221: Chapter 220 The Yuanling Pool is actually a lake?

"Junior Brother Xia," Zhou Chu suddenly spoke.

His voice was completely different from before, and his face carried a hint of gravity.

Xia Jin felt a slight chill in his heart. "Senior Brother Zhou, if you have something to say, please speak plainly."

"Junior Brother Xia, to be honest, you didn't come at a good time."

"What I'm about to say might be a bit harsh," Zhou Chu sighed helplessly, "but... you're very likely to become the Hun-class Disciple who stays in the Third Heaven for the shortest amount of time."

Xia Jin's expression didn't change much, as he had already roughly guessed what Zhou Chu was worried about.

"Senior Brother Zhou, are you worried about the battle with the Extraterrestrial Races in a month?"

Zhou Chu didn't answer immediately. He was silent for a moment before slowly nodding.

"That's right."

"Including you, there are only six of us Hun-class Disciples now." Zhou Chu couldn't help but clench his fists. "And based on past experience, the number of alien Prodigies descending here is usually around eight."

"So when the time comes, even you... you must also fight a match."

Zhou Chu withdrew his hand and leaned back against the stone chair again, letting out a long sigh.

"It's not that I'm looking down on you."

"Perhaps your talent and strength are both outstanding; being able to reach the Third Heaven at this age is an amazing feat in itself."

"But..."

"The time you've had to Cultivate in the Third Heaven is too short—only one month!"

"I know what you mean, Senior Brother," Xia Jin suddenly spoke, interrupting him.

Zhou Chu was slightly taken aback.

But by then, Xia Jin had already stood up.

"Senior Brother Zhou. To be honest, whether you believe it or not... in a month, those Extraterrestrial Races..."

"...it won't matter who comes."

"Facing me, there is only death."

Xia Jin's words caused a flicker of shock to pass through Zhou Chu's eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.

Having finished speaking, Xia Jin stepped directly into the mist.

Zhou Chu sat on the stone chair, unmoving for a long time.

After a long while, "Phew—"

Zhou Chu exhaled a long breath, purging all the stale air from his lungs.

"This Junior Brother Xia... seems to be truly full of confidence."

"Then again, of those who can reach the Third Heaven, who hasn't climbed up over the corpses of others? Who would think they are inferior to anyone else?"

He stood up and stretched.

"However, someone who dares to say 'it won't matter who comes'... is either an ignorant madman who doesn't know the heights of the heavens, or..."

He didn't finish the sentence.

"Let's go."

He beckoned to the three mud figures carrying the Ebony. The three mud figures resumed their pace, carrying the heavy Ebony behind him as they walked out of the valley step by step.

...

On the other side, Xia Jin walked through the valley as the mist grew thicker and thicker.

He didn't take the conversation with Zhou Chu to heart.

It wasn't out of contempt, but because he knew his own strength all too well. Especially after successfully surviving the Devil's Den, the System's rewards had pushed his Realm directly into the ninth level of the Creation Realm. Furthermore, he had collected three-fifths of the shards for his greatest trump card, the donghuang bell.

Extraterrestrial Races?

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his face full of disdain.

It didn't matter what kind of Prodigy they were, nor what race they belonged to.

A month from now, if they truly had to face each other...

...then let them come.

While he was thinking, the mist in front of Xia Jin thinned. He stopped and looked up to see a lake.

Yes, a lake.

The so-called Yuanling Pool was not some "pool," but a lake.

Xia Jin stood on the shore of the lake, slightly stunned for a moment.

"These people are something else; why would they call this place the Yuanling Pool? It's clearly a lake."

Xia Jin chuckled to himself.

He crouched down and extended his right hand, his fingertips lightly touching the surface of the lake.

The lake water was slightly cool.

But the moment his fingertips touched the water, a warm current surged up from them, spreading along his forearm. It felt as if something was traveling through his Meridians; wherever it passed, every pore involuntarily relaxed and opened.

That feeling...

Xia Jin closed his eyes and savored it carefully.

It was as if every inch of muscle, every bone, and every Meridian in his entire body let out a sigh of satisfaction at the same time.

"Comfortable."

He whispered a single word.

Then, he didn't hold back.

Xia Jin stood up, quickly stripped off his outer robe, and walked into the lake step by step.

With every step, the warm current grew stronger, as if countless gentle hands were caressing his body.

When Xia Jin reached the center of the lake, the water was just up to his collarbone.

He stopped.

The buoyancy of the water supported his body, allowing him to stay afloat with almost no effort. The warm current surged in from all directions, enveloping him completely like a warm, soft cocoon.

He closed his eyes and let his body stretch out in the water.

"No wonder the Disciples of the Third Heaven are so much stronger than those below..."

"Just this step of cleansing the Physical Body in the Yuanling Pool creates an unknown amount of distance between them."

Such a comfortable environment made Xia Jin feel sleepy; his voice grew lower and lower, and his eyelids became heavier and heavier.

Gradually, he fell asleep, and his body involuntarily began to sink beneath the surface of the lake.