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Chapter 141. Suspended River
"Om-"

Jiang Jianxin treads on a green sword, his robes fluttering as he cleaves through layers of clouds.

She suddenly stopped, feeling a strange pulling force coming from below. The force was faint, yet as strong as spider silk, pulling on the Tangguang sword and her limbs, trying to make her fall.

Jiang Jianxin frowned slightly, hovering in mid-air, looking down.

At noon, under the blazing sun, a great river meanders across the vast wilderness, its surface shimmering with countless golden specks of light that dance on the water, reflecting a dazzling brilliance.

Jiang Jianxin stepped onto the Tangguang Sword, hesitated for a moment, and although he sensed the faint downward force, he still urged the sword light to slide forward a short distance.

Sudden--

"Buzz!"

A tremendous force suddenly pressed down, and the Tangguang Sword sank sharply, plummeting dozens of feet like a kite with a broken string, barely hovering above the great river.

The sword trembled incessantly, and the spiritual energy in her stomach flowed away like water bursting its banks, barely keeping her from falling into the raging torrent.

A wave of damp air hit my face, carrying the fishy, ​​cold scent of the river wind. It condensed into fine droplets on my nose, and the sound of the surging waves was so close that it seemed about to engulf me.

Looking down from this angle, Jiang Jianxin could see that the river water was exceptionally clear, and he could see the fish swimming several meters below at a glance.

The fish were entirely silvery-white, their scales shimmering in the sunlight, as they were carried downstream by the river.

"It really has become a hanging river..."

Jiang Jianxin murmured, but before he could finish speaking, his words were swallowed up by the roar of the surging waves, turning into a barely audible sigh.

She had been hoping for the best, thinking that if the underwater contamination hadn't spread to the tributary between the two bases... and this section of the river wasn't a "suspended river," then she could have a smooth journey straight to Hope Base.

However, the powerful pulling force she had just felt extinguished Jiang Jianxin's last shred of hope. She muttered to herself:

"They really do have a no-fly zone and no-wave zone..."

The Tangguang Sword emitted a humming sound as it struggled under the strain, its blade trembling violently as it retreated inch by inch toward the riverbank.

As the distance increased, the force that threatened to drag people into the abyss gradually weakened.

When the tip of the sword finally touched the solid ground of the riverbank, Jiang Jianxin breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew the dim-looking Tangguang Sword back to his waist.

Looking at the shimmering, suspended river before her, she had to admit that forcing her way across was out of the question.

"pat..."

Jiang Jianxin walked to the riverbank with his sword at his waist. There was fine sand there, which made a rustling sound under his feet.

She stood by the water, watching her face reflected in the exceptionally clear water.

Jiang Jianxin wasn't a very good swimmer, but the cultivation world had water-avoidance techniques, which at least ensured that she could safely sink to the underwater polluted area and not drown during the descent.

She extended two fingers and silently recited the mantra, following the vague impressions in her memory.

With a soft sound, an invisible wave of air enveloped her.

...I haven't recited this incantation for many years, I didn't expect to be able to use it successfully so quickly.

For the first time, Jiang Jianxin realized why he was able to become the Sword Master; his muscle memory was truly something special.

After preparing the Water-Avoiding Technique and the Tangguang Sword, she took a deep breath and jumped into the river.

The expected dive did not occur. The Tangguang Sword at her waist suddenly trembled violently and rose uncontrollably upwards, pulling her to the surface of the water.

Jiang Jianxin felt a chill run down her spine—she hadn't activated her spiritual power, and her natal sword was connected to her mind. She also knew that this wasn't the Tangguang Sword acting on its own; it was simply being lifted up by the water.

—But how can a metal weapon have such a large buoyancy in water?

The Tangguang Sword emitted a rapid buzzing sound, and its blade trembled violently as it attempted to submerge.

But the water's surface seemed to be encased in an invisible barrier, which it could not break through no matter how hard it struggled. "Buzz—"

"Wow————"

The two forces tore at each other, suspending Jiang Jianxin at a point of equilibrium—her sword floated on the water's surface, she was suspended in the water, the cold river water soaked her robes, and her hair spread out in the water like ink-black water plants.

Unaware of the mystery in the water, the Tangguang Sword was clearly being repelled and unable to descend, but since Tangguang was her natal sword, leaving it outside was not appropriate.

Jiang Jianxin frowned, thought for a moment, and said:

"Tang Guang, transformed into a paper sword."

The Tangguang Sword has two forms: a normal longsword and a portable paper sword.

Because it is his natal sword, it is always in portable form. Tang Guang Sword cannot fully extend its body, and Jiang Jianxin also feels a suffocating feeling of not being able to breathe, so it is usually kept in the form of a long sword.

However, given the current situation, the longsword's shape clearly couldn't fit inside, so Jiang Jianxin could only try to see if the paper sword could get in.

"Om..."

The Tangguang Sword flew off the water's surface, transformed into a paper sword in mid-air, and then plunged back into the water with a whooshing sound.

"Wow..."

This time it finally broke through that invisible barrier, making a "whoosh" sound as it entered the water.

Jiang Jianxin clutched the soaked paper sword to his chest, but his expression changed the moment his body began to sink—

The paper sword, soaked by the river, seemed to be separated by a thick veil, and the once seamless connection between mind and body became unpredictable.

Although she could sense through her natal contract that the sword itself was unharmed, this near-"disconnected" state greatly affected her ability to manipulate sword energy.

The icy river water washed over her head, and the water-repelling spell began to work, enveloping her in a bubble.

Jiang Jianxin gripped the soaked paper sword tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

The immense downward pull held her firmly, dragging her towards the dark depths of the water.

……

"Gulu."

Jiang Jianxin suddenly woke up as icy river water rushed into her nostrils. She instinctively tried to struggle, but found that her water-repelling spell had long since failed, yet she could breathe freely underwater.

The moment I opened my eyes, more than a dozen pairs of cold eyes appeared in the dark water.

The faces of the people who viewed the eyes were arranged horizontally, and Jiang Jianxin quickly realized that his perspective was abnormal.

She struggled to turn her neck and realized that she was floating horizontally in the water. She could clearly feel the water flowing over her cheeks and the buoyancy it provided.

She tensed her waist and abdomen, struggling to twist her body in the water.

Because there is no gravity and there is resistance in the water, Jiang Jianxin's limbs are as if they are wrapped by invisible threads, making every movement slow and laborious.

The water flowed with a muffled whimper in her ears, and the horizontally positioned faces slowly turned with her movements, always maintaining eye contact.

Jiang Jianxin finally managed to straighten his posture, and under everyone's gaze, he was about to awkwardly force a smile, but after scanning his surroundings, he realized—

Beside her stood a steel handrail, and above her, the shimmering transparent ceiling reflected the blue sky outside. A string of hand rings hung from the ceiling, making a soft metallic clanging sound as they swayed.

The neatly shaped car window was displayed in front of her, and outside the window was a dark, surging stream of water.

This is clearly a subway car... a subway car submerged in water?

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One update today. I'm having some writer's block on the new storyline. I'll take a moment to process it and make up for it with three updates tomorrow.