Ning Ning was awakened by a scream.

It was still dark and the sun hadn't risen yet. All around was silence, and that horrific scream stood out, like the shriek of a boiling kettle, burning a big hole in the silent night. The

reason why this sound caught her attention at the first moment was because it was too familiar.

- Although the voice was broken, listening to the ghostly howling voice and the miserable tone as if seeing a ghost, it was estimated that no one in the entire cultivation world could make the same sound except He Zhizhou.

Ning Ning's sleepiness was disturbed by the shout. She suddenly opened her eyes and found that Pei Ji had sat up from the quilt not far away.

As if he felt her gaze, the young man looked over with his long eyelashes drooping.

There was still a trace of tiredness in his eyes from sleep, and a misty light floated in his dark pupils.

When he looked at Ning Ning without any defense, his messy hair brushed across his face restlessly. The red at the end of his eye was set off by the tear mole. He lost some of the coldness and hostility that kept people away from him, and looked more like an ignorant boy next door.

The collar was a bit messy, with folds like ripples, revealing a thin and pale neck.

They were only one person apart, although Pei Ji had placed his sword between them at some point, barely serving as a 38th parallel...

But now that they woke up together and saw Pei Ji like this, they always had the illusion of sleeping in the same bed and being very close to each other.

Stop, stop, stop.

She, she, she, what weird things is she thinking about!

Ning Ning's ears turned red with embarrassment at this thought. She had to lower her head in a hurry and touched her ears pretending to be calm: "That sound just now, was it——"

Pei Ji nodded and replied: "It was Senior Brother He."

Although He Zhizhou had troubled him before, they were unfamiliar with each other at that time, so misunderstandings were inevitable. Moreover, Pei Ji had been accustomed to the cold eyes and deliberate targeting of others since he was a child, so he didn't take the matter to heart.

——Everything and everyone around him was unimportant to him. He didn't care, so there was no need to care.

The scream that came without warning was really terrible, and there was no sound after it. Ning Ning was worried, and she and Pei Ji went to find the source of the sound.

The forest was full of towering ancient trees that blocked out the sun. The cave they were in before was actually close to the exit of the jungle. After walking through the grass and trees for a while, the view in front of them suddenly opened up and

the sky became bright. The vast green tide slowly receded, and the dawning sky could be vaguely seen.

It was not yet the hour of Mao, but it was just dawn. The morning sun was trapped by the distant mountains, and only a few thin pink and white rays of light overflowed, like water stains flowing on paper, and it didn't take long to cover the entire sky.

The sky was as clear as a huge, boundless mirror, and it was as beautiful as a virtual image under the morning light. A few stars were dotted on it without any pattern, and also fell into the lake outside the forest.

It was not until this moment that Ningning understood why this secret place was called "Water Mirror".

Looking around, there are five or six circular lakes connected together. The lake surface is calm and windless, as green as jade, and under the newly brightened dome, it looks like a few round pearls.

The light of the water and the light of the sky blend into one color, reflecting the shadows of the stars and clouds in the sky. At first glance, it really looks like a thin mirror placed steadily on the ground.

However, although the scene is beautiful, there is no trace of He Zhizhou, and the surroundings are eerily quiet. It is impossible to find the source of his screams.

- Although he is not very reliable, it is impossible for him to fall into the lake directly when walking unsteadily.

Ningning was a little confused. She took a few steps forward in a daze and called out tentatively: "He Zhizhou?"

No one answered.

The closer she got to the lake, the clearer she could see.

The dark night had gradually faded away, and the rippling lake water was illuminated by the morning light, with ripples like fish scales. A milky white mist was rising all around, making the vision unclear. When she looked down at the lake, she could see her own shadow.

Ning Ning was suddenly slightly stunned.

There was no wind or waves, but her shadow shook violently for no reason. Pei Ji's low cry rang out from behind her: "Senior Sister!"

Along with this voice, there was also a burst of waving sounds that broke through the water -

a skinny, bloodstained hand suddenly stretched out from the calm lake and grabbed Ning Ning's ankle!

Ever since she heard He Zhizhou's scream, she guessed that there was a cat hidden in this secret place, so she was more cautious and on guard all the time.

Now, when she saw this ferocious and terrifying bloody hand, she quickly calmed down, silently recited the formula as she leaped back, and stabbed several sharp sword lights.

The hand was unable to dodge, and was suddenly cut by the lightning-fast sword energy, and several dark and thick blood gushed out of its skin.

It must have been in great pain, and it trembled up and down, splashing a large amount of water. What was incredible was that the splashes were completely different from the clear green surface of the lake. Instead, they were drops of bloody water with an extremely weird black and red hue.

What was going on?

