Innate Objects and Chaos Spirit Objects

Have we gone back to the mainland?

Soaking in cold water at night was bone-chilling. Coming back to his senses, Gongsun Hong coughed repeatedly and choked on another mouthful of water.

He felt as if he were lying on the sea, being tossed up and down by the waves.

For Gongsun Hong, who is an excellent swimmer, choking on water is a very rare occurrence, which can only prove that his health is relatively poor.

Gongsun Hong clearly remembered that his body was in excellent condition after recuperation, and that he had obtained a large amount of spiritual spring water from a secret place in the sea. However, his memory of what happened after that was somewhat unclear.

After muttering a question, Gongsun Hong felt a hand reach out from the darkness and then scoop him up.

Gongsun Hong only came to his senses when he realized he was sitting on a tree branch.

"What's wrong? Are we flooded?"

"It's flooded!"

Gongsun Hong asked a question, while Zhang Xuezhou looked somewhat dejected.

The secret place spans dozens of miles, and the water in the gourd covers an area of more than ten miles, turning the submerged area into a lake.

All the tree spirits were submerged in this lake.

To these tree spirits, this flood was nothing short of a disaster.

After Zhang Xuezhou was trapped underground by tree roots for a while, the roots that had been coiling around the cave entrance disappeared, and swathes of trees lay submerged in the flood.

Zhang Xuezhou knew that the tree spirit was afraid of fire, but he never thought that the tree spirit was also afraid of water.

When the scale becomes large enough, the "plenty to eat" model makes the interdependence of elements less important, and many trees that were overturned by the waves never rose again.

The tree spirits were having a hard time, and Zhang Xuezhou felt bad for them too.

The water gourd that Zheng Wukong had pawned to him is gone, and the spiritual spring water has been washed away by the waves; it's hard to say whether it can still be collected.

Of course, even if he could collect it, Zhang Xuezhou would no longer have the magical Law Treasure to hold the water.

This dampened his spirits a bit.

After pulling Gongsun Hong up onto a crooked tree on a hillside, Zhang Xuezhou stood up again, searching for where Li Shaojun's body had drifted to.

"How did the floodwaters suddenly rise?" Gongsun Hong asked. "I remember it was... something that got me hit?"

The secret place was still familiar, but Gongsun Hong felt as if he had a fishbone stuck in his throat. He reached up and pulled a piece of rotten vine out of his throat.

A wave of excruciating pain, as if his internal organs were being torn apart, surged through Gongsun Hong's mind. He felt that everything was terrible.

He used to lament that Dong Zhongshu had forcibly entered the Sole Self Realm, resulting in numerous physical ailments. Now that the same thing had happened to him, Gongsun Hong couldn't help but look up at the sky, feeling that the heavens never easily forgive anyone.

Following in Dong Zhongshu's footsteps and entering the Sole Self Realm, Gongsun Hong also repeated the same mistake.

"What about the Spirit Spring?" Gongsun Hong asked anxiously after thinking for a moment.

"If we can divert this water to other places, we can look for the Spirit Spring then," Zhang Xuezhou said. "I'll look for Li Shaojun first!"

Zhang Xuezhou couldn't say that what Gongsun Hong was talking about came from the gourd, and he glanced into the distance, feeling slightly guilty.

He wasn't worried about Li Shaojun dying, but Zhang Xuezhou was a little worried that Li Shaojun's body was stuck in the hole and couldn't get out, and even if he was resurrected, he would continue to drown.

But Zhang Xuezhou didn't dare to go back inside to check the situation for the time being.

"Mr. Gongsun, what I'm trying to say is, if you encounter a tree spirit and then soak it in water, how long would it take for the tree spirit to die?" Zhang Xuezhou asked after thinking for a moment.

"The tree spirit is soaking in water?"

Gongsun Hong shook his head, feeling that Zhang Xuezhou had raised a question that was giving him a headache.

How could he know how long the tree spirit could hold its breath?

"It seems you're unsure. Let's wait and see, maybe ten or eight days!"

Compared to the risks, Zhang Xuezhou felt he would rather wait.

"Did we encounter a tree demon last night?" Gongsun Hong asked.

"It should be," Zhang Xuezhou nodded, "Back then, there were tree demons all over the mountains, and they almost wiped us all out!"

"Then this water... the water inside the gourd?"

Gongsun Hong thought for a few seconds before he realized what was happening.

