Dongting Immortal Clan

Chen Xiaohu was startled by the roar.

Before I could even respond, I saw my older brother's figure disappear outside the courtyard gate.

He stood at the doorway, the cold wind blowing in and making the door bang loudly.

Suddenly, Chen Xiaohu also felt a tightness in her chest, as if something was pressing down on it, and the book in her hand somehow fell to the ground.

horizon.

The clouds hung low.

The sunlight was obscured by dark clouds, turning everything pale.

A breeze stirred on the lake.

It wasn't the dry, cold wind blowing from the river to the north; this wind came from the center of the lake, carrying a slightly fishy, ​​damp smell, and was chillingly cold, capable of penetrating to the bone.

When Chen Changhe reached the lakeside, his heart sank.

At the location where Chenjiabo was located, only one small boat was drifting alone; the other boat had disappeared without a trace.

Half a rope from the mooring post was still lying in the water.

The ship is not there.

Father really went to the lake.

Chen Changhe's eyelids twitched suddenly, as if someone had pricked him with a needle.

Immediately afterwards, a chill ran up his tailbone, climbed down his spine to the back of his head, and his breathing became rapid.

He ran south along the lake embankment for about a hundred steps. The lake was shrouded in a gray haze, the fog thicker than in the morning, and he could only see about twenty or thirty feet away.

There were several blurry black dots on the water in the distance, which looked like boats or driftwood.

"father!"

He strained his voice and tentatively shouted.

The world was empty and desolate; no one answered him.

When Chen Dajiang caught up, he saw his younger brother standing by the lake, his body trembling like a sieve, his face as pale as paper.

Upon noticing his arrival, Chen Changhe's voice trembled as he said:

"Brother, I feel really down."

"Hurry up, you search to the south, I'll search to the north, and shout when you find it!"

Chen Dajiang nodded and immediately said:

"good!"

He turned and ran, but after a couple of steps he looked back.

Chen Changhe had already run north along the lake embankment, stumbling and almost tripping over the stones by the lake several times.

……

The northern shoreline of the lake is winding and covered with reeds.

In winter, the reeds turn yellow and wither, their stalks taller than a person, standing there densely packed, rustling loudly in the wind.

Chen Changhe ran along the edge of the reeds, his eyes fixed on the lake, afraid of missing anything.

He ran for about a mile before suddenly stopping.

At the end of the reeds, about ten feet from the shore, there appeared to be an overturned boat on the water.

The boat was upside down, like a dead fish turned belly up, rising and falling in the water, slowly spinning with the waves.

Chen Changhe recognized it as his own boat at a glance.

"Father!" Chen Changhe's voice pierced through the mist on the lake.

Without thinking twice, he ripped off his cotton-padded coat, threw it onto the reeds, and jumped into the water.

It's still early spring and the lake water is as cold as a knife.

As soon as Chen Changhe entered the water, a chill rushed towards him from all directions, like countless needles piercing his flesh.

He gritted his teeth, a fire burning fiercely in his heart, which gave him a surge of strength that propelled him to swim toward the boat.

The waves were being whipped high by the lake water, and Chen Changhe was extremely anxious.

He stared intently at the capsized fishing boat ahead, his mind buzzing.

My father spent his whole life on the lake and never capsized. How could he have suddenly met with an accident today?

Hearing his brother's shouts from the reeds, Chen Dajiang rushed over and saw Chen Changhe had already plunged into the lake. In the direction he was heading, there was a fishing boat that had capsized in the water.

Upon seeing this, Chen Dajiang suddenly recalled what Li Laosan had said on the lake a few days ago.

It seems something has come to the lake; it has already capsized several boats, and of those who fell in, only Wang Laizi survived.

In less than half a day.

In less than half a day!

Chen Dajiang was also extremely anxious. He looked around and saw a small boat not far away. He quickly ran over, untied the rope, and rowed towards the capsized boat.

……

Chen Changhe swam to the location of the capsized boat with all his might, but did not see his father nearby.

"Could it have sunk?!"

Thinking of this, Chen Changhe's eyes widened in fury. He took a deep breath and dived into the lake.

The light under the lake quickly dimmed, turning from yellowish-green to dark green, and the surroundings gradually darkened. Sound and light were distorted, and only the fish, sensing the movement, scattered and fled in all directions.

After diving for a while, Chen Changhe suddenly detected a bloody smell.

They were thin, thread-like streaks of blood!

His heart tightened, and he quickly searched in the direction from which the bloodline had come.

They descended another seven or eight zhang, and the lake bottom appeared hazily, with reefs covered with mud and rocks, and seaweed with its claws outstretched.

Suddenly, Chen Changhe felt a chill run down his spine as he sensed a cold aura hitting his skin.

"There's movement at the bottom of the lake."

He looked down and saw a huge dark shape slowly moving in the depths of the lake.

The dark figure resembled a giant python, but was as thick as an adult's waist, covered in dark blue scales that gleamed with a cold, eerie light at the bottom of the lake.

Most terrifyingly, the thing was not a physical entity; its body would solidify and then become ethereal in the water, with a cloud of black smoke swirling around its edges.

A pair of blood-red eyes, glowing with two eerie lights at the bottom of the dark lake, were staring intently at him.

Chen Changhe followed the shadow and looked over.

A figure was spotted.

It was his father, Chen Chuansheng!

