364: Just kill casually

Just as Shen Bei was leisurely taking a boat to Shenxiu Lake, a cool breeze blew across the river.

Shen Bei looked curiously at the water.

Although the Stranger Boatman had warned him, Shen Bei didn't take it seriously at all.

What water ghost?

Do the Catacombs even have such things?

Shen Bei had seen many ghosts, especially when facing Fang Han.

Within that ghostly mist, there were countless, intricate ghost shadows.

In the end...

Weren't they all annihilated by him?

A water ghost... such a rare species.

In Shen Bei's eyes, it was like a rare elite in a game.

I'm going to see what's going on.

After all, with so many boats coming and going on Lengshui River, no major disaster had ever occurred.

Presumably, the water ghost's strength wasn't much.

Shen Bei completely disregarded the Boatman's warning and stared intently at the water.

But what he saw was not a handsome face.

On the contrary, reflected in the water was a large, green-faced, fanged head—hideous, terrifying, and ugly.

Shen Bei smiled faintly.

So this is a water ghost?

A ghost with Sixth-Rank strength...

Shen Bei sniffed. He had been cooped up in Wu Bi'an's barrier for a long time, constantly being hunted. Wasn't this just delivering food to him?

And before Shen Bei smiled, the ghostly shadow in the water revealed a smile first—a greedy, sinister grin.

One man, one ghost, smiling at each other.

The next moment.

Shen Bei suddenly felt a strange ripple surging up from the water.

It seemed this water ghost intended to spiritually invade Shen Bei.

The force was like... a Little Brat pushing a train.

But who was Shen Bei?

Fifth Dimension spiritual resistance 100%!

To put it bluntly, this water ghost's strength was not worth mentioning in front of Shen Bei.

If the two sides were to remain in a standoff, and the water ghost were given another year or so to grind and impact Shen Bei's spiritual defense, it might well be like taking a stone from Mount Tai—it could still achieve something, however small.

At this moment.

Shen Bei was curious about what this water ghost intended to do.

He simply removed his spiritual defense, allowing the water ghost's spiritual invasion.

Instantly, Shen Bei's Divine Sense was controlled by the water ghost.

The scenery before him suddenly changed.

Under the water was no longer a ghost face, but a pile of glittering gold, within arm's reach, as if he could bend down and scoop up the priceless treasure!

Shen Bei seemed to understand.

Perhaps the water ghost wanted to lure him into the river to drown.

If it were an ordinary person with an unstable Heart-Nature, seeing such readily available wealth, no one could resist.

Bending down to pick up money—that was the simplest, most fundamental wish of common folk.

But little did they know, as soon as they reached for it, they would fall into the river.

Facing such tempting "immense wealth"—

Shen Bei didn't move.

It was simply that... the water ghost's methods were too primitive. Shen Bei was in a god-like perspective, seeing everything clearly. He was merely playing along with the water ghost.

The next moment, it seemed the water ghost, seeing that Shen Bei didn't take the bait, felt its lure wasn't effective.

It changed its strategy.

The light and shadow shifted again, and a Dragon throne appeared under the water, with a large imperial seal resting on it. A voice whispered in his ear, telling him to sit on it, to take that position, and the whole world would be his.

Shen Bei found it quite uninteresting.

How could power be as satisfying as brute force?

One could only say this water ghost had little insight and a low perspective.

Shen Bei still didn't move.

The water ghost was unyielding; it understood human nature.

Since money and power couldn't entice Shen Bei to willingly jump into the river—

Then it could only bring out its trump card.

It went straight for Shen Bei's lower desires.

The light and shadow changed again. This time, it transformed into a group of beautiful women, like orioles and swallows. Each was as beautiful as a flower, yet they refused to properly wear their clothes. One revealed a hint of her alluring chest, another showed off two long legs, with deeper parts vaguely visible. It seemed that with just a reach, one could pull off their thin, silken skirts.

At this moment, Shen Bei finally moved.

Boring, uninteresting. I'm not playing with you anymore.

And then.

Shen Bei's palm sank, and two blades suddenly appeared in his hands. He swung them forward.

Swoosh—

The blades cut through the air.

Immediately after, the flowing river water paused.

Boom—

The great river reversed its flow!

In an instant, the steadily flowing river water was abruptly cleaved in the middle!

On both sides, several-meter-high water walls instantly rose!

