Eternal Heavenly Emperor

"My name is Shen Chao, from the Green Water Sect."

"Lv Han, Banana Grove Valley."

"Little sister Hu Yan, from Exquisite Manor."

Ten people introduced themselves one by one, all of them disciples from various sects, out on a journey to make a name and a little extra money. After all, sect resources were limited, and except for core disciples whom the sects cultivated at all costs, everyone else had to fend for themselves.

The three people who caught Chu Hao's attention were Shen Chao, Lv Han, and Hu Yan. They were all 19 years old and had already become fifth-tier martial masters, with exceptionally brilliant talents.

Although the other six people's realms were not much different, they always gave Chu Hao a sense that they were good but not practical—not because they were too weak, but because Chu Hao was too monstrously strong.

Whether it was the Green Water Sect, Banana Grove Valley, Exquisite Manor, or any other sect, they were all at least a notch below the Yunliu Sect, with the smallest being the Heiyuan Sect, which was only eighth rank.

That is to say, the strongest person in Heiyuan Sect was also just a martial master—at most eighth tier.

Once they knew Chu Hao was from the Yunliu Sect, everyone went "Oh" and showed a bit of awe, but once they learned Chu Hao was only a Third Tier martial master, they couldn't help but show a bit of pride.

Only Shen Chao, Lv Han, and Hu Yan remained unmoved, their expressions unchanged, showing their strong and firm mental state.

Only when one is unaffected by external factors can one stay true to their own path.

This was also the reason why Chu Hao held these three in higher regard.

No one had decreed that coming from a Poor Family meant one had no chance to stand out—lacking High Rank cultivation techniques indeed met bottlenecks, but there were countless opportunities in this world. Who knew, one might not die after falling off a cliff and accidentally receive a relic from an ancient powerhouse, skyrocketing to success.

"It seems our employer is quite mysterious," Lv Han changed the subject, referring to their employer.

Everyone nodded, for until now, besides the sailors, only a middle-aged man who had recruited them at the city gates had appeared. Although the man's strength was not weak, he didn't seem to be the decision-maker.

Boom—a tremor signaled the departure of the ship.

"Ladies and gentlemen—" Just then, a young woman gracefully walked out from the cabin, clad in a simple but elegant long white dress, her facial features picturesque, and her black hair flowing like clouds, a true breathtaking beauty.

Her noble demeanor indicated that she came from an influential family, and those who were timid would definitely not dare to meet her gaze.

Seeing everyone looking her way, she smiled lightly and continued, "My name is Nangong Rou. The merchant ship that sank in this lake belongs to my family. There is an extremely precious cargo on board, so I ask everyone to work together earnestly."

"We will not let Miss Nangong down," everyone nodded, as it was only natural to do one's utmost when being paid for a service.

"The waters where the accident happened are quite far, roughly a day's journey, so everyone can rest first. Please," Nangong Rou bowed slightly and returned to the cabin.

"What an impressive demeanor; the Nangong Family must be a major clan, right?"

"However, it seems that I've never heard of it before."

"Indeed, I've never heard of such an influential family."

The crowd whispered among themselves. Given the generous reward, the Nangong Family should be wealthy, but it seemed as though it had never existed before, just appearing out of nowhere.

Chu Hao couldn't help but look towards Lv Han and the other two, all four of them exchanging glances with slightly furrowed brows.

Something seemed a bit off.

The ship moved swiftly, with eighteen sailors rowing hidden oars below deck, propelling the large ship forward like an arrow leaving the bow, leaving behind a trail of white waves.

The sky gradually darkened, and as the Sun dipped below the lake surface, the ship slowed down. The visibility was poor due to the darkness, and advancing further meant navigating through a minefield of hidden reefs where one wrong move could send everyone overboard.

In the vast lake waters, encountering ferocious beasts would put one in a truly passive situation.

—Could you possibly outswim the ferocious beasts?

With no chance to fight back, one would surely be worn down alive.

Although their employer had sent food and water in the evening, Chu Hao and the others did not touch them, choosing instead to consume their own provisions. When traveling, it's always best to err on the side of caution.

Since they were on a ship, they didn't need to keep watch at night, as the ferocious beasts in the water usually didn't attack such large vessels.

The night passed without incident.

After breakfast, it wasn't long before they reached the site where the Nangong Family's merchant ship had met with disaster. They were now very close to an island in the center of the lake, surrounded by a forest of reefs, and mist rising from the surface of the water prevented any further advance by ship.

Upon closer inspection, Chu Hao was baffled because the island ahead was clearly deserted with no viable landing spots. To be precise, it should have been a perilous peak rising straight from the bottom of the water.

Neither part of a normal sailing route nor a destination, why would the Nangong Family's merchant ship have come here?

"Everyone, get ready," Nangong Rou emerged, followed by a group of people clad in Water Armor, roughly a dozen, probably the crew assigned to undertake the salvage work.

