At this moment, besides their own boat, the Yong River was crowded with fishing vessels, treasure ships transporting ores and metals like black gold, black iron, and black copper, merchant ships carrying goods, and passenger boats ferrying travelers.
The Yong River is powerful, teeming with fat and delicious fish, so there are always many boats on its waters and plenty of ports and docks along its banks.
But now, the mountains on both sides were gradually vanishing beneath the river’s surface, leaving only the boats floating on the water. Many vessels came to a stop, with countless people poking their heads out over the gunwales, peering around in confusion, unsure what was happening.
Some cultivators flew up from their boats, bewildered, looking out over the Yong River.
The Yong River now floated in midair, its waters stretching for tens of thousands of li without breaking, still flowing through the sky. Bathed in the early sunlight, the river shimmered with multicolored light.
Splash—
A merchant ship carrying goods failed to stay steady and shot out from the river’s surface, tumbling down from the sky. Helpless, the merchant ship plummeted toward the mountains below, growing smaller and smaller. After a while, it crashed into a stretch of forest, and only then did the muffled, faint sound of impact reach the ears of those on the river.
The ship’s owner leapt out in a panic as it fell, and many cultivators helped rescue the others onboard. There were few casualties.
Some of the official cargo ships had Everpeace Empire officials aboard, who immediately ordered cultivators to save people—rescuing civilians from the other boats and ferrying them down to the land below. Some officers also flew out of the Yong River, heading toward the nearby cities to call for help and request rune-ships to come rescue people from the river.
"It's not my fault, don't look at me, I didn't do this."
Quinn and the others looked at Grandpa Blind, who shook his head, his expression grave. "To make the Yong River float in the air, the power needed far exceeds mine. Someone with such overwhelming magic—I've never seen the like in my life... Look below!"
Quinn and his companions immediately looked down.
The Yong River had been lifted into the sky, separating its waters from the land below. Normally, the river was somewhat muddy, its bottom invisible, but now all the silt had vanished—as if only the water itself had been raised, leaving the mud behind. The river was now crystal clear, allowing their eyes to pierce through the water and see the ground beneath.
They immediately saw huge fish swimming in the river, every detail vivid and strange.
Because the Yong River originates from the Great Ruins, it is home to many monsters—various fish and water beasts with all sorts of bizarre appearances lurking in the depths. Quinn had grown up by the river and seen countless strange creatures, but even he now spotted many he had never seen before. They must have always hidden deep at the bottom, rarely surfacing, making them almost impossible to glimpse until now.
But now, he could see everything in the river, all of it perfectly clear.
Just then, everyone felt a chill run down their spines as an enormous, slick, sinuous body slid beneath their boat. The gigantic form swam westward with the current.
Huge scales scraped against the bottom of their small boat, causing it to jolt before settling back to calm.
That massive body moved without stirring a single wave; even as its scales brushed the hull, the boat was unharmed—only rocked a little, as if struck by a swift current.
It was a sapphire-blue Flood-Dragon, vast and unmatched in size.
On the boat, the little Flood-Dragons grew excited; some crawled up Quinn’s neck, others poked their heads under his arms, peeking out to watch.
"Maha! Maha!" Over a dozen Flood-Dragons called out to the river.
Splash.
A massive head rose out of the water, curiously inspecting them before diving back down and swimming away. Wherever it passed, the river monsters scattered in fear.
Some of the big fish, terrified, fled so fast they shot out of the river, flapping their fins as they tumbled from the sky. For a moment, a rain of fish fell from above—no doubt sparking gossip among the people below for days to come.
But what would stir even more talk was surely the fact that the Yong River had soared into the sky!
"That Flood-Dragon is enormous..."
Quinn was stunned. This sapphire-blue Flood-Dragon was more than ten times larger than the ones on his boat at full size!
Its power surpassed even the Dragon-Keeper Lord’s Flood-Dragons. Quinn wondered whether it was one of his, or if it had come from somewhere else entirely.
"This is a water Flood-Dragon that has reached the god-realm. Its control over water is frighteningly strong."