Mandarin Ducks Playing in Water

By the underground river, Han Shuangjiang stood up, her gaze firm, revealing the stubbornness in her nature.

She had said she would help Chu Huai Xu obtain his opportunity.

You said I'm your key—fine, then I'll help you open this stone door!

Chu Huai Xu watched her easily break through the fifth aperture, utterly envious.

"System, upgrade me too! Give me the upgrade, dammit!"

With insufficient Cultivation Technique Experience Points, he simply couldn't do it.

Their eyes met, and he read her intent.

Chu Huai Xu could only sigh and say, "Alright then."

This game companion had her professional habits—how could she let her bosses take risks while on the job?

But logically speaking, an ordinary secret realm trial shouldn't be able to stop the World Protagonists.

And honestly, being protected by a woman like this wasn't half bad.

"Be careful in everything," he reminded.

"Okay."

With that, Han Shuangjiang went straight into the water.

Leaving Chu Huai Xu by the riverbank to marvel—truly, this was the Great Female Lead who focused single-mindedly on "building her career" in the Borrowed Sword, no hesitation at all.

The Water Repelling Bead Liu Tianfeng had given her happened to prove its value again at this moment.

This Big Ice Block didn't get soaked, revealing her graceful and striking curves.

Just as Chu Huai Xu had expected, the moment she entered the water, the formation activated.

The two stone walls on either side were no longer suspended; they actually dropped down, blocking the slow-flowing current.

Thus, this was no longer an underground river.

It had become a massive pool.

Inside the water were four fist-sized holes, which Chu Huai Xu had been staring at, suspecting they were some kind of mechanism or something tied to the formation.

Han Shuangjiang, now in the water, was also on guard.

Yet, for the moment, those four holes showed no abnormality.

The next moment, the formation in the water activated!

Some of the water currents were wrapped in spiritual power, like Water Blades!

They suddenly converged on Han Shuangjiang all at once.

At the Aperture Opening Stage, there was simply no way to dodge!

Because the number of Water Blades was overwhelming.

Water Blades surged in from all directions, and Han Shuangjiang couldn't swim to the opposite bank in time.

The barrier of the Water Repelling Bead only provided simple water resistance, and it was soon shattered by these Water Blades.

In an instant, water flooded and soaked Han Shuangjiang's surroundings, the Water Blades directly cutting through her clothes and slashing her fair skin, leaving trail after trail of blood in the water.

Stung by the pain, she nearly sank straight down.

Chu Huai Xu's pupils tightened, and he immediately prepared to do something.

But Han Shuangjiang spoke up at that moment: "It's fine, I can swim to the other side."

Strangely enough, these Water Blades didn't seem to strike very hard.

All they could do was cut the skin, leaving a shallow trail of blood.

Yet even so, there were too many Water Blades!

They came from every direction in the water, and they kept multiplying!

Han Shuangjiang dodged some as she swam, but still ended up with seven or eight wounds on her body.

The four holes underwater let out a rumbling sound at that moment.

Then, a large amount of bluish-black liquid gushed out from the holes.

Chu Huai Xu's pupils contracted, and he silently cried out in alarm.

The sudden surge of liquid in that color would startle anyone.

He had been standing by one of the holes, observing closely.

As the liquid appeared, he quickly caught a strange smell.

"This is... a medicinal smell?"

"Is it a spiritual medicine?"

"Bluish-black, and that somewhat familiar scent... This is Body Tempering Potion!" He realized immediately.

Body Tempering Potion was used for medicinal baths.

Cultivators who walk the path of body refinement must brutally torment their own flesh every single day.

After the torment, they go soak in a Body Tempering Potion.

Those torn and mangled places heal up quickly, offering excellent restorative effects, along with a very faint boost to the Physique.

Chu Huai Xu sniffed it and felt the scent was authentic, concluding this was top-grade Body Tempering Potion, with scar-removal properties to boot.

Don't forget, this dungeon was the Pill King Token, and this senior was a formal disciple of the Pill King—an alchemist!

The entire pool soon changed color.

As Han Shuangjiang's wounds were soaked in the Body Tempering Potion, they began to recover rapidly.

Chu Huai Xu lifted his gaze to glance at the Stone door on the opposite shore, a bad premonition rising in his heart.

He guessed that even if Han Shuangjiang swam to the other side, that Transparent Barrier would block her; she simply couldn't climb ashore!

Because the one who designed this trial—his goal was to make you keep getting hurt in this pool, then keep recovering.

Carve wound after wound into you, then heal you up, and then keep carving!

"Damn it, sick freak!" Chu Huai Xu looked at the Stone door across the river and couldn't help cursing inwardly.

Fifty meters—with the physical fitness of the Aperture Opening Stage, she could swim to the other side in no time.

Things unfolded just as Chu Huai Xu expected: that Transparent Barrier on the far shore was still there.

Han Shuangjiang, submerged in the water, simply couldn't get ashore, firmly blocked by this barrier.

She raised her hand, clenched a fist, and slammed it against the barrier, but it only produced a faint translucent ripple in the air, unable to budge it an inch.

Her brow furrowed, a few strands of wet hair plastered to her forehead, and she couldn't help letting out another muffled groan.

Because the number of Water Blades was still increasing.

Some wounds healed quickly, but new ones kept appearing.

Han Shuangjiang tried to climb upward, scaling the barrier to leave the pool. But this barrier was like some profound force—she simply couldn't do it.

This meant her body was bound to stay in the water.

"Probably have to tough it out for a while; once the time's up, the trial ends." That was Chu Huai Xu's guess.

He had to admit, this was a truly twisted design.

Even if you'd prepared a bamboo raft in advance inside the Storage Token, it wouldn't matter at all.

Because if you didn't get in the water, the Formation wouldn't activate, and the countdown wouldn't start.

And cultivators at the Aperture Opening Stage, lacking spiritual power in their bodies, couldn't drive magical artifacts either.

"Some robes refined from Heavenly materials and earthly treasures do have defensive properties without relying on spiritual power; this level of Water Blade wouldn't work, couldn't hurt a thing."

"But given this sick freak's design, I seriously suspect that if no blood is drawn, this Formation won't keep running!"

"Because only after Han Shuangjiang bled did the second Formation activate, and the Body Tempering Potion start flowing!"

"The key point now is: is the person this trial is testing really the kind of freak I'm thinking of? Does it really only start counting down after injury? And is there even a countdown at all?"

After all, this was just his speculation. Maybe the purpose of this stage wasn't that at all, but rather to make you think on your feet in a crisis and find some other way to break through?

But no matter—once I get in the water, I'll know!

In this kind of beginner dungeon, the system will probably give some hints!

In the pool, the Water Blades began to multiply.

The next wave was going to double.

And the most suffocating part was that you couldn't even be sure how many waves were left, or how many more times they'd double.

Han Shuangjiang was a stubborn person, with her own convictions.

Right now, she clenched her silver teeth, enduring the pain across her body with bitter patience.

The wounds weren't deep, but there were too many injured spots.

One wound appeared on her arm, then another.

Her thighs were even worse off.

Her clothes had already been slashed to tatters by the Water Blades.

Patches of snow-white skin were exposed like this.

Even in this situation, she gritted her teeth and shouted, "I-I'm fine! Help me find a way to break through!"

Still putting up a brave front.

"Stay right there!" Chu Huai Xu called out loudly.

With that, he leaped down!

(PS: Second update, Request monthly votes!)