Earth Vein Baleful Intent, Frost Eight-Leaf Grass (Please Follow)

Noticing Chen Linger enter the pool, Wang Xuance's speed of absorbing the chill gradually slowed, and the phenomena around him faded with it.

Chen Linger gestured downward, swayed her waist, and flexed the fascia along her back before plunging headfirst into the depths!

Not only was the pool water bitterly cold, but its currents were exceptionally fierce. The surface lay calm as the sea, while beneath it churned without end!

Though the two were martial artists with robust physiques, once they entered the pool, they were nowhere near as nimble as they had been on land.

The deeper they went, the more overpowering the frigid cold became. Even Wang Xuance felt a trace of chill.

He glanced at Chen Linger beside him, whose entire body glowed crimson. Seeing her expressionless face, he could not help but marvel inwardly.

The power of this pill is actually so tyrannical. We've already descended more than thirty zhang, yet her expression hasn't changed!

Splash!

A swift undercurrent swept past. A Black-Horned Scorpionfish nearly two meters long shot past them from behind like a sharp sword, its tail stirring a ring of spiraling water.

The two were instantly scattered apart. They watched as the Black-Horned Scorpionfish twisted away, about to vanish from sight.

Wang Xuance flooded his arm with blood and qi. His muscles abruptly knotted as he exerted force and swung; the claw spear shot forth, piercing through the fish's body with a squelch.

Hmph!

With a flicker of his body, he swam close in an instant and hammered a fist into the fish's head. Its body swayed faintly, then went still.

The two cooperated like this, and before long, they had caught more than ten Black-Horned Scorpionfish nearly two meters long...

"Hehe, how could these Black-Horned Scorpionfish possibly let you two catch them so effortlessly for no reason? How could you possibly foresee Old Confucian Ghost's venomous scheme!"

"Tsk tsk... still far too green..."

Looking at the several dozen Black-Horned Scorpionfish flapping on the ground, a thread of doubt arose in Wang Xuance's heart.

Such a good place—catching these fish is like picking up free loot. Isn't this going a little too smoothly?

But the thought vanished as soon as it appeared.

Easy? Smooth?

If not for his exceptional martial arts, coupled with a series of methods beyond ordinary people's reach, merely remaining here for a short while would have been difficult, much less...

His gaze shifted toward the blurry shadow behind the waterfall.

"Brother Wang, do you have any doubts? Once the three of us consume these fish, our resistance to the pool water's chill will be enough for us to swim across the pool!"

"Miss Chen, Wang has not asked about the purpose of this journey, but shouldn't you tell me what difficulties we will encounter afterward?"

Wang Xuance glanced sideways at the two of them. From beginning to end, he had never revealed his true strength. With the two of them only at the Two-Knock Blood Pass, handling them alone would not be difficult!

He was merely afraid of falling into this woman's sinister trap!

As the ancients said: only petty men and women are hardest to deal with!

The moment his words fell, the entire underground cavern sank into soundless silence.

Only the drip-drip of falling water remained.

The white-haired old man narrowed his eyes, seeming immediately displeased. There was an almost imperceptible killing intent in the way he looked at Wang Xuance.

"Hehe, so Brother Wang was worried about that. Even if you had not asked, I would have told you!"

Chen Linger shifted sideways to block the white-haired elder, giving him a look that said, "Stay calm." Then she laughed softly.

"Brother Wang, behind that waterfall lies a cave residence surrounded by several underground yin veins. Within it is a Frost Eight-Leaf Grass, and I must have it!"

"As for the owner of this cave residence..."

Chen Linger showed a troubled expression and spoke frankly.

"I spent a great deal of time searching through an ancient text before finding this information. I only know that it was left behind by a martial arts powerhouse who passed away a thousand years ago!"

"And the Frost Eight-Leaf Grass was precisely something this powerhouse required for his martial cultivation!"

"Once we enter the cave residence, an extremely potent earth vein Baleful Intent will erupt. I have a Purple Sun Three-Flower Formation that will be sufficient to dispel the Baleful Intent. I only need Brother Wang's cooperation!"

"As for why I did not seek out members of my Chen Clan and instead specifically sought Brother Wang—first, I intended to befriend you!"

"Second, Brother Wang does not understand how disputes over interests within a family reveal human nature most clearly. There is only kicking a man when he is down, nothing like the mutual willingness between you and me!"

Mutual willingness, my ass. You old hag only used threats and bait!

Wang Xuance cursed inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged. He merely raised his brows and nodded.

"Very well. I hope what Miss Chen said is true!"

It took only the time to drink a cup of tea for more than a dozen Black-Horned Scorpionfish to enter the three of their stomachs. Each sat cross-legged, digesting and absorbing the essence within the fish flesh.

Wang Xuance closed his eyes and breathed steadily. Strands of chill entered his body through his seven apertures, flowing all the way into the Flood Dragon-Headed Elixir Pearl circling above the qi sea in his dantian.

Perhaps because it had swallowed vast amounts of cold air upon entering the pool, white traces had appeared between the scales where green shadows once flowed across the Elixir Pearl, lending it an added air of profound mystery.

It was like two green flood dragons roiling through a sea of clouds, touched by wisps of white cloud-qi!

