Chapter 51: The Cold Marrow Pearl

In no time, spiritual energy within the formation condensed into a mist, enveloping the entire valley with an ethereal, otherworldly aura.

Qin Shu channeled freezing energy through his hands and pressed them onto the lake surface, conjuring a hundred-meter-wide ice platform that instantly floated on the water.

Xiao Yan settled on the ice, the flow of spiritual energy swirling around him like mist, streaming into his body.

The breakthrough had begun.

A jade-green glow emanated from within him, illuminating the entire valley in the darkness of night. However, trapped within the Five Elements Formation, the radiance couldn’t escape beyond the valley.

With no imminent dangers in the vicinity, Qin Shu’s gaze fell upon the abyssal lake water, and a thought stirred within him. Could there be any precious treasures or mystical artifacts hidden deep in these waters?

Without further ado, he dove in.

Activating Water Escape, he swiftly plunged thousands of meters deep. The crushing pressure enveloped him, and darkness swallowed his vision.

His divine perception scanned in widening circles, yet the lake bottom remained elusive.

Currents swirled, exerting a powerful suction. Sensing a massive opening, a full kilometer wide, Qin Shu realized it must be the exit point for the subterranean river.

Continuing his Water Escape, he freed himself from the gravitational pull. Descending another hundred meters, he finally touched the lake bottom.

Pitch black like ink, not a hint of light penetrated the abyssal depths. The temperature was so low that even Qin Shu felt a chilling bite.

Burning his true essence, a ball of light ignited in his hand, illuminating the darkness.

This place was devoid of life, not even soil or mud could be found. An upward force made it nearly impossible for most living beings to venture from the surface to the lake bottom.

Even sediment was swept upwards by that relentless pull.

Divine sense, unaffected underwater, scanned the area. With a thought, everything on the lake floor mapped itself into Qin Shu’s mind.

At first glance, there seemed to be nothing here.

Yet, he sensed wisps of frigid energy rising from beneath his feet, piercing straight through to his very bones.

As he approached the center of the lake bottom, this chill became more pronounced. The terrain dipped slightly towards the middle, forming a small pit at the heart of the lake.

Qin Shu arrived at this spot, unsheathed his Thunder Flame Tiger Roar Blade, and began to excavate directly.

The lake bottom was composed of hardened rock. Despite the blade being a high-grade spiritual artifact, each stroke only managed to penetrate ten centimeters.

The loosened debris immediately floated upwards, carried by the current towards the hole’s edge.

Qin Shu exerted greater force and quickened his movements. Before long, he had excavated a pit several meters deep. The freezing sensation intensified, causing him slight discomfort. Instinctively, he circulated his true essence to resist the cold before continuing his excavation.

Qin Shu placed a Yin-Yang Pill in his mouth to replenish his true essence.

After tunneling for what seemed like an eternity, a blue light erupted from the earth. Embedded in the soil was a basketball-sized blue orb.

It illuminated the entire center of the lake.

A burst of cold energy exploded outward. Layer by layer, blue ice crystals spread from the sphere at the heart of the lake, radiating in all directions.

As soon as the Thunder Flame Tiger Roar Blade touched this orb, a layer of ice rapidly formed on its surface.

This was no ordinary ice. Its temperature was extremely low, making it difficult to clear.

Chilled to the bone, Qin Shu communicated with the Great Array of Five Elements.

The Profound Origin Banner manifested, absorbing the frigid energy.

The ice crystals at the bottom of the lake began to dissipate, gathering into streams of blue light that poured into the Profound Origin Banner.

The banner glowed, and natural restrictions materialized. Qin Shu could clearly sense that under the influence of this power, the banner was undergoing a subtle transformation.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this had to be a Cold Marrow Pearl. Though, it was rather large.

Back when he was in school, Qin Shu had spent his free time reading many books, including illustrated guides on various materials. Among them, he remembered one that described the Cold Marrow Pearl.

However, ordinary cold marrow pearls are only about the size of a thumb, providing significant benefits to awakened beings cultivating ice-cold attributes.

