Chapter 563: Help
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
There was not much time. The Xuan Ming Shielded Tortoise could return at any time. There was no time to waste with hesitating.
Mo Wen jumped directly into the Xuan Ming Frozen Water. In the blink of an eye, he had disappeared beneath the water’s surface, submerging deeper and deeper extremely quickly.
The Xuan Ming Frozen Water was very cold indeed. The moment he entered the water, he immediately felt a sharp pain in his bones. It was the prickling pain on the skin as a result of the extreme cold. If he were a normal person, he would have probably already hardened into an ice sculpture.
However, Mo Wen had the protection of the Spiritless Clean Fire. Hence, he was not afraid. The invisible flame made a circle within his body. In a moment, all the cold air within had dispersed from his body and no longer harmed Mo Wen in the least.
The Spiritless Clean Fire was an ancient great magical power. It was the ultimate technique of Ji Wuya. Hence, it was naturally not a simple thing. Although Mo Wen had not successfully cultivated it, as long as there was a little flame, it would be enough to disperse the chill from the Xuan Ming Frozen Water.
Yin Banshuang, however, was not as fortunate. After following Mo Wen in jumping in, she immediately shivered from the cold. Her muscles had tensed up and there was immense pain on the surface of her skin, continuously inflaming more pain in the nerves of her brain.
She felt as though she was water that had been placed in the freezer, slowly stiffening and freezing bit by bit. Although she was of the Golden Elixir realm, she could not do anything when she was thrown into such cold water.
Both of them knew that they could not remain in the Xuan Ming Frozen Water for too long. Not only was the cold a factor, but they also considered the possibility that the Xuan Ming Shielded Tortoise would return. If they were still in the Xuan Ming Frozen Water when that happened, they would definitely be discovered.
The two of them started to swim forward as though they had lost their minds. However, not only was the Xuan Ming Frozen Water cold, but it was also very heavy. It felt as though they were swimming in mercury, and their speed and ability to advance had been drastically affected.
Three minutes after jumping in, the two of them had yet to swim out of the Xuan Ming Frozen Water area.
“Are you alright?” Mo Wen suddenly turned around and noticed that Yin Banshuang was getting slower and slower. The distance between them was also growing. If things went on like that, she would not be able to catch up to him in due time.
“Still alright.” Yin Banshuang gritted her teeth and continued to swim on crazily. However, it was clear that her current condition was not too good. Not only had her lips turned pale, but her Qi was also becoming weaker. The continual shivering of her body could even be seen.
Mo Wen furrowed his brows. The Xuan Ming Frozen Water was simply too cold. This woman seemed to be unable to handle it. With her cultivation, she would probably make it out of the Xuan Ming Frozen Water area. However, by then, she would be struggling for her life.
From Yin Banshuang’s words, it seemed like it would be no simple task obtaining that vital Qi, and it would require the collaboration between the two of them. If Yin Banshuang was too greatly affected now, he would undoubtedly lose a strong helper in the journey ahead.
Moreover, she had to make it out of the Xuan Ming Frozen Water area before the Xuan Ming Shielded Tortoise returned. If not, the consequences would be unthinkable.
After a mere moment’s hesitation, Mo Wen turned and quickly swam to Yin Banshuang’s side. He grabbed her tightly at the shoulders and began to swim forward vigorously. Right now, he could no longer care about anything else. Although it was very tiring bringing Yin Banshuang along with him in the water, in comparison to other possible consequences, it was undoubtedly the best outcome.
Yin Banshuang’s lips were pursed as she gritted her teeth. The cold in the water had frozen her so badly that she could not seem to talk. However, there was a look of confusion in her eyes as she looked at Mo Wen. Since she could not even stand such cold, how could this youth be so unaffected?
She could not figure it out no matter how she thought about it. Even an ancient martial art practitioner of the intermediate stage of the Golden Elixir realm would not be as relaxed as him if they were to swim through this Xuan Ming Frozen Water area, let alone one with the beginning stage of the Golden Elixir realm. They probably would not be able to fend for themselves, much less help anyone else.
Yet, Mo Wen was able to turn back and bring her in tow. Yin Banshuang was very grateful. She had truly needed some help.
A wave of warmth flowed out from Mo Wen’s hand, flowing into Yin Banshuang’s body. Her body that had been slowly stiffening instead began to soften as the warmth flowed into her.
Although she was still very cold, she was no longer as cold as before.
“How did you do it?” Yin Banshuang looked at Mo Wen with mild shock. As her condition improved, she was finally able to open her mouth to speak. She had not expected that Mo Wen would actually be able to get rid of the cold on her behalf. Just what exactly was that warmth that had affected her so dramatically?
Even people who cultivated the Fire Technique could freeze to death if they were submerged in this Xuan Ming Frozen Water. That was because the normal flame would definitely not be able to have much of an effect within the Xuan Ming Frozen Water. Any flame would be doused unless it was a mysterious fire like the spiritual fire. However, how could Mo Wen have a spiritual fire in his possession?
Mo Wen remained silent and simply continued to pull Yin Banshuang along as he swam ahead. With Yin Banshuang in tow, he felt rather tired out. After all, his Spiritless Clean Fire was but a small spark. If he wanted to maintain the Spiritless Clean Fire, it would drain his inner Qi too greatly.
With Mo Wen’s help, the two of them had increased greatly in speed. In the blink of an eye, they finally made it through the Xuan Ming Frozen Water area. They were ultimately able to make their way out of the water surface with a splash.
