14: Shrimp soldiers and crab generals

After wandering the edges of the vast and dangerous deep waters of Lake for several days, Gao De had still been unable to find an ideal place that was both safe and suitable for cultivation.

Either the Spiritual Qi was thin, or the area had already been claimed as territory by powerful aquatic tribes; approaching rashly would only trigger conflict.

One day, while exploring the waters near the mouth of a large river that flowed into Lake from the west bank, he suddenly noticed a group of large, greenish-black Shrimp Spirits. They were sneakily dragging some kind of glowing moss upstream, against the current.

These Shrimp Spirits were weak, most having only just gained basic intelligence and not even reaching the First Order, but their behavior was quite organized.

Gao De's heart stirred. He restrained his aura and quietly followed them.

He wasn't interested in the Shrimp Spirits themselves, but rather curious about their destination.

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Following the shrimp swarm upstream along the riverbed for dozens of li, the channel took a sharp turn, where the current had carved out an extremely deep pool.

The mouth of the pool was hidden by dense aquatic plants and jagged rocks; it would be extremely difficult to find without specifically looking for it.

As soon as he entered the range of the deep pool, Gao De keenly sensed that the Water Spiritual Qi here was far purer and denser than outside!

"A fine place!" He rejoiced inwardly. But immediately after, a mixed, somewhat irritable Demonic Qi drifted up from the bottom of the pool.

He lurked in the shadows near the pool's entrance to observe. At the bottom of the deep pool, a dozen or so crabs the size of millstones were entrenched!

Their shells were dark brown, and they brandished pairs of thick claws. Their Demonic Qi was significantly stronger than that of the Shrimp Spirits, with the leaders even reaching the Middle Stage of the First Order.

Those Shrimp Spirits were precisely offering the glowing moss they had collected as tribute to these crabs. Clearly, this group of Crab Spirits were the masters of this place, while the Shrimp Spirits were their vassals or a food source.

Because this deep pool was relatively remote—neither in the core area of Dongting Lake nor beside the main navigation channels—its Spiritual Qi concentration wasn't attractive enough for truly Great Demons. Thus, it had remained occupied by this group of not-too-powerful Crab Spirits.

A plan instantly formed in Gao De's mind.

He did not choose a direct assault.

These Crab Spirits were numerous and held the geographical advantage. Even if he could win a head-on fight, he might get injured, and making too much noise might attract unnecessary attention.

He decided to win through wit—or rather, through intimidation.

He first quietly released a sliver of Flood Dragon pressure from his Dragon Fish Bloodline, at a concentration of 30%.

To these low-level aquatic creatures, this pressure was like a commoner meeting an emperor. The fear originating from the depths of their Bloodlines caused the entire swarm of crabs and shrimp to instantly fall into a commotion. They huddled together in panic, their claws snapping aimlessly, yet they didn't dare make any aggressive moves.

Immediately after, Gao De activated Size As Desired. His body suddenly expanded within a black light, returning to his original form nearly two zhang long (not reaching the three-zhang limit to avoid being too shocking). His pitch-black scales shimmered with an eerie light, golden patterns flowed across them, and his cold vertical pupils looked down upon the trembling aquatic creatures below.

He deliberately controlled the pressure, making them feel fear without scaring them into fleeing in all directions.

Then, using the sound transmission technique he had just mastered, he sent his raspy and majestic voice directly into the simple brains of every Crab Spirit and Shrimp Spirit:

"Submit, or die."

Four simple words, combined with that terrifying pressure and massive demonic body, had an immediate effect.

Though these Crab Spirits possessed some intelligence, when had they ever seen such a display?

In their simple understanding, anything possessing such majesty and form must certainly be an extraordinary Great Demon!

Any thought of resistance was drowned by fear the moment it arose.

"Click... click..." The leading large crabs were the first to lower their raised claws. They crouched low, using their appendages to lightly tap the rocks at the bottom of the pool, making sounds of submission. The shrimp swarm behind them had long since prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to move.

Satisfied, Gao De continued his transmission: "From now on, this place is under my jurisdiction. You all are my subordinates.

Guard the entrance well and Cultivate diligently; you will have your rewards."

He slightly withdrew the pressure, allowing these aquatic creatures to move normally.

Then, he dove into the deepest part of the pool, where the Spiritual Vein's spring eye was located. The pure Water Spiritual Qi had almost become physical.

He coiled above the spring eye, feeling the continuous stream of cool energy pouring into his body, so comfortable he almost wanted to groan.

"Finally... I have a decent lair."

This deep pool was hidden, rich in Spiritual Qi, and had a group of ready-made low-level aquatic creatures to serve as eyes and peripheral defense. It was the most ideal base for his current stage.

