The water pool, no more than thirty feet wide, was unfathomably deep despite its clear water, veiled by an abyss.
Even with his spiritual eyes, Ji Yuan couldn't pierce the depths, yet brilliant spiritual light emerged from within, illuminating the waterfall and the entire pool with dazzling radiance.
"Should we go into the water to retrieve the spiritual item?" Zhou Lianying inquired.
Upon hearing this, he shook his head and, with a grave expression, signaled her to retreat. He instructed her not to approach easily, no matter what happened.
Though the maiden harbored doubts, she complied and quickly ran back along the path she had taken, watching the situation from afar.
A moment later, Ji Yuan took a deep breath, the acupoints on his body radiating light, and six heavy water pearls appeared, slowly rotating around him.
With a thought, the six heavy water pearls flew above the pool. As he clenched his extended left hand, streams of water light descended, merging into the pool.
At this instant, a portion of his consciousness sank into the heavy water pearls, his spiritual sense amplified to its maximum, sensing the conditions within the pool.
Within mere breaths, Ji Yuan detected over thirty points of light, each representing a spirit fish.
As the power of the heavy water pearls probed deeper, he discovered that the pool, only about thirty feet wide on the surface, had a depth exceeding twenty feet, and perhaps much more.
Thirty feet… forty feet…
Ji Yuan's brows furrowed. He forcefully brought his outstretched palm down, and the six heavy water pearls plunged into the pool.
Immediately, he formed hand seals, his consciousness sinking with the heavy water pearls, thus extending his spiritual perception further into the depths of the pool.
When the depth surpassed sixty feet, he felt the gradually narrowing bottom of the pool suddenly widen immeasurably. Beyond the profound darkness lay a space shimmering with light.
It was this light, shining through the bottom of the deep pool and illuminating heaven and earth, that existed here.
Suddenly, Ji Yuan's expression drastically changed. He quickly maneuvered the six heavy water pearls to ascend, as he sensed a strong life force rapidly approaching from within the vast space at the bottom of the pool.
In terms of the density of its vitality alone, it far surpassed the second realm, and even the third realm couldn't compare!
In his memory, even the ancient locust tree that had lived in the Zhao family's residence for several hundred years possessed a life force that was several times weaker!
With a rush of water, the six heavy water pearls broke the surface and flew back to Ji Yuan's side, rotating at an extremely high speed.
Concurrently, he rapidly retreated, his expression a picture of extreme seriousness, for he could feel the potent life force from the depths of the pool rapidly approaching the surface.
Seeing this, Zhou Lianying subconsciously held her breath. It was the first time she had seen the young Daoist priest wear such a grave expression. She quickly turned her gaze back to the pool.
At this moment, Ji Yuan's gaze was also fixed on the pool. He then saw a shadow rapidly ascending beneath the clear surface of the water, its potent vitality and fierce aura already emanating from the water.
With a splash, seven or eight breaths later, the surface of the water exploded. A massive black figure burst forth from the water, sending a torrent of water splashing in all directions.
"Infinite… heavens!"
Ji Yuan's lips twitched. Without hesitation, he stomped his foot forcefully.
At that moment, the spiritual energy within him surged, flowing into the six heavy water pearls encircling his body, fully unleashing their power.
Simultaneously, a phantom image of a seven-story pagoda appeared from within him, then coalesced above his head, revealing a small, sky-blue tower only a few inches in size.
The Xuan Tian Soul Devouring Pagoda spun in the air, then emitted wisps of light that protected Ji Yuan below. Simultaneously, it drew in the surrounding spiritual energy, automatically replenishing some of his expenditure.
Almost as soon as he finished doing this, the splashing water finally finished falling. Illuminated by the protective formation's light, a colossal entity appeared before him.
It was a giant python, thicker than a tree trunk. Its black scales shimmered, and its massive body contained astonishing vitality, along with a ferocious aura comparable to the mid-stage of the Spirit Point realm.
As soon as the giant python broke the surface, it stirred the surrounding water vapor. Under the influence of its fierce aura, even the spiritual energy nearby became restless.
Finally seeing the giant python in its entirety, Ji Yuan's heart sank, and a chill rose from within him.
The giant python's head had grown a pair of sharp black horns, and it sported two whiskers, each about a foot long. There were also four bulges on its abdomen.
Without a doubt, this python possessed a special bloodline and had entered the stage of transforming into a dragon. If given enough time and sufficient spiritual energy, it might be able to activate its bloodline and transform into a true flood dragon.
All things in the world that bore the word "dragon" transcended the mundane. Not to mention flood dragons, which were themselves one of the most powerful races in heaven and earth, and were subordinate to the dragon race!
As a gaze fell upon it, a look of longing suddenly appeared in the giant python's eyes.
For demons, ghosts, and other such creatures, the spiritual energy and magic power within cultivators were supreme delicacies. Even a single taste would be unforgettable for a lifetime, let alone the boost to their cultivation.
This was also why humans and demons were mostly naturally opposed and inclined to fight to the death on sight.
