Soul Gathering (Part 3)
The cold pond is like a mirror, dead silent and without ripples.
The thick white cold fog seemed to linger all year round, and it felt like a blade cutting your face and causing pain.
The water in the pool is a gloomy, almost inky blue, reflecting the surrounding rugged black rocks and the sparse cold stars in the sky, making it seem even more deep and chilling.
There were no plants or trees around the pond, only solid ice covering the gravel. The air was stagnant, and breathing it in felt like a knife cutting into the lungs.
"This is it."
Two figures penetrated the thick cold fog and landed gracefully at the edge of the inky black pool.
Sang Li retracted her wings, and the phosphorescence emanating from her body illuminated her solemn profile:
"Even an immortal body would find it difficult to resist the cold air. Be sure to use the Water Avoidance Technique to protect yourself before entering the water."
He Shu turned back into human form, his white clothes were as white as snow, but they could not hide the fatigue and worry between his brows.
He landed lightly on the ground, shivering from the cold air. He rubbed his arms and asked:
"This place is so remote, it's hard for you to find it."
"I've traveled a lot, so I always have some connections."
Sang Li followed closely behind, lighting a little flame on his fingertips, barely dispelling the icy air around him.
"The cold jade is at the bottom of this pool. There must be a monster guarding it. Be careful."
"clear."
He Shu nodded.
"However, Qingshan's body and soul have left his body, and relying solely on immortal power won't sustain him for long. It's best to end the battle quickly."
He took two steps forward and was about to concentrate on exploring the water when something strange happened!
“Gugua——”
Strange cries as deep as drum hammers exploded from the fog.
In an instant, several dark green sticky ice blades shot out from the shadows around the pool, heading straight for the vital points of the two men.
"careful!"
Sang Lili shouted and was the first to react. Her mandarin duck mace came out and swung out sharp white light, shattering the ice blades that were shot in front of them.
Immediately afterwards, dozens of huge frog monsters suddenly leaped out of the fog, their bodies covered with slippery dark green bumps. Their eyeballs bulged out, flashing with ferocious light, their thick hind legs stomping on the stone surface, and they opened their bloody mouths with long scarlet tongues, spewing out foul-smelling poisonous mist, and swarmed over.
He Shu was frightened by this posture and took a half step back, but he quickly drew his bow and shot arrows in succession, knocking down the frog monster that was approaching.
However, the frogs on the opposite side were numerous and powerful, and they were fearless and took advantage of the extremely cold environment to suppress them. The poisonous mist they spewed out continuously eroded their protective aura, and sharp ice blades and long tongues attacked from all directions.
He Shuben was already injured, and the circulation of his true energy was slightly slowed down. He was not paying attention and was hit by an ice blade on the right shoulder. The cold air instantly penetrated his body, making him freeze.
At this moment of weakness, the largest frog demon leader suddenly opened his mouth, and his long tongue, like a whip and covered with mucus, tightly wrapped around his waist and abdomen.
"Well--"
He Shu only felt a huge force coming at him, and the protective aura was corroded by the mucus with a sizzling sound and quickly melted away.
"nameless!"
Sang Li's anxious cries rang in his ears, and the longbow in his hand fell to the ground. He wanted to struggle, but the force at his waist that was restraining him was pulling him off the ground and slamming him hard into the dead black pool.
Cold.
The indescribable extreme coldness came rushing over in an instant, penetrating through clothes, flesh, and deep into the bone marrow, almost freezing even the soul.
All the light and sound in front of my eyes suddenly disappeared, and my vision was quickly swallowed up by the despairing darkness.
What finally came into view was the surface of the lake, which seemed close at hand and yet far away on the horizon. On it was the blurry and swaying figure of Sang Li swooping down in panic, as well as the twisted and hideous outlines of the frog monsters.
The icy-cold water, wrapped in the pressure of tens of thousands of tons, rushed madly into He Shu's mouth, nose, and ears, squeezing his chest, trying to squeeze out the last bit of air inside.
He tried to use his spiritual power to resist, but the cold poison that entered his body was intertwined with the injuries caused by the frog monster before, and the spiritual power in his body was stagnant and difficult to mobilize.
His limbs quickly lost feeling and became extremely heavy. He used up his last bit of strength to swing them twice, but then he felt like he was filled with lead and could only sink helplessly.
An unknown amount of time passed, but just when He Shu's consciousness was about to be completely swallowed by the darkness, his sinking momentum suddenly stopped, and his back seemed to be encased in a ball of extremely elastic, warm gel.
Immediately, a complex circle of golden runes illuminated beneath him, enveloping him in a gentle yet irresistible power. After a moment of dizziness, he fell heavily to the hard ground.
“Cough…cough cough cough——”
When he breathed the air again, He Shu's throat spasmed violently, his body curled up uncontrollably, and he burst into a heart-wrenching cough.
His thin shoulders trembled constantly, and the clear water that flowed from his lips was mixed with a little blood, flowing down his jaw and dripping onto the cold stone surface.
He was soaked through, his plain clothes clinging to his body, becoming almost transparent, outlining his thin and disheveled figure and weighing him down.
Her long hair was completely disheveled, sticking wetly to her pale cheeks and neck. A few strands of hair lay messily over her tightly closed eyelashes, and cold water droplets continued to drip from them.
