Jade Pool Immortal Water

Feng Yao and Qingluan looked at Xu Fu, then back at Xu Ying, both showing surprised expressions. "The mannerisms of these two are quite similar." Feng Yao and Qingluan exchanged a glance. Whether by nature or because one imitated the other, Xu Fu and Xu Ying seemed almost like a pair of brothers. Except that Xu Fu had scars on his face, and his skin was fairer than Xu Ying's. Both of them possessed a peculiar temperament, yet differences remained. Xu Ying was like an overgrown boy, filled with curiosity about everything—including women. Indeed, the two women had caught Xu Ying frequently sneaking glances at their shapely curves. Xu Fu, on the other hand, was composed, giving the impression that he grasped everything and saw through all things. His curiosity about worldly things seemed feigned; he rarely harbored desires. When he looked at Feng Yao and Qingluan, it was like looking at two stones, without the slightest hint of interest. Xu Ying chuckled and said, "Xu Fu, you've walked right into a trap. With two great experts at my side, you will undoubtedly die here today, and that immortal mountain of yours will stay behind as well!" His eyes gleamed. Jin Buyi happened to lack an immortal mountain. If that old bird carried Mount Fangzhang on its back or perched on it with a single claw while soaring through the sky, wouldn't that be a magnificent sight! Xu Fu smiled faintly, brought out a golden book, and said leisurely, "I will trade a single character from this golden book in exchange for a ladle of Jade Pool immortal water." Xu Ying signaled the two women and shook his head. "From the golden book, the eight characters—tu, lun, qiu, kun, feng, jin, yu, yu—I've already obtained them." Behind him, the twenty-four Bright Moon Mountains and Rivers Beads rose into the air, intending to lay down a Heavenly Dao domain. Seeing this, Qingluan's heart skipped a beat. "He really is one of the Heavenly Dao Crowd!" Feng Yao shook her head inwardly. *Qingluan really hits the wrong chord sometimes.* Noticing Qingluan's reaction, Xu Fu chuckled. "Now it's two against two. I may still stand a fighting chance." Feng Yao and Xu Ying both glared at the girl at the same time. Realizing her blunder, Qingluan immediately wheeled on Xu Fu and snapped, "We'll deal with you first before dealing with the Heavenly Dao Crowd!" Xu Fu laughed. "Lord Xu, I'm not speaking of the sixteen characters in the golden book, but the method to decipher one of them. I offer this in exchange for a ladle of Jade Pool immortal water." Xu Ying stopped driving the twenty-four Bright Moon Mountains and Rivers Beads. His gaze fell upon the golden book in Xu Fu's hands, and he said coldly, "I gave you that golden book." Xu Fu kept his smile. "And the method to decipher it is something I deduced." Xu Ying pondered for a moment, then laughed heartily. "Fine. If I collect any Jade Pool immortal water, I'll spare you a ladle. But I want to know what it's used for." Xu Fu replied, "I need the Jade Pool immortal water to repair my fatal injury, cleanse my physical body of impurities, and elevate it to the level of an immortal body." Xu Ying gave a slight nod. "It's a deal." Xu Fu said, "It's a deal." Xu Ying turned around and walked toward the center of the vast expanse of divine power together with Feng Yao and Qingluan. Here, divine sense and divine power were in utter turmoil, and the tempest raged violently. Just moments ago, even the anglers who had come to fetch water had been forced to retreat. Yet strangely enough, the swirling wind, fire, and thunder seemed sentient, actively parting around them. As Xu Ying, Feng Yao, and Qingluan advanced, they encountered no danger whatsoever. Xu Ying mused: Xu Fu sought the water of the Jade Pool to repair the fatal wound on his forehead and purge his body of impurities. Then what was Dongyue's purpose in asking for a ladle of Jade Pool immortal water? What injury did he need to heal? Was Dongyue a human or a god? If he was a god, would the Jade Pool immortal water even be of use to him? If he was a human, how had he managed to survive for so long? Feng Yao caught up with him and inquired, "Who is that Xu Fu? Why does he want the Jade Pool immortal water?" Suppressing his other thoughts, Xu Ying recounted his past with Xu Fu, explaining: "During the era of Emperor Zulong, there was a period when part of my seals unraveled, awakening some of my memories. Together with him, I led three thousand virgin boys and girls out to sea to search for immortal mountains for Emperor Zulong. Back then, he looked upon me as a celestial being." He composed himself and continued, "Back then, I did not cultivate Nuo methods, relying solely on the means of a Qi Refiner. That made him believe I was omnipotent, which sparked his obsessive devotion to Qi Refinement. He considers Nuo methods and Nuo arts to be heterodox, bent with extreme obstinacy on restoring the orthodoxy of Qi Refinement." Xu Ying said earnestly, "I feel that Nuo methods aren't wrong, nor is Qi Refinement wrong. Why not embrace both? Yet he is obsessed with maintaining the purity of Qi Refinement, believing that practicing Nuo methods is a betrayal of Qi Refinement—and that even I am a traitor. He wants to force me to see the error of my ways and walk the same path as him." Feng Yao was baffled, thinking, *What kind of feeling is that?