Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

On the Guanjiang River, the surging waters, carrying large amounts of yellow sand, surged and undulated. A yellowish-white mist permeated the river's surface. A large fishing boat was forging ahead, cutting through the waves. A sailor sat on the lookout platform atop the mast, his eyes keenly observing the river, ready to warn of any impending danger.

Without a clear vision, surrounded by dangers, they still dare to advance so recklessly, advance, and advance again.

Only those who regularly sail on the Guanjiang River would dare to have such courage.

Of course, it all comes down to skill and courage; a group of greenhorns would be scared out of their wits.

"Waves! Huge waves!" The sailor on the lookout tower squinted at the eerie mist ahead, vaguely discerning something terrifying approaching. Suddenly, he roared, leaping onto the sail and sliding down it: "Big waves are coming! Run back!!!"

As the waves surged, the river water, carrying yellow sand, revealed countless water demons that appeared and disappeared amidst the surging tide. The demons were so numerous that they were densely packed and layered, forming a dark, endless mass that seemed to blot out the sky and the sun, as if they were about to submerge the entire world. The demonic mist was dispersed by this terrifying wave.

Only now did everyone clearly see the massive, world-destroying wave, and a sense of despair and helplessness rose in their hearts.

Jiang Manzi, who was in the command room, was the first to come to his senses. He stuck his head out and roared, "It's too late! Speed ​​up! Face the waves head-on! Charge through! If you don't want to die, get the hell moving! Do everything you can to speed things up!"

The five crew members each wore expressions of fear and despair. As experienced sailors, they knew very well that there was no way to escape in the face of such a huge wave. The only way to survive was to face the wave head-on and get through it. If they couldn't get through, they would only become food for the river monsters.

So the five crew members each displayed their own skills; they were certainly capable of navigating the Guanjiang River.

A sailor from the Turbid Realm ran to the bow of the ship, spread his arms, his body bursting with flames, and roared, "I'll clear the way!"

Another sailor from the Turbid Realm ran to the stern, secured himself with a rope, took a deep breath, and shouted, "Ahhhhhh!"

The sound waves condensed into a spiral-shaped sonic wave, blasting away the demonic mist behind. The sonic waves swept across the river, causing the water to distort. The powerful sonic waves continuously provided kinetic energy to the boat, and the speed of the fishing boat suddenly increased significantly, even causing the bow of the boat to lift up due to the excessive speed.

A sailor who had studied wind magic continuously applied wind to the sails to maintain the fishing boat's high-speed movement.

Li Hongji, a member of the Turbid Realm, and another sailor from the Turbid Realm stood guard on the left and right sides of the main deck, drawing their weapons to prepare to fight the water demons that attempted to board the ship.

In the forecourt, in the command room, Jiang Manzi gripped the rudder tightly, the fine beads of sweat on his forehead betraying his extreme tension: "My two patrons, I'm just an ordinary citizen who wanted to make some money by sailing. I never intended to risk my life. If we're still alive later, I hope you can give me an explanation."

Jiang Manzi had already realized that something was wrong. First, the Dragon King rammed the ship and broke the anchor. Then, the demonic fog blocked the river and they lost their way. His uncle also died of illness in bed for no reason. Just when they were about to break through the demonic fog, a wave of water carrying countless water demons attacked.

One unfortunate and dangerous thing after another happened at once, it was like bad luck had come knocking on the door of bad luck, and bad luck had reached its limit. Coincidence and bad luck could no longer be explained. It was obvious that some unknown force was coming for the fishing boat, or more precisely, for the two strangers in front of them.

Jiang Manzi had been sailing for twenty years, and every year and every month he would encounter strange events. He could be described as a veteran with rich experience, but he had never encountered such frequent strange events. Even if he was slow to realize, he knew that the two strangers in front of him had brought disaster upon him.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng decisively said, "Add more money, 50,000 per person, and lead us through. As for explanations, let's talk about surviving first. Jiang Yunjian, come with me to protect the ship!"

Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei strode out of the command room, ran to the bow of the ship, and each brandished their magical artifacts, preparing for battle.

Jiang Manzi in the command room laughed heartily, gripped the rudder and shouted, "Brothers, let's do it! The boss said that if we charge through, everyone will get an extra 50,000 coins!"

"Damn it, let's go all out for fifty thousand coins!" The sailor at the bow, his body engulfed in flames, laughed loudly, unleashing his practical fire magic with both hands. Two seas of fire shot out from his palms, burning all the water demons that tried to pounce into charcoal. The surface of the river was boiled and bubbling from the sea of ​​fire.

