A melodious song suddenly drifted from all around, its tune subtle, resonant, and anciently obscure. A single listen seemed to brush away the dust from one's body, bringing an instant sense of ease.
"Immortal music! This is the kind of melody found only in celestial realms!" Ji Hou's eyes burned with fervent desire, his small eyes widening to such an extent that it seemed his eyeballs would pop out at any moment. "I want to become an immortal! I want to become a god!"
After he loudly replied, he saw the voice slowly chuckle, "Then it shall be as you wish." The voice was as kind and gentle as that of an elder at home.
As the words fell, a five-colored spiritual light instantly enveloped Ji Hou. In the blink of an eye, the vines on Ji Hou's body snapped apart, and his cultivation instantly soared, reaching the peak of Nascent Soul, then early to late Deity Transformation… and continued to climb, finally settling at the late stage of Mahayana!
"This..."
Jing Fei took a step back in shock.
If he had still been immersed in the desire for immortality and godhood moments ago, he was now completely sobered.
This was utterly abnormal!
"Captain." Jing Fei frowned tightly. "Is this place truly where the Azure Dragon resides?" Why did it feel so sinister?
Bai Shengyi's eyes felt a sharp sting.
She blinked and said softly, "Who knows?"
"Didn't you just discover that the spiritual energy concentration here is gradually thinning?" Bai Shengyi said, reaching out to grasp the air. Countless spiritual energies condensed into shimmering points of light that fell into her palm.
However, these points of light existed for a very short time, quickly vanishing.
This was completely contrary to common sense.
In the Shenqi world, the density of spiritual energy in a place never changed without major upheaval. Compressed spiritual energy light points, unless absorbed into the body, would exist in the world forever.
Jing Fei's frown deepened.
Bai Shengyi's mood was also unsettled. She had a premonition that this Dragon Palace at the bottom of the lake was not as simple as it seemed, and it might even involve hidden secrets unknown to Shenqi Mountain.
"Master, be careful!"
In the time it took Bai Shengyi and Jing Fei to speak, Ji Hou strode over. Just as he was about to approach Bai Shengyi, he suddenly clawed towards her heart!
Bai Shengyi was prepared. She held the Chunhong Sword horizontally in front of her, easily blocking Ji Hou's pounce.
She hooked her lips, "Oh? Senior Brother Jing Fei, look quickly, this Mahayana cultivator isn't much either!"
As she spoke, she examined Ji Hou from head to toe.
Jing Fei instantly understood Bai Shengyi's meaning. He nodded and commented seriously, "Fellow Daoist, you've reached Mahayana, yet the speed of your claw attacks and the depth of your cultivation haven't changed at all from before?"
Ji Hou's face darkened, and he glared furiously at Bai Shengyi. "Little girl, I wasn't going all out just now!"
He had been a demon cultivator transformed into human form for hundreds of years, and this was the first time he had suffered such a significant loss at the hands of a human. Now that his cultivation firmly surpassed Bai Shengyi's, if he didn't teach this little brat a lesson, he wouldn't be surnamed Monkey!
The more Ji Hou thought about it, the angrier he became. He attacked Bai Shengyi again. This time, he directly beast-transformed his claws, his sharp nails viciously slashing towards Bai Shengyi's face!
Female cultivators cared most about their appearance. He wanted to ruin this little girl's face and give her a "look."
Bai Shengyi saw Ji Hou's intention. Her smile turned cold. She twirled her sword in a flourish, feigned an attack, and then thrust directly towards his lower half—
"Aow!"
A piercing scream echoed all around.
Jing Fei looked at Ji Hou's miserable state, clutching his crotch, and shivered all over!
Holding a branch of a vibrant peony, he silently took two steps back and gave Bai Shengyi a thumbs-up.
Junior Sister Shengyi was still as fierce as ever!
"Tsk tsk, truly tragic." Bai Shengyi took out a silk handkerchief and meticulously wiped the bloodstains from the Chunhong Sword, then casually tossed the handkerchief away.
It landed directly on Ji Hou's face.
