43: White Lotus of Illusory Water

Chu Jingyu looked toward the owner of the voice; it was a young man wearing a hat made of unknown Source Beast fur. His clothes were far from clean, stained with patches of black and red, as if they had not been washed for a very long time.

On his shoulder sat an ant the size of a fist, gleaming with a dark luster.

Chu Jingyu could sense that the energy intensity of the Source Beast on the young man's shoulder was around the Mortal Rank Middle Tier. A Contract Master of this Realm should be the most common level on these city walls.

Chu Jingyu glanced at the paper with lines drawn on it in the young man's hand, then slowly shook his head. "No need."

Beyond the Border, incorrect information is more lethal than unknown information. Chu Jingyu was not a novice in the wild; he was very clear on this principle.

Therefore, to prevent the information conveyed by the young man from causing erroneous interference, Chu Jingyu directly refused him.

He took a few large strides, passing the young man, and continued walking toward the exit leading Beyond the Border.

The young man scratched the back of his head and muttered to himself, "I said he shouldn't be a newcomer at his age. Xiao Hei, did you smell wrong?"

Hearing his words, the ant-like Source Beast on his shoulder grabbed a few strands of hair by his ear and yanked them hard, seemingly conveying its emotions.

The young man carefully rescued his hair from the Source Beast ant's grasp, while soothingly saying, "Alright, alright, you didn't smell any scent of Beyond the Border on him. Let's go, let's go find the next client. There are fewer and fewer newcomers lately, sigh..."

Chu Jingyu was not in a hurry to summon the evolved Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast; there were still too many people here, and he needed to summon it in a place with no one around.

Only then could he attribute the evolution of the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast to the wild. At the very least, he could hide the uniqueness of the Family Origin Artifact for as long as possible. With the terrifying Source Beast evolution ability of Ancestor Chu, all their Chu Family needed was time.

Arriving at the exit, there were four Intermediate Alien Tier Guards standing watch.

Regarding Chu Jingyu's intention to go outside, the Guards stationed on both sides of the exit did not make any move to stop him, and it was unclear what they were guarding by standing there.

Chu Jingyu looked out from the exit toward Beyond the Border. There was a gentle downward slope leading directly outside. The slope was not narrow; it could accommodate at least six people walking side by side.

Now, figures were coming and going on it. Chu Jingyu walked slowly along the slope. On the slope, a Contract Master's excellent eyesight allowed him to see the scene on the slope not far away.

This slope was used for people to go out, and another one not far away should be for returning.

On it, teams that had finished hunting were dragging the corpses of huge, strange Source Beasts, slowly returning along the slope. Others who returned were empty-handed, with even a look of misery on their faces.

All kinds of people, all kinds of situations.

Chu Jingyu took the last step off the slope, his feet truly touching the ground of Beyond the Border.

He took a deep breath, focused his attention on what was in front of him, and then slowly walked into the dense forest not far away.

After all, this place was still relatively close to the Human Race border and had likely been combed through countless times by Contract Masters, so no signs of Source Beasts from Beyond the Border were found, nor were there any useful Materials.

Chu Jingyu continued walking into the depths of the dense forest, looking up from time to time to confirm the position of the sun so that he would not lose his way.

As Chu Jingyu went deeper, it was only after thirty minutes that the surrounding area began to have the sounds of birds and insects, and almost no traces of human activity could be found around him.

Chu Jingyu checked the surrounding environment once more before summoning the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast from the Source Beast Space.

The Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast turned its head to curiously look at the surrounding environment, then waved its pincers with some excitement, seemingly liking the new environment very much.

Finally, its gaze landed on Chu Jingyu's shoulder. Through the connection of the spiritual contract, Chu Jingyu easily understood its inner meaning.

It wanted to sit on his shoulder.

Looking at its now massive size, Chu Jingyu smiled helplessly, squatted down, and patted the back shell of the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast.

"Little Golden Jade, my shoulder cannot bear your size now."

Hearing this, the eyes of the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast blinked, appearing somewhat disappointed.

"This is the wild now; we must always be alert and watch out for potential hidden dangers. Scout for areas with abundant energy in the surrounding environment; we need to hurry and take action."

Hearing Chu Jingyu's words, the pincers of the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast probed into the ground beneath, and a layer of invisible fluctuation rippled through the ground, then spread outward in all directions.

After about a few minutes, the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast opened its eyes again.