Feeling the chill in his stomach intensify, Wang Xuance circulated his blood and qi with all his strength. The clear fluid transformed from countless strips of fish flesh rushed all at once into the flood dragon head's bloody maw.

At the same time, the interwoven blue-and-white scales began trembling in clusters. The Elixir Pearl, already verdant enough to seem ready to drip, visibly grew larger!

[Great Arm Scripture +1!]

[Great Arm Scripture +1!]

[Great Arm Scripture +1!]

...

Wang Xuance did not notice that while he absorbed the essence of the Black-Horned Scorpionfish's flesh and blood, threads of violet-blue gas were seeping into his body along the pool wall.

Time passed bit by bit. Wang Xuance slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a strand of white turbid breath.

"Has my body reached its greatest strength? What a pity for this entire pool of body-tempering medicine."

Refining the essence of the fish flesh had taken only a little over half an hour. All the remaining time had been spent devouring the chill to temper the flesh and blood in his arms.

His arms brimmed with explosive, overwhelming strength. The force behind his strikes had increased by several times, and the accompanying surge in blood and qi was no less significant.

By his estimation, he could now kill several experts of the Three-Knock Blood Pass alone in no more than a single exchange.

I never expected this trip to increase my strength so much again!

"Huuuh..."

Chen Linger lightly exhaled through her cherry lips. A faint white glow coiled around her body, clearly showing that refining the Black-Horned Scorpionfish's flesh had done more than merely improve her resistance to the pool water's chill.

The white-haired elder had likewise finished refining his share.

The two exchanged glances and nodded.

"Brother Wang, the pool water's chill can no longer harm the three of us in the short term, but we should still enter the pool as soon as possible!"

Just as Chen Linger had said, there were no other living creatures in the pool. The Black-Horned Scorpionfish had been drawn here by the ringing of the golden bell, so they would not affect the three of them in any way.

Not to mention that the nearly overflowing chill within the pool could no longer hinder them in the slightest.

Before long, the three approached the waterfall plunging straight down. Their ears filled with thunderous roars as the crashing water and violent ripples carried an incomparable force that drove them several zhang back, leaving them unable to approach the waterfall at all!

"Brother Wang, the two of us will help you get inside first. Then use the claw spear's rope to pull us through the waterfall!"

Before Wang Xuance could reply, Chen Linger and the elder each dove into the pool. In an instant, Wang Xuance felt a mountain-toppling, sea-overturning force surge up from beneath him, and the blood and qi within his body instinctively shielded his vital points.

Bang!

With a forceful heave, his whole body burst from the water like a cannonball. Flying through the air, Wang Xuance gathered the force of his fist and smashed it out.

Boom!

Though the waterfall appeared impossible to cross, it was ultimately only the force of flowing water. The might of this punch could shatter metal and stone—how could a mere current obstruct it?

His Fist Aura swung out like a great hammer, blasting a water-vat-sized opening through the waterfall on the spot. The great dragon of his spine trembled, and with a flicker, Wang Xuance crashed through the waterfall and entered within!

Chen Linger and the elder looked solemn. Watching Wang Xuance pierce through the waterfall with unstoppable momentum, the young woman asked doubtfully, "Old Bai, does this man possess the strength of the Three-Knock Blood Pass?"

The white-browed old Daoist's lips moved slightly, his answer equally ambiguous.

"This man seems to have deliberately concealed his strength throughout the journey, but his blood and qi are still insufficient to rival the Three-Knock Blood Pass. In my view, he is much the same as Young Miss—on the verge of breaking through to the Three-Knock Blood Pass!"

Hearing this, the young woman nodded. The heat in her eyes as she looked toward the waterfall grew even fiercer!

Beyond the waterfall lay another world!

Though it stood close to the White Dragon Waterfall, there was not a trace of thunderous roar. Instead, it was exceptionally tranquil!

Before him stood a towering gate over ten zhang high, stretching across the stone wall.

Two savage beasts with gaping bloody maws were carved upon the stone gate like guardian beasts, their furious gazes fixed straight ahead.

After merely meeting their eyes, Wang Xuance felt an ancient, desolate aura crash into his face, nearly knocking him staggering backward.

One simple, natural rune after another was carved upon the gate. Wang Xuance's eyes were dazzled by them; he only felt that these runes were incomparably intricate and contained subtle profundities.

Right, I nearly forgot about the other two!

Wang Xuance glanced around. The ground was level and without protrusions, its material hard. Like the pool walls, it seemed to have been cleaved out with a single slash.

His five fingers formed a claw and plunged fiercely into the stone wall. With a squelch, he seized a fist-sized stone and placed it into the claw spear.

The waterfall's impact was immensely powerful, but the force behind the claw spear was enough to pierce through the curtain of water. It was far easier than passing through the water in person!

He lightly pressed the mechanism with his thumb, and the claw spear shot out as a black shadow, piercing through the waterfall. Wang Xuance planted one foot before the other, standing firm upon the ground like an old tree with roots entwined around rock.

"Up!"

The muscles in his arms bulged. Secretly exerting force, he gave a fierce tug. The golden cord instantly stretched taut and shook violently, followed by a grinding creak-creak.

Splash!

The water curtain split open with a gap. The two seized the golden cord and were hauled through the water one after the other!