Chapter 81: Disappointment

"Ah..."

In the narrow rock cave passage, Chen Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, casting a terrified glance at the cave entrance. His back was cold, and he was filled with fear. He had already moved far away from the entrance and dared not approach it again!

That strange fish king was too terrifying, with immense strength and an incredibly fast swimming speed, far beyond what a Blood Fusion realm cultivator could resist. It was currently lingering near the cave entrance, its massive body casting a large shadow. Its two large eyes emitted a fierce light, like lanterns, which was indescribably eerie.

If not for the narrow rock passage, which could only accommodate an adult man crawling in and out, Chen Chen would have been in real danger. Without a doubt, that strange fish king could easily kill him in the water!

"Damn, that scared the life out of me!" Chen Chen patted his chest, his face full of fear. If he hadn't escaped quickly just now, this life he had just saved would have been devoured by the fish again!

After calming down, Chen Chen also found it strange. Normally, black stone fish were about the size of a palm. Over the past few days, he had caught many, and the largest one he had caught was only a little over half a foot.

But the black stone fish king outside the cave was over ten feet long, with a stout body. A rough estimate would put its weight at several thousand pounds.

Such a massive creature appearing in this dark, underground river was already very strange. How could it be hiding inside that huge underwater stalagmite?

"Could it be..." Soon, Chen Chen suddenly thought of a possibility, which made his heart race and filled him with excitement.

Normal black stone fish were at most half a foot long, but that fish king had grown to such a size, which was clearly unreasonable, unless... it had eaten some kind of heavenly spirit item!

In the dark, endless underground river, the only heavenly spirit item that could exert such power seemed to be one.

"Could there really be a vein black crystal inside that huge stalagmite?" Chen Chen trembled with excitement. Although he had found remnants of the vein black crystal's transformation process around the stalagmite, that didn't necessarily mean there was a vein black crystal nearby.

Chen Chen had once read an ancient text at home, which said, "All heavenly spirit items have spirits and can seek out the roots of heaven and earth on their own." This text clearly mentioned that heavenly spirit items do not necessarily remain where they were born but can seek out places with abundant spiritual energy, known as "springs" or "roots."

Since the vein black crystal is of the highest grade among heavenly spirit items, it undoubtedly also has the ability to seek out spiritual roots. Chen Chen had heard before that most places where spirit items are found are often abandoned "ruins," where the spiritual roots have already withered. While some treasures can still be found, true treasures are no longer possible.

Therefore, Chen Chen was not 100% sure if there was a vein black crystal nearby. He could only confirm that the stalagmite had definitely been inhabited by a vein black crystal.

But now, things were different. The fish king was so large, clearly far beyond the normal limits of black stone fish. If that creature hadn't eaten some strange item, no one would believe it.

Thinking of this, Chen Chen couldn't help but feel an unbearable itch. Logically, he should flee immediately. That massive creature could easily wield tens of thousands of pounds of force with a single movement, far beyond his ability to resist. Attacking it would be like offering himself as a snack.

But thinking of the possibility of the supreme spirit item, the vein black crystal, inside the stalagmite, Chen Chen found it hard to move. Knowing that rushing out would mean certain death, he still felt a strong urge to try, unwilling to let go easily!

"Troublesome..." Chen Chen was torn. Born a street urchin, he was never a magnanimous person. Missing such an opportunity would make him regret it for the rest of his life.

On the other side, after circling the cave entrance a few times and seeing that it couldn't harm him, the fish king had retreated.

However, what made Chen Chen's heart race was that the fish king didn't seem to return to the stalagmite but swam toward the top of the natural stone chamber. Chen Chen remembered clearly that there seemed to be a large, dark opening at the top of the stalagmite, leading to an unknown place.

"Could that big guy have gone out to find food? Could... that opening lead to another world, connecting to some place..." Chen Chen rubbed his hands, his heart racing. Either of these guesses would be enough to make him jump with excitement.

Thus, in the narrow, dark rock cave passage, Chen Chen waited quietly. Although he was eager to explore the stalagmite, he didn't dare to act rashly. Even after half an hour, it was still quiet outside.

"Could it really have swum away?" Chen Chen muttered, uncertain. He had a bold idea but didn't want to take too much risk.

The cave entrance was about thirty feet from the large underwater stalagmite. Chen Chen estimated that the stalagmite was about ten feet high. In other words, he needed to ensure he could swim nearly a hundred feet before the fish king returned.

During this process, there must be no accidents. Otherwise, if the fish king attacked, Chen Chen doubted he would be as lucky as before.

"With my current swimming speed, a hundred feet would take about twenty breaths. Adding the time to search for the vein black crystal, the whole process would take about half an hour... Damn, what was I thinking, standing here? If I had gone out earlier, I could have made several trips already!"

