Chapter 177 (1/2)

Chapter 177: Monster in the Water

Nan Xun quickly found every one of the luminous pearls on the south wall, but nothing happened. While he was still puzzling over what to do next, Jun Huang had figured out what the solution was.

With a smile, she looked at the luminous pearls on the wall. One of them stood out to her. Earlier, she had noticed that the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper was missing one star. The answer came to her readily.

She took off the one luminous pearl from the wall and put it on the ground at the center of the underground palace. The pearl's glow grew intense, illuminating the whole palace. A blinding light exploded from the ground. Jun Huang and Nan Xun both shut their eyes on reflex. Worried that something might happen to Jun Huang while he couldn't see, Nan Xun quickly got to her side to pull her close and knelt down.

Slowly, the light died off. Seven rays of light came down from the seven stars on the ceiling and were reflected back by the floor. The luminous pearls blurred into a blanket of light. It was an awe-inspiring scene.

A thud. The wall in the south slowly rose up. Jun Huang and Nan Xun exchanged a nod before going through the door. Inside was a bottomless freezing pond. They could feel the cold radiating from the water.

A good number of wooden poles protruded from the pond. At the center of the pond was a pavilion. It seemed like they would have to make their way to the other side by jumping between the wooden poles.

Jun Huang was about to go ahead when Nan Xun stopped her. She believed that with her training she would be able to safely get to the other side. They had spent half an hour on trying to get the door open. Who knew how much time they would need for the later stages? She had to make it quick and not waste any time.

”What's wrong?” she asked, turning to Nan Xun.

Without a word, Nan Xun pointed at the water. Jun Huang looked over at the pond with a frown. She hadn't noticed it before, but she could now see a red creature swis.h.i.+ng around underwater. Bubbles came up to the surface as it leisurely moved around. Its legs were lined with suckers attaching itself to the bottom of the pond. The undercurrents in the water were an additional threat. If one fell into the water, he would either be eaten by the beast, or be shredded into pieces by the currents.

Startled by the beast underwater, Jun Huang took a step back reflexively. Nan Xun put an arm around her shoulder and looked calmly at the pond, then at the wooden poles. ”We can't go through the pond directly. Those poles are merely a red herring. If we take that route, we will die immediately.”

Jun Huang tilted her head to face Nan Xun. ”Then what should we do?”

”Let me think.” Nan Xun lowered his eyes in contemplation. Suddenly, ripples spread through the originally calm pond. Nan Xun pulled Jun Huang backward, but the door they had entered through was shut. There was no way back. They had to go forward.

Nan Xun and Jun Huang held their breath and kept their eyes on the pond. Nan Xun put a hand around the hilt of his sword, waiting for the creature to surface.

The red beast came out of the water. Its eight tentacles swung in the air, each of which had three suckers. If a prey was caught by the suckers, it wouldn't be able to escape.

The monster's two eyes were sunk deep inside its gigantic head. Its tongue slithered out of its mouth every once in a while as it stared at Jun Huang and Nan Xun like they were some delicacies.

”What – what the h.e.l.l is this?” Jun Huang had never seen anything like the beast. Her words slurred and her heart threatened to jump out of her chest.

Nan Xun had never seen such a creature either. His breath hitched. He shook his head and said, ”It must have come out because it smelled my blood. We can no longer escape its attention. We have no choice but to fight it headon.”

Jun Huang looked down at Nan Xun's hand. His wound had split again. Blood was trickling down his fingers. She took his hand in panic.

Nan Xun smiled a little and let Jun Huang patch him up. He kept his eyes on the beast, wary of any sudden attacks.

The beast climbed onto the land completely when Jun Huang had finished bandaging Nan Xun. Angered by the lost of the smell of blood, it struck at them with a tentacle. Nan Xun tackled Jun Huang to the side. Sparks spluttered in the air when the tentacle hit the floor.

Jun Huang froze. Before she could recover, Nan Xun had drawn his sword to counter the tentacle. He had a.s.sumed that the tentacle would be soft, but it was as st.u.r.dy as his blade, or even more so.

He didn't dare to back down. Jun Huang was right behind him. He would not let this beast hurt her. Tapping into his reserved strength, he fought this giant monster that dwarfed him by many times. He had to fight as hard as he could manage, or he would be killed.

Nan Xun was getting tired. He didn't expect this monster to be this strong. Jun Huang had been observing the monster, trying to find its weakness. Before she could succeed, however, one of the tentacles slithered toward her.