160: A different world

The reason no one spoke was that they were each employing their own methods, trying to investigate what lay beneath the river.

However, one could tell from the expressions of those around that they, too, had discovered nothing.

The scion of a noble family who had spoken earlier sighed softly and continued, "Everyone, I presume you have all tried as well. Whether this river is bottomless or contains a grand formation that shields our perception, we do not know."

"But regardless, we must go down and investigate."

"Hmm..."

Everyone nodded. After all, one would not truly die here, so it did not matter if one encountered fatal danger.

However, it was still best to ensure one's survival as much as possible.

The Emperor Pass had not yet opened, and the true Opportunity had not yet appeared. If they were to die just like that, it would truly be a wasted trip.

The Lingxu Battlefield only opens during a great era!

Such opportunities are rare indeed.

Seeing everyone nod, a hint of deep meaning flickered in the eyes of that noble scion.

He then declared loudly, "Everyone, let us go down together!"

Having said that, the noble scion jumped straight in, and the faction to which he belonged naturally followed closely behind.

Seeing the first person enter, the Cultivators no longer waited and jumped in after him. When no one had gone down, everyone hoped someone else would be the first to test the waters.

But when the first person entered right before their eyes, everyone began to worry that the Opportunity would be snatched away.

Such is human nature.

Splash!!!

Accompanied by the sound of splashing, all the Cultivators on the riverbank entered the river.

What they did not know was that after they entered the river, the entire mountain lost its auspicious and sacred aura, and the vibrant, life-filled scene instantly transformed into desolation and lifelessness.

Lin Ye and Chu Hao naturally jumped into the river as well.

As soon as they entered, they felt a bone-chilling cold strike directly at their Divine Soul!

One must realize that they were all Cultivators, so naturally, they would not let the river water soak their clothes. Everyone used Spiritual Qi to form a transparent barrier, shrouding themselves within it.

Yet, even through the Spiritual Qi barrier, that bone-chilling cold struck directly at their Divine Soul, showing that this river was no ordinary water.

Although hundreds of people had entered the river at the same time, they could not see each other's positions. Never mind positions; the entire river was terrifyingly dark and silent.

The river, which had appeared turbulent before, showed not a ripple once they were inside.

Lin Ye observed the movements around him while manipulating his Spiritual Qi to keep himself sinking continuously.

No wonder nothing could be perceived while on the riverbank.

It was the same even after entering the river water.

Surrounded by dark illusions, whether using perception or the naked eye, nothing could be seen through.

Below was also dark river water. All he could do was manipulate his Spiritual Qi to keep sinking; no one knew how long it would take to reach the riverbed.

Swish...

Just as Lin Ye was continuously sinking, he suddenly heard an extremely faint sound.

He and Chu Hao had jumped in together, but they had already lost each other's location. It was evident that this river water could not only isolate perception and sight but also sound.

In such a silent environment, how could Lin Ye not notice a sound that suddenly appeared?

Hum...

Accompanied by the emergence of the Emperor's Qi, Lin Ye took the Human Emperor Sword into his hand.

Visibility in the dark river water was extremely low.

Lin Ye vaguely saw a black shadow not far away. The shadow's speed did not seem to be affected by the river water, as it kept darting through it.

"Roar!!!"

With a roar resounding in his ears, Lin Ye turned and swung his sword.

Swish!!!

Brilliant radiance erupted from the Human Emperor Sword, and a wave of Sword Qi sliced the river water behind him, rushing forward at an extreme speed.

As the sword light flashed, the river water returned to calm.

Before long, wisps of blood drifted over, followed by a corpse severed in two appearing before Lin Ye.

It was a humanoid creature. Although it had a human body, its entire body was covered in scales, its head looked like a fish, and its exposed fangs made it appear hideous.

There are monsters in the water?

Lin Ye looked around, and sure enough, black shadows were constantly darting through the river water; clearly, this was not the only monster.

Those monsters did not approach Lin Ye, seemingly because that sword strike just now had made them feel fear.

Seeing this, Lin Ye formed hand seals and sank as fast as he could.

Although he did not fear these monsters, who could say there were no other, more powerful monsters in this river?

He did not know how long he had been sinking, but just as Lin Ye was about to lose patience, a light finally appeared below.

Whoosh!

Lin Ye broke through the river water and stepped directly onto the ground. Looking up, the black river water looked like a canopy, separating the world above from the world below.

Observing his surroundings, he saw stones emitting a faint, eerie light everywhere.

Although these stones contained a trace of Spiritual Qi, they were by no means treasures.

There was a cave not far away, and without lingering, Lin Ye walked toward it.

At the same time, from above the canopy, figure after figure fell down. Some of them were injured, clearly having been attacked by the monsters.

The moment they landed, they saw that red figure.

They did not even have time to catch their breath before they chased in Lin Ye's direction.

No one knew what the Opportunity inside was, and those who arrived first naturally had an advantage. They had already broken through that eerie river, so they certainly could not let others get there first at this time!

Swish swish swish swish...

The Cultivators chased toward Lin Ye at high speed, but just as they used their Spiritual Qi, the stones emitting the eerie light around them suddenly shattered.

Bang bang...

Accompanied by the sound of shattering stones, eerie water weeds suddenly emerged from within, directly entangling the few Cultivators who were closest.

"Damn it! What are these things?!"

The few Cultivators were greatly alarmed and, holding sharp blades, slashed at the water weeds.

The combination of sharp blades and Spiritual Qi easily severed the water weeds, but immediately afterward, even more water weeds came wrapping toward them.

Finally, someone discovered the problem and shouted, "These things can sense Spiritual Qi!!! Do not use Spiritual Qi to fight them!"

Hearing this, the two entangled Cultivators immediately dispersed all their Spiritual Qi, casually took out several mortal weapons from their qiankun rings, and severed the water weeds.

If they allowed these water weeds to keep entangling them, they would likely be completely wrapped into cocoons very soon.

While some reacted, naturally others did not. Four Cultivators were wrapped into large cocoons by the water weeds, and once they lost the ability to resist, the weeds dragged them quickly away to both sides.

"Let them go!!!"

Seeing their companions entangled, some Cultivators brandished their mortal weapons and rushed forward.

But at this moment, the water weeds had wrapped around them too thickly, and hacking at them with mortal weapons was completely unable to get the people out.