Chapter 83: The Supreme Treasure of the Icy Pool

After advancing two levels in succession, the six dantian within Feng Ke’er’s body had nearly doubled in size. Notably, the blue dantian, which had previously been the same size as the other four colored dantian, now stood out, almost matching the second largest red dantian. At the same time, the five-colored ring encircling the dantian was now tinged with more red and blue than the other hues.

As Feng Ke’er soaked in her bath, she pondered: could it be that the five colored dantian represented the five elements—metal, wood, water, earth, and fire? The red symbolizing fire, the blue water. An imbalance of the five elements was a grave taboo in cultivation. For now, she felt nothing amiss—likely because the large white dantian kept everything in check, and neither the fire nor water elements in her body had grown dominant enough to disrupt the balance.

Moreover, the recent increase in water element had clearly suppressed the fire within. She felt noticeably calmer, more composed. Did this mean that in the future, when battling monsters, she should pay attention to the attributes of the beasts? Ha! Would she have to draw her sword and ask before a fight, “Hey there, brother, what’s your element?” How utterly absurd! Shaking her head, Feng Ke’er swam toward the gray stone beneath the waterfall. This used to be the domain of the Golden Coin Carp. For days, she had only observed it from afar, cowed by the carp’s might. Now that the carp had been eradicated by the five-colored light released during her breakthrough, she could finally examine the area up close.

She wasn’t the only one with this idea; the blackfish in the pool had gathered as well. Curiously, the five-colored light, so destructive to demon beasts, seemed instead to be a blessing to ordinary creatures like the blackfish and the surrounding flora. Bathed in its glow, they not only remained unharmed but seemed invigorated, as if they had been nourished. The blackfish suddenly grew larger, and the trees around the pool flourished with new vitality.

Long oppressed by the double tyranny of the Green-Haired Turtle and the Golden Coin Carp, the blackfish were finally liberated, swimming joyfully throughout the pool. The crystal-like protrusions beneath the gray rock gleamed invitingly in the dim light, captivating the blackfish. Several large ones carefully brushed against the glittering nodules.

Past experience warned Feng Ke’er not to carelessly touch strange things, but since the blackfish seemed eager to play guinea pig, she observed their reactions closely. To her surprise, changes did occur. At first, the blackfish’s color deepened to an oily, lustrous black, as if the nodules were made of grease rather than stone. Then, astonishingly, the fish began to grow, visibly increasing in size. From their mouths sprouted two sharp, long fangs, transforming their once docile appearance into something fierce and menacing.

After more than an hour, with two-thirds of her bath complete, Feng Ke’er distinctly sensed spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from the mutated blackfish. Incredible! Just by rubbing against the protrusions, the blackfish had evolved into demon beasts!

What a wondrous thing!

No longer content to simply brush against the nodules, the mutated fish began to bite at them with their new fangs. The protrusions were tough, and each bite yielded only a few grains of powder, but for these newly advanced blackfish, it was enough. Sated, they swam leisurely around the pool, as if digesting a hearty meal, while a new batch of fish took their place beneath the gray rock. Thus, more and more blackfish underwent transformation.

There must have been tens of thousands of blackfish in the pool. If they all advanced into demon beasts… Feng Ke’er shuddered. This would become a den of monsters!

She could not bear to let these creatures grow unchecked right beside her resting place. Since moving here, she had spent nearly every day scheming to rid herself of the Green-Haired Turtle and the Golden Coin Carp. After much hardship, she had finally succeeded, only to discover the blackfish now advancing by accident. She was not the type to build a stage for others' benefit—she could not stand the idea of these creatures thriving under her nose, forcing her to defer to them every time she wanted to bathe in the cold pool—especially now that she was growing quite fond of her baths: not only did they make her skin even smoother, but she had grown accustomed to the water’s temperature. Aside from the initial chill, she actually enjoyed the experience.

No, she would not allow it!

With this thought, Feng Ke’er’s heart sank. She immediately released the spiritual pressure of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. The mutated blackfish, newly advanced, could not withstand it and darted down to the bottom of the pool, not daring to show themselves. The ordinary blackfish, yet to mutate, fared even worse—many flipped belly-up and lost consciousness, indistinguishable from dead fish.

Ignoring them, Feng Ke’er floated directly beneath the gray rock for a closer look. It turned out the gray stone was not truly stone, but more like a massive fossilized remnant of some ancient beast. Though its original form was unrecognizable, Feng Ke’er was certain it must have been part of a high-level divine beast. The small protrusions beneath the rock were the result of its condensed spiritual energy, which over the ages had crystallized into pure water-element spiritual energy—supremely cold and yin.

