Cleverly Fighting the Old Demon, a Grotto-Heaven Lies Beneath the Pool

"What the hell are you talking about! You're the snack, your whole family are snacks!"

Facing the ghostly claw emanating an ominous black light and lunging towards him, Xuanwei mentally cursed, but his movements were far from slow. His plump, earthen body abruptly leaned back, executing a maneuver that was utterly lacking in grace but incredibly practical: the "Iron Bridge" – assuming a pile of mud could be considered iron.

Chii!

The ghostly claw, carrying a foul stench, grazed past his non-existent nose. Where its wind passed, even the air let out a faint, corrosive hiss.

"Ouch, big talk, but poisonous claws!" Using the momentum from his backward lean, Xuanwei's chubby little legs pushed off nimbly (?) from the edge of the pond. Like a deflated ball, he rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the grab.

The black-robed Daoist's attack missed, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He hadn't expected this seemingly clumsy earth spirit to react so swiftly.

"Hmph! Slippery little thing! Let's see how long you can dodge!" The Daoist snorted coldly, flicked his sleeve, and three bone nails emitting a ghostly green light shot out in a triangular formation. Accompanied by a shrill, ghostly wail, they sealed off Xuanwei's escape routes to the left, right, and above!

"System! Analyze! Quickly!" Xuanwei screamed internally while desperately channeling the Nine Tribulations Earth-Guarding Body, solidifying his temporary form.

[Analysis: Netherworld Bone-Piercing Nail, contains corpse miasma and malevolent poison, specifically designed to break protective spiritual light, highly effective against energy bodies and souls. Recommendation: Do not confront directly! Utilize the dense properties of the Wutu Source to sink into the earth or... borrow the spiritual energy of the water pond!]

Sink into the earth? With his half-baked Earth Evasion, he'd probably never come back up! Borrow the pond's spiritual energy?

Seeing the bone nails already upon him, Xuanwei gritted his teeth and, with his chubby body, made a dive towards the pond... no, a clumsy roll!

Gurgle... He rolled roundly to the edge of the pond, half his body submerged in the spiritual pool. Simultaneously, he frantically circulated the Innate Immortal Qi Origin Method, drawing upon the pure spiritual energy of the water beneath him to form a thin, pale blue spiritual light barrier in front of him.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

The three Netherworld Bone-Piercing Nails struck the spiritual light barrier, emitting dull thuds. The barrier vibrated violently, its light rapidly dimming, but it held! The ghostly green light and the pure water spiritual energy corroded each other, producing a "sizzling" sound.

"Oh? You can actually mobilize this place's innate water spirit?" The black-robed Daoist was even more astonished, his eyes now filled with greed. "It seems this little thing has many secrets! Once Old Ancestor captures you, I'll extract your soul and interrogate you slowly!"

He formed hand seals, and black energy surged around him, clearly preparing to use a more powerful spell.

"Interrogate your grandmother!" Xuanwei seized the moment the other was casting his spell, "crawling" out of the pond. He shook his non-existent hair (sending water droplets flying), retorting without missing a beat, "Old geezer, your complexion is ashen and your aura is weak. Did someone just beat you so badly you don't recognize your own mother? Shouldn't you be hiding in a rat hole licking your wounds instead of coming out to snatch a child's snacks? Aren't you afraid the wind will catch your tongue!"

His words were venomous, striking directly at the other's sore spots. As expected, the black-robed Daoist's face turned ashen upon hearing this, his body trembling with rage. He had indeed suffered a great loss while fighting someone for a treasure, sustaining severe injuries, which was why he desperately needed the Dragon Saliva Fruit to heal and prolong his life.

"Junior! You court death!" The Daoist roared in fury, no longer holding back. He spat out a mouthful of his vital essence, merging it with the black energy around him. The black energy instantly transformed into a massive, ferocious ghost head, opening its dark maw and emitting a silent roar as it lunged to devour Xuanwei and the Nine-Leaf Spiritual Root behind him! This attack far surpassed the previous ones in power!

"Oh my god! I've messed up!" Xuanwei felt his scalp (if he had one) tingle from the terrifying suction and destructive aura emanating from the ghost head. His little water shield definitely wouldn't withstand this!

Run? Where to run? The cave entrance was blocked by this old demon!

At this critical juncture, the Nine-Leaf Spiritual Root behind him seemed to be enraged by the terrifying attack! All nine leaves simultaneously erupted with brilliant emerald light, and a majestic aura of life and protective will surged upwards!

Buzz!

The entire cave seemed to come alive. The spiritual patterns on the surrounding rock walls lit up, and countless tiny, yet incredibly sharp, emerald vines emerged from thin air like spirit snakes, furiously lashing and coiling towards the giant ghost head!

Chii chii chii...!

The life-filled vines clashed violently with the deathly, defiled ghost energy, annihilating each other with ear-splitting sounds. The ghost head's charge was forcefully halted!

"Good opportunity!" Xuanwei's eyes (focus of his will) lit up!

This was the moment he had been waiting for! The old demon was going all out, and with the spiritual root tying him down, this was when he was most careless!

"Old geezer! Behold my ultimate secret technique – Immortal Qi. Wutu. Super invincible... Brick Toss!"

With a mighty swing of his chubby earthen arm, Xuanwei hurled a brick – square, sharp-edged, and shimmering with a heavy yellow light, condensed from pure Wutu Source mixed with Immortal Qi. It flew like a cannonball, carrying an unstoppable momentum, tracing a beautiful arc straight towards—

The back of the black-robed Daoist's head!

