59: die!

Li Qing's consciousness let out a silent roar within the Sea of Consciousness of the Earth Spirit Turtle Clone.

He wanted these surging river waters to be entirely at his disposal!

At the bottom of the Qiu River, the originally surging and roaring currents strangely came to a standstill at this moment.

As if frozen.

The Water Ghost Team members, who were struggling to drag the Spirit Binding Net, felt the force in their hands undergo an earth-shattering change at the same time.

The water flow was no longer a resistance.

Instead, it turned into viscous, heavy, and malicious invisible hands, tightly gripping their limbs.

The water was betraying them!

With the Earth Spirit Turtle as the center, a massive counter-rotating vortex suddenly formed!

"Not good! This beast is using Water Control!"

The leader of the Water Ghost Team was scared witless, frantically making the retreat gesture in the water.

However, it was all too late.

Li Qing mobilized all the spiritual power of his Clone, pushing the [Mystic Water Manipulation] talent to its limit.

Boom!

The speed of the vortex suddenly surged, and the incredibly violent undercurrents instantly tore apart the formation that the Water Ghost Team took pride in.

Several members didn't even have time to scream before being sucked into the core of the vortex.

The high-quality diving suits on their bodies shattered inch by inch like paper.

Flesh and bone were squeezed, kneaded, and crushed by invisible giant hands.

The sounds of cracking bones were clearly audible underwater.

But this was only the beginning.

Li Qing's goal was not to escape.

It was to counter-kill!

As long as that old thing on the boat didn't die, there would never be peace from this pursuit!

He further compressed and refined the power of [Mystic Water Manipulation].

Outside the violent vortex, the river water was condensed into dozens of transparent water spikes that were almost impossible to catch with the naked eye.

These water spikes were silent and invisible.

Yet they were ten times faster and even more lethal than the strongest armor-piercing crossbows on the shore!

Puff! Puff! Puff!

A series of extremely muffled sounds of piercing flesh echoed one after another in the water.

These specially-made diving suits, built at great expense and capable of resisting ordinary swords, were powerless against these extremely refined water spikes.

Bright red blood instantly spread through the river water, forming clouds of blood mist that were then swallowed up by the vortex.

"Ugh... Ah..."

Dying screams were choked in their throats by the river water, eventually turning into strings of bubbles.

More than ten elite water ghosts of the Late-stage Condensing Yuan Realm, the Second Realm of Martial Arts, were all killed in just a few breaths.

This riverbed they relied on for survival had now become their graveyard.

The terrifying pulling force binding the Earth Spirit Turtle suddenly vanished.

With a thought from Li Qing, the [Great Strength] talent erupted!

The mysterious patterns on the turtle shell glowed brilliantly.

Crack!

With a crisp sound, the Spirit Binding Net, which struck fear into the hearts of countless aquatic Spirit Beasts, was actually forced open with a huge tear by the Earth Spirit Turtle Clone!

...On the surface of the Great River, aboard the large ship.

Old Man Qian stared fixedly at the thousand-mile soul-chasing compass in his hand, a confident sneer already forming at the corners of his mouth.

The blood-colored needle on the compass representing the prey was steadily rising.

This indicated that the beast was being smoothly dragged toward the surface.

He even began to calculate how to deal with this rare Spirit Turtle to vent the hatred in his heart.

However, in the next instant!

The needle started to tremble and shake violently as if it had gone mad!

Following that, the dozen or so light spots on the compass representing the life force of each Water Ghost Team member.

One by one, they quickly went out!

Old Man Qian's pupils suddenly constricted to the size of pinpoints!

"What's going on?!"

He let out a shriek.

Splash!

By the ship's railing, a bloody figure suddenly burst out of the water.

It was the vice-captain of the Water Ghost Team; his diving suit was torn to shreds, his right arm was severed at the shoulder, and his face was filled with nothing but terror.

"Old Man Qian... underwater... there's..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood mixed with organ fragments, his body went limp, and he sank back into the river.

Immediately after.

Glug, glug... The river surface began to bubble, and large patches of bloody water surged up, dyeing the river around the ship a shocking dark red.

Some severed limbs and broken armor slowly floated up.

The Water Ghost Team was completely wiped out!

Lord Zhou and Lin Feng's faces instantly turned ashen.

This was the trump card of the City Lord's Mansion!

Every water ghost was at least a martial arts expert of the Late-stage Condensing Yuan Realm, and the captain was a powerhouse of the Initial Stage of Meridian Connecting Realm!

Furthermore, the Cultivation Techniques they practiced were all of the water attribute.

The resources spent on training such a team were astronomical!

Now, they were gone.

Not even a complete corpse was left behind.

The river surface fell into a deathly silence.

Only the thick smell of blood permeated the air.

Lord Zhou's hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

Having been in charge of Jinling's defense for many years, when had he ever seen such a strange and tragic sight!

Old Man Qian's face was as gray as a dead man's; he used all his strength to tightly grip the soul chasing plate in his hand.

"It's not dead! It's still there! It's diving!"

Old Man Qian's voice became sharp and distorted, filled with resentment and madness.

Although the blood needle on the compass trembled wildly, it still stubbornly pointed to a certain location on the riverbed.

"Chase it! We absolutely cannot let it escape!"

He suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at Lord Zhou.

"Lord Zhou, give the order! Use the River-Shaking Thunder! Blast it out of the riverbed for me!"

Lord Zhou had not yet recovered from the massive shock and loss.

Beside him, Lin Feng, the master of the Fierce Wind Martial Arts Hall and a powerhouse at the Peak of the Meridian Unblocking Realm, felt a chill rush from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

This Spirit Turtle... was actually this terrifying?

During their last encounter, it clearly didn't have this kind of strength.

Could it be... it was playing the pig to eat the tiger from the very beginning?

The tragic state of the Water Ghost Team's annihilation made this long-famous expert feel fear for the first time.

"Old Man Qian, Lord Zhou, this beast is no longer something human power can contend with, we..."

He wanted to advise the two of them to temporarily avoid its edge and plan carefully.

"Shut up!"

Old Man Qian was like a madman, rudely interrupting him.

"Little Gold's revenge must be taken! With the soul chasing plate, even if it flees to the ends of the earth, it must die!"

...Iron Bone Martial Arts School.

Li Qing still stood in the courtyard like an old pine tree, his figure motionless.

He felt that the sense of being locked on, originating from the depths of his Divine Soul, had not disappeared with the annihilation of the Water Ghost Team.

The source of the tracking was still on that ship on the river.

Li Qing's patience was completely exhausted.

He had intended to keep a low profile, but these ants repeatedly provoked him.

There is a road to heaven that you do not take, and there is no gate to Hell, yet you barge in.

Since you are bent on seeking death.

Then, I shall fulfill your wish!