Chapter 414: Chapter 179: The Marquis Yongshan’s Contingency Plan (2)

Shen Can asked about the last time the Water Beast tribe appeared and where, then dove back into the water.

Of course, he didn’t spare the grizzly bear, accepting it as his own mount.

A fortnight later.

Outside a vast expanse of water at the edge of mountains and rivers, a series of roars sounded, echoing from the water, turning the surface ripples into waves.

The water’s surface roared, with water vapor rising and then cascading back down, forming a rain spanning several miles.

Splash! Splash!

In the heavy rain, Deserted Whales with a bluish-black hue emerged, some over twenty zhang long, while others were four or five zhang, gathering to hunt a cluster of dense Water Beasts and schools of fish.

Deserted Whales continuously leaped, revealing underdeveloped limbs beneath their bellies, along with scattered, incomplete black scales on their bodies.

The black scales emitted black mystical light under the water, with Witch Patterns shimmering within, gathering countless amounts of water vapor that surged to the surface.

Near the Deserted Whales, Shen Can could clearly see the Lingyu Witch Patterns on their bodies.

Over a hundred Deserted Whales, each one possessing them, some even growing limbs under their bellies, were transforming into Lingyu.

After waiting for this pod of Deserted Whales to finish hunting, Shen Can followed them.

No one expected these guys to snack afterward, roaming around the Great Marsh for a while before heading to a deep water area.

Under the water lay submerged valleys and ravines, full of jagged rocks and teeming with fish and shrimp. This group of Deserted Whales traversed deep gorges, diving down more than four hundred zhang.

At this moment, the underwater world was dark, but the eyes of the Deserted Whales glowed like lanterns, swimming straight to the end of the gorge.

One by one, they perched between the rocks, their massive heads pointing toward the rock wall at the gorge’s end.

At the gorge’s end, Shen Can discovered that below the rock wall, there was a large rift slanting downward. As his Divine Sense entered, he found the terrain below was full of rises and falls.

After carefully inspecting the area, he descended further down.

Landing on a high point within the rift, Shen Can extended his Divine Sense, noticing around ten or so skeletons settled in mud and rocks on the waterbed.

The skeletons were incomplete, but he could still recognize them as Lingyu bones.

When Shen Can retrieved a fist-sized seal from beneath a pile of bones, he was taken aback.

"Imperial Decree Water!"

The familiar script, familiar seal, same material.

He began searching the underwater forest with his Divine Sense, yet the rift was incredibly deep, dark, and endlessly oppressive.

Unfortunately, after a thorough search, apart from scattered bones, nothing else was discovered.

Without directions to follow, only the recognition of an infinitely deep underground world, he marked his path as he went to avoid getting lost.

As he proceeded, a shadow suddenly lunged at him.

Immense water vapor was mobilized immediately, pressing down from all directions.

In the instant the shadow moved, Shen Can captured it with his Divine Sense.

It was a Turtle Beast with its shell covered in aquatic plants.

Unexpectedly, he encountered the Old Turtle after all.

Roar!

In an instant, Shen Can transformed into the Kui Ox Divine Form, his enormous body supporting a watery screen underwater, striking a punch directly at the incoming turtle shell.

Underwater, a terrifying burst of energy exploded, and the massive crashing turtle shell lit up with numerous Witch Talismans, clashing against Shen Can’s fist projection through the watery screen.

Roar!

A long-whiskered Old Turtle emerged from within the shell, its lantern-like blue eyes fixated on Shen Can.

"Stop!"

Rumble!

As the Old Turtle spoke, it was met with a second palm imprint.

Within the palm, mountains and rivers swirled in the water, swallowing the floodwaters like a bottomless pit and then cascading down onto the Old Turtle.

Rumble!

The Old Turtle, frightened, quickly retreated into its shell, pushed by the violent energy, crashing into two underwater mountains.

Crack!

A shattering sound echoed, and the turtle shell covered in dense Water Element Witch Patterns instantly cracked open.

Inside the cracked shell appeared a seemingly clean turtle shell.

"Stop!"

"I am the third-generation Turtle Guardian."

"I have a credential."

