6: Chapter 6: Azure Waves Reach Perfection, Fortresses Wash Away the Ground

Outside Reed Island, river mist rolls over the lake surface.

Less than thirty zhang from the mudflat where the Rank 1 Low Grade Peak Yao Beast "Black Mud Iron-Clad Crab" lurks.

At this distance, for a Yao Beast whose giant pincers could easily snip through refined iron, a single muddy dash could tear any living creature to shreds.

But Lin Ze did not retreat.

He moored the small black-canopied boat behind a patch of withered reeds, half his body hidden in the shadows.

"A lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit. Moreover, I am just a Rank 2 Qi Refiner with a Three-attribute Pseudo-Spiritual Root."

His consciousness locked onto the "Heaven Rewards Diligence" panel in his mind.

[Cultivation Technique: Azure Wave Art (Major Achievement)]

[Progress: (995/1000)]

"Only five proficiency points left..."

"Common knowledge in the cultivation world is that practicing a basic Cultivation Technique to Major Achievement is already the limit; going any further is like climbing to heaven."

"But I have the panel. As long as I grind, there are no so-called Bottlenecks!"

Lin Ze slowly closed his eyes, his hands forming a Breathing Hand Seal at his Dantian.

"Exhale..."

"Inhale..."

As Lin Ze breathed, the water-attribute Spiritual Qi turned into white misty threads and surged into his body.

The "Azure Wave Art" within his body had long been widened countless times.

As soon as the Spiritual Qi entered his Meridians, it was forcibly crushed by his Major Achievement-level magical power, finally turning into a trickling stream that merged into his Dantian.

[Azure Wave Art Experience +1]

[Azure Wave Art Experience +1]

...

Time passed second by second.

Beneath the mudflat, the Black Mud Iron-Clad Crab seemed to sense something was wrong.

The flow of Spiritual Qi in the surrounding waters seemed to have developed a vortex.

It poked out an inch from the mud, scanning the water surface.

But its Yao Beast instinct could not penetrate the concealment of the "Water Wave Perception" derived from Lin Ze's Major Achievement-level "Spirit Net Technique."

On the small boat.

Cold sweat broke out on Lin Ze's forehead.

This was the backlash from overworking the Cultivation Technique in a short period.

"Break... for me!"

He let out a roar in his heart, and the magical power in his Dantian was frantically compressed at this moment.

Then, like a flood, it crashed against that barrier!

"Boom!"

In Lin Ze's mind, it felt as if a bolt of thunder had exploded!

[Ding!]

[Cultivation Technique: Azure Wave Art (Major Achievement) → Breakthrough to (Perfection)!]

[Effects Updated: Long-lasting Magical Power, Accelerated Qi Recovery, Water Spirit Affinity (New), Endless Vitality (New)!]

A qualitative change!

Lin Ze opened his eyes, and deep within his pupils, a glint of watery light actually flashed.

He could feel that his Dantian had instantly widened by more than double!

His original magical power had now turned into a cold pool!

What was even more terrifying were those two brand-new effects!

[Water Spirit Affinity]: Allowed his perception and control of the surrounding water vapor to reach an almost instinctive level.

[Endless Vitality]: As long as he was in a body of water, his magical power recovery speed would skyrocket several times over; he almost never had to worry about exhausting his magical power!

"A Cultivation Technique is the engine of a Cultivator."

"With the engine upgraded, the power of my Spells should also rise accordingly."

Lin Ze slowly stood up.

He raised his right hand and pointed toward the mudflat.

[Spell: Water Arrow Technique (Perfection)]

[Effects: Instant Cast, Penetration]

Under the backflow of the Perfection-level "Azure Wave Art," this Water Arrow Technique finally bared its fangs.

"Found you, beast."

"Die."

Lin Ze's thin lips parted slightly as he spat out the words.

"Swoosh, swoosh!"

Two ripples formed instantly at Lin Ze's fingertips!

Empowered by magical power, these two water arrows were like two Ice Soul Divine Needles!

Instantly crossing a distance of thirty zhang!

Beneath the mudflat, the Black Mud Iron-Clad Crab's body stiffened.

Instinct made it want to immediately retract half its body into its muddy shell and prop up its demonic power shield.

But it was too late!

The terror of the "Instant Cast" trait lay in its unreasonable speed!

"Puchi!"

"Puchi!"

Two muffled sounds.

The two water arrows with the "Penetration" trait pierced fiercely into the gaps of its shell, instantly skewering its two eye stalks.

"Screech!"

The Black Mud Iron-Clad Crab's body shot up from the mudflat, foul-smelling demonic blood gushing frantically from its eye sockets, dyeing the lake water pitch black.

