121: The wondrous waters of the Jade Pool

Passing through the teleportation vortex, Lu Yi felt light and shadow interlace before his eyes, followed by a sudden, intense sensation of weightlessness.

When his feet finally touched solid ground again, the scene before him left him slightly stunned.

This was not the immortal blessed land brimming with Spiritual Qi he had imagined.

Instead, everything in sight was covered in a thick, white mist.

The mist was extremely strange—viscous, damp, and cold.

Even with Lu Yi's eyesight, visibility was less than ten meters; anything slightly further away was completely obscured.

He instinctively released his Divine Sense to scout the surroundings.

However, as soon as his Divine Sense left his body, it was like a clay ox entering the sea, instantly swallowed whole by the surrounding fog.

“This place... is a bit sinister.”

Lu Yi muttered to himself under his breath.

“Everyone, stay close. Don't get separated.”

Chu Qianqian's voice came from beside him, carrying a hint of solemnity.

The group felt a jolt of alarm; in a place where Divine Sense was useless, getting separated would likely mean becoming truly lost in this endless mist.

Fortunately, they quickly made a discovery.

Beside the ancient path paved with bluestone slabs, wooden signs were planted at regular intervals.

The signs pointed the way forward.

Following the stone path, the group fumbled forward through the mist for a long time.

The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet, save for the sound of their own footsteps.

Finally, the mist ahead began to thin out.

A vast, boundless expanse of water appeared in everyone's sight.

It was a massive natural pool; the water's surface was calm and without ripples, like a giant mirror.

The pool water exhibited a strange, semi-transparent milky white color, much like watered-down milk, exuding an indescribable sense of mystery.

And the persistent thick fog surrounding them was constantly steaming up from this very pool.

“This is the Jade Pool?”

Someone gasped in wonder.

Chu Qianqian, who was leading the group, came to a halt.

With her back to everyone, she raised her hand and pointed toward the center of the pool deep within the mist, her voice as cold as ice:

“This is the Jade Pool. The closer you get to the center, the purer the water, the more immense the energy it contains, and the stronger the Body Tempering effect.”

She paused, a hint of warning entering her tone:

“But correspondingly, the load your body must endure will increase exponentially. One slight lapse in caution, and your Meridians will be shattered. Everyone, act according to your capabilities.”

With that, she didn't hesitate for a moment.

Without even looking back at the group, she stepped directly into the pool barefoot.

Step by step, she walked toward the mist-shrouded depths, her silhouette soon becoming blurred.

In an instant, a fanatical fire ignited in the eyes of the others.

“Cleansing the Marrow and Tendons! Reconstructing my Foundation! Here I come!”

Yun Mu screamed inwardly, his gaze so fervent it seemed he might boil the pool water.

This was the first step of his Heaven-Defying Rebirth to change his fate!

Following closely after Chu Qianqian, he jumped in without hesitation with a 'splash,' sending up white droplets of water.

With someone taking the lead, the remaining Jade Pool Disciples and Hehuan Sect Disciples no longer hesitated and entered the water one after another.

“Shall we go down too?”

Lu Yi turned to look at Chu Qianqian beside him. She nodded, a flicker of anticipation in her eyes.

The two of them then stepped into the pool.

The pool water was lukewarm and soon reached their waists, and its touch was surprising.

The liquid was like water yet not water; its texture was slightly thick and viscous, not at all light like ordinary flow.

Instead, it felt like flowing mercury or diluted nectar; as it slid over the skin, it brought a sensation as smooth as silk yet possessed a strange, heavy quality.

“Phew...”

Upon entering the water, everyone felt a cool sensation seep into their bodies through their pores.

It felt as if every pore in their bodies expanded at that moment, and the fatigue of the past few days seemed to be smoothed away.

Many couldn't help but let out sighs of comfort, their faces showing expressions of enjoyment.

However, this spring-breeze-like comfort only lasted for a brief moment.

Not long after they entered the pool, the cool sensation that had entered their bodies suddenly changed its nature.

There was no warning!

That originally docile energy suddenly became violent after entering their Meridians!

“Hiss—!”

One second it was like falling into an ice cellar, making one's teeth chatter uncontrollably.

The next second, it instantly transformed into a blazing inferno!

It felt as if their internal organs were being burned by fire, and their very blood was about to boil!

A world of ice and fire!

This alternating shock of hot and cold caused many people's bodies to tremble violently, nearly making them unable to stand.

But that wasn't the most terrifying part.

Even more frightening was the accompanying intense itch and agonizing pain!

The feeling was as if thousands upon thousands of ants had crawled into your blood vessels, crawling and gnawing upon your bones!

Moreover, this didn't just affect the Physical Body; the itchy pain even pierced straight into the Divine Soul, making one want to claw their own flesh apart!

“Something's wrong! Spiritual Qi is useless against this pool water!”

A Disciple shouted out in terror.

He desperately circulated his spiritual power, trying to form a shield on the surface of his body to block this eerie energy.

However, he was shocked to find that this power actually ignored all spiritual power defenses and acted directly upon the Physical Body's Origin!

This was the most overbearing and primitive method of Body Tempering; there was no possibility of trickery, one could only endure it with their Physical Body!

Survive it, and it was a complete transformation; fail to endure it, and it was a fate worse than death!

“Ah—!”

The pool was instantly filled with wails of agony.

Yun Mu clenched his teeth, his face becoming somewhat distorted from the pain.

But the light in his eyes grew increasingly fanatical.

“Pain is right! The more it hurts, the more potent the medicinal effect! The better the Body Tempering effect!”

He roared madly in his heart, enduring the torture of ten thousand ants gnawing his bones as he moved toward the depths step by step.

Ahead, Chu Qianqian's figure paused slightly in the mist.

Clearly, she was also enduring a massive shock.

But her back only stiffened for a brief moment before she continued forward without a word.

Beside Lu Yi, Chu Qianqian's condition was not very good.

Her beautiful brows were tightly furrowed, fine beads of sweat broke out on her smooth forehead, and her face turned somewhat pale.

“Hiss...”

She sucked in a cold breath and couldn't help but reach out, gripping Lu Yi's arm tightly.

“What kind of crappy water is this... why is it so torturous...”

She squeezed these words through her teeth, her voice trembling slightly.

However, amidst the sea of painful groans and gritted-teeth persistence, one person appeared completely out of place.

Lu Yi stood in the waist-deep pool water, watching the people around him with their distorted faces and cold sweat.

His face was filled with a massive sense of 'confusion.'

“Are you all... acting?”

He scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

He carefully sensed his own body.

The Star Immortal Body within him had automatically begun to circulate the moment it touched the pool water.

Forget pain; he actually felt this energy was warm and cozy, with a slight heat, just like soaking in a hot spring.

It's quite comfortable, isn't it?

“Could it be that my way of entering was wrong?”

Lu Yi turned his head, looking at the grimacing Chu Qianqian beside him.

Then he looked down at his own body, which was completely undisturbed and even felt like walking further in.

He blinked and asked with a face full of innocence and sincerity:

“Hey, does it really hurt that much?”

“Why... do I feel nothing at all?”

“?”

Hearing this, Chu Qianqian snapped her head around.

She stared fixedly at Lu Yi with a look as if she were seeing a monster.

Looking at his calm and composed, even somewhat enjoying, punchable expression.

Then feeling the pain in her own body.

She ground her pearly teeth and retorted:

“Are you... even human?!”