63: Chapter 63 Crack

The three of them followed the rock wall and found a leeward hollow; the cave walls were dry, still lingering with a faint fragrance of plants and trees.

Zhang Wen picked up some dry branches and piled them in a corner, a faint wisp of Lightning Radiance condensing at his fingertips, igniting the firewood with a "snap."

The flickering firelight licked the wood, illuminating the exhaustion on the trio's faces more clearly.

Su Qingyue leaned against the stone wall, having just finished checking their injuries with the last bit of her spiritual power, the water ripples on her fingertips completely receding. "The displaced ribs have been reset, but the bone injury in the left arm will take some days to heal." She looked at Zhang Wen, her gaze falling on the claw mark on his chest that was deep enough to see bone; although it had scabbed over, it was still bruised purple.

"And your spiritual power; you overexerted yourself too much this time. Don't use any powerful moves for the next few days."

Zhao Yu was wrapping his right arm with cloth strips. Hearing this, he let out a scoff, "As if anyone would dare to move. Right now, I'm afraid even coughing up phlegm might jar and break my remaining bones."

He paused, adding a piece of wood to the fire as sparks crackled and flew. "Who would have thought that on the first day in this gods-forsaken place, we'd run into a Xuan Shui Crocodile with Black Tortoise Bloodline? Had I known, I would've stayed home and gnawed on roast chicken."

Zhang Wen rubbed the dark gold beast core in his palm, a warm sensation coming from his fingertips. Although the Bloodline Power sealed within was faint, it still carried a daunting ferocity. "The Black Tortoise phantom on its back seemed to have been forcibly activated; otherwise, with our cultivation levels, we wouldn't have lasted until now."

He rubbed the beast core in his palm, thinking back to that Thunder Wrath: Instant Prison Kill; a tearing numbness still lingered beneath his palm. "But it's a blessing in disguise. This beast core is even stronger than others at the Peak of the Microscopic Realm, faintly leaking the aura of the Penetration Realm, it's just..."

"Take it." Su Qingyue handed over some dry rations, her tone brook no argument. "If it wasn't for your final move, the two of us would be scraps in that crocodile's belly by now."

Zhao Yu raised his cloth-wrapped right arm and nodded in agreement, "Exactly, this credit is yours alone. Besides, your lightning technique is already overbearing; pairing it with this beast core is just right to temper its hostility."

Zhang Wen gripped the beast core tightly. A warm current seeped through his palm into his Meridians, intertwining with the residual Lightning Radiance into a gold-and-purple halo. "Thank you, Senior Brother and Senior Sister. Once we've recovered our energy, we'll go break that crocodile den's Formation and take all the good things inside."

"Haha, I'll take my Junior Brother's word for it!" Zhao Yu chimed in, suddenly pulling an oil-paper bundle from his robes. Opening it, it turned out to be half a dried wild rabbit.

"I scavenged this when we first came in. I planned to enjoy it slowly, but now..." He moved the wild rabbit closer to the fire. The fat gradually melted, and the aroma spread. "Let's pad our stomachs first so we have the strength to haul the treasures."

Su Qingyue watched the two of them devouring the food, a faint smile finally gracing her lips. The firelight reflected off her mud-stained cheeks, making her look a bit more down-to-earth than usual. "The Formation will have to rely on Zhao Yu's efforts; we'll keep watch on the perimeter." She tore off a small piece of rabbit meat and chewed slowly. "Don't be reckless again."

Zhang Wen and Zhao Yu exchanged a glance, both seeing the lingering fear in each other's eyes, as well as the relief of having survived a disaster.

The fire grew stronger, dispelling the chill. Zhao Yu looked at the brightening sky outside the cave, firelight dancing in his eyes. "For a Xuan Shui Crocodile to guard it so closely, the things inside are definitely not simple."

The three of them leaned against the stone wall to rest with their eyes closed, with only the occasional crackle of the firewood. No one spoke again, but they all knew—this dangerous journey had only just begun.

...

The warmth inside the cave intensified. Half a wild rabbit sizzled over the fire, oil droplets splashing onto the charcoal and sending up puffs of blue smoke filled with the scent of meat. Zhang Wen chewed on the rabbit meat, feeling that this dried game actually tasted better than the delicacies of the Sect; perhaps because he had just walked back from the brink of life and death, even ordinary food tasted sweet with the relief of survival.

