Exploring the Deep Pool

In a gray, hazy space, the Black Sun hung high in the sky. At its center lay a forty-thousand-mile expanse of black mist. On closer inspection, the Bright Moon could be seen suspended within the mist.

Yang Xiao woke from meditation. Over the past month, he had absorbed all three hundred Low-Grade Earth Vein Crystals, filling another four percent of his Qi Sea, but he was still a long way from the Sea Condensation Realm.

He opened his door, and brilliant sunlight shone on his face. Voices drifted over from a hundred meters away—a group of food lovers was guessing what they would eat today.

How could Wang Huhu and Shen Laodao be absent from a scene like this? The two stood outside the Food Hall with Dongfang Mingyue, gazing inside until their eyes nearly wore through.

During his seclusion, everyone had turned Worry-Free Mountain upside down, but no one had found any trace of the Carefree Scripture. They had turned their attention back to the third floor of the Scripture Pavilion.

But Yang Xiao did not think the Carefree Scripture could be on the third floor.

Screee!

An eagle's cry rang out overhead. Yang Xiao froze at the sound and looked up. Little Blue circled twice in the sky, shrank to the size of a sparrow, and landed on his shoulder.

"Did you go back to see Uncle Butcher during this time?" Yang Xiao asked, turning his head.

Little Blue chirped twice and spat out a letter.

Yang Xiao caught it and opened it.

He stared at the letter for a while, lost in thought. It was from Butcher, who told him to stay safe and said he had sent a few Earth Vein Crystals along with Little Blue.

Yang Xiao looked at Little Blue, who opened its beak and spat. Its belly seemed to contain a separate space, and Earth Vein Crystals dropped out one after another—over a thousand Low-Grade Earth Vein Crystals and a hundred Mid-Grade Earth Vein Crystals.

Yang Xiao swallowed. This was "a few"? Last time, he had spent half a month working in the Lianfeng Mountains with Shen Laodao and Wang Huhu, and they had only found nearly a thousand Low-Grade Earth Vein Crystals and three mid-grade ones. Yet Butcher had sent this many in a single gift.

Still, considering Butcher's status as the Domain Lord of Heaven Domain, these Earth Vein Crystals were nothing to him.

Yang Xiao put the earth vein crystals away. These resources would support his cultivation for a long time.

When he reached the Food Hall, Senior Sister Lei was dozing outside, with a collection box beside her. He quietly placed two Earth Vein Crystals inside, but still woke her. She gave him a sleepy smile, then picked up the box and returned to her room.

The corner of Yang Xiao's mouth twitched. She had been waiting for him. He looked inside the Food Hall, where nine people sat. The entire Carefree Sect had only thirteen members. Apart from the old sect master and the elderly disciple, the missing person was Luo Kedi.

Before entering seclusion, he seemed to have heard the others mention that Luo Kedi had also gone into seclusion. Presumably, he had yet to emerge.

He found Wang Huhu and the others and sat down beside them. At the sight of the food, Little Blue's eyes gleamed with a food lover's hunger. It flapped onto the table and began fighting Shen Laodao for the dishes.

"Shall we visit Old Man Chen after we finish eating?" Yang Xiao asked Wang Huhu, picking up a piece of Scallion-Fried Snake Meat.

Old Man Chen was the man Wang Huhu had met when she got lost. Yang Xiao had always regarded him as a hidden master, and would drag Wang Huhu over for a visit whenever he had an excuse—or even when he did not.

Wang Huhu kept picking up food, answering between bites, "Sure!"

At the foot of the mountain behind the sect, Yang Xiao and Wang Huhu walked side by side in front, while Shen Laodao followed behind, looking around.

Shen Laodao was very curious about their occasional mysterious outings and had come along specifically to investigate this time.

The three reached Old Man Chen's thatched cottage. Wang Huhu ran inside and called loudly, "Grandpa Chen, we're here!"

Yang Xiao and Shen Laodao followed close behind. Old Man Chen put down the sieve in his hands and smiled at them when he heard their voices. "You're here. I'll go make you something to eat."

