Chapter 1953: Giant Loach

Zhao Hai kept moving through the forest. Moon Bathed Lake was quite far from Hengdao City. Even if Zhao Hai was going straight towards the lake, it would still take him some time.

Zhao Hai met a lot of beasts along the way. However, these beasts weren't too strong. It seemed like the beast tide had a certain impact on the beasts.

During the beast tide, the more powerful beasts appeared. And some of those who fought against cultivators were killed while some survived.

Beasts were as strong and as smart as cultivators. After the battle, the beasts would have gained a few insights. Because of this, beasts would generally go into seclusion after a beast tide to digest the experience they acquired.

Because of this, Zhao Hai didn't meet a lot of strong beasts along the way. The beasts that Zhao Hai met were average, it was impossible for them to detect him.

The closer Zhao Hai got to the Moon Bathed Lake, the stronger the beasts he encountered. Moreover, more and more water-element beasts appeared. These beasts seem to be attracted to the lake's environment. And as he got closer, Zhao Hai became more careful. He could feel a very dangerous aura coming from the lake.

After moving forward for some time, Zhao Hai stopped. Although he has yet to arrive at the lake, he could feel the intense sense of danger. He has no choice but to halt.

Just now, Zhao Hai felt a dangerous aura right next to him. However, there were no beasts around him at all. This caused Zhao Hai to be confused.

Zhao Hai hid inside a big tree as he called Cai'er, "Cai'er, see if anything was just beside me. Why do I have a dangeround feeling around me?"

Zhao Hai's spiritual force didn't detect any beasts in the vicinity. And since Cai'er has another method of detection, Zhao Hai asked her.

Cai'er immediately complied. A screen appeared in front of Zhao Hai. And just like Zhao Hai said, there was nothing around him. However, Cai'er continued to zoom out. Because of the Soaring Dragon Realm's laws, the Space could only get a real-time image 500 meters around Zhao Hai. But this was enough. After penetrating 300 meters underground, they finally found the abnormality.

There was an underground waterway! It was a very long waterway. Moreover, the waterway doesn't seem to be formed naturally. It looks like it has been dug out. The waterway was perfectly round, about 100 meters in diameter. It was full of water, like a water pipe that was operating at full capacity.

Zhao Hai was puzzled about the waterway's existence. Then suddenly, something flashed on the waterway. Cai'er quickly focused on the image to see what it was.

Before long, Zhao Hai saw what was flashing, it was a loach that was ten meters thick and 30 meters long. The loach was very quick. It appeared and disappeared in the water in an instant. If Zhao Hai didn't have the Space, he wouldn't have been able to see it.

At the same time, Zhao Hai could feel that the dangerous aura he felt came from the huge loach.

Zhao Hai felt relieved. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to find the source of the danger that he felt. As long as he had an explanation, everything could be dealt with. Then Zhao Hai said, "Cai'er, how far is Moon Bathed Lake from here?"

Cai'er replied, "Approximately five kilometers away."

Zhao Hai couldn't help but ask, "Five kilometers? These loaches were able to dig waterways this far out of the lake? It seems like we really can't underestimate these beasts."

Cai'er shook her head and said, "Young master, if I'm not mistaken, this waterway shouldn't only be this long. We should measure its full length. This way, we can make the right preparations." Zhao Hai agreed with a nod.

Cai'er began to check and soon Zhao Hai realized that the waterway wasn't only long, it also didn't run in a straight line. The waterway was circular and had an inlet and outlet, like a moat hidden underground.

These huge loaches would swim along this waterway. Zhao Hai was certain that the loaches would have a way to know what was happening above ground. And this was the reason Zhao Hai was able to feel danger.

But whether the loach found him or not, Zhao Hai didn't know. After calming himself down, Zhao Hai continued to move towards the Moon Bathed Lake. He knew that he would meet that loach upon reaching the lake, so he wouldn't need to worry about it right now.

Five kilometers was nothing to Zhao Hai. However, these five kilometers were filled with danger. Zhao Hai found that the trees close to the lake have changed their attributes. Originally, trees would have a pure wood attribute. Only special trees would have other attributes in them, like ironwood trees and the others.

