"Whoever possesses fish, lies on the riverbed, entirely black, head like a catfish, mouth like pincers, teeth like spears, ten barbels growing from its mouth, body long as a snake, and with feet three zhang long. Those who see it hunt beasts can eat cattle and sheep."
— *Records of Wonders from the Qian Dynasty: Yangtze River Waterways*
Mo Chuan did not know what deity or demon the water monster before him was, but he understood that he had to deal with it before the three of them drowned.
"You two! Find a way to entangle it!" Seeing the two respond, Mo Chuan immediately swung his lantern with all his might, flinging Wang Hu and Meng Le towards the water monster.
Meng Le's sword energy flowed, and from his sword box, three slender flying swords of different forms—Jiang Liu, Ting Yu, and Chang Xue—flew out. They pierced through the river water blocking their path and, with Mo Chuan's help, quickly reached the water monster's tail.
Wang Hu let out a roar, and his ghost-headed saber, like a dagger, fiercely plunged into the water monster's tail muscles.
As scarlet blood dispersed, the water monster let out wails. Its tail swings gradually slowed. Simultaneously, two tentacles rapidly extended towards its tail, clearly intending to attack Wang Hu and Meng Le.
Seeing the Lu family patriarch's eyes already glazed over, clearly having been without vital signs for some time, Mo Chuan directly seized the opportunity to collect the soul. Then, he quickly used the second stage of the "Judgment Pendulum" to approach the water monster.
Ahead, Meng Le, seeing that the water monster still had no intention of stopping, hardened his heart. He summoned two more flying swords and instantly chopped off a large chunk of the water monster's caudal fin.
As the water monster wailed, and because it was difficult to maintain balance while swimming in a short time, it ultimately had to significantly slow its swimming speed. It began to turn its head, focusing on dealing with these troublesome little minnows.
At this moment, Meng Le and Wang Hu felt the water monster's swimming speed slow down. They shifted their attention from the tentacles they were currently grappling with and looked at the water monster that was glaring at them.
"Hao!!" The water monster let out a sharp roar. The tentacles on its head seemed to come alive, no longer stiff and slow as before, and attacked Meng Le and Wang Hu.
"Invincible strength! Power that transcends all!" After fighting for a while, Wang Hu's eyes were bloodshot. The purple blade of his ghost-headed saber flickered with scarlet light. He first chopped down the left tentacle, then turned the blade, spun on the spot, and with a sweep, repelled several more tentacles.
Meanwhile, Meng Le's hands flipped through seals. Five flying swords circled around him. While slashing at the surrounding tentacles, he rapidly charged towards the water monster's head.
But the water monster clearly did not wish to grant Meng Le his desire.
The water monster's tentacles whipped violently, instantly forming a powerful water blade that slashed towards the advancing Meng Le at extreme speed.
"Careful!"
Mo Chuan instantly activated his soul lantern, casting a pale green shield over Meng Le, blocking the formidable water blade for Meng Le, who could not stop in time.
Looking at the shocking scar on the shield, Meng Le was not scared. Instead, he excitedly picked up his wine flask and took a large gulp. Then, he casually splashed the wine onto his flying swords. Fueled by his drunken spirit and surging sword energy, he shouted:
"The turbid wine brews a traveler among flowers, dark clouds press down, filling the tower with wind!"
The two flying swords twitched with sentience and, following Meng Le's shout, lightly flew out, continuously slashing at the water monster's tail and tentacles. Miraculously, no matter how the two flying swords danced, the water monster could not stop their attacks, only enduring the blows.
"Strings play a song in the rain, pure tones further adorn the moonlit mountains at night!"
Meng Le held a heavy sword, moving like a streak of light amidst the water monster's tentacle onslaught. With one strike, he slashed open the water monster's left eye. Finally, taking advantage of the water monster's impaired vision on its left side, he summoned hundreds of sword energies to rain down upon the water monster's head.
But the water monster possessed strong beastly instincts. Relying on its powerful intuition, it twisted its head just before the sword energies approached, using several heavily scarred tentacles to block them.
After a volley of sharp sword energies, four tentacles finally broke under the immense pressure, falling to the riverbed.
The water monster let out an extremely enraged howl. It stirred its body, forcefully creating a massive whirlpool in the center of the river.
River water surged on both banks. Giant stones as thick as several people embracing were also swept into the whirlpool like pebbles.
"The cold plum extends a branch of snow, white sand stretches for miles by the riverbanks!"
Meng Le's sword box flashed. He recalled his previous flying swords and summoned two more. He used this icy sword energy to move nimbly between the churning river waters. Finally, with a surge of sword energy, he created a waterspout no less imposing than the whirlpool.
"Lotus Flower · Gate of Evil Slaying!"
Wang Hu roared, cutting through all the tentacles that were still entangling him and Mo Chuan. Then he asked, "Brother Chuan, what do we do?"
(Although Wang Hu liked to shout chuunibyo moves during battles, his combat effectiveness was still considerable.)
"You go cause some trouble for the water monster, but be careful of your own safety. Leave the rest to me!" Mo Chuan said, quickly hooking his grappling hook onto a rock on the riverbank and rapidly leaving this environment that was unfavorable for his abilities.
As for why Mo Chuan did not directly pull the water monster into the "Abyssal Hell," the reason was helpless—he had no mana. Even with full mana, he wouldn't be able to drag the water monster into the small black room for a beating. Thus, he could only first roast it with the Netherworld Azure Flame and see where this tough-skinned fellow's weakness lay.
Wang Hu nodded, plunging his ghost-headed saber directly into the water monster's body. Then, clinging to the water monster's dorsal fin, he moved towards its head.
Finally, the waterspout and the whirlpool drew closer.
The water monster's body twisted more rapidly, to the point that Wang Hu was already thrown onto the riverbank by it. He could only hold his head and stare helplessly.
Meng Le, however, showed no fear. The sword energy mixed within the waterspout around him had already scattered the water monster's tentacles and water blades several times. Now, he was waiting to clash head-on with the water monster's whirlpool to see who was more powerful.
And the old sixth, Mo Chuan, found a spot on the cliff face and firmly wedged the chain of his lantern section between the rocks.
Then, Mo Chuan seized the opportunity. When the water monster's head and back turned towards the rock face where he was, he quickly launched his hook, sinking it deep into the water monster's injured eye socket.
"Hao!!!—"
With an even more tragic cry, the water monster, using the inertia of the whirlpool and the twisting of its own muscles, began to pull forcefully on the grappling hook.
"Damn it!"
The grappling hook in Mo Chuan's hand tightened instantly. Even with the binding spell, it was not very effective. He simply stopped pulling back, instead holding firm against the rocks, preventing himself from being dragged into the water.
"Meng Le! Hold on tight!" Mo Chuan shouted.
Although Meng Le did not hear Mo Chuan's voice, he looked at the struggling water monster, which was like a fish caught on a hook, and let out a long cry to the heavens:
"The water dragon roars, the river is filled with crimson!"