Yang Xiao stood closest to Shen Laodao. The instant Shen Laodao saw Old Man Chen, Yang Xiao noticed his whole body shudder.

"Yang Xiao, I suddenly remembered I have snake soup cooking in my room. I need to go back and eat it," Shen Laodao said. He bowed to Old Man Chen and slowly backed away.

"Wait." Yang Xiao grabbed his shoulder. "I went to your room before we came. I already ate the snake soup."

Shen Laodao shook off his hand. "I just remembered that yesterday I arranged to go down the mountain on a mission with Junior Brother Lin. What a memory I have! I need to find him right away. I can't keep him waiting too long."

Yang Xiao knew Shen Laodao was panicking. His excuses were growing increasingly absurd. He had tricked Lin Haoxuan into killing his own Dragon Horse. Why would Lin Haoxuan ever invite him on a mission?

But the more he acted this way, the more curious Yang Xiao became. He must have discovered something.

Just then, Old Man Chen said to Shen Laodao, "Since you're here, stay and eat with us."

Shen Laodao squeezed out a smile uglier than a crying face. "All right."

Old Man Chen left the cottage to pick vegetables from the field and prepare their meal.

Shen Laodao sat down at the table and stared blankly, as though he had suffered a terrible blow.

Yang Xiao sat beside him and whispered, "Shen Laodao, did you notice something?"

Shen Laodao clapped a hand over his mouth and cautiously glanced outside. "Don't talk nonsense. I don't know anything."

The more he behaved like this, the more certain Yang Xiao became of his suspicions.

Old Man Chen soon finished cooking and brought the dishes out. This was not Yang Xiao's first visit to his home. Although Shen Laodao's reaction told him that Old Man Chen was a powerful cultivator, he did not make a show of it. He behaved as usual, finished the meal, and returned up the mountain with Wang Huhu and Shen Laodao, whose legs had gone weak.

On the path behind the mountain, Shen Laodao chased him with a large saber, shouting, "Yang Xiao, I'll fight you to the death!"

Yang Xiao used Shrinking Earth to Inches and raced toward the summit, calling as he ran, "Calm down, Shen Laodao! Old Man Chen might be watching!"

At those words, Old Man Chen did indeed stop. He glanced back down the mountain, shrank his neck, and put away the saber, then smiled at Yang Xiao. "Yang Xiao, come here. Let's have a chat."

"I think I'll pass. You can chat with Wang Huhu." Seeing Shen Laodao like this, Yang Xiao ran even faster. He used Shrinking Earth to Inches repeatedly and reached the summit in the blink of an eye.

That night, Yang Xiao lay in bed. After several months in the Carefree Sect, he had a rough idea of where the Carefree Scripture might be.

The first possibility was the third floor of the Scripture Pavilion, though the odds of the Carefree Scripture being there were so slim as to be almost nonexistent. Still, Chen Wuyou might have gone against conventional thinking and hidden the Carefree Scripture in the least likely place.

The second was the bottom of the deep pool, a place whose depths he had once failed to reach. This was a strong possibility.

The third was Old Man Chen. Today's probing had confirmed that he was a hidden master. He might even be a powerful cultivator of the Carefree Sect who had never revealed himself to the world, and there was a good chance he possessed the Carefree Scripture.

Yang Xiao sighed. He could not get onto the third floor of the Scripture Pavilion, and Old Man Chen was even more out of reach. All he could do was visit with Wang Huhu and slowly wear him down. Perhaps one day, Old Man Chen would recognize his extraordinary talent, pull a copy of the Carefree Scripture from his sleeve, and tell him, "Young man, I see that you have a remarkable bone structure. You're the perfect candidate to cultivate this wondrous scripture of heaven and earth. This Carefree Scripture is yours."

Of course, that was only wishful thinking.

Right now, the deep pool was the only place he could explore.

Yang Xiao got up and woke Shen Laodao, who was snoring away in the room. He still remembered nearly dying in the deep pool on his first visit. This time, he needed a helper.

Shen Laodao had a high cultivation level, making him the best choice.

