Jin Bao'er froze upon hearing this, then nodded and quickly flew upwards... but halfway up, she found she couldn't use any of her powers! A mysterious aura enveloped the entire summit, prohibiting anyone from using their spiritual energy!
Caught off guard by the sudden situation, Jin Bao'er decisively chose to climb with her bare hands. Although she didn't know what caused this, she had come too far to give up.
Time ticked by! A white fruit came into view, its translucent appearance resembling jelly, or perhaps milk candy. It was about the size of a baby's fist, exuding a faint spiritual energy, swaying gently in the breeze...
Following that, one, two, three... other Phoenix Fruits appeared, totaling about thirty or so.
This meant that a towering tree had taken nearly ten million years to grow just these thirty-odd fruits! It was evident how difficult its growth process was!
She didn't know how many Phoenix Fruits Jin Huang needed, so Jin Bao'er quickly plucked ten! She found a storage box in her space and packed them...
However, the next second, the entire world began to shake. The ice layer in the sky made cracking sounds, from faint to violent. The great tree started to wither, descending at an incredibly fast rate...
Everything happened very suddenly. Long Lixing directly pulled Jin Bao'er away as they dodged. Wisps of white smoke descended from the ice layer, freezing everything they touched!
"Go!"
The two quickly leaped downwards. Fortunately, the tree had many branches, and both of them were skilled climbers, allowing them to descend rapidly!
As they passed the cluster of phoenix eggs, Jin Bao'er remembered something and rushed towards them...
Upon noticing this, Long Lixing subconsciously frowned. Fortunately, the white smoke hadn't reached them yet. A few seconds later, seeing Jin Bao'er descending, he followed.
At the same time, they could now use their spiritual energy again. The two figures swiftly flew towards the cave entrance they had come from. Behind them... the white smoke spread faster, and within a minute, it had completely frozen the entire world...
Inside the cave, Long Lixing flew ahead rapidly, speaking without looking back, his thin lips pressed together, his aura icy cold! His tone was laced with sarcasm.
"I had no idea you'd become so kind!"
Hearing this, Jin Bao'er looked at his retreating back and was taken aback! Was he angry?
"Just a favor! Don't be angry..."
Besides, she felt that proud phoenixes shouldn't have met such an end! It was like her own experience... she had tried so hard, yet ended up so miserably! If it weren't for Long Lixing... the man who had saved her twice! She feared she would have been doomed long ago!
"Thank you!"
The Dragon, who had been seething with anger, suddenly heard this expression of gratitude. A flicker of surprise crossed his violet eyes. He turned to meet the girl's determined yet gentle gaze, and for some reason, the anger he had felt instantly vanished...
"Mmm..."
He, as noble as he was, only responded with this single word! His breathing was slightly disordered, and his ears began to turn red... Why was she suddenly so gentle? And... "Don't be angry"? Was she acting coy?
Never mind, it wasn't as if he had just casually saved a few dying phoenixes.
Jin Bao'er had no idea what he was thinking; she simply didn't want him to be angry...
Flying was much faster than walking. After about two hours, both of them simultaneously broke through the ice layer and quickly entered the lake!
At the same time, white smoke had permeated the entire cave, completely freezing the entire world... and then, it began to collapse!
Jin Bao'er braced herself with a defensive array, intending to accelerate forward, when her body was suddenly pushed by a force! She landed steadily!
Below her, it was the black dragon that Long Lixing had transformed into.
"You haven't fully recovered yet! Don't push yourself!"
A deep voice echoed in her mind. She paused for a moment, then decisively settled herself, enlarged the defensive array, and steadily protected them both...
Although the effect wasn't significant, it was better than nothing! The icy force brushed past them. The black dragon swiftly navigated through a deep, dark abyss, as terrifying as a leviathan of the deep sea. However, beneath its head, on its back, a faint light became the only color in the entire frigid world...
The journey back was clearly more arduous than the journey there. The black dragon's speed was high, but its stamina was waning. Tiny ice shards had already appeared on its body. While its dragon scales offered strong defense, they couldn't withstand the pervasive coldness.
Just then, the water flow began to churn violently. A massive vortex appeared before them, pulling them downwards with incredible speed. The black dragon, already struggling forward, was forced to slow down instantly...
"Hold on tight!"
The words had barely left his mouth when the black dragon forcefully swished its tail, shaking off the ice shards. Its dragon might erupted at this moment...
"Roar!!"
With a furious roar, the vortex was directly repelled, pushed backward. The water flow, uncontrollable, scattered outwards. Seizing this opportunity, the black dragon accelerated and sped away...
However, this power seemed to enrage the vortex. The moment the impact of the dragon's might subsided, the vortex enlarged and pursued the black dragon, as if intending to devour the creature that had provoked it!
The black dragon swam ahead, the vortex chased behind, neither stopping. Yet, a prolonged battle was clearly difficult to sustain. The black dragon began to tire, its speed gradually slowing down...
Jin Bao'er, noticing the slowing water flow immediately, knew what was happening! She placed her hands on the black dragon and mentally called out to Bao Bao...
The next second, spiritual energy like a gentle, warm drizzle entered the black dragon's body, restoring its lost spiritual energy and stamina! However, the recovery rate was very slow!
Seeing the vortex drawing nearer, she realized that if they were sucked in, they would truly be finished! She became anxious! Her brows furrowed, and she directly transferred her own power to the black dragon!
A massive white light flashed, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea. It was absorbed by the black dragon in an instant, yet seemed to have no effect! She was astonished! Just how strong was this thing?
However, the vortex behind them left her no time to ponder further. She could only desperately channel her power into the black dragon.
The next moment, the vortex charged towards the base of the dragon's tail, having already reached it! The rapidly spinning center of the vortex resembled a gaping maw, mockingly taunting them.
At this moment, Jin Bao'er's face turned ashen. Only one thought remained in her mind!
It's over! Her power was also about to run out. She would sink to the bottom of the lake with Long Lixing now!
Instantly, a pure green light shot out from her chest, illuminating the entire lakebed! The ceaseless source of life rapidly circulated, instantly replenishing the black dragon's depleted stamina, including Jin Bao'er's dried-up dantian!
Almost instantaneously, the black dragon, which had been on the verge of touching the vortex, shot forward like a rocket, now hundreds of meters away from the vortex in the blink of an eye...
The vortex was furious! It charged forward madly, but it could never catch up to the black dragon's speed...
Because of the pursuit and the sudden recovery of stamina in the later stage, Long Lixing's speed was very high. In no time, he saw the light above!
"Splash~"