It first pointed toward the north, where it felt the most abundant energy, and then pointed toward the east, where the energy fluctuation level was slightly lower.

As for other directions, within the range it could detect, the degree of energy fluctuation was about the same.

Chu Jingyu untied the bundle behind his back, tore open the layers of rough cloth, revealing a sharp machete inside, and gripped it in his hand.

Then, he and the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast set off toward the north.

The further north they went, the higher the humidity in the air became, and the trunks and leaves of the giant trees were glistening with some kind of water stains.

A Water-attribute Source Beast? Or a Water-attribute spiritual material? Chu Jingyu secretly guessed, or perhaps they were just approaching a pool of water.

After adjusting his direction a few more times, Chu Jingyu heard the sound of rushing water from afar. After walking a few more steps, a somewhat deep, secluded pool hidden beneath the forest appeared in Chu Jingyu's field of vision.

In the center of the small pool, a pure white lotus was quietly blooming. Even from such a distance, Chu Jingyu felt as if he could smell a faint, elegant floral fragrance.

A glimmer of surprise rose in Chu Jingyu's eyes; this flower did not look like an ordinary object. Even if it was not a Source Beast, it should be a rare spiritual material.

However, he did not rush to approach the edge of the pool, but slowly squatted down beside a giant tree, then looked at the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast beside him.

The Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast understood Chu Jingyu's intention, then inserted its pincers into the ground again, while the two diamond-shaped jade pupils on its shell opened as well.

A moment later, it pointed into the pool, and through the spiritual contract, informed Chu Jingyu that the danger came precisely from that pure white flower.

Just at this moment, the flower seemed to have sensed something as well. The floral fragrance in the air suddenly intensified, changing from the previous elegance to something extremely impactful and seductive.

In Chu Jingyu's perspective, the surrounding scenery underwent earth-shaking changes after a period of distortion and transformation.

The giant trees collapsed in an instant, and the flower in the small pool shot up in an instant, turning into a giant flower. In the pool beneath the flower, the water was controlled and condensed into ribbons, whipping toward Chu Jingyu.

When Chu Jingyu looked at the original position of the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast, he found that it had disappeared; it seemed that the spiritual connection between them had also been blocked at this moment.

Chu Jingyu's expression turned somewhat ugly. "Phantom Water White Lotus." The moment this Source Beast made its move, he suddenly remembered that he had heard of its name before.

Possessing both illusion and water control abilities, it is a very troublesome Source Beast. Its illusion and water techniques often work together to achieve the effect of the weak overcoming the strong.

He did not expect that the first Source Beast he encountered after coming Beyond the Border would be so troublesome. Perhaps it was precisely because of its trouble-making nature that it had been able to exist safely near the Human Race border for so long.

There was no time to think carefully; three ribbons formed by water currents were already attacking Chu Jingyu from different directions.

The momentum was the same; it was impossible to tell which one was real and which was fake. Chu Jingyu rolled to the right and swung his machete at the water ribbon on the far right.

However, he only completed half of his action when it seemed like he had collided with something, interrupting his entire movement process.

Chu Jingyu gritted his teeth, hurriedly raised his knife, and blocked in front of the water current.

The water current collided with the machete, and the water shattered into water droplets that drenched Chu Jingyu. The cold air instantly invaded his body, making his subsequent movements sluggish.

Chu Jingyu's back touched the object he could not see in the air; the moist, rough texture told him that it was the giant tree from the real world.

He sighed secretly; this illusion was really difficult to deal with. Now, fighting against this Phantom Water White Lotus, he had practically become a blind man. Not only could he not figure out the true state of the surrounding environment, but he also could not distinguish which of the attacks in front of him was real and which was fake.

Now he could only stall for time, hoping that the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast could fight on its own, find the location of the Phantom Water White Lotus's main body as soon as possible, and then interfere with its maintenance of this illusion.

While thinking this, another three water ribbons attacked Chu Jingyu from different directions. This time, Chu Jingyu did not intend to use his machete to take them head-on.

He discovered that even if he blocked the impact of the water current, the subsequent water falling on his body still carried other follow-up skills of the Phantom Water White Lotus, seemingly capable of causing the water to generate cold air to paralyze the target it contacted.

Fortunately, the Realm of this Pure Water White Lotus in front of him was not higher than his, so he had a certain advantage in speed. Although he could not see the giant trees growing around him, which had a certain impact on his movements, he was still barely able to dodge the impact of the water currents.