Zhao Yu gnawed on a meat leg and said indistinctly, "The Formation outside that Xuan Shui Crocodile's den—I've mostly finished studying it. It should be a variant of the 'Nine-Bends Spirit-Locking Formation.' This kind of Formation is best at trapping Spiritual Qi, making it impossible for the treasures inside to escape and difficult for outsiders to enter."

Su Qingyue wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth and added, "Forcing the Formation open will only cause a bigger commotion. We must find the formation eye."

Zhang Wen rubbed the beast core with his fingertips, the purple halo rising and falling gently with his breath. "Agreed. Senior Brother Zhao, are you confident?"

"Hard to say," Zhao Yu said uncertainly. "In a bit, I'll sneak over first to scout it out and pinpoint the location of the formation eye. You two find the right moment to gather your strength for a single strike to destroy it."

...

After resting for about an hour, the daylight was fully bright. The mist outside the cave gradually thinned, and a deep blue pool was faintly visible not far away. The carcass of the Xuan Shui Crocodile floated by the shore, the smell of blood mixing with the water vapor to diffuse a bit of fishy sweetness in the morning light.

The three of them finished packing up. Zhao Yu was the first to walk toward the Formation outside the crocodile den, his fingertips forming seals as he lightly tapped the Void Realm, his gaze roaming over the edge of the water curtain. Zhang Wen and Su Qingyue stood on either side, one with Lightning Radiance surging in his palm, the other with water vapor swirling in her sleeve, alertly scanning the surroundings—in such a treasure land, there was no guarantee other Cultivators wouldn't come sniffing around.

A moment later, Zhao Yu turned back and made a hand signal: the protruding rock on the left, covered in moss with a faint spiritual light flowing over it, was the formation eye.

Zhang Wen took a deep breath, suddenly condensing Tribulation Thunder in his right hand. The spiritual power within his body intertwined with the lightning, the purple electricity in his palm growing brighter, the crackling sound carrying a scorching pressure. He seized the opportunity and struck with force, a pillar of lightning as thick as an arm tearing through the air, striking the protruding rock with a sharp whistle!

"Zzzt—"

The lightning pillar crashed into the rock, instantly exploding into a sky full of electric snakes. The water surface surged violently as if boiling, the Formation's spiritual light flashed intensely, and the water curtain surrounding the cave entrance actually split open, creating a gap about ten feet wide.

"Now!" Su Qingyue barked softly, her toes tapping the water as she drifted in like a willow catkin. Zhang Wen and Zhao Yu followed closely behind. As soon as the three of them entered the cave, the gap behind them slammed shut as if it had never existed.

Inside was actually a dry stone chamber, the walls embedded with Night-Luminescent Pearls, making it as bright as day. On a stone platform in the center, a jade box lay quietly, with several stalks of blue-glowing Spirit Medicine scattered beside it—actually five-hundred-year-old Xuan Shui Spiritual Plants.

"Good heavens!" Zhao Yu's eyes widened. "These Spiritual Plants are perfect for refining medicine!"

Zhang Wen, however, stared at the jade box, the beast core in his palm growing slightly hot. "The thing inside this is even more extraordinary."

He stepped forward and lifted the lid. On golden silk lay a palm-sized blue crystal, with what looked like flowing water moving inside; looking closely, there were even countless tiny fish swimming within.

"Heart of the Water Vein!" Su Qingyue cried out in shock, her fingertips trembling slightly. "Legend has it that this item can increase the probability of water-attribute talents evolving, and can even trigger the Awakening of talent skills—no wonder that Xuan Shui Crocodile fought to the death to guard it!"

Zhang Wen tried to hold the crystal in his hand. A warm and majestic power surged into his body, and as it clashed with his lightning spiritual power, it actually added a bit of suppleness to the overbearing Lightning Radiance.

"Crack—"

A crisp sound suddenly came from the depths of the stone chamber. Several Green-Scaled Water Snakes as thick as a forearm crawled out from the darkness, their eyes glowing green—they were actually the companion venomous creatures of the Xuan Shui Crocodile.

"It seems the owner of this nest wasn't just a single Xuan Shui Crocodile." Zhao Yu gripped his long saber, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Just in time to stretch my muscles!"

Su Qingyue tucked the Heart of the Water Vein into her robes, shimmering water droplets condensing on her fingertips. "End this quickly; don't attract anything else."

Before her voice finished, the Green-Scaled Water Snakes pounced like arrows. Within the stone chamber, water light, sword light, and purple electricity intertwined as the slaughter abruptly began.