"who!"
A shocked and angry voice came from not far away. The voice was clear like a young man, but he tried hard to appear fierce.
He Shu's chest was still heaving violently. He struggled to raise his upper body, which was limp on the ground, and looked in the direction of the sound.
His vision was blurred by the cold water and pain, and he could just barely make out the outline of a human figure in the gloom, who seemed to be young.
The figure walked closer, stood with his arms folded, his chin slightly raised, and put on an aura of coldness and aloofness, and said:
"How dare you break into Youtan Mansion without permission!"
He Shu suppressed the blood in his throat and said in a hoarse voice:
"I'm sorry... I'm He Wuming, the immortal envoy of Luzhu Mountain. To save my dear friend's life, I've come to ask..."
"ah--"
A ray of light suddenly lit up, and the surroundings became bright in an instant. He Shu was unable to adapt for a moment and immediately closed his eyes. The young man's frightened shouts were heard in his ears.
“Who is it again!”
When he slowly opened his eyes again, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the person coming was Sang Li.
"Wuming, are you okay?"
Sang Li locked the boy's neck from behind, holding the mace against the side of his neck, and snapped his fingers with his free hand, emitting a little fluorescent light, illuminating the cave.
"It's okay...it's just that the cold poison has entered my body, and I can't use my immortal power for the time being."
He Shu used the wall to stand up, and Sang Li sent out a stream of warm air to help dry his clothes.
Only then did he see the boy clearly. He was about eighteen or nineteen years old, a typical human boy. He was already tall and slender, with a slender frame, but he still had a bit of youthfulness and frailty.
A pair of large light grey eyes were slightly narrowed due to panic and the bright light, trying hard to see them clearly:
"Who...are you?"
As the young man spoke, he struggled hard, and the sharp edge of the mace immediately left a bloody mark on the side of his neck.
He froze in pain, his overly fair and smooth skin flushed slightly with shame and anger, his lifeless pupils shrank rapidly, covered with a layer of mist, and he looked warily at the two people who kidnapped him.
"We are not evil people, you don't have to be afraid."
He Shu soothed her gently and winked at Sang Li.
Sang Li understood and saw that the young man in his arms was indeed not aggressive, so he loosened his arms that were tightly holding him, said "I'm sorry" softly, and retreated to He Shu's side.
"It's an emergency. I just barged in to save someone. I'm asking for the cold jadeite."
He Shu explained.
The young man who regained his freedom took two steps back, and the wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
He narrowed his eyes again, leaned forward to look at the two of them, coughed twice, and stood with his hands behind his back, forcing himself to remain calm.
"What kind of cold chalcedony? I don't have any here."
Sang Li's eyes shone when she heard this, and the long mace in her hand was ready to move. She said coldly:
"The salamander clan of the Youtancang clan has been trapped in the cold pond to protect the jade for generations. Is there anything wrong with what I said?"
"You...how do you know so much..."
Hearing her confident tone, it was obvious that she knew everything. The boy's face turned pale. He opened his eyes wide, but still said stubbornly:
"Since you know that the Cold Jadeite is a treasure that our salamander clan has guarded for generations, why are you still asking for it? It's not something you can just give me if you want it!"
It was originally a salamander.
He Shu suddenly realized that it was no wonder that he had poor eyesight but strong healing ability.
He was thinking about how to continue persuading him, but Sang Li beside him took a step forward. She swung her long mace and ruthlessly pressed it against the boy's neck again. Her face was as cold as ice, and her tone was cold but direct:
"I've used my divine sense to investigate. You're the only one guarding this place. Those frog monsters are vulnerable to the cold air and can't get to the bottom of the pool, so they can't protect you."
She calmly helped the boy analyze the current situation, then paused and slowed down her voice a little:
"We are not bandits, and we are not here to steal treasure. We just want to borrow it for a while and will definitely return it."
"I...how do I know if you will pay me back in the future!"
The boy subconsciously shrank his neck and screamed, with cold sweat on his forehead, looking even weaker and more helpless.
"My eyesight is not good, I can't see you clearly, and I can't get out of this pool... If I borrow it, you will never come back... I, I——"
Sang Li's mace edge moved closer to his skin, causing his shrill accusations to suddenly change pitch, becoming increasingly quiet, until only a mosquito-like buzz remained.
"...I can lend you the things, but...you have to prove that you're not trying to deceive me...or...or leave something as collateral..."
The boy's nearly blind eyes rolled around and he forced a flattering smile.
"As long as I don't tell you where the cold jade is, you will definitely not be able to find it. Rather than both sides getting hurt, it's better for both of us to take a step back."
As he spoke, he quietly moved away from Sang Li's mace. Seeing that she had no reaction, he took two steps back boldly.
"This... Immortal Envoy of Luzhu Mountain, why don't you stay here in the cold pond with me and wait for this... this female hero to return the cold jade, and then leave... Anyway, I don't know martial arts, so I can't pose a threat..."
"no!"
Sang Li flatly refused. She took back the mandarin duck mace and said in a serious tone,
"He's suffering from a cold poison and injuries. The cold here is extremely severe, which is not conducive to his recovery. If you want a hostage, I will stay."
"ah?"
The young man seemed reluctant, but he could only nod and compromise when he felt Sang Li's glare.
"That's okay too..."
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