Rise to God with Life Skill Professions-Chapter 494 - 483: Fierce Battle

The water ahead is abnormally dark, with no trace of light.

Anyone who has ever dived into the sea knows that the deeper you go, the darker it becomes.

If you reach the very depths, you will feel there is no light around at all.

Being in such an environment can greatly amplify the fear in one’s heart, as if hidden in the sea’s darkness are terrifying giant creatures.

The fear of the deep sea gets its name from this.

At this moment, this darkness seems insignificant to Qin An and Long Tianxing.

Even with just a hint of light, the two can see the situation ahead clearly.

In front lies a vast underground cave, so deep that it’s impossible to see what’s inside.

"This is indeed a natural cave," Qin An performed the Nine Turns Dragon Roar Shadow Step, transforming into a blur and arriving beside the cave, gazing inside.

Qin An discovered a tiny rice grain-sized light in the darkness at the end.

If not looked at carefully, even a cultivator could easily overlook it.

Long Tianxing followed closely, arriving beside him, and said, "Many aquatic monsters love to construct their dwellings based on natural sea formations, and the Dragon Palace is no different."

"The Dragon Palace is built in a natural depression, but its surroundings are extremely perilous."

"Not just aquatic monsters, right?" Qin An touched Cold Star, turned, and said, "Other monsters are the same."

Long Tianxing nodded at his words, "Yes, just as Mr. Qin said."

"Next, we will go straight in."

Qin An drew the Cold Star from his waist, its blade flickering with a subtle cold light.

Since they’ve come, he doesn’t plan to waste time.

The sooner they complete this task, the sooner Qin An can claim his merit and return to enhance his proficiency as a blacksmith.

Once he advances his blacksmith skills to level seventeen, he can smoothly develop his fist technique to the Void Shattering Realm.

By then, his Power of Attack won’t lag behind his Heart Method.

Noticing Qin An’s eagerness, Long Tianxing said nothing more, and the two cautiously entered the cave one after the other.

As Qin An stepped inside, he immediately felt a chill rushing in through the sea water deep in the cave.

This chill carried a sense of Evil Qi, making his scalp tingle.

"The Evil Qi here is denser than outside."

Qin An was convinced of Long Tianxing’s deduction; the catfish monster is inside this cave.

Long Tianxing, walking beside Qin An, continued, "We killed many fish demons on our way here. One used its racial Secret Technique to escape, and probably reported to the catfish monster here, so we must be cautious."

Though he’s a real dragon, with only Small Success of Shattering Void Realm, he doesn’t count for much in this Tianyun Dao.

Even now, he’s not as prestigious as Qin An.

But Long Tianxing felt, as Qin An was new here, offering some reminders wouldn’t hurt.

Qin An nodded slightly, "I understand, let’s move ahead."

The two stopped talking and ventured deeper into the dark cave.

The further they went, the colder it became, and the Evil Qi grew denser.

Qin An could even smell a trace of blood in the flowing seawater.

They continued on for a distance.

The grain-sized light ahead gradually enlarged, finally revealing a massive opening before them.

Qin An and Long Tianxing exchanged a glance and, without hesitating, stepped toward the entrance.

As he stepped out, Qin An activated the Void Essence within him, covering his body with the golden Dharma Image.

The glow of the Nine Turns Dharma Image immediately illuminated the surroundings, and Qin An saw the exterior situation.

Beyond the entrance lay a massive palace complex, above which dense Evil Qi hovered.

Apart from that, there were fish coated with black water, placed flat on the palace.

Each fish was shrouded in Evil Qi.

Recalling the villagers of Wandering Village catching sea fish, coupled with this scene, Qin An was certain this was the catfish monster’s lair.

Long Tianxing looked around and suddenly pointed to the largest palace, saying, "That’s where the Evil Qi is thickest, and I sense a trace of the catfish monster’s aura. It should be in that direction."

Monsters naturally sense each other, especially Long Tianxing and the catfish monster, both being aquatic creatures, allowing Long Tianxing to easily pinpoint its location in the sea.

"It’s likely that our arrival has already been reported."

Qin An paced forward, "But it hasn’t retreated, suggesting it wants a decisive battle with us. So, let’s meet it."

Long Tianxing thought briefly, agreeing with Qin An.

If it were him, knowing he couldn’t win, he would have retreated long ago.

After all, both humans and pseudo-god monsters usually leave escape routes when constructing their bases.

Should they encounter an unbeatable enemy, they use secret paths to flee.

Yet now the catfish monster dares stay here, indicating it has ample confidence. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Thus, Long Tianxing felt for sure this time there would be a battle.

With this in mind, Long Tianxing ceased to speak and quietly followed Qin An toward the largest palace.

...

The closer they got to the palace, the more astonishing the Evil Qi became.

Nearing it, Qin An surveyed the palace and shook his head.

"These monsters truly emulate humans, building so splendidly."

The palace ahead was extremely luxurious, with even the roof eaves adorned with massive Luminous Pearls.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that the architectural style of this palace somewhat imitates the architectural style of Tianyun Daoist’s human structures.

Long Tianxing nodded and said, "Powerful upstream forces like the Dragon Palace emphasize heritage, whereas downstream forces like these catfish demons prefer to mimic all human architectural styles when building palaces. It seems the stronger they become, the more they desire to emulate humans."

