Yun Qing's steps were still fairly steady as he followed Yun Huang into Langhuan Clear Void.
Until he was tossed bodily into the spring.
"Hiss-"
The moment he hit the water, he could not help sucking in a sharp breath.
Only when this spirit spring, made from who knew what heavenly treasure, stimulated him did he truly feel just how deadly the "hidden injuries" Yun Huang had mentioned were.
His sea of consciousness felt as though countless red-hot needles were piercing it all at once. It also felt as though something clammy and cold was slowly writhing against his awareness, bringing a spine-chilling sense of being watched.
Then a fine, gentle stream of spiritual energy pressed into his churning divine soul like an icy hand.
Yun Qing leaned against the smooth warm jade lining the pool, his brows tightly knitted and his breathing growing somewhat labored.
Just then, the rustle of fabric sounded from the bank.
An exceedingly faint scent of cool pine, mingled with an utterly domineering aura of pure yang, dispersed the spiritual mist around them.
Yun Qing opened his eyes with difficulty. Yun Huang had come to the edge of the spring at some point, and in that brief interval, he had already changed into a black bathing robe. Its collar hung loosely open, exposing a broad expanse of firm, cool-white chest.
"Say so if it hurts."
His Majesty the Immortal Emperor spoke evenly as he slowly entered the spirit spring barefoot.
The water rose past his waist, and the black fabric spread through the azure water like a blooming black lotus. He walked up to Yun Qing and looked down at his pale face, taut with restraint.
"Why put on a brave face in front of me?"
Yun Qing's throat bobbed at those words. In the