The black feather, moving faster and more unpredictably than the original spear, was too close for the enormous fish to evade. It seemed surprised, emitting a strange, long cry, and the water around it transformed into shields, layering itself in defense.
However, the original spear was not something that could be stopped by such water shields. It passed through them like a phantom, plunging directly into the body of the giant fish.
The giant fish let out a pained scream, its body writhing violently. The immense vitality, once so formidable, now seemed to be leaking from a gaping hole at its bottom, rapidly diminishing. Its aura weakened in an instant.
But when its vitality had been reduced by a third, the loss ceased, stabilizing. The giant fish stopped thrashing, its gaze becoming extremely fierce, locking onto Qian Ye with even more murderous intent.
Qian Ye sighed inwardly. The giant fish, having lost a third of its vitality, was merely heavily wounded and still capable of fighting. In fact, the amount of vitality it lost was enormous; if it were on a wolf king, it would likely be severely injured and unable to continue pursuing Qian Ye as it had before.
Yet, the vitality of this giant fish was so vast that even the light black feather only caused it grievous harm, further enraging it.
Such colossal beasts possessed an abundance of life force, making a one-shot kill incredibly difficult.
Several water curtains appeared around Qian Ye, confining him to a small area. The giant fish, with all its back orifices open, was about to unleash dozens of water spears. Qian Ye hesitated, wondering whether to use his last light black original spear. While this shot might incapacitate the giant fish, it would also leave Qian Ye exhausted, leaving him powerless to take the Marine Lotus and escape even if he reached the island.
“If she could stay a little longer,” Qian Ye thought. Even if it wasn’t Qian Ye, if Jitianqing, Li Kuanglan, or Song Zining were here, they could help restrain the giant fish, and the Marine Lotus might already be in his hands.
But at this moment, Qian Ye was alone, except for the small Zhu Ji in his arms.
The little one, seemingly sensing the danger again, forced open her drowsy eyes, glancing down. Her face suddenly turned pale, a look of pain flashing across it.
She opened her mouth, and a clear stream of water shot toward the giant fish.
For some reason, the sight of the water made the giant fish panic, trying to flee. But the pool was shallow, barely enough to keep its back submerged, and its massive body made it hard to move quickly.
The size difference between the giant fish and the small Zhu Ji was enormous. Honestly, even if Zhu Ji was given to it, it might be considered too small to be a snack. Yet, it was terrified of the water Zhu Ji spat out, not even attempting to resist, and focused solely on escaping.
Qian Ye, watching the clear water, felt a chill run down his spine, completely abandoning any thought of touching it.
At that moment, a deep sigh echoed in Qian Ye’s mind, followed by a peculiar consciousness: “Stranger, do you want to destroy this water domain?”
An invisible wind formed, supporting the water and shaping it into a small sphere, hovering in the air.
Qian Ye was startled. The voice was untraceable, and he couldn’t discern its direction. Just from the ability to echo in his mind, he knew he was no match.
“I don’t intend to destroy this water domain.”
The value of the Pool of All Beings and the Marine Lotus was incalculable. For these, Qian Ye wouldn’t want to destroy them. Even if he had the intention, he lacked the means.
The vast consciousness slowly continued: “The poison from the little one in your arms can exterminate weak aquatic life within ten thousand meters. Cleaning up this domain afterward would require a great deal of effort.”
Qian Ye looked at the floating water, finding it hard to imagine such a serious consequence. He knew Zhu Ji was skilled in using poison, but never imagined it to be this potent.
The consciousness went on: “Every living being in this domain is important to me. I cannot let them be destroyed by you.”
“I did not intend to do so, truly sorry,” Qian Ye said.
“You acted in self-defense, but you cannot stay in this domain. Do you want this? Take it and leave.”
Water light dots floated in front of Qian Ye, forming a path to the small island. Now, the island revealed its full form, with lush green grass and ancient trees standing tall. In the center, a small lake housed patches of lotus, one of which was about to bloom, emanating a faint green light.
Seeing the green light, Qian Ye’s soul felt somewhat adrift.
With a leap, Qian Ye reached the island, heading swiftly to the lakeside.
The island was peaceful, with no wild beasts, and the lake held tiny silver fish, seemingly harmless. Scanning the area, Qian Ye sensed a water beast, like a water python, about ten meters long, coiled motionless at the bottom, seemingly in hibernation.