At first, Shen Laodao was unwilling, but the moment Yang Xiao mentioned the Carefree Scripture, he sprang out of bed and dragged him toward the door.

The two made their way to the back mountain under cover of darkness. Before they arrived, they heard someone speaking beside the deep pool.

They hid behind a tree and peered out.

Chen Wuyou sat beside the deep pool in black-and-white Daoist robes. With a wave of his hand, he tossed in a piece of beast meat weighing over a hundred jin. The meat fell into the pool without a sound.

Chen Wuyou's lips moved, as though he was saying something, but they were too far away to hear clearly.

After a long while, Chen Wuyou finally left the pool. The two waited a little longer. During that time, Chen Wuyou returned three times, each time tossing another piece of beast meat toward the bottom of the pool.

Once they were certain Chen Wuyou would not return, they emerged from behind the tree, exchanged a glance, and ran to the pool's edge to look down.

The pool's water was crystal clear, as though they could see straight to the bottom. Yet when they looked more closely, it seemed they could see nothing at all.

Yang Xiao knew this was all an illusion. The water looked clear, but anyone who entered would discover that it was black.

"Do you think there's something alive down there?" Yang Xiao asked, looking into the bottomless pool.

The way Chen Wuyou had acted just now was like a fisherman feeding fish.

"No idea." Shen Laodao shook his head. "Why don't you go down and take a look? This humble monk will stand guard up here."

Yang Xiao rolled his eyes at him. "With my cultivation, do you think I'd survive running into a demon beast?"

He used Turning Magic into Weapons to form a black rope. "You go in. I'll tie this around you. If anything happens, tug the rope three times, and I'll pull you up.

"Think carefully before you answer. The Carefree Scripture might be down there."

Shen Laodao's eyes flickered, as though he was weighing the feasibility of the plan. Yang Xiao seized the chance to add, "There are only three possible places for the Carefree Scripture. Neither of us can reach that floor of the Scripture Pavilion, and I'm sure you understand Old Man Chen better than I do."

"Right now, the deep pool is the only place we can explore."

Shen Laodao hesitated, then his gaze gradually hardened with resolve. He looked at Yang Xiao. "This humble monk is entrusting his life to you. If I die down there, I won't spare you even as a ghost."

Shen Laodao took a short rod from inside his robes. This was the first time Yang Xiao had seen him take it out on the mountain. Just as he was about to look more closely, Shen Laodao hid it behind his back. "What are you staring at? This was passed down by this humble monk's ancestors. Don't even think about coveting it. Hurry up and tie the rope around me.

"Wait, you formed this rope from magical power. Why does this spell sound like something I've heard of before? Let me take a look."

"Down you go." Yang Xiao swiftly tied the rope around Shen Laodao. After eighteen years of tying up corpses, he certainly had the speed for this. He kicked him into the pool.

"You little brat, Yang Xiao! This humble monk won't let you off!" Shen Laodao yelled as he hit the water.

Yang Xiao's magical power steadily drained, and the rope he had formed grew longer and longer. A quarter of an hour later, over a thousand meters of rope had descended into the pool, but the tension in his hands told him Shen Laodao still had not reached the bottom.

Suddenly, an enormous force surged through the rope. It was so strong that Yang Xiao had no time to brace himself before he was dragged headfirst into the pool. Whatever Shen Laodao had encountered, the force on the rope pulled Yang Xiao a hundred meters underwater in an instant.

Yang Xiao hurriedly shielded his mouth and nose with magical power. Fortunately, his reserves were now deep enough to sustain the expenditure.

The black rope had slipped from his grasp. Without his magical power sustaining it, it dissolved into spiritual energy in the water. Yang Xiao's expression darkened. He had persuaded Shen Laodao to go down. If Shen Laodao died below, his conscience would never let him rest.

Besides, he had spent several months with Shen Laodao. Although the man seemed sinister and strange, he was not a bad person.

After some thought, he decided to go down and search for him. If Shen Laodao died here, he would not even be able to answer to Chen Wuyou.