Just as everyone was beginning to relax, ripples stirred on the mirror-like lake surface, and a whirlpool suddenly appeared, violently shattering the dancing patterns of light.
“Splash!”
A green-scaled water python broke through the surface of the water, casting its shadow over everyone. Its massive body was covered in hard scales that gleamed with a cold, sharp luster like gemstones embedded in its flesh.
Wherever its serpentine tongue swept, fine mists of water surged into the air. Its vertical pupils flicked a deep green, carrying an overwhelming pressure.
Sui Yue was the first to evade, sprinting toward the pine forest. As a mere Qi-condensation practitioner, how could he possibly contend with a fifth-tier demonic beast boasting the cultivation of peak Golden Core?
In times like this, self-awareness was paramount.
“What is going on here? Another fifth-tier demonic beast!” Lu Zhixue drew her golden sword, standing her ground in strict readiness.
“Everyone, please be extremely cautious. This green-scaled water python already possesses the aura of a semi-dragon; it likely won’t be easy to handle,” Lu Zhixiu said in a deep voice.
“Ling Guang, leave this to me. Since your cultivation cannot be of assistance right now, go over to look after the Junior Brother and ensure your own safety,” Shi Menglan said with a solemn expression to Ling Guang.
The battle broke out instantly, and Sui Yue happened to bump right into that infuriating wretch Geng Duan.
True to form, this person was utterly vicious. Colliding with two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Hehuan Sect, they blocked Sui Yue’s path. Geng Duan’s Mueling Sword stirred fiercely as it lunged toward Sui Yue. Yet he deliberately avoided taking lives, instead pointing his sword tip straight at the storage pouch hanging from the other’s waist—inside were two demonic beast cores Geng Duan had previously discarded.
Sui Yue retreated rapidly. As he neared the lakeside, Geng Duan suddenly slashed his sword toward Yun Mu in Sui Yue’s arms. Sui Yue sidestepped to block the blow, but the storage pouch at his waist was batted away.
The demonic beast cores contaminated with demonic qi were exposed beneath the water curtain, driving the green-scaled water python completely berserk. With a single tail-swipe, it knocked Sui Yue plunging into the center of the lake.
“Junior Brother!”
Shi Menglan and Ling Guang were simply too far away to effect a rescue, instantly burning with towering fury.
“Geng Duan, if I don’t catch you, may I never live it down! My Luoxuan Sect and your Yinsha Sect are irreconcilable enemies!” Shi Menglan cursed bitterly.
The python’s body blotted out the sky, its tail slamming violently against the water surface to whip up thousands of giant waves. Overwhelming sheets of water mixed with shattered rocks rained down upon everyone.
“Form the array!”
Lu Zhixiu executed hand seals, and a fire dragon soared skyward; Lu Zhixue’s metal-attribute array unfolded layer upon layer, reinforcing and boosting everyone beneath their feet; Shen Bingzhang plunged his sword tip into the ground, condensing the surrounding water vapor into an ice shield; Shi Menglan’s Qilan Sword traced a silver arc, striking straight at the python’s vital spot…
At the bottom of the lake.
Oh no, oh no, Barbie’s Q, I’m not waterproof.
Yun Mu’s paper-like body became thoroughly soaked by the lake water, continuing to sink toward the bottom in a weightless descent. Completely limp and powerless, he finally landed with a ‘pat’, spreading out into a thin little fox paper-cut silhouette against the lakebed, complete with a few grains of sediment stuck to it.
A figure broke through the water curtain and plummeted straight down.
Sui Yue’s outer robe was soaked through, and his hair tie had come undone, letting his dark hair float like ink clouds in the water.
The lakebed was dim, with only Sui Yue emitting a faint glow as he descended. Seeing the limp, flattened fox silhouette plastered against the lakebed, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help twitching.
Crouching down with a smile, he hovered his fingertips above Yun Mu to trace his outline. Fearing he might shatter him, he gently lifted him with spiritual energy. “What strange cultivation technique have you been practicing? Why do you flatten out the moment you touch water?”
Yun Mu was furious, cursing inwardly in his mind: Damn system, what kind of junk item is this? Can’t you provide a waterproof spiritual beast transformation! Ahhh this is too mortifying, woo.
