At that moment, Jiang Yubai stopped hesitating. He intensified the output of his spiritual Qi and charged straight toward the bottom of the pool.
As the depth of the water increased, the already pitch-black pool grew even darker, making it nearly impossible to see anything. Without a second thought, Jiang Yubai took out the inner core of the Dark Flood Dragon.
He raised an eyebrow and silently praised, “This inner core from a Dark Flood Dragon about to transform into a dragon is truly extraordinary—it can even be used for illumination.”
The moment he took it out, the surroundings immediately became clear.
Perhaps because the Dark Flood Dragon had occupied this place for a long time, there were no signs of any other demonic beasts at the bottom of the pool. This was reasonable—after all, demonic beasts had strong territorial instincts.
Jiang Yubai cautiously examined the surroundings and found the water here was crystal clear, with swaying aquatic plants, forming a tranquil underwater world. Yet, he remained on high alert.
As he ventured further, he began to notice something odd.
On the rocks at the bottom, those ancient runes and patterns resembled cryptic codes, quietly telling the story of countless years gone by. The faint light they emitted was like twinkling stars in the night sky, catching Jiang Yubai’s eye.
A surge of intense curiosity rose in his heart, compelling him to uncover the secrets hidden behind those runes.
He leaned in close, carefully examining every detail.
After a cautious inspection, he finally caught a faint clue. As he drew nearer to those runes, a strange feeling welled up in his chest. He could clearly feel his spiritual Qi circulating much faster, as if pushed forward by an invisible force.
At the same time, his perception of the surrounding spiritual Qi grew incredibly sharp, and his ability to absorb it soared exponentially!
In that instant, it felt like every pore in his body had opened wide, like a greedy beast frantically devouring the dense spiritual Qi around him.
This unprecedented experience shocked him to his core!
Could it be… that the Dark Flood Dragon had used this formation… to wildly absorb the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, accelerating its process of becoming a dragon?!
This… was it a Spirit-Gathering Formation?!
Jiang Yubai frowned. It didn’t feel like it.
His intuition told him it couldn’t be that simple.
Though Spirit-Gathering Formations could gather spiritual Qi, they definitely didn’t possess such powerful devouring force.
This formation didn’t resemble a mere Spirit-Gathering Formation.
On the contrary…
Just then, a sudden spark of realization flashed through his mind, and a bold guess surfaced.
“Dragon Transformation Formation?!”
The moment the thought formed, Jiang Yubai could no longer suppress his excitement and cried out in shock.
This was a legendary formation!
Eyes wide open, Jiang Yubai stared at the rocks at the bottom of the pool, as if trying to peer through those ancient runes and glimpse the past. Get faster updates on g.com.
How could such a formation appear here?!
Had he not arrived by chance, that Dark Flood Dragon would have soon… fully transformed into a dragon?!
At the thought of this, Jiang Yubai’s pupils sharply contracted.
Without thinking further, he immediately stored the rock into his pouch.
Just as he was about to leave, he noticed a seemingly ordinary stone beneath the one he just took.
It was very small, barely one-fifth the size of a palm. Pitch-black and completely unremarkable.
Jiang Yubai couldn’t make sense of it for now.
Since he couldn’t figure it out, he decided to take it as well.
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Yubai leapt straight out from the bottom of the pool in one motion.
At that moment, Mu Ruohan was still drowning in the sorrow of being rejected.
Suddenly, she saw a figure emerge from the water not far away.
Her heart trembled as her gaze locked onto that direction.
It was—Jiang Yubai?!
Mu Ruohan’s eyes lit up. His black hair was soaked, and water droplets trailed down his handsome and resolute face, dripping onto the calm surface of the pool.
Mu Ruohan stared at him, feeling as if that droplet didn’t fall into the water but directly landed on the strings of her heart.
After coming ashore, Jiang Yubai casually used spiritual Qi to dry his clothes.
When he saw Mu Ruohan, his brow twitched slightly, but he said nothing.
Just then, a few voices drifted over from the distant forest.
“Senior Brother, are you sure? Is there really a heavenly treasure here?”
“I’m sure! My deduction can’t be wrong!”
“But…”
“But what?! Senior Brother Chu is far more capable than you! Junior Brother Xia, stop dragging him down!”
Hearing these words, a thought stirred in Jiang Yubai’s mind.
Who would’ve thought…
This Ten Thousand Ghost Forest that people normally avoided at all costs, would suddenly have so many people show up?
Mu Ruohan followed close behind.
Just as they were about to reach the entrance of the Ten Thousand Ghost Forest, Jiang Yubai suddenly turned and said, “Why are you following me?”
Mu Ruohan was silent for a while, then slowly said, “Do you still remember, twenty years ago, at the foot of Phoenix Mountain—”
Jiang Yubai thought for a moment, then shook his head, indicating he didn’t remember.
How old was he twenty years ago?
Mu Ruohan didn’t give up and continued, “That year, there was a sudden weather change at the foot of Phoenix Mountain. Heavy snow fell like feathers, as if the world were ending.
I was gravely injured, lying under the mountain, on the verge of death.
Then, as the snow began to fall, I thought I was about to die…
But in a daze, I saw a boy in white feed me a pill. That warmth… made me feel incredibly happy.”
Jiang Yubai nodded, “I vaguely remember something like that.”
It seemed he recalled a hazy memory.
Seeing hope, Mu Ruohan quickly added, “That boy…”
Jiang Yubai lowered his gaze in thought and said, “Maybe it was me. But there’s no need for you to—”
He paused, leaving the sentence unfinished.
Mu Ruohan quickly said, “I guessed it the moment I saw you emerge from the water. That side profile… looked just like the boy who saved me back then…”
Jiang Yubai smiled, a teasing glint in his eyes.
He asked softly, “So… are you planning to repay me with your body?”
As he said the last words, there was a playful undertone in his voice, enough to make anyone blush and their heart race.
Mu Ruohan froze, her cheeks instantly flushed red.
She never expected such a direct question and didn’t know how to respond.
Yet the emotions in her heart grew stronger, as if they would overflow.
She looked deeply into Jiang Yubai’s eyes, the light within them full of resolve.
Just as she was about to say something, a voice rang out at the worst possible moment.
“Yo~ isn’t this the senior disciple Jiang Yubai from the Longevity Sect? One moment he’s injuring his Junior Sister, and the next he’s seducing another female cultivator?!”
A harsh voice cut through the air. Mu Ruohan’s expression changed, and a wave of anger surged within her.
But before she could speak, Jiang Yubai’s lips curved slightly.