Chapter 72: Floodwaters

  The river water rushed towards her, eyes, nose, and mouth were all filled with water. Her feet felt like they were being pulled down by something, desperately sinking downwards. Because she hadn't prepared to fall into the water, she felt that the oxygen in her mouth was almost insufficient.

  Looking at the soles of her feet, there was clearly nothing there, but her body was sinking anyway. No matter how hard she struggled, it was no use. If this continued, in less than half a moment, she would drown to death.

  What Zhan Qingkuang didn't know was that this river was famous throughout the Lou Nan Empire, known as "Quan Water". No one knew how this river was formed, only that there were no living creatures nearby, whether flying in the air or trying to cross the river. As long as they entered the range of the Quan Water, everything would sink to the bottom, even a bird, a leaf, or a feather, no matter how light it was. In this Quan Water, no matter how high the level of the cultivator, once they fell in, their powerful spiritual energy could not be released, and therefore countless people had lost their lives in this Quan Water over the years.

  The gradually sinking light madness could only vaguely see the sunlight on her head becoming more and more illusory, finally turning into a small golden dot. Even the roar of the silver-backed giant ape was getting farther and farther away from her. Another bubble burst out, and Light Madness's face had already turned bright red from lack of air. It wasn't until she finally felt solid ground under her feet that she looked around with the help of a faint light, not knowing what to expect, but one glance made her jump in fright!

  Surrounding her were white bones as far as the eye could see, some in human form and others from giant magical beasts. The massive skeletal remains looked extremely eerie. If she didn't get out of this water soon, she was afraid that she would also become one of these white bones.

  Gurgling and bubbling, she spat out a few more air bubbles, using both hands and feet to struggle upwards, but her legs felt like they were filled with lead. Refusing to give up, she crouched down and kicked towards the bottom of the water, trying to use the reaction force to help herself, but before she could even rise one meter, she fell back down again, as if the countless ghosts of the dead in the water wanted her to join them.

  She grasped her throat, and her beautiful face was twisted in distress. Her feet kicked out wildly as she struggled to breathe. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind - her father, South Palace's Light Crazy, had given her a precious treasure. She hastily retrieved the Jiao Lei from the spatial ring on her finger, and the palm-sized pearl shone with a soft white light. It was indeed the Jiao Lei! As soon as she took it out, a thin layer of protection enveloped her, emitting a faint golden glow. Perhaps because she was using it, a pang of sadness lingered in her heart, accompanied by a dull ache and a sour feeling...

  She finally solved the breathing problem, but she can't stay in this water for long. Not to mention that this water can make her float, the surroundings are dead silent, and there is no living thing around. She will starve to death sooner or later, and she must think of a way out.

  In this water, the fire-based spiritual power can't be used, but the wood-based one should still work, right? Just as she was about to transform a lifesaving tool, she discovered that all her spiritual powers had been suppressed and wouldn't listen to her commands. How could this be? With her spiritual powers unusable, how would she escape?

  Time and time again she tried, but there was no response. In the end, she had to give up. Thinking about it, relying on herself wasn't going to work. Her contract beast would have to do! After all, it was a divine beast!

  "Yao'er...... Yao'er......"

  He called out several times in a row, but there was no reaction at all. Moreover, the two small flowers on his ears had already returned to the Monster Realm at some point. This time, War Light Crazy finally experienced the helpless feeling of calling for help from heaven and earth but getting no response.

  Before falling in, she had estimated the width of the river and walked along the riverbank. She couldn't swim across, so she climbed up! Fortunately, where she fell was not in the middle of the river, but just at the edge of the riverbed. In an instant, she slipped down, with no foothold at all. Muttering to herself, she refused to believe that this small, broken river could stop her.

  Looking at the river surface so far away from her, she suddenly felt depressed. She wouldn't have to spend the rest of her life in this river, would she? There's nothing here, let alone for the rest of her life, not even three days could be endured, and what about her Yu'er after a long time? Thinking of Yu'er, her heart suddenly brightened up, she still had living space! Focusing on wanting to go in, but opening her eyes, there was no shadow of Yu'er, no fountain of life, no fruit of life, she was still at the bottom of this gloomy water, surrounded by white bones, if she had explosives in her hand, she would definitely blow up this broken river! Someone's bottom line has been lowered time and time again, and is quickly approaching the edge of explosion.