Neither Mo Wen or Yin Banshuang knew that as they jumped into the water, a figure had silently appeared by the entrance of the lair. It was a lady who was dressed in blue. She had a graceful figure and looked elegant and beautiful. There was a sharpness to her and a fierce aura. It was none other than Jin Ying.
When they had gone their separate ways previously, she had walked in the opposite direction from the two of them. Now, however, she had once again appeared near them.
“That youth and the girl are being so sneaky. They are definitely up to something. I am curious to find out just what they are going after.” Jin Ying’s mouth curled up as she looked at the lair thoughtfully. This lair had a Xuan Ming Shielded Tortoise guarding it. Hence, there definitely had to be some precious treasures inside. With her understanding of treasures, she was able to guess what amazing things were present in the lair.
She had never expected that Mo Wen and Yin Banshuang would actually be able to find such a place. She recognized the Xuan Ming Shielded Tortoise. It had the bloodline of the ancient mysterious beast, the Xuan Ming Tortoise. Although it only had a portion of the Xuan Ming Tortoise’s power, it was already very frightening.
Although the Xuan Ming Shielded Tortoise was of the later stage of the Seventh level, it was not any worse than a monstrous beast at its peak in terms of battle strength. Even ancient martial art sects would not be able to go up against it.
One would know without having to think that Yin Banshuang and Mo Wen were willing to offend such a dangerous thing because there was something worth the risk within.
“I might actually be able to find something valuable.” Jin Ying looked towards the lair as she muttered under her breath. She furrowed her eyebrows before relaxing them.
Then, she did not hesitate for a second longer. With a splash, she jumped into the Xuan Ming Frozen Water. Although the Xuan Ming Frozen Water was frightening, with her abilities, it would not be too difficult for her to make it through.
Meanwhile, Mo Wen and Yin Banshuang had jumped out of the cold water. The droplets on their bodies dripped onto the ground and immediately turned to ice.
The ice formed was not thick, but was even stronger than metal.
Mo Wen reached for a white pill within his body and stuffed it into his mouth. All the inner Qi that he had lost so quickly was restored immediately. In a moment, his inner Qi had increased significantly.
“Eat this.” Mo Wen threw a pill over to Yin Banshuang. Her condition was much worse than his. Although it had been him who essentially settled the latter part of the journey, she had depleted a large amount of her inner Qi while trying to defend herself against the cold.
Yin Banshuang received the pill and the moment she swallowed it, a look of amazement flashed through her eyes.
Initially, she had thought that it was just a normal healing medicinal pill. However, she did not expect that the pill could actually help ancient martial art practitioners regain their inner Qi. Such pills were very rare and many of the ancient martial art sects did not even own any. There were not many of these pills, even in the Five Beasts Sect. That was because even the Medicinal Sect could not concoct such pills. They could only be gained through trade in Huatian Palace.
Mo Wen actually possessed such a precious pill and had given one to her so generously!
With this pill, her inner Qi had immediately improved by ten times from her initial state. After a while, it had improved by a lot more. If this medicine could have lasting effects, she would be able to regain her inner Qi to its peak performance within half an hour.
“Thank you.” Yin Banshuang very rarely thanked people. However, Mo Wen had helped her once before and had even given her such a precious pill. She definitely owed him a great favor.
“As long as we can find the vital Qi, everything will be worth it. I hope you did not lie to me,” Mo Wen said calmly. In comparison to the vital Qi, these things were essentially worthless. To him, ten of the normal pills were not even as valuable as a single spiritual stone.
The white pills were a type of support pills that Mo Wen had concocted previously in Intentionless Sect. It was called the Qi Gathering Pill. This type of pill had the effect of restoring the inner Qi of an ancient martial art practitioner. Generally speaking, Immortal Cultivators would not have any use for such pills. However, it was very useful for ancient martial art practitioners.
Back then, Mo Wen had learned the method of concocting the Qi Gathering Pill because he was an ancient martial art practitioner. A normal Immortal Cultivator would not even have to learn to concoct the Qi Gathering Pill.
The effect of the Qi Gathering Pill would last not for merely half an hour, but an entire hour. It was more than enough to restore Yin Banshuang to her peak condition.
Roar! The cave started to vibrate and rocks started to fall from overhead as the ground trembled continuously.
“That is not good, the Xuan Ming Shielded Tortoise had probably returned. We should escape quickly.” Yin Banshuang’s expression changed slightly; she no longer only cared about regaining her inner Qi. With a flash of her figure, she flew into the lair.
When the two of them had plunged into the water, there had only been one passageway. The passageway led deep into the ground, and it was so deep that the end could not be seen.
Mo Wen immediately followed behind and studied his surroundings simultaneously.
The lair was very normal and there did not seem to be anything out of the ordinary. The only thing they noticed about it was its large size. The inside of it was big enough to fit a small mountain in. It was no wonder that the Xuan Ming Shielded Tortoise could freely travel in and out of the place.
The two of them continued on quickly and very soon they arrived at the end of the lair. The end was a very empty space. There was nothing in the surroundings other than a pond in the middle.
The pond was not big and its diameter was only about 15 meters long. The water inside was very clear and almost like a translucent pearl.
“Jump in.” Yin Banshuang did not seem to hesitate at all as she threw her entire body into the pond.
“Eh?” Mo Wen looked at the pond in shock and confusion. He only saw that Yin Banshuang immediately disappeared after jumping into that pond. She had not sunk into it but had rather disappeared completely. That was because sinking into the water was a process. However, her disappearance did not undergo a process at all.