It was getting late. A group of people pa.s.sed through the dense jungle and headed towards the cold lake deep in the West Mountains.The more they walked in, the heavier the fog.
"Zihou, aren"t you cold? Why do I feel so cold!" Qi Shaoyang rubbed his arms to keep warm, his voice trembling slightly.
Beside him, Zihou had a black outfit, which blended into the night and looked particularly thin in this weather. However, she looked rosy and seemed to feel nothing about the cold surrounding her.
Her att.i.tude made Qi Shaoyang wors.h.i.+p her at a higher level.
"It seems we are about to arrive at the lake." Chu Lingye looked afar and turned his head to Zihou.
They pa.s.sed a hill and were in a huge valley. The fog in the valley was misty, and the scenery was covered with a layer of a veil.
Going deep down the valley, turning at the foot of the mountain, a huge cold lake appeared in front of them.
The cold lake stretched endlessly like a piece of white jade, quiet and deep. In the last rays of the setting sun, the gleaming glow of its radiance was colorful and as gorgeous as a dream.
Around the cold lake, there were all kinds of ice-colored plants, wrapped in silver, s.h.i.+ning and glowing colorfully, just like in a dreamy fairytale world.
Such a scene amazed Zihou. Even though she had traveled all over the world in her previous life and had seen an abundance of sceneries, such a magnificent, ethereal, fairyland-like, spectacular, exquisite and mysterious fantasy world was unique and different!
"It"s getting late, why don"t we spend the night by the lake and go search for the Nine-Section Purple Bamboo tomorrow?" Chu Lingye stopped first, looked at Zihou, and asked for her opinion.
"I don"t mind." Zihou shrugged. In fact, if not considering Qi Shaoyang"s group, with her personality, she would be looking for the Nine-Section Purple Bamboo right now.
The sky was completely dark, and they were in the deeper part of the mountains. In the forest, the roars of various spirit beasts could be heard from time to time. On top of that, occasionally, some terrible aura could be felt…
The group of people found firewood and made a circle around the campfire. The bright flame dispersed the darkness, bringing light and warmth.
The guards of Chu Lingye and Qi Shaoyang caught some small animals, cleaned them out, and grilled them on the campfire.
Zihou searched around, and when she came back, she carried a bunch of unknown purple and brown plants.
"Apply the brown herb juice to the body to prevent insects, and apply some of the purple juice too. Throw the others into the bonfire to drive the beasts away." Zihou placed the herbs next to the bonfire and let them take what they needed.
Qi Shaoyang listened and did not hesitate to take some juice and rub it on his body. Others saw Qi Shaoyang doing this and followed suit.
"Wow! It really works!" Qi Shaoyang sighed in surprise.
There were a lot of bugs flying around him, biting him from time to time—he could not fight them. But after applying this juice, the mosquitoes hid from him and went far away, amazing him.
Not only that, not long after he threw the herbs into the bonfire, the spirit beasts around eagerly looking at them gradually disappeared.
In this way, it saved them a lot of trouble.
"Cousin, you know toxicology?" Chu Lingye smiled gracefully. Although it was a question, it came off as affirmation. From this herb that repelled insects and beasts, to the poisonous sap of the Piranha Flower, to the Nine-Section Purple Bamboo. If he did not believe it at first, he had to believe it now.
"A little." Zihou raised her eyebrows and answered ambiguously.
Chu Lingye"s eyes were quiet and still like the lake. He looked at the girl indifferently in front of him with ripples in his eyes, carefully sizing her up.
This girl was fascinating and as glorious as the moon. She was sometimes cold, sometimes dark, sometimes evil, and sometimes casual. She was like a cloud in the sky, always changing its att.i.tude.
Was this beautiful young girl really that useless cousin of his?
He felt like he was having a very vivid dream. It was hard to tell if this was fake or real.
His confused eyes stayed on Zihou. Zihou ignored it, turned around, and looked at the sparkling cold lake in front of her, hugging her knees.
Under the moonlight, the cold lake reflected the crescent moon, like a silver mirror. Everything around was shrouded in darkness and could not be seen clearly. But even so, Zihou had a hunch that the Nine-Section Purple Bamboo must be around here!
Suddenly, her eyes swept to the faint luminous body of the lake.
Silver flashed on this cold lake inconspicuously. Looking closely, she could see a circle of light yellow around the flash of silver.
Zihou"s face lit up and she suddenly got up. Intuition told her that this would be a good thing.
"Zihou, what happened?" Qi Shaoyang was surprised by Zihou"s sudden movement and asked in surprise.
"I found something good!" Zihou smiled mysteriously, without much explanation, and walked over towards it.
When she looked closer, the light yellow light became brighter and brighter, and it shone with the twinkling silver.
"Orchid night light, giving birth to a flower ice crystal. This is… Ice Crystal Orchard!" Zihou whispered, her eyes suddenly bright, knowing the origin of this mysterious thing.
This thing was rare, very rare, for a reason.
An Ice Crystal Orchard could produce muscle and hematopoiesis and treat very serious internal injuries. If a disfigured person got an Ice Crystal Orchard, they could be restored to their original appearance. Those with severe internal injuries could use one of the Ice Crystal Orchards to recover quickly!
Zihou was very happy. The Ice Crystal Orchard was a lifesaver! Was this an extra benefit of this trip to the mountains?
She bent down and wanted to pick up this extra harvest. However, before her hand touched the Ice Crystal Orchard, a tumbling sound from the cold lake in front of her caused her to stop in her position.
The calm silver mirror surface of the water shattered, and a huge black shadow burst out of the water.
Accompanied by loud noises, huge black shadows covered the sky and blocked the bright moon. Only the outlines could be seen, blurred by the halo of light.
The sudden changes made Zihou turn her face subconsciously. When she saw the black shadow on the water, her pupils shrank, and she was shocked.
The black shadow on the water stood against the moonlight. Its long and thin body looked like a giant dragon. The palm-sized scales glowed pale blue under the moonlight.
Above its body was a huge head, more powerful and domineering than a snake, but less distinguished and refined than a dragon. Its blue eyes were like lanterns, the light s.h.i.+ning and terrifying.
In addition, on the back of this giant creature, there was a pair of broad wings. When the wings moved, a hurricane and tsunami could be created!
The tremendous movements here naturally shocked everyone from a distance. Even if they were far away, the shock on their faces was the same as Zihou"s.
"G.o.d, it"s a… Jade… Jade Water Dragon!" An older guard could not help pointing at the behemoth, his expression distorted by shock.
That water dragon exuded a very strong black breath, obviously a peak Rank 5 Spirit Beast. A peak Rank 5 was equivalent to a black aura human cultivator and was only one step away from the legendary realm!
The Jade Water Dragon looked around, and after seeing Zihou, it opened its big mouth without hesitation and went to bite her.
Its speed was fast, just like light.
Its power was so great that it could destroy anything!