Chapter 83: The Eerie Forest of Giant Algae

At first, Lu Chen paid little attention to the towering kelp before him, which rose several dozen meters high. It was only when he swam closer that he noticed its peculiar form. The kelp's holdfast at the base resembled a suction cup, anchoring it firmly to the seabed's rocks. From its supple trunk branched more than a hundred limbs, each tipped with densely clustered needle-like leaves.

At a glance, it looked as if a colossal pine tree had sprouted from the ocean floor.

All around the kelp, scattered in the seabed's silt, lay numerous oversized conch shells and mollusks. Lu Chen dug at them with his taloned toes, only to find they were all empty shells—no living creatures remained.

Moving forward, he saw even more conchs and shells, forming a thick layer upon the ocean floor. Like those before, they showed no sign of life—their flesh seemed to have been devoured by some creature.

A suspicion crept over him: could this be the fabled graveyard of sea snails?

Wait... Lu Chen looked more closely and discovered many scattered fish skeletons among the shells, even the carapace of a sea turtle as large as a tabletop.

The tiger shark appeared to have stopped as well, the scent of blood growing ever more pungent.

Knowing his prey was close, Lu Chen could not afford to linger over the remains of fish and shell, and cautiously followed the scent onward.

Now, the space above was largely shrouded by the giant kelp, letting in almost no light. He slipped quietly through the shadowy kelp forest, feeling as if he were wandering a labyrinth. A mounting sense of danger pressed upon his mind.

Still, Lu Chen did not panic. Now that he had evolved into a fourth-tier bay crocodile, the sensory organs scattered across his armored scales had grown ever more acute. He could sense even the faintest ripple within a dozen meters.

Should any creature attack, he would be able to react at once.

Soon, he saw the tiger shark blunder into the dense kelp branches. Likely weakened from loss of blood, its struggles were feeble, and it could not thrash free from the tangled limbs.

After confirming there was no immediate danger, Lu Chen quickly surfaced nearby. The sweep of his tail stirred the water, drawing many kelp branches toward him.

Moments ago, he had devoured an entire seal, yet was only half-sated. Now, he seized the tiger shark’s bloody flesh with his claws and swallowed great chunks, lightening the load he would later need to haul to the surface.

No wonder it was called a walking energy pack—the system panel clearly displayed another five hundred energy points gained.

Sated and revitalized, Lu Chen gripped the massive remains of the tiger shark with all four limbs and lashed his tail, preparing to surface. To his surprise, the kelp was incredibly tough and tightly coiled.

He heaved several times without moving an inch.

Just as he was about to try from another angle, he sensed the darkness above deepening... and suddenly, his tail was ensnared by the kelp.

Damn... what was happening?

Lu Chen twisted around instinctively, a trace of fear flickering in his beastly eyes.

This kelp... was alive?!

With the shifting currents, a supple branch, like the hand of some plant-monster, silently wound around his crocodilian tail. Several more crept slowly toward his limbs.

The entire kelp forest had transformed into a green-brown prison, sealing off the light above.

Lu Chen no longer dared pay any heed to the tiger shark’s remains. He began to thrash violently, unleashing his formidable strength. With a series of sharp snaps, he finally tore free the kelp tendrils coiled about his tail.

Aiming for a gap between the kelp, he shot upward toward the surface. All the while, more kelp tendrils reached for him, but they drifted so slowly in the water that they never got close enough to entangle him...

Minutes later, great waves churned at the surface as a massive, jet-black creature emerged.

Blazing sunlight shone on his armored scales, gilding his body in radiant gold.

Bathed in sunlight, Lu Chen gasped for breath.

The temperature on the seabed had been far too low. In just half an hour, his body had begun to grow stiff.

Now, as the sun’s warmth seeped into his skin, nourishing every cell, his blood flowed freely once more.

Lu Chen glanced down at the shadowy depths below, still shaken by what had just transpired.

Damn, that was eerie and perilous beyond belief. Who could have imagined the kelp was alive?

If he weren't still digesting tiger shark flesh, he might have thought it all a dream.

Those kelp, like the tiger shark, must have undergone some kind of mutation.

And they seemed to consume animals as well. Now he understood the origin of the fish bones and empty shells strewn on the seabed—they had almost certainly been devoured by the kelp.

Had he not reacted swiftly, he would have shared the tiger shark’s fate.

With this in mind, Lu Chen examined himself again. Finding nothing amiss, he finally remembered to check his surroundings. All around stretched endless blue waves, with no landmarks in sight.

But by sensing the magnetic field, Lu Chen quickly pinpointed his location: more than three hundred li from the river mouth.

Should he return to his lair now?

Of course, Lu Chen knew that turning back would be the safest course. Yet, thinking of the thousands of energy points still lying beneath the sea, he was filled with unwillingness.

Such opportunities were rare—if he missed this one, he might regret it forever.

That region, able to nurture mutated giant kelp, must, like the hot spring valley, harbor some strange secret.

Perhaps... he should dive once more?

On reflection, it was only the sudden encounter with the bizarre that had rattled him.

Those mutated kelp were not as terrifying as they seemed. They could ensnare prey with their tendrils, but their movements were exceedingly slow. So long as he remained vigilant, he could easily avoid them.

His safe escape was proof enough.

After a brief deliberation, Lu Chen decided to take a risk.

Drawing a deep breath, he vanished below the waves once more.

Fifty meters, one hundred meters... In a few minutes, Lu Chen had returned to the seabed. Guided by the scent of blood, he located the tiger shark’s remains with precision.

In just a dozen minutes, the carcass was now entirely shrouded in kelp tendrils; only half the tail was still visible. Several tendrils had even slipped into the shark’s gaping mouth, boring straight into its belly.

Lu Chen did not immediately attempt to snatch the tiger shark’s remains. Instead, he circled the outer reaches of the kelp forest, probing cautiously.

As he had suspected, the moment he drew near, a kelp tendril over ten meters long stretched toward him. Had he not known better, he might have thought it merely swayed with the current.

Lu Chen grabbed the tendril with his claws and observed it closely. He noticed that the needle-like leaves at the tips bore tiny suction cups.

It was these suction cups that allowed the tendrils to cling so tightly to their prey.

Moreover, he suspected they also served to absorb flesh and blood.

To test his theory, Lu Chen let the needle-leafed suction cups latch onto his toes.

After two or three minutes, he felt nothing unusual... which puzzled him. Instinctively, he pulled his toes free.

With a tearing sound, he saw drops of fresh blood on his scales!

And yet, there had been no pain.

At once, Lu Chen thought of freshwater leeches, whose mouths are like suction cups, able to latch onto an animal’s skin and draw blood, all while secreting an anesthetic so the prey feels no pain.

These needle-leaf suction cups could devour prey for much the same reason.