Hearing this, Shao Heng replied, "Hello, Senior Sister. My name is..."
Before she could finish, she saw the woman reach out and point toward her through the air.
The Disguise Technique instantly failed. The appearance of the handsome young man vanished, and through the reflection on the surface of the lake, she discovered she had returned to her original form.
Shao Heng gave a light cough, shifted the topic, and continued, "Senior Sister, my name is Shao Heng."
The woman tilted her head, scrutinized her for a moment, and then smiled. "You actually don't recognize me? Fine, my name is Ji Xuanyin. You can call me Senior Sister Ji."
"How is it that you've entered the secret realm to seek opportunities with only mid-stage cultivation? Which Elder is your master?"
The woman appeared to have no ill intent, and since they were from the same sect, they might encounter each other in the Inner Sect after leaving the realm. Shao Heng replied, "To answer Senior Sister Ji, I have not yet taken a master."
A look of confusion surfaced on Ji Xuanyin's face, but she did not press further. Instead, she explained patiently, "This lake hides Spirit Lotus Roots. Nourished by moonlight, they are highly beneficial to a cultivator's spiritual sense after consumption."
"As for the Shattered Moons, although these lotus flowers filling the pond are not rare spiritual treasures, they serve to mask the aura of the Shattered Moons. You'll have to rely on luck to find them in the lake."
Shao Heng expressed her thanks. Based on her previous observations, she believed about eighty percent of what Ji Xuanyin said was credible. Without further hesitation, she cast a Water-Repelling Spell and jumped into the lake.
Watching her dive in, Ji Xuanyin raised her eyebrows slightly, a look of amusement on her face.
Suddenly, another person leaped out of the lake. The man wore flowing white robes, possessed a face as refined as jade, and a nose as prominent as a hanging gallbladder. Beneath his thick, dark sword-brows were ink-black pupils that acted like whirlpools, capable of ensnaring one's gaze.
He held three Shattered Moons in his hand; one glance was enough to tell he had made quite a harvest.
Once he landed and stood steady, the male cultivator performed a Dust-Cleansing Spell before walking to Ji Xuanyin's side. Following her gaze, he asked, "What are you looking at?"
Looking at the Shattered Moons in his hand, Ji Xuanyin pouted and huffed, "You rogue, Ji Feiguang! Why is your luck always so good? I was groping around the bottom of the lake and couldn't see a trace of a Shattered Moon, yet you go down once and come up with three."
Wealth moves the heart. Ji Feiguang made no attempt to hide the Shattered Moons in his hand, making others extremely envious, but once they identified his status or sensed his cultivation, none dared to approach him.
Indifferently, Ji Feiguang tossed the three Shattered Moons to her and flicked her forehead with his finger.
"Don't be so disrespectful. You've stopped calling me Brother."
"They're just Shattered Moons. I have already cultivated nine hundred and eighty-seven cauldrons of Dharmic power and find it difficult to make further progress. These aren't of much use to me; I'll give them to you."
Ji Xuanyin chuckled and unceremoniously accepted the three Shattered Moons, casting a Sound-Isolation Spell.
Then, with a flattering expression, she said to Ji Feiguang, "It's fine. Once you find the inheritance left by Senior Jiang Jiang and obtain the fortune within, your Dharmic power will surely break through to over nine hundred and ninety cauldrons in one go, allowing you to ascend to the Profound Realm in your most perfect state!"
After nine hundred cauldrons, the foundation of Dharmic power continues to accumulate. The more cauldrons one has, the wider the expansion of the Mid-Dantian's Jiang Palace during a breakthrough to the second realm, which offers greater benefits for future cultivation.
It was said that a thousand cauldrons was the limit, but in reality, looking across the cultivation history of various races, those capable of ascending to the second realm with a foundation of over nine hundred and ninety cauldrons were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
Ji Feiguang gave her a helpless smile and asked, "I asked before, what were you looking at?"
Ji Xuanyin pointed at the lake surface and said, "Brother, you know my high-grade aptitude is the 'Immortal Bone and Spiritual Pupil.' I just saw a female disciple from our sect. She's only at the mid-stage of the first realm, but there's something about her I can't quite see through."
"Oh?"
Ji Feiguang grew somewhat curious.
"Your constitution is extraordinary, born with Spiritual Pupils that allow you to see things others cannot. Could that female disciple have mastered some special concealment technique?"
"Probably not. I saw through her Disguise Technique at a glance. I couldn't see anything else, but I still felt she wasn't quite simple. So, I did her a favor by explaining the peculiarities of this lake bottom. Just as she jumped in, you swam out."
Ji Xuanyin spread her hands, her gaze turning toward the spot where Shao Heng had just disappeared.
"However, in the Inner Sect in recent years, aside from Jiang Jiang and Tuoba Yunli, I haven't heard of anyone else with such outstanding aptitude. That's why I found it interesting."
Taking advantage of her distraction, Ji Feiguang tapped her on the head again.
"Ouch!"
"You, stop worrying about others and focus on your own cultivation. Our aptitudes are similar, and we entered the sect in the same batch. If you hadn't been secretly slacking off, how could your foundation only be at nine hundred and forty-some cauldrons?"
Meanwhile, Shao Heng, whom they had been discussing, was currently submerged in the water, swimming toward the lake bottom.
She attempted to sense with her spiritual sense, but even though her spiritual sense had been enhanced by her previous cultivation of the [Great Derivation Spirit-Refining Art], she still could not detect where the Shattered Moons were. Ao Chuan also used the Dragon Pupil Technique, but found nothing unusual, just as Ji Xuanyin had said.
Shao Heng moved through the water, using spells to repel it, as agile as a fish.
Suddenly, she noticed an anomaly in the current to her right. She immediately circulated her Dharmic power to burst from her feet, moving away from her original position.
Shao Heng turned her head to look back, pouring Dharmic power into