  Nothing can be done, she just walked forward anyway! She should be able to find the source of this river water somehow!

  She trudged forward with heavy footsteps, dragging her lead-filled legs, inching forward bit by bit. She wondered where the source was, but irritation rose up - she didn't have that much time to waste here, what a broken river, a broken river!

  While she was in a bad mood, her right foot was tripped by the skeleton of an unknown animal, almost making her fall forward. Originally, it was already hard to walk, and there were things blocking her way. The skeleton played the role of adding fuel to the fire very well, and also determined its own tragic fate.

  Let you stop me, let you stop me, don't you know I'm in a bad mood? Still coming to make trouble, still coming to make trouble. Trample your crotch, see how you can still hold me back. With each step, the foot tramples fiercely, it's clear that those bones are old. When she stepped on the first foot, they were already cracked open. The war was not satisfying, and several more feet were added, until the bones were scattered all over the place, only then was she satisfied.

  She kicked away the skeleton that had blocked her way and continued walking forward, surrounded by the dead silence of the river water. If she couldn't still feel that slight flow, she would have thought this was stagnant water! Throughout her journey with Qing Leng, although he occasionally got hurt, it was always a smooth ride. This feeling of powerlessness was a first for him, and his mood wasn't great either!

  Nor did she know how long she had walked, until the bright light on her head also disappeared. Only then did Qinglang realize that it was already evening, and the temperature of the river water began to drop. Her legs were numb from walking, and she mechanically obeyed the commands of her brain. Now, if only there was a bonfire, how great would that be? If only there was an overcoat, how great would that be? But thinking about it, maybe not the overcoat, as it would also increase her burden in the water. Being able to get out of here is the best!

  She walked aimlessly with her arms wrapped around her body, her mood constantly changing. Feeling suffocated and annoyed, she couldn't see the end of this dismal situation, but for that one thread of hope, she persisted. She couldn't die here, absolutely not!

  Made up my mind, dragging my tired legs to continue walking, suddenly I tripped and fell to the ground, both legs trembling non-stop, muscles all turned into hard lumps. Damn it, what a crappy river! Must blow it up, blow everything up! And those stinky monkeys that got her into this predicament, also blow them up! Not even leaving a single hair behind!

  After resting for a while, her body was exhausted to death, her stomach was hungry enough to die, and there was nothing to eat. She was really miserable! Rubbing her legs, she struggled to get up, and she began to wonder if she had taken the wrong direction.

  Deep breaths, after walking all night, when the first ray of sunlight came in at dawn, Qing finally burst out with a loud curse: "Damn it, is this going to end or not? Are you going to let me live or not? What kind of crappy place is this, trying to trap me here to death? If you've got what it takes, come on and do it all at once! I'm a tough girl who's been through thick and thin, afraid of you?"

  Not to mention that she hasn't had a drop of water, what she's more worried about is her Yu'er. Although there's the Life Fruit in space, it was always her who took out time to feed him three meals a day. One night without seeing her, and she knew Yu'er must be worried sick about her. What annoyed her most was this lukewarm situation, not as good as having a quick and decisive battle, which would be better than the unknown outcome now.

  It seemed that the heavens were responding to her anger, or perhaps it was just something itching for trouble, but the speed of the water flow gradually began to increase, stirring up fine sand and suddenly making the surroundings chaotic.

  Looking at the place that was gradually glowing over there, Qing Kuang thought to herself that it had finally arrived! She had thought that some kind of magical beast lived in the depths of the water and would finally show itself and engage in a battle to the death with her. But when she saw the glowing object, it really made her eyes widen in shock.

  A black pearl spun around and came before Qing Kuang, reflecting her image, spinning even faster. The dirty pearl still faintly emitted a blue light as it stared "face to face" with her.

  Clutching her fists, her veins bulging, she had been forcing herself to fall asleep, not wanting to lower her standards and tarnish her character...

  She didn't care about the pearl behind her, and again dragged her numb legs forward, she had to get out as soon as possible, or else she would go crazy before she died!

  Dirty and dirty pearls staring at her, brazenly following her, who knows that someone is now a saturated balloon, just one more blow, it's going to explode!

  Endure! Must endure! Can't find a pearl and lose face by speaking out! Endure it, must endure it!

  But when that pearl in the back followed her relentlessly, Qing Kuang couldn't bear it anymore: "What are you, anyway? Don't follow me again!"

