After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

White leeches covered the entire mudflat.

Thousands upon thousands.

They swarmed in the black water, making sharp "squeaking" sounds that sent chills down one's spine.

Each one was the size of an adult man's fist, huddled together in dense, writhing white swarms that pushed forward, devouring the ground.

Wang Pangzi was closest to the crevice in the ground, and seven or eight leeches had already crawled up to his ankles along the black water.

"Hold!"

He looked down and saw those pale, soft bodies crawling into his trouser leg.

The "crunching" sound of teeth clenching against the skin rang out, accompanied by a slippery touch.

The Golden Body Technique was activated immediately!

"You think I'm a vegetarian?!"

A coppery sheen flowed across the skin, transforming it into a bronze-like substance, causing its hardness to surge dramatically.

The leech's teeth bit into the copper sheet, producing a sharp metallic scraping sound, but not even a white mark was left.

More insects have already swarmed towards the Su sisters.

Su Qingling screamed in fright and instinctively backed away, but her heel sank into the soft, muddy mud, causing her to stagger.

Su Qingwu grabbed her sister, but the ground beneath their feet was already submerged by a swarm of white insects.

These things don't move in a straight line, but rather by bouncing, leaping half a meter high with each bounce.

Dense white insects rose into the air, weaving together to form a massive, overwhelming net.

"A trivial skill!"

Zhou Ran's karmic fire lotus platform suddenly surged, and he stomped down.

As his feet touched the ground, the primordial energy and blood surged forth from the soles of his feet.

A visible golden-red wave of energy surged out, sweeping across twenty feet!

The mud and sand were violently thrown up, and the cold, black water evaporated instantly.

The writhing white carpet on the ground burst open the moment it came into contact with the blast wave.

There were no screams, only countless muffled "plop" sounds. The swarm of insects was disintegrated from the inside by the high temperature and force, turning into a sky full of white paste.

A few drops of insect splattered on Fatty Wang's face.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey—"

The fat man spat out a foul-smelling substance from his mouth.

"Ran-ge, can you give me a signal next time you make a move?!"

Zhou Ran ignored him and stretched out his hands to block Su Qingwu and Su Qingling behind him.

"The divine light of the Tidal Holy Body restrains evil spirits. Unfurl and clear a path for me."

Without hesitation, Su Qingwu pulled her still-shaken sister over and simultaneously activated the newly broken Sacred Body Origin within her body.

Azure light emanated from the two women, condensing into flowing energy that enveloped them.

This layer of energy expanded outward, transforming into a circular water curtain shield with a diameter of ten zhang (approximately 33 meters), creating a pure and pristine area.

Wherever the water curtain passed, the leeches that had miraculously survived were gone.

Upon contact with the blue aura, they emitted a hissing burning sound, shrank into clumps of black, dry shells, and then shattered into dust.

But the leech tide is just an appetizer.

From deep within the reed marshes came the sound of metal chains grinding together.

The sounds came from all directions.

Three figures emerged from the mist first.

They were dressed in dark green raincoats and wore straw hats, their faces hidden in the shadows.

The iron chain suddenly taut.

Some enormous creature was being led by them, stepping out step by step from the depths of the reeds.

The first water ape emerged from the fog wall.

It was about 20 feet tall, with all four limbs on the ground. Its gait was somewhere between that of an ape and a giant frog, and each step it took left hoofprints in the mud.

Its entire body was covered with fine black scales, from which a viscous liquid seeped.

The oily light reflected off the distant lightning.

"Hiss—"

The water ape has a flat head and a wide mouth that stretches to its ears.

A pair of eyes are located on the sides of the top of the head, with pupils that are horizontal lines.

This is an amphibious hunting machine.

Followed by.

The second one.

The third one.

The three water monkeys stood in a row, their iron chains taut in the hands of the three shore sentries.

The coastal defense of the platoon.

They specifically hunt uninvited guests that enter the water from the mudflats.

Miao Yingying!

"Silver-armored corpse, hold off the one on the left!"

Zhou Ran gave the order.

"Fatty, the one on the right, hold on."

"Alright!"

Fatty Wang rolled up his sleeves, activating the Golden Body Technique to its fullest extent, with a bronze light even shining through the whites of his eyes.

He charged towards the water ape on his right.

Two thick arms were crossed in front of his chest, managing to block the giant palm that the water ape was about to strike.

His feet sank half a foot into the mud, but his body didn't move an inch!

Miao Yingying gently swayed the silver bell in her hand.

The silver-armored corpse behind her transformed into a gray afterimage and darted out.

Within a distance of twenty meters, it flashed twice before pouncing on the water ape on the left, its sharp claws piercing through the gaps in the scales and embedding themselves firmly into the flesh!

The water ape roared in pain, trying to shake off the thing on its back, but the more it struggled, the deeper the silver-armored corpse's claws dug.

Zhou Ran himself faced the largest water ape directly in front of him.

This beast was a size larger than the other two, and its neck scales were thick and deep, as if iron plates had been forcibly welded onto its flesh.

Seeing Zhou Ran walking straight towards it, it suddenly opened its flat, giant mouth and spewed out a foul-smelling gust of air mixed with mucus.

Zhou Ran neither dodged nor avoided, but raised his left arm.

Beneath the sleeves, the patterns of the Primordial Era shone with a black and gold light.

The light traveled along his meridians and reached his fingertips.

One punch.

The most primitive straight punch.

The power originates from the shoulder blade, amplifies through the entire arm, gathers at the fist, and is then released.

The fist pierced through the water ape's chest cavity.

The scales burst open, making a loud bang as if a high-pressure gas tank had been punctured.

His fist plunged into the warm chest, his fingers touching and gripping the thick spine.

Zhou Ran put his five fingers together, grasped the spine, and then lifted it upwards.

He lifted the entire amphibious beast, weighing over a thousand pounds, above his head.

The ferocious beast struggled twice in the air before its tail drooped limply.

Zhou Ran turned around and stared at the sentry holding an iron chain, his face blank.

Smash.

The shore sentry, along with the water ape's corpse, was smashed into the mud.

Blood-red mud, over ten feet high, shot into the sky, turning the reeds within a radius of several feet into a dark red.

The remaining two shore guards were stiff with rage, forgetting to hold onto their chains tightly.

"No...impossible!"

They had seen the monks kill the water apes.

They used magic spells, magical artifacts, and I've even seen three people gang up on one and it took half an incense stick's worth of time to grind it down.

But they had never seen anyone use a water monkey as a weapon to attack its owner.

Zhou Ran shook off the blood and flesh fragments from his hands, and his purple-gold demonic eyes turned towards the two people.

At this moment, the two of them, each holding a giant ape, had forgotten to give commands.

"Shh...

Feel my power.

After speaking, Zhou Ran disappeared from the spot.

The next instant, two blood-red fireworks exploded in the thick fog.

The water monkeys, now freed from their leashes, became even more irritable, but without their master's commands, their attacks were driven solely by the instincts of wild beasts.

Wang Pangzi seized the opportunity and slammed Shui Yuan to the ground with a brutal over-the-shoulder throw.

On the other side, the silver-armored corpse used its sharp claws to completely tear open its opponent's throat.

In less than two minutes.

The mudflats returned to deathly silence, with only the gurgling sound of blood seeping into the mud and sand remaining.

Zhou Ran did not stop.

He activated his Demon Eye, his gaze piercing through the murky river surface, probing the secrets beneath the water.

The next second, a subtle change appeared in his eyes for the first time.

According to intelligence, the "Nine Dragons Formation of Zhenhai" of the Pai Sect has nine formation eyes.

But what he saw at that moment was eighteen.