It went mad!

The excruciating pain of its eyes being destroyed and the instant loss of vision sent this top-tier killer into a pre-death frenzy.

Its giant pincers flailed wildly on the water surface, whipping up a column of murky water.

It rampaged across the shallows, snapping reeds and sending mud flying everywhere.

Any ordinary Early Stage Qi Refiner facing such a behemoth, even if it were blind, could only keep their distance.

Lin Ze stood at the bow, the gale blowing against his green robes.

His eyes were cold; his right hand's sword fingers hadn't lowered, and his left hand had also joined together into a sword finger.

"Not dead yet?"

"Then I'll saturate the area again."

The "Endless Vitality" trait within Lin Ze's body operated frantically, water-attribute Spiritual Qi pouring into his body and turning into lethality.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"

Flicking ten fingers in rapid succession!

One Perfection-level water arrow after another poured out from his fingers like a barrage of cannon fire!

Under the precise positioning of "Water Wave Perception," not a single one of these water arrows missed.

"Puff!"

A water arrow pierced through the weak joint on the left side of the iron-clad crab, forcibly tearing off one of its legs!

"Puff!"

Another water arrow shot into its mouthparts, directly shredding its internal organs!

He fired a total of twelve water arrows in succession!

When the final water arrow completely pierced through its brain nerves, its body stiffened abruptly and crashed heavily onto the shallows, splashing mud everywhere, its life force completely extinguished.

Lin Ze slowly lowered his hands and let out a long breath of turbid air.

His face was somewhat pale, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.

"Fortunately, I have a Perfection-level Cultivation Technique; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to support twelve Water Arrow Techniques..."

Lin Ze rowed the scull, and the small boat moored steadily.

He jumped off the boat, used a Spirit-Binding Net to tie up the crab monster's corpse, and dragged it to the shore.

Smelling that Demonic Qi, Lin Ze didn't find it disgusting; instead, his eyes lit up.

"The shell is intact; it can be used to refine a Low Grade defensive Magical Artifact."

"These giant pincers are even better Materials. This single Yao Beast alone is worth five Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

"This first pot of gold from land reclamation is truly bountiful."

Lin Ze nimbly put the crab monster's corpse into his Storage Pouch, then stood up, his gaze sweeping over this desolate lonely island.

The slaughter was over, and the crisis was resolved.

Next was the part farming players looked forward to the most... infrastructure, land enclosure, and grand plans!

"Let's go see the 'Cold Spring Spirit Eye' Great-Grandfather mentioned."

Lin Ze walked quickly to the center of the island, which was the mudflat from before.

He patted his Beast-Taming Bag.

"Come out, little guy."

"Time to work."

"Plop."

The "Black-Armored Water-Seeking Turtle" landed on the mudflat.

It was a water-attribute spiritual creature by nature. Upon landing, it felt the extremely cold Spiritual Qi and was so excited that its four short legs paddled desperately as it dove headfirst into the mud.

Water-seeking turtles are born with the talent to organize underwater Spiritual Veins.

In less than half an hour, accompanied by the sound of bubbles, the toxic mud in the center of the island was completely cleared, drained out of the formation along the underground undercurrents.

A "Cold Spring Spirit Eye" about a zhang in diameter, with spring water gurgling out white mist, appeared before Lin Ze!

The cold air rushed toward him, even the reeds instantly frosting over.

But accompanying the cold air was pure water-attribute Spiritual Qi!

"What a fine water vein!"

"The Spiritual Qi concentration here is at least twice that of the outskirts of Feiyun Island!"

Lin Ze took a deep breath, and his Perfection-level "Azure Wave Art" operated automatically, devouring the pure Spiritual Qi.

He suppressed his impulse and very carefully took out five jade jars sealed with Talismans from his Storage Pouch.

Inside these jars were the fry of the Family's "Green Jade Cold Fish."

This was a type of Rank 1 Low Grade spiritual fish that was extremely cold-resistant and had delicious meat, making it most suitable as an initial crop.

"Go on, grow to your heart's content."

Lin Ze peeled off the Talismans and slowly tilted the jade jars.

Hundreds of Green Jade Cold Fish fry happily swam into the cold spring with the water flow.

Underwater, the Black-Armored Water-Seeking Turtle was swimming leisurely, driving the water flow to provide protection for these fry.

Lin Ze sat cross-legged by the cold spring.

He cooked a pot of mundane spiritual rice, paired with a small piece of crab leg meat shaved from that crab monster.

Eating the spiritual food, feeling the surging Perfection-level magical power in his body, and watching those fry in the spring.

A sense of stability welled up in his heart.