He looked at the seemingly endless expanse of water and couldn't help but gasp.

He knew Zhang Xuezhou's scheme was full of tricks, but he didn't expect it to be this much.

"Your gourd is very likely a legendary innate artifact," Gongsun Hong said in a low voice.

"The gourd isn't mine; Zheng Wukong pawned it to me," Zhang Xuezhou corrected again. "I'm not familiar with gourds; I only know that they're good for drinking water and collecting water. Now that the tree demon has broken it, I'm afraid I can't afford to pay for it!"

"This... this... oh!"

Gongsun Hong coughed for a while, not knowing how to comfort Zhang Xuezhou.

In short, most people didn't find their treasures, and there were plenty of mishaps along the way.

Li Shaojun lost a large amount of Soul-Guiding Powder and Soul-Stealing Powder, Gongsun Hong's eighteen Green Bamboo Swords were gone, and Zhang Xuezhou's calligraphy copybook and gourd were also lost.

We finally found a sacred spring, but it has vanished without a trace.

Gongsun Hong felt extremely distressed.

He has experienced many ups and downs in his life, but such dramatic rises and falls are not many.

"Even four or five days to drink the spring water would be fine!"

He coughed and spat out a mouthful of dark, gooey stuff, wishing he had more time.

He had no intention of selling the spiritual spring, nor did he want to; Gongsun Hong only wanted to improve his health.

But his chance to recover was gone in just one day.

Now this body of water is like a vast ocean. Even if the old site is found again, the spring water will hardly be the same as before, and will most likely be diluted to the point that its effectiveness is questionable.

"This water has been soaked by tree spirits all over the mountains; there might be some hidden dangers!"

Just as Gongsun Hong was about to take some water to drink and check on the situation, he heard Zhang Xuezhou remind him, which made him quickly withdraw his hand from holding the water.

"I feel like I have grass growing in my stomach; I must have been influenced by the tree demon," Gongsun Hong said dejectedly.

Gongsun Hong was celebrating his chances of longevity the day before, but the current situation has left him very frustrated.

He muttered incantations and pointed again. He felt that the water area he sensed was more than ten miles in circumference, and the water depth was about five zhang. In some low-lying areas, the water would be even deeper.

Such a vast body of water is comparable to a large lake, making it difficult to divert the water to other areas; this is beyond human capability.

"It's good that you're alive!"

Zhang Xuezhou offered a word of comfort.

Then the two fell silent.

As dawn broke, Zhang Xuezhou looked at the calm water before leaping up.

Gongsun Hong also walked on water, closely following the direction Zhang Xuezhou flew.

"Brother, we have a ship to go back to the mainland!"

Zhang Xuezhou had only flown a few miles when he saw Li Shaojun waving at him from beside a protruding rock in the distance.

Beside Li Shaojun, a huge gourd floated in the water, with a large hole broken in the bottom, revealing the empty interior.

If the risks can be eliminated and the gourd shape is not a problem, this is indeed a good boat.

The fact that the gourd was pierced does not mean that the gourd was not sturdy.

On the contrary, this gourd is stronger than ironwood, and also thinner and lighter.

If one possesses the relevant treasure-making skills, this could even be crafted into a Law Treasure ship, which would be considered a secondary use of the treasure.

"I thought you'd drowned, so I could have this broken gourd!"

Upon seeing Zhang Xuezhou land on the hilltop, Li Shaojun casually recounted his little scheme.

"Where are the vines? Where are the roots?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"Do you think I'm the kind of person who would dare to pull that kind of thing?" Li Shaojun said sullenly.

"You're quite capable, go down and check out the situation!"

"I'm not good enough, I can't watch..."

"If you slow down any further, what if the item doesn't reach us? Even if it's treasure, we won't be able to get it!"

Zhang Xuezhou pointed to Gongsun Hong walking on water in the distance, which made Li Shaojun grit his teeth.

"We've very likely encountered the legendary chaotic artifact; I want half of whatever we get!"

"No problem!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded and quickly agreed to the assignment.

This caused Li Shaojun to fall into the water in a panic.

He wasn't a good swimmer, but Zhang Xuezhou clearly didn't expect much from him; he just wanted him to test the waters.

Once the danger in the water is gone, Zhang Xuezhou, who is also a skilled swimmer, will go to salvage the area and bring out the culprit behind this disaster.