Chapter 80

Zhen Bao suddenly bent over the deck of the boat, remaining silent, pretending no one was on board. Although this creature seemed quite intelligent and might not be easily deceived, he had no other choice but to give it a try!

He held his breath and quietly looked down, watching the black shadow pass under the boat again and again. Each time, a slight tremor and a creaking sound came from below, but he couldn't tell if it was the creature's dorsal fin or something else brushing against the bottom of the boat. He felt a chill run down his spine, a sense of unease.

The surroundings were completely silent, even the birds on the cliff had stopped chirping!

The entire canyon was as silent as a grave, with only the gentle sound of the flowing water. The only thing that could be heard was the creaking sound from the creature, which grew louder and louder, as if it were right next to his ear—Zhen Bao watched for a long time, unsure of what to do, and began to search his clothes for something useful.

When he reached into his pocket, he only found a wine flask...

It was the same flask he had brought from the inn, a round porcelain bottle, not very large, and the wine had already spilled out when he fell into the water at the Stone Gate Ferry. The inside was now empty. Zhen Bao grimaced and then looked around the boat for anything else.

There was nothing else on the boat except for a few live fish in the live fish tank, which were now huddled together; two broken oars, a ball of fishing net, some bamboo strips, a wooden bucket, and a water scoop... The only thing that might be useful was a rusty short knife, which wasn't very sharp.

Before he could think of how to deal with the creature, the shadow under the water suddenly disappeared!

Zhen Bao guessed that the creature was about to attack, and quickly grabbed the boat's side tightly—just as he did, he felt the boat shake violently, accompanied by a loud noise, and the boat was actually lifted out of the water!

It then fell heavily, swaying and shaking violently!

In the chaos, a white mass of something emerged from the water, flashed, and then quickly returned to the bottom, disappearing again.

Zhen Bao thought to himself, "This thing is very strong. If I do nothing, the boat will surely be capsized, and I will end up in the water, where it will have the upper hand, and I will surely be eaten—no, I must fight, I can't let it control me!"

He suddenly grabbed the bamboo pole and used the small knife to break it at one end, leaving half of it as a bamboo spear. He stood on the boat, raised it high, and looked for the black shadow—suddenly, he saw the black shadow come from under the water again. Zhen Bao took a deep breath and leaped high, thrusting the bamboo pole down with all his might as he fell!

Bang!

Zhen Bao felt a powerful force in his hands, unsure if he had hit the target. He was thrown back onto the deck by the recoil, his body aching, and his hands and feet were cut by the bamboo strips.

He felt the boat spinning in the river, but he didn't have time to think about it. Zhen Bao quickly got up and rushed to the riverbank, just as he was about to look into the water, a hand suddenly appeared in front of him!

He had seen the creature's arm at the Stone Gate Ferry before, but not so close. Now, looking closely, he found it terrifying, with green veins protruding from the pale skin, looking bizarre and eerie, and sending a chill down his spine.

The hand, though soft and boneless, was very strong. As Zhen Bao leaned forward, it suddenly rose like an octopus tentacle, then contracted and pulled him in!

Zhen Bao had no time to react and couldn't avoid it. In a moment of crisis, he grabbed the live fish tank cover and smashed it at the hand—there was a crack, and the wooden cover was torn into pieces, scattering all over the boat.

Taking advantage of this brief respite, Zhen Bao saw the short knife on the deck and grabbed it, thrusting it at the arm, hoping to pierce it. However, the arm was slippery, and the knife deflected.

The arm was stiff, like a wooden stick coated in oil, offering no resistance!

Zhen Bao was slightly stunned and didn't have time to react when a hand suddenly grabbed his back, firmly holding his shoulder! It turned out the creature wasn't climbing up the side of the boat but was clinging to the bottom, with both hands reaching up.

The cold hand that grabbed him from behind was quickly followed by another hand that wrapped around his arm, with a force like an iron band, making him unable to move!

"Damn it!" Zhen Bao shouted, turning the knife in his hand and thrusting it at the arm—just as he raised it, another pale arm came from the side, grabbing his wrist...

Not just one!

In a moment, dozens of arms emerged from under the boat, grabbing Zhen Bao and the boat's side, and with a powerful force, the boat creaked and cracked, breaking into pieces of different sizes.

