98: Heavenly-grade spiritual plant! Five Water Spirit Fruits, lung enhancement!

The sea breeze, thick with a nauseating stench of blood, swirled at the foot of Bull King Mountain.

On the boulder, only two thick legs remained, standing stiffly. The jagged stumps exposed stark white spinal bone fragments to the air, still dripping with dark red blood.

As for the upper body? Gone.

Like a rotten tomato crushed under a child's foot, it had exploded into a uniform mist of blood, drenching the lackeys behind him—who had originally been aggressive and ready to follow their boss to feast—in a hot, gory mess.

The scene was deathly silent.

Even the sound of waves hitting the reef became jarringly loud.

One second ago, Ox Demon King was still clamoring about sleeping with a hundred women and becoming a local emperor; the next second, he was reduced to this state, a puzzle that could never be put back together.

This visual impact was too intense, too brutal; it practically blew the tops of the heads off this rabble.

"Clang."

Someone's rusty machete slipped from their grip and hit the stone.

This crisp sound acted like a starter pistol.

"Thump!"

"Thump, thump..."

The hundreds of thugs who had been howling just moments ago, wielding homemade cannons and spiked clubs, now felt their knees give out as if their tendons had been pulled, and they collapsed into the mud in droves.

Whatever Jianghu loyalty or territorial rules they had were nothing more than a fart in the face of 30mm tungsten-core armor-piercing shells.

Some wet their pants instantly; others slammed their heads into the gravel piles, not daring to stop even as their foreheads became a bloody mess, terrified that the pitch-black muzzle would be pointed at them the next second.

"Surrender! We surrender!"

"Don't shoot! Grandfather, don't shoot! We were all forced into this!"

The wailing and crying resounded across the shore, louder than their arrogance had been just moments before.

In the command room of the Zhenyuan Ship, Chen Yan watched the high-definition footage on the holographic screen, his fingers holding his cigarette trembling slightly, causing a long ash to fall onto the console.

"...This kid."

Chen Yan gave a bitter smile, took a deep drag of the cigarette butt that was burning down to the filter, and exhaled the murky air from his lungs along with the smoke.

If the military had taken action, they would have had to issue warnings first, then perform a show of force, and all while worrying about the thousands of refugees being used as human shields; by the time the procedure was finished, the opportunity would have long since passed.

Lu Sheng, on the other hand, was different.

He didn't care about martial ethics, didn't follow procedures, and didn't waste words.

Shells were his logic, and caliber was justice.

Although brutal, one had to admit... it was damn effective.

"Pass the order down: landing troops are to take over Bull King Mountain." Chen Yan crushed the cigarette butt, his voice returning to a cold, hard tone. "All armed personnel are to disarm, Spirit Source Users are to be detained and screened separately, and those who resist... execute on the spot."

...

blazing flame, Deck.

Lu Sheng stood beside the menacing ram at the bow, the sea breeze whipping his pristine naval coat, the hem fluttering, yet not a speck of dust touched it.

He looked down from above at the ants kneeling and begging for mercy below, his expression indifferent.

There was neither pity nor triumph.

It was just like stepping on a cockroach while taking out the trash; no emotional fluctuation was required.

Kill the chicken to warn the monkeys; the chicken had been blown up, so the monkeys naturally scattered.

"Zhou Hai."

Lu Sheng didn't turn his head; his voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chill.

"Here!"

Zhou Hai was excitedly touching the still-hot cannon barrel.

Upon hearing the call, he immediately stood at attention, his face full of flesh and fat beaming with worship.

Even if Lu Sheng asked him to jump into the sea right now, he would probably take a running start before doing it.

"Take some men down and cooperate with the military to inventory the supplies."

Lu Sheng pointed to the messy piles on the shore. "Although most of it is junk, even a mosquito's leg is meat; don't waste it."

"Understood! I'm going right now! I guarantee I won't leave even a single screw for these bastards!"

Zhou Hai grinned, revealing a mouthful of big white teeth.

He beckoned to Zhao Ze and Su Li, and like a pack of hungry tigers descending the mountain, they led a squad of sailors and jumped onto the assault boat.

After arranging the miscellaneous tasks, Lu Sheng tilted his head back slightly and adjusted his breathing.

Then, his eyes snapped open.

"Hum—"

His originally pitch-black pupils instantly elongated, transforming into two majestic golden slit pupils.

Dragon Eyes, activate!

The world before him instantly faded, turning into a strange dimension composed of lines and energy.

His gaze easily pierced through the chaotic crowd on the shore, through the foul-smelling refugee shacks, and even through the thick rock layers.

The energy flow of the entire Bull King Mountain was laid bare before his eyes.

Most areas were a dull, dead color, but in the back mountain, on that cliff face almost perpendicular to the sea, several clusters of azure light, so dense they were almost tangible, were flickering quietly in his vision, like sprites dancing in the deep sea.

That energy fluctuation was pure and gentle, yet contained vibrant vitality.

"As expected..."

Lu Sheng's lips moved slightly, golden light swirling in his eyes.

