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Chapter 382: What is This?

The waves were a testament to the mighty power of the Heavens and Earth.

Such a shocking scene could only unfold on the vast, endless sea. The water prison, along with the surrounding land, was swallowed whole by the terrifying Heaven-Devouring Python.

In the vast expanse of the South Sea, the piece of land swallowed might seem like a mere corner. However, when compared to the land of the nine provinces, its surface area was as large as a huge city. This meant that if the Heaven-Devouring Python wasn't allowed to rampage, it could easily swallow Taotie City in the Northern Regions and the capital of Yu in the Central Region in a single bite.

It was unknown as to whether it was due to the caster deactivating the divine technique or simply because the water prison could not withstand the immense force, the wall of waves around the water prison crushed as soon as the water prison entered the giant beast's mouth. However, Chu Liang and the others could no longer escape; a tremendous suction capable of destroying mountains and pulling up peaks came from the depths of the black hole, dragging all the endless seawater and everything in it.

Devouring the world!

Initially, Chu Liang managed to maintain his balance above the water. As he scanned his surroundings, all he could see was darkness and the terrified aquatic beasts thrashing in the waves. Suddenly, a giant wave crashed into him from behind, sending him plunging into the churning depths. Each attempt to resurface was thwarted by the relentless current. Finally, he surrendered to the flow, letting it carry him wherever it willed.

As the pressure of the water flow increased, the black hole ahead began to narrow.

Chu Liang's ears thundered with a drumming sound, and it felt as if his limbs no longer belonged to him. He was like a lone boat tossed about in the torrent of waves.

Just when Chu Liang thought his cultivation was strong enough to consider himself an expert among immortality cultivators, this encounter swiftly reminded him of his insignificance.

In the presence of beings who controlled the Great Dao, even a mass of flowing fire could incinerate him, an innocent fish in the pond, in an instant.

He vaguely heard an angry dragon's roar again. Could it be the South Sea Inferno Dragon?

The Heaven-Devouring Python had swallowed the Inferno Dragon along with the water prison. Naturally, the newly awakened Inferno Dragon would not let it go easily.

Logically speaking, the Heaven-Devouring Python and the Inferno Dragon were both vicious beasts of the same level, but the Heaven-Devouring Python possessed the mystical ability to devour everything. However, if the Inferno Dragon used its mythical abilities, it still stood a chance against the Heaven-Devouring Python.

But the dragon's chant did not last long. The wind and thunder roaring in Chu Liang's ears made it difficult for him to hear anything clearly. He could only focus on activating a layer of foundational qi around his body to protect himself from being pierced by sharp objects in the torrent.

At the same time, he extended his divine sense in an attempt to locate Lin Bei. Unfortunately, they had been separated when they were swept inside. Finding someone in this chaos was far from easy.

Boom—

Although he couldn't detect Lin Bei with his divine sense, he did sense a massive Sword Halberd Shark behind him. Its jaws were wide open, charging at him with the full force of the torrent!

Who knew how many aquatic beasts had suffered in this mass devouring by the Heaven-Devouring Python?

If Chu Liang stayed motionless, the giant shark would swallow him in one bite. He was already on his way into the stomach of the Heaven-Devouring Python, and he refused to become a nesting doll—a human nested in a shark nested in a python.

Chu Liang dared not summon the Dustless Sword; if he lost his grip in this chaotic current, he would lose the legendary enchanted weapon forever. Instead, he activated more foundational qi, lifting his body lightly before executing a swift roll.

The giant shark swiftly shot past him from below. As Chu Liang rolled back, he found himself positioned behind the shark. Now, it was his turn to use the current's force to his advantage.

Drawing power from his Sea of Qi, Chu Liang swung a fist toward the shark's halberd-like dorsal fin. Though the force was diminished by the water, it still carried immense power.

Boom—

The giant shark let out a muffled sound before exploding in the water!

A large plume of dark blood spread quickly, agitating the surrounding aquatic demonic beasts. Yet, most of them had no way out, struggling to survive in the relentless torrent.

