60: Water Ghost

That bone-chilling, prying sensation clung to Gao De like a maggot on a corpse. It did not originate from the characteristic heat and vitality of Dragon-Blooded Creatures, but rather seemed like an evil entity spawned from thousands of sunken corpses and ten millennia of accumulated sludge, carrying a deep-seated malice and greed toward all living things.

Gao De's figure became stagnant in the turbid water. His entire Demonic Power was withdrawn, and his [Breath Concealment] talent was operating at its Peak, making him almost a part of the water's current.

However, those cold vertical Dragon pupils were like searchlights piercing the gloom, accurately locking onto the most abnormal area in the depths of the marsh—a place so dark that even the most filth-tolerant aquatic plants had withered, permeated by a heart-palpitating dead silence.

"Rats hiding their heads but showing their tails," Gao De snorted coldly in his heart. His Divine Sense extended forward like invisible tentacles, cautiously attempting to pierce that Death Qi barrier, which was so thick it could not be dispersed and seemed to possess a life of its own, capable of twisting and corroding perception.

However, the Death Qi was exceptionally viscous. When his Divine Sense probed in, it was like a clay ox entering the sea, making it difficult to clearly capture the reality within.

Just as Gao De's patience was wearing thin and he was preparing to invoke the majestic heavenly might of the [Thunder Smite Spear] to forcibly tear through this curtain of Death Qi—

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"Gurgle... mumble..."

A dense and slimy sound echoed, as if countless rotten bubbles were being squeezed out of a drowned person's swollen chest at the same time.

In the next instant, the sludge in that area surged upward violently, and a twisted figure slowly rose.

The thing had a blurred humanoid outline, but its entire body was barely pieced together from turbid mud, rotting blackened water grass, and a substance as pale as bone yet stained with filth.

It had no clear face; only in the position where a head should be were two deep hollows. Within them burned two points of Soul Light, green as phosphorus fire, filled with endless malice and a hunger for life essence.

Its lower body consisted not of legs, but was completely integrated with the sludge at the bottom of the marsh, like a malicious tentacle extending from the entire decaying swamp, emitting a dense Tier Two Peak deathly Spiritual Pressure!

"Is it a Nether Water Ghost formed from the resentment of fallen souls, or a Swamp Corpse Puppet refined by an Evil Cultivator?" Gao De's gaze was as sharp as a blade as judgment flashed through his mind.

This type of evil spirit was the most troublesome, especially skilled at defiling Magic Treasures and eroding the Divine Soul; ordinary means were difficult to use to completely exterminate them.

"Gah—!"

The Water Ghost-like monster opened its mud-filled mouth and let out a silent shriek that pierced straight into the Divine Soul!

A powerful mental shock mixed with cold Death Qi surged toward Gao De like an invisible tide of plague!

Simultaneously, its arms made of sludge suddenly ballooned, transforming into seven or eight pitch-black tentacles covered in hideous barbs and slimy stench. They tore through the water, coiling and piercing toward Gao De from different angles!

Before the attack even arrived, the intense filth and death intent contained within had already spread, making the surrounding waters foul-smelling and viscous. If an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator were here, their true yuan would likely stagnate and their mind would be seized in an instant.

"Seeking your own death!"

A fierce light flared in Gao De's eyes. Facing such an insidious and evil thing, the [Dragon Might Domain]'s pressure on the mind was indeed greatly reduced, but his newly acquired killing move, the [Thunder Smite Spear], was the natural nemesis of such filth!

He neither dodged nor avoided it. Dark gold dragon scales shimmered slightly across his body, isolating him from the intangible mental shock and the eroding Death Qi. Facing the incoming deadly tentacles, his claws covered in hard dragon scales did not retreat but instead struck out boldly!

"Sizzle, sizzle—!"

The claws, containing pure Yang Dragon Clan Demonic Power, collided violently with the filthy tentacles, producing a tooth-aching sound of corrosion.

The tentacles were exceptionally tough and slippery, with a strong corrosive nature, attempting to wrap around and contaminate the dragon scales. However, Gao De's Demonic Power was incredibly pure, and his dragon scales were extraordinarily firm. With a sudden burst of strength in his claws and an eruption of Demonic Power, he forcibly tore and crushed several tentacles! Black Qi dissipated frantically from the severed ends, yet it could not corrode the dragon scales in the slightest.

