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

An underwater palace stands quietly in a depression on the seabed, its entire body radiating a crystal-clear luster.

From the surface, it is impossible to tell what materials the palace was built with.

With its flying eaves and bracket sets, it is magnificent in scale.

Two thick pillars stand in front of the hall, with dragon-shaped reliefs coiled around their surfaces.

The entire palace covers an area of ​​at least several thousand square meters and remains completely still under the pressure of the deep sea.

Lin Ran hovered ten meters in front of the palace and reached out to probe.

His fingertips touched an invisible barrier, and translucent ripples spread outward from the point of contact. Then, a supple elastic force pushed his palm back.

He circled most of the palace, trying several times from different locations, but still couldn't get in.

"The treasure is right in front of us, but we don't know where to start. How can this be?"

He channeled his spiritual power and slammed his palm onto the barrier.

hum!

A ripple spread across the surface of the barrier, instantly neutralizing the palm strike.

Lin Ran tried various spells, including water control, rock ridge manipulation, and even wrapped his entire body in golden light before crashing into it.

Bang!

With a muffled thud, the barrier remained completely still.

After trying it from every angle, Lin Ran came to the conclusion that the barrier's stress distribution was very even, with no obvious weak points.

"It seems I can't get in before I reach the Foundation Establishment stage." Lin Ran secretly noted the location, planning to come back after he broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

As soon as I turned around, a huge black shadow loomed down from above.

Lin Ran reacted faster than he could think, unleashing his full power of water manipulation technique, and moved sideways for more than ten meters.

Bang!

A thick tentacle grazed his back and slammed into the seabed, blasting a three-meter-wide crater in the mud and sand.

He steadied himself in the mud and sand and looked up to get a clear look at the attacker.

A giant octopus that is over thirty meters long and has tentacles thicker than a water bucket.

Those enormous tentacles were covered with countless suckers the size of fists.

Its two eyes, each the size of a washbasin, were fixed intently on Lin Ran's figure.

"It's actually a seventh-tier mutated creature!" Lin Ran's expression turned solemn, and his heart sank.

With his current level of skill, he could still hold his own against fourth or fifth-order mutants in the water.

Facing a seventh-tier mutant head-on, it might be no different from suicide.

At that moment, Lin Ran had only one thought in his mind: "Escape!"

He activated his water manipulation technique and rushed towards the water's surface, the octopus churning the water behind him into a chaotic mess.

Three tentacles approached from different directions, moving so fast that they drew out three white columns of air from the water.

Lin Ran made a sharp turn around the first beam and squeezed through the gap between the second and third beams.

The suction cups on the tentacles brushed against his clothes, leaving a trail of slime on the fabric.

"No! I can't escape directly to the water's surface; my speed is definitely no match for a seventh-tier mutated creature!"

Judging from the current situation, the mutated octopus has not yet used its full strength, and its speed is already twice that of him.

If they continue to try to escape like this, they'll probably be entangled before they even surface.

Lin Ran's mind raced as his gaze swept over the underwater palace.

"I can't break through this barrier, but I can let the octopus try."

Thinking of this, he immediately turned back and circled around to the other side of the barrier.

The octopus's tentacles followed closely, slamming hard against the barrier.

Bang!

The barrier trembled violently, and pale blue ripples spread wildly from the point of impact.

The octopus retracted its tentacles, a hint of hesitation flashing in its vertical pupils.

It probably realized that the transparent cover was not easy to break, so it chose to bypass the barrier and continue to pursue Lin Ran.

Seeing this, Lin Ran raised his middle finger at it through the barrier.

Although the octopus didn't understand the meaning of giving the middle finger, it could sense Lin Ran's provocation.

Then, another tentacle swept across.

Bang!

Lin Ran dodged ahead of time, and the tentacle slammed solidly into the barrier, stirring up a surge of energy.

"There's hope!"

For the next ten minutes, Lin Ran circled around the barrier, with the octopus relentlessly chasing after him.

He dodged each time a tentacle lashed out, ensuring the attack landed on the barrier.

