Chapter 257: Crimson Blood Salamander

The sight of that fishing boat being capsized alerted the nearby fishermen, who immediately headed toward the dock while shouting for help.

A crowd quickly gathered at the dock.

Because of the earlier commotion here, Ironclad Department constables were stationed on-site. Seeing this, they immediately went to report the news.

One sharp-eyed Ironclad constable spotted Yang Ling’s figure and exclaimed in surprise:

"It's Director Yang!"

Meanwhile, Qin Mo had already used the Water-Crossing Heart Technique to swim at lightning speed to the fallen fisherman and his wife.

He first flipped the overturned boat back upright with a single palm strike, then leaped onto the vessel and grabbed the couple with hands moving like lightning.

From the time the fisherman and his wife fell into the water to when they were rescued, not even fifteen minutes had passed.

Wu Xiaochen, Chen Xu, Li Tianye, and the other players were stunned speechless.

They only knew Qin Mo was a top-ten expert, but they never imagined his skills were this terrifying.

"He just went 'whoosh' and swam right over."

"Then another 'whoosh,' and he flipped that boat weighing hundreds of jin right over..."

They thought to themselves that if it were them, they could never pull that off.

Wu Xiaochen muttered to himself, "Is Qin Mo an Eighth-Rank expert?"

He ranked one spot higher than Qin Mo on the Divine Realm Level Ranking and was two levels above him.

But he had tested his own abilities—he could barely scrape by as a low-grade Ninth-Rank upon registration, nowhere near Eighth-Rank.

Yang Ling quietly stared at the river surface. Suddenly, a ripple caught his attention.

"Old Qin, take them to shore. That thing is about to ram you."

Qin Mo reacted instantly and immediately poled the boat toward the shore.

A massive dark shadow emerged behind them.

Suddenly, it burst out of the water, revealing a pitch-black gaping maw. There were still wounds left by Yang Ling from before, but they had mostly healed.

The fishermen and Ironclad Department constables on the dock were dumbfounded.

Wang Shichang, who had rushed over in a hurry, exclaimed:

"It's that monster again!"

At the same time, Yang Ling locked onto the giant salamander.

A Centenary Refined Vermilion Gold Throwing Dagger let out a piercing shriek before embedding itself precisely into the giant salamander's body.

It then exploded. The sharp fragments instantly drained the giant salamander's HP to rock bottom, and it fell weakly into the water.

It sank for only a moment before floating back up.

"As long as I'm not dealing with a tough expert like Mingxin who has dense Vital Qi, the Fire Blade is still very handy."

A hint of a smile appeared in Yang Ling's eyes.

A faint, cool sensation surged into his body. The experience points weren't much, but it was better than nothing—equivalent to about half a day's worth of continuous mining in the Vermilion Gold Mine.

"D-did it die?"

Wang Shichang and the others finally snapped out of it, staring slack-jawed at the giant salamander's corpse.

Qin Mo, Wu Xiaochen, and the others all gasped sharply.

Yang Ling's movements were too fast. They knew he had used flying daggers, but they had no clue exactly what happened.

Wang Shichang looked at Yang Ling on the boat and immediately clasped his fists in a bow:

"Lord Yang, this water monster has been slain by you! The people of Tingjiang City no longer have to worry about it causing trouble!"

Even though he hadn't seen it clearly, he was convinced it was Yang Ling who had done the deed.

The fishermen on the dock naturally recognized Yang Ling too. Seeing that Director Yang had solved the big problem in Tingjiang City's river channel, they bowed repeatedly, their hearts full of gratitude.

At this moment, Yang Ling also saw the detailed stats of the giant salamander:

Crimson Blood Salamander

Level: 103

Strength: 93

Agility: 120

Spirit: 21

Special Skill: Devour

"Oh, it's a Crimson Blood Salamander. That's a good catch. Haul it up."

Xu Wuji came onto the deck, followed by Zhang Wei, whose face was pale but who walked with no visible issues.

Everyone was shocked in their hearts. This Eunuch Xu was incredibly skilled.

In just half a day, Zhang Wei could walk like an ordinary person, with only subtle differences upon closer inspection.

Upon hearing this, the Water Transport Guild's director immediately ordered his men to start the salvage operation.

The boat also docked at the pier at that moment.

Before long, the Crimson Blood Salamander's corpse was brought ashore.

Chen Xu and the others hadn't thought it was that big before, but now that the carcass lay before them—even though it was dead—it still triggered their fear of giant objects, making their scalps tingle.

Wang Shichang had already boarded the boat with his men and hurriedly greeted Xu Wuji and Yang Ling.

