Urban Martial Saint

Returning outside, Ye Qing didn’t linger there and immediately dashed along a nearby path, heading straight to the other side of the mountain.

After running for about two hours, Ye Qing finally reached the other side of the mountain. In a desolate gorge, Fat Wang was sitting on a large boulder, looking around with his head lifted. Seeing Ye Qing approaching, Fat Wang jumped up immediately and said: ”Why are you so slow? Look at the time, and you’re just arriving!”

Fat Wang didn’t go to the main entrance with Ye Qing and the others. Although he flew over as well, he disguised himself as a crew member, and Nalan Jingwei didn’t suspect anything. After getting off the plane, he immediately drove here, heading straight for the back entrance, so he arrived earlier than Ye Qing.

”Nonsense, I had to wrap up the matters there first!” Ye Qing replied, turned over, and climbed onto the boulder, asking: ”Have you found the back door position?”

”Do you even need to ask?” Fat Wang pointed to a lake at the foot of the mountain and said: ”I calculated that the back door should be under this lake’s water. It’s near Northern Mountain, about three hundred ninety meters from the river outlet!”

Ye Qing glanced at Fat Wang. Although Fat Wang didn’t have martial arts skills, his ability to find grave-robbing locations was quite excellent. If Ye Qing were to search for this back door alone, it would probably be a no-go. Unexpectedly, not long after his arrival, Fat Wang had nearly pinpointed the spot. It seems, Old Wang Ba made a wise decision sending Fat Wang along with Ye Qing.

”Alright, let’s go over there then!” Ye Qing slung a backpack over his shoulder on the boulder, containing tools they needed for the cave exploration.

Fat Wang carried another backpack and followed Ye Qing to the location Old Wang Ba mentioned.

Between the two mountains’ gorge, there lies a giant lake. River water flows in from upstream, and there’s an outlet at the bottom, so the water here is constantly flowing. However, since this area is too secluded, it hasn’t been developed. Although Old Wang Ba confirmed the location, the spot is underwater, while Ye Qing and his team are standing ten meters above the water’s surface, beside a cliff, making it not easy to descend.

Fat Wang took out a rope from his backpack, tied it to a nearby big tree, and tugged it forcefully, giving Ye Qing a reassuring gesture.

Ye Qing, carrying his backpack, gripped the rope and descended bit by bit. When three meters away from the water’s surface, Ye Qing jumped directly into the water, sinking underneath.

Upon entering the water, Ye Qing immediately felt a swift current rushing towards him, instantly sweeping him several meters away. This situation was completely unexpected for Ye Qing; from the shore, the surface seemed so calm. Who could have imagined such a raging flow beneath the surface?

The water below was turbulent, yet the surface was perfectly still—how odd! Additionally, this is such a wide lake; even with an inlet and outlet for the water, the flow shouldn’t be this intense underneath.

Fortunately, Ye Qing reacted quickly, grabbing a large rock near the cliff edge the moment he was swept away, stopping it from completely sweeping him downstream.

Despite this, the rapid current kept tossing Ye Qing about in the water, making it hard to stabilize. Ye Qing clung to the cliffside rock, pulling his body upwards bit by bit to minimize exposure below water, reducing contact area with the current to mitigate its impact.

With most of his body out of the water, Ye Qing ended up hanging on the rock, his body faced less impact from the current now, slowly stabilizing. Looking at the tranquil lake surface below, Ye Qing was utterly bewildered. Why was the surface so calm with no ripples, yet the water below so turbulent? What was going on? This lake seemed far from simple.

”Hey, what are you doing? Hurry up!” At that moment, Fat Wang shouted from the cliffside above. That guy was holding onto a rock behind, waving an arm at Ye Qing, urging him to get moving.

”Damn! Why aren’t you coming down?” Ye Qing retorted with irritation, though it was empty talk. In this scenario, if Fat Wang descended first, he’d likely get swept away instantly; not to mention, Fat Wang’s body takes more space than Ye Qing!

Turning around and looking about, Ye Qing chose a protruding rock nearby. This rock was more than half a meter long, fairly large. Ye Qing drew out the Scabbard of The Ancestor of Miao Dao, slowly moved towards the rock, embraced it with one arm, raised his legs while supporting the rock at the bottom, and used the scabbard to slowly cut the rock off.

As the rock gradually got carved away, all the pressure fell on Ye Qing, making him blush from the exertion. Thankfully, Ye Qing’s strength exceeded an average person’s, managing to hold up under the rock’s weight.

After cutting the rock off, Ye Qing quickly strapped the scabbard of The Ancestor of Miao Dao back onto himself, hugging the rock tightly with both arms. Glancing down at the calm lake below, Ye Qing took a deep breath, hugged the rock tightly and suddenly released his grip, plunging back into the water.

Entering the water, another surge rushed over. But this time, clutching a hefty rock with much more weight, the current couldn’t carry Ye Qing too far. Instead, due to the rock’s density, it dragged Ye Qing downward to the lakebed.

The lake was rather deep, descending to around ten meters deep. For an ordinary person, this depth would be arduous. Nonetheless, Ye Qing’s body wasn’t ordinary; he could withstand this depth.

Luckily, after sinking about ten meters, Ye Qing’s feet landed in the mud, indicating he’d reached the bottom.

The underwater current was even fiercer, relentlessly pushing Ye Qing towards the center. This is quite strange indeed; why was the lakebed’s current so turbulent while the surface was utterly calm? It’s too weird!

Of course, Ye Qing didn’t have time to ponder the water flow now. He hugged the large rock, holding onto the shore, gradually treading along the water’s edge, aiming to find the entry point to the Sword Saint Sect’s back door using the map’s coordinates.

Walking five or six meters along the lakebed, suddenly, Ye Qing’s foot seemed tangled in something, almost causing him to trip. Looking down, he found several strands of water grass wrapped around his foot. Ye Qing didn’t pay much attention. Water grass in the lakebed is too common. Many drown because they’re tangled in water grass, so it’s nothing special.

Ye Qing kicked hard a few times, trying to shake off the water grass. However, the grass seemed tightly bound, and Ye Qing couldn’t shake it off. This stirred a slight doubt in him. Bending down, he reached to pull off the grass. But when he touched it, a surprising scene unfolded.

The water grass was entwined around Ye Qing’s leg. He lifted his clothes to remove it, but upon pulling, he discovered it wasn’t merely tangled; it felt like a leech, adhering to his leg. The water grass’s leaves had tiny suction cups, and within them, minuscule tendrils continuously flailed—a sight bordering on horrifying.

Ye Qing had seen many oddities, yet the water grass’s condition truly startled him. Was this water grass or a leech? Or rather, was this a plant or an animal?

While Ye Qing contemplated, there was sudden movement on his other leg. Turning, he saw more water grass tangled around his other leg!

Ye Qing’s expression darkened; he remembered clearly that when he looked down earlier, only his left leg was caught, while his right leg had none. Yet without moving, his right leg became entwined in grass too?

Both legs bound, Ye Qing’s movement was significantly restrained. Yet, Ye Qing wasn’t ordinary. Since leaving the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, he discovered a method of embryonic breathing within the Innate Nine Diagrams he’d practiced. Using this breathing technique, holding one breath could sustain him underwater for almost half an hour, eliminating the need for diving gear.

Though trapped briefly by the grass, Ye Qing remained calm. He grabbed the grass on his right leg, preparing to yank it off. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a mass of water grass stretching toward him in the distance!