Grinding Cultivation Toward Martial Saint

But now was different; he moved at full speed, covering hundreds of meters in a single breath, maintaining awareness of the five-mile radius of the water. The flood of information transmitted overwhelmed him, causing a dizzying headache, as it was too much to bear.

While speeding forward, he kept control of the one-mile radius of the water.

Two hours later.

"Old Turtle, do you think we might be going the wrong way?" Jiang Ning asked.

"Master, I don't know either. I've never traveled this far!" Old Turtle responded.

At that moment, Jiang Ning stopped.

From the beginning until now, several hours had passed, crossing vast waters.

Along the way, other than occasionally discovering one or two Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, he had no other findings.

He pondered on the spot for a moment.

He compared the current position with the map in his mind.

"Old Turtle, come back with me!" he said, reaching out to grasp the turtle on his shoulder.

Then

With a thought, his figure suddenly disappeared from the spot, merging into the waters.

The next moment,

He reappeared thirty miles away, his face pale as a ghost.

Using the Great Five Elements Water Escape Divine Skill once drained him completely, leaving him disoriented.

But seeing the familiar surroundings, which corresponded with the lakebed map memorized in his mind, a faint smile appeared on his face.

In an instant, he crossed thirty-three miles, much faster than usual.

Then he rested on the spot for a moment. After that, his figure vanished once more.

And appeared thirty miles away in an instant.

"No!!" After trying twice, he shook his head repeatedly.

The consecutive uses made him feel drained, as if he'd been thoroughly wrung out.

Moreover, he realized that although crossing over thirty miles in an instant was fast, the time it took to recover his energy was too long. Compared to his speed, it was not efficient.

This time, nourished by the lake water, it took him even longer to fully recover his strength.

Then, he exercised the Water Control Technique and continued his journey at the bottom of the lake.

He planned to first head to the northeast trajectory where Old Turtle had previously been, then head northeast to collect Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and search for a possible gathering place of demons in the lakebed.

...

Hours passed like this.

At this time, he was still moving northeast, continuously collecting Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

The Heavenly Eye on his forehead had already opened, continuously scanning in all directions.

With the Heavenly Eye, he could see the scenery ten miles away, which was much farther than his five-mile sensory range of the water.

...

The next day.

He swept his gaze around.

His expression suddenly froze.

That is!!

He saw, nine miles ahead, a giant claw of a shrimp as large as his arm.

This instantly reminded him of something Old Turtle told him.

Over two hundred years ago, when Old Turtle had first turned into a demon, a large shrimp had invited it to join them.

"They" obviously referred to creatures like Old Turtle, who had opened their spiritual intelligence and transformed into demons.

Was it that shrimp?

He thought inwardly.

Then he moved, shooting through the water like an arrow, the water in front splitting on its own, not hindering him in the least.

He covered the nine-mile distance in an instant.

He stopped in front of the giant claw of the shrimp.

"Master, this is..." Old Turtle, perched on his shoulder, cried out in surprise upon seeing the red giant claw ahead.

"Do you recognize it?" Jiang Ning asked.

"I recognize it!" Old Turtle immediately replied.

It leaped from Jiang Ning's shoulder to in front of the red giant claw.

Sniffing it, it nodded repeatedly.

"Master, it's true! This is the scent of that large shrimp from over two hundred years ago!" Old Turtle affirmed decisively.

"But..." it hesitated immediately.

"But what?" Jiang Ning asked.

"The shrimp's Dao seems very shallow, nowhere near mine! But that shouldn't be the case! After more than two hundred years, how could its Dao be so much weaker than mine?"

"You can sense that?" Jiang Ning asked.

Old Turtle nodded confidently, "I can tell the difference easily. The Dao of several decades or centuries becomes evident, revealing itself on the surface, merging into the body."

"The Dao of over a thousand years, however, cannot be felt, as it hides deep within."

Hearing this, Jiang Ning asked again, "How many years of Dao can you sense from that shrimp?"

Old Turtle said, "About a hundred years!"

After saying this, it suddenly bit down.

Crunch—

A crisp sound came followed by "creak," "creak."