* Qingluan came to her side and whispered, "Milady, is Uncle Ying one of the Heavenly Dao Crowd or not?" Feng Yao had no choice but to explain, "He is one of the Undying People who has learned the methods of the Heavenly Dao Crowd." They arrived at the heart of the riotous divine power. Here, the divine power and divine sense of the Queen Mother of the West had fallen completely into chaos and turmoil. Wind and fire raged together, thunder wove into a dense mesh, terrifically perilous. Walking through such a treacherous place set Xu Ying's and Feng Yao's hearts pounding. If they had to rely solely on their own strength to resist the Queen Mother of the West's uncontrolled divine power and divine sense, they would surely have been overwhelmed like those anglers—crushed by her divine power, their consciousness disrupted by her erratic thoughts, plunged into dire straits! They came before a colossal gateway. The gateway had collapsed, and the imposing lintel plaque above it was broken into several segments. Blood flowed upon the plaque, radiating immortal light. Under the churning of divine power and divine sense, the blood shifted through endless transformations, seemingly locked in battle against an invisible enemy. Between the offense and defense, many wondrous techniques could be discerned. Xu Ying planned to pause and study it, but the immortal's blood was wiped away by the Queen Mother of the West's divine power, vanishing into nothingness. Moving forward, they saw massive huabiao pillars standing erect between heaven and earth amid the chaotic tempest. Cables hung from them, suspending corpses. The corpses spun and howled around the huabiao pillars, their limbs flailing as if dancing in midair. Those were immortal corpses, hung there by who knew whom. The dance of the immortal corpses corresponded to peculiar Dao methods. Every gesture and footstep of those corpses matched an immortal formation. The numerous huabiao pillars linked together into a massive sealing formation. Even with the Queen Mother of the West's divine power and divine sense here, Feng Yao and Qingluan still felt wave upon wave of oppressive pressure. Clearly, even after tens of thousands of years, this immortal seal remained overwhelmingly formidable. Feng Yao looked up and said, "A huabiao is actually a simplification of the sacred tree. Ancient peoples revered sacred trees, using them to record the seasons and agricultural cycles, using the Golden Crow to symbolize the sun and the Toad to symbolize the moon. But whoever laid this seal used huabiao pillars as sacred trees and the corpses of fallen immortals in place of the sun and moon. This must be an immortal formation designed to seal the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth." She pondered ways to break it, but the pressure of the immortal formation here was too great, making it difficult for her to concentrate. Qingluan also felt restless and irritated. Her cultivation was being suppressed and constantly lowered, and mobilizing her yuan qi grew increasingly difficult. Suddenly, she noticed that Xu Ying seemed completely unaffected. Puzzled, she asked, "Uncle Ying, how come you aren't being suppressed?" Xu Ying pondered and guessed, "Perhaps it's because the seals on me are far stronger than the seal here." They continued forward. Feng Yao and Qingluan had to support each other to walk beneath these bizarre immortal formations. Fortunately, the formations were primarily meant to suppress the Queen Mother of the West's divine sense and divine power, rather than focusing on them; otherwise, both women might have been reduced to mortals. As for Xu Ying, he acted as if nothing were amiss, feeling no pressure at all. Feng Yao and Qingluan were astonished. Qingluan said with effort, "It seems Uncle Ying isn't just older than us—he must have some other origin." Straining with all her might against the pressure of the immortal formation, Feng Yao said softly, "If his seals were ever undone, what would he become?" They finally walked out of that immortal formation. Directly ahead, they saw immortal swords suspended in midair with their points facing downward. Those swords were arrayed across the sky, and behind their hilts lay another space-time—vast and lofty, with skies clear and transparent. It was unmistakably the Immortal Realm! These immortal swords hung suspended between the immortal and mortal worlds, drawing on the power of the Immortal Realm. From time to time, sword lights would shoot downward into the center of the chaotic ocean of divine power, seemingly aimed at whittling away the Queen Mother of the West's consciousness. This was not a sealing formation. Seeing this, Xu Ying did not dare act