Estimating in his mind, Chen Chen became even more conflicted. The time that had passed was indeed enough for him to make several safe trips. But he wasn't a fortune-teller, and it was impossible to predict such things in advance. Regretting now was useless. He had two choices: either take the risk and go out immediately, hoping there was still time, or wait for the best opportunity.

But both choices were extremely difficult for Chen Chen. The former risked running into the fish king, while the latter... was even more tragic. Who knew when the best time would be? Waiting endlessly wouldn't help!

"Damn, what's there to fear, let's go for it!"

Finally, Chen Chen gritted his teeth and, like a deep-sea loach, "slid" out of the rock cave passage.

It wasn't that Chen Chen lacked patience, but this waiting was truly uncertain. If the fish king returned and stayed in the stalagmite for months, he would miss his last chance!

Taking advantage of the fish king's absence, Chen Chen decided to take a risk. He cautiously swam, reaching his maximum speed. In less than ten breaths, he was near the large stalagmite in the center of the natural stone chamber.

Without hesitation, Chen Chen used the water's buoyancy to climb to the top of the stalagmite.

Revisiting the place, Chen Chen's heart still raced. The fierce fish king had suddenly lunged out from inside, and if he hadn't reacted quickly, he would have been bloodied at the bottom of the water.

In the next moment, Chen Chen held his breath, like a duck diving into water, and plunged into the stalagmite. Time was short, and he didn't know when the fierce fish king would return. He had to act quickly...

...

The stalagmite was indeed very large, completely hollow inside, with a width of over ten feet. Chen Chen felt no sense of confinement as he entered.

As he slowly sank, approaching the bottom of the stalagmite, a faint light began to emanate from below.

"This..." Chen Chen's heart almost stopped. In the dark underground river, there should be no light source, but now there was a faint light below, like the dawn in the darkness, mysterious and inexplicable. This sign immediately made Chen Chen think of the legendary heavenly spirit items.

However, Chen Chen didn't slow down due to his excitement. On the contrary, he accelerated, knowing that the faster he acted, the better. He couldn't be blinded by the treasure.

Finally, after familiarizing himself, Chen Chen smoothly sank to the bottom of the stalagmite. Upon landing, he suppressed his excitement and reached out to the place emitting the faint light, trying to dig through the mud and sand to see what was underneath.

Soon, Chen Chen dug deeper, but the deeper he dug, the colder his heart became. His fingers felt increasingly hard, but he found no treasure.

Before long, Chen Chen's fingers could no longer dig further. There was a layer of hard rock beneath the mud, and he seemed to have reached the bottom, but the treasure he imagined was nowhere to be found.

"This..." Chen Chen stood at the bottom of the stalagmite, puzzled. Where was the vein black crystal? Why was there nothing?

Then, Chen Chen, not willing to give up, discarded his sword and dug with both hands. In a short time, he cleared a large area of sand and mud, revealing a layer of rock emitting a piercing light!

Upon closer inspection, the surface of the rock seemed to be covered with a thin layer of crystalline material. Despite being only a thin layer, it was still crystal clear and shimmering. It looked like a substance formed from concentrated ink, with a mysterious spiritual energy flowing around it.

At this moment, even Chen Chen's crimson sword was trembling slightly in the water, as if resonating with some force!

Chen Chen was certain that the layer emitting the light was the legendary vein black crystal, but it was too thin, so thin that it couldn't be scraped off. It looked like a thin layer of black paint, about a few feet wide, but if all of it were condensed, it would be less than a pinhead.

Such a thin spiritual item, even if it were a vein black crystal, would be of little use. Moreover, the most tragic part was that, no matter how powerful Chen Chen was, he couldn't scrape it off. He would have to dig out a large piece of rock and refine it in a furnace!

At this moment, Chen Chen felt extremely frustrated. After taking such a risk to come here, the result was this. Instinctively, he touched the thin layer of vein black crystal, and suddenly, he felt a faint, jagged texture, like touching shallow grooves on a rock wall.

"Damn! You're playing with me again, you scoundrel!" Chen Chen suddenly woke up, feeling like crying. He finally understood where the vein black crystal on the rock layer had gone. The heavenly spirit items hadn't left because the spiritual roots were exhausted but had been... eaten by that damned black stone fish king.

That fish king was too wicked, having eaten all the vein black crystal, leaving not even a trace. The grooves on the rock layer were clearly left by the fish king's sharp teeth, showing that it intended to leave nothing behind, not even the thin layer.

In this life and the previous one, Chen Chen had never hated a creature so much. He was so angry that he felt like spitting blood. After encountering such a great opportunity, he had missed the supreme heavenly spirit item, which was unbearable for anyone!

"Swish, swish, swish..."

Just as Chen Chen was pounding his chest in frustration, a violent splashing sound came from above.

Immediately, Chen Chen felt a cold sensation rushing toward his head. His face turned pale, and his anger froze, replaced by a look even worse than crying...