Jiang Ning looked at Old Turtle, in less than a moment.

A shrimp claw as big as his arm was cleanly devoured by Old Turtle.

"Master, yes, that's it!" Old Turtle spoke with lingering excitement, "Master, and this shrimp claw is very fresh, that shrimp must have died less than a week ago!"

Hearing this, Jiang Ning was thoughtful.

He looked at Old Turtle again, "Old Turtle, you say that shrimp had about a century of Dao?"

"Yes!" Old Turtle nodded, "From the feeling its claw gave me, it should indeed be a hundred years of Dao."

Hearing this, Jiang Ning immediately laughed.

"It seems I previously overestimated the creatures in this lake that had become demons."

"Master, why do you say that?" Old Turtle's tone was full of confusion.

Jiang Ning said, "You have over two hundred years because you alone had the chance with the Emperor's Liquid! That electric eel has over two hundred years of Dao also because it solely had the Thunder Tree."

"As for the creatures in this lake, without your opportunities, so their Dao, it grows much slower than yours."

At this moment, Jiang Ning also understood a bit.

Perhaps, after reaching a hundred years, many of the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures in the lake had been scavenged by the shrimp and other lesser demons.

Afterward.

He looked up ahead.

"Let's go! Continue forward, that shrimp's claw came from up ahead!" Jiang Ning spoke, picking up Old Turtle and placing him on his shoulder.

The next instant.

He continued to use the Heavenly Eye to look ahead.

After half a cup of tea's time.

He abruptly stopped.

"Master, did you find something else?" Old Turtle asked excitedly.

Jiang Ning nodded slightly.

Using the power of the Heavenly Eye, he saw to his left front a turtle shell, one about four to five feet wild.

His form shifted, shooting through the water like a sharp arrow.

In an instant.

He arrived before the turtle shell.

"Master, the owner of this shell before was a demon."

"Nonsense!" Jiang Ning said.

"Master, that turtle, it was stronger than me!" Old Turtle sniffed the shell and his tone was immediately full of admiration.

"How many years of Dao?"

"About three hundred years!" Old Turtle answered.

"Three hundred years?" Jiang Ning was surprised, then nodded, "It is stronger than you."

Just then.

Crack—

"Ouch—" Old Turtle suddenly cried out in shock.

Jiang Ning looked up and immediately smiled wryly.

Old Turtle had bitten the shell, not only failing to bite through it but almost breaking his own teeth, leaving only two shallow tooth marks on the shell.

"Stop biting!" Jiang Ning came before the shell, seeing that Old Turtle still wanted to try, he immediately stored the shell in the Sumeru Ring.

A three-hundred-year Dao's turtle shell, so hard, was certainly a rare item in this era.

Then, he continued forward.

Merely moments later, he and Old Turtle stopped.

What entered their sight was a collapsed palace.

The palace's surface was paved with white marble stones, with gemstones that emitted dazzling light embedded in the stone pillars, and the collapsed walls were made out of crystal, now covered with a thick layer of ice crystals.

"Master, this is..." Old Turtle looked at the collapsed structure made of crystal and shells ahead, filled with wonder.

Jiang Ning said, "This place must have been invaded by a powerful enemy!"

Old Turtle nodded gravely, "Master is right, it indeed was invaded by a powerful enemy! There's the aura of the Great Demon White Chi here."

"Great Demon?" A flicker crossed Jiang Ning's eyes.

Then his gaze slightly condensed, his body flickered, and he arrived at a wall.

His palm touched the thick layer of ice.

"Is this a trace left by the Great Demon White Chi?" he asked.

"Yes, Master!" Old Turtle replied.

At that moment, as Jiang Ning's palm touched the ice, he instantly felt a deep chill.

Even with his current state, he could feel the chill penetrating his bones.

His heart was instantly filled with deep apprehension.

To think, this layer of ice crystals, merely a trace of a battle left by the Great Demon White Chi.

And it was unknown how long ago it was left.

But just the trace of the battle made him feel an irresistible chill.

If he were to face this Great Demon directly, how terrifying that would be, and how could he possibly withstand it?

At that moment, he felt that he was still far too weak.