rashly. He hurriedly raised the twenty-four Bright Moon Mountains and Rivers Beads, prepared at any moment to summon them to block the sword qi. Fortunately, these immortal swords were aimed at the Queen Mother of the West, not at them. "The Jade Pool is just ahead!" Qingluan's voice rang out. Xu Ying looked ahead. In the middle of the vast ocean of divine power, jade stairs hung high above the nine heavens, floating step by step in empty air. High above, a gigantic cave-heaven was shattered, one end thrust into the Immortal Realm and the other connected to the mortal realm below. The entrance of the cave-heaven faced directly toward a jade pool. There, floating palaces lay shattered into pieces, drifting serenely amidst the multi-layered light reflected from the broken cave-heaven. That was also where the Queen Mother of the West's divine power and divine sense churned most violently. Sword qi constantly flew from the sky, plunging into the heart of the storm. From the center of the storm came roars like dragons and tigers, though whether it was the sound of wind or something else remained unclear. Xu Ying, Feng Yao, and Qingluan climbed up along the jade staircase, sword lights repeatedly skimming past over their heads. After an unknown time, they finally reached the edge of the broken Jade Pool. Rippling like fish scales, a small amount of Jade Pool immortal water remained at the bottom of this sky jade pool. Xu Ying saw numerous skeletons along the way, all having died on the path. Seeing this, Feng Yao and Qingluan felt a chill in their hearts. These skeletons had all been slain by sword light. Clearly, the immortal sword formation targeted not only the Queen Mother of the West's divine sense and divine power, but also anyone who trespassed to steal the Jade Pool immortal water! Xu Ying tilted his head to look up. A colossal cave-heaven hung in the sky like a deep well, with one end in the mortal world and the other in the Immortal Realm. The entrance of the cave-heaven had been shattered into fragments. By the faint glow of the shards, one could vaguely see that the Immortal Realm end was blocked by a stone stele, likely placed there to prevent this cave-heaven from siphoning the Immortal Realm's spiritual energy. Suddenly, Qingluan shook her sleeve, and dozens of phoenix feathers flew out toward the Jade Pool. A sword light dropped, cleanly severing dozens of feathers without a sound. Qingluan hesitated, then said to Feng Yao, "I have plenty of feathers and I'm fast. I'll go fetch the water, using my feathers to draw the swords' lights. I'll definitely make it to the Jade Pool. Once I roll into the Jade Pool, my feathers will be soaked with water. Then you can drag my corpse back, pluck out the feathers, and wring them out. That should get us some Jade Pool immortal water." Feng Yao was shocked. "How could you do that?!" Qingluan insisted on going. Just then, Xu Ying suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, "Queen Mother of the West!" Beneath their feet, the divine mountain shook violently. Divine power boomed and divine sense surged, transforming into a terrifying chaos hovering over the Jade Pool. Without another word, Xu Ying bolted toward the Jade Pool. The immortal swords in the sky seemed enraged; sword lights plunged like falling meteors, only to strike into that terrifying chaos of divine power and divine sense, blocked by the Queen Mother of the West's divine power and divine sense! Seeing this, Qingluan and Feng Yao rushed toward the Jade Pool as well. But as soon as they moved, sword lights plummeted from the sky, slashing down toward them! The Queen Mother of the West's divine power and divine sense did not block these sword lights! Relying on her speed, Qingluan grabbed Feng Yao and immediately retreated, dodging the sword light, filled with shock and doubt. Meanwhile, Xu Ying sprinted into the Jade Pool like the wind. Without hesitation, he channeled his magic power, sweeping up the Jade Pool water and sending it into his Realm of Xiyi. Suddenly, a beam of sword light pierced through the layers of obstruction and slashed toward his neck with a hiss. Xu Ying turned and bolted, sprinting upward as fast as he could. But in the next moment, one of his thighs landed on the jade steps, severed by the immortal sword's brilliance. Across the jade staircase of the Jade Pool, Xu Ying's corpses lay strewn everywhere in disarray—some severed at the waist, some with pierced skulls, some with more than half their heads sheared off, others missing limbs, having met every manner of death! Xu Ying dashed forward with all his might, dying countless times along the way, until he finally reached the edge of the Jade Pool and collapsed with a thud. Seeing this, Feng Yao and Qingluan hurriedly lifted him up to head back down. A sword light struck. Qingluan felt a sword strike her arm, and looking back, she saw both her legs had been left behind by the edge of the Jade Pool. Alarmed, she hurriedly mobilized her Mud Pill vitality to regenerate two new legs.