It was late into the night.

To an outsider, his courage might have seemed immense, bordering on reckless. But to Jiang Chen, the risk was calculated. He believed it was worth it.

He had personally witnessed the Fish Demon sustaining injuries, and they were no minor wounds. An injury of that severity was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

Jiang Chen infused spiritual power into the miniature [Demon Wood Boat] in his hand. Immediately, the artifact expanded rapidly.

Seeing this, he casually tossed it into the Black Dragon Pool.

Plop.

The now massive Demon Wood Boat hit the water’s surface. Seizing the moment, Jiang Chen leaped from the shore.

Whoosh.

He landed lightly on the deck. The hull didn’t tilt or sway in the slightest. Its stability was impeccable.

This was Jiang Chen’s first time controlling the artifact. He carefully extended his senses to understand its operation, thinking to himself, If Senior Brother Chen Tian didn’t lie to me, this boat should be able to submerge.

As if responding to his thought, the hull trembled slightly.

Immediately after, the bow began to dip below the surface. Jiang Chen watched as the prow, the deck, and finally he himself were completely swallowed by the water.

Strangely, the pool water did not rush in.

His clothes remained dry. The deck was free of moisture.

Even more surprising was the gravity. Although the Demon Wood Boat had entered the water at a sharp angle, Jiang Chen felt as though he were walking on flat ground. There was no sensation of falling or tilting. It was no different from standing on the shore.

The water simply parted around the vessel as it cut through the depths.

Just like that, Jiang Chen smoothly entered the Black Dragon Pool.

He was astonished to find that the interior of the pool was far larger than it appeared from the surface. There were no small fish or shrimp in the shallow areas.

Instead, the water was a graveyard for anglers’ failed attempts. He saw countless broken fishing lines drifting like seaweed and rusted hooks wedged into the crevices of the stone walls.

Jiang Chen steered the Demon Wood Boat deeper.

Two hundred meters.

Three hundred meters…

Even at five hundred meters, there was still no end in sight. The interior of the Black Dragon Pool was extraordinarily deep and winding, leading into an abyss that seemed bottomless.

After exceeding a depth of five hundred meters, aquatic life finally began to appear.

They looked similar to carp, colored a dull grayish-black. Their bodies were spindle-shaped with rounded bellies, and their heads were relatively small, sporting three pairs of whiskers on the upper jaw, lower jaw, and lips.

Suddenly, Jiang Chen noticed a fish that stood out completely from the shoal.

It was vividly red and shimmered with a golden light.

Could that be a Dragon Carp? Jiang Chen thought, his eyes widening.

The so-called Dragon Carp was a species containing a trace of the demon dragon bloodline, existing exclusively within the waters of the Black Dragon Pool.

Jiang Chen immediately steered the boat closer.

The ordinary carp, sensing the intense demonic aura emanating from the Demon Wood Boat, froze in terror. They hung suspended in the water, too scared to move.

Only the red carp shimmering with golden light possessed the instinct to flee. It swished its tail, attempting to bolt away.

However, how could a fish outrun a magical artifact?

In an instant, the boat closed the distance.

A [Wood] Spirit Seal materialized on Jiang Chen’s right hand. He didn’t launch an attack blast; instead, he used the energy to enhance a handful of weed seeds.

Swoosh!

Black Iron Vines shot from his hand, extending directly toward the fleeing fish. They wrapped around it instantly, and Jiang Chen yanked it back toward the deck.

Squelch.

The Dragon Carp landed in his arms, flopping wetly.

“This… I got it just like that?” Jiang Chen found it hard to believe.

This was the Dragon Carp that countless anglers dreamed of catching. He had captured it effortlessly, without even using a drop of Golden Wine as bait.

There was absolutely no difficulty at all.

Looking at the plump fish struggling vigorously in his grip—truly a magnificent specimen—Jiang Chen hurriedly retrieved the [Hydro Orb] that Shen Peng had given him earlier.

He tossed the orb into the cold pool water. It immediately began to suction up the liquid.

When it was about one-third full, Jiang Chen retrieved it. He then placed his first captured Dragon Carp inside the Hydro Orb for safekeeping.

With the prize secured, he steered the Demon Wood Boat deeper into the darkness.

Not long after, he discovered another red Dragon Carp, even larger than the first.

He used the exact same method: Close the distance, bind with Black Iron Vines, and retrieve. The process was smooth and practiced.

After some time had passed, Jiang Chen had already secured five Dragon Carp.

But right then, the Demon Wood Boat suddenly stopped moving forward.

The bow began to swing left and right, as if sniffing the water for a scent.

It senses the Poison Thorn Grass seeds I released earlier, Jiang Chen thought, raising an eyebrow.

Sure enough, the vessel quickly locked onto a specific location and surged forward again.

Very quickly, a massive silhouette appeared in the gloom. It was the Fish Demon, over five meters long.

So, it really is here. Jiang Chen’s eyes lit up coldly.

The Fish Demon was staring blankly into the abyss, completely unaware that a large vessel was silently approaching from behind.

Seeing that less than thirty meters remained between them, Jiang Chen sent a ruthless mental command to his vessel.

“Crush it to death!”

Instantly, the Demon Wood Boat shot forward, accelerating to a speed several times faster than before.

The Fish Demon sensed the displacement of water and hurriedly turned around.

Its pupils contracted sharply. A massive, green-colored ship was barreling toward it. On the deck stood a human wearing a faint, icy smile.

It recognized him immediately—the same human who had attacked it earlier!

However, despite reacting, it couldn’t dodge. The speed was simply too great.

One second, it saw the approaching danger. The next second, the hull was already smashing into its face.

BOOM!

The demon felt its body struck by an unstoppable force. Its entire frame shuddered violently.

Rip!

There was no chance to struggle. It was directly smashed apart.

Messy pieces of flesh scattered through the water, and a cloud of murky blood bloomed outward, spreading rapidly.

Right then, Jiang Chen noticed something strange happening aboard his vessel.

Numerous root-like tentacles erupted from the hull. They lashed out like hungry vipers, not only absorbing the spilled blood but also piercing into the scattered chunks of flesh.

Slurp. Sizzle.

The roots devoured everything clean, visibly consuming the demon’s remains before Jiang Chen’s eyes.

Subsequently, the whole vessel trembled violently. The originally large frame expanded once more—undergoing a visible evolution.

Jiang Chen hurriedly checked the current status:

[Demon Wood Boat]

Effect 1: Advanced Wind Riding

Effect 2: Advanced Water Avoidance

Effect 3: Advanced Sturdiness

Effect 4: Devour & Grow

Special Effect: Locks onto location upon sensing demonic aura.

Clearly, the growth was due to Effect Four activating, he noted.

He continued controlling the vessel, pushing deeper into the exploration. However, he felt something odd about the earlier encounter with that particular Fish Demon.

It had seemed desperate to enter the deeper parts of the Black Dragon Pool, yet it had also been terrified of something unknown, resulting in that hesitant, lingering behavior.

Approximately another hundred meters forward, Jiang Chen suddenly felt the surrounding water temperature shift drastically.

The water within the Black Dragon Pool was originally bone-chillingly cold. Yet here, it was growing hot—increasingly so, until it felt like he was sailing through boiling water.

And then, Jiang Chen saw something he would never forget for the rest of his life.