Chapter 1123: The Land of Survival

In the next instant.

Puff!

A muffled, light sound like a water bladder bursting came from within the water monster.

That snarling, lunging bite suddenly froze! The massive, scale‑covered skull snapped upward, its dark‑blue pupils instantly lost all ferocity, leaving only an incredulous bewilderment and… a blankness caused by the instant erasure of its life core!

Immediately after, countless fine threads of scorching white light seemed to erupt from within its massive body!

No flesh flew, no cataclysmic explosion. That massive, dark‑blue body, brimming with power, was like ice and snow thrown into a furnace, or a filthy shadow bathed in sunlight, and from within it began, silently and swiftly… to vanish!

Where the scorching white light threads passed, the tough scales turned to ash, the robust muscles melted away, the stout bones crumbled inch by inch! The whole process was unbelievably fast, yet carried a chilling, absolutely purifying horror‑beauty!

Just a single breath!

That colossal water monster, capable of easily tearing Han Wuxian apart, along with the murky wave it raised, completely vanished from this dim water. In its place remained only a huge, briefly existing void and countless tiny ashes emitting a faint charred smell, quickly swallowed and diluted by the turbid water.

Dead Silence.

Cold raindrops fell on Han Wuxian's face and wound, bringing a faint sting, pulling them back from the extreme shock into reality.

They floated in the murky water, left hand still gripping the star‑torch fragment tightly. The star core crystal at the fragment's center had dimmed, returning to a gentle glow, but the crystal itself seemed to have shrunk an imperceptibly thin rim, its edges also appearing more blurred. A strong fatigue and emptiness emanating from deep within the soul instantly engulfed them, heavier than any previous injury! It seemed that the star beam just now not only drained the fragment's remaining energy, but also sucked away the last vestiges of their life essence!

"Cough… cough cough…" they coughed violently, each cough pulling at the massive wound on their chest, bringing up foam mixed with foul blood. Their left arm was sore and weak, almost unable to hold the fragment. The right arm still crystalized with excruciating pain, numb.

They survived. The cost was… utter depletion.

Cold despair struck again, sharper than the filthy water. That strike was a miracle, but miracles cannot be replicated. The star core crystal clearly lost its essence, and their own body was like a candle in the wind, ready to go out at any moment. This waterway is fraught with danger; another predator could appear at any time, and they no longer have the ability to wield the Divine Punishment Gun a second time.

They struggled to turn the only head that could still move, their murky gaze scanning this dead‑silent water. Decaying algae, collapsed stone pillars, broken structures half‑submerged in the distance… everything exuded desolation and hopelessness. The rain drizzled on, the sky was lead‑gray, and no sign of life could be seen.

Could it be… that they still cannot escape…

Just as their consciousness began to blur and sink from extreme fatigue and pain, their gaze unintentionally swept over a distant, especially heavy, floating mass of decaying algae—a "floating island".

At the edge of that floating island, the murky current seemed slightly blocked by something, forming a small, barely noticeable vortex.

And at the vortex's center, through the turbid surface, there seemed… a faint yet unusually steady glow, flashing briefly among the mud and water plants!

The color of that glow… differed from the scorching white or deep blue of the star core crystal, and also from the filthy black‑purple, but was a… warm, jade‑like teal‑gray?

Han Wuxian's heart jolted! The nearly halted blood seemed to flow weakly again.

What is that?

Is it some partially buried relic fragment? Or… a lure of some aquatic monster?

Regardless of which, that steady, warm glow stands out starkly in this death‑filled, decaying, hopeless water, yet it is… alluring!

The instinct to survive, like wild grass, stubbornly pushes up from the ashes again. Even if the chance is only one in ten thousand, that glow signifies life, and they must see it!

They mustered their last ounce of strength, using their still functional left arm like a paddle, moving the viscous, icy, filthy water extremely slowly and painfully toward the direction where the teal‑gray light flickered, inch by inch. Each stroke drained the little vitality they had regained; the wound on their chest, soaked in the water, sent waves of tearing and numbness, and the contamination of Nine‑dark death energy seemed to seize the opportunity to corrode further.

That short distance felt to them as long as crossing the abyss between life and death.

Finally, they approached the floating decayed‑algae island. The teal‑gray glow became a bit clearer. It seemed to originate underwater, covered by thick mud and tangled water plants, only occasionally leaking a faint glimmer through the cracks.

Han Wuxian inhaled a deep breath of icy, fetid air, endured the searing chest pain, and plunged sharply into the water.

The murky underwater visibility was terrible. They gritted their teeth against the irritation, guided by the teal‑gray glow, and used their left hand to forcefully part the tangled water plants and dig through the thick, foul‑smelling mud.

Their fingertips brushed a hard, icy object whose surface seemed etched with patterns!

Spurred on, they dug recklessly. Soon, the outline of an object about the size of a washbasin, half‑buried in the mud, emerged.

When Han Wuxian finally extracted it completely from the mud, bringing it to the surface, they could hardly believe their eyes!

It was neither a lure nor an ordinary relic fragment!

It was a… broken, antiquated bronze lantern!

The lantern's design was extremely primitive, bearing an indescribable sense of age, as if it had weathered countless ages. It was missing a corner, and the rim of the lamp disc bore obvious cracks and rust stains. At the center of the disc, where a wick would normally sit, a fist‑sized, irregularly shaped teal‑gray stone was now set.

It was this stone that emitted the warm, steady, jade‑like teal‑gray glow! The light was not strong, yet unusually gentle and resilient, as if it could penetrate all filth and gloom. The glow enveloped the lantern itself, forming a faint halo that subtly repelled the surrounding dirty water and decay.

What shook Han Wuxian even more was that the moment the teal‑gray light enveloped his body,

the Nine‑dark death energy inside him, like maggots gnawing at his life, seemed to encounter a natural predator, emitting a silent, sharp hiss and violently recoiling, curling up! Though not completely eradicated, its erosion rate was dramatically slowed!

At the same time, the void feeling that his burning vital blood had produced—a black‑hole‑like sucking of his life force—seemed, under the teal‑gray light, to receive a faint… nourishment? Like cracked, parched earth receiving a trivial drizzle!

"What… what is this?!" Han Wuxian stared intently at the broken bronze lantern in his hand, feeling the strange power radiating from the teal‑gray stone, his heart roiling with turmoil!

It can suppress the Nine‑dark death energy! It can faintly nourish the source!

This teal‑gray stone is far from ordinary! This broken lantern must have an extraordinary origin!

In the dire strait, a strand of true life‑force light finally pierced the heavy death‑laden clouds, shining upon his broken body!

He did not hesitate to clutch the broken bronze lantern tightly to his chest, as if clutching a lifeline. The teal‑gray glow gently wrapped around him, dispelling the water's cold and the chill of death, and temporarily suppressing the most lethal contamination within his body.

With this lantern, he finally had a chance to catch his breath!

But the danger was far from over. This waterway remained bizarre and unpredictable; the silhouettes of broken structures half‑submerged in the distance looked even more ominous under the lead‑gray sky and continuous rain. They needed to quickly find a relatively safe foothold, treat the fatal wounds, and attempt to use the bronze lantern and the star‑torch fragment to restore a sliver of vitality.

Their gaze fell on a nearby corner of a shattered palace, half‑emerging from the water, supported by massive broken stone pillars.

There, perhaps, lies the next place of survival.