Before Ning Ning could recover from the irrational scene in front of her, the bloodstained hand pierced by the sword light jumped up from the lake shore. Amid the splashing water, a piercing scream full of murderous intent came.

The owner of the bloody hand looked like a human but not a human. Although he had the same facial features and limbs as an ordinary person, his body structure and proportions were too weird.

His eyes were hollow and lifeless, three times the size of an ordinary person. Bloodshot filled the pupils like scarlet vines, and there were only two small round holes where the nose should be.

If I had to describe it, it would probably be a dwarf version of Voldemort. He had no nose or hair, and was only as tall as Ningning's chest. His arms and legs were as thin as sticks, but his nails were quite long, like knives covered in dirt and blood.

Even though she had made sufficient mental preparations, Ningning would never have thought that such a big bald head would emerge from the seemingly calm lake, like a brine egg just out of the water.

She had never seen such a monster before, and frowned at the stench it exuded. Pei Ji, who was standing beside him,

had a grim expression on his face. Just as he was about to draw his sword, he suddenly heard a whistling gust of wind passing by his ear. An arrow came out of the forest at lightning speed, with a few bright yellow electric lights visible to the naked eye, and pierced the monster's chest. The

arrow was extremely powerful, and the electric light spread out like a spider web the moment it touched its body, quickly covering the entire chest, causing the monster to tremble and scream at the top of its lungs.

"This is the mirror ghost in the lake."

A female voice that had never been heard before came with the wind, and the tone was so calm that it could not cause any disturbance: "Are you from the immortal sect who broke into this place? If you want to survive, you must not get close to the water."

Ningning turned her head and saw a girl who looked quite young at the entrance of the woods beside her.

She did not seem to be a disciple participating in the trial. She was wearing a short white suit and her long hair was tied into a simple ponytail. In her hand, a large bow was a deep red color like a flame, and the bowstring faintly emitted a golden light that was the same as lightning.

The most eye-catching thing was the two furry white fox ears on her head.

At this time, the breeze was blowing, causing the long, fine fur to sway, looking cute and adorable, which was quite inconsistent with the girl's deep and mature appearance.

"Water?"

The monster was hit by an arrow and fell into the lake. After ripples, all sounds disappeared again. Ning Ning glanced at the calm water surface: "Thank you for your help, young lady. I wonder what the water in this secret place is like?"

After a pause, she said anxiously: "One of our friends may have been dragged into the water. Is there any way to rescue him?"

He Zhizhou's scream was very miserable, and he must have encountered danger on the road.

Judging from Ning Ning's experience just now, he should have been attacked by this unknown monster. The reason why there was no trace of the person was that he was so panicked that he had no time to escape and was dragged into the lake.

The dressed-up girl frowned and shook her head: "You two don't know, this water is extremely dangerous, and there are countless demons and monsters trapped. They are controlled by the formation and cannot escape easily, but if someone stands on the water, they will break out of the formation through the reflection in the water."

Ning Ning had never heard of such a weird formation. She looked at Pei Ji and listened to her continue: "If you fall into the water, you will be pulled into another barrier in the water mirror... Unless you have a high level of cultivation, it is more dangerous than good."

He Zhizhou has the grindstone system, and he should be protected by the system. Moreover, even in the original book, it is not mentioned that he will die so early.

But the original book is unreliable beyond imagination, and it often hits the nail on the head. Ning Ning was worried no matter what, and was about to go into the water to look for him, when she suddenly heard Pei Ji's voice beside her: "You stay on the shore, I'll go in to look for him."

- He actually saw what she was thinking at a glance, and before Ning Ning could say anything, he grabbed the bag first.

"Are you crazy? It's a life-threatening situation underwater, and almost all of my tribesmen -"

The pretentious girl didn't expect him to be so decisive and bold. Before she finished speaking, she was interrupted by another unexpected scream.

The scream was sad and panic, and it never stopped, turning the cry for help into a dolphin sound. If

you listen carefully, you will find that in addition to it, there is another particularly familiar, slightly low voice, which also screams in a faint and resentful voice, with a bit of crying.

Ning Ning was silent for a moment, a bright color appeared in her eyes, and she blinked at Pei Ji: "Is it him?"

The black-clothed boy holding the sword nodded expressionlessly: "Yeah."

=====

He Zhizhou felt that today must be his bad day.

First, he and his mortal enemy showed off their acting skills in public, but the whole process was captured by the surveillance camera and he went to the Criminal Court; he was finally picked up by Tian Xianzi, but his head was stuck on the flying boat. When he got off the boat and entered the secret realm, his neck was almost broken.

And now.

It was bad enough that he couldn't even find a teammate. Who would have thought that he planned to wash his face after getting up, but his little face was so low, and a strange thing that was neither human nor ghost emerged from the lake and pulled him into the water.

