Chapter 41

The moment he entered the bloody vortex, Lin Yibai felt his whole body being grabbed by an irresistible force, and then he was thrown into a violent torrent.

The surrounding light and shadows twisted and stretched wildly, as if time and space were collapsing completely. Her body was torn apart by the force, and her internal organs seemed to be shifting. However, at this moment, a dark golden light emanated from her dantian, protecting her body like a rock, preventing her from being shattered in the violent tearing.

The long and violent journey seemed to have no end. She fell rapidly in the endless scarlet passage. The feeling of weightlessness gripped her tightly, depriving her of all direction and support.

I don’t know how long it took.

It seemed like several hours, or perhaps just a moment. Just as she was about to lose herself in this strange, blood-red void, the thick red light before her eyes suddenly receded like a tide.

“Plop!”

There was a dull falling sound and something suddenly exploded.

Ice-cold liquid instantly rushed in from all directions, completely engulfing her. Then, the biting cold was like thousands of fine needles, piercing through her wet clothes, piercing into her flesh, and invading her bone marrow.

She shuddered with excitement, her instinct for survival instantly overpowering the biting cold and the dizziness from the previous journey. She paddled with her nearly frozen arms, pushing aside the leaden water, her legs pushing downwards, struggling to resist the deadly drag of her soaked robe.

“Crash—”

There was a splash of water, and Lin Yibai suddenly poked his head out from the inky black water.

The cold air instantly stung her mouth and nose, causing her to cough violently and uncontrollably: "Cough, cough, cough..."

Lake water slid down her messy hair in a messy mess, flowing across her pale cheeks and trembling eyelashes. She gasped for breath, each breath bringing out a puff of cold white mist, and her chest ached from lack of oxygen and cold.

She subconsciously raised her hand and used her still trembling fingers to wipe away the cold water droplets that blurred her eyes. Her vision struggled to focus in the hazy mist.

However, the moment she saw the surrounding scene clearly, her breath suddenly choked, and even her cough froze in her throat——

What appeared before her was a huge underground cave.

The cave ceiling and rock walls were covered in a dense, fluorescent blue moss, resembling countless shattered stars. Against the backdrop of the cold mist, the cave was shimmering in a hazy haze. Tiny plankton drifted slowly within the beams of light, gleaming with silvery brilliance. Occasionally, a few streaks of fluorescence landed on the water, creating tiny specks of light.

Strange vegetation grows in the cracks of the rock walls. The leaves are translucent glass-colored, the edges curled like petals, and glowing vines are wrapped around the roots. The air is filled with the fragrance of moist grass and a faint scent of lake water.

She stared blankly at the unexpected beauty before her, her mind momentarily in a trance: Is this the true secret realm of Yunshan? Why, so different from the austere ancient battlefield described in the original novel, is it so... magnificent?

However, this brief peace did not last for a moment—

There was a strange stirring underwater without any warning!

Lin Yibai's heart suddenly became alarmed. She touched her waist with her right hand, and a stream of water-blue light appeared in her hand, as if she had scooped up a handful of cold moonlight - it was the "Shu Yue" soft sword that she had obtained from the treasure house of the old demon Teng Yan.

Since acquiring the sword, she had only used it a few times as a toy during her free time back home, never using it in actual combat. Fortunately, she was used to carrying her storage pouch with her, so now, facing the unknown crisis, she wasn't left unarmed.

She immediately held her breath and lowered her head to stare at the water.

The waters were bottomless, and as far as the eye could see, it was a thick, indissoluble mass of ink, making it impossible to see anything. She could only prick up her ears, mobilizing all her senses to catch the strange noises approaching from underwater.

A cold sense of threat came along with the water.

——Something is approaching her quickly!

Sure enough, after just two or three breaths, the originally calm lake surface in the distance suddenly exploded with large ripples!

A blurry and swift black shadow broke through the undercurrent underwater, and the waves it stirred up spread straight towards her with obvious malice.

"What the—"

Before she could finish her low cry, she heard a loud "splash" of water breaking!

A strange fish half a man's length suddenly jumped out of the water!

Its entire body was covered in thick, dark blue scales, the edges of which gleamed with a cold metallic gleam and were studded with barbs. Its enormous mouth, gaping at her furiously, was densely packed with jagged, sharp fangs. Its large, bulging eyes glowed with a mindless, bloodthirsty red. Carrying the uniquely muddy stench of the deep pool, it lunged straight at her, biting her!

Lin Yibai's hair stood on end. In this crisis, her body reacted faster than her mind! She suddenly dipped her toes underwater, and using the slight reaction force, she twisted her waist and leaped back like a frightened bird, narrowly avoiding the bloody mouth that could crush metal and stone.

But before she could steady herself and catch her breath, the strange fish saw that its attack had missed, and slammed its huge tail on the water!

"Bang!"

