Nether Creek

After leaving the tavern, Xu Xian walked along the creek. Although this water was called a creek and was at the downstream end...

It was several yards wide at its broadest point, and even at its narrowest, it was over a yard wide...

Bridges spanned the creek, with houses lining both banks.

The current was extremely slow, without a single ripple.

Xu Xian could not see the bottom, nor could he see any fish or shrimp in the water.

As he approached the creek, he could feel a force tugging at him.

It wanted to drag him into the water.

It felt as if there were a water ghost beneath the surface trying to find someone to take its place.

Fortunately, Xu Xian was at the soul transformation stage.

If it had been an ordinary human, they likely would have been dragged straight into this Nether water.

This "town" called Ze Capital was not very large, as it was located at the downstream end of the West Nether Creek.

However, the houses stretching along both banks still spanned several miles.

Yet, not a single small boat could be seen anywhere on the Nether Creek.

When they were coming here...

He had heard his senior brother mention that Nether water was Ruoshui. Even a goose feather could not float upon it. However, this only applied to things from outside the Demon Abyss.

In fact, the demons within the Demon Abyss and the demon beasts born there could swim shallowly upon the Nether water.

Demon birds could fly across it, and bridges built from wood found in the Demon Abyss could safely span the river's surface.

But that old man had said that boats simply could not float on this Nether water.

Whether it was a boat made of wood or a raft crafted from demon bamboo, they had absolutely no buoyancy.

The old man also said that Nether water was undrinkable and that nothing lived within it.

Even if humans or animals wanted to cross the Nether water, they had to keep their heads above the surface, and it was extremely taxing.

If their physical strength failed, they would drown and die.

Ordinarily, even here on the Nether Creek, common folk were unwilling to take risks, and very few ever swam in it.

The old man had also mentioned...

That at the upstream Nether River, the widest point was ten miles across. Let alone ordinary demon folk, even demon cultivators below the third rank could not swim across those ten miles of water.

Only those above the third rank could fly across.

Furthermore...

Because the river was too wide, it was impossible to build a ten-mile long bridge. If ordinary demon folk wanted to cross, there was only one way: to ride a flying demon beast.

Because of this...

A profession even more lucrative than the stone-salvagers had emerged in the upper reaches of the Nether River.

Ferrying.

However, this industry was jointly controlled by the Ten Great Demon Gods. Ordinary people were strictly forbidden from engaging in it.

If a cultivator or human was caught taking such jobs privately, the consequence was the destruction of their entire family.

As for that Nether Pool, it was an endless expanse, like a vast ocean.

Legend had it that it was a shore that even demon beasts could not fly across; only a demon god could cross it.

The Nether Hall on the other side was a place that only a demon god had ever visited.

The old man had also mentioned in passing...

That if not for the Nether Pool blocking the way, the demon gods in the Demon Abyss would have likely been slaughtered to extinction by that Thunder Demon long ago.

It sounded quite far-fetched.

But Xu Xian believed it. After all, while the Thunder Demon was a nightmare from mythology to them...

To him, the man truly existed.

However, there were still some things Xu Xian did not quite understand.

A small creek could be bridged.

A large river could be flown over.

Why was the Nether Pool impassable?

What kind of unknown secrets did this Nether water, this Ruoshui, this Divine Water of Life, actually hold?

Carrying his curiosity and thirst for knowledge, Xu Xian leaped down the riverbank and continued approaching the Nether water. He only stopped once he reached a position where he could touch the creek with a slight lean.

The pulling force grew stronger, and Xu Xian kept his dantian constantly active.

He slowly crouched down, observing the water beneath him at close range.

The flow was very slow and the water wasn't deep, but even with his Pupil of Insight, Xu Xian could not see the riverbed beneath the shallow bank.

He didn't know if it was because the water was too bright.

The Nether water inches away was shimmering brilliantly, making Xu Xian involuntarily recall a poem.

Ten thousand acres of shimmering waves shake and shatter the moonlight, a sky of wind and dew carries the fragrance of lotus blossoms.

Though there was no moon, the river seemed to hold one within it. Though it was night, standing by the riverbank felt brighter than the day.

Xu Xian reached out, moving closer to the Ruoshui until finally, he attempted to scoop up a handful of Nether water.

However, the moment his hand touched the Nether water, his body lurched forward. An immense weight, as if thousands of catties were pressing on his hand, dragged him downward.

Warning bells rang in the youth's mind. He jerked away, retreating several steps.

Frowning deeply and staring at his palm, Xu Xian muttered to himself, "This water is quite interesting."

Water that could wound.

Heavy as a mountain.

If he hadn't been on guard and possessed a high cultivation level, that single pull just now really would have dragged him into the river.

Xu Xian then took out a Shadow Soul Stone and tossed it into the Nether water.

When the ten-kilogram Shadow Soul Stone touched the surface, it was like snow falling on flour—there wasn't even the slightest sound.

No splash, no ripples.

The Shadow Soul Stone simply drifted there, as if merging with the Nether water, slowly floating away.

Xu Xian rubbed his chin, watching closely.

"It really doesn't sink."

The little book spirit emerged at some unknown point and sat on his shoulder. Looking like it had just woken up from a grand dream, it yawned and spoke as if talking in its sleep:

"Shadow Soul Stones are produced in the Demon Abyss and born beneath the Nether Pool. Nether water and Shadow Soul Stones are like water and snow—they are essentially the same thing. It’s not strange at all..."

Xu Xian glanced at it out of the corner of his eye and asked casually, "Are you saying the Shadow Soul Stone is actually the solid form of Nether water?"

The little book spirit's eyes darted around, and it gave an ambiguous answer: "It is and it isn't. I don't really know either. Their material is the same, and the laws inside them are the same—they're exactly the same thing, yet they're different. I can't quite explain it. Anyway, this is my first time seeing it too. In my memory, Ruoshui was in the Thirty-Third Heaven. I wouldn't dare be too certain about what it becomes after falling to the lower realm."

Xu Xian thought silently.

If not like water and ice, they could be compared to carbon and diamond.

They had the same molecular structure, yet the two substances were entirely different.

It was just that things in the cultivation world likely had more complex explanations.

Still, it would be great if the Nether water were actually Shadow Soul Stones; it would save him the trouble of searching for them.

The little book spirit watched the Shadow Soul Stone drift further and further away while its master remained indifferent. It couldn't help but remind him, "It's getting away! Hurry and fish it out!"

Xu Xian snapped back to reality, curled his lip, said absolutely nothing, and turned to walk back up the bank.

"Why aren't you fishing it out?"

"That's money right there!"

"Master, you've changed, you've become arrogant..."

The little book spirit babbled on.

Becoming impatient, Xu Xian casually raised a hand, pinched its little book case with two fingers, and gave it a light toss.

Whoosh—!

In the span of a toss and a fall, the little book spirit landed accurately right in front of the Shadow Soul Stone that was about its size.

First came a plop sound. Before it could even cry for help, the little book spirit sank.

Bubbles gurgled on the water's surface, and after a moment, all movement ceased.

The water flowed, the stone drifted, but the person was gone.

A moment later...

A little fellow sat on Xu Xian's shoulder, arms crossed, radiating resentment.

Xu Xian chuckled playfully and teased, "Going to pick it up again?"

The little book spirit pouted and turned its head away. "Hmph, bad master, I'm not talking to you anymore..."