Gao Wu: Oh no! Young Master Zhen is a cultivator!

Lin Ran grasped Lin Qinghe's wrist and asked with concern, "Grandpa Zhang said you had a heart attack?"

"It's an old ailment, nothing serious, I'll be fine after some rest," Lin Qinghe said, feigning nonchalance.

Lin Ran said solemnly, "Heart problems are no small matter."

"It's really nothing." Lin Qinghe waved her hand. "It's been so many years, I'm used to it."

Lin Ran didn't reply. Instead, he placed his fingers on Lin Qinghe's wrist and quietly activated the Rejuvenation Technique.

The cyan spiritual energy seeped into the pulse points from the fingertips, traveled upwards along the meridians, and lingered for a moment at the heart meridian.

Lin Qinghe's initially rapid heartbeat gradually calmed down.

She subconsciously touched her chest, then stretched her shoulders, and turned to look at Lin Ran, her eyes full of surprise and doubt.

Lin Ran shook his head, signaling Lin Qinghe not to make a fuss.

Then he added, "You should rest for a couple of days. Grandpa Zhang is looking after you at the orphanage, so nothing will happen."

Lin Qinghe seemed to realize something, but didn't ask any further questions. She simply pushed the blanket to the side and put her legs down on the edge of the bed.

"I feel much better now, there's no need to waste time here."

Chu Xining quickly stepped forward and supported her arm.

"Grandma, be careful."

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Lin Qinghe put on her shoes, stood up, and took a few steps. "I feel great now! I can easily climb six flights of stairs!"

Lin Ran was aware of the effects of the Rejuvenation Technique and knew that the old woman's old heart condition was no longer a problem, so he did not stop her.

After getting out of bed and moving around a bit, Lin Qinghe felt that there was absolutely no need for her to waste time in the hospital.

Chu Xining and Lin Ran wanted to persuade her, but they couldn't go against the old lady's wishes.

After completing the discharge procedures, the three of them left the inpatient department, got into the Chu family's car, and headed to the welfare home.

Lin Qinghe invited Chu Xining and Lin Ran to have dinner at the orphanage. Lin Ran didn't refuse again, and Chu Xining was happy to accompany them.

After the meal, the little ones chattered around Chu Xining.

"Sister Xining is so pretty."

"I want to be as pretty as Sister Xining!"

"When I grow up, I want to find a wife as beautiful as Sister Xining!"

Do you even know what a wife is?

"..."

Lin Ran sat beside Lin Qinghe, watching Chu Xining and the little ones play Eagle Catches Chicks.

Laughter filled the air continuously.

When the children were tired from playing, Lin Ran and Chu Xining said goodbye.

Lin Qinghe escorted them to the entrance of the welfare home, holding one in each hand and giving them some instructions.

Grandpa Zhang squatted on the steps smoking, flashing a row of big yellow teeth at Lin Ran from afar.

As Chu Xining walked out of the orphanage, she turned to Lin Ran and asked, "Brother Lin Ran, do you have time this afternoon?"

Lin Ran casually replied, "I have some things to do this afternoon."

"Alright then." Chu Xining looked slightly disappointed.

"Okay." Lin Ran nodded. "You go home now, see you tomorrow!"

After saying that, Lin Ran walked to the roadside, hailed a taxi, opened the car door, and got in.

After driving a dozen meters, Chu Xining couldn't help but stomp her foot: "I'm so angry!"

As the taxi turned the corner, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

Lin Ran took it out and glanced at it; it was Zhao Meng.

"Feed?"

"Brother Ran, my cousin wants to invite you to dinner to apologize." Zhao Meng's tone was somewhat apologetic.

Lin Ran casually declined, "I have something to do today, let's do it another day."

"Okay, I'll talk to him." Zhao Meng agreed, "Then you go ahead and do your work, Ran-ge."

"Mm." Lin Ran added, "Thank you for today."

Zhao Zheng said generously, "With our relationship, why are you being so polite with me?"

"Hehe, okay, I'll hang up now, see you tomorrow." With that, Lin Ran hung up the phone.

The taxi continued eastward for more than forty minutes, and the street scenes outside the window gradually became less visible. Soon we arrived at the seaside.

"Stop here."

Lin Ran paid the fare and started walking towards the sea.

