The Immortal Clan begins with deductive intelligence.

Sixty miles of waterway, if one were to fly on a flying device, would not take much time.

But Xu Changqing dared not fly too high, nor too fast.

He flew at a very low altitude, his mind on high alert.

They traveled on and off for about an hour.

The water ahead suddenly opened up, and the originally smooth ice surface became fragmented, with large chunks of floating ice crashing against each other with a constant sound as the water flowed.

This is where the underground river flows, and the water is so rapid that the ice layer is difficult to freeze solid.

Xu Changqing stowed the small boat and landed on a relatively stable, large ice floe.

He looked around, but apart from the howling wind and the sound of ice colliding, there was nothing unusual.

"This is it."

Xu Changqing took out the fine iron cage filled with "added" dead fish from his storage bag.

After his modifications, the cage was covered with a black cloth, leaving only a few holes for odor to dissipate.

He then took out the two sound-recording stones and the illusion talisman, and carefully stuck them around the cage.

"I don't know if it will work out."

According to the guidance of the Heavenly Mirror, the secret cave of the Water Mansion is located on the rock wall below the confluence of the underground rivers, and the nests of the two Azure Water Pythons are in the mud pits on both sides of the cave entrance.

Xu Changqing dared not get too close.

He stopped about two hundred feet upstream from the cave entrance.

The water flow is strongest here, which is just right to carry the smell and sound over.

He poured the two cans of dead fish into the iron cage, and then stuffed the recording stones and illusion talismans into the specially made compartment of the cage.

An extremely strong, fishy stench instantly filled the air.

"go!"

Xu Changqing loosened his grip.

"Thump."

The iron cage entered the water, splashing up a small spray before being swallowed by the rushing current.

Then he made hand seals, activating the talismans and sound-recording stones on the cage.

"Buzz—"

The phantom symbol glowed faintly.

Suddenly, a blurry shadow appeared on the once still water.

The shadow looked like a wounded giant tortoise, writhing painfully among the rocks, stirring up mud and sand around it.

At the same time, the recording stone also began to work.

"Gurgle... Splash..."

The dull thud, mixed with the dying cries of the water beast, echoed far and wide across the water.

After Xu Changqing finished doing all this, he found a hollow in a blind spot near the Water Mansion and squatted down.

Time slips away, bit by bit.

The cold wind whistled past my ears.

Xu Changqing silently calculated the time in his mind.

One hundred breaths.

Two hundred breaths.

Five hundred breaths...

Just as Xu Changqing was wondering if the two beasts had already fallen asleep and died.

The originally murky water in the distance suddenly looked strange.

A tremendous water pressure surged upstream from downstream without warning.

coming!

Xu Changqing's pupils contracted slightly, and he held his breath.

From the depths of the water, two lantern-sized, eerie green lights appeared.

Immediately afterwards, two enormous black shadows, each as thick as a water bucket and three or four zhang long, swung their bodies and fiercely broke through the water's surface.

As soon as the two beasts showed themselves, they raised their upper bodies, their forked tongues flicking in and out of the air, making a hissing sound.

They smelled it.

The strong smell of blood was constantly drifting down from upstream.

One of the larger blue pythons appeared particularly agitated, its tail slapping the water's surface violently, creating waves several feet high, its two fist-sized yellow vertical pupils fixedly staring upstream.

The smaller one seemed hesitant, circling twice at the entrance to the water palace before setting off immediately.

Xu Changqing lay behind the rocks, his palms sweaty.

This is a bit troublesome.

If one of them leaves and the other stays, then his plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain will only be half successful.

He still had no chance of winning against a late-stage first-tier demonic beast.

"Be greedy, be even greedier."

Just then, a faint scream from the echoing stone could be heard from underwater upstream.

Hearing the commotion, the hesitant little python could no longer contain itself.

If you don't eat the meat that's offered to you, you're not a beast.

"hiss!"

The python let out a low growl and dived into the water first, rushing upstream following the scent of blood.

The python followed closely behind, its massive body leaving an S-shaped ripple in the water before disappearing into the murky river in the blink of an eye.

Xu Changqing didn't rush to leave until he was sure that the two beasts had swum far away and showed no signs of returning.

He then formed hand seals and cast a water-avoiding spell, a layer of light blue light covering his entire body.

Xu Changqing took a deep breath and leaped into the air.

"Thump!"

He plunged into the icy, bone-chilling river.

Without the slightest pause.

He had to find the Cold Marrow Fungus before the two Azure Water Pythons discovered the dead fish in the cage and turned back, and then escape.

The underwater lighting was dim, almost pitch black.

Xu Changqing took out a fluorite from his storage bag.

Using the faint light, he could see the terrain below.

Below this bay is a huge funnel-shaped pit, and on the side wall of that pit is a pitch-black opening two zhang wide.

That's the entrance to the Water Palace.

Xu Changqing swam towards the cave entrance, swinging his legs.

As soon as you approach the cave entrance, an extremely cold and eerie aura hits you.

The cave wasn't completely dark; some moss with a faint green glow grew on the rock walls.

Following the faint light, Xu Changqing quickly swam deeper into the area.

The water was not deep; after swimming for about ten zhang (approximately 33 meters), the view suddenly opened up ahead.

This is a naturally formed underground cave, but traces of artificial modification can still be seen.

At the deepest part of the cave, there was a tightly closed stone door, covered with intricate patterns.

"this……"

Xu Changqing frowned. Clearly, the real water palace lay beyond this stone gate.

The two blue pythons clearly lacked the intelligence to open the stone door; they simply used the outer perimeter of the cave as a nest to shelter from the wind and rain.

The pure white, jade-like Cold Marrow Ganoderma, emanating a faint chill, grew in the crack of the stone gate.

Xu Changqing quickly stepped forward, carefully removed the Cold Marrow Ganoderma, and placed it into the jade box that had been prepared beforehand.

Xu Changqing carefully examined the tightly closed stone door.

There must be a hidden world behind this stone gate.

But it's unknown when this formation was created, or whether it holds treasures or some ferocious creature.

Moreover, given his current cultivation level, if the activation of the formation causes a major disturbance or triggers some mechanism, he might find it difficult to cope.

"There is ample time."

Xu Changqing turned around decisively. Since this place was right here, he couldn't run away. He could come back to explore it when his cultivation level was higher.

Just as he turned around...

A strong sense of unease welled up inside me.

At the same time, a violent surge of water flowed from outside the cave.

Xu Changqing's expression changed drastically, and he quickly pressed himself against the rock wall, concealing his aura.

From the dim waters at the cave entrance, a massive black shadow was slowly swimming in.

It's the smaller blue water python!

How did that beast get back so quickly?!