A water curtain rose up, and then several cold water arrows mixed with sharp ice chips shot towards her like strong bows and crossbows!

Lin Yibai gritted her teeth at the sight, rapidly searching her mind for a response, but ultimately, she could only come up with the most basic blocking techniques from her sect's techniques. She then urged the spiritual energy in her palms to flow towards the sword, and the Shuyue Sword instantly glowed with a hazy, yet clear, aquamarine light. Then, with a flick of her wrist, she hurriedly swung the sword to block the attack.

A pale blue arc of light like a crescent moon cut through the air, followed by a series of dense and crisp sounds like rain hitting banana leaves. The attacks were all shattered by the sword light and turned into ice powder that fell into the water.

Although she successfully blocked it, she felt a tingling sensation in her right wrist that was holding the sword - the demon fish's seemingly random attack actually contained considerable power!

What frightened her even more was that after activating it, she discovered that the spiritual energy surging within her body was several times more powerful than before she passed out! The overpowering spiritual energy rushed wildly through her limbs and bones, like a child wielding a giant hammer, completely uncontrollable!

"Damn it!" Lin Yibai gritted his teeth, and taking advantage of the brief gap when the strange fish was gathering strength to pounce again, he jumped out of the water, then lightly tapped his toes, and his body floated to the side and back like catkins in the wind.

At the same time, his wrist turned deftly, and the soft sword seemed to be given life, drawing an extremely tricky and sharp arc, piercing the relatively soft belly of the strange fish!

However, the sword's thrust was three times faster than expected, and correspondingly, its precision and control were three times weaker. The tip of the sword barely grazed the hard scales, making a teeth-grinding "sizzling" sound and leaving only a faint white scratch.

The strange fish felt pain and let out a sharp and piercing scream, then suddenly changed direction. Its huge tail covered with hideous bone spurs swept towards Lin Yibai's waist with a tremendous force!

A strong wind blew in her face, and she hurriedly raised her sword to block it.

"clang!"

An unimaginable force suddenly came from the sword! Her knuckles instantly cracked, blood oozing out, her entire arm felt a sharp pain and numbness, and the Shuyue Sword almost slipped out of her hand!

She was like being hit by a huge rock, flying backwards uncontrollably and hitting the rock wall behind her heavily!

"Puff--" The violent impact of her back against the hard rock made her eyes go black, her chest felt a dull pain, her throat felt sweet, and she coughed out a mouthful of blood uncontrollably.

However, the moment her back hit the rock wall—

Deep in the Dantian, a burning pain that was far more intense and strange than the trauma on the surface of the body suddenly erupted!

It felt like a dormant volcano suddenly erupting, or like a piece of translucent glass shattering inside her body... Then, a strange energy as vast as the sea and extremely pure suddenly and without any warning burst out from the deepest part of her dantian, rushing and spreading rapidly along her meridians like a flood bursting through a dam!

Wherever it passed, the originally relatively narrow and slender meridians were forcibly widened by this powerful yet gentle force, and tearing pain and reborn numbness intertwined and spread. Even the gaps between bones seemed to be penetrated and tempered by this force, emitting a subtle buzzing sound.

A warm jade-colored halo quietly emanated from her body.

The intense pain caused her body to spasm and curl up, but in this extreme agony, she inexplicably felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction and relaxation, as if... some kind of innate restraint was gradually being broken!

She had no idea why, but she could clearly feel that this sudden burst of power was transforming and strengthening her body in the most domineering and magical way!

“Buzz buzz buzz—”

Her meridians vibrated violently, emitting sounds of both overwhelming and joyful excitement. Then, the invisible bottleneck that had been holding her back at the early stages of the Golden Core stage shattered like thin ice in the sun under the violent onslaught of this overwhelming spiritual energy!

An aura several times stronger than before, like a sleeping beast awakening, suddenly burst out from her body, causing ripples in the surrounding calm lake water!

"Late Jindan stage?!"

Feeling the powerful spiritual energy suddenly surge within his body, almost overflowing, Lin Yibai was both surprised and delighted, almost unable to believe his own perception - at this critical moment of life and death, her cultivation had actually broken through like this?!

In the distance, the strange fish seemed to sense the sudden change in the dangerous aura emanating from its prey. Driven by its instinctive nature, the overwhelming sense of danger only aroused its ferocity. It roared even more violently, its scales bristling as it lunged towards her once again with even greater ferocity!

However, this time, although there was still fear in Lin Yibai's eyes, he was no longer panicked.

The breakthrough in realm not only brought a surge in spiritual power, but also an all-round improvement in perception. At this moment, she could clearly judge that the demonic power fluctuations of the ferocious demon fish in front of her were only equivalent to those of an early Jindan cultivator.

——Even though her swordsmanship is unfamiliar and her skills are poor, the huge gap between her cultivation levels is enough to create a crushing momentum!

