Chapter 20: The Marvel at the Bottom of the Pond

The calm Blackwater Pond drew much attention, with several figures swiftly approaching.

Underwater, all Pang Jian knew was that the Cicada Wing Swords lost all their luster and mysticism upon entering the pond.

He did not know Jin Yang's hand had been corroded when he tried to investigate the mysterious black water.

Having briefly resurfaced to take a deep breath, Pang Jian closely monitored the Cicada Wing Swords flying above him. He patiently endured the agony as he held out hope that a miracle would occur so that he could escape the Shadow Specter Sect.

Time slowly ticked by, one second at a time.

Pang Jian had exceptional swimming skills and could hold his breath for long periods. As he waited, he watched as the Cicada Wing Swords hovered overhead.

Unbeknownst to him, the wound on his arm had stopped bleeding.

The divine light radiating from the bone of the Celestial Phoenix dimmed, and the area it illuminated slowly shrunk.

I wonder if I could cultivate the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art...

Pang Jian clung to the dimming bone as he tried to clear his mind.

He no longer swam around the withered bone and instead allowed his body to sink to the bottom of the pond, entering a state of deep concentration.

As he observed his navel region, he noticed the strange, somewhat transparent dark green Spirit Cauldron had appeared and was absorbing the available energy nearby.

The ink-black pond water had a strange energy that surged relentlessly toward his Spirit Cauldron in his navel region. This energy carried a distinct acidic nature and seemed capable of corroding flesh.

Pang Jian was startled.

As he was going to stop cultivating the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art, he found that the first wisps of corrosive energy that entered the dark green Spirit Cauldron were purging the cotton-like impurities in his navel region.

Moreover, the speed and effectiveness of this corrosive energy far surpassed the Profound Yin energy in the cracked gray rock.

Despite his absorption of the corrosive energy, the miniature world inside his navel region showed no sign of abnormality or disturbance.

This energy can also be absorbed? And it can cleanse the impurities in my navel region?

Pang Jian was astonished. He once again praised the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art.

As he sank to the bottom of the pond, he circulated spiritual qi into the dark green Spirit Cauldron.

He soon discovered that, as he cultivated the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art in the icy cold water of the pond, he could utilize the pores on his arms and along his ribcage to draw in...air.

While there was air in the water, most normal people could not breathe it.

Why can I breathe it? And why am I absorbing the air through the pores on my arms and chest?

Pang Jian wondered

Earlier, when he had been attacked by the members of the Shadow Specter Sect, his arms felt as strong as iron and he experienced a sudden increase in his physical strength. Pang Jian recalled his dream of Celestial Phoenixes roaming his bones.

The myriad of thoughts swirling in his mind interrupted his cultivation of the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art and he abruptly snapped back to reality.

He once again forced his mind to calm down, reentering a state of deep concentration as he cultivated the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art. As he did so, his body continued to sink.

***

Outside the pond, the two squad leaders of the Shadow Specter Sect shouted hysterically, "Jin Yang!"

Jin Yang's face was filled with malice as he watched Pang Jian sink to the bottom of the pond. The small patch of light surrounding the bone of the Celestial Phoenix slowly faded away.

He turned around.

The eerie sight of a lifelike blood-red phoenix dancing gracefully on Ouyang Duanhai's chest suddenly appeared before him.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Jin Yang summoned the patrolling Cicada Wing Swords back to him.

However, he quickly discovered that Ouyang Duanhai, with his eyes devoid of intelligence, had lost all self-awareness and was not actually approaching him.

Before the Cicada Wing Swords could return to Jin Yang, Ouyang Duanhai leaped high into the air and plunged into Blackwater Pond with a loud splash.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Jin Yang was on high alert. He prepared to activate his magical treasures with his skeletal left hand when he noticed Ouyang Duanhai had continued to ignore him.

Jin Yang stood there like a statue, stunned and motionless.

When Ouyang Duanhai dove into the pond, his skeleton-like body was covered in a bloody light.

He appeared briefly in the black water, only to vanish from sight as he was blanketed by darkness moments later.

Lifting his skeletal left hand, Jin Yang felt immensely frustrated and uncomfortable. Staring at the spot where Ouyang Duanhai had disappeared, he screamed hysterically, "He wasn't dissolved by the corrosion! He's not dissolving! The black water isn't dissolving the young man named Pang Jian and this deranged strange creature!"

At this point, the two Meridian Opening Realm squad leaders of the Shadow Specter Sect finally arrived.

"Jin Yang, what happened to your hand?" The masked man asked in horror. "I told you earlier. You shouldn't have gotten yourself involved! What do we do now? How will we explain this to the Sect Master when we return?"

He feared the Sect Master of the Shadow Specter Sect would blame him for this. Just the thought of the Sect Master's cruel methods sent shivers down his spine.

"We have ways to regenerate flesh," Jin Yang said indifferently. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, then spoke in a low voice, "The black water of the pond is peculiar. It has the power to corrode flesh. I was careless."

