"Splatter!"
After the lightning tribulation, as the clouds disappeared, large raindrops began to pelter on the surface of the lake.
A red streak of light shot up into the sky, illuminating the entire lake.
It gave off a tempting vibe as the creatures around the lotus flowers were beginning to get attracted to it, especially the crocodile.
"Ah... It seems that the Water God has passed on. This is the dragon's blood spilling into the lake!"
Even though the Water God of Qi Lake had not become a real dragon, it already had its blood. Although it was still far from being a dragon, his destruction meant that it would be extremely hard for anyone to attempt to transform into a dragon.
"Whoosh!"
It was as though a gunshot went off as fishes swam frantically to the centre of the lake.
"This object... Please don't snatch it from me, the two of you!"
The crocodile snarled and disappeared into the water in a glow of light.
Tthe crocodile appeared once more, but this time covered in a thick scaly armour as it made its way clumsily into the centre of the lake.
"Brother Gui, why are you not after it?"
Fang Yuan looked at Gui Zhong and smiled.
"The competition is intense and there are a few powerful demons among them. I am but a bag of bones, what can I do? Furthermore... I am too slow... Why are you not trying, brother?"
Gui Zhong replied as he glanced at Fang Yuan with curiosity.
"The current is too strong there, and I'm afraid I would be lost!"
Fang Yuan smiled.
In reality, both the carp and the tortoise were related to dragons and would naturally have the properties of the dragon. Therefore, they did not have to obtain it from external sources.
Therefore, he could swim around calmly with Gui Zhong.
Fang Yuan initially had the thought of reaping the rewards from the Water God, but after seeing the tribulation and the intense competition among the demons, he gave up on the thought.
Based on his current cultivation, it would be suicide if he were to try to snatch the dragon's essence in the middle of the lake.
The crocodile, although spiritually aware, was attracted to the centre by his instincts. It was unknown if its instinct was a good thing or a bad thing.
"If there's nothing else, I'll carry on with my cultivation!"
After finishing his piece, Fang Yuan returned his Yin Spirit into his body and flicked his tail. Bidding goodbye to Luo Zhu, he promptly disappeared into the depths.
Gui Zhong remained speechless. "He is humble and composed, and can even resist against such a strong temptation. This black fish is mysterious..."
Looking at the centre of the lake, he snickered. "Dragon's blood? Hehe... Do they really think that the Water God's blood is dragon's blood? How could one possibly obtain dragon properties so easily?"
Beneath him, a huge shadow appeared. It was a huge green-haired tortoise with streaks of gold on its shell.
"With the death of the Water God, the Qi Lake will return to its usual chaos. Why should I get involved in all these? I'll take a rest! And we'll see what to do after a hundred-year-long dream..."
With a flash, his Yin Spirit returned to his body and disappeared.
"Bloop! Bloop!"
Bubbles were released as the green tortoise started to sink downwards like a heavy rock.
"How could they think that it would be so easy to get dragon properties?"
After calming Luo Zhu down, Fang Yuan swam away as his Yin Spirit chuckled.
Although there was a chance for his carp body to activate its dragon properties, the chances were extremely low. If he were to obtain real dragon's blood, he would be able to transform entirely and his future would be limitless.
"However, a normal water dragon's blood would be poisonous. It would be extremely difficult to try and get the drop of real dragon's blood amidst all the competition!"
As he swam gracefully, he swallowed another small fish. "I shall watch the show from afar..."
In the blink of an eye, 7 days had passed.
Indeed, the crocodile did not return. A few mutated fish returned instead. Although they did not get the dragon properties, they were still fortunate enough not to be poisoned by the water dragon's blood. All of them were fat looking and filled with elemental force.
Seeing this, Fang Yuan was jubilant. He had decided that from that day onwards, he would target these mutated fish.
"Whoosh!"
Underwater, two streams of water swirled into water spears which pierced through a white fish.
This white fish was a few feet long and was much larger than Fang Yuan. More importantly, the scale on it was golden, which made it unusual.
Fang Yuan had relied on his strong stats and Water Controlling Technique to kill the other fish.
"Although these fish did not get the water dragon's true blood to gain their dragon properties, they had taken in the water dragon's spiritual aura and benefitted from it... By slowly eating them, I will slowly consume the water dragon's spiritual aura and increase the possibility of me leaping through the Dragon's Gate..."
He looked at his own body.
He was originally 8 inches but now, he was only 3 inches long. His scales were glittering with a dull gold hue, and his whiskers were long. Every inch of his body was perfection.
"Am I finally at this stage?"
Fang Yuan felt that he was at his limits, and took a quick look at his stats window:
"Name: Fang Yuan
Race: [Black Carp (99 Years)]
Essence: 17
Spirit: 17
Magic: 17
Profession: ???