At this moment, Chen Chuansheng was entangled around the waist by the dark figure, and his whole body was being dragged like a piece of driftwood, sinking deeper into the lake.

His head drooped, his mouth was slightly open, and bubbles were rising from the corners of his mouth, becoming increasingly sparse.

His robes were flipped up by the water, revealing a deep, bone-revealing wound on his calf.

The scent of blood I smelled earlier was seeping out from here, leaving a thin red line in the lake.

"You beast!"

Chen Changhe was furious. He used all four limbs to frantically swim towards the dark figure.

The lake water was icy cold, but the Moonlight Magic within his body circulated automatically, and the fire in his dantian burned even more intensely. A warmth spread from within to his limbs and bones, resisting the chill of the lake water.

As if sensing someone approaching, the dark figure suddenly turned around, its scarlet eyes gleaming brightly.

It opened its enormous mouth.

It had no fangs in its mouth, but rather a swirling, pitch-black vortex that seemed capable of swallowing light.

The lake water churned violently around the whirlpool, forming a huge eddy, and a powerful suction force surged in from all directions.

Chen Changhe stumbled as the current pulled him, as if an invisible hand was dragging him toward the giant mouth.

At the critical moment, the fire in his dantian suddenly blazed brightly.

The Moon Essence Magic Power within his body circulated rapidly. Although there were only seven strands of radiance, under the urging of his mind, it burst forth with a dazzling silver-white light.

The light surged from his dantian, flowing along the meridians in his arm, leaving a chilling sensation wherever it passed.

"Buzz!"

An invisible force burst forth from his palm.

The temperature of the surrounding lake water suddenly dropped a few degrees, and icicles suddenly formed, shimmering with a crystal-clear luster in the dark lake water.

The next instant, these icicles shot towards the dark figure like arrows.

"Pfft pfft pfft!"

instantly.

Several ice spikes pierced the shadowy figure's body.

Several of the dark blue scales actually fell off, revealing the churning black mist beneath.

The shadowy figure, in pain, began to struggle violently, emitting a sharp screech. The sound was so high-pitched that it seemed to explode directly in Chen Changhe's brain, causing a sharp pain in his head and making his vision go black in waves.

Fortunately, the lake water was icy cold, which quickly brought him back to his senses.

Chen Changhe mustered his strength and, taking advantage of the moment when the shadowy figure curled up in pain, quickly sneaked to his father's side.

She reached out and touched her father's waist.

It feels cold to the touch.

Chen Changhe's heart sank.

He then touched his father's neck; the pulse was beating weakly.

"Father is still alive!"

Chen Changhe's spirits lifted, and he was thinking of carrying his father on his back to swim to the lake when the dark figure attacked again.

With a flick of its long tail, it released Chen Chuansheng and swept towards Chen Changhe with immense force, like a giant whip.

Chen Changhe had already noticed it, but the water was not like the land. He had nowhere to use his strength and nowhere to avoid it. He could only shield his father behind him, cross his arms in front of him, and take the fall head-on.

"Bang!"

The immense force traveled through the lake water, as dull as a hammer blow to the chest.

Chen Changhe felt a salty taste in his throat, and a mouthful of blood welled up. He gritted his teeth and swallowed it back. His chest and abdomen were churning with blood and qi, and his internal organs felt as if they had been shaken out of place.

The long tail was incredibly powerful, sweeping him and Chen Chuansheng backwards, sending them crashing heavily into a hidden reef at the bottom of the lake.

Chen Changhe hit his head and got a big hole in it. The pain made his vision go black and he almost fainted.

"My father is dying. I can't fight any longer. I have to go back to the lake first."

Chen Changhe dared not linger any longer. Enduring the excruciating pain, he quickly put his father's arm on his shoulder and turned to swim towards the lake.

However, he had barely swum a foot when the dark figure pounced again.

It was extremely fast, encountering almost no resistance in the water. Its scarlet eyes locked onto Chen Changhe, its huge mouth opened wide, and the pitch-black vortex spun rapidly, with a suction force even greater than before!

Chen Changhe felt as if the lake water around him was being frantically drained away, leaving him with nowhere to pull himself up.

His body was being pulled backward inch by inch by the suction force, and no matter how hard he tried to paddle, it was to no avail.

The father's robes fluttered in the water, his hair was disheveled, and he looked like he was about to stop breathing.

"No, no!!"

In despair, Chen Changhe's inner fire began to rage, filled with anger, fear, and resentment.

He was afraid his father would die, and he was afraid he wouldn't have enough time.

Driven by this emotion, his inner fire burned fiercely, and his magical power surged forth, pouring out from his dantian, almost tearing his meridians apart.

Chen Changhe suddenly turned around, facing the dark figure, and pushed forward with both hands.

The lake water trembled violently.

Chains of ice crystals materialized out of thin air from the water, sparkling and translucent, shimmering with a cold light in the dark lakebed. Then, they slithered and moved like living creatures, completely surrounding the dark figure.

The dark figure struggled even more violently, its bluish-green scales being pulled off by the ice chains, and black energy gushing out wildly from the gaps, emitting a piercing hiss.

After doing all this, Chen Changhe was already showing signs of exhaustion.

The fire in his dantian dimmed, leaving only a tiny flame, barely managing to stay lit.

The moon's magical power was almost depleted, and its meridians were completely empty.

He dared not linger any longer. He carried his father on his back, and with the last of his strength, he rushed towards the lake.