19: Yuling Lake changes hands

Shen Xiaochuan stood on the high ground by the lake, the wind fluttering the hem of his clothes. He gazed at the lake surface, his eyes calm and sharp.

Chen Yan ran over quickly, clutching a cloth map in his hand: "Lord God, the third team is ready. The ambush on the north side is complete, and the east side has been cleared."

Shen Xiaochuan nodded slightly and asked in a low voice: "Are those two bears still eating?"

"Still eating."

Chen Yan replied, "Their movements are very slow, their heads bobbing, as if they are about to fall asleep."

Shen Xiaochuan's eyes turned cold: "The poison has taken effect."

He quickly opened the mall interface and pulled up the information on the Snake-Bone Fish. "This fish dissolves upon contact with water, and the toxin will not dissipate within three hours. The bears drank the poisoned water and ate poisoned prey; they will surely suffer."

Chen Yan frowned: "But the lake water is now poisonous as well. Should we still launch a direct assault?"

Shen Xiaochuan closed the interface and sneered: "What is there to fear? We have gas masks, and they don't. This is the best time to strike."

"But just now... there was a dark shadow in the lake."

"I saw it too."

Shen Xiaochuan narrowed his eyes. "A long, shaped object surfaced from the center of the lake and then sank back down."

Chen Yan swallowed hard: "Should we retreat first? Wait for the toxicity to dissipate before taking action?"

"We cannot wait."

Shen Xiaochuan interrupted decisively. "A Level 3 Treasure Land belongs to whoever occupies it. If we retreat now, someone else will snatch it away. It's not just the bears; other people will come too."

He pointed to the center of the lake. "See that stone platform? That is the altar. As long as we stand on it and declare sovereignty, Yuling Lake will be ours."

Chen Yan looked in that direction. A stone platform stood in the middle of the lake, with a broken pillar on it and a few withered leaves floating nearby.

"There is no bridge; we have to wade through the water to get there."

"Then we wade."

Shen Xiaochuan turned and ordered the team, "Everyone put on your gas masks and check your weapons! Archers to the front, prepare to suppress!"

Chen Yan blew his whistle—three short blasts and one long, the signal spreading out.

Three hundred Archers immediately lined up and moved forward, moving in perfect unison. They wore black masks, held longbows, and stood solemnly.

Shen Xiaochuan drew his battle spear: "The main force will advance head-on with me. You take five hundred men to flank from the north side. Once I charge, you drive the bears into the lake."

"What if the bears don't go into the water?" Chen Yan asked.

"Kill one."

Shen Xiaochuan said indifferently, "The remaining one will surely go berserk at the sight of blood."

Chen Yan nodded: "Understood."

Shen Xiaochuan had just taken two steps when he suddenly stopped.

The lake surface moved.

A dark shadow rose slowly from the center of the lake, much clearer than before—like an upright pillar, or perhaps the spine of some creature breaking through the water.

Shen Xiaochuan let out a low shout: "Don't move!"

Everyone immediately held their breath.

The wind stopped, the leaves were still, and the lake was like a mirror.

The dark shadow rose into mid-air, paused suddenly, and then slowly sank, disappearing from view.

Shen Xiaochuan stared at the water, his voice low but firm: "Block all four sides! Archers, stay alert. If there is any movement, fire immediately."

"Yes!" Chen Yan immediately relayed the order.

Five scout spirits took to the air and flew toward the center of the lake.

A minute passed.

One of them suddenly lost signal.

Shen Xiaochuan's pupils constricted.

"Number three has lost contact."

Chen Yan reported, "The last position was two zhang east of the lake center."

"It wasn't an accident."

Shen Xiaochuan said in a deep voice, "It was either devoured or crushed."

"Should we send two more?"

"No need."

Shen Xiaochuan shook his head. "Sending more is just sending them to their deaths. There is a problem with this lake; it's not just the bears."

Chen Yan gripped his battle spear tightly: "Are we still fighting? After all, the target is a Level 3 Treasure Land..."

Shen Xiaochuan sneered: "The harder it is to seize a place, the more it is worth fighting for. If we don't come, others will. But I will never let anyone ride on my head!"

He pointed toward the center of the lake: "Listen up, our goal is not to kill all the bears, but to seize the altar. As long as we step on the altar and declare sovereignty, the System will recognize the owner."

"But how do we get there? There is something hidden in the water."

"Use the bears as a raft."

Shen Xiaochuan said, "It won't work with live ones, but dead ones will do. Their flesh is poisonous, and it will float when thrown into the water. We will step on it to cross the lake; it saves effort and can also test the reaction from under the water."

Chen Yan was stunned: "You mean... step on a dead bear to cross?"

"Correct."

Shen Xiaochuan nodded. "It is heavy enough that it won't sink. We will travel on it; it will allow us to cross the water and lure the enemy out."

"What if that thing rams into us?"

"Then we fight."

Shen Xiaochuan gazed at the lake surface. "If it dares to show its head, we will nail it to death."

Chen Yan took a deep breath: "Alright! I'll go pick one out."

"Don't pick a mangled one."

Shen Xiaochuan instructed, "The limbs must be intact. Drag it to the shore, cut off the head, and drain the blood."

"Understood."