He gave simple instructions to the leading Crab Spirits and a few of the stronger Shrimp Spirits:

Take turns patrolling and guarding the pool entrance and the upstream and downstream sections of the river. If any powerful beings or human Cultivators are spotted, report back immediately.

At the same time, he also began to ponder how to use this group of "Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals" to gather more information and resources for himself.

After a period of wandering, his path to dragon transformation seemed to have finally reached a harbor where he could pause and accumulate strength.

Gao De coiled upon the Spiritual Vein and began to Cultivate in peace, digesting his previous gains and planning how to use this new base to advance faster toward the Second Order Wisdom Attainment Realm.

In a deep pool on the west bank of the Eight Hundred Li Dongting Lake, a Dragon Fish quietly began his career of hegemony and farming-style cultivation... Coiled upon the Spiritual Vein of the deep pool, Gao De absorbed the pure Water Spiritual Qi to consolidate his cultivation while also attempting to communicate more deeply with the Crab Spirits he had appointed as "leaders."

The intelligence of these low-level Essence Spirits was extremely limited, making complex communication impossible. However, their simple memory fragments and instinctive reactions could convey a lot of information about the surrounding environment.

Gao De used his powerful Spiritual Sense to carefully browse through the chaotic and simple memories of the Crab Generals, as if flipping through a tattered picture book.

Most were trivial details about how to hunt for food, avoid predators, and fight for territory.

However, one recurring memory fragment, filled with obvious fear and anger, caught his close attention.

In that memory fragment, a slender and massive shadow swam over from the direction of the back mountain connected to the deep pool.

It wasn't an aquatic creature, but a giant python covered in dark scales, with a prominent, bright red fleshy lump on its head!

This giant python would often come to the edge of the pool or dive directly into the shallow waters. Its targets seemed to be these Crab Spirits!

The images in the memory were filled with the clashing of waving crab claws against the giant python's swift attacks, and how the Crab Spirits eventually relied on their numbers and hard shells to barely drive the python back, though often at the cost of several companions' lives.

“A giant python with a red fleshy lump on its head...” Gao De’s cold vertical pupils narrowed slightly, flashing with a sharp light.

These physical characteristics, combined with the Crab Generals' instinctive dread of the python's aura—which wasn't just pure suppression of strength but also mixed with a hint of Bloodline-based loathing and attraction—instantly made him think of something.

"A Dragon-Blooded Creature! And one that has shown signs of atavism!" Gao De was almost certain.

That red fleshy lump on its head was very likely the prototype of a Flood Dragon horn!

Although the giant python's own strength, based on the Crab Generals' memories, was probably only at the Late Stage of the First Order—and it might not be a match for the current Gao De in a one-on-one fight—the dragon blood it contained was undoubtedly a huge temptation for him!

"It lives on the back mountain... and often comes to provoke..." Gao De digested this information.

It seemed this deep pool was not entirely peaceful. This giant python, which likely possessed atavistic dragon blood, clearly treated these crabs—who contained a decent amount of Water Spiritual Qi—as "blood food" to be harvested periodically or as "opponents" to hone itself.

"Late Stage of the First Order... One-on-one, it shouldn't be my match.

But it has the geographical advantage living on the mountain. Although I can briefly leave the water, my strength will be significantly reduced on land."

Gao De calmly analyzed the pros and cons. "Moreover, since it dares to repeatedly provoke this group of crabs, it must have something to rely on, or perhaps it hides some other tricks."

Attacking the mountain directly was clearly unwise.

Gao De pondered for a moment and made a decision.

He ordered the Crab Generals and Shrimp Soldiers to strengthen the guard at the pool entrance and the waterway leading to the mountain, and to alert him immediately if they spotted the giant python.

Meanwhile, he decided to wait for the enemy to come to him.

"Since you treat the crabs in this pool as a meal, you will surely come again. Next time will be the day you die!" A cold glint flashed in Gao De's eyes.

He wanted to meet this "neighbor," who also possessed dragon blood, in this deep pool—his own home field—while in peak condition.

Devouring this atavistic giant python's effect would likely be no worse than that of the previous "Pseudo-Flood Dragon" Golden Scale Carp! This was undoubtedly a great gift delivered to his door to help him break through the fifty percent Bloodline threshold!

He was no longer just passively cultivating; he began to actively adjust his state, familiarizing himself with every inch of the deep pool's terrain, imagining the routes the giant python might take to attack and its methods of assault, preparing to set a targeted killing trap.

Beneath the calm deep pool, undercurrents surged. A hunt centered around dragon blood and survival was about to unfold in these remote waters.

Gao De's path to dragon transformation had immediately encountered new challenges and opportunities after finding a temporary place to settle.