"We inspected the pond water not long ago and there was nothing unusual then, right?" The other squad leader at the Meridian Opening Realm expressed his doubt.

"Things are different now." Jin Yang took a glove from the masked man and put it on, gritting his teeth as he replied, "Perhaps we overlooked something during our inspection."

The two Meridian Opening Realm squad leaders of the Shadow Specter Sect glanced at the dark waters of the pond, looking uncertain of Jin Yang's claims.

"After the ground cracked open, nothing terrifying emerged. They lied to us." The squad leader watched as his subordinates dragged Ning Yao to his side. He coldly said, "It seems like I'll need to interrogate her."

"They didn't lie." Jin Yang snorted coldly. "There are some matters that Zhang Heng didn't tell you but that he made clear to Hong Tai. Terrifying vines did actually emerge from the ground during their first encounter with a bone of the Celestial Phoenix. The vines killed all the members of the Shangguan Clan before devouring their bodies. The reason I was interested in the hunter was because Zhang Heng told me that the Eye of Imprint had chosen him!"

Jin Yang was well aware of the information unavailable to the two squad leaders knew, he simply had no intention of explaining it to them before this.

The two squad leaders grew concerned as they glanced warily at the fissures on the ground. "What should we do next?"

"Only those who have reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm and have shed their mortal body can breathe underwater through their pores. Pang Jian's been underwater for so long. Either he's already died and sank to the bottom of the pond, or perhaps..." Jin Yang frowned at the black water and insisted, "Let's wait a little longer!"

The two of them could only wait obediently.

However, neither Pang Jian nor the crazed Ouyang Duanhai emerged from the pond.

Outside the valley, a member of the Shadow Specter Sect shouted, "Han Duping's escaped!"

When the masked squad leader rushed to Blackwater Pond, the defenses on that side loosened, allowing Han Duping to escape.

"Ignore him. He's just someone familiar with arrays. He's not that important," Jin Yang said, stopping the two squad leaders from chasing after Han Duping.

***

While they conversed, a faint blood-colored shadow appeared on the ancient tree where Jin Yang had previously concealed himself. She stood amidst the lush leaves, observing as Jin Yang and the others had their discussion near Blackwater Pond.

Nobody noticed her presence.

"It's not just the bone of the Celestial Phoenix at the bottom of the pond. From what I know, refining and shaping every drop of the essence of the Celestial Phoenix requires a vast accumulation of flesh," she murmured.

She did not rush to dive into Blackwater Pond as the lack of suitable cover around the pond made it inconvenient for her to conceal her figure.

"This essence of the Celestial Phoenix is extraordinary. I wonder what kind of strange object it pierced through to gather such abundant blood and flesh essence."

***

In the depths of Blackwater Pond, Pang Jian immersed himself in cultivation, allowing his body to continue sinking as he focused on absorbing the corrosive energy from the icy waters around him.

An indescribable sense of satisfaction bloomed in his heart as he felt the emergence of a power that could be described as majestic.

The dark-green Spirit Cauldron drank in the surging energy, rapidly purifying the impurities within his navel region.

When he absorbed the Profound Yin energy, he had to do so strand by strand. However, submerged in the water of the pond, Pang Jian felt like he was swimming in a vast ocean of energy!

The water around him gradually turned transparent as he cultivated the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art. However, Pang Jian remained oblivious to this.

As he absorbed the corrosive energy with the Spirit Cauldron, he became like a radiant source of light, purifying the darkness within the water.

After a long time, his feet touched solid ground, so he opened his eyes.

Pang Jian was amazed to find the pond's depths were surprisingly clear.

Lowering his gaze, he saw an olive-green scale beneath his feet, and he soon spotted some oval-shaped black dots as he looked around.

It was the broad body of a serpent!

Pang Jian was horrified.

He had seen countless serpents after hunting in the Solitary Mountain Range over many years, but he had never seen one so large!

Even the python Hong Tai rode was like a small earthworm compared to the giant serpent at the bottom of the pond.

The giant serpent was coiled around the protruding bone of the Celestial Phoenix and appeared to be in the middle of trying to twist or topple it.

The flesh of its tail had long since disappeared, leaving only a massive spine-like bone that slapped weakly against the ground. However, although these strikes seemed feeble, they still caused the ground to quake.

Its frenzied struggles were the cause of the earthquake and fissures around Blackwater Pond.

From where he stood, Pang Jian could only see the body of the giant serpent wrapped around the Celestial Phoenix bone, with its fleshless tailbone striking weakly against the floor of the pond.

Overwhelmed by its presence, Pang Jian shifted to inspect something else.

He then saw the massive serpent head resting on the bottom of the pond.

The gigantic bone of the Celestial Phoenix had impaled the serpent's head like a towering spear, pinning it to the floor of the pond.

Despite its struggles, Its massive head remained immobile, and it could not escape the impalement of the withered bone.

Pang Jian could almost imagine the giant withered bone falling into Blackwater Pond from the upper worlds and skewered the giant serpent at the bottom.