered. "Brother Snake, what did you just do?"
"Nothing much," Luo Zhen replied with a lazy smile, glancing around. "Time was running out, so I figured I'd go for one last big pull. Did I… drain the whole place?"
"It's not a question of if," the Great Green Fish said, a wry grin on his face. "You drained it dry. This is just a normal peninsula now."
"That's it? It only took a few minutes," Luo Zhen complained, a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"There was never much to begin with," the Great Green Fish explained. "This place isn't sitting on any ley lines, so the energy doesn't replenish. Every bit we took was a bit gone for good. After a month of us absorbing it, this was inevitable."
Suddenly, the Carp Demon's head whipped around. "Look! The Famous Blade Sect is back!"
Luo Zhen followed his gaze. Sure enough, a line of figures was approaching in the distance. It was that time of the month again—the obligatory duel for the right to spend the next month cultivating on the peninsula. They marched forward, blades gleaming, but their leader, Peng Yue, was missing. In his place stood a powerfully built, unfamiliar martial artist.
"Fish and snake demons!" yelled He Cai, the vice sect master. "Today's the day you pay! We brought a real master this time, and we're getting our revenge!"
"Revenge! Revenge!" the other sect members echoed, their voices a chaotic roar.
Luo Zhen rolled his eyes. "Revenge for what?" he drawled, flicking his tongue. "Do me a favor. Take a moment and really feel the air around you. Notice anything missing?"
"What are you talking about?" He Cai scowled, but a flicker of doubt crossed his face. He closed his eyes, extending his senses.
A moment later, his eyes shot open. The entire Famous Blade Sect erupted in confusion.
"What the hell? The Yin energy… It's gone!"
"How is that possible?"
"Inside! Check the core of the peninsula!"
They scrambled into the depths of the small island, their shouts fading. A few minutes later, they trudged back, their shoulders slumped in defeat.
"It's really gone," He Cai announced, his voice flat. "There's no reason for us to be here. We're leaving."
Without another word, he turned and walked away, his dejected followers trailing behind him.
"Well, that was simple," Luo Zhen remarked, watching them go.
"No profit, no fight," the Great Green Fish chuckled. "Looks like our monthly brawls with the humans are over."
"A conflict of interest is a powerful thing," Luo Zhen agreed. "Let's head back."
As they swam, Luo Zhen pulled up his internal attribute panel. The month-long trip had been a success. His Yin energy had skyrocketed to 4,800 points, far more than the 1,000 needed for his next evolution.
The energy is sorted, he thought. Now, I just need the experience points.
He was so lost in thought that he almost missed it. As they approached his home territory, he saw a crowd of figures shimmering in the water outside his nest. Fish demons, and a lot of them.
"What's going on?" he hissed, propelling himself forward with a powerful flick of his tail.
The Great Green Fish and Carp Demon exchanged a nervous glance and followed close behind. As they drew nearer, a familiar Turtle Demon spotted them and paddled frantically in their direction.
"Lord Snake! You're finally back!" the turtle cried, relief washing over his face. He then noticed the others. "And Lord Green Fish, Lord Carp! You're here too! Thank goodness!"
"What's the emergency?" Luo Zhen asked.
"It's a messenger from the Armored Crocodile!" the turtle explained breathlessly. "He's here and asking for the three of you by name!"
"A messenger?" Luo Zhen froze. "What for?"
"He wouldn't say. Only that he needs to speak with all three of you."
"Where is he now?"
"Inside your nest, my lord!"
A grim silence fell between the three of them. "Brother Snake," the Great Green Fish said, his voice low and serious, "this doesn't feel right. Why would the Armored Crocodile send for the three of us all of a sudden?"
"He's right," the Carp Demon added, his voice trembling slightly. "We're not exactly in his inner circle. A personal summons can't be good news."
"Only one way to find out," Luo Zhen said, his voice steady. He flicked his tongue once more and glided toward the entrance of his lair.
Inside, a massive, gray-skinned toad sat as if he owned the place. This, apparently, was the Armored Crocodile's envoy.
The toad's eyelids slowly lifted, and he peered down his nose at Luo Zhen. "So, you're the snake who replaced the Six-Eyed Flying Fish."
"I am," Luo Zhen replied, his tone perfectly even.
"Hmph!" the toad sneered, his voice booming in the enclosed space. "This entire territory belongs to Boss Crocodile! Did you think you could replace one of his lieutenants without reporting in?"
"I was getting around to it," Luo Zhen said coolly. A single, glistening drop of venom slid from the tip of his fang, a silent warning. Even a powerful dragon thinks twice before messing with a local snake, and this toad, with its meager demon-spirit strength, was pushing his luck. Luo Zhen was showing respect for the Crocodile's sake, but his patience was wearing thin.
The toad must have sensed the shift in the air—the sudden, sharp spike of killing intent. He cleared his throat, his arrogant posture softening almost imperceptibly. "I am here on a mission from the Boss."
"What mission?" Luo Zhen asked, his expression unreadable.
"Ahem." The toad puffed out his chest, clasping his webbed hands behind his back. "By order of the great Armored Crocodile! The Black Snake, the Great Green Fish, and the Carp Demon are hereby commanded to venture into the Chaotic Waters, where you will seize new territory in his name! That is all!"
"What? The Chaotic Waters?!" the Carp Demon shrieked, his face turning pale.
The Great Green Fish just stood there, his expression grim, his silence more damning than any outburst.
