Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile

Li Tianming discovered that the direction Jiang Feiling had pointed out for him was not merely a path to a divine source.

Ferocious beasts lurked along the way, and poisonous insects were everywhere, but that only proved this was a place where spiritual energy converged and spiritual essences grew.

Fire Sash Mountain was scorching hot, exposed to the blazing sun all year round. Its vegetation absorbed the sun's spiritual energy, and most of the spiritual essences it produced contained fire spiritual energy.

Therefore, this place was practically a paradise for the Eternal Purgatory Phoenix.

Over the next ten days, Li Tianming kept traveling in that direction. He had yet to find a divine source, but he found quite a few spiritual essences bearing orange Heavenly Patterns.

For instance, he found three Fire Spirit Ganoderma plants, as well as spiritual essences with orange Heavenly Patterns such as "Fireburn Fruit" and "Flowing Flame Leaf."

While searching for the divine source, Li Tianming and Little Yellow Chick ate spiritual essences raw to cultivate. Although danger lurked within this blessed land, with ferocious beasts attacking from time to time, the gains were equally enormous.

On the tenth day after leaving Princess Qing and Jiang Feiling, he and Little Yellow Chick broke through to the sixth level of the Beast Pulse Realm.

In terms of cultivation level, they had already surpassed Li Xuejiao and were close to catching up with Li Zifeng.

"This cultivation speed really is unimaginably fast. Back then, it took me several years to go from starting cultivation to the sixth level of the Beast Pulse Realm."

Li Tianming was filled with emotion. All of this came from the Eternal Purgatory Phoenix, and it also showed the fundamental difference between the Eternal Purgatory Phoenix and the Four-Winged Golden-Winged Roc.

"The second egg is still trembling for now, but this little fellow is rather lazy. It still hasn't hatched." Li Tianming constantly observed the activity within the Companion Space.

Little Yellow Chick was already this powerful, so naturally, he was filled with anticipation for the second Primordial Chaos Giant Beast.

"I found quite a lot of Clear Spirit Grass over the past few days."

Clear Spirit Grass was not an especially precious spiritual essence. He had already ventured deep into Fire Sash Mountain, where Clear Spirit Grass was fairly common. Li Tianming picked more than thirty stalks and carefully wrapped them up.

"I've been away for a long time this trip. I've already found the Clear Spirit Grass, so I'll head back after finding a divine source."

Because Little Yellow Chick had shown an intense desire for the divine source, Li Tianming decided to persist in Fire Sash Mountain for a while longer.

"Since Ling'er pointed me in this direction, that means if I keep going, I'll definitely find a special place where a divine source is hidden!"

She was a wondrous girl, and Li Tianming had absolute faith in her.

On the second day after breaking through to the sixth level of the Beast Pulse Realm, a lake appeared before Li Tianming.

This was a lake atop a lofty peak, a place where the spiritual energy of all Fire Sash Mountain gathered.

Standing before the lake, he could see heat steaming from its surface. He reached out to test it and found the water extremely hot. If an ordinary person without cultivation went in, their skin would probably be scalded.

This unusual lake happened to lie directly along the route Jiang Feiling had indicated. It was the most extraordinary place Li Tianming had encountered on this journey, so he decided to dive down and take a look.

"Be careful. I can sense that there must be something terrifying inside. Even if the divine source is here, there will definitely be a trial."

"Coward. Tsk, tsk. When will you ever be as valiant as I am?" Little Yellow Chick said disdainfully.

The facts proved it was bragging. The moment it dived into the scorching hot spring, it hid in Li Tianming's arms, only daring to poke out its head as it nervously watched the surroundings.

The lake water was somewhat murky, making it difficult to see the bottom clearly. Yet Li Tianming was delighted to discover that the eye in his left palm could see with exceptional clarity.

Even with countless bits of debris in the water, that eye could see everything distinctly.

Honestly, if he removed the strips of cloth wrapped around it, one could see that his left arm now looked exceptionally cool, adding three parts dominance and strange allure to his originally refined temperament.

With a Bloodfire Dagger in his right hand as well, he looked even more like a soul reaper walking through the night.

He had already dived to the lakebed. The temperature there was even higher, and many rocks had been heated red-hot. This indicated that there should be a magma vein beneath the lake, no wonder the fire spiritual energy in the surroundings was so dense.