With a roar, the black giant python opened its maw and spat out a stream of extremely dense water light, striking towards the human youth before it.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan had no intention of relying on the Xuan Tian Soul Devouring Pagoda to directly block this stream of water light. Instead, he rapidly retreated.
The dense water light that descended immediately created a large pit in the hard mountain body. The splashed water that shot out in all directions could directly crack rocks and the ground.
"Go!"
Ji Yuan let out a sharp cry and pointed at the black giant python.
In an instant, the six rapidly rotating heavy water pearls around him shot out.
In mere blinks of an eye, the six heavy water pearls arrived, emitting boundless water light before they even touched their target. They interwove, forming immense pressure.
The giant python's body trembled slightly, deflecting the falling heavy water pearls. Within the water light, it seemed to feel no pressure or weight, but rather a feeling of being in its element.
It moved within the water light, and with a mere tremor of its body, it prevented the heavy water pearls from reaching it, causing them to truly strike its body.
His gaze sharpened, and Ji Yuan discovered the secret. This python was naturally fond of water and had cultivated in water for who knew how many years, becoming extremely familiar with the water element.
It was precisely because it excelled in water arts that the python exuded a fluctuation close to the Dao, making all water elements difficult to approach.
Under immense pressure, he suddenly became interested, and another plan formed in his mind.
He let out a low cry, the Nine Yuan Heavy Water Scripture circulating fully within his body. Sounds like rushing rivers continuously emanated from him.
The dense, unmoving water light rippled around his body, and his pupils quietly turned blue, as if he were a river god emerging from the water.
The six heavy water pearls swiftly returned, slowly circling around him. Streams of majestic power surged back, all entering his body.
Gazing at the giant python, now only a few feet away, Ji Yuan expressionlessly drew the Yuan Chen whip coiled around his waist and swung his arm forcefully. The light blue whip body instantly broke through the air.
Seeing this, the black giant python merely glanced at it and then dismissed the whip body, which was entwined with water light.
It was naturally drawn to water arts, having grown up in water and consumed concentrated essence of water. It was already immune to all water elements below its own realm.
Once it fully transformed into a flood dragon, it could summon wind and rain in an instant. With a mere thought, it could stir up colossal waves, easily submerging a mountain peak.
With a snap, the next breath, a crisp sound shattered the black giant python's thoughts. The pain transmitted through its body and the immense, unresolvable force directly sent it flying back several yards!
Its massive body rolled on the ground, its thick tail even breaking several large trees. Only after a surge of turbulent spiritual energy erupted did it finally stop rolling.
A moment later, the giant python raised its head, its eyes filled with disbelief. It looked at the thin whip body, unable to comprehend why it had been whipped away.
On its body, seven or eight hard scales had cracked, and a trace of blood was oozing out.
It suddenly reared up half of its body, opened its maw, and let out a roar. Endless water light emerged and then coalesced into numerous spears, which shot towards the human before it.
Ji Yuan's expression remained unchanged. With a slight flick of his wrist, the Yuan Chen whip instantly transformed into countless afterimages, shattering all the dozens of spears that rained down.
At the same time, he reached out and lightly grasped. The water light from the collapsing spears was immediately captured by him and, in the blink of an eye, transformed into twenty to thirty palm-sized flying swords.
With a thought, the water-light flying swords suspended around him shot out, and in a few finger snaps, they landed on the black giant python's body.
For some reason, the giant python's immunity to water arts seemed to have no effect. The water-light flying swords, imbued with sword intent, struck down, continuously piercing the hard scales on its body!
In an instant, shattered scales flew, and bright red blood with a blue luminescence dripped down!
In pain, the giant python let out an enraged roar. Water light converged around it, resisting the flying swords' attack. No longer daring to underestimate its opponent, it no longer relied solely on its immunity to water elements for defense.
Amidst a surge of water light, the black giant python actually flew into mid-air, supported by streams of water, with mist also emanating from its body.
At first glance, it truly gave the impression of riding clouds and mist.
Ji Yuan snorted coldly. The arm holding the Yuan Chen whip swung repeatedly, and the light blue whip body instantly transformed into countless afterimages.
The whip body, already three to four yards long, now extended seven to eight yards with the augmentation of spiritual energy. It then descended like a torrential storm, lashing at the giant python that was being lifted into the air by the water streams.
With a long cry, the giant python spewed dense water mist from its mouth, enveloping itself.
This mist, which seemed like it would dissipate with a single puff, was like cotton. No matter how the whip shadows struck, it remained unbroken, only slightly denting before returning to its original shape.
Simultaneously, with a tremor of the black giant python's body, a profound aura swept out.
Within a radius of twenty yards, strong winds suddenly arose, and a patch of dark clouds gathered, containing a large amount of water vapor, with streaks of lightning flashing within.
Ji Yuan looked up and immediately realized that the opponent's actions were similar to his own talisman formations, using water vapor as a root to gather clouds and mist, and summoning fierce lightning to strike down.