No wonder the Green-Haired Turtle used to risk its life every day to soak here for three hours. It had all been for this spiritual energy. Thus, the cold pool was not naturally formed, but owed its existence to this relic.

What a treasure!

Gazing at the icy, bone-chilling gray rock with starry eyes, Feng Ke’er thought: unclaimed things belong to those destined for them. She circled the stone, estimating its size and shape. It was an irregular, elongated cuboid—over twenty meters long, five meters wide, and three meters high, weighing at least several dozen tons.

For ordinary people, this would be an unwieldy object, but Feng Ke’er barely gave it a second thought. With a storage pouch, she could easily take it all. But was it poisonous? Did it emit radiation, or was it carcinogenic? In this era, there was no institution she could consult.

After some hesitation, Feng Ke’er decided to cut the gray stone into five pieces and store them in her pouch. Once Feng Jiu emerged from seclusion, she would take out the smallest piece to consult him. After all, he had spent over a hundred thousand years on it and had seen much—perhaps he would recognize it. She deliberately cut it into five pieces because it was clearly beneficial for demon beasts' advancement, and she suspected that Feng Jiu, being a divine beast himself, would shamelessly claim it all if given the chance. By dividing it, if he tried to pocket any, he would only get a small corner.

Hmph, why should that dead bird get all the benefits?

With a thought, Feng Ke’er drew her Qingping Sword from her waist and cried, “Pumpkin Slash!”

With a soft thud, the gray stone was sliced as easily as tofu. It was not nearly as hard as she’d expected. Inspecting the cross-section, she found a dark-red, round mass at its core, even harder than the gray surface.

What could this be—perhaps fossilized marrow? Intrigued, Feng Ke’er swiftly cut the stone into five uneven pieces with three more strokes of her sword. After a moment’s thought, she split the smallest piece in two. She would consult the meat bird with just that tiny piece. That way, even if he tried to embezzle it, it would only be a small corner—an acceptable loss.

By the time she finished, three hours had passed. Feng Ke’er left the cold pool, flew to the top of the waterfall, and built a fire on the shore to roast some giant fire ant meat. Bathing consumed not only spiritual energy but also quite a bit of physical strength, so she needed to restore herself before returning to her new cave for rest. But tonight would likely be another sleepless night. She could read two new pages of Pangu’s cultivation diary—the last time, she’d seen that the great god Pangu had fallen in love with the Lotus Maiden.

Hadn’t she already seen that when the Chaos Green Lotus bloomed, it produced a beautiful girl? Unfortunately, when she was still a bud, a petal had been bitten off, leaving her innately deficient and lame. Because of this, the Lotus Maiden hated all primordial energies, and the not-yet-divine Pangu grew irritated with such idle, mischievous things that occasionally tripped him up. Their shared dislike brought them together as close friends, but Feng Ke’er sensed the flavor of secret longing in Pangu’s diary.

How intriguing!

Thinking of reading two pages tonight made her excited. She quickly ate her fill, then dove into her new cave, impatiently covering her Feng Jade Tablet with her divine sense to begin reading the Heavenly Tome.

As expected, two more pages had appeared. That day, Lotus told Pangu that her mother, the Chaos Green Lotus, was actually an immortal envoy sent from the upper realm to oversee the chaotic world. With her birth, Green Lotus had a successor and returned to the upper realm. Lotus longed to be a worthy successor, but her innate deficiency left her lame.

She was vague about the reason, and Pangu never knew it was because she lacked a petal, so he did not offer it back, but only tried to comfort her. With a sigh, Lotus shared that her mother had sent word: to heal her legs, she would need to refine nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine strands of primordial energy.

But, being lame and shunned by all primordial energies, she could not find any, making the task nearly impossible.

Pangu, of course, took it upon himself—he would journey far to collect the required energy for his beloved. Lotus smiled and promised to wait for him.

After bidding farewell, Pangu set off with his axe.

Having read through the second page, Feng Ke’er reluctantly closed the diary and began to see what new skills she’d acquired.

What a surprise! This time, the tome bestowed her with two fire spells—Meteor Shower and Wall of Flame. The former was an area-of-effect spell, akin to the myriad ice spike technique, but fired hundreds of fire arrows instead, raining down on enemies. The latter was a defensive skill; with her current spiritual strength, she could summon a wall of fire over twenty zhang high, blocking any magical attack for a quarter of an hour.

(End of chapter)