"Boom!"
A world-shattering roar echoed, and the ground trembled violently. Several tentacle-like things emerged from the river. Upon closer inspection, they were covered in yellowish-brown mucus and protrusions, appearing bizarre and disgusting.
"This is... a deep-sea salamander beast? Why is it here!"
Feng Wuya, the slowest of the group, narrowly avoided being struck by a tentacle. The pungent, fishy smell that wafted over almost made him pass out.
"Ahhh, Shengyi, save me!" Feng Wuya abandoned any pretense of being a refined young master and ran forward desperately.
Bai Shengyi, who had been running ahead, stopped abruptly and drew a net to shield Feng Wuya.
Feng Wuya immediately used his sword to continue his escape.
The group ran all the way to a nearby mountain peak closest to the shore. The deep-sea salamander beast did not pursue them further.
"Don't these things only live in the depths of the Cloud Sea? How could the river accommodate it?" Feng Wuya quickly changed his outer garment, but still felt that he reeked all over.
The deep-sea salamander beast was a specialty of the Boundless Cloud Sea. They were born with multiple legs and heads and had an ugly appearance, but their strength was not to be underestimated. From birth, they were sixth-tier spirit beasts, equivalent to the early Golden Core stage.
However, they never left the Boundless Cloud Sea, which was guarded by the Divine Revelation Academy and some demon tribes, so these spirit beasts could not cause much trouble.
But the current situation clearly defied the norm.
Chu Tianle frowned deeply. "There were no living creatures in the riverbed. We swam down for a long time, thinking there was nothing below, but we discovered this deep-sea salamander beast lurking in the river channel, its tentacles filling the entire waterway."
Bai Shengyi's expression was also solemn. "I sensed spatial fluctuations just now, around the area underwater, but..."
"This spirit beast is very powerful," Xun Meng furrowed her brows.
Hua Xueji said, "It's a ninth-tier."
"What should we do? A ninth-tier spirit beast is equivalent to the late Golden Core stage. Plus, spirit beasts have thick hides. Even an elder from the academy would find this troublesome," Feng Wuya exclaimed.
Bai Shengyi said, "Indeed. But this secret realm is too strange. Since there are cultivation requirements for cultivators, wouldn't there be any for spirit beasts?"
Feng Wuya: "It's useless to say more now. Shengyi, we need to figure out what to do."
"You're right." Bai Shengyi pondered for a moment. "Feng Wuya, do you have any knockout drugs on you?"
"You want to knock out the demon beast before acting? That's a good idea, but I don't have any. And generally, knockout drugs don't have much effect on spirit beasts," Feng Wuya assumed Bai Shengyi didn't know and explained it in detail.
Bai Shengyi said, "Whether it works or not, we have to try. I have a prescription here, what do you think? If it's okay, we'll find the medicinal ingredients and make the medicine on the spot."
Only Bai Shengyi dared to think like this. Feng Wuya's mouth hung open. His grandfather, the elders at home, and he himself – who would make medicine or elixirs so casually? They would always make thorough preparations before daring to proceed.
But now, no one had come up with a good solution. He glanced at Bai Shengyi's prescription and immediately noticed something was wrong. "What kind of medicine is this? Why is it so strange?"
He had seen no less than a hundred, if not a thousand, prescriptions. He had never seen anything like Bai Shengyi's, which contained only bizarre and peculiar ingredients, with no regard for the compatibility and complementarity of their attributes, nor for the natural cohesion of the elixir. It seemed utterly lawless, yet when he calculated it, it was feasible.
"It's a poison. I'm worried knockout drugs won't be strong enough," Bai Shengyi said.
Feng Wuya said with a complex expression, "Let's... try it." Honestly, he just didn't want to dampen Bai Shengyi's enthusiasm, and was also curious if it would actually work.
After Feng Wuya and Bai Shengyi finished their discussion, Xun Meng also said, "I've calculated Fellow Daoist Ximen's location. Chu and I will go find Fellow Daoist Ximen. Hua Xueji will help you find the herbs."
"Alright." Hua Xueji and Chu Tianle had no objections.
The group split up.
Bai Shengyi's prescription was modified based on the herbs and spiritual items in this secret realm. Although there were many types of ingredients, they could all be found, it just required more effort. After an hour, the three of them had gathered all the materials.
Feng Wuya watched as Bai Shengyi casually found a flat spot, took out an unremarkable medicinal cauldron from her storage bag, then conjured a spiritual fire and began processing the items they had found.
Her attitude was so nonchalant, her movements so casual.
Feng Wuya's expression slowly cracked.
"Wait! Shengyi, aren't you going to prepare properly?"
Feng Wuya frantically signaled Bai Shengyi. Some of the spiritual plants they had searched for for a long time yielded only one specimen; they couldn't be handled carelessly!
Bai Shengyi had always figured things out on her own.
She looked confused. "Ah? Aren't the materials all prepared?"
Feng Wuya was speechless. He slowly released his hands and took a deep breath. "You're right, please continue."
Then he watched as Bai Shengyi made a sweeping gesture, processing five fifth-tier spiritual plants simultaneously.
Feng Wuya's heart skipped a beat!
He comforted himself, thinking that fifth-tier spiritual plants weren't that significant; they could be found again if ruined.
After Bai Shengyi finished processing, he also began to relax, but before he could fully relax, he saw Bai Shengyi make another gesture, processing several spiritual items with different properties, such as good ores and dew, at the same time.
Feng Wuya's heart leaped into his throat again!
He kept telling himself, it's nothing, Shengyi's spiritual power control is precise, there won't be any problems.
Throughout the entire process, Bai Shengyi was fine, but Feng Wuya himself nearly lost half his life. By the time Bai Shengyi produced the finished product and asked Feng Wuya to examine it, Feng Wuya had still not recovered.
"I think it should be effective. We'll try it when Chu Tianle and the others return."
They mixed the powder into a liquid. They captured a fifth-tier spirit beast, and with just one drop, the fifth-tier spirit beast convulsed and fainted.
A while later, Xun Meng and Chu Tianle returned with Ximen Hongchun. Compared to when they had last seen him, Ximen Hongchun's aura had become much more substantial, clearly indicating he had had a profound encounter.
The potion needed to come into direct contact with the spirit beast's skin to maximize its effect. Ximen Hongchun greeted everyone individually and, after hearing Bai Shengyi's plan, voluntarily offered, "I'll go."
"I'll go too," Bai Shengyi and Chu Tianle said simultaneously.
Chu Tianle frowned. "Shengyi, you stay on the shore. It's too dangerous underwater. Fellow Daoist Ximen and I have Golden and Lightning spiritual roots respectively; the water won't affect us much."
Bai Shengyi disagreed. "I made the medicine; I know its effects and usage best."
In the end, Chu Tianle could not dissuade Bai Shengyi and decided that the three of them would go underwater, while Xun Meng, Feng Wuya, and Hua Xueji would provide support from above.
Once the decision was made, Bai Shengyi said no more and jumped in first.
After entering the water, she was shocked to discover that the water temperature was bone-chilling, and perhaps due to the upstream current, swimming underwater presented significant resistance.
"We're almost there," Chu Tianle whispered, reminding the other two.