Gu Zheng had to empower his Water Manipulation to part the murky water before he could press onward.

Naturally, as he moved, he didn’t forget to use Spirit Capturing.

[Demon Points +9]

[Demon Points +7]

...

Not a single one of these first-rank Shrimp-headed Demon Fiends could withstand the tearing force of his Sword Gang.

Gu Zheng zipped through passage after passage, cave after cave, focused only on the slaughter and harvesting their Bloodshed.

WHOOSH!

As he entered a wide, spacious, and straight passage, five second-rank Shrimp-headed Demon Fiends charged toward him.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

They once again released the Heart-Burning Demon Flame.

FWOOSH~

Gu Zheng controlled his Bosha Corpse Fire, which met the purplish-red flames and extinguished them on the spot.

Then, under the horrified gazes of the five second-rank Shrimp-headed Demon Fiends, he charged forward.

SHING!

CHKT CHKT CHKT~

Threads of Sword Gang crisscrossed and sliced through them.

After only a brief struggle, the five second-rank Shrimp-headed Demon Fiends met the same fate as their first-rank brethren, their bodies torn to shreds.

Spirit Capturing!

[Demon Points +19]

[Demon Points +21]

...

Another good haul.

Gu Zheng once again moved between the caves and passages, slaughtering every Shrimp-headed Demon Fiend in sight.

Then, Spirit Capturing, Spirit Capturing!

...

「Ten minutes later.」

Gu Zheng stopped his slaughter. With the Celestial Frost Blade in his right hand, he began searching for any stragglers.

With no third-rank fiends present, he had slain ninety percent of the several thousand Shrimp-headed Demon Fiends.

As for the ten percent that fled through various caves and passages, Gu Zheng couldn’t catch them all on his own.

Even so, taking the initiative to hunt down the Shrimp-headed Demon Fiends had been extremely profitable for Gu Zheng.

Factoring in the Bloodshed and Demon Essence from the Demon Fiends he had slain before, his accumulated Demon Points had once again broken past six thousand!

Besides the Demon Points, he had also obtained a new Demon Technique.

Underwater Walking!

As the name implied, when this Demon Technique was activated, Gu Zheng could move underwater as if he were on solid ground.

Water pressure and resistance were both reduced to a minimum.

Unlike Water Manipulation, which consumed a great deal of Divine Wondrous despite its ability to clear a path.

At this moment, Gu Zheng’s Divine Wondrous surged as he activated this new skill, allowing him to walk effortlessly through the passages.

With ninety percent of the Shrimp-headed Demon Fiends dead, their scattered limbs and blood polluted the water. He now only needed to cast his Water Demon Techniques for a moment to clear a path.

During his search, Gu Zheng made sure to collect the special shells scattered about, the ones that stored the Heart-Burning Demon Flame.

He had no idea where the Shrimp-headed Demon Fiends had obtained these palm-sized shells capable of releasing the Heart-Burning Demon Flame.

Whenever Gu Zheng found a shell, he would inspect it. If it still contained any Heart-Burning Demon Flame, he collected it in his Storage Leaf.

He continued on like this without stopping, searching the entire cave system.

Once he could no longer find a single Shrimp-headed Demon Fiend, Gu Zheng finally stopped and turned to head back.

As he passed a natural stone chamber, he suddenly sensed an icy aura.

He stopped in his tracks, standing before the sealed stone chamber.

SHING!

He swung his blade, and his Sword Gang shot out in crisscrossing lines, cutting into the stone slab door.

PFFT! PFFT~

The Sword Gang cut through the stone slab, carving out a triangular hole.

Gu Zheng kicked the triangular section of stone, knocking it out.

WHOOSH~

An icy aura immediately billowed out from the triangular opening.

CRACK! CRACK!

Frost began to climb over the Protective Blade Gang covering Gu Zheng’s body.

Through the opening, he could see a pile of unknown metallic ore, about half his height, sitting in the center of the chamber floor.

’A Cold Attribute ore! It can cover my Protective Blade Gang with frost from over ten meters away!’

"Golden Essence Strange Iron?"

Gu Zheng’s eyes lit up.

’This is the real deal! A special ore with its own innate Divine Wondrous properties—Golden Essence Strange Iron!’

SHWIP~

Without even entering the chamber, Gu Zheng used Absorption from a distance to collect the pile of chilling ore, storing it in his Storage Leaf.

As the ore drew near, the frost on his Protective Blade Gang nearly solidified into thick chunks of ice.

The ice only stopped thickening once all of it was safely inside the Storage Leaf.

Gu Zheng gave a shudder, vibrating his Sword Gang.

BANG~

With a crisp crack, the ice shattered and flew off in all directions.

He then turned and left.

Before leaving the caves, he also took the corpse of the Flood Dragon he had found.

After exiting the caverns, using the Underwater Walking Demon Techniques felt even more convenient.

Gu Zheng even dispelled his Protective Blade Gang and felt no discomfort whatsoever.

This Demon Technique allowed him to practically merge with the water—he could even breathe in it!

Of course, his clothes were still soaked through.

Gu Zheng had a spare set of clothes, so he paid it no mind.

WHOOSH!

His figure shifted, and he sprinted forward.

His speed was more than three times faster than before.

He had already put the Divine Leech back in his pocket. Now that he had left the Shrimp-headed Demon Fiends’ territory, Gu Zheng moved rapidly through the water in search of the Tentacle Demon Fiends.

’The Shrimp-headed Demon Fiends are dealt with, but I can’t let the Tentacle Demon Fiends get away.’

WHOOSH WHOOSH~

Moving through the water was now like flying through the air.

Gu Zheng searched swiftly as he went, using his Demon Techniques to sense the auras of any Demon Fiends in the water.

A moment later, he found two Tentacle Demon Fiends.

SHING!

His Sword Gang formed a line, condensed into a beam of light, and shot forward.

CHKT CHKT~

The two Tentacle Demon Fiends, merely first-rank, had just sensed danger when the beam of light descended upon them.

They were instantly sliced into scattered pieces.

Spirit Capturing!

[Demon Points +8]

[Demon Points +6]

...

WHOOSH~

With the Demon Points secured, Gu Zheng continued onward. His Divine Wondrous surged as he scanned the water for the auras of more Demon Fiends.

Especially those of the Tentacle Demon Fiends!

...

...

「Fish Scale Town.」

On the shore where the passage entrance was located.

"Sir, Lord Gu has been in the passage for a day," a Commander reported, stepping forward to address Xiong Zengming.

"Mm."

Xiong Zengming responded with a grunt, his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

Seeing this, the Commander took his leave and stepped back.

Once he had retreated to a safe distance, he joined a group of others and they began to mutter.

"It’s been a whole day with no activity. You don’t think something happened to Lord Gu, do you?"