Ten minutes later, a Black Rock Giant Bear that had just been killed was dragged to the shore of the lake. Its fur was black and shiny, its body robust, and it was exceptionally heavy.

Twenty warriors tied its limbs with ropes and dragged it into the shallow water.

Shen Xiaochuan ordered: "Release!"

The ropes were released, and the giant bear floated on the water, its head facing the center of the lake, like a pitch-black ship.

Shen Xiaochuan examined it for a moment: "Stable. That works."

Chen Yan led fifty elites to step onto the bear's back one by one, their steps cautious.

The lake surface was calm, without a single ripple.

"Push it." Shen Xiaochuan ordered.

Soldiers on the shore braced long poles against the bear's body and pushed hard.

The giant bear slid slowly toward the deep water, drifting toward the high ground in the center of the lake.

Shen Xiaochuan crouched down and reached out to gently stroke the bear's fur. It was damp and carried a fishy stench.

"Watch your step."

He reminded those behind him, "Don't get too close to the edge. There is something under the water."

The team maintained their formation, with the Archers in the center and the spearmen guarding the perimeter.

Halfway there, a vibration came from the bottom of the lake.

It wasn't a sound, but a trembling sensation under their feet. The giant bear swayed slightly.

"Stop." Shen Xiaochuan raised his hand.

Everyone stopped.

Three seconds later, there was another vibration, more pronounced. The giant bear tilted, and water splashed slightly.

Shen Xiaochuan frowned, staring intently ahead: "Continue, but slower."

The team moved forward again, their footsteps light.

After another ten steps, the high ground in the center of the lake was right before their eyes.

Suddenly, the giant bear's right hind leg sank abruptly.

As if it had been suddenly grabbed by something under the water.

Chen Yan widened his eyes and exclaimed: "It moved!"

Shen Xiaochuan immediately laid down, grabbing the bear's horn with one hand.

The carcass tilted to the right instantly, and the left forelimb lifted out of the water. Two people nearly slipped off but were pulled up by others.

A ripple spread across the lake, centered on the bear's right hind leg.

"Fire!" Shen Xiaochuan roared.

The Archers in the back immediately fired; five sharp arrows pierced the air and entered the water.

The moment the arrows entered the water, they were all shattered.

They weren't snapped; they were instantly crushed into fragments.

"It's not a fish."

Shen Xiaochuan gritted his teeth. "It's a hard object."

He looked toward the high ground: "We're almost there. Ten more steps and we can jump onto it."

Before he could finish speaking, the entire giant bear sank abruptly.

Chen Yan screamed: "Oh no! It's going to drag us down!"

Shen Xiaochuan stood up abruptly, tapped the bear's back with his battle spear, and shouted sternly: "Jump! Everyone who can jump, jump now! Target the edge of the high ground!"

He leaped out first.

More than forty people followed closely, all leaping forward.

The moment the last person left the bear, the carcass sank completely, disappearing into the lake in the blink of an eye.

Shen Xiaochuan landed and rolled, his feet slipping as he stood up.

He looked down—

The ground was not rock.

It was bone.

The entire high ground was covered with white bone fragments, dense and numerous, as if accumulated from the remains of countless tiny creatures.

After landing, Chen Yan witnessed this scene, his face full of shock, and blurted out: "What is this place..."

Shen Xiaochuan remained silent. His gaze fell on the broken pillar in the center of the altar.

There were characters carved at the base of the pillar.

He walked forward and brushed away the dust.

Eight ancient characters appeared:

"Those who offer life shall gain the lake; those who feed the gods shall inherit power."

Chen Yan shook his head in confusion: "We haven't touched the altar yet, nor have we declared sovereignty, so how could..."

Shen Xiaochuan stared at the line of text, his fingertips slowly tracing the stone surface.

The System had no prompts, no task pop-ups, and no warnings.

But his faith points were growing at an astonishing rate—

+1 per second → +2 per second → +3 per second.

Triple speed, automatically in effect.

"It recognizes me?" he whispered to himself.

"Impossible."

Chen Yan shook his head. "We haven't touched the altar yet."

Shen Xiaochuan looked up at the lake surface.

The water was as calm as before.

But he knew that the thing from before was still underneath.

Waiting.

He turned around abruptly, his expression stern: "Order immediately: everyone must stay on the high ground of the shore. No one is to enter the water, and no one is to touch any stones!"

"What about you?"

Shen Xiaochuan had already walked to the center of the altar.

He held his battle spear high, pointing straight to the sky.

"I, Shen Xiaochuan, with my battle spear as witness, stand at the heart of Yuling Lake and declare this land to belong to my Divine Kingdom!"

The wind suddenly picked up.

A golden light flashed from the tip of the battle spear.

The Believers on the distant shore looked up simultaneously.

A System announcement rang in their minds:

【New landmark registered: Yuling Lake】

【Belongs to deity: Shen Xiaochuan】

【Status: Pending activation】

Shen Xiaochuan put away his battle spear.

The faith points continued to grow, the triple speed running steadily.

Chen Yan rushed over: "Did it work? Are we the masters of the lake?"

Shen Xiaochuan did not answer.

He gazed at the lake surface.

The dark shadow in the water was slowly rising.