One demonic beast managed to drift close to Chu Liang. It was a red-scaled creature over ten zhang long, resembling a snake but with four powerful legs.

The beast's vertical pupils glinted with a fiery light, hinting at its lineage—likely a descendant of the Inferno Dragon.

The red-scaled aquatic beast was enormous, but after witnessing the colossal size of the Heaven-Devouring Python, Chu Liang no longer felt awed by this creature's size.

Seeing the long tail of the red-scaled aquatic beast whipping toward him, Chu Liang seized it.

Just as he prepared to strike, a sudden change occurred!

The torrent burst out of the waterway, and the space suddenly expanded!

Boom—

It felt as if the endless seawater had been thrown into the sky, carrying Chu Liang and the red-scaled aquatic beast he clung to by the tail. Amid the chaos, Chu Liang only managed to kick the beast as he used the force to propel himself upward.

Suddenly, a heavy blow struck him.

The falling seawater crashed down like a collapsing sky, slamming Chu Liang downward with relentless force. His entire head buzzed from the impact!!

Boom, boom, boom—

What lay beneath him felt like an abyss, as though he were suspended ten thousand zhang high in the air.

Boom—

A thunderous explosion shattered the air, and then, abruptly, all was quiet.

...

Spat

After a brief moment of unconsciousness, Chu Liang slowly opened his eyes.

He frowned and stayed still, maintaining his original posture while extending his divine sense around to scan his surroundings.

Where am I?

He found himself on a reef in the middle of a lake, his body soaked and occasionally submerged by the waves. Beneath him was slick black rock.

Suddenly, a large net descended, enveloping him completely.

Someone was pulling him hard.

Was it the gray-clad girl on the shore?

She had delicate features and wore a robe made of patched cloth. With her hair simply tied back, she looked around sixteen or seventeen years old. A small bamboo basket was strapped to her back as she struggled to pull the large net that had ensnared Chu Liang.

"Heave ho... heave ho... heave—"

The girl was struggling and cheering herself on, but she couldn't move Chu Liang at all. It was as if she was trying to pull a big rock.

The Sea of Qi was the source of his powerful foundational qi. Though this might not be apparent from his appearance, his true physical strength stemmed from his blood essence. Strengthening his physique to this level had fundamentally altered his body.

Although he still appeared as a slightly thin, delicate young man, his body was as if forged from diamond, and his weight was no less than that of an ordinary demonic beast.

"Heave ho... heave ho..." The girl on the shore strained with all her might, pulling with every bit of strength she had. As she tugged, she suddenly noticed something was off. Why did it feel so much lighter?

She looked up and found that the person in the net had already reached her, while her fishing net held only some half-dead fish and shrimp.

"You woke up?" she exclaimed, surprise lighting up her face.

"Mm..." Chu Liang replied, staring at the living person in front of him, feeling dazed and disoriented.

Looking around, Chu Liang noticed the surroundings of the lake were bare black rocks, an unfamiliar material he had never seen before. In the distance, the outline of a city loomed, shrouded in darkness.

There was no sun in the sky, only a dark purple halo hanging high, casting an eerie glow over the landscape.

"Excuse me, miss, where is this place?" Chu Liang asked.

"This place is called Python Belly City," the girl answered cheerfully. "You must be unfamiliar with everything since you just arrived from the outside world. Come home with me, and I'll explain everything in detail along the way."

Chu Liang smiled wryly. Did this even need explaining? The answer was right in the name.

Python Belly City? It was a straightforward and rather unsettling name.

They used to say the Heaven-Devouring Python could swallow the world, devouring billions of beings in one bite. Although slightly exaggerated, it wasn't entirely false. But a giant beast with a city inside its stomach was something Chu Liang had never encountered before.

Since he was unharmed, Lin Bei likely wouldn't be either, but who knew where he had ended up after being separated.

Chu Liang decided to follow the girl back first, settle down, and then plan his next steps.

"Then I shall trouble you, miss," he said.

"No trouble at all," the girl chuckled. "Every time there's a white rain, everyone is thrilled. It brings new food, tools, and most importantly, new labor—oh, I mean, newcomers."