  The dirty pearl rotates and rotates, the thick layer of mud on top looks so annoying that I don't even want to touch it.

  "You follow me again, don't blame me for being impolite!"

  The pearl continued to rotate...

  She suddenly lost her temper, what's wrong with her, she actually quarreled with a pearl.

  Just as she was about to let go of the pearl, a certain pearl that didn't know its place came to provoke her. It spun faster and faster, and the outer layer of mud splashed onto Qingkuang's face. At this point, Qingkuang, who was already on edge, finally exploded. With one kick, she sent the annoying pearl flying far away until it was out of sight. Only then did she rub her legs to relieve the fatigue that had accumulated over a long time.

  Before long, the pearl came rolling back again, where it started spinning around in front of Qing Kuang's eyes. He kicked it out once more, but it shamelessly rolled back again.

  "You're back again? You dare to appear in front of me? Believe it or not, I'll grind you into powder!"

  Whenever she hears a gentle and affectionate voice speaking to her, she becomes excited and starts spinning around, without considering her mood.

  "Go away, filthy thing..." The light and proud figure turned its back on it.

  The pearl paused for a moment, seemingly thinking for a while, then quickly spun around and shook off all the mud that covered it, only to reappear in front of Qing Kuang.

  Feeling the blue light behind her, she knew it was that bead playing tricks on her. Until the bead revealed its true appearance, she raised an eyebrow in surprise. The deep blue bead was clean and transparent, shining brightly, with a soft glow emanating from within. The light seemed to have a life of its own, moving around inside the bead. As she looked at it closely, the light flowed even faster.

  "What kind of thing are you?"

  Glittering light.

  "Do you have life and consciousness?"

  Upon hearing this, a certain pearl spun even faster, its blue light flashing on and off as if responding to her words.

  "Is the river water like this because of you?" If it were really this pearl that trapped itself here, it would have ground it into powder!

  The blue bead swayed back and forth, like a child who refused to admit his mistake.

  "What's going on? Alright, so you're saying this river water has nothing to do with you?"

  The blue light flashed on and off, which was an answer to her words.

  Since it wasn't, she put it aside and thought that this bead had delayed her for a long time. Her tone was somewhat urgent: "If not, then get out!"

  The blue beads shone brightly, wanting to get close to her.

  "What are you doing? Don't block me." With a swift motion, she pushed her away and walked forward with a light, crazy gait.

  This pearl was stuck on her and kept getting closer to her, accurately speaking, it was getting closer to the tear on her body.

  She waved her hand again and drove him away, exhausting all his patience. "Don't follow me!"

  The blue bead trembled and its color deepened, the light inside twisting anxiously. Just then, the blue bead shot towards her at high speed, and just as Qing Kuang was about to destroy it, the bead supported her from behind her waist, a burst of blue light erupted, forcibly lifting her feet off the riverbed. When she lay flat on her back, the blue bead carried her up to the water's surface with a gurgling sound.

  What is this bead, anyway? It looks like it's trying to help her. She touches the bead on her chest, for Jiaolong's sake? No matter what, as long as it can rescue her from the bottom of this damned river, she'll give it to Jiaolong if that's what it wants. She has always been one to repay kindness.

  It's clear that the water was not without effect on the blue bead either. The blue light gradually weakened, but it still struggled to support her, and just as she was about to float to the surface, the blue bead could no longer hold on, its light disappearing completely. Light Crazy's body began to sink into the water again. Just when hope was in sight, and all she needed was one more effort, she failed at this critical moment. Anyone can imagine the suffocating feeling in her heart, after all, she was deeply trapped in a difficult situation, unable to save herself and having to rely on this bead, seeking help but also having to say blaming words. Such things were really not something Light Crazy could do.

  It seemed to sense her disappointment, the blue bead stirred again, and a burst of blue light broke through the clouds. With a "crack" sound, a crack appeared on the bead, mobilizing all its energy to push Qingkuang upwards. Finally, both hands emerged from the water surface, followed by his waist, abdomen, and entire body. Qingkuang suddenly felt like he was seeing the world again.

  She was lifted ashore by a blue bead that had been hovering in the air, and the cracks on the bead itself had increased countless times.

  "Thank you! What do you want?" Thinking back to her attitude just now, it was all thanks to this pearl that she could escape safely, so no matter what it is, as long as she can do it, she will agree to everything.