In the split second of this exchange, atop the pair of towering dragon horns on Gao De's head, deep purple destructive lightning had been compressed to the limit, emitting a low hum!

[Thunder Smite Spear]! Condense!

"Boom-crack—!"

Without the slightest hesitation, a deep purple thunder spear—condensed as if solid, only about a foot long, yet emitting a terrifying aura capable of punishing evil and breaking demons—tore through the dim waters. At a speed exceeding thought, it instantly crossed dozens of feet and shot straight at the head of the Water Ghost monster, where its soul fire burned!

"Gah—!!!"

The Nether Water Ghost sensed a fatal threat. The ghostly green soul fire in its eye sockets flickered wildly as it let out a shrill scream to the extreme!

The Death Qi around its body surged like it was boiling, rapidly condensing in front of it into a heavy Nether Bone Shield covered with the agonized, twisted faces of resentful souls that wailed incessantly!

The shield was thick with Yin Qi, and its defensive power was clearly extremely strong.

However, before the supreme Yang and supreme rigidity of the [Thunder Smite Spear], which contained the righteous law of heaven and earth, this shield of insidious evil was like paper!

"Puff—shh!"

The moment the deep purple lightning spear contacted the bone shield, it didn't make a violent crashing sound. Instead, it was like a red-hot iron plunging into snow, passing through effortlessly!

The wailing faces of the resentful souls on the bone shield couldn't even last a moment before they vanished into thin air within the purifying lightning!

The lightning spear was unstoppable, accurately piercing into the Water Ghost's head, which was pieced together from sludge and withered bones!

RUMBLE!!!

This time, it was a complete explosion! The violent and peerless Power of Thunder erupted from within the Water Ghost's body!

Blinding purple electrical light instantly swallowed it completely. The mud, rotten grass, and bone fragments that made up its body were blown apart in the supreme Yang lightning, turning into blue smoke and flying ash!

Those two points of ghostly green soul fire were like ice crystals directly hit by the blazing sun, instantly dimming, extinguishing, and vanishing without a trace!

The dense, nauseating Death Qi, like thick fog illuminated by a scorching sun, rapidly dissolved and was purified, clearing the surrounding waters.

One strike! With just one strike, this Nether Water Ghost, whose strength was comparable to the Peak of Foundation Establishment and was bizarrely difficult to deal with, was completely reduced to ashes!

As the lightning dissipated, only a small clump of incredibly pure, still slightly wriggling dark energy core remained in its place, along with three or four of the hardest bone fragments whose edges shimmered with a ghostly light, slowly sinking into the water.

Gao De's dragon claw made a grasping motion in the air. His Demonic Power churned the water, drawing these two types of spoils into his hand.

The dark energy core was cold to the touch and contained pure Yin-attribute Soul Power. Although it was contrary to his own attributes, it might be useful in certain special situations or transactions.

As for those bone fragments, they had survived the aftershocks of the [Thunder Smite Spear] and possessed an extraordinary texture, clearly making them no ordinary Materials.

"The Yunmeng Great Marsh is indeed fraught with danger. Not only are there lurking Third-Tier Demon Kings, but even evil spirits bred from dead lands like this have appeared." Gao De put away the items, his Divine Sense carefully scanning the surroundings like a net. After confirming there were no more lurking dangerous auras, he quickly circulated his Demonic Power to erase the residual lightning aura and combat traces. With a movement, he vanished silently from the spot like an undercurrent.

This brief encounter, although ending in a crushing victory, also sounded an alarm for him.

Hunting Dragon Descendants was not the only goal; deep within these ancient waters, more unknown and bizarre dangers were hidden.

However, the absolute restraint and powerful might shown by the [Thunder Smite Spear] against evil spirits also made Gao De's confidence even more solid.

He composed his mind and, without further delay, followed his established route, continuing to stealthily move toward the next dragon blood target within his perception.

The hunt was still ongoing.

Only now, on his kill list, besides those prey possessing dragon blood, perhaps he also needed to start paying attention to these 'non-dragon blood' targets that might contain special value or pose a threat.

His path to dragon transformation was destined to extend forward unswervingly amidst constant battles, plundering, and resolving crises, stepping over the corpses of countless powerful enemies and evil spirits.