A row of barbed wire extends along the coastline to both sides, with a warning sign every so often, the large red characters already faded and worn.

"Danger in the water, keep away!"

Inside the blockade, weeds grew rampant, and a cement road was riddled with potholes from the sea breeze.

The sea in the distance was a hazy gray, with waves crashing against the rocks and splashing water several meters high.

There were no fishing boats in the water, no tourists on the beach, only the waves crashing.

The city's defense forces can clear out the mutated creatures in the surrounding mountains and forests, but they have no way to clear out the mutated creatures in the sea.

In particular, some advanced mutated creatures have become completely immune to ordinary firearms, making the deep sea a no-go zone for humans.

In this environment, marine fisheries have become a thing of the past.

In earlier years, fishing might have been possible under military escort, but after a large number of advanced mutated creatures evolved in the ocean, even warships could not pass through.

As for things like taking a walk and sunbathing on the beach, perhaps only someone who's tired of living would do that.

Lin Ran climbed over the barbed wire fence and walked along the rocky area to the back of a cliff.

The area is filled with jagged rocks, and the tide washes back and forth between the crevices. There isn't a single person in sight.

He cast a water-repelling spell and leaped into the water.

The Five Elements magic allows him to move freely in various environments, greatly assisting his hunting plans.

He descended about ten meters, and the light gradually dimmed, but this did not affect his vision.

Although his clairvoyance is still in its most basic stage, it still allows him to see normally in dark environments.

The underwater scenery unfolds layer by layer, as if it were another world.

Several first-class rock crabs, larger than washbasins, were perched on the rocks near the shore, their pincers clicking against the rocks.

As I swam deeper, a group of second-tier silver-scaled fish swept overhead, so densely packed that they resembled a moving sheet of metal.

Lin Ran ignored these low-level creatures and continued to dive deeper.

The seabed begins to slope downwards, and the reefs are gradually replaced by silt and sand.

A third-order spotted moray eel poked half its body out of the sand, its open mouth revealing two rings of barbed teeth, and lunged at Lin Ran's calf.

Boo!

Lin Ran dodged to the side, drew his long sword with a backhand, and chopped it into the eel's neck.

The blade sliced ​​into the tough fish skin, and a spray of blood exploded in the water.

The moray eel thrashed about wildly, its tail whipping across the sand and stirring up a cloud of mud.

Lin Ran delivered another blow, severing the fish's head completely. The fish twitched a few times and then stopped moving.

He used the tip of his knife to pry open the skull, took out a light blue third-order crystal core, and casually tossed it into his backpack.

For the next two hours, he searched underwater along the seabed.

Tier 3 swordfin fish, Tier 3 venomous sea urchin, Tier 3 armored turtle—deal with them one by one when you encounter them.

When Lin Ran occasionally encounters mutated creatures of the fourth rank or higher, he will avoid them at all costs.

Even if he was capable of killing fourth-tier mutated creatures, the time he spent fighting in the water would have been enough for him to kill many more third-tier mutated creatures.

Furthermore, if the battle drags on for too long, it might attract even more powerful mutated creatures, which would be a net loss.

A Tier 4 tiger shark swam over his head, and Lin Ran lay flat on the seabed for half a minute.

Once the big creature was far away, he continued hunting.

The number of third-order crystal cores in the backpack is increasing, and a rough estimate suggests that there are already more than forty.

He was just about to hunt a few more third-tier mutated creatures before returning when the Xuanhuang Cauldron in his sea of ​​consciousness suddenly trembled.

The feeling was exactly the same as when I first discovered the Nine-Rank Golden Lotus in the pool of water in the mine.

"There's treasure nearby!"

Lin Ran felt slightly excited and immediately abandoned the hunting plan, heading in the direction indicated by the Xuanhuang Cauldron.

As you descend along the seabed, the depth reaches hundreds of meters.

The surrounding light was barely perceptible, with only a few bioluminescent jellyfish occasionally illuminating a small area as they drifted by.

Lin Ran focused his spiritual energy on his eyes and carefully looked in the direction indicated by the Xuanhuang Cauldron.

Before long, a faint light appeared ahead, appearing and disappearing in the dim seabed.

He slowed down and approached slowly.

The light grew brighter and brighter, gradually revealing a complete outline.