Chapter 402: Hunting the Flood Dragon – (2)
At the mention of a “flood dragon,” Qin Hao’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. “Which waters?” he pressed. “Were you the only ones who saw it?”
Jiang Chen shook his head, feigning uncertainty. “I can’t say for sure. The situation was chaotic…”
The Black Crystal Profound Turtle erupting from the depths had caused a massive disturbance. The subsequent arrival of the flood dragon had been nothing short of an earth-shattering spectacle. Even though the turbid currents were isolated and far from Mystic Heart City, there was no guarantee that disciples from other sects hadn’t noticed the celestial phenomena.
Qin Hao waved a hand, his tone brooking no argument. “Let’s go. We’re hunting a flood dragon.”
He alone possessed the arrogance to confront a millennium-old great demon, but he wasn’t alone. Over twenty core disciples had arrived at Mystic Heart City for this expedition. The vast majority were Golden Core experts, with a select few having already reached the late Golden Core stage. Backed by a swarm of Foundation Establishment disciples, slaying the beast was a foregone conclusion.
Jiang Chen offered a self-deprecating, awkward smile. “I’m not exactly a fighter. I’d only be dead weight, so I won’t get in your way.”
Knowing Jiang Chen’s reputation as a non-combatant, Qin Hao gave a curt nod. “Fine. Wait in Mystic Heart City for our good news.”
Without wasting another breath, Qin Hao grabbed Long Ao and launched into the sky toward the turbid currents. A streak of golden sword light tore through the horizon, crossing a hundred miles in the blink of an eye.
Simultaneously, the surrounding core disciples of the Cloud Sea Sect shot into the air, moving in perfect synchronization as if responding to a silent command.
This mass mobilization naturally drew the eyes of disciples from neighboring immortal sects. However, since the Canglan Sea expedition was still in its exploratory phase, massive deployments were common. Even the most suspicious onlookers wouldn’t immediately jump to the conclusion that a flood dragon had appeared.Once he was entirely alone, Jiang Chen’s facade of weakness vanished, replaced by cold calculation. *My Fire Spirit Root will be heavily suppressed underwater. If I want to snatch that flood dragon’s bloodline right out from under them, I need a new mask.*
He now possessed a complete set of five elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. His Wood Spirit Root was tied to his true identity as Jiang Chen. His Fire Spirit Root belonged to the persona he had crafted by mimicking the Crow Venerable—Zhu Rong.
Since he was operating in the Canglan Sea, it was time to put his Water Spirit Root to use. *I might as well forge a third identity,* he mused. *Let’s call him… Gong Gong.*
The only flaw in this plan was his lack of water-attribute techniques. His foundation relied entirely on the Gentle Water Art, and his offensive arsenal consisted solely of the Major Rain Spell—an ability he hadn’t even pushed to the Novice level yet.
It seemed he would have to rely entirely on his vessel. Ever since it had devoured the Thunderclap, the ship had undergone a radical metamorphosis.
As Zhao Wuji’s personal transport, the Thunderclap had been an artifact of exceptional quality, boasting incredible effects and traits. Its only flaw was its static nature. It lacked the terrifying “growth potential” of Jiang Chen’s vessel, which started weak but evolved endlessly by consuming other artifacts.
Moving swiftly, Jiang Chen left the vicinity of the flood dragon’s nest and headed straight for the Sea Demon Pavilion. Though the mermaids had long since fled and the architecture lay in half-ruined shambles, the underwater entryways remained intact. In a way, he was revisiting an old haunt.
The area was swarming with disciples from ordinary Cultivation sects, but the moment they spotted Jiang Chen’s robes and the Cloud Sea Sect token hanging from his waist, they parted like the sea. Disciples of the three great immortal sects stood at the apex of the hierarchy, eclipsing ordinary cultivators in status, power, and prestige.
Jiang Chen soon arrived at the Deep Sea Hall. The grand structure was deserted and dilapidated, but the private dual-cultivation chambers remained untouched. Without hesitation, he vaulted into the air and slipped silently into the dark waters below.
Channeling the Dragon Carp Transformation, he glided through the depths unimpeded. However, the corrupted waters of this region were vastly different from normal seawater. The ambient suppression was immense. Even with a Water Spirit Root and the physical adaptations of the Dragon Carp Transformation, the environment fought against him.