"Eunuch Xu, what's the origin of this Crimson Blood Salamander?"

Yang Ling asked curiously.

For a Fifth-Rank expert like him to call the Crimson Blood Salamander a good catch meant it had some value for secondary use.

Just then, Little White suddenly came up to the Crimson Blood Salamander, staring at it without blinking.

At the same time, Xu Wuji's tamed gray eagle descended from the sky, landing beside him, also fixated on the Crimson Blood Salamander.

"This Crimson Blood Salamander, whenever it eats something, it can strengthen its own Vital Qi."

"And all that Vital Qi is stored in its two eyes."

"However, the Vital Qi in exotic beasts is different from ours. If a martial artist recklessly eats its eyeballs, they will surely die from poison."

"But for fellow exotic beasts, it's no problem. On the contrary, it can boost their strength."

Xu Wuji smiled and clasped his hands:

"Director Yang, this Crimson Blood Salamander was killed by you, but I have an impertinent request. Could you sell me one of its eyeballs?"

The players understood now—the Crimson Blood Salamander's eyeballs were like divine medicine for exotic beasts, enhancing their power when eaten, but fatal to humans!

"Eunuch Xu, please, take it as you wish."

Yang Ling smiled.

Xu Wuji gave a slight smile and nodded to his gray eagle. The eagle immediately grabbed one of the Crimson Blood Salamander's eyeballs.

Seeing this, Little White let out a hiss at Yang Ling.

"You can have one too."

Yang Ling was also curious—how much would this eyeball boost Little White's stats?

Little White waved its arms excitedly, dug out the other eyeball from the Crimson Blood Salamander, and went off to one side to eat it with delight.

"The meat of the Crimson Blood Salamander is also good. It can nourish Vital Qi, though the effect on us is minimal."

"You can let your subordinates eat it. Even a slight boost in Vital Qi can help with mining."

"But remember, it must be thoroughly cooked. If it's undercooked, they'll definitely get poisoned."

Xu Wuji said.

Qin Mo and the others' eyes lit up with a bit of surprise. They hadn't expected this thing to help them too.

Yang Ling told Qin Mo and the others to split the meat and cook it all together.

He also felt a bit emotional. If it weren't for an experienced senior like Xu Wuji being on the boat,

he would have had no idea that the Crimson Blood Salamander's corpse had this kind of use.

And even if he had tried to use it, he might have gotten poisoned from not cooking it thoroughly.

The Water Transport Guild's director looked on greedily. Summoning his courage, he asked to buy a bit of the Crimson Blood Salamander's meat.

Yang Ling didn't refuse and accepted a symbolic amount of silver.

Before long, waves of fragrance spread across the boat.

Even Wang Shichang got a piece of the meat, leaving him overjoyed.

During this time, Chen Qizheng hurried over. On the grounds that Yang Ling had saved countless citizens of Tingjiang City, he presented ten Foundation Consolidation Pills.

Yang Ling recognized at a glance that they were the same Foundation Consolidation Pills he had traded for the Eight Hundred-Year Fire Ginseng.

He didn't refuse. After accepting them, his pill count went from 160 back up to 170.

By then, Little White had finished eating the eyeball, which was larger than its own body.

It suddenly lay down on the ground, and a faint white light began to emanate from the surface of its skin.

Yang Ling had a thought and opened Little White's status panel:

Great Mother Vermilion Gold Mantis: Little White

Level: 26

Strength: 30

Agility: 35

Spirit: 12

Special Skills: Gold Seeking, Whirlwind Slash

Originally at level 26, its level was now skyrocketing.

It quickly jumped from level 26 all the way to level 40!

Strength and Agility each increased by 14 points!

Its stats were now updated to:

Great Mother Vermilion Gold Mantis: Little White

Level: 40

Strength: 44

Agility: 49

Spirit: 12

Special Skills: Gold Seeking, Whirlwind Slash

"Its base stats are comparable to an Eighth-Rank martial artist, maybe even a bit stronger."

"But it doesn have Martial Arts Techniques or Internal Technique boosts."

"So its current strength is roughly on par with an upper Ninth-Rank level."

Yang Ling was quite satisfied with this.

He remembered when he first arrived in the Divine Realm—even in the whole of Green Mountain City, there wasn't a single Ninth-Rank expert!

Yet Little White had reached stats rivaling the upper Ninth-Rank in such a short time.

"If I temper it with a layer of Blazing Gold..."

"Can I bring its stats up to Eighth-Rank level?"

Yang Ling felt a glimmer of anticipation.