Spirit-Extinguishing Water

"I want you to keep waiting here for someone else. I'm leaving." After saying that, Xiao Yan stood up again and walked outside.

"Wait, human. If you rescue this Half-Immortal and promise to avenge this Half-Immortal, this Half-Immortal can follow by your side. How about it?" That voice rang out again, now carrying a note of helplessness and resentment.

"Avenge you?" Xiao Yan froze. Could this be an existence like Yao Lao? It called itself a Half-Immortal—could her former strength have reached the level of a Half-Immortal? If that were true, then wouldn't it become a great aid to him? Xiao Yan swiftly weighed the risks against the benefits.

"Who exactly are you? And how can you guarantee that after I rescue you, you won't turn into an ungrateful wolf and bite me back?" Xiao Yan asked coldly.

"Hmph, human, this Half-Immortal is a powerful existence on the Heavenly Water Ranking. This Half-Immortal's willingness to follow you is your honor. Hurry and rescue this Half-Immortal." The voice grew increasingly urgent.

"Heavenly Water, something like Spirit Life Water?" Xiao Yan said in shock. The last time he had encountered Spirit Life Water, if not for the inexplicable trace of Qingcheng's aura on him, he would likely have died long ago. Yet now, he had encountered another Heavenly Water.

"Don't mention that cheap water to this Half-Immortal. It shamelessly seized this Half-Immortal's territory." The voice sounded again, thick with resentment.

"And you still call yourself powerful? You actually got bullied by someone else." Xiao Yan was overjoyed inside. He had never expected that, while being hunted by Magic Beasts, he would encounter a Heavenly Water. If he could persuade it to submit to him, then once he found the Water-Fire Mutual Generation Formula, wouldn't it be able to advance directly? His own strength would soar as well. Naturally, Xiao Yan did not show it. He still intended to fleece it thoroughly. It had mentioned pills and pill formulas earlier—if it did not hand those over, Xiao Yan would be letting himself down too badly.

"Though this Half-Immortal is only temporarily ranked last on the Heavenly Water Ranking, even the Master envies this Half-Immortal's abilities. With this Half-Immortal around, you need not fear pursuit." The voice said smugly.

"The Master? Could it be the legendary Qingguo?" Xiao Yan asked.

"You dare speak the Master's name directly? Truly, a newborn calf fears no tiger. The Master could kill you with a single thought. Forget it. Whether you rescue this Half-Immortal is up to you. This Half-Immortal has waited so long already; a few more years make no difference." The voice gradually faded away.

"I agree to your conditions. What should I do?" Xiao Yan asked.

"Open the stone wall before you. Then you will see a ring. Crush the ring, and that will do."

After hearing this, Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment, then raised the Heavenly Fire Eternal Ancient Ruler in his hand and smashed it toward the boulder.

Bang...

The boulder immediately shattered into powder. A ring appeared in Xiao Yan's hand. The ring was extremely beautiful, and within it was a crystal-clear water droplet, dazzlingly lovely.

So this was Heavenly Water? It did not seem much different from ordinary water.

"Hurry and crush the ring." At that moment, a voice appeared in Xiao Yan's mind.

"I've changed my mind. If you want me to release you, then obediently spit out everything you know. Perhaps if I'm in a good mood, I'll let you out." Xiao Yan suddenly realized that the boulder was not the key. The key was this ring—this was what restrained it.

Spirit-Extinguishing Water

"You... despicable human. You... no, how can you have her aura on you? Could you be her... No, that's impossible... Why?" The voice rang out once more.

"Qingcheng's aura? Several people, including that Spirit Life Water, have said I carry Qingcheng's aura, but I don't know Qingcheng." Xiao Yan shrugged helplessly.

"Forget it. Following by your side is not bad either—better than being sealed in this rotten place. However, human, I hope you can cultivate a special cultivation method, one that can fuse Heavenly Fire and Heavenly Water. Then, once you become powerful, you can subdue that Spirit Life Water. When that time comes, it will be the one bullied by this Half-Immortal instead." The voice shifted from an initial sigh into final smug delight.

"Aren't you ranked last? If I absorb Spirit Life Water, how could you bully it?" Xiao Yan asked in confusion.

"When you humans marry wives, isn't the first wife the eldest? No matter how powerful the later wives are, don't they still have to call the first wife elder sister when they see her? Aren't the rules the same here? If I'm absorbed by you first, then won't it have to be bullied by me?"

Xiao Yan felt as though his entire worldview was about to collapse. Whether Heavenly Fire or Heavenly Water, once absorbed, would gradually lose its intelligence. How could it still bully anyone?

"Human..."

"My name isn't human. I have a name and surname—my surname is Xiao, and my name is Yan." Hearing it call him "human" over and over, Xiao Yan was practically going mad.

"Ah, your name is Xiao Yan. Let this Half-Immortal introduce herself. This Half-Immortal is the renowned Spirit-Extinguishing Water of the Heavenly Water Ranking, ranked twentieth. The ring in your hand is the Spirit-Storing Demon Ring. It can store one kind of Heavenly Fire or Heavenly Water for a long time. Inside the Demon Ring, Heavenly Fire and Heavenly Water cannot exert even one percent of their power. For the Master's sake, this Half-Immortal can tell you what you wish to know, but you must avenge this Half-Immortal."

"What shameless boasting. You're only twentieth, yet you dare call yourself renowned." Xiao Yan vaguely guessed that this Spirit-Extinguishing Water might once have been the overlord of Spirit Prefecture. But one day, Spirit Life Water had come here, defeated it, and sealed it in this place. That was why Spirit-Extinguishing Water bore such a deep grudge against Spirit Life Water. Perhaps Qingcheng's aura was one reason it was willing to submit to him, but the true reason was likely that it wanted him to avenge it. But why did it not go out and take revenge itself?

"Ignorant human, this Half-Immortal is a supreme treasure that every one of you humans desires. Yet you dare treat this Half-Immortal like this."

"Instead of boasting about your own abilities, why don't you tell me where you hid the pill formulas and pills? I'm really not that interested in you." Xiao Yan casually put the ring on his hand and looked over the empty ground. With the boulder shattered, this place seemed to have changed as well.

Ten-Thousand-Zhang Mountain, the abyss beneath Iron Chain Bridge.

"The seal has been broken. It seems it is about to appear once more. But that boy entered that region so quickly—compared with his talent, his luck is far better. If he can obtain that fighting technique, perhaps his achievements will surpass his." A voice that seemed to be speaking to itself echoed through this strange valley.