"How could a remote island deep in the mountains not have good things?"

Killing was just a side task.

The spirit plant was what he truly wanted.

"Whoosh!"

Lu Sheng tapped his toes on the Deck, and the special steel plate let out a faint ring.

His entire body, like a large white bird, leaped gracefully over the sea for dozens of meters, stepped on a reef exposed above the water, and disappeared into the complex mountain forest in a few bounds.

The back of Bull King Mountain, a sheer cliff.

The terrain here was treacherous; waves pounded against the rock wall, emitting a thunderous roar, and the splashing spray could reach halfway up the mountain.

Even Ox Demon King and his gang hadn't expanded their territory to this godforsaken place.

But in Lu Sheng's eyes, this was a treasure trove.

The air was so humid it could be wrung out like water, and unknown moss grew in the rock crevices, emitting a faint, eerie glow.

Lu Sheng gripped a rock crevice with one hand, hanging in mid-air, his gaze locked on a recessed stone cave ahead.

There, a strange plant was growing.

It was completely transparent, its leaves resembling the tentacles of some soft-bodied marine creature, swaying gently with the sea breeze; if one didn't look carefully, they might even overlook its existence.

At the top of the plant hung five fist-sized fruits.

The fruits presented a dreamy azure color, with an extremely thin skin, as if they were wrapped around a pool of liquid mercury, emitting a charming halo in the dim light.

【Ding! Heaven-Grade Spirit Plant discovered—Water Spirit Fruit!】

【Water Spirit Fruit: Grows in places with extremely dense water vapor, contains pure water-element spirit source. Consuming it can significantly enhance lung function and slightly improve water element affinity.】

Seeing the System prompt, Lu Sheng's breath hitched slightly.

Enhance lung function!

In this Apocalypse where 85% of the land was submerged, the value of this ability even exceeded simple strength enhancement!

The previous mutant Megalodon was difficult to kill precisely because it could dive into the deep sea at any time.

And underwater, human combat power would be infinitely weakened; even a Level 5 Spirit Source User had limited breath-holding time, not to mention fighting under deep-water high pressure.

But this fruit... it was practically tailor-made for the upcoming deep-sea hunting.

Lu Sheng didn't hesitate at all and reached out to pick one.

The texture was cool and slippery, like touching a piece of fine water jade, or perhaps a lump of jelly.

He opened his mouth and took a bite.

"Squish!"

The moment the skin broke, there was no expected chewing sensation of flesh.

The fruit actually turned directly into a stream of cold, clear liquid, sliding down his throat into his esophagus.

This liquid didn't enter his stomach but instantly vaporized halfway down!

"Hiss—"

Lu Sheng couldn't help but gasp.

The airflow, like countless tiny ice snakes, rushed crazily along his bronchial tubes into his lung lobes.

Exhilarating!

An unprecedented sense of clarity swept through his entire body, just like downing a bottle of ice-cold Sprite on a hot day, cooling him from head to toe.

He could clearly feel his alveoli undergoing some kind of qualitative change.

The originally fragile lung tissue was being strengthened and reorganized, becoming incredibly tough.

They were expanding greedily, even starting to actively capture the meager water molecules in the air and convert them into oxygen.

【Ding! Consumed Heaven-Grade Spirit Plant—Water Spirit Fruit! Lung enhancement significantly increased!】

【Current Status: Lung Enhancement Level I!】

Lu Sheng closed his eyes, feeling the changes in his body.

Every breath felt like an exchange with the surrounding water vapor.

"Good stuff."

Lu Sheng opened his eyes, a hint of joy flashing in his golden slit pupils.

He picked another one and swallowed it again.

With the second one, the cool sensation was clearer, as if an invisible film was covering his respiratory tract.

The third one... the fourth one...

Until all five fruits were in his stomach, Lu Sheng felt as if his body had turned into a drop of water, merging with the surrounding humid air.

He glanced at the surging sea beneath his feet.

Without any hesitation, he let go and leaped.

"Whoosh—"

His body traced a straight line in the air, falling straight into the pitch-black sea.

"Splash!"

He entered the water without a sound.

He didn't feel the sluggish resistance in the water; instead, he felt like a fish returning to the ocean.

The cold seawater wrapped around him but no longer brought a sense of oppression; instead, it seemed to become his second skin, gently supporting him.

Lu Sheng tried not to hold his breath but slightly opened his pores.

Faint but real wisps of oxygen were stripped from the seawater and merged into his blood.

Although it couldn't completely replace breathing like fish gills, it greatly extended his duration underwater.

"Underwater resistance reduced by at least 50%."

"Static breath-holding time... estimated to reach half an hour!"

Lu Sheng threw a casual punch underwater.

"Boom!"

The water waves exploded, forming a visible white torrent that shot out over a dozen meters, scattering a school of fish.

Lu Sheng broke through the water, climbed back onto the rock wall, shook his wet hair, and revealed a chilling smile.

With this ability, even if it was the Level 6 Sea Beast nest marked on that map, he dared to go down and challenge it.

This trip was a huge profit.

PS: Today's update (3/5).