Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 535 - Thirty-One: Returning
Waves surged wildly, and everything was torn asunder. The "Wingless Emperor" turned over and sank below, its path marked by boiling river waters.
Li Yan witnessed this creature, whose size could rival several large cities, submerge into the vast waters. He exhaled the Pig Dragon King, using it like a hemp rope to wrap around his wrist again, and then started to swim upwards.
The deep trench was still dim, and under the massive Basalt Forest, dark sea-green Sea Spirit Ganoderma grew in abundance. Shadows of living creatures moved ceaselessly in and out.
Suddenly, a blanket of white, quiet as a cloud, swept in—it was Li Yan.
The R’lyeh Water Tiger had torn his pants, so he simply enveloped himself in Dragon Mist. Besides the ability to corrupt the spiritual essence of all things with its oppressive magic, wrapping oneself with it while traveling through water made the task doubly efficient. Li Yan was naturally drawn to water, his movements almost unimpaired within it. With a layer of Dragon Mist around him, he swam even faster than on land by a third.
Calamity Faction!
Water Lord Palace!
A deep crimson Lance Squid, brandishing its tentacles, carelessly collided with a full-bodied Li Yan and then, astonishingly, vanished completely from sight.
"Esteemed Walker has subdued a strange species: Tyrannosaurus Fish!"
"[Water Lord Species: Tyrannosaurus Fish] meets the conditions for an ability boost."
"Esteemed Walker’s maximum controllable water volume has greatly increased!"
Nearby, golden sea urchins alarmed by the presence of the Calamity Faction hurriedly turned to escape. From the fissures in the basalt, swarms of red Demon Lice erupted like smoke, scrambling frantically to flee. And as for the other aquatic creatures, the less said, the better.
Having subdued the Tyrannosaurus Fish, Li Yan found the absorbing power of the Water Lord Palace had suddenly intensified, offering the other creatures a chance to escape. Unfortunately, the red Demon Lice had no resistance and were all sucked into the Water Lord Palace.
"Esteemed Walker has subdued a strange species: Fenrir Demon Louse!"
"[Water Lord Species: Fenrir Demon Louse]"
"Esteemed Walker’s maximum controllable water volume has increased!"
"Esteemed Walker’s Disaster Water receives an enhancement, carrying a potent metallic toxicant."
All sorts of aquatic life in the Abyssal Mouth could only survive with the nourishment of Soul-forgiving Water. Creatures like the R’lyeh Water Tiger, which counted among the overlords of the Abyssal Mouth, had even more stringent survival requirements.
The reason Li Yan previously could not use the Calamity Faction to subdue them was primarily that the Water Lord Palace lacked Soul-forgiving Water. To these creatures, the environment of the Water Lord Palace was no different from a mountain of swords or a sea of flames. Naturally, when stimulated by the Calamity Faction, they fiercely resisted to the death.
Now that Wu Zhiqi had plucked some Soul-forgiving Water from the Wingless Emperor’s lair, these creatures might flee, but they would not fight to a bitter end even if they could not escape.
Thus, the entire Abyssal Mouth had become a veritable treasure trove of benefits for Li Yan, who, in a search for more powerful aquatic oddities, disguised himself as a drifting iceberg, lying in wait.
————————————————
Amidst the swirling undercurrents, a dazzling and exquisite Dragon Mane Jellyfish danced gracefully. Li Yan, disguised as an iceberg, cautiously approached. When he was about four or five meters away from the Dragon Mane Jellyfish, he decisively activated the Water Lord Palace!
The previously inert "iceberg" suddenly exploded with a fierce pulling force, and Li Yan also unleashed the Calamity Faction. The swarm of Dragon Mane Jellyfish had no time to scatter and escape before being swallowed by the Water Lord Palace.
"Esteemed Walker has subdued a strange species: Dragon Mane Jellyfish!"
"[Water Lord Species: Dragon Mane Jellyfish] meets the conditions for an ability boost!"
"Esteemed Walker’s maximum controllable water volume has increased!"
"Esteemed Walker’s Disaster Water receives an enhancement, now carrying the poison of Dragon Mane Jellyfish, capable of rapidly petrifying enemies."
There is no sun or moon in the water.
Even Li Yan himself had forgotten which number this "Dragon Mane Jellyfish" was among the various creatures he had subdued. He only remembered that the text information enhancing before his eyes had scrolled through more than a dozen pages...