"Granny warned you earlier to behave," Bai Shengyi said leisurely, her tone as calm as if she had just sliced two ounces of pork.
Ji Hou gasped for breath.
It was from pain, but also from shock.
Bai Shengyi was too ruthless.
That sword was merciless and extremely vicious, leaving him no room for any侥幸 thought.
He thought Bai Shengyi would continue to tie him up, but instead saw Bai Shengyi stop and turn away.
Bai Shengyi wasn't unwilling to continue dealing with Ji Hou; it was that her eyes suddenly ached intensely, forcing her to close them.
"Master? What's wrong?" Qing Meng Teng asked anxiously. "Is it the spiritual energy here that's causing problems?"
The vine leaves climbed onto Bai Shengyi's shoulders, looking at her with immense worry.
Jing Fei also sensed Bai Shengyi's abnormality. He subtly stepped forward, blocking Ji Hou's view, and said, "Captain, besides that voice and this spiritual energy, there's nothing else here. How about we go out first and explore another place?"
Bai Shengyi said, "I'll consider it."
As she spoke, her eyes grew more painful, causing her to let out a muffled groan.
"Captain, we're not in a hurry. You can consider it slowly." Jing Fei smiled, covering up Bai Shengyi's reaction, but mentally keeping a vigilant watch on Ji Hou's movements.
He didn't know what had happened to Bai Shengyi, but he knew clearly that with him alone, he could not suppress the current Ji Hou.
Therefore, if Ji Hou could be prevented from discovering Bai Shengyi's abnormality, he would prevent it.
Bai Shengyi quickly used her mental power to examine her eyes, not letting go of even the slightest detail. Her current mental power had recovered to the SS level of her previous life, capable of discerning even the surplus or deficiency of red blood cells and platelets in her blood vessels. Yet, even so, she found no problem with her eyes.
Just as Bai Shengyi began to doubt her own abilities, she suddenly noticed her eyeballs moving on their own!
Starfall Emperor Ring!
She had almost forgotten about it. Her current eyeballs were replaced by the Starfall Emperor Ring!
Lines of various colors, like a grid, began to appear before her, crisscrossing heaven and earth. Bai Shengyi knew that these were the rules of heaven and earth in the air.
Soon, the true nature of everything here automatically appeared before her.
This was the first time the Starfall Emperor Ring had operated on its own, beyond her control.
Bai Shengyi was secretly alarmed and made a mental note of this. Then she began to observe her surroundings. Upon doing so, she discovered that the spiritual energy here was not spiritual energy of heaven and earth at all, but rather demonic energy so black it was almost dripping!
"Holy crap!"
Bai Shengyi simply couldn't control herself from uttering an expletive. She immediately turned to Jing Fei and said, "Let's get out of here quickly!"
For cultivators, inhaling too much demonic energy was a minor issue for cultivation, but the major issue was falling into demonic ways!
"Little Samsara! Er Gou! Come back quickly!" Bai Shengyi called out to the other two and turned to leave.
As they were about to reach the door, they saw a group of people rushing in.
It was the group who had entered the water before them; they had found their way here as well.
"Senior Disciple Sister! The spiritual energy here is so dense!" a male cultivator said.
"Yes, I feel my bottleneck loosening. I believe if I cultivated here for a while, I could definitely break through." another female cultivator chimed in, immediately sitting cross-legged. "Senior Disciple Sister, why don't you continue searching for items? I'll cultivate for a while first?"
Hua Nishang frowned displeasedly. Ever since entering the secret realm, Chi Feiyue had been slacking off.
Everyone was working hard for Hua Ling Mountain, yet she was always finding opportunities to rest, using cultivation as an excuse or other excuses.
But she always had a reason.
This time was no exception. Chi Feiyue claimed she was close to a breakthrough, so what could Hua Nishang do?
"Fine, as you wish," Hua Nishang said stiffly.
Chi Feiyue said joyfully, "Thank you, Senior Disciple Sister!"
Saying so, she closed her eyes, preparing to enter meditation.
"Wait! Don't cultivate!"
Just then, a clear and crisp voice suddenly called out.