That's right! Not a frontal assault, but a sneak attack! A sneak attack so unpretentious, so filled with street smarts!

The black-robed Daoist was fully focused on controlling the ghost head to counter the spiritual root's vines. He never expected this seemingly foolish and cute little earthling to pull such a dirty trick! By the time he sensed the ill wind behind him, it was too late!

Bang!!

A muffled thud, accompanied by the crisp sound of bone colliding with a hard object (perhaps an auditory hallucination).

The Wutu brick, condensed from nearly a third of Xuanwei's current essence, landed squarely on the back of the black-robed Daoist's head!

"Urk!"

The black-robed Daoist let out a pained grunt, his vision went black, and his body staggered, nearly falling from mid-air. He felt as if his very soul had been hammered, leaving him dizzy! While the physical damage from the brick was negligible to his True Immortal-level physique, the impact of the pure Wutu soul-suppressing power and Innate Immortal Qi within it only worsened his already injured soul!

The ghost head he was controlling wavered as a result, its power greatly diminished, and was then largely shredded by the spiritual root's vines!

"Junior!!! I will kill you!!!" The black-robed Daoist steadied himself, clutching the back of his head. He turned, his eyes bloodshot, staring at Xuanwei like a madman, his gaze wishing to devour him alive!

However, Xuanwei stood with his hands on his hips, proudly swaying his round body. "Heh heh, couldn't hit me, huh? Made you mad! Come at me again if you dare!"

He acted arrogant on the outside, but internally, he was frantically calculating: "System! What's the old demon's current condition?"

[Target's soul injury has worsened, mana circulation is sluggish, strength has decreased by approximately 20%. However, rage level is off the charts, and aggressive intent is extremely high.]
[Warning: Target is brewing some kind of extremely powerful secret technique with a huge cost! Recommend immediate evasion!]

He was really going for broke!

Xuanwei dared not provoke him further. His gaze swept around rapidly, searching for a final escape route. His sight fell once more upon the bottomless spiritual pond.

"Let's gamble! Fellow Daoist, aid me!" Xuanwei sent a resolute thought to the Nine-Leaf Spiritual Root. Without waiting for a response, his chubby earthen body leaped backward—

Plop!

He plunged into the spiritual pond again. But this time, he didn't stop at the surface. Instead, he circulated the Chaos Heaven-Opening Art - Qi-Guiding Chapter, which he had only recently begun to comprehend, simulating his aura into the most primordial state of chaos. Simultaneously, he activated the power of the Wutu Source Core, becoming like a heavy anchor, plunging madly towards the deepest, darkest part of the pond!

"Trying to escape?! Come out, Old Ancestor!" Seeing this, the black-robed Daoist roared, enduring the searing pain in his soul, and activated his secret technique. A massive ghost claw reached into the pond, lunging towards Xuanwei!

However, the pool, though seemingly clear, held infinite mysteries within. The ghost claws only penetrated a few dozen feet before encountering a powerful resistance and purifying force. The black energy rapidly dissipated, unable to reach Xuanwei, who was descending at high speed.

What made the black-robed Taoist even more furious was that the Nine-Leaf Spiritual Root seemed to understand Xuanwei's intentions. It retracted all its vines and poured all its strength into reinforcing the seal at the pool's mouth. A verdant glow formed a barrier, stubbornly blocking him outside!

"Argh! This is infuriating!" The black-robed Taoist raged by the pool, stomping his feet. Various spells bombarded the barrier, only managing to stir up ripples. He couldn't break through in a short time.

Meanwhile, Xuanwei was experiencing unprecedented pressure.

The deeper he went, the richer the spiritual energy in the pool became, and the greater the pressure. It felt as if invisible walls were squeezing his makeshift body from all directions. Light had long since vanished, leaving only absolute darkness and cold. Only his own faint spiritual light and the system's constant notifications of depth and pressure data remained.

[Descent Depth: 300 Zhang. External Pressure Reached Critical Point! Makeshift Body About to Collapse!]

[Descent Depth: 500 Zhang! Anomalous Spatial Fluctuation Detected!]

[Warning! High-Intensity Energy Barrier Detected Ahead! Nature Unknown!]

Just as Xuanwei felt he was about to be crushed into a celestial qi pancake, a tiny speck of light suddenly appeared in the endless darkness ahead.

This light was not the spiritual glow of the pool itself, but something more ancient, more profound, a light that seemed to originate from another dimension.

As he descended, the light point rapidly expanded, eventually revealing a... swirling halo portal made of countless profound runes, emanating a chaotic aura!

The bottom of this spiritual pool hid a spatial channel?!

Xuanwei had no time to think further. His fragile earth-body let out a "crackling" groan under the immense water pressure, on the verge of complete disintegration.

"Whatever! I'm going in!"

He used his last ounce of strength, like a moth flying into a flame, and plunged headfirst into the chaotic halo!

Swish!

The expected impact never came. Instead, he felt a sense of weightless traversal. The surrounding scenery blurred and distorted instantly. A powerful spatial force tore at his Innate Immortal Qi Origin Method. His makeshift body finally couldn't bear the load and dissolved completely with a "boom," returning him to his most fundamental celestial qi state.

He didn't know how long had passed; perhaps an instant, perhaps an eternity.

He felt himself "fall" onto a hard yet warm surface.

The light dissipated, and the space stabilized.

He "raised his head" and "looked" around blankly.

This was no longer the dark bottom of the pool, but a... more mysterious, more incredible place.