Long Tianxing mentioned "emulate," but it’s more about imitation.

The palace gates were still open. Qin An, holding Cold Star, entered with a casual stride, without saying more to Long Tianxing.

As the two stepped into the palace, the scene immediately unfolded before their eyes.

Not far ahead was a gigantic throne.

On the throne, the Catfish King toyed with a wine cup, surrounded by dozens of fish demons in the Unity Realm.

These fish demons wielded mismatched weapons and wore inconsistent armor, gazing at them with faces full of murderous intent.

Qin An merely glanced at them briefly, raising an eyebrow slightly and said, "The Great Wave Array, this array is indeed quite exquisite."

Upon hearing this, Long Tianxing appeared surprised.

"This Great Wave Array supposedly comes from the Seven-Colored Fish Gate. I never expected these catfish demons to have learned it."

Long Tianxing wasn’t surprised by Qin An’s knowledge of arrays.

In fact, during his time in Xunyang Prefecture, he had seen many of Qin An’s wonders.

Because of this, he thought Qin An could make a name for himself beyond Xunyang Prefecture, even in Tianyun Dao.

Meanwhile, upon hearing Qin An casually mention the Great Wave Array, the leisureful Catfish King briefly froze his action with the wine cup, his expression suddenly turning grim.

"I’ll give you two a chance; if you retreat now, I can spare your lives. But if you insist on confronting me here, I’ll make sure you won’t even have a grave!"

As he uttered these words, the group of fish demons shouted, causing the seawater to shudder continuously as if trying to intimidate Qin An and Long Tianxing.

Qin An’s lips curled slightly, his gaze shifting to a man in a blue robe beside the Catfish King, raising an eyebrow and said, "Never thought there’d be humans in this demon lair."

Elder Cheng appeared somewhat embarrassed.

His face was veiled, not wanting Qin An to see.

Although he decided to collaborate with the Catfish King, the veiling was more instinctive, fearing exposure to the Evil Extermination Bureau, more shameful than fear itself.

After all, Hidden Moon Pavilion’s association with demons would be laughed at by their kin if exposed.

At this moment, Qin An suddenly turned his focus towards him.

Elder Cheng coughed and said, "You are the Bronze Daoshuai of the Evil Extermination Bureau. I am here merely by chance. You can retreat now; the Catfish King does not enjoy bloodshed. If you retreat now, you can avoid a conflict."

"Not enjoy bloodshed?" Qin An’s lips curled slightly: "But I took on the task, the Evil Extermination Bureau exists only for tasks, how could I possibly return empty-handed?"

"Besides, not enjoy bloodshed? And who bears the blame for the dead villagers of Wandering Village?"

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere became incredibly tense.

The Catfish King rose and clenched his wine cup: "Are you really willing to oppose me over those irrelevant villagers, even at the cost of your life?"

"Those villagers aren’t even cultivators, merely a few worthless lives."

Long Tianxing frowned, slightly moving closer to Qin An.

He felt the pressure of the Great Wave Array, a heavy weight on his heart.

Qin An appeared oblivious, gently sliding his hand over the Cold Star’s blade, casually said: "When tasked, it must be completed, moreover, life is life; there’s no distinction between good and bad lives. Enough with the nonsense, let’s start with you first."

Upon saying that, Qin An stepped forward and then used the Nine-turn Dragon Roar Shadow Step, his figure disappearing from the spot.

When he reappeared, he was already before the Catfish King.

The Catfish King was horrified, suddenly throwing the wine cup to the ground: "Kill them!"

With these words, a mighty array power surged forth, forming seawater waves like towering walls, rushing towards Qin An.

Qin An didn’t panic, raising his hand, slashing out with his blade.

The Nine-Colored Void Essence enveloped Cold Star’s blade, slicing diagonally through the forthcoming waves.

On the other hand, Long Tianxing had already begun his attack.

Transforming into his true dragon form, he charged at the Catfish King.

The Catfish King chuckled coldly: "So you truly understand arrays, but it’s futile. This is water, this is my realm!"

As he spoke, the Catfish King reached behind.

Soon, a steel trident appeared in his hand, striking fiercely against Qin An’s straight blade.

"Boom!"

A terrifying explosion rang out.

Qin An noticed something peculiar.

As the Nine-Colored Void Essence flowed into the trident, it felt sticky, causing the essence to veer aside and strike the invisible void.

Seeing this, the Catfish King laughed: "This is my racial secret technique; the catfish’s mucus serves as a protective method, causing attacks to deflect when facing me."

As he spoke, the Catfish King raised the steel trident again, thrusting towards Qin An.

Qin An raised his blade to block.

Their weapons clashed dozens of times in a short period, yet each exchange caused Cold Star to veer off its path.

This sensation was uncomfortable for Qin An.

The mucus was indeed strange, Qin An felt even if he used the Three Blades Unification Secret Skill, it would be hindered by this mucus, distorting his attacks.

At this moment, Long Tianxing was already close, but before he could strike the Catfish King, a figure flashed before his eyes.

Long Tianxing focused, seeing Elder Cheng in his blue robe, standing in the middle.

Elder Cheng gently stroked his sleeve and sighed: "You, a true dragon, why involve yourself in this matter?"

"If you insist on joining this battle, then let me... be your opponent."

With these words, behind Elder Cheng, suddenly emerged the phantom of a full moon...