Inside the Water Lord Palace, the "Yin Yang Talisman Twin Fish" connected to the sea eye, comparable to the water of an entire river. However, this didn’t mean that Li Yan could capture an entire river’s worth of magical creatures and stuff them all into the Water Lord Palace. The number of creatures he could tame was still limited by the "Awakening Degree" of Wu Zhiqi.
Seventy-nine.
This was the current limit on the number of creatures he could subdue within the Water Lord Palace.
Taking into account the relationships of mutual support and suppression among the creatures, Li Yan had tamed and then released more than a hundred different creatures.
Normally, among the Water Lord Species, survival was the only priority, and there was no distinction of high or low. However, in terms of helping Li Yan, there were indeed differences in their significance.
Creatures like the "Yin Yang Talisman Twin Fish" and "Shuiguang Worm" were the foundations of the entire Water Lord Palace. While they might not help increase Li Yan’s strength, they were indispensable.
Then there were creatures like "Pig Dragon" and "Tyrannosaurus Fish", which could enhance Li Yan’s control over the maximum limit and detail of the water flow he could manipulate. In a Xianxia novel, they would undoubtedly be miraculous elixirs that could boost one’s magical power.
And then there were creatures like the "Fenrir Demon Louse" and "Dragon Mane Jellyfish", which, at present, appeared to add various special effects to the "Disaster Water", such as "petrification toxin", "volatility", "heavy metal toxin", "neurotoxin", and the "R’lyeh Curse Toxin" capable of suppressing all supernatural characteristics.
Aside from "Shuiguang Worm", "Yin Yang Talisman Twin Fish", and "Pig Dragon", Li Yan finally settled on a total of seventy-five types of creatures, including the "Dragon Mane Jellyfish" and "Ghost Horn Anglerfish".
He still lacked one last type of creature, and Li Yan couldn’t find a suitable one. Rashly adding a few others might accidentally obliterate other species, which would be counterproductive.
After all this trouble, the Disaster Water was no longer its original pure black and translucent color, but had become a thick and sticky substance, shrouded in a hazy mist, and highly unstable.
Calamity lies in what seems like a blessing, and blessings are hidden within calamity.
The original mission only required obtaining scales from the Terrifying Mermaid, and there was no need to venture into the Abyssal Mouth. Li Yan didn’t have to take such a great risk, but conversely, the gains wouldn’t have been so substantial.
The secrets of the Abyssal Mouth still abound, the mystery of the destruction of R’lyeh City-State, and whether their "Natural Science" and the "Tri-Orb Device" are the same things. What else lies deeper within the lair of the Wingless Emperor? However, these are secrets that the current Li Yan cannot access. To be able to return this way was still a great success.
Blub blub~
Li Yan emerged from the fissure at the river bottom, and the descendants of the Pig Dragon still gathered around the fissure, eagerly watching him.
Li Yan looked down at the still slumbering Pig Dragon King. With the Water Lord Palace now completely transformed, without the Pig Dragon King, he didn’t dare to recklessly throw the disorganized Pig Dragons into his Water Lord Palace. He had no choice but to instruct them to disperse for now, waiting to deal with them after the Pig Dragon King awoke.
————————————————
It was already deep into the night, and Li Yan found a desolate beach to come ashore. He changed into his spare trousers, walked barefoot toward the old town.
He remembered that not far from here was the Chinatown Dock where he had first arrived in San Francisco, treated as "people" by the traffickers of Chinese laborers. But upon actually arriving, he found the place overrun with military police and steam machinery.
Collapsing wooden houses, overturned boats, scattered slogans, and the wailing of children amid ruins, with the remains of flames sweeping skyward. Fire hydrants washed the fresh blood on the ground; the dock was a scene of desolation.
On the ground was a newspaper trampled with footprints: "On the 15th, Congress passed the ’Law Concerning the Enforcement of Treaties Related to Chinese People’, effective immediately from the date of enactment, the San Francisco Court shall not grant citizenship to Chinese people. If a law contradicts this law, this act will prevail. Chinese laborers are forbidden from coming to America for ten years; the term ’Chinese laborers’ refers to all skilled or unskilled Chinese workers, as well as all Chinese employed by mine owners..."
Li Yan bent down and picked up a broken wood board, which, aside from a bloody handprint, bore a cartoon of a short, plump, simple character with a long braid and two big yellow buckteeth, clutching a sharp knife and grinning villainously.
"...Hmm."
Li Yan flicked the wooden board lightly, and in an instant, cracks spread across the entire board.
"Quite the cheeky drawing."
