At the bottom of the Black Water River, inside a dark, watery cave along a cliff.

A transparent Water-Resistant Air Membrane enveloped Su Yu. With a slight ripple of his spine, like a great dragon, his body shot forward like a slippery fish, catching up to a pitch-black, long-whiskered Treasure Fish Ink Whisker Catfish.

"Fish Scale Shock!"

An invisible, high-frequency shockwave of water erupted from his position. The Ink Whisker Catfish, over two feet long, went rigid, flipped onto its back by the hidden current, its white belly exposed as it was knocked unconscious.

"SPLASH!"

Grabbing the fish by the gills, Su Yu leaped onto a stone platform inside the cave and casually tossed down his prize.

’There’s definitely something special about this place. Treasure fish keep showing up. If I follow the current, the source is probably in that bottomless subterranean channel.’

Su Yu’s gaze fell upon the pitch-black, deep entrance to the waterway behind the stone platform.

Before, his strength had been lacking. He could only venture a few dozen yards before the water pressure and the limits of his own breath forced him to retreat. But now, not only had he stepped into the Flesh Refining Realm, he had also cultivated the Bibo Fish Dragon Skill to Minor Achievement. His bones were dense, he could move through water as if he were a fish; he was a far cry from what he used to be.

’This time, I’m going to see what’s really at the source!’

Taking a deep breath, Su Yu plunged back into the water, following the twisting, winding subterranean channel with its surging undercurrents, delving deeper and deeper.

He swam through the darkness for over an hour.

"SPLASH!"

Su Yu finally broke the surface, gasping for air that was thick with the scent of dampness and decay.

He looked up. In the dim light, he could vaguely make out a spacious underground grotto ahead. What made his heart pound was the stone door set into the rock wall at the far end!

’An underwater mansion!’

Uncontainable ecstasy flashed in Su Yu’s eyes.

Having scraped by in the Black Water River for so long, he knew a true, great opportunity when he saw one.

In the Ancient Era, Immortal Buddhas, gods, and demons walked the earth. Any grotto-mansion left behind by one of those mighty beings would hold treasures capable of changing one’s destiny.

The three great families of Black Stone City had all risen to their current prominence by excavating underwater ruins!

More recently, the Jiang Family, to which Jiang Liuchuan belonged, had also found a water mansion. It wasn’t as grand as the ruins uncovered by the three great families.

Still, they had extracted astonishing wealth from it, allowing them to establish a foothold in Black Stone City and become a major house.

Su Yu forcibly suppressed his surging emotions, vaulted onto the shore, and walked softly to the stone door.

It was a heavy gate, carved from a single, massive slab of blue-black stone. Its surface was covered with the scars of water erosion and splotches of dark green moss. Faint, intricate, ancient patterns resembling clouds and water were barely visible, imbuing it with a profound sense of age and austere weight.

Su Yu placed his palms on the door and pushed, unleashing the terrifying power of the Flesh Refining Realm.

It didn’t budge an inch! The stone door felt as if it were fused with the mountain itself.

’Brute force isn’t enough?’

Su Yu’s brow furrowed. A mountain of treasure lay before him; he couldn’t possibly turn back now. If he couldn’t find a mechanism, he would just have to smash his way through with his bare fists!

’First, I’ll look for a mechanism.’

He immediately activated his Five Senses Divine ability, his heightened senses instantly sweeping over every inch of the area around the stone door.

Soon, he detected something unusual buried beneath a pile of rubble to the right.

After sweeping the rubble aside, he revealed a patch of intricate, though incomplete, patterns on the ground.

’It really is an array pattern!’

Su Yu had read about such things in ancient texts. The complex lines and archaic aura confirmed it: this was definitely from the Ancient Era.

But his excitement quickly gave way to frustration. The art of ancient arrays had been lost to time. Faced with these patterns, which were as incomprehensible as a divine scripture, he had no idea where to begin.

’I don’t have time for this. Brute force breaks all techniques!’