The Old Turtle swiftly spat out a seal from its mouth.

When it looked at Shen Can’s Kui Ox War Body, its eyes were filled with excitement.

"Is the army coming?"

"How did he come from this side?"

"Our ancestors said he should have come from the other side of the Dark River."

...

"Sir, I am the third-generation guardian under the Rain Master of the Yongshan Bo Division, tasked with guarding the Dark River for three thousand three hundred and seventy-three years."

After Shen Can stopped, the Old Turtle quickly swam up to Shen Can, scrutinizing him with its eyes.

The Bo Division method, the Kui Ox Divine Form, unmistakable.

"Are you the only one guarding this place?"

Shen Can handed the seal back to the Old Turtle.

"Yes, when I first took on the guardianship, there was a group of Lingyu. They weren’t long-lived, some died, and I don’t know where the remaining ones have gone."

At this moment, Shen Can suddenly asked, "More than a hundred years ago, did you go somewhere else in the Great Marsh?"

The Turtle City Guardian was startled, "Yes, my life span is nearing its end. According to ancestral tradition, I wanted to find a young turtle in the Great Marsh to pass on my legacy."

"How many years of life do you have left?"

"About eight hundred years, I guess."

"..."

Shen Can was a bit speechless.

But seeing the seriousness on the Old Turtle’s face, and thinking about guarding this dark underwater place for so many years, it truly is commendable.

"Sir, how did you come from this side?"

"Did you climb over mountains and ridges from above? Then wouldn’t my guarding of the Dark River be meaningless."

"It has meaning."

Shen Can assuredly said, then continued, "Is the Dark River passable?"

"It is passable. Not long ago, during my slumber, I sensed the flow of water."

"However, I was ordered to guard this place and not wander around, so I haven’t gone to investigate."

...

"Sir, where is your Military Token?"

After speaking, the Old Turtle stared intently at Shen Can, its eyes as large as blue lanterns, reflecting the entirety of Shen Can.

"The Bo Division was destroyed eight thousand years ago."

Shen Can quickly said, "I inherited the legacy of the Marquis."

The massive body of the Old Turtle shook, staring at Shen Can for a long time.

"Follow me."

The tone was not as before, and appeared somewhat icy.

One man and one turtle delved another thousand miles along the Dark River, and then the Old Turtle retracted into its shell.

"With the Bo Division destroyed, what should I do?"

Retreating into its shell, the Old Turtle fell into deep thought.

The legacy it received from the previous generation was to guard this place, waiting for the Bo Division to arrive.

But those it awaited no longer exist, so what is the meaning of its actions?

Shen Can extended his Divine Sense, observing the place the Old Turtle brought him to.

Here too was a stretch of undulating forests, but past this underwater forest, the terrain became noticeably flatter.

In the water were small-eyed fish beasts with a slight luminescent sheen on their bodies.

After scanning the area with his Divine Sense, he arrived at a small cliff underwater.

The underwater mountain was smooth and appeared blackish-brown.

As Shen Can pressed his palm against the rock face, a gleam of water light suddenly brightened up.

The winding Witch Pattern was like a radiant moon, instantly illuminating the surrounding darkness.

The Witch Patterns flickered and intertwined, forming a Fivefold Seal.

The first layer on the outside was the Water Element Kui Ox, the second was the Profound Turtle with Spirit Wood on its shell, the third was the Great Ape roaring to the sky, the fourth was a soil-colored Qilin, and the last resembled the Golden-winged Tiger of Luwu.

Five Beast Form Seals, with the Kui Ox outside sealing the exterior with Water Power, and able to draw Source Power from the water, ensuring the seal remained energized and not dispersed.

...

Seeing Shen Can identify the seal in one step, the Old Turtle poked its head out of the shell.

The reason the seal could function, besides the replenishment of Water Source Power, was also due to its periodic repairs.

Back then, to open this seal required five Garrison Soldiers to act simultaneously. If the person in front of him could open this seal, it truly meant he had inherited the Marquis’s legacy.

If he couldn’t...

While the Old Turtle was still pondering, multicolored lights burst forth, and amidst the roars of the beasts, Shen Can disappeared from its sight.