The mist here was getting denser and denser; currently, Su Mu's visible range was only about a meter.

Moreover, he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but staying in the mist made his head a little dizzy, so he needed to leave quickly.

Fortunately, he had been marking his path along the way, which provided a general direction; otherwise, he might truly get lost here.

As Su Mu proceeded to the next marked spot, he noticed something was amiss because the location deviated from his previous mark.

Su Mu quickened his pace as the mist continued to thicken.

After walking for a full hour, Su Mu passed through a field of scattered rocks; he wrinkled his nose as he detected a stench, a rotten smell.

The source of the odor was the water area ahead, and Su Mu followed this rotting aroma.

Soon, he reached a relatively secluded water area where the mist had thinned significantly, and normal visibility was restored.

Su Mu fixed his eyes on the water body in front of him, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

The entire water area was an eerie black, with patches of dead fish and shrimp corpses floating on the surface.

The rotting smell was emanating from these fish corpses.

Why had so many fish died in this area, including quite a few large fish? Judging by their size and appearance, these large fish were certainly Treasure Fish.

However, they had been dead for a long time and were rotten, definitely inedible, and Su Mu wasn't desperate enough to scavenge for dead fish—too disgusting.

Could someone have poisoned the water here?

Su Mu couldn't tolerate such poisonings that harmed the fish.

In the past, before his crossing, Su Mu's uncle's fish farm was poisoned by an enemy; overnight, all fish in the reservoir died, his uncle went bankrupt in a single night and developed severe depression.

You can fish or even net fish!

But you cannot poison!

That's the bottom line because water flows; one small bottle of poison could contaminate a vast area, and some poisons are so potent that they render the land lifeless, killing not only minnows but even shrimp, directly damaging the water quality for an extended period.

That's why Su Mu was somewhat furious.

Guarding this river, and yet someone dared to sneak in poison?

At this moment, Su Mu noticed a few little fish struggling to crawl ashore, their breaths already very faint.

Seeing this, he walked over, picked up the few surviving fish, and tucked them into his sleeve, intending to release them into a clean water body later.

Then, Su Mu stepped onto the water, checking for any more surviving fish.

At that moment, a large blue fish spat out a bubble, seemingly calling for help, prompting Su Mu to approach and lift it.

He found the blue fish still had life, though very faint.

There was hope, so he collected it.

Continuing his search, a beautiful peacock fish leaped out of the water, then flopped back onto the surface.

Upon approaching, Su Mu discovered that this peacock fish also retained a faint breath and saved it as well.

Thus, he rescued about five or six fish.

Back onshore, Su Mu surveyed the polluted water area and soon noticed a problem.

This section of the water hadn't contaminated the downstream; there was a clear dividing line.

It seemed as if someone had sliced through this section of water with a sword, protecting the downstream from pollution.

Su Mu activated his cultivation technique, and a surge of Spiritual Power burst from his palm, pouring into the polluted water area, intending to purify it.

However, once his Spiritual Power entered the water, it had no purifying effect.

After several failed attempts, Su Mu became somewhat exasperated.

Great, a Four Tribulation Great Cultivator like himself couldn't even purify a water area!

What kind of poison was used!

Although a boundary separated the waters, Su Mu, for safety's sake, used the Water Control Divine Technique to halt the water's flow, preventing the pollution from spreading to other water areas.

Having done all this, Su Mu left an aura mark here, planning to return later to resolve this polluted area.

After all, maintaining the peace and order of this river was necessary, and successful purification would surely earn him a reward in Favor Points, likely a substantial one.

He had to leave here first, return to a safe water body, and release the fish he had just saved, as their life auras were already very weak, requiring immediate action.

Thus, Su Mu continued his journey back.

Since the mist had thinned considerably, Su Mu made smooth progress, quickly leaving this river section and returning to his stone house.

After putting down a basket full of peaches, he went to the shore, waved his hand broadly, and released the saved fish into this clean water body.

Once in the water, the blue fish and peacock fish soon regained vitality, their life forces quite strong!

However, the other small fish didn't recover as quickly.

Su Mu spent five Favor Points to revive them.

[Congratulations! You triggered a critical reward for saving lives, earning an additional reward of 5000 Favor Points]

Goodness, a full five thousand Favor Points!

At this, Su Mu put his hands on his hips and said to the fish by the shore, "Alright, you stay in this water now, don't wander off. This is my doorstep. As long as I'm here, no one dares to poison or drug you."

The fish seemed to understand Su Mu's words, nodding in response.

They circled back and forth, seemingly to express gratitude to Su Mu.

"Off you go, off you go."

"Stop hovering in front of me, or I'll be tempted to eat you," Su Mu waved his hand.

Those little fish might be oblivious, but the blue fish and peacock fish were definitely Treasure Fish; saving them earned him 5000 Favor Points, so he was in a good mood and let them go.

There's no way he would save them one moment and eat them the next, right?

.....

After releasing them, Su Mu began assessing the spoils of this trip.

He pulled out a peach from the basket, leaving the remaining four in the house.

Before eating, Su Mu adjusted his body state, preparing to the best condition.

Sitting cross-legged, he took a big bite of the peach!

The first sensation was crispness, very fragrant and sweet.

As soon as it entered the mouth, without needing to chew, the fruit flesh transformed into a surging energy that flooded into his body.

In this way, Su Mu devoured the peach in no time.

Afterwards, he felt no major reaction.

Could it be just an ordinary Spirit Fruit?

And then, in the next second, Su Mu's body began to change!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.