396: Chapter 396 A Young Girl's Fluttering Heart

"Junior Brother Ye..." Shui Qingdie spoke softly, her voice weak. "Senior Brother Dongfang's method might work."

"Senior Sister Shui?" Ye Tian looked at her, shaking his head in disapproval. "Your injuries..."

"My injuries are fine," Shui Qingdie interrupted him. "I must get the Token. Staying in a stalemate or forcing our way to the bottom of the pond is equally risky and might even involve everyone else."

"Since there's a way to draw the battlefield to the shore, which is relatively advantageous for us, I'm willing to try."

She paused, her voice even softer. "And... I believe Junior Brother Ye... will protect me, right?"

The last few words were spoken very softly, almost inaudible, her eyes filled with total trust and a reliance she hadn't fully understood herself.

Ye Tian looked at Shui Qingdie's determined eyes, speechless for a moment.

He could see she was serious, not just putting on a brave face.

Moreover, what she said made sense; staying in a stalemate or forcing their way in was indeed dangerous.

"Junior Brother Ye," Dongfang Xinghe also spoke up, "I know this method is risky. But we can prepare well."

"Junior Sister Shui only needs to simulate her aura; she doesn't need to fight."

"You and I, along with Junior Brother Pei, will be on full alert, ready to support or attack at any time."

"As long as that Black Snake is lured ashore and loses the geographical advantage of the Cold Pond, with the strength of the four of us, we might stand a chance. It's better than risking our lives in its home territory."

Pei Tieshan also patted his chest and said, "Junior Brother Ye, don't worry! Even if I, Old Pei, have to risk my life, I'll never let that long worm hurt a single hair on Senior Sister Shui's head! Wherever you point, I'll strike!"

Ye Tian was silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping over his three fellow disciples, before finally nodding, though his tone was serious. "We can try the plan, but you three must ensure your own safety."

"I'll trouble Senior Brother Dongfang and Senior Brother Pei to retreat to the cave entrance, conceal your auras, and be ready for long-range interference and to support the retreat. Do not easily engage in close combat."

"Senior Sister Shui, listen to my commands. Releasing your aura must be done gradually. Once that Black Snake shows signs of coming ashore, I will immediately have you stop and retreat. I will handle all the attacks."

"If things become impossible, I will take you away immediately. Do not linger in the fight."

His arrangements were thorough and cautious, taking the most dangerous task upon himself to protect Shui Qingdie's safety to the greatest extent.

"Alright!" the three of them responded in unison.

Dongfang Xinghe and Pei Tieshan immediately retreated to the cave entrance, suppressing their auras and watching nervously.

Following Ye Tian's instructions, Shui Qingdie sat cross-legged three steps behind him, closing her eyes to concentrate and beginning to slowly circulate her Cultivation Technique.

Water Spirit Qi emanated from her body, but because her injuries hadn't healed, her aura was unstable and its glow was dim.

Ye Tian walked between her and the Cold Pond, his back to her, facing the water.

He extended his palm, gently pressing it against the center of Shui Qingdie's back, slowly channeling Chaos True Essence into her.

Shui Qingdie's delicate body trembled slightly.

As that True Essence entered her body, it quickly soothed the stinging pain in her damaged Meridians, dispelling the gloomy cold and bringing a sense of warmth and security.

What made her heart race even more was that Ye Tian was standing right in front of her, shielding her from the dangerous Cold Pond.

The warmth coming from his palm caused a faint blush to involuntarily rise on her pale cheeks.

"Concentrate, release your aura, I will help you transform it." Ye Tian's voice sounded in her ear, interrupting her reverie.

Shui Qingdie quickly composed herself and did as instructed.

Under the guidance of Ye Tian's Chaos True Essence, the Water Spirit Qi she released began to change.

This aura held an irresistible attraction for water-attribute creatures, while still retaining most of Shui Qingdie's own characteristics.

A blue halo slowly spread out with Shui Qingdie as the center, and the surrounding water vapor gathered, forming a faint blue mist.

As time passed, the pond water remained calm, but that fierce aura had already begun to stir at the bottom.

Shui Qingdie maintained the release of her aura; the strain of her injuries and the consumption of energy caused sweat to appear on her forehead, and her face turned pale again.

"Gurgle, gurgle..."

Just as she was about to reach her limit, the center of the pond suddenly boiled, bubbles churning, and a fierce aura soared into the sky!

"It's coming!" Ye Tian's eyes narrowed. With a push of his palm, a gentle force steadily sent Shui Qingdie several dozen feet away, out of the most dangerous area.

At the same time, he took a step forward, standing where Shui Qingdie had just been, facing the Cold Pond directly.

"Roar!"

The pond water exploded, and a massive, hideous head burst out!

It was a snake head the size of a house, covered in sharp-edged blue-black scales, with dark blue ice crystals frozen in the gaps between the scales.

A pair of vertical pupils the size of millstones locked onto Ye Tian.

More accurately, they were locked onto Shui Qingdie behind Ye Tian, whose aura was "alluring."