"I can see far too clearly."

He estimated that no one else diving to this depth would have vision as clear as his. The two eyes on his head saw nothing but darkness, and Little Yellow Chick could not see anything either, yet the eye in his left palm could still clearly make out the patterns on the lakebed rocks.

He searched roughly half the lake.

"What's this?" At that moment, Li Tianming pushed aside several rocks on the lakebed and abruptly saw a well in the depths below!

The well was made of bronze metal and brimmed with the traces of time.

Its opening was sealed by a bronze slab. The slab was firmly shut and locked in place, so there was definitely no way down.

The key was that this well was already very well hidden. Without Li Tianming's third eye, an ordinary person reaching this location would have had virtually no chance of finding it.

"A sealed well. Could there be some treasure beneath it?" After hearing his description, Little Yellow Chick could not help imagining it.

"Look here. This seems to be a keyhole." Li Tianming pointed at the bronze slab sealing the well.

"Look at my ass. I can't see it," Little Yellow Chick muttered.

Li Tianming moved closer to examine it. He guessed it was indeed a keyhole, and if he could find the key, he might be able to open the well.

"Could the divine source be inside?" Li Tianming guessed.

"Then we need to look for the key. It might be somewhere in this lake."

Li Tianming first memorized the location. The lake was huge, and two-thirds of it remained unsearched, so he continued diving and began exploring the other areas.

About a quarter of an hour later, he suddenly noticed what seemed to be a glow at the center of the lake!

He hurried over. Looking closely, he saw an elongated stone atop a large boulder.

The stone emitted a faint glow. From it, Li Tianming sensed a wondrous aura of heaven-and-earth creation.

"The key!" Li Tianming said excitedly.

"The divine source!" At the same time, Little Yellow Chick spoke two different words.

"What do you mean? This stone's shape matches that groove from before. It's the key to that well." Li Tianming was certain.

"Bullshit! This is the divine source itself! I can already smell its fragrance. Would I fail to recognize a divine source?" Little Yellow Chick said excitedly.

"Are you sure?"

Li Tianming observed it again and discovered that the stone truly had the feeling of a divine source as described in the books. He had thought the divine source would be hidden deep below, beneath that well, but he had not expected it to be sitting here out in the open.

"Of course I'm sure. Hurry up and take it," Little Yellow Chick said.

"Even if it is a divine source, I'm certain it's also the key to that well. There might be other things beneath it." Li Tianming narrowed his eyes.

"Simple. Take the divine source first, then go try it," Little Yellow Chick said.

"Alright."

Li Tianming had already locked onto his target, but he had an ominous feeling. Obtaining the divine source seemed far too easy.

"Wait!"

He stopped and carefully looked around.

"There's the aura of a ferocious beast." Little Yellow Chick sensed it as well.

The aura was rather faint, but once they searched carefully, it became quite obvious.

"There!" Li Tianming saw it. In the muddy lakebed behind the divine source, two rows of things shaped like massive blades protruded from the silt.

Each row held more than a dozen blades over a meter tall. Plenty of plants were tangled around them, but one could still sense how sharp those huge blades were.

Those blades were not the ferocious beast itself, but a part of it. A gigantic ferocious beast was lurking beneath the mud, likely more than ten meters long. At that size, it was unquestionably a colossal beast.

This colossal beast should have been sleeping at the moment. Otherwise, Li Tianming and Little Yellow Chick would have caught its attention long ago by getting so close.

"A Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile, a third-order ferocious beast." Li Tianming frowned. The two rows of blades on this beast's back were too distinctive, so he recognized it immediately.

Sure enough, taking the divine source would never be easy, because this Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile was a third-order ferocious beast.

Third-order ferocious beasts possessed combat power comparable to a beastmaster in the Spirit Source Realm. Moreover, ferocious beasts above the third order also possessed terrifying awakened abilities.

Li Tianming had only just reached the sixth level of the Beast Pulse Realm. In a direct confrontation, he was absolutely no match for this Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile.

A beast like this was far stronger than Liu Qianyang. Even Li Tianming from three years ago, when he was in the Spirit Source Realm, might not have been its match.

"We can't beat it. We can only outsmart it, not attack head-on." Li Tianming swiftly reached his conclusion.