Sui Yue forcefully suppressed the corners of his lips curling upward. Carefully cradling Yun Mu with both hands infused with spiritual energy, he slipped past the area where the python’s tail was coiled and continued swimming deeper toward the other side of the lakebed.
A faint, ghostly glow emerged ahead. It turned out to be an ink-jade palace half-buried in the silt, embellished with moss and coral. Without a careful look, one would never have guessed that another world existed here.
Passing through a transparent boundary, the lake water was instantly isolated outside. The interior of the palace was warm and dry, with night-shining pearls embedded in the stone walls to illuminate the space brightly.
Sui Yue gathered some rotting wooden beams scattered within the hall to ignite a fire, retrieved a relatively flat stone slab to set up as a grill, and laid the soggy Yun Mu upon it.
System, why do I suddenly feel like I’m being treated to a teppanyaki? Spray some oil, fry both sides until golden brown, sprinkle with cumin, chili powder, and green onion… Aiyo, no more, if I keep thinking about it I’m going to drool, and then that lethal curse of mine will torment me again.
Silently, Sui Yue flipped Yun Mu over. He genuinely hadn’t expected his master to be such a foodie.
Watching that thin sliver of a ‘fox’ gradually evaporate its moisture under the heat and slowly recover a semblance of its fox outline though its fur remained plastered tightly against its skin, looking thoroughly bedraggled.
When it was almost half-dry, Sui Yue picked Yun Mu off the stone slab and placed him upon his own freshly shed outer robe. Turning the stone slab over to feed the fire and make it burn more brightly, his slender fingers slowly smoothed down the fur.
Yun Mu’s entire fox body stiffened abruptly. This sensation… was truly indescribable: strange, tingly, and numbing.
Two blushes of red miraculously bloomed across the fox’s face, whether from the heat or something else entirely remained unknown.
The pristine white fur gradually fluffed out in the warmth, recovering its plumpness, though his entire body remained as soft as a cotton ball. All four legs curled up under his belly into a ball, leaving only a pair of damp, watery eyes exposed.
A thin layer of dust accumulated on the bluestone slabs, and countless shattered jade slips were placed upon the side tables on both sides of the main hall. In the center of the main hall sat a bronze tripod carved all over with dense water-pattern curses.
“This place looks like the temporary palace of an ancient water god.” Sui Yue paced around the hall, touching the reliefs on the pillars. “These patterns… look somewhat like a certain array.”
As the words fell, the bronze tripod suddenly began to hum.
Sui Yue instinctively sensed trouble. As he stepped back, the ground shook violently.
The rear of the hall echoed with the sound of rolling gravel, as if something was waking up from a deep slumber. The spiritual energy in the air grew increasingly rich, accompanied by a faint, elusive pressure.
Suddenly, a muffled ‘thump thump’ came from the deepest recesses of the palace, resembling the heartbeat of a giant beast or the turning of some ancient mechanism.
Sui Yue’s gaze sharpened instantly. Scooping Yun Mu into his arms, he remained on high alert as he monitored the situation within the hall.
Before taking more than a few steps, the surrounding scenery warped without warning. Yun Mu felt the world spin wildly, and when he opened his eyes again, the expression of the Sui Yue before him had drastically changed.
His eyes were bloodred, and his entire body brimmed with intense hatred and a murderous aura, as though he had returned to the moments in his past life when he was subjected to every possible humiliation and abuse by Yun Mu.
An illusion!
Yun Mu’s heart tightened. System! System save me! This kid is about to go mad and fall into demonic deviation!
The System warned: Warning! The protagonist’s emotions are fluctuating violently, showing signs of demonic invasion! Host, you must stabilize him and prevent him from turning dark!
Hodfw do I stabilize him? Right now he probably wants to swallow me alive!
The System replied: There is a high-risk option. I can temporarily tether your divine consciousness to the phantom projection of ‘Yun Mu’ within the illusion. You will take charge of the plot and let him settle that grudge with his own hands; perhaps that will help him shatter his inner demons. However, doing so will cause some damage to your divine soul, and if you fail, both of you could remain trapped here forever!
Looking at the despair in Sui Yue’s eyes a despair that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth Yun Mu gritted his teeth. Let’s do it!