Behind the snake head, a section of the thick snake body emerged from the water, emitting a suffocating pressure.

A Cold Water Black Serpent at the Fourth Stage Peak of the Sea Transformation Realm! And it was a mutant strain corrupted by gloomy cold Death Qi!

Its cold vertical pupils swept over Ye Tian with a hint of disdain.

Although the aura on this human was a bit strange, he was only at the Sea Transformation Third Stage—not worth worrying about.

Its target was the human woman emitting the alluring "spiritual object" aura! Devouring her would be worth decades of bitter cultivation at the bottom of the pond!

Without the slightest hesitation, the Cold Water Black Serpent opened its mouth and spat out ice-blue venom, spraying it toward Ye Tian and Shui Qingdie behind him!

Simultaneously, its thick snake tail burst out of the water again, sweeping across the shore with the force of ten thousand tons!

"Watch out!" At the cave entrance, Dongfang Xinghe and Pei Tieshan couldn't help but cry out in alarm.

Shui Qingdie, having been sent out of the danger zone by Ye Tian, barely managed to steady herself. Seeing the ice-blue venom and the sweeping snake tail, her pretty face turned deathly pale.

Seeing the venom about to reach him, Ye Tian remained calm. He raised his right hand and clenched it; thunder roared as Chaos Lightning suddenly erupted!

Wherever it passed, the ice-blue venom instantly turned into green smoke and dissipated.

The moment the sweeping snake tail touched the lightning, its hard blue-black scales shattered and charred inch by inch, revealing the mangled flesh of the snake's body beneath. Before the foul-smelling snake blood could even splatter, it was vaporized by the lightning!

"Roar!!"

The Cold Water Black Serpent let out a pained roar, fear appearing in its vertical pupils.

The destructive power contained in that lightning made its very Soul tremble!

It frantically tried to retract its tail and pull back.

But Ye Tian's attack had only just begun.

"Since you've come out, don't even think about going back."

Ye Tian's indifferent voice rang out.

He took a step forward, appearing directly in front of the Cold Water Black Serpent's head, and pointed a finger at the center of its brow.

The Cold Water Black Serpent's vertical pupils suddenly constricted; it felt the scent of death!

It desperately twisted its head, trying to dodge, while opening its mouth to spit out even thicker venom and condensing ice armor to protect its brow...

But all of this was in vain.

A hole, transparent from front to back, appeared in the hardest scale at the center of the Black Snake's brow!

The edges of the hole were as smooth as a mirror, with not a single drop of blood flowing out, because all the flesh had been completely reduced to nothingness by that overbearing thunder power the moment they made contact.

The next moment, the Black Snake's massive body suddenly stiffened, and the light in its vertical pupils quickly faded.

Residual ice-blue venom trickled weakly from the corners of its mouth as the giant snake head crashed down, splashing a towering column of water. It slowly sank, and a large amount of blood gushed out, dyeing the Cold Pond red.

Killed in a single blow.

At the cave entrance, Dongfang Xinghe and Pei Tieshan's mouths hung wide open, unable to close for a long time.

A mutated Cold Water Black Serpent close to the Fourth Stage Peak of the Sea Transformation Realm, fighting on its home turf, was... killed by a single finger?

Shui Qingdie stared blankly at the figure standing by the pond, her heart beating violently.

A complex mixture of relief, admiration, and throbbing excitement quietly blossomed within her.

Ye Tian exhaled a breath of turbid air, looking at the whirlpool where the Black Snake's corpse had submerged, his expression calm.

Although this Cold Water Black Serpent was strong, it was innately countered by Chaos Lightning Power. Moreover, it had been lured out of the Cold Pond by the "bait," losing its geographical advantage. In the face of his full-power outburst, being killed in one shot was within reason.

His true exhaustion came more from previously healing Shui Qingdie and transforming her aura.

"Senior Sister Shui, where at the bottom of the pond is the Token?" Ye Tian turned around and looked at Shui Qingdie, his tone returning to its usual gentleness.

"Ah? Oh... it's, it's at the northeast corner of the pond floor, on a white stone platform..." Shui Qingdie snapped back to reality, her cheeks slightly flushed as she spoke quickly. Her gaze was somewhat evasive, not daring to meet Ye Tian's eyes.

Ye Tian nodded, not noticing anything unusual. He leaped into the air, turning into a bolt of lightning and plunging into the still-churning Cold Pond.

It wasn't until his figure was swallowed by the dark pond water that Shui Qingdie slowly raised her hand and pressed it against the left side of her chest.

There, her heart was beating uncontrollably fast.

She suddenly remembered a line of mortal poetry she had accidentally come across in the Liuli Xuan Sect's library when she was young. At the time, she hadn't understood its meaning, but now it inexplicably surfaced in her mind.

"When the golden wind and jade dew meet, they surpass countless encounters in the mortal world."

As soon as this thought arose, she startled herself. Her cheeks instantly became burning hot, and she hurriedly tried to calm her mind, but she couldn't suppress the ripples in her heart, which were like the surface of the pond.