Su Yu took two steps back, his gaze turning sharp. With the explosive power of his Flesh Refining Realm, augmented by a Profound Tier Hard Skill, he could punch a hole through a gate of refined iron.

As long as the array didn’t have any offensive traps, this stone door wouldn’t stop him!

"White Ape Asks the Way!"

The Qi and Blood in Su Yu’s body roared like a river. A silvery membrane instantly enveloped his right arm as the Profound Silver Flow Armor covered his fist. With a shriek that tore through the air, he smashed it viciously against the twenty-foot-tall stone door!

"BOOM—!"

The deafening boom echoed throughout the grotto.

The instant his fist connected, a faint cyan halo lit up on the door’s surface, rippling like water. The stone door trembled violently, showering down dust and moss.

The moment after he threw the punch, Su Yu had already used Thunder Collapse Step to retreat dozens of yards, on full alert for any potential death traps he might have triggered.

He waited a moment. The grotto remained deathly still.

’It seems too much time has passed. The mansion’s defensive array has run out of power, with only the last dregs remaining.’

Su Yu relaxed and charged forward once more.

"Break!"

His iron fist, heavy as a mountain, smashed down again!

This time, with a dull THUD, the faltering cyan halo on the door flickered twice before extinguishing completely, like a candle in the wind.

Without the array’s protection, the heavy stone door could no longer withstand the explosive force of Su Yu’s terrifying Ming Jin.

"BANG!"

A thick crack spread from the point of impact, instantly spiderwebbing across the entire face of the door, its internal structure suffering irreversible damage.

’It’s working!’

Su Yu surged his Qi and Blood once more, his fists a tempest as he landed three more heavy blows in quick succession!

"RUMBLE!"

Under the relentless, brutal assault, the thick stone door finally collapsed, crumbling into countless head-sized chunks of rock that crashed to the ground. A cloud of dust billowed out, revealing a deep, dark passageway.

His expression tense, Su Yu listened carefully for a moment. After confirming he couldn’t hear the breath or heartbeat of any living thing inside, he waved his sleeve to disperse the dust, stepped over the rubble, and entered.

’It really is a whole new world in here!’

The passageway wasn’t long, opening into a spacious stone chamber dozens of yards across.

The moment he stepped inside, several pearls embedded in the ceiling began to glow with a soft, ethereal light, illuminating the Ancient Water Mansion that had been sealed for countless years.

The chamber’s furnishings were not luxurious, but they possessed the transcendent austerity of a place for quiet cultivation.

In the center of the room sat a naturally formed white jade table surrounded by a few rush-mat cushions. Simple stone bookshelves had been carved into the surrounding walls.

To the right, there was a white jade pool several yards wide. The water was crystal clear, fed by a small underground spring at its base before flowing back out through a hidden channel.

Su Yu’s gaze was immediately captivated by a strange plant in the center of the pool.

It was a lotus, rooted in the spiritual mud at the bottom of the pool. It looked like it should have had eight petals, but now only three remained. The petals were a deep, verdant green, as if carved from jadeite—crystalline and translucent, with a faint spiritual light flowing across their surface.

’This green lotus is a real treasure!’

Su Yu took a deep breath. A strange, crisp fragrance emanated from the lotus, invigorating his spirit and causing the Qi and Blood in his body to stir.

Memories flashed through his mind as he searched for a match, finally recalling an aquatic treasure from an ancient text that seemed to fit the description.

’The *Compendium of Marvels* states: "In ancient times there was a rare treasure known as the Nine-Revolutions Green Lotus. This lotus roots itself in spiritual mud, absorbing the very essence of water. It grows one petal every century. After nine hundred years, it reaches its zenith, blooming with nine petals and bearing a Lotus Seed of Creation. Its petals can cleanse the muscles and purify the marrow, purging all mortal impurities from the body, causing one’s Qi and Blood to become as vast as the abyss and as boundless as the sea—a true rebirth."’