Chapter 715: Chapter 367: Jade Girl Awakens, Enemies Meet, Li Xian’s Tricks and Deceit (Part 3)
Zhao Ranran was losing her composure at this point; she insisted on killing Li Xian. She thought to herself: "If I can’t kill him now, the entanglement will be impossible to clear. Whether this Flower Thief was joking or truly saw my face, he must be buried in the lake."
She retrieved the Ko Tian Pan again for a calculation, but the result was disappointing. She was irate: "Why is it that the Ko Tian Pan is useless every time at this moment? That mere Flower Thief, can it not be calculated?"
She slammed the compass hard into the ground. She paced back and forth, feeling utterly helpless. She devised numerous strategies but rejected them all one by one. Zhao Ranran had no choice but to suppress her anger and thought: "Though my Ko Tian Pan cannot calculate the Flower Thief, it can calculate the Jinlong predecessor’s abode. Why not ask Jinlong predecessor to help again?"
She was quite tempted by the idea, thinking: "If Jinlong predecessor intervenes, he will surely catch the Flower Thief quickly. But asking Jinlong predecessor to act twice for just a Flower Thief, previously I even said ’A mere Flower Thief does not require Jinlong predecessor to act’, wouldn’t that be boasting without ability, causing Jinlong predecessor to look down on me? I am Zhao Ranran, yet losing face over a Flower Thief..."
She hesitated immensely. As a Jade Girl, Zhao Ranran was recognized by the divine bird, representing the face of Daoxuan Mountain. Since childhood, she was told the importance of "reputation" and cherished her own feathers dearly.
A pure divine bird cannot be stained.
Picking up the Ko Tian Pan again, she built a wooden raft and moved hesitantly toward the Ao Jin manor. The journey was fraught with dangerous rapids, raging currents, reefs, and giant fish. Zhao Ranran cleverly avoided them all using the Ko Tian Pan before arriving outside the Ao Jin waters.
She hesitated sorely, her face red with embarrassment. She spent half an hour thinking about how to speak. Finally, she gritted her teeth, drove the boat into the waters, and shouted "Ao predecessor", "Ao predecessor"...
No response, and she let out a long breath of relief. Zhao Ranran said: "It seems Ao Jin predecessor has gone elsewhere, so be it, it’s heaven’s intent."
"The only plan now is to return to the Water Altar first. Once Xiaojing’s wounds heal, then I will seek this thief. I can only hope that the Flower Thief is still trapped and cannot escape. Otherwise... the thorn in my heart will be hard to remove."
"Hmph... A mere Flower Thief. If he could escape this place, he would have fled long ago, why wait until now. Xiaojing is a divine bird with strong healing power, it should heal quickly."
She drove the boat back along the original route, when an unexpected event occurred. She entered an eerie lake region, where the sky had been bright, and the heat suffocating. The moment she stepped into the lake region, her surroundings instantly darkened.
The lake surface was littered with countless fish corpses. Zhao Ranran knew immediately that this place was unusual, and quickly used the Ko Tian Pan for calculation. The Ko Tian Pan’s capability was strong, but she had just come into her own and couldn’t figure it out in her anxious state.
When she tried to leave the water area, it had become utterly difficult. Zhao Ranran forced herself to remain calm, using the Celestial Favor Sword to pick up and observe the fish corpses. She realized all the fish in the lake were alive, just had fallen into a deep sleep.
Zhao Ranran furrowed her brows, thinking: "Could it be poison gas? My veil has a poison-repelling effect; if it is poison gas, I am not afraid." The lake region was pitch-black, with only visibility of several yards.
Though her capabilities were high, she was not omnipotent. She lacked experience. Though calm, she couldn’t determine how to respond or resolve the immediate issue. After drifting for a moment, she suddenly felt the water flow accelerate.
She focused her gaze and realized she had entered a whirlpool current. The wooden raft beneath her shattered instantly, pulled into the current. Zhao Ranran, with exceptional lightweight skill, performed "Golden Lotus Step on the Pond", soaring into the air, flying out of the whirlpool current, then lightly treading on the water surface.
Suddenly, she felt a chill on the sole, as a splash hit, soaking her embroidered shoes. Steadying herself again, she felt her scalp tingle, as she had just escaped the tiger’s mouth only to enter the wolf’s den. Another whirlpool lay ahead.
Zhao Ranran said: "The lake bottom is deep, if I am pulled in, even if I don’t die, I would be skinned. Moreover, this place is pitch-dark. After falling into the water, the limited vision makes it hard to navigate, ultimately leading to a day of being trapped and dead!"
Immediately she flew across the water. After evading several whirlpools, she barely found a patch of standing water. Zhao Ranran, her whole life, had never faced such peril. She looked around and it was all turbulent whirlpools. Even with her strong lightweight skill, there would be a day it exhausted. Alone standing in water, her inner qi was slowly depleting.
Zhao Ranran knew she underestimated the lake’s danger. She stood quietly on her toes, thinking of a way to break the impasse. When things seemed tricky, she suddenly saw a faint light emerge from the darkness.
She pondered: "No matter what it is, I must risk it. If I can escape the water region, it will be a good thing." Using her lightweight skill, she strode across the water, pursuing the source of the faint light.
She chased for half an hour, the faint light seemed to flicker endlessly, never ending. Zhao Ranran steadied herself, increased her speed, moving like a startled swan. After another half an hour chase, she suddenly froze.
It was a sapling about half a person’s height, radiating a faint blue halo. Zhao Ranran exclaimed: "The Mother Tree of Ten Thousand Slumbers!" Immediately her eyelids grew heavy, feeling drowsy. She forced herself to resist the sleepiness.
This was a "rare divine artifact". It possessed the power to put all life into slumber, anyone who witnesses its true form finds sleep irresistible. However, in dreams, one rejuvenates spirit, gains enlightenment, and heals injuries.
The divine tree floated in the depths of Dongran Lake, its whereabouts were unpredictable. Zhao Ranran felt it was terrible, if she slept here, she would sink to the lake bottom. She gritted her teeth, disregarding everything, used lightweight skill, and flew in one direction.
Having seen the Mother Tree of Ten Thousand Slumbers, there must be long slumber. She thought: "My only way out is to return to the Water Altar before falling asleep, and let Sister Bian bring me back to the mountain, letting the elders devise a way to wake me. If I sleep in the lake, it’s utterly... difficult."
She flew all the way, the sleepiness brewing ever stronger. In moments of haze, she fell into the water several times, her clothes were almost half wet. She completely ignored her position, truly weary, raising her palm to create an escape.
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