With this thought, she took a deep breath, suppressing the spiritual energy still surging within her, and concentrating her mind to control it. The Shuyue Sword hummed in her hand, creating a smooth, flowing sword flower. Fueled by the surging spiritual energy, the aqua-blue blade shone with a dazzling brilliance!

This time, instead of retreating, she took the initiative to rush towards the strange fish!

At the moment when she was about to be swallowed by the bloody mouth, her body suddenly lowered, and she slid away along the small piece of water surface like a ghost. The Shuyue Sword in her hand, which was bursting with a blazing white light, slashed along the white mark left before with incredible precision!

“Tear—!”

A teeth-grinding tearing sound echoed. The powerful spiritual energy imbued by the sword blade easily shattered the tough armored defenses. A massive wound, deep enough to see the bone, instantly appeared on the fish's belly. Scalding blood gushed out like a fountain, instantly dyeing the surrounding lake a blinding crimson.

The fish's massive body froze violently in mid-air for a moment, then let out a deafening roar filled with pain and madness! It began to twist wildly and erratically, its massive tail slapping the water, stirring up chaotic waves several meters high. With a raging, dying rage, it attempted a final impact with its barbed body, but the severe wound to its abdomen prevented it from striking Lin Yibai. It ultimately slammed back into the water with a resounding, dull thud.

How could Lin Yibai miss this golden opportunity? She placed her toes precisely on its dorsal fin, which had become stiff with pain. Using the momentum, she leaped lightly into the air. With a sudden twist of her wrist, she channeled all her newfound strength into the sword!

“Puff!”

Accompanied by a dull sound of a sharp blade piercing through a hard object, the Shuyue Sword, emitting white light, completely penetrated the head of the strange fish like cutting tofu!

The huge body of the strange fish twitched violently several times, and its bloodthirsty red eyes quickly dimmed, and finally completely lost all vitality. Like a puppet with its strings cut, it sank heavily to the bottom of the deep lake, leaving only a gradually spreading blood color.

After the war.

Lin Yibai leaned on her sword, half-knelt in the shallow water, gasping for breath. The cold water flooded her waist, and her wrists still felt numb and the wound at the base of her palms ached slightly, but the ecstasy of surviving the disaster was hard to suppress.

Although the reason was unknown, the breakthrough in her cultivation was real! Even though she couldn't fully control her surging spiritual power at the moment, her late Jindan strength undoubtedly gave her some precious self-protection power in this unknown and dangerous secret realm.

However, this joy only lasted for a moment.

The next moment, she was out of danger, and the blood-stained figure that fell into the bloody vortex before her suddenly flashed through her mind.

Her heart suddenly tightened as she remembered the real reason why she had risked her life to jump into this vortex—

Yan is not seen!

Now she has landed safely, but his life or death is still unknown and his whereabouts are unknown.

Thinking of this, she no longer cared about recuperating and abruptly rose from the water. Her damp, cold robe clung to her body, constantly drawing away her body heat and bringing waves of chill. She casually squeezed the cold water from the hem of her robe and eagerly climbed to the shore, beginning to anxiously search this vast and quiet cave.

The interior of the cave was far more vast and complex than she had previously glimpsed. The rock walls twisted and turned, branching into several deep and unknown paths leading to nowhere. Each path was illuminated by the blue fluorescent moss, making it hazy and mysterious, as if hiding countless secrets.

She hurried along the shimmering lakeside, the gravel beneath her feet making a "crunching" sound under her hurried steps, which was particularly harsh in the silence. In her nervousness, she tightly grasped the Shuyue Sword in her hand, always on high alert.

The strange, glowing vegetation along the way kept passing by her, and occasionally some startled, luminescent plankton would scatter like startled fireflies as she passed. However, apart from the sounds she made, she could not sense any other human presence.

"Yan is missing! Where are you?" She couldn't help but raise her voice and shout. The clear and urgent voice echoed in the empty cave, hitting the rock wall, and only layers of dull echoes came back, which became more and more anxious.

Other than that, there was no response.

Her heart sank, like she was falling into an ice cellar. Her fingertips were clenched white with nervousness and inexplicable fear, her nails digging deep into her palms. She couldn't help but run faster and faster, fearing that if she missed a step, she would see an irreversible outcome.

——Just as she anxiously turned a corner of a particularly tall rock wall, her eyes were suddenly attracted by a patch of slightly trembling grass not far away, emitting a faint glassy glow!

Beneath the grass, a familiar corner of a robe soaked in dark blood stains was faintly visible.

A strong and indissoluble smell of blood drifted into her nostrils clearly even from a distance.

Lin Yibai's heart leaped, almost jumping out of her throat! She rushed over recklessly, pushing aside the obstructing grass with trembling hands.

The next moment, the boy's bloodless, pale face caught her eye without warning.