As the octopus continued its attack, cracks began to appear in the barrier, and more and more of them appeared.

After chasing for more than ten laps, the octopus seemed to realize Lin Ran's intention.

It stared at Lin Ran with its vertical pupils for a while, then slowly retracted its tentacles and stopped attacking.

Seeing this, Lin Ran raised his middle finger again, trying to provoke the octopus's anger.

However, the octopus did not react at all.

"Wow, it's gotten smarter!" Lin Ran couldn't help but exclaim, "This thing's intelligence is already comparable to that of a young child!"

The octopus looked at Lin Ran across the barrier, neither attacking nor leaving.

As soon as Lin Ran showed any intention of leaving the barrier's range, it would immediately become alert and assume an attack posture.

"Good grief, are they trying to wear me down?" Lin Ran said helplessly.

Although the Water-Avoiding Technique wasn't a particularly profound art, it was still continuously draining his spiritual energy.

Being watched by the octopus, he had no way to circulate his energy to recover, and sooner or later his spiritual power would be exhausted.

Things have gotten a bit complicated.

With the two sides at a stalemate, Lin Ran fell into deep thought.

His water escape technique wasn't even as fast as the octopus's speed, so there was no way he could escape.

If he provokes this guy but he refuses to respond, and this drags on, he'll surely die.

"Wait a minute!" Lin Ran slapped his forehead. "Who said you have to use water escape techniques underwater?"

He looked at the mud and sand at his feet: "Can't I also use earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of escape technique)?"

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"I wonder if we can get through underneath this barrier? What if we can?"

Lin Ran took a deep breath, immediately raised his hand to form a hand seal, and used the Earth Escape Technique.

As the octopus watched his figure blend into the mud and disappear on the other side of the barrier, it immediately became alert.

It rushed forward and slapped at the mud and sand, but couldn't find any trace of Lin Ran.

A moment later, Lin Ran appeared inside the barrier.

Before me lay a palace glowing with fireflies, and beneath my feet were polished white jade steps.

Seeing the octopus flailing about outside, Lin Ran once again raised his middle finger.

Seeing this, the octopus pressed its vertical pupils against the barrier, staring intently at Lin Ran.

"I'm not playing with you anymore, business is more important!" Lin Ran turned and walked into the hall.

As if knowing that Lin Ran was going to leave, the octopus began to frantically pound on the barrier again.

Bang!Bang!Bang!

Lin Ran's heart tightened, and he quickened his pace.

The palace gates were open, leading to a straight, long corridor.

At a glance, both sides are piled with gold and silver utensils, pearls and agates, and various gemstones are scattered all over the ground.

On a high platform at the end of the corridor, a fist-sized, jet-black, multicolored bead floats.

At this moment, the octopus's slapping became even more violent, and the barrier was already on the verge of collapse.

Lin Ran stepped over piles of gold and silver and walked straight to the high platform.

The moment the finger touched the bead, everything around it shattered like a mirror breaking apart.

The palace walls, the stone steps beneath their feet, and the gold and silver treasures scattered on the ground all turned into specks of light and vanished.

The barrier shattered at the same time, and seawater poured in from all directions.

"Good heavens, it was just an illusion!"

Lin Ran gripped the multicolored black bead tightly, immediately activated the Earth Escape Technique, and vanished from the spot in an instant.

A tentacle ripped through the seawater and crashed down, only to raise a cloud of mud and sand.

Lin Ran locked onto the direction of the coastline and moved at high speed through the seabed mud and sand.

He fled for over a hundred kilometers in one breath, feeling his spiritual energy almost depleted, before finally emerging from the ground.

When he emerged from the ground, he found himself back in the city.

An older woman carrying a shopping basket on the street widened her eyes: "This young man gave me a fright!"

Clearly, the older woman was used to seeing awakened individuals, but she was unhappy with Lin Ran's sudden appearance.

Lin Ran habitually patted off non-existent dust from his clothes, nodded to Auntie Chong, and turned to leave.

"Really..." The middle-aged woman pursed her lips and walked away silently.