Li Guanqi set Pengluo down right beside Jiuxiao; with Jiuxiao looking after it, he felt a bit more at ease.
Jiuxiao was also heavily injured now, feeling somewhat downcast.
It always felt that, more often than not, it couldn't be of much help; even this recent bastard had physical strength rivaling its own.
As the two sank deeper, Meng Wanshu was surprised to catch glimpses of flickering spiritual light within the pitch-black depths of the lake.
In sheer astonishment, she turned to look at Li Guanqi, only to find that specks of spiritual light were seeping out from his body as well.
A hazy white mist enveloped Li Guanqi entirely.
And precisely because of Li Guanqi's presence, the surrounding lake water was pushed slightly away, the space around him rippling with an enigmatic aura.
Immediately after, Meng Wanshu saw all kinds of heaven-and-earth spirit herbs drifting all across the lakebed!
Li Guanqi reached out and drew two of the herbs into his hand, murmuring softly, "These two can help Pengluo and Jiuxiao heal their wounds."
At last, after descending to a certain depth, they finally spotted the flower shimmering with seven-colored radiance.
Resembling colored glass, the blossom radiated intense pulses of primal energy. Its glow flickered in and out, appearing somewhat ethereal.
Yet the instant Li Guanqi reached out and touched the Seven-Colored Glazed Flower with his fingertip, it ceased to be illusory, becoming utterly solid!!
Li Guanqi drew a jade knife and carefully approached the Seven-Colored Glazed Flower, holding his breath as he stared at it with immense excitement.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined finding the Seven-Colored Glazed Flower directly here—and a fully matured one at that.
Even Li Guanqi himself felt as though he truly possessed an extraordinary share of good fortune and great destiny.
The jade knife swept gently across the base of the Seven-Colored Glazed Flower. In a flash of light, Li Guanqi sealed it within an amethyst jade case.
Having finished all this, he finally let out a long breath of relief.
"Whew... finally!!"
Meng Wanshu asked with genuine curiosity, "Shouldn't the Seven-Colored Glazed Flower have been on the cliff face behind the waterfall?"
"Did you make it to the top?"
Recalling the climb, Li Guanqi immediately felt faint throbs of pain returning across his body.
Nodding, he replied softly, "I made it up, but there was nothing on that side of the waterfall. Nothing to be seen."
"Yet the moment I reached the summit, a ray of spiritual light suddenly rushed into my body. It wasn't until I fell into the lake that I finally understood."
"'Illusory Forest'... illusion... the true and the false..."
"So I deduced that all the spirit herb phantoms truly exist down at the bottom of the lake."
Looking around at the pitch-black lakebed, Meng Wanshu couldn't help but sigh in realization. "If not for the power you obtained by reaching the summit, I suppose we wouldn't have discovered anything even if we stood on the lakebed, right?"
"In the end, it really was a trial!"
Li Guanqi nodded. He did not dispute that.
If he hadn't reached the summit, he wouldn't have earned the recognition of that mysterious power.
Even if someone came to the lake bottom and unraveled the secret of reality and illusion being inverted, they still wouldn't be able to obtain any of the spirit herbs.
*Buzz—!*
Deep on the lake floor, the bedrock suddenly cracked and splintered inch by inch!!
A fiery-red formation platform merely twenty-some zhang across abruptly appeared before them.
Looking at the grooves on the formation platform, Li Guanqi instantly understood what was going on.
If someone passed the first trial, they could locate this formation platform to proceed to the next area.
However...
they would miss out on the reward for comprehending the waterfall—namely, all these heaven-and-earth spirit herbs around them.
Li Guanqi figured that since rewards were here for the taking, he might as well take them all!
With that in mind, Li Guanqi said softly, "Wanshu, wait for me a moment."
Having spoken, he turned around and began vigorously sweeping up the natural treasures, plundering nearly the entire area before speaking in contentment:
"All done, hehe."
The two took out their respective jade slips and slotted them into the platform.
*Buzz—!*
Both of their figures vanished from the spot in an instant.
Immediately after, Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu arrived in an enigmatic, vast space.
The road beneath their feet was a good ten zhang wide, stretching forward into the distance.
The sight that greeted their eyes left them thoroughly stunned, freezing them in place.
Ahead of the road lay a pitch-black abyss.
Yet above this abyss, crimson flames swirled like sunset clouds, casting the surrounding void in stark contrast against the blackness!
The surrounding temperature was extraordinarily high, no different from hovering directly above molten lava.
The heat baked and warped space itself. Meng Wanshu could not help but frown, gritting her teeth as she silently followed behind Li Guanqi.
Noticing her distress, Li Guanqi couldn't help but say, "Wanshu, how about you wait for me here?"
Meng Wanshu gritted her teeth and said softly, "It's fine. If it really gets unbearable, I'll head back."
Hearing her say this, Li Guanqi could hardly insist further.
Pausing briefly, he reached out and took Meng Wanshu's hand, leading her toward the edge of the abyss.
After walking for a while, the two arrived at the abyss's edge.
Li Guanqi looked down and finally saw what lay within the abyss.
Several phantom qilin, each over two hundred zhang long, bore a fiery-red stone pillar a full hundred zhang tall as they drifted through the void.
Li Guanqi scrutinized them closely: there were six qilin in total, with the bottom two being the most massive.
The moment Jiuxiao sensed the aura here, it jolted awake, coiling on Li Guanqi's shoulder as its dragon eyes flickered with vigilance.
Li Guanqi observed them for a moment; the power and aura of these qilin phantoms felt remarkably real.
Yet they were spiritual phantoms after all, though their power cores still remained intact.
A weakened Pengluo sprawled atop Jiuxiao's head, its eyes glistening as it stared at the stone pillar below.
At last, fixing its gaze upon a glowing orb of spiritual light atop the pillar, it murmured softly, "Qiyin!"
Li Guanqi furrowed his brows. "Qiyin? What's that?"
Even Jiuxiao was curious about what the thing was, smacking its lips as though craving a treat.
Pengluo knitted its brow and searched its memories for a while before saying softly, "Back when I was in the Immortal Realm, I heard that the qilin clan possesses rather unique abilities."
"The qilin clan is divided by spiritual affinities."
"And qiyin is formed from the soul essence of a qilin after its death, possessing all manner of miraculous powers."
"Master's soul flaw can be completely mended using qiyin. What's more..."
"Hehe, when that happens, Master's sea of consciousness will surely reach a flawless state, and your soul power will become even stronger."
After saying that, Pengluo seemed exhausted, its eyelids drooping heavily.
Li Guanqi simply stuffed all the spirit herbs he had collected earlier into its arms, smiling softly. "Thanks for your hard work."
Pengluo's eyes lit up. Clasping the spirit herbs tightly with both hands, it opened its mouth, hesitated, and then picked out several of the most precious stalks to shove into Jiuxiao's mouth.
Li Guanqi took a deep breath, looked down into the abyss, and turned to Meng Wanshu, saying softly, "I'll go down and take a look."
Meng Wanshu nodded, saying with a solemn look, "Be careful."
Li Guanqi smiled. Lightning flashed beneath his feet, and his figure shot forward, arriving above the abyss in an instant!!
*Roar—!*
Chapter 974