"Jiang Yun Sword, cut through this wave and clear a path for the ship!" Zhou Qingfeng held the Immortal Slaughtering Bow, with two quivers of Immortal Slaughtering Arrows hanging at his waist. He coldly observed the waves to the left, right, and ahead, searching for an opportunity to strike. He could sense that there were evil-level water demons lurking in the demonic waves. Once an evil-level water demon got close to the fishing boat, it would sink this ordinary large fishing boat with just a light tap. Therefore, he needed to draw his bow and shoot an arrow to kill the evil-level water demon before it got close.

Upon hearing this, Jin Wei took a step forward. Without even drawing the Sword of Truth, he slowly gripped the sword, raised it horizontally, and then slowly pushed it forward. Azure sword energy shot out, growing larger in the wind and transforming into a thousand-foot sword beam, slashing into the towering waves before him.

"Boom!" The towering waves were cut in half, the river water exploded and trembled, and large numbers of water demons hidden in the waves were killed by the sword energy. Crimson blood and the fragments of water demons' bones and flesh mixed into the river water, sprinkling the entire sky, and then falling in all directions like raindrops.

Jin Wei turned and looked at Jiang Manzi in the command room: "The channel is open, advance quickly!"

"Accelerate!!!" Jiang Manzi roared, frantically ruddering the boat and gliding diagonally across the river. The river water rushed down, and the boat surged forward at breakneck speed. Two fiery trails at the bow continuously burned the water monsters that leaped out of the water ahead, while the stern reverberated with powerful sonic waves. The sails, aided by the wind, had already expanded to their limit.

The fishing boats glided swiftly through the waves that had been cut in half.

Just as they were about to get over the wave, they discovered that a thousand-foot-long, malevolent fish demon was leaping out of the water and attacking the fishing boat.

"It's over!" Everyone on the ship looked up in horror at the massive, thousand-foot-tall, monstrous fish demon that was crashing down, its shadow blotting out the sky, and despair filled their hearts.

"Now is the time." Zhou Qingfeng's eyes flashed with killing intent. The Immortal Execution Arrow, which had been secretly preparing to be unleashed, found the best opportunity to strike. He stomped his foot and soared into the air. In the midst of his leap, he stepped onto the back of the bow, pulled the bowstring to its full length, and the Immortal Execution Arrow and the Immortal Execution Bow immediately shone with a bright blue light.

"Whoosh!" The Immortal-Slaying Arrow left the bowstring, transforming into a streak of azure light that struck the thousand-foot-tall Fiend-level fish demon, piercing through its body.

The thousand-foot-tall, evil-level fish demon let out a mournful cry, writhing in pain. It immediately turned around and plunged into the waves, no longer daring to advance towards Zhou Qingfeng.

The boat successfully navigated the waves and escaped danger.

The countless water monsters carried by that wave drifted away into the distance.

Zhou Qingfeng looked back with his bow in hand, his face grave.

Was this strange, eerie wave not coming towards me?

The water monsters appear to be fleeing in panic.

Could it be that some powerful demon is hunting them?

Jiang Manzi dared not stop for a moment. Taking advantage of the clear vision and the dispersal of the demonic mist by the huge waves, he quickly left the danger zone.

A moment later, the crew members who were powering the fishing boat ran out of magic, and the boat was able to hover on the river for a while to rest.

Jiang Manzi brought over two bottles of wine to express his gratitude. He first offered one to Zhou Qingfeng, who waved his hand to indicate he wouldn't drink it. Then Jiang Manzi handed the wine to Jin Wei. Jin Wei glanced at Zhou Qingfeng, who shook his head slightly. Seeing this, Jin Wei also politely declined Jiang Manzi's offer.

Jiang Manzi didn't mind. He sat down on the small platform where the fish were drying, took a sip of wine, and said, "Brother Jiang, thank you for your help."

Jin Wei accepted the wine and smiled slightly: "We are in the same boat, so it is only right that we help each other."

Jiang Manzi wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth: "Brother Jiang, Brother Tian, ​​I have no interest in knowing who you are or what trouble you've gotten into. But we're all in the same boat now, so could you tell me what dangers and enemies I'm going to face, so I can at least be mentally prepared?"

Upon hearing this, Jin Wei remained silent.

A flash of green light appeared in Zhou Qingfeng's palm as he took out his drinking water from his holy ring, tilted his head back and took a sip: "Jiang Manzi, it's not that I don't want to tell you, but I don't know what kind of danger I'm facing either. I don't even know who the enemy is right now. The only thing I'm sure of is that I'm in big trouble."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Manzi said, "If I ask you to get off the boat now, you certainly won't."

Zhou Qingfeng's lips curled slightly as he glanced sideways: "That's right. As long as I'm on the boat, I still have a place to stay. If anything unexpected happens, I'll have time to react. But if I were on the river, with no shelter and no place to stand, facing unknown enemies who want to kill me again and again, my situation would be much worse."