But the closer Zhao Hai got to the lake, the more impure the trees became. In the end, Zhao Hai found trees that had half water and half wood attributes. This was especially rare. An ironwood tree would still have 99 percent wood attribute, its metal attribute would only be 1 percent.

The attributes of water and wood were mixed. This was more common in ores, Zhao Hai has never seen this happen to trees.

Because of this, even if Zhao Hai can enter the tree, the chance that he would be discovered has increased. Zhao Hai stopped traveling through the trees. He just went out in the open and flew straight towards the lake.

Five kilometers was quickly traversed by Zhao Hai. And with the Moon Bathed Lake becoming a forbidden area, beasts rarely approached it. This saved Zhao Hai a lot of trouble.

Finally, Zhao Hai felt the area in front of him clear out and a mirror-like lake appeared. The lake was so clear, without any trace of waves. Green lotuses grew and blossomed across the lake. The lake was beautiful, enough for people to be breathless. It was as if time stopped. It was like the world had paused.

All of a sudden, a shadow swept across the lake, breaking the tranquil state of the mirror. Then a series of ripples followed after. The world moved once more.

Zhao Hai recovered from his daze. As he looked at the lake surface, he couldn't help but sigh as he said, "Beautiful, this place is too beautiful."

Just as Zhao Hai said that, he heard Cai'er, "Young Master, pay attention. I felt the fluctuations of a formation just now."

Zhao Hai stared, then his eyes narrowed. He looked at the cold lotuses on the lake. After a while, his eyes lit up as he said, "Cai'er, the lotus flowers, the river water, and the trees on the shore seem to have formed a natural formation. It's not as strong as the one formed by the dao lotus, but it could plunge people into a hallucination."

Cai'er agreed, "We also noticed that. It's indeed a formation. After analysis, it is very similar to the Moon Reflection Formation. It's really strange. And I'm pretty sure that it's formed naturally because there are some places that should not be in the formation. Because of these places, the power of the formation is greatly reduced."

Zhao Hai nodded, "Since it's a natural formation, it's better to leave it alone. Now I want to take a look at the properties of the nine core lotus seed. If it's good, we can cultivate some inside the Space."

As he said that, Zhao Hai touched the lake's water. With Zhao Hai integrating with Bubble, he could also absorb all kinds of water to increase his affinity with the water element. The Moon Bathed River is famous in the Soaring Dragon Realm; it was impossible for Zhao Hai to not absorb some of it.

The moment Zhao Hai touched the lake, he could immediately feel a piercing cold. Zhao Hai could feel his entire body freezing. His blood seemed to have stopped flowing and then his thoughts began to turn sluggish. This was definitely the coldest water he came in contact with.

Fortunately, Zhao Hai spirit platform was kept intact. He knew what state he was in. His body might have frozen and his blood flow stopped, but his strong heart continued to beat. And every beat it made was stronger than the last.

If other people were to see Zhao Hai's state, they would immediately think that he has been frozen to death. However, Zhao Hai knew that his body was just adapting to the cold. Once it finishes its adjustments, he would no longer have any issues.

Sure enough, as Zhao Hai's heart continued to beat, his blood began to flow once more. His thoughts picked up speed and in no time he was back to normal. Not only did Zhao Hai return to his past state, he felt refreshed. It was as if he drank a cold glass of water.

At the same time, Zhao Hai felt a connection to the lake. It was a strange feeling that made him think that he was part of it. The lake seems to be summoning him, inviting him to enter and take a swim.

Zhao Hai didn't stop this impulse. He moved and slid into the lake. As soon as he entered the lake, Zhao Hai felt that he became a drop of water, returning to its original vessel. He followed the natural flow of the lake and was able to move freely inside it. The cold lotuses had no influence on him.

After some time, Zhao Hai felt danger coming towards him. Zhao Hai stared, then he recovered his state of mind and turned his head to see a giant loach opening its big mouth. It was trying to eat him.