Deep within Danxian Pool, the terrain was unexpectedly winding, with countless branching paths. Water surged out from those branches, forming powerful currents that roared without pause.
As he went deeper, Lin Yi began to feel a bone-chilling cold.
Vigorous Yuan Power surged from his dantian and enveloped Lin Yi's entire body. Only then did the piercing cold lessen slightly.
"The terrain beneath Danxian Pool is far too complicated. Do you have a way to distinguish the paths?"
As Lin Yi descended, he sent his voice to Little Mink inside the Stone Talisman.
"Take the branch on the right," Little Mink's voice quickly came back.
Hearing this, Lin Yi did not hesitate in the slightest. He immediately followed Little Mink's directions and continued deeper.
Suddenly, Lin Yi noticed a faint glow ahead of the dark branching passage. His field of vision also abruptly widened.
"Pfft!"
A faint sound rang out. Lin Yi suddenly discovered that the pool water around him had strangely vanished, while his feet landed inside a somewhat crude cave.
The cave was not large, and its only exit was the passage through which Lin Yi had swum in.
What was strange, however, was that when the pool water reached the entrance, it seemed to be blocked by an invisible layer. That was why the cave had not been flooded.
Lin Yi swept his gaze around and soon discovered a deep-blue light cluster the size of a human head floating in the center of the cave.
Within the light cluster, a faint serpent-shaped shadow could be seen swimming.
Behind the light cluster floated three smooth, round pearl-like objects, black and white in color. Even from a distance, Lin Yi could still sense the pure Yin Yang Qi radiating from them.
There was no doubt that those three pearl-like objects were the Yin Yang Pearls!
"Found the good stuff. What should I do next?" Lin Yi examined them for a few moments before withdrawing his gaze and speaking to Little Mink inside the Stone Talisman.
Little Mink said, "Pour all your Yuan Power into the Stone Talisman. Leave the rest to me!"
Lin Yan's mind stirred, and the Yuan Power within his dantian immediately poured into the Stone Talisman embedded in the flesh of his palm.
"Buzz!"
As such a massive amount of Yuan Power poured in, the Stone Talisman let out a faint buzz. Then, as its light flickered, a slightly illusory figure appeared on Lin Yi's palm. It was Little Mink.
After absorbing a large amount of Lin Yi's Yuan Power, Little Mink's pure-black body seemed to have gained a trace of purple. A very faint pattern appeared on its forehead, resembling a mysterious rune.
"Speed it up." Nearly all the Yuan Power in Lin Yi's dantian had poured into Little Mink, leaving his face somewhat pale.
"Mm." Little Mink nodded. A hint of purple-gold flashed through its bright eyes, and a faint aura of pressure quietly spread outward.
Even though Lin Yi had been prepared, the faint pressure still forced him to stagger backward, and his legs bent involuntarily.
"Heh heh, what a useless fellow. You can't take it already?" Little Mink laughed mockingly. Then black light flashed across its body, and it appeared directly before the light cluster.
Staring at the blue light cluster, Little Mink's eyes also flashed with solemnity. Its two claws moved rapidly, and streaks of black light shot from them in quick succession. The black light rapidly gathered, transforming in the blink of an eye into a vortex resembling a black hole.
"Heavenly Demon's Maw, devour!"
The instant the black hole took shape, a hoarse voice came from Little Mink's mouth.
"Wuu!"
As Little Mink's voice rang out, the black-hole vortex began spinning furiously. As it rotated, black light condensed, seemingly transforming into a huge mouth. A powerful suction force erupted, slowly dragging the light cluster inside.
Lin Yi kept his eyes fixed on Little Mink's movements, but his feet quietly retreated a little until he stood by the cave entrance, ready to flee at any moment.
However, Little Mink ultimately did not disappoint Lin Yi. After an intense struggle with the Azure Water Demonic Python's Demonic Spirit, it emerged victorious and successfully devoured the Azure Water Demonic Python's Demonic Spirit.
Immediately afterward, Little Mink's body transformed into a beam of light and shot back, finally burrowing into the Stone Talisman in Lin Yi's palm.
"Brat, I'll remember this favor, Lord Mink. But I may have to sleep for a while first..."
The moment Little Mink entered the Stone Talisman, an exceptionally weak voice rang out in Lin Yi's mind. Immediately afterward, it fell silent.
"Splash!"
Just then, the sound of water came from outside. The pool water that had originally been sealed off at the cave entrance began pouring into the cave.
Seeing this, Lin Yi did not hesitate. He swiftly stored the three Yin Yang Pearls in his Universe Ring, then turned and swam out through the passage he had used earlier.
Outside Danxian Pool, Xia Zhilan and the other two had already finished absorbing the energy and emerged from the pool.
Xia Wanjin and the others were waiting beside the pool, puzzled.
"Could something unexpected have happened?" Xuan Su asked worriedly, her brows furrowing slightly.
"Probably not. Yue Shan and I searched the bottom of Danxian Pool together, and we didn't find anything dangerous." Xia Wanjin shook his head.
"Splash!"
Just as they were talking, a sound rang out across the calm surface of the pool. Immediately afterward, Lin Yi burst out of the water and landed beside the pool.
"He's out!"
Seeing the youth who had finally appeared, Xuan Su and the others also let out sighs of relief.
"Sorry. I was curious and took a look around the bottom of the pool, so I was delayed a little." Lin Yi cupped his fists and smiled at the people who had quickly gathered around him.
"Hehe, it seems that Brother Lin Yi gained quite a lot this time." Xia Wanjin swept his gaze over Lin Yi and smiled.
Hearing this, Lin Yi smiled. "I've only made a little progress."
"Since everything here is settled, let's return to Flame City first," Xuan Su said with a radiant smile from the side.
No one objected to her suggestion, and they immediately set out on the journey back together.
On the way back, Xia Wanjin chatted with Lin Yi for a while and learned quite a bit about Lin Yi and the Lin Family. He suddenly said, "I'd like to invite you to take up the title of Honorary Elder in my Wanjin Merchant Guild. I wonder if you'd be willing, Brother Lin Yi?"
"Then thank you, President Xia." Lin Yi pondered briefly before nodding in agreement.
He himself did not care much, but this connection would greatly benefit the Lin Family's future development.
Seeing Lin Yi agree, Xia Wanjin was also quite pleased.
Lin Yi's current strength might not amount to much yet, but Xia Wanjin placed tremendous importance on his potential.
For a genius like this, if they did not win him over before he rose to prominence, then once Lin Yi truly matured, their Wanjin Merchant Guild would no longer have the qualifications to curry favor with him even if they wanted to.
The two sides chatted amicably all the way back to Flame City without incident.
After bidding farewell to Xia Wanjin and the others, Lin Yi left Flame City directly and headed back to the Lin Family.
After returning home, Lin Yi briefly recounted what had happened during their separation to his family, then plunged back into cultivation.
Lin Yi had now reached the limit of the Heaven Origin Realm. With the Yin Yang Pearls in hand, he planned to strike while the iron was hot and break through to the Yuan Dan Stage with all his strength!
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