However, the situation allowed no time for further thought. The Umibozu was utterly enraged and raised its wooden staff, chanting incantations.
Ling Tian understood that the staff in the Umibozu's hand was likely a magical artifact, as it was densely covered with intricate patterns, clearly forming a magic array.
Soon, Ling Tian witnessed a highly unusual sight: a water dragon, about a meter in diameter and nearly ten meters long, suddenly emerged from the lake. Though formed of water, the dragon's head possessed lifelike facial features.
The water dragon soared ten meters into the air, then abruptly turned and slammed down towards Ling Tian and the Ice Soul Giant Bear!
A water column weighing tens of tons, falling from such a height, was far more than mere rain. Even water, at this impact force, could crush a person into pulp.
In a flash, before Ling Tian could react, the Ice Soul Giant Bear stepped forward and unleashed a blast of cold air from its gaping maw.
A blue sphere of light, over a meter in diameter, shot out dozens of meters and collided with the water dragon!
What happened next was astonishing. The water dragon was instantly frozen mid-air. Ice spread from its head to the water's surface, and in the next moment, the entire water dragon was encased in ice on the lake.
"Crack!"
Due to the immense weight of the water dragon, the ice at its tail fractured. The entire water dragon, or rather, the ice dragon, plummeted from the sky, crashing onto the ice mountain and shattering into pieces.
The Umibozu's mouth hung open in a comical expression of disbelief. They could hardly believe what they were seeing, as this water dragon was their most potent attack.
While they were still stunned, Ling Tian's figure flickered twice. Utilizing the Spirit Realm space, he rapidly teleported behind an Umibozu sixty meters away. Infusing his Muramasa demon blade with internal energy, he struck at the Umibozu's nape.
"Swoosh!"
The massive catfish head was cleanly severed by Ling Tian's blade. The body toppled into the lake.
The other two Umibozu, witnessing this, were terrified. Their spells had no effect on Ling Tian, and not only were his magical skills formidable, but his close-combat prowess was also terrifying.
Umibozu were not naturally adept at close combat. The remaining two turned to flee.
Ling Tian raised his hand, channeling his true essence into the Muramasa demon blade, and then hurled it.
"Qiankun Yizhi!"
The Muramasa demon blade sliced through the air, a sinister purple light shooting forth. It pierced through the nape of another Umibozu and emerged from its chest.
The internal energy contained within the Muramasa demon blade erupted, pulverizing the Umibozu's internal organs and extinguishing its life force.
Meanwhile, another Umibozu had already fled over twenty meters and was preparing to dive into the water.
Ling Tian sneered. With a thought, the Ice Soul Giant Bear on the ice mountain dozens of meters away vanished. In the next instant, it reappeared beside the last Umibozu.
This creature didn't even have time to scream before it was instantly frozen into a block of ice.
Finally, the lake returned to its calm state. Ling Tian and the Ice Soul Giant Bear stood atop the ice mountain, surveying the scene. Dawn was breaking, and the entire water area revealed its true appearance.
However, Ling Tian gazed into the distance, still unable to discern any land. The horizon was obscured by vast expanses of mist, the location of which was far beyond the reach of Ling Tian's spiritual sense.
Suddenly, Ling Tian sensed something amiss. A terrifying pressure emanated from the lake, and the water's color deepened.
In the next moment, Ling Tian saw that the surface of the water was now covered with aquatic creatures of all sizes. Among them were fish several feet long and giant killer crabs whose pincers alone were over a meter wide!
These aquatic beings floated silently on the water, surrounding the small ice mountain where Ling Tian stood.
Ling Tian's gaze, however, was quickly drawn away, as the source of the terrifying pressure was coming from one direction.
Ling Tian focused his sight and saw, dozens of meters away, a giant green fish over three meters long floating on the water.
Upon the green fish stood a man. This man's skin was entirely green, similar to the color of a green fish or carp.
The man was nearly two meters tall, with his upper body bare, revealing powerfully built muscles.
The man bore many peculiar tattoos. Ling Tian immediately recognized that these were not ordinary tattoos, but rather a form of array.
In ancient times, when spiritual energy was abundant, some ancient tribes would tattoo their warriors, and these tattoos were essentially arrays. By channeling true essence, these arrays could be rapidly activated, releasing various spells during combat without the need for external tools.
Of course, this method was not without its drawbacks. Drawing intricate patterns on the skin with a blade meant that even the slightest mistake could render the entire design useless.
Ling Tian continued to observe the man. He noticed that the man standing on the green fish had fins on his hands and feet.
The man approached Ling Tian, surrounded by a host of aquatic creatures, and uttered a string of obscure and unintelligible words.
Ling Tian couldn't understand him at all. Although he knew some Japanese, the man was speaking an ancient Japanese dialect.
Suddenly, Ling Tian's mind was flooded with information. It turned out this monster could also communicate directly through mental power!
The monster spoke at length, essentially accusing Ling Tian and questioning why he had slaughtered the aquatic creatures in the great lake.
Through the mental communication, Ling Tian quickly learned the true identity of the man before him: he was the Lord of Arakawa!
The Lord of Arakawa was a great demon with over a thousand years of history, the master of the Arakawa River, commanding thousands of aquatic creatures, and a powerful overlord in his own right.
However, he later encountered Abe no Seimei, who, using a secret technique, imprisoned him and cast him into this Ghost Realm.
Thus, the Lord of Arakawa had resided in the Ghost Realm for nearly a thousand years!
Unexpectedly, after a thousand years, when the Lord of Arakawa next encountered someone from the outside world, he discovered that times had drastically changed!