Jiang Manzi scratched his head: "I knew making big money wasn't that easy."

Zhou Qingfeng smiled slightly: "I didn't force any of you..."

"Shh!" Jiang Manzi suddenly put a finger to his lips to signal for quiet, then rolled up his sleeve to look at the hairs standing on end. The other crew members also fell into an eerie silence. They had been sailing on the Guanjiang River for many years, and they could more or less sense any danger underwater in advance.

This is a talent passed down through generations of sailors, a gift that can be acquired later in life. However, it requires decades of living, eating, and working on the water, making it one's home, in order to develop this almost instinctive perceptive ability.

In addition, Jiang Manzi and his men are not ordinary sailors; they are all sailors who have cultivated the Turbidity Realm, which makes them more sensitive to dangers in the water.

Jiang Manzi pointed to the river outside the boat and whispered to Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei, "There's something in the water."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng cautiously peered out of the boat.

The river water here is no longer murky, but very clear. The water sparkles under the sunlight. The seemingly calm river is actually turbulent, and the bottom of the river is pitch black, as if a giant eye of a deep abyss is watching the boats, and they may be swallowed up at any time.

Only when the field of vision was raised hundreds of feet high could the complete outline be seen, and a giant river monster was hovering below the boat.

This giant frog resembles a blue frog, but it is larger and flatter, with its head covered in smooth blue skin dotted with tiny golden spots.

A pair of leopard eyes were set on both sides of its head, bright and piercing, flashing with a fierce light.

Its eyes are large and bright, amber in color, with vertical pupils as sharp as a leopard's eyes.

Its wide mouth, with sharp teeth covering both upper and lower jaws, is well-suited for tearing apart prey.

The ears are short and hidden under the skin on both sides of the head, almost invisible.

Its back is covered with blue scales with serrated edges, closely arranged and with a metallic sheen. Its belly is covered with a hard, hexagonal white carapace that protects its internal organs from attack. Its limbs are strong and powerful, with shorter forelimbs that have sharp claws at the ends, suitable for grasping and climbing. Its hind limbs are longer and muscular, suitable for jumping and fast movement. Its tail is long and flexible, with a pointed end.

The giant monster in the river slowly rose to the surface, getting closer and closer to the ship, until everyone could see its outline clearly.

"Guanjiang Dragon King~~~" Jiang Manzi's voice trembled as he slumped against the side of the boat, turned his head to look at Zhou Qingfeng, swallowed hard, and said, "Don't move, whatever you do, stay still. The Guanjiang Dragon King is right below our boat. It's only interested in things that move at high speed. As long as we stay still, we'll be fine."

"That demonic wave was stirred up by the Dragon King of Guanjiang. The countless water demons in the wave were probably hiding from the Dragon King of Guanjiang's hunt. The problem is, who the hell is so wicked as to lead the Dragon King of Guanjiang here? Do you know how low the probability of encountering the Dragon King of Guanjiang is when sailing on the Guanjiang River? You won't bump into him even once in a hundred times. But now, we're running into him every few days. Damn it, this is going to kill us!"

Jiang Manzi was so frightened that he was incoherent and on the verge of tears: "Who did you guys offend? This is too cunning. You won't stop until you've killed us."

Upon hearing this, cold sweat poured down Zhou Qingfeng's forehead. He forced himself to remain calm and remained silent. He suspected that the scheming old man who wanted to harm him was someone on the ship, but he wondered who it was.

Seeing that Zhou Qingfeng remained silent, Jiang Manzi had no choice but to shut up and wait, silently praying that the Dragon King of Guanjiang would leave soon.

The other crew members were also waiting quietly.

At this moment, there's nothing they can do but wait.

Because the Guanjiang Dragon King is too terrifying, the top predator in Guanjiang, the true overlord of Guanjiang.

Zhou Qingfeng couldn't discern the demon's level at all; he only knew that the powerful aura caused his body to tremble instinctively.

Suddenly, the river water churned and the boat rocked, as if it had been gently touched by the Dragon King of Guanjiang.

Zhou Qingfeng flipped himself up, grabbed the mast to steady himself: "Jiang Manzi, didn't you say that the Dragon King of Guanjiang had no interest in stationary things?"

Jiang Manzi trembled with fear and shouted back, "That's what my uncle taught me! This is the predatory habit of the Guanjiang Dragon King over the years. How would I know what's wrong with the Guanjiang Dragon King? He does whatever he wants. He's the overlord of Guanjiang. Does he need to ask our opinion before he can do what he wants?"

"Damn it, it wants to get on the boat, everyone be careful!" Zhou Qingfeng looked up at the side of the boat, his pupils contracted sharply, and he retreated rapidly.