"Young man, tell me, how exactly are you going to outsmart it?" Little Yellow Chick curled its beak.

"I'll lure it away, and you take the chance to steal the divine source." Li Tianming said. There were two of them, while the ferocious beast's greatest weakness was its intelligence. As long as they successfully provoked it, they could lead the Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile away.

"You? Do you think that beast can't catch you?" Little Yellow Chick said.

"What do you mean? Don't tell me you're going to lure it? Do you have the guts? Trash." Li Tianming looked at it contemptuously.

"Say that again?" Little Yellow Chick flew into a rage.

"You really are better suited to lure this ferocious beast than I am, but the key is that you don't have the guts." Li Tianming said.

"Get lost. I'll lure it. If I can't handle it, I'll take your surname and call you Dad." Little Yellow Chick rolled its eyes.

To be honest, its body was tiny, while the Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile, though powerful, was simply too enormous and would be hindered when chasing through the forest.

Moreover, Little Yellow Chick could fly. As long as it did not fight head-on, it could restrain the Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile quite effectively. At the very least, it was far more suitable as bait than Li Tianming.

With such a tiny body, if it slipped into a pile of fallen leaves, the Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile would probably be left utterly bewildered.

Li Tianming was still fairly confident in it.

"What do we do after getting the divine source? Should we use it to try opening that well?" Little Yellow Chick asked.

"We'll meet up first. If you can lure the Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile far enough away and we still have time, we'll give it a try." Li Tianming said.

"You can go down alone, can't you? Is it because you don't dare go in by yourself without me?" Little Yellow Chick grinned smugly.

"I'm afraid something will happen to you outside and the Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile will eat you." Li Tianming rolled his eyes.

He felt that if they were going down, it would be best to act together. After all, enemies from Thunder Lord Manor were still nearby.

So they acted at once. They first withdrew from the lake, and Li Tianming found a place to hide. Next came Little Yellow Chick's performance.

"Be careful." Though he had faith in it, Li Tianming still reminded it.

"Open your eyes and watch closely. I'll show you what it means to walk a dog." Little Yellow Chick held its head high. Once Li Tianming had found his hiding spot, it charged straight into the lake, making an enormous commotion. It likely darted right before the Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile's eyes in an instant.

The Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile was asleep at the time. Little Yellow Chick landed on its head, raised a wing to pry open the beast's eyelid, then pecked it directly.

"Your woman ran off with someone else, and you're still sleeping? I'll peck you to death!" This fellow's wildness was simply earth-shattering. The Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile awoke in agony and let out a furious roar.

"What are you yelling for? Come chase me!" It sped away, bursting out of the lake while shouting arrogantly, practically begging to be beaten.

Boom! In the next instant, a gigantic black Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile burst from the lake.

It swept up enormous quantities of lake water, forming a tornado-like waterspout that surged toward Little Yellow Chick. It was clear that the Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile's eyes had turned red!

Rumble, rumble!

A multitude of water tornadoes formed, tearing toward Little Yellow Chick like a sky-covering net. Using such a grand display to attack such a tiny adorable chick was truly mobilizing a vast army for a tiny task.

These water tornadoes were the Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile's awakened ability, and their power was immense. Even the forest several hundred meters ahead of the lake was ripped apart.

"You idiot, try chasing me again! If you can't catch me, you're my own son."

Little Yellow Chick was nimble and unpredictable, dodging perilously through the water tornadoes. Although the Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile could not understand its words, it could sense its provocation!

It roared again, using its thick limbs to slap the water's surface before charging forward. Wherever it went, the earth shook and mountains trembled.

It had been successfully lured away. This was a perfect opportunity for Li Tianming!

From the earth-shaking commotion alone, he could determine the Blade-Backed Giant Crocodile's position. Before the beast could return, he had more than enough time to take the divine source.

Thus, without another word, he rushed into the lake.

Announcement: this Monday at 8:00 PM, the final chapter update will include a question. The answer can be found in all previously released chapters, not in that evening's update.

The first four people to answer the question correctly in the book review section will each receive 500 yuan.

This is the second phase of the new book event. The first phase was successfully held, and the prize money has been distributed!

The book review section is the comments section on the book's cover page; on mobile, it is called "Jianghu."