And they surged rapidly at a visible speed!

At the point where he swung his sword, a nearly ten-meter-wide vacuum zone appeared, instantly exposing the dry, chaotic riverbed.

Many unlucky fish, bewildered, suddenly appeared in the air from the water, their eyes wide with confusion and innocence.

On this riverbed, a faint green shadow was also exposed—that was the water ghost's true form.

After a long time, it had shed its human form, but its eyes were still vaguely discernible.

The emotions in its eyes were not much different from those in the fish's eyes.

However, as a sentient water ghost, what it did was far more than just surprise.

Amidst its shock, a series of thoughts surged in its mind.

Who am I...

Where am I...

What am I doing...

What the hell is this!

A Cultivator who can cut off a river with one strike, why are you playing bait-and-switch fishing tactics?

If you want to kill me, just say so!

Seriously, this is ridiculous...

At this moment, the water ghost looked up at the handsome young man on the deck of the boat who had casually swung a blade, feeling a bit bewildered.

He stopped the water?

No...

He cut the river!

He used this method to force himself, who was integrated into the river water, out!

This kid is here for me!

Don't you want to talk? Why?

Wait!

Danger!

For Shen Bei, the water ghost's home advantage was being under the water, coming and going without a trace.

But he severed the river with one strike.

What is a water ghost without water?

A ghost?

No.

A dead ghost!

Shen Bei gently raised his hand, and the second blade fell.

Swoosh—

The faint green shadow suddenly shattered, flesh and blood flying, then dispersed by the heavily falling river water.

Its last thoughts in its ghostly life were only two words.

Cheating...

Shen Bei calmly sheathed his sword.

One strike to sever the river.

One strike to slay the ghost.

There's nothing in the world that cannot be solved with one strike.

If there is, then two strikes.

In a flash, the fish in the air returned to the water. This brief interlude was not even enough for them to figure out whether they were birds or fish.

But it didn't matter; in seven seconds, they would forget this thrilling journey.

"Ah!!!"

The Boatman poling the boat behind him reacted belatedly, exclaiming in shock at Shen Bei's river-severing, ghost-slaying strike.

"This, water ghost... You, Great Cultivator!"

Cultivator is what the Catacombs call a "Martial Artist."

Although the Catacombs and earth's surface have different names, the essence is the same thing.

Both refer to humans who break through the limits of the human body and possess magical arts and Martial Skills.

At this moment, the Boatman was incoherent, collapsing onto the stern of the boat.

He had initially thought this young man was a second-hand merchant, as he was carrying a mirror, a product from earth's surface that was quite popular among the Catacomb Stranger.

Who knew that with one move, it would be so terrifying and chilling, a light swing of the blade capable of such a frightening feat as severing a river!

The Boatman's breathing was intermittent from shock, rapid and shallow like asthma!

Meaningless "gurgling" sounds came from his throat, his mouth stretched exaggeratedly, revealing his missing teeth: "It was I who failed to recognize your greatness, you are our great benefactor!"

Shen Bei asked in confusion, "How so?"

The Boatman chattered on for a long time.

Shen Bei finally understood.

The waterway from Hengshan City to Shenxiu Lake had always been quite unsafe.

In fact, legends of water ghosts are common in all great rivers.

In other places where water ghosts cause trouble, at most, one just avoids going into the water.

But in this section of the Lengshui River, even if you stood on the bank, just looking at the river surface could lead to you being lured in.

Over time, both banks of the entire Lengshui River became Forbidden Grounds.

For a long time, no one had been harmed, but last year, some mischievous child, not properly watched, ran to the river to play and was lured in by the water ghost.

Coincidentally, Niu Er from the neighboring village saw it and, unable to bear it, went into the water to rescue the child.

Niu Er was a good sailor who fished at sea year-round; he could paddle faster than a fish even with his hands and feet tied.

But after pushing the child up, he himself did not resurface.

Moreover, after Niu Er died, his body became as heavy as iron and stone, sinking into the river's heart and unable to float. No one dared to retrieve his body.

Niu Er's family, with nowhere to turn, had to follow someone's advice and invite a Cultivator to build a spirit altar and sincerely offer sacrifices to the water ghost in the river.

Only then did the water ghost allow the body to float to the surface, and Niu Er was finally laid to rest.

Hearing this, Shen Bei had only one thought:

This water ghost...

So domineering!