Enveloped by the murky depths, Jiang Chen felt as though he were swimming through a thick, suffocating quagmire. A sinister, bone-chilling aura constantly tried to burrow into his pores.
Deciding he had descended far enough, he decisively summoned his newly upgraded vessel. Instantly, a massive ship over two hundred feet long materialized out of thin air, displacing the corrupted waters and radiating a suffocating, oppressive aura.
After consuming the Thunderclap, the Demon Dragon Water-Repelling Boat had shed its old identity. Now, the name *Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat* was far more fitting.
It had evolved from a fleshy, biological texture into a ferocious, biomechanical dreadnought—half-dragon, half-warship. The original organic dragon scales had been replaced by jagged, blue-purple lightning motifs, with crackling bluish-white arcs of electricity tracing the edges of every armored plate. These were conductive circuits formed from the Thunderclap’s essence, allowing the hull to discharge raw lightning to paralyze and incinerate any hostiles that drew near.
The dragon horns at the bow had morphed from spiraling ridges into jagged, forked prongs resembling twin bolts of frozen lightning. The energy pulsing between them was no longer a cyan flame, but a blinding silver radiance intertwined with threads of azure water. Embedded at the apex of the horns was a diamond-shaped lightning crystal—the condensed core of the Thunderclap—which passively siphoned ambient lightning energy from the environment.
The stern had elongated into a serrated, conductive dragon tail covered in a web of glowing circuits. With every sway, it churned the water, leaving behind expanding rings of electrified waves. The tip of the tail split into three prehensile strands, each acting as a slender lightning whip tipped with a sphere of liquid plasma. These could plunge into the seabed like anchors to stabilize the ship, or act as grounding rods to absorb even more electrical power.
**[Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat]**
**Effect 1:** Top-Tier Lightning Control
**Effect 2:** Top-Tier Water Repelling
**Effect 3:** Top-Tier Wind Control
**Effect 4:** Top-Tier Defense
**Effect 5:** Devour and Evolve
**Effect 6:** Top-Tier Lightning and Water Dual Resistance
**Special Effect 1:** Lock-on Thunder Water
**Special Effect 2:** Thunder Dragon’s Wrathful Breath
**Special Effect 3:** Lightning Concealment
**Special Effect 4:** Conductive Feedback
Jiang Chen stepped onto the metallic deck, his spiritual sense linking with the helm as he piloted the vessel deeper into the abyss. Even at its base cruising speed, it was twice as fast as before. If he pushed its arrays to the limit, that speed would multiply exponentially.
Logically, these corrupted waters were a breeding ground for vicious water demons and sea monsters. Yet, as the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat approached, their predatory instincts were overridden by sheer terror. They didn’t attack; they scattered.
To the beasts of the deep, this wasn’t a ship—it was an apex predator, a living thunder dragon prowling its domain. The slower monsters were instantly paralyzed, their bodies seizing up as the ambient electricity from the hull washed over them.
Jiang Chen watched the fleeing shadows and clicked his tongue in marvel. “If you keep eating, will you eventually turn into a living, breathing thunder dragon?”
His mind immediately pivoted to profit. *If it actually becomes a living dragon… maybe I could use a stripping technique to harvest its dragon bloodline for myself… Ahem. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.*
It didn’t take long for Jiang Chen to navigate the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat into the turbid currents. However, the area was empty. Neither the flood dragon nor Chen Tian’s group was anywhere to be seen. The hunt had clearly moved elsewhere.
He wasn’t disappointed. Instead, he calmly activated the ship’s first special effect: *Lock-on Thunder Water*.
The array hummed to life, sending out an invisible pulse that automatically tracked any lightning or water-based spiritual fluctuations within a massive radius. Whether it was a demon beast or a cultivator, nothing could hide from its radar.
Sure enough, a moment later, the three prehensile lightning whips at the stern began to crackle and sway. Like dowsing rods, they snapped to attention, pointing rigidly toward three distinct directions.
Jiang Chen rapidly calculated the time elapsed and the estimated distance of the hunting party. His eyes locked onto the leftmost whip. “That way!”