Zhu Ji, now deeply asleep, had been listless after spitting out the water, and soon fell into a deep slumber, unresponsive.
The Marine Lotus was right in front of him. Suppressing his excitement, Qian Ye waited quietly for the bloom.
Soon, the green light grew stronger, and the lotus burst into bloom, transforming into a green light pillar shooting toward the sky!
The crystal-like pale green petals opened, waves of green light pulsating, and soft white light edges, creating a dreamlike scene.
Holding his breath, Qian Ye flashed next to the lotus, igniting a rose gold light, wrapping the Marine Lotus in the original force of Dawn’s First Light, and storing it in Anduia’s space.
Afterward, he lightly tapped the remaining lotus stem, using the momentum to fly back to the shore. He checked Anduia’s space again, finally exhaling. The blooming green lotus was surrounded by wisps of white mist, static like a painting, capturing the most beautiful moment.
The Marine Lotus was rich in soul energy and highly susceptible to contamination. Touching it with hands or tools would affect its quality. Those solidified into jade were carefully collected and stored, let alone the freshly bloomed.
The Empire’s high-ranking figures, who had studied the Marine Lotus for years, knew that the best method to collect it was with original force, and storage depended on the quality of secret treasures. However, few had seen a living Marine Lotus, let alone found a way to prevent its withering.
Qian Ye had tried without much hope, but fortunately, Anduia’s space was different, though he didn’t know how long it would last.
Back on the shore, Qian Ye breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a subtle fatigue. Though the task seemed easy, he had used all his strength, including the void flash, to ensure the timing was perfect.
Thankfully, the Marine Lotus was in hand, possibly the highest quality since Zhang Boqian. The collector’s original force grade affected the quality. Qian Ye’s Dawn’s First Light was the purest, the best for picking. If it were Song Zining’s slightly inferior Worldly Splendor, it might have introduced impurities, let alone others.
Glancing at the lake, Qian Ye saw a dozen buds and seven or eight lotus pods in the lotus field.
The buds emitted a faint green light, and the pods resembled carved green jade, indicating their extraordinary quality. If transported to the Empire, the lotus field would likely cause a national stir. However, Qian Ye knew getting one fresh Marine Lotus was fortunate, and he shouldn’t be greedy. The mysterious consciousness had given it to him because of his determination. Angering it meant certain doom.
Qian Ye bowed to the depths of the Pool of All Beings, “Thank you. This Marine Lotus is extremely important to me. I will repay your kindness in the future.”
A gentle breeze arose, carrying a deep, peculiar voice: “I have a small matter where you can assist.”
This time, the entity communicated directly in Imperial without entering Qian Ye’s mind.
“Tell me what you need, and I will do my best,” Qian Ye sincerely replied.
“The feather you shot into the water is a power I’ve never seen. Can you give me another one?”
“How?” Qian Ye was puzzled. The original spear was intangible and inevitably harmful, so how could he give it?
Water vapor converged, and several lotus leaves from the pond combined with the vapor to form a water ball, floating in front of Qian Ye. The ball pulsed like breathing, brimming with life. If not for witnessing its formation, Qian Ye would have thought it was a living being.
The water ball contained terrifying vitality, nearly half that of the six-armed giant, equivalent to a smaller six-armed giant.
“Use it as a target.”
Qian Ye nodded, took out the Twin Flowers, and pulled the trigger. A black feather flew, drawn into the water ball by its immense vitality.
Instantly, the ball’s vitality drained. As it was about to be depleted, the surface crystallized, becoming a crystal. Inside, a faint black feather could be seen.
A gust of water vapor swept the crystal ball away.
The mysterious entity seemed satisfied, “Interesting power, with its own vitality, truly unexpected. I feel a bit embarrassed taking such a fine item. Any other requests?”
Qian Ye took out the Dongyue and the giant rhino’s horn, “I heard that the Pool of All Beings can refine materials into swords, enhancing their quality. Can you help me refine this horn into this sword?” In battles against enemies like the six-armed giant, Dongyue was becoming inadequate. Lao Lu had mentioned refining, but his water refinement method was limited, and Qian Ye’s would be even less effective.
Water vapor surged, lifting Dongyue and the rhino’s horn, enveloping both.
“This horn is excellent, probably the essence of a rare bovine. This piece of iron is ordinary. Are you sure you want to waste such a good material?”
Qian Ye, surprised the entity didn’t value Dongyue, gritted his teeth, “Yes, I’m sure!”
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