  The blue bead flew up again and hovered in front of her, the whole thing turned light blue, with crack after crack visible.

  "Is this what you want?" he said, handing over the tear of the dragon.

  Lan Zhu Zi shook her head and continued to circle around her.

  "Don't you want it? Then what do you want?" This is a pearl, how can she communicate like this! Now it's getting tricky.

  The sapphire ring surrounded her hand, wanting to touch but not daring, somewhat timid and shrinking.

  Holding it in his hand, the blue bead rolled happily, and the color of the liquid deepened a bit. Looking at the bead that seemed to be "playing coquettishly", he was puzzled, what's going on?

  A careless move, the rolling bead scratched the palm of Qing Kuang's hand, and fresh blood stained the bead. It was like a drunkard who had drunk too much wine, the blue bead trembled and spun upwards, flying into the air, and the sound of cracking came, unexpectedly that bead accelerated its fragmentation.

  With a "crack", the bead shattered, and a powerful spiritual force surged forth, forcibly forming a bond with Qing Kuang. Memories of past experiences resurfaced - was this a contract? A contract with a single bead? Before she could even think it through, the Heavenly Laws enveloped her, and a spiritual force barrier appeared before her eyes, with a faint blue hue spreading around her. Using her own spiritual force to merge with the barrier, the small resistance was negligible, and soon the two reached an understanding. The spiritual force gained another bond, and when she reappeared in the Life Space, she hadn't even had time to exchange a word with Xi Er before life elements surged into her body once again, just like when she contracted with Yao Er. A pale blue light slowly flashed on her Spiritual Foundation, as life elements continued to gather, gradually forming a small, pale blue bead - slightly smaller than the other two, but standing together in a triangular formation. Was this the Three-System Spirit Cultivator? Had she inadvertently gained good fortune from misfortune?

  As soon as he opened his eyes, the little man rushed over. Mother had never been late in the past, and he was worried that something might have happened to her?

  "Ah-ah~" She hugged her little treasure tightly, and no matter how many times she kissed him, it was never enough.

  "Has something happened to your mother?" She was soaked from head to toe.

  "It's all right, Mother is fine, hmm~" Thanks to that pearl, she was able to escape the danger, thinking of this, she hugged her son and flashed out of space.

  As soon as Qing Kuang appeared, a blue phantom rushed over happily, but when she saw the child in her arms, she stopped in her tracks and didn't dare to be presumptuous again.

  "Master~" A soft and gentle voice, it's a little girl.

  Looking at the phantom in front of me, what is this thing?

  "Are you a demon?" Never seen such a demon before!

  "Master, I am a water dragon," he said, transforming back into his true form, which was about the length of an arm, a small blue dragon that was still somewhat translucent and hard to see.

  "How did you end up like this?"

  "Waaahhh... Master, there are bad people! They peeled off my dragon skin and pulled out my dragon tendons, it hurts so much... it hurts so much... And they sealed me in a ball, I escaped but fell into the water, for such a long time... Master, I'm in pain..." A complaining cry came, sounding like a child of just a few years old.

  "What's your name?" Looking at her like this, she really doesn't look like a dragon, and crying with a runny nose, even less like a divine beast.

  "Call Blue Spirit." The phantom said with a hint of grievance.

  "Is this really you?"

  "My pearl is broken, does master have one?"

  Indeed, the previous pearl was her dwelling place, but because of herself, she destroyed it. It's only right to compensate her with one. "Here, this crocodile tear is for you."

  "Really?! Master, this tear of the dragon and I are of the same system, it's much better than the previous one, master really gave it to me~" The blue shadow excitedly ran around wildly.

  "I'll give it to you, but will you be like this from now on?" It's just a pearl, she won't be too heartbroken.

  "Master, I don't want to be like this all the time, unfortunately my previous physical body was destroyed and can't be used anymore..." As soon as he said that, his tail which was previously held high drooped down, and his voice also lost its cheerfulness.

  "How can I say this is also my own contract beast? She couldn't ignore it either, 'You first attach to Jiao Lei! I'll think of a way for your physical body.'"

  "Master is great ~ Lingling is so happy ~" Flesh body ~ flesh body ~ She wants a flesh body ~

  Looking at that happy phantom, lightly frowning, why does this divine beast seem a bit different!

  Digression

  The lightly insane divine beast didn't have even one normal one...