They can also be used to refine spirit artifacts with these attributes.

A pearl this large would be more than enough to refine top-grade spirit artifacts.

He couldn’t help but anticipate the changes to come for the Profound Origin Banner.

Although the Profound Origin Banner manifested in the water, it had no effect on the Five Elements Formation.

Instead, as part of the formation, the Profound Origin Banner absorbed the cold marrow pearl’s power while using the principles of the Five Elements to transfer some of the unabsorbed energy to the Cyan Lotus Banner.

Above, Xiao Yan was breaking through; below, the Profound Origin Banner was also transforming.

As the power was absorbed, the cold marrow pearl’s volume steadily decreased, then separated from the lake bottom.

With a wave of the Profound Origin Banner, it enveloped the cold marrow pearl and vanished.

The cold at the lake bottom dispersed, and the temperature rose.

Qin Shu looked around, feeling that there was probably nothing left to gain. Activating the Water Escape Technique once more, he ascended.

Feeling the pull of the undercurrent again, he gazed deeply into the entrance, sensing something within that held a profound attraction for him.

His thoughts were abruptly cut off by a sense of impending crisis.

On the lake surface, massive fish leaped into the air, arcing towards Xiao Yan at the centre of the ice.

Instinctively, Xiao Yan opened his mouth, and with a sudden surge of force, drew the airborne fish into his body.

Thanking nature’s bountiful gift.

Qin Shu broke through the surface just in time to witness this scene, and couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Don’t even break through without forgetting to eat.”

He gently trod on the water’s surface, listening to the thunderous cascade of the waterfall above. The roar was powerful yet didn’t grate on his ears.

If only it were a bit further away, the sound might be even more captivating.

His gaze shifted, taking in the fruit trees lining the waterfall.

The fruits were a gleaming yellow, reminiscent of both loquats and pears.

They were larger in size, comparable to durians, with a crystalline sheen and a pendulous shape, almost as if they hung perilously on the branch.

These were second-tier spirit fruits, known as Huangzhong Fruits, renowned for their ability to fortify and nourish the body.

Qin Shu extended his hand, and with a thought, a ripe fruit materialized in his palm.

Its thick skin peeled off like that of a pig, revealing a flesh as golden as jade. With a bite, he found it juicy and sweet, with a pleasingly balanced tartness.

After swallowing, tendrils of spiritual energy began to course through his entire body.

Unfortunately, the effect on him was minimal.

As he examined the row upon row of Huangzhong fruit trees, a faint suspicion took root in his mind: there must be something within the cliff walls.

With a sweep of his divine sense, Qin Shu penetrated the waterfall, scanning it from top to bottom.

One by one, unevenly sized holes emerged on the waterfall’s other side, creating a pitted landscape reminiscent of a honeycomb.

Qin Shu’s divine sense delved into one such hole, traversing a hundred-meter-long passageway before entering an enormous cavern.

Within this space, light shimmered from above. Hundreds of meters up, an irregularly patterned dome embedded with crystalline formations emitted a soft glow.

The echoing drip of water reverberated ceaselessly through the chamber.

Though tempted to explore, Qin Shu resisted the urge, casting a glance at Xiao Yan. He decided to wait until the creature broke through its transformation before venturing in together—it wouldn’t hurt to wait a little longer.

Time trickled by like the falling drops. Xiao Yan’s radiance grew more intense, its aura increasingly powerful.

Within its body, a massive demon core began to condense. As spiritual energy continuously poured into it, its form inflated like a balloon, growing rapidly before Qin Shu’s eyes.

Three days slipped away almost imperceptibly. Xiao Yan, still prone on the ground, now measured six meters across.

With a burst of azure light, Xiao Yan’s eyes snapped open, and it let out a soft cry from its beak.

A cyan wave rippled outward, and the ice beneath it rapidly melted.

Xiao Yan unfurled its green wings, gently flapped them, and floated into the air. It looked down toward the water’s surface and inhaled deeply.

One by one, large fish from the lake flew involuntarily into its mouth, satisfying its hunger as they filled its belly.