From their reactions alone, Luo Zhen knew one thing for certain: the Chaotic Waters was a place you didn't want to go.
"The order has been delivered," the toad declared, turning to leave. "You are to depart immediately. Boss Crocodile expects you to conquer at least one hundred li of territory. Do not return until you have done so." He paused at the entrance, adding over his shoulder, "And if you dare to disobey… he will personally hunt you down and boil you for soup."
The moment the toad was gone, the Carp Demon exploded. "I knew it! I told you nothing good comes from that damned Crocodile! The Chaotic Waters? He's sending us to die!"
The Great Green Fish was still silent, his face a mask of cold fury.
"What exactly is this place?" Luo Zhen asked, his curiosity piqued. "You both look like you've seen a ghost."
"It's worse than dangerous—it's a slaughterhouse!" the Carp Demon spat. "The name says it all. It's chaos. There are no rules, no mercy. Fights break out if you look at someone the wrong way. It's a constant bloodbath!"
Luo Zhen's eyes narrowed. "The demons there must be powerful. You're both at the Earth Profound Realm, but you sound terrified."
"Of course they are! Why else would we be so panicked?" the Carp Demon sighed, then looked at Luo Zhen. "You've really never heard of it?"
"First time. Give me the details."
"Alright," the Carp Demon said, collecting himself. "The Chaotic Waters are infamous. Probably a third of the demons in this entire lake know the name. First, there's the lawlessness. It's a free-for-all killing field. But there's another reason: it's rich. Unimaginably rich. It's a black market for anything and everything you could ever dream of. If you have the coin, you can buy it."
He leaned in closer. "I'm not just talking about normal cultivation items. I'm talking about legendary artifacts, human women… even the offspring of humans and demons. Half-breeds."
"You can buy people?" Luo Zhen asked, genuinely shocked.
"If you have the money, you can buy anything," the Carp Demon confirmed.
"Money? You mean there's currency here?"
"Spirit stones," he explained. "Ever since we all gained sentience, we've started imitating human commerce. Spirit stones are the coin of the realm."
"I see."
"That's why everyone is so desperate to claim a piece of it," the Carp Demon went on. "The business is so good, the wealth flowing through there is insane. Demons are constantly fighting and dying over scraps of territory. The place is crawling with monsters far more powerful than us. For the three of us to go there and try to conquer land… It's a suicide mission."
"He's right," the Great Green Fish finally said, his voice heavy. "The Armored Crocodile is sending us to our graves. When it comes down to it, we're not his trusted men, so our lives are expendable."
Luo Zhen considered their words. "So, what's your plan?"
"Plan?" The Great Green Fish shook his head. "There is no plan. It's a dead end. We die if we go, and if we stay, the Crocodile will find an excuse to kill us for disobeying. We're trapped."
"We could run!" the Carp Demon suggested desperately.
"And go where?" the Great Green Fish shot back. "Assuming the Crocodile doesn't hunt us down, we'd just have to find a new boss in a new territory. We'd be the outsiders, the ones nobody trusts, forced to do all the dirty work. How is that any different from what's happening now?"
The Carp Demon deflated, all hope draining from his face. "So we just… wait to die?"
Luo Zhen sighed. He felt for them, he really did. But their despair wasn't his. If things went south in the Black Water Lake, he could just leave. He could fly, and he could run on land. And while the Ghost Head Tiger was a threat in the Eastern Yue Kingdom, there was a whole other country, the Wu Kingdom, just on the other side of the lake. He could always just open up a new map.
"Brother Snake," the Great Green Fish asked, pulling him from his thoughts. "What are you going to do?"
Luo Zhen paused. "I think I'll check out the Chaotic Waters."
"Are you insane?" the Great Green Fish gasped. "We just told you, it's a death trap!"
Luo Zhen simply smiled.
He had already checked his internal map. The Chaotic Waters were filled with powerful demons, but very few who could truly threaten him. With his Water Light Shield for defense and his Red Lotus Fire for attack, he could go toe-to-toe with beasts far above his rank, maybe even those at the Heaven Profound Realm. Besides, the truly terrifying monsters stayed in the core of the territory. As long as he stuck to the outer edges and didn't go looking for trouble, he'd be fine.
But the most important factor, the one that sealed his decision, was the opportunity. A place rich in resources where he could hunt other demons freely?
For Luo Zhen, that meant one thing: a goldmine of experience points.
He was flush with Yin energy but starved for the XP to level up. This wasn't a death sentence; it was a godsend.
The Great Green Fish was still trying to talk him out of it. "Brother Snake, are you sure? It's not a joke."
"We'll just take a look," Luo Zhen said calmly. "If it's too much, we pull back. Simple as that."
The Great Green Fish considered this for a long moment, then nodded, a new resolve hardening his features. "Alright. If you're going, I'm going with you. It's not like I have any other choice."
"Me too!" the Carp Demon chimed in, a nervous energy about him. He looked at Luo Zhen, a flicker of a grin on his face. "Besides, Brother Snake is unbelievably strong. I saw him nearly incinerate the master of the Famous Blade Sect with a single breath of fire. Who knows? Maybe we actually can carve out a piece of that place for ourselves!"
"You know, he's right," the Great Green Fish said, a spark of hope in his eyes. "That fire… It's on another level."
"Good," Luo Zhen said, a cold glint in his serpentine eyes. "Since we're all in agreement, let's get going."
He turned toward the open water, his voice low and determined.
"Destination: the Chaotic Waters."