Zhen Bao felt his feet give way, and he fell into the water through the cracks!

In the chaos, he forced his eyes open, expecting the deep river to be dark, but to his surprise, the water was clear and transparent, almost like daylight!

However, this clarity was of no benefit to Zhen Bao, as it allowed him to see the terrifying sight in front of him! It was like a hell!

Less than three feet in front of him, there were countless eyes, perhaps hundreds or thousands, all embedded in a large head, connected by red, vein-like structures, with countless crimson veins floating around. Behind it was a large, fog-like shadow, with a tail about ten meters long and dozens of pale arms connected to the black fog, like a giant centipede or a giant aquatic plant.

The countless eyes stared at Zhen Bao coldly, like sharp knives!

The arms were still crushing the wooden boards, and pieces of wood and debris were falling past him. Zhen Bao saw the short knife not far away and, with a sudden burst of strength, twisted his body and kicked at the cluster of eyes!

He felt his feet give way, but he didn't have time to think. He kicked hard and reached for the knife!

With a burst of strength, his body straightened!

The small details, like mosquitoes, snapped—Zhen Bao had only intended to grab the knife, but the sudden burst of strength made him feel lighter, and he was suddenly pulled out of the water...

Along with the arm that was holding him!

Zhen Bao turned and saw that the arms... were indeed human arms!

The arms were severed at the shoulder, with blood and flesh still attached to the bone, but a black, smoky substance wrapped around the wounds, like cotton being stretched—Zhen Bao was momentarily stunned, and the smoky substance suddenly contracted, pulling the arm back!

It turned out these... were all parts taken from dead bodies and attached to the creature!

Zhen Bao's mind raced, trying to figure out what kind of creature this was from the "Record of Gods and Ghosts"—while he was thinking, the water creature didn't stop, suddenly breaking through the waves and lunging at him.

If anyone else had been in the water for so long, they would have suffocated and passed out, but Zhen Bao still had the strength to fight. The water creature, not expecting this, was enraged and attacked with all its might!

It aimed to kill with one strike!

Zhen Bao couldn't dodge and was grabbed by dozens of arms from the creature's tail, and then by countless other arms on his body. The force was so great that his bones creaked, and he felt as if his internal organs were being torn apart, like being cut by countless sharp knives. In a moment of desperation, he had no choice but to raise the short knife and stab at the arms!

In the chaos, he vaguely thought of something, but couldn't grasp it, only feeling that this was the right thing to do to break free!

He didn't know why he had this feeling, but he acted on it in the crisis.

The knife slid off the arm again, but this time, the force was so great that he accidentally stabbed himself in the chest and abdomen!

Blood immediately gushed from the wound.

The blood mixed with the water, making it murky, but Zhen Bao's mind became clear in the pain: "This blood... it's good, I still have blood! If blood can control evil people, it can also control this creature!"

Ignoring the pain from his wound, he writhed and struggled, letting more blood mix with the water. He opened his eyes wide, watching the arms come into contact with the blood!

Sure enough, when the arms touched the blood, they developed light spots, which grew darker and more numerous, like moss spreading over the entire arm, quickly decaying!

The ghostly blood, being the most yin substance in the world, caused the creature's body to rapidly decay, even to the bone—before it reached the bone, the smoky tentacles retreated like burning, curling up!

The eyes on the first arm that touched the blood fell off the black shadow and slowly sank to the bottom of the river.

It was afraid!

Zhen Bao didn't want to escape, but he looked around and saw a broken fishing net floating in front of him. He grabbed the net, covering his abdomen with one hand and spreading the net with the other, plunging himself into the fog. Blood gushed out...

For some reason, the creature's movements slowed, and it only began to turn around.

Suddenly, there was a hissing sound, like snow melting in fire, as the smoky fog was rapidly dissolved by the blood—countless dark spirits fled outward, creating whirlpools in the water!

A withered, shriveled thing was revealed!

It had eight heads and faces, a tiger's body with a human face, eight legs, and eight tails, and was greenish-yellow, spewing black smoke and clouds, like a giant water dragon, but short and wide... Zhen Bao suddenly recognized it:

Tian Wu!

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