No, it shouldn't be called "water".

The lake in this secret place is simply deceptive. It looks clean and peaceful, but when he stepped unsteadily into it, he found that it was full of smelly mud and black blood. There were

also several aliens swimming towards him.

At that moment, He Zhizhou's heart was dead.

He was dirty, completely dirty.

But he was still a positive and optimistic young man who valued life as much as money. Even in such a dangerous situation, he would fight for his life.

At the critical moment when he was about to be dragged into the black whirlpool in the water, He Zhizhou finally drew his sword to cut off the claws of the aliens that were imprisoning his legs, and swam towards the shore like a dog paddle.

He escaped in a hurry, his body was covered with large patches of mud and blood, emitting bursts of heinous stench, and his legs were scratched by nails. Due to extreme fear and pain, he couldn't even walk properly.

This look was really unbearable to see people.

Destroy it, quickly.

The monster in the lake would come out again at any time. He Zhizhou was tortured to the point of having no desire to live. Just as he was about to run away, he suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from the bushes in front of him.

When he looked up, he actually saw a familiar face.

- Junior Brother Xu Ye from the Wanjian Sect stood in front of him in a daze, his innocent eyes full of fear. When he saw He Zhizhou take a step forward to approach him, he even revealed a look of disgust and panic.

He Zhizhou took another step forward. Since he had swallowed a lot of water before, he was going to talk to him, but when he opened his mouth, a pool of blood covered with mud came out.

Xu Ye was almost scared to death by this scene, and he raised his sword with trembling body: "You, don't come over!"

Xu Ye was about to cry.

He had just escaped from a fierce battle between two sects, and got lost after wandering around. When he

finally got out of the jungle with great difficulty, he saw a bloody pile of mud grinning at him.

Oh, it wasn't mud, it looked like a person.

- No way! There was no mud or blood nearby, how could someone be so covered in mud! This must not be a person, not a person!!!

He wanted to negotiate or resist.

But the monster took a step closer to him, and its cherry-like mouth spit out a pool of blood-red muddy water.

This was too horrible.

It spit out not only mud, but also Xu Ye's broken heart.

Xu Ye was a timid person, and he had been brought up with his senior sister. Others were mama's boys, but he was more fresh and refined, and could be called the "sister's boy" of the cultivation version.

The young master had never seen such a horrifying sight, and he immediately howled, "Help!"

Xu Ye turned around and ran, and the red and black monsters behind him chased him.

It was even more terrifying when it ran, with a pair of long legs trembling and twisting into an extremely weird bow shape, and blood gushed out like a moving fountain chasing him.

The monster had a hoarse voice, and mud and blood gushed out when it spoke. It seemed to be tripped by something and fell to the ground while chasing, but it did not stop. Instead, it endured the severe pain of its legs dripping with blood and crawled and shouted: "Don't... go... save... me... gurgle..."

Don't go, that's weird! Are you water ghosts looking for scapegoats so persistent!

Xu Ye ran, cried, and groaned: "Senior sister! Where are you? Save me, senior sister!!!"

The monster behind him crawled on his hands and feet, spitting out mud: "Gululu...Ye...Don't go..."

He is the wind and he is the sand, you chase me to the end of the world.

Then the sun rose, and a fish belly white appeared on the horizon.

Ning Ning would never have thought that when she followed the sound to find Xu Ye and He Zhizhou, it would be such a scene.

Xu Ye cried so hard that she almost became a tearful person. He Zhizhou pulled her right leg back and lay on the ground motionless, like a doll that had been played with.

He Zhizhou laughed wildly and sadly, crawling on the ground with trembling legs, carrying Xu Ye's right foot on his shoulder.

He looked really scary. At first glance, he looked like he had just killed someone in a pile of mud. He was covered in golden armor. Under the dawn light, he looked like a pile of mud that was sculpted into a human shape.

Then he saw Ning Ning, smiling foolishly and opening his mouth. He

fell directly to the ground and spit out a pile of thick black blood.

Ning Ning: ...

It's hopeless. Destroy it, quickly.

=====

Ancient banyan tree by the lake.

A girl in a red skirt stood on the top of the tree, hiding her breath, and looked at the scene just now by the lake with interest, with a leisurely smile on her lips.

She exuded a refreshing fragrance, attracting several butterflies and birds to swarm around her, but the girl didn't care, instead she took out a communication token from her pocket.

[I've found her.]

She wrote leisurely, with a smile on her face. After thinking for a while, she set her eyes on the strange woman next to Ning Ning, and added: [However...Xuanxu Sect seems to have met someone unexpected. There are cat poop hidden in the water in the secret realm. I don't mind playing with them.]