“Little sister…”
“Don’t call me little sister!”
“Well then, okay… Xiaoya, don’t say silly things like that. There are plenty of good men in this world…”
“I don’t care about those men—they have nothing to do with me.”
“But I didn’t even say I like you!”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t need you to say it. One day, you will fall for me, I’m sure of it.”
“You can’t just act like this!”
“That’s just how I am. I don’t care what you say.”
“It won’t work. I’m going to become a Taoist priest in this life…”
“Then I’ll become a nun and follow you!”
“…”
Shui Miao helplessly sighed inwardly, thinking how terrifying the power of love could be! But he knew this Zhang Xiaoya was just being childish and impulsive. It couldn’t be taken seriously. He’d let her have her way for now, and look for opportunities to gradually change her mind later—he couldn’t rush things.
“Okay, let go. You’re practically choking me to death.”
“Not until you kiss me!” Zhang Xiaoya lifted her head and closed her eyes.
Looking at her expression—half-exasperated, half-amused—Shui Miao actually felt a sudden urge to kiss her. But he knew that once he did, things would only get more complicated. Since his spiritual energy was abundant anyway, why not…
Shui Miao focused his mind, attempting to use his spiritual powers to control her thoughts, creating a virtual version of himself in her mind. But just as he concentrated, Zhang Xiaoya suddenly furrowed her brows and softly groaned, “My head… it suddenly hurts so much…”
Could he have done something wrong?
Startled, Shui Miao immediately withdrew his mental projection.
As soon as the pressure lifted, Zhang Xiaoya relaxed and hugged him even tighter.
“Fine. If you really enjoy hugging so much, then go ahead and hug me all you want.” Shui Miao calmed himself and listened carefully—the axolotls hadn’t returned yet.
This time, they had been gone unusually long.
Yet Zhang Xiaoya seemed tireless, still clinging to Shui Miao with unwavering persistence.
Feeling slightly awkward, Shui Miao said, “Xiaoya, this is really embarrassing. You’re a girl—you clinging to me like this, do you really think it’s appropriate?”
“Hmph! When you touched me on the way down, didn’t you already do worse?”
“That was an accident!!”
“I don’t think so. Unless you kiss me, I won’t let go.”
“Fine then, I’ll just bite you to death!”
Shui Miao lowered his head.
Moments later, Zhang Xiaoya screamed.
Finally, she let go of him.
“You actually bit me!” Zhang Xiaoya angrily touched her lips—there was blood.
Shui Miao shrugged, thinking to himself: Biting you is better than kissing you. This is actually my way of being responsible for you.
“You’re such a bad Shui Miao! You’re the worst!”
Zhang Xiaoya wasn’t about to let it go so easily and began chasing after Shui Miao to hit him.
But before she could land many hits, Shui Miao suddenly heard the sound of rushing water.
“Alright, alright. Stop fooling around. They’re here.”
“Huh? What is that?”
Zhang Xiaoya pointed toward the small river at the base of the rocks. A white glow lit up the stream, right in the middle of a large group of axolotls.
“A round, glowing orb…”
Shui Miao sensed it immediately—it radiated an immense spiritual force.
“Hurry! Take it quickly—we can’t hold on any longer!” the axolotls cried out, as if enduring some kind of torment.
Shui Miao’s heart raced. He quickly ran forward as the axolotls spat the orb toward him. He caught it swiftly in his palm and immediately felt a surge of powerful spiritual energy surge up his arm and spread throughout his body. Unlike the energy from the fruit before, this spiritual power carried a distinct warmth—no wonder the axolotls couldn’t handle it.
Before Shui Miao could examine the orb further, the axolotls transformed into five small dwarves. The remaining axolotls in the water were swallowed into their bellies.
“Hurry! Take us away from here—we’ve stolen the Old Granny’s Immortal Energy Pearl! Once she finishes her retreat, she’ll come out and we won’t be able to escape!”
“Old Granny? You mean that thousand-year-old female ghost?”
Seeing their urgency, Shui Miao quickly pieced things together.
“Yes! Exactly her! She’s guarded this Immortal Energy Pearl for over a thousand years. In three days, she’ll emerge to undergo her tribulation. If she discovers we’ve stolen the pearl, she’ll kill us all! So hurry up and run!” The axolotls started fleeing, their bellies swollen like pregnant dwarves. In truth, they had hidden their offspring inside, preparing to escape together.
They were the spirits of this underground river, the only beings capable of slipping into the thousand-year-old female ghost’s hidden lair.
They had absorbed the pearl’s spiritual energy over the years in this dark and lightless place, transforming into fish demons.
After centuries of isolation, they could no longer endure the loneliness.
Today, they encountered Shui Miao and Zhang Xiaoya. Originally, they had intended to explore the outside world first. But Shui Miao’s need for spiritual energy was so immense that, out of a sense of honor—since they had promised to replenish his energy—they took a desperate risk and stole the Immortal Energy Pearl from the thousand-year-old ghost, giving it to Shui Miao.
Seeing the five axolotl dwarves rushing toward the exit of the rock crevice, Shui Miao quickly placed the Immortal Energy Pearl into his mouth. As he absorbed its energy to enhance his spiritual power, he carried Zhang Xiaoya on his back and fled with them.
The moment the Immortal Energy Pearl entered Shui Miao’s mouth, a massive surge of spiritual energy rushed into his internal organs, limbs, and bones, finally gathering and rotating in his dantian. The energy was so intense that Shui Miao felt the heavenly gate within his spiritual perception tremble!
“This is amazing!”
“With this Immortal Energy Pearl, my cultivation will surely progress rapidly—light-years ahead!”
“At the very least, I should be able to open that heavenly gate in my spiritual realm even wider. Then, perhaps I really will become an immortal!”
“Wow! Am I dreaming?”
Overwhelmed with excitement, Shui Miao silently vowed that this great fortune was entirely thanks to the axolotls. In the future, he would treat them well, ensuring their absolute safety no matter what. If major rivers and lakes weren’t safe, he’d take them to the Tianshan Mountains, or anywhere else they wished to go.
With ample spiritual energy, Shui Miao moved swiftly.
The five axolotl dwarves, transformed into small figures, were also agile, hopping and leaping ahead at great speed.
“Boom!”
As they ran, Shui Miao suddenly sensed a loud noise from the heavenly gate within his mind. It began to slowly open!
As soon as the gate stirred, a continuous stream of spiritual energy poured down.
“Keep going! Keep going!”
Shui Miao roared inwardly. Streams of spiritual essence condensed within his spiritual realm, forming a pair of giant hands that desperately pushed against the heavenly gate. But the gate felt as heavy as a thousand tons—no matter how hard they pushed, it opened only slowly. Meanwhile, Shui Miao’s physical body was also undergoing transformation. As spiritual energy surged, his body’s metabolism accelerated rapidly.
Shui Miao had no time to focus on his physical changes, directing most of his attention toward the heavenly gate within his spiritual realm…
“Whoosh!”
Suddenly, Shui Miao heard a gust of wind coming from within the heavenly gate in his mind. Then, a stream of black mist surged into the gate…
“What is this?!”
Shui Miao was shocked. He noticed that wherever the black mist passed, spiritual energy rapidly dissipated. The heavenly gate stopped its rumbling and ceased opening altogether…
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