Chapter 35: A Forest of Forbidden Spirits

"What is this!" the Fatty cursed loudly, but the blade in his hand could not cut through these strange things at all.

"Jinpo!" Xiaoge stared coldly at the entities. In the next second, he reached out and grabbed one, pulling it out from the silt as if he were yanking a radish from the earth.

At this sight, everyone finally saw what these creatures truly were.

Their complexions were as pale as snow, with lips so red they appeared black and deeply sunken eye sockets. Their eyes stared fixedly at the group, filled with a resentment so intense it made one’s skin crawl. The overwhelming mass of long hair seemed impossible to sever, surging toward them incessantly.

"Could it be that the bottom is covered in these?" Wu Tianzhen gasped. As if to confirm his words, more and more Jinpo broke through the mud. A quick glance suggested there were no fewer than a thousand of them. The sheer, terrifying scale of the swarm sent a jolt of alarm through everyone present.

"Are the water monkeys gone?" Wu Yu, having known of the Jinpo's presence, was not surprised, but he found it strange that the water monkeys had vanished, replaced entirely by these creatures. Still, their numbers were far greater than those of the water monkeys; it seemed the appearance of the Water Monkey King was not a simple matter, or there wouldn't be such a vast discrepancy between the two populations.

"Kill!" Xiaoge, still maintaining his disguise as Zhang Hao, brandished his two curved blades, creating a wall of steel that no wind could penetrate.

"Damn, this 'expert' is actually this fierce!" the Fatty remarked, looking curiously at Xiaoge’s back.

"Let's move!" Wu Yu signaled for everyone to follow; Xiaoge was carving a path, and they shouldn't waste the opportunity. Simultaneously, he swapped his Fish-Gut sword for the Chengying sword.

The Chengying sword, also known as the Shadowless Sword, possessed a hilt but no visible blade. In reality, the metals used in its forging were unique, allowing it to refract light and blend seamlessly with its surroundings. Combined with its weight—which was even lighter than the Fish-Gut sword—it moved with blinding speed, creating the illusion of being truly shadowless. This was the origin of its name. To Wu Yu, this blade was the ultimate tool for assassination; the fame of the Fish-Gut sword was merely due to its small, exquisite nature. In this environment, the Chengying was undeniably the superior choice.

The thick black hair that had been difficult to sever with a standard blade was sliced in two in an instant by the Shadowless Sword.

"Move!"

However, the moment Wu Yu struck, he instantly drew the attention of the Jinpo! Like the water monkeys, these creatures were filled with immense resentment and rage from their deaths, making them even more vengeful. Though they hadn't noticed him at first, the unsheathing of the Chengying sword revealed him as the man who had slaughtered them days prior. In the blink of an eye, half the swarm lunged toward him.

*Ding!*

"Mission issued: Root out the evil, leave no trace! The number of Jinpo and water monkeys has severely compromised the balance of these waters. Eradicate over eighty percent of the combined combat force of both clans."

"Reward: Distributed upon completion of the Undersea Tomb."

*Ding!*

"Mission issued: Check in at the Undersea Tomb!"

"Reward: Five years of internal energy."

"Finally, a mission," Wu Yu murmured. "I almost thought you'd forgotten. It would have been dreadfully dull otherwise." Seeing the Jinpo charging at him, Wu Yu quickly distanced himself from the others.

"Brother!" Tianzhen shouted, growing anxious.

"Trust Master Yu!" the Fatty said, holding Wu Tianzhen back. "If you go, you'll only be a burden. Let's follow the 'expert' to a safe spot first!"

"Right!" Wu Tianzhen nodded and swam away quickly.

Wu Yu watched the swarm of Jinpo and smiled. "It seems you've forgotten the other day!" With a wave of his hand, his instrument case slowly opened. This time, he did not summon all nine swords, but only three, including the Chengying. Since they were about to enter the sunken ship, he wasn't sure what dangers lay ahead and could not squander his internal energy recklessly.

However, in his current state, this was more than enough. The dual blades flew in unison, churning the deep sea, while he held the Chengying like a phantom, slaying the Jinpo one by one.

A-Ning, trailing at the back, felt a chill in her heart as she watched Wu Yu’s movements. As a mercenary, she knew full well that the techniques Wu Yu was using were the very methods favored by the lunatics of the assassin world! How did this second young master of the Wu family know them? To them, this style of assassination was madness; to an assassin, it was art. It was a method mastered only by the most elite killers.

"Big Sister, move!" A-Ning was shaken from her stupor by her subordinate. When she looked back, she could no longer lock onto Wu Yu’s silhouette. Though they were swimming underwater, for Wu Yu, it seemed no different than being on land.

The slaughter continued.

On the other side, Xiaoge saw this and wanted to assist, but realizing that if he left, the others would be unable to defend against the Jinpo, he suppressed his urge to intervene.

"Zhang Hao! Find the entrance to the wreck!" A-Ning shouted. "Leave this side to us!"

It had to be said that A-Ning was a ruthless woman. She and her men took out grenades and attached them to their crossbow bolts.

"Is this really a ship? It's sturdier than a city wall!" the Fatty exclaimed in disbelief as he approached the hull. He didn't know what level of vessel this was, but it was undoubtedly a massive treasure.

Xiaoge pressed his two fingers against the hull, moving them continuously, trying to locate an entrance, but it was clearly not something that could be done in a moment. As their grenades began to run low, A-Ning prepared to use dynamite to blow open the ship.

At that exact moment, a massive suction force pulled them in. Without time to react, the group was drawn directly into the sunken ship. The massive wall then returned to its original state, showing no signs of disturbance.

"Damn it, you just left me out here?" Wu Yu muttered, a vein pulsing on his forehead as he watched. But that was fine; it allowed him to focus on purging the Jinpo. Finishing the mission was the priority!

Even with that thought, his speed increased. He pushed the advantages of the Chengying sword to the limit, the sword qi radiating from its edge so fierce that the seawater itself was occasionally sliced apart, creating a fleeting, thousandth-of-a-second vacuum. At a depth of one hundred meters, under such immense pressure, what Wu Yu was achieving was truly terrifying.

Meanwhile, Wu Tianzhen and his group were pulled into the ship, feeling as though they had navigated a sewer before finally surfacing.

"Damn, what kind of place is this!"

They looked around at the vast space, stunned, and then grew excited. "Hahaha, we're in!"

One of them excitedly tore off his mask, then gasped in astonishment: "There's oxygen? This is truly miraculous!"

*Splash!*

Before another could react, a few strands of black hair shot up from the water. Apparently, they weren't the only ones who had been pulled in by the suction—a small number of Jinpo had followed them!

"Get up! It's not safe here!" A-Ning shouted, scrambling onto the shore and throwing down glow sticks to illuminate the entire space.