Chu Hao and the others each received Water Armor as well—their task was to protect the divers about to engage in the salvage effort.

Having accepted the job, they quickly donned the Water Armor despite their doubts, for they represented not only themselves but also their respective sects.

Thump, thump, thump.

One by one, they plunged into the water, taking deep breaths before each of them dived beneath.

Not until every one of them had disappeared from the surface did four more people emerge from the cabin, all around 30 years old. They bowed slightly to Nangong Rou and said, "Miss, everything is going according to your expectations."

Nangong Rou nodded and replied, "Whether the Nangong Family can rise again depends on whether we can successfully open the cave dwelling below this time. More than a hundred years ago, the Nangong Family declined completely because of this cave dwelling, and today it shall be revitalized because of it too. Prepare yourselves, once that ferocious beast emerges, we'll seize the opportunity to dive and enter the cave."

"Yes," the four middle-aged people's eyes gleamed with fervent excitement.

...

Chu Hao and the ten guards spread out underwater, forming a circle, while those responsible for salvage continued to dive and search the bottom of the lake.

The Water Armor was somewhat similar to Earth's diving suits, and it even had an air bladder. Along with the breath-holding capability of Martial Artists, it was enough to allow a person to operate underwater for up to half an hour without needing to surface for air.

The lake water was a bit cold, but thankfully, the robust vital energy of Martial Artists made it easy to fend off the chill as long as they kept moving. The water here was indeed clear, yet too deep for the light to reach the bottom, making it difficult to see what was down there.

Chu Hao kept turning his body. In fact, both hearing and sight were greatly diminished in the lake water, and touch became the most reliable sense. Any movement from ferocious beasts or ordinary aquatic birds would cause ripples in the water.

Something not right?

While maintaining his alertness, Chu Hao pondered in his heart. He always felt that something about the surroundings was off, but he couldn't figure out what it was right away.

Wait a minute.

He suddenly paused, it was too clean.

The area was too clean, devoid of any living creatures.

Fish, turtles, lobsters... all were absent.

It was just a barren stretch of water.

Why were there no living creatures?

Chu Hao's heart tightened—there must be a den of a ferocious beast nearby, and moreover, this beast must be extremely powerful to keep all other life at bay. He quickly signaled to Shen Chao and the others to be on high alert.

By this time, they had all descended to the lakebed.

Looking all around, it was spotless—where was the sunken ship?

Chu Hao scanned the area and barely made out a large cave entrance on the cliff of the island. But to say that the sunken ship had drifted into this cave... that was stretching it.

Pop, pop, pop.

A cluster of bubbles suddenly appeared on his body, shockingly red in color.

Blood.

Chu Hao was surprised; he hadn't been injured. Looking closer, he saw that bubbles were emerging from everyone's bodies.

In a frenzy, they all started gesturing with their hands, each one moving toward the surface.

"What's going on?"

"Why is there fresh blood coming out of us?"

"Where's the ship?"

The people asked in a clamor.

Chu Hao unfastened his Water Armor, flipped it over, and finally discovered the reason.

—There was actually a pouch sewn inside the Water Armor, likely made from some kind of fish bladder, very thin, and filled with blood. Once they dived to the bottom of the lake and withstood the strong water pressure, the pouch would burst, releasing the fresh blood.

Who would go through such trouble and for what purpose?

"The ship? Where's the ship?" someone turned their head around, and suddenly shouted in alarm.

The big boat that had brought them was nowhere to be seen.

This was baffling.

They were supposed to salvage a sunken ship, yet there was no sign of the ship. And now, even the boat that brought them had disappeared. What was going on? Were they being played?

Chu Hao's brow furrowed. In the sea domains of Earth, what would happen if someone suffered an injury?

If there were sharks nearby, they would quickly swarm in.

"This is bad, everyone, take off your Water Armors," he immediately said, and was the first to start removing his.

Some people immediately shook their heads, joking that without a boat, having the Water Armor on them would greatly increase their chances of safely returning to shore. But several others began to take theirs off right away.

Shen Chao, Lv Han, and Hu Yan were among them.

Just then, a violent surge of water rushed toward them, causing a huge wave to suddenly surge on the lake's surface. Splash, the water splashed in all directions.

"Something's coming up from below," someone shouted.

Boom.

The water's surface violently burst open as an immense snake emerged, with a head the size of a water barrel and its body cloaked in green scales. Its two eyes glowed like light bulbs, emitting a ghostly cold light.

"Ah!" Someone was pushed up by it and involuntarily flew into the air. But before they could fall back down, the giant snake opened its mouth and swallowed them whole.

"It's a Green Scales Berserk Snake," Shen Chao suddenly shouted in alarm.

"A mature one is equivalent to an Eighth Tier Martial Sect," said Hu Yan, her face turning pale.

"This berserk snake must be at least a hundred meters long, definitely mature, and beyond what we can handle."

"Run!"