In another illusion, a similar illusion appeared before the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast, but as the jade pupils on its shell shone, the illusion shattered with a bang, revealing the real scene.

The Phantom Water White Lotus was still sitting in the center of the small pool, not having turned into that huge, terrifying appearance. The so-called attacking ribbons were nothing more than tiny water currents.

It was just that the water currents carried white cold air; perhaps this was the skill that could truly harm the target.

The Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast turned to look at its Contract Master and found that he was still immersed in the illusion, hurriedly dodging the tiny water currents attacking him, looking quite disheveled.

However, at least there were no safety issues for the time being. The Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast aimed at Chu Jingyu's next move, and then a golden light emitted from its body, enveloping Chu Jingyu.

In the moment of contact, the golden light turned into a layer of golden armor attached to his body.

After applying a layer of protection for Chu Jingyu, the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast turned its gaze toward the main body of the Phantom Water White Lotus in the small pool.

As long as the main body was solved, its Contract Master's predicament would naturally be resolved.

Therefore, it moved quickly through the jungle, rapidly approaching the location of the small pool.

The Phantom Water White Lotus also seemed to have discovered that the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast had not been affected by its illusion, and its petals trembled rapidly a few times.

A floral fragrance like white mist was quickly released from the flower, and a thin layer of white mist seemed to rise all around.

But this floral fragrance, which was usually invincible, lost its effect today. The Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast's speed and direction did not change; it strode straight across the pool, and its pincers stabbed directly toward the position of the Phantom Water White Lotus's flower.

The Phantom Water White Lotus's reaction was also quite quick; its stem bent downward, and the flower instantly drooped to the other side, dodging this fatal blow.

However, as a plant-type Source Beast, even with dodging, it was limited to a corner. The Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast's other pincer poked onto the pure white petals.

With one strike, the petals detached from the bud and withered onto the surface of the small pool.

After all, it was only a Lower Stage of Exotic Source Beast. Facing a blow to its main body from the High-level Uncommon Rank Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast, it was instantly defeated.

Only a few scattered petals remained on the flower stem, and the floral fragrance lingering in the air dissipated significantly in an instant.

In Chu Jingyu's perspective, the surrounding environment shattered with a bang, and he was able to see the real scene.

He first looked at the golden armor that had appeared on his body at some unknown time, and then looked into the small pool.

He found the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast standing in the center of the small pool, staring at the stem of the Phantom Water White Lotus, holding its pincers as if considering whether to cut its stem as well.

Chu Jingyu quickly called out to stop it. "Wait a moment, spare its life."

Trotting all the way, Chu Jingyu came to the edge of the small pool, then, without caring, stepped into the knee-deep water and came to the center of the water.

He stretched out his hands and pulled the entire stem of the Phantom Water White Lotus out of the water. Although its flower had been shattered by the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast, its stem was still there.

The vitality of the Phantom Water White Lotus still existed. As long as it was given time to recover, it could still return to its original, strong state.

But now, without the existence of the flower, it was undoubtedly very fragile and could not even cast a single skill.

Chu Jingyu took out a piece of rough cloth, wrapped and stored the stem section, and then put it into his bundle.

Immediately afterward, he carefully observed the environment of this small pool, and just one look gave him a feeling of scalp numbness.

He saw that the bottom of the pool was densely covered with the white bones of various creatures. It seemed that this Phantom Water White Lotus had lived here for quite a long time, and the number of various creatures it had deceived and killed with its illusions was not small, which was why it could grow to such a Realm.

It really was a type of Source Beast that looked delicate on the outside but was extremely cruel on the inside.

However, Chu Jingyu soon shook his head again. It seemed he had really stayed in the town for too long to have such thoughts. Among those that could survive in the Source Beast world, who was truly kind?

After sighing for a moment, Chu Jingyu's gaze landed on the petals floating on the water surface, and his mood became excited again.

This was material that had fallen from an Uncommon Rank Source Beast; bringing it back would certainly be a very popular spiritual material.

Therefore, Chu Jingyu did not waste it and commanded the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast to collect all the petals.

Just after doing all this, before he could carefully explore the small pool, a rustling sound suddenly came from the depths of the dense forest. It seemed that some huge, legless creature was rushing toward this side.

Just as Chu Jingyu wanted to take the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast and leave this place, he discovered a snake head larger than a person protruding from a certain canopy, flicking its tongue and looking toward Chu Jingyu.