Cultivation: ???
Technique: [Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Technique (3rd Transformation)], [Water Controlling Technique (Grade 2)]
Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]"
"No matter how concentrated the spiritual energy is in this realm, the limit for carps is 100 years. I am already at this stage... I either go all out and leap through the Dragon's Gate, or I become nothing!"
"Of course, what are the things I can take from this realm that would benefit me? Or should I say, what can I take from this realm..."
Fang Yuan had already tested the theory out. The rules which govern this realm was much stricter than the rules of reality in Hui Realm.
The connection between him and his actualised dream world was limited and it was arduous for him to even harness the sword's essence. It was even more difficult for him to transfer anything into the actualised dream world.
"Dragon's pearl, dragon's properties... Or the natural spiritual meridians... and the position of Water God. Everything is a mystery..."
After giving it much thought, these were the few things which he could attempt to transfer to his actualised dream world. However, as he had learnt before, he still needed to restore his abilities.
Without abilities, he could not even defend himself!
As he was thinking to himself, there was a sudden stream of current ahead as many creatures started to rush towards the lotus flowers.
"Brother, save me!"
The one in front was Zhu Tong, the crocodile. His body was covered in wounds as he dyed the water red.
Seeing Fang Yuan, his eyes widened as he quickly rushed towards him.
"You deserve to die!"
Fang Yuan's spiritual will was enraged. "Zhu Tong! How dare you bring trouble to me!"
"Water spears!"
Within seconds, 6 to 7 water spears were fired at the crocodile.
With the strength of his spiritual will and his Water Controlling Technique, the water spears he had fired were comparable to arrows or even cannons from ships!
"Pu! Pu!"
Even the scales of the crocodile could not deflect the water spears. As the water spears pierced through, blood exploded from him.
Zhu Tong's Yin Spirit appeared and smiled. "Who would've thought that... I would die at the hands of my own brother..."
Since his physical body had died, his soul would not be able to sustain for long. The figure of the well-built man slowly disappeared. In a sigh, a golden glow shot out of the crocodile and landed on Fang Yuan's head.
"This is..."
With his spiritual will on guard, Fang Yuan could control the glow if it were to harm him.
However, after examination, he realised that it was a map.
"That ... black fish, hand over the map of Water God's secret mansion, or I'll eat you up!"
As fishes behind gave chase, the water guardian standing on clams appeared once again, looking ferocious. It was the same one which Fang Yuan had seen before.
"Water God's secret mansion?"
Fang Yuan remained speechless as he looked at the crocodile corpse.
It seems that the crocodile was rather lucky to have obtained the map. However, he was no longer alive to enjoy the reward.
Of course, by passing on the treasure map to Fang Yuan, he wanted to bring trouble to Fang Yuan!
Seeing the face of the water guardian, Fang Yuan knew that even if he were to hand it over, he would still be killed.
After all, anyone who encountered the treasure map would remember it in their spiritual wills.
"Go!"
With the pressure from the water guardian and the assistance he had from the other water spirits, Fang Yuan was pressurized to make a decision.
Seeing this, he quickly flicked his tail and swam away.
"Hey! Where are you going!"
These water spirits were naive. Only after Fang Yuan had swum for a distance did they realise what was happening. They were fuming mad. "Stay!"
Blue streaks of light were shot towards Fang Yuan and spread out underwater.
There was a golden glitter on Fang Yuan's body. With the flick of his tail, numerous water spears exploded behind him as he quickly made his escape.
He could no longer stay in the region of the lotus flowers.
"This black carp..."
The water guardian was stunned. After a while, there was a glitter in his eyes. "This fish does not seem normal. Catch it!"
"Also, investigate its background. How can our elder demon's treasure lie in the hands of others? I want him to be trapped in the Qi Lake!"
"What luck! I didn't ask for trouble, but trouble came looking for me!"
He did not do anything to deserve the trouble. As he swam away, he felt a little depressed.
He was already at the 3rd transformation of the Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation and had restored half of his stats. Under chase, he was obviously quicker than the normal fishes and spiritual fishes.
After all, even the water guardian might be no match for him.
"This will not end here..."
Fang Yuan had a premonition that everything was not over.
He would surely be tracked down and chased after. After all, that was the outcome for the crocodile, and he was no different.
"I need to leave this place!"
He had made up his mind. "Furthermore... Since they are so anxious about the treasure map, let me take a look at it. I might even be lucky and surprised!"
The heavens did not give it to him, but it ended up with him ultimately!
Although the crocodile wanted to harm Fang Yuan by giving him the map, he was strong enough to escape and make use of it, turning it into his fortune.
Good things can turn bad, and bad things can become good!