Heh. Chu Liang smiled again. Laborer it is then.

"My name is Xu Zhiyin. I grew up in Python Belly City and have never been outside, so I love hearing stories about the outside world," the girl continued. "Every time there's a white rain, I come outside the city to fish people out."

"Miss Xu, you mentioned white rain twice just now," Chu Liang asked curiously. "What is that?"

Xu Zhiyin explained, "In Python Belly City, we have two types of rain: black rain and white rain..."

As she spoke, Chu Liang listened intently, gradually piecing together the reality of Python Belly City. The more she explained, the clearer the picture became.

They stood on an expansive land, with a bustling city of nearly a hundred thousand people at its center. Surrounding the city was a vast, foreboding black ocean known as the Black Sea.

Every drop of water in the Black Sea was highly poisonous. Just a single touch of the water would result in the corrosion of the entire body and flesh would be turned into blood. No one knew what lay at the end of this treacherous sea.

Tidal flooding of the Black Sea occurred at irregular intervals. The poisonous waves would inundate half the land, leaving only the area of Python Belly City untouched. As a result, it was much safer inside the city, while the landscape outside was barren and desolate.

The black rocks they stood on were the only solid ground resistant to the corrosive nature of the Black Sea.

But the Python Belly City was not absolutely safe. Occasionally, black rain would fall from the sky. The rain droplets are as poisonous as the water in the Black Sea, with the single drop capable of killing a demonic beast

If there was no cover during the black rain, death would be certain.

The other type of rain, white rain, referred to seawater entering from the outside. Along with the seawater, fresh people and items from the outside would also come in.

Therefore, for the people of Python Belly City, the black rain was a harbinger of destruction, while the white rain symbolized the promise of life.

Chu Liang listened in amazement.

The place had clearly evolved its own unique ecosystem.

With curiosity getting the better of him, he asked, "What is the source of food here?"

He glanced at the black rock beneath his feet, which was as hard as meteoric iron, making plantation and farming impossible.

The sky was devoid of sunlight and it seemed rather impossible that the flood of shrimps and fish from the outside world could support a population of over a hundred thousand.

"The primary food source here is black tree rice," Xu Zhiyin explained. "We have several vast fields of it located just outside the city. These fields have long been a point of fierce competition among various factions."

She continued, "In addition to the rice, we also raise livestock and farm fish and shrimp in our lakes. This time, the white rain was exceptionally heavy, so we can expect several new, large lakes to be created."

Chu Liang surveyed the landscape. The so-called lakes seemed more like natural depressions in the black rock, filled with seawater to create the illusion of lakes.

"Won't these fields be killed by the tidal floods from the Black Sea?" Chu Liang asked, skepticism evident in his voice.

"No, the black tree rice actually thrives on the Black Sea's nourishment," Xu Zhiyin explained. "The black rain doesn't dissolve in water, so if you find yourself caught in black rain or tides outside the city, your best bet is to dive into one of the lakes—if you're not afraid of drowning, of course."

Chu Liang muttered, "That doesn't sound too dangerous..."

Xu Zhiyin's expression remained composed as she added, "But you should be wary of demonic beasts. While they have a treaty with the human factions, which means they won't hunt inside the city, there are often hungry demonic beasts hunting outside the city. They would be the kind of demonic beasts that don't like black tree rice and only love meat."

"There are demonic beasts?" Chu Liang immediately became alert, and he immediately expanded his divine sense, scanning the surroundings.

"There's no need to be afraid," Xu Zhiyin said calmly with a smile. "The demonic beast factions are located to the west of the city, so they generally stay away from the eastern regions."

"Really?" Chu Liang asked, pointing to a large figure behind them. "Then what's that?"

In the direction he indicated, a menacing beast with thick legs, a long neck, and razor-sharp fangs had just zeroed in on them. It resembled a deer, but its fangs made it clear that it wasn't a herbivore.

Xu Zhiyin's eyes widened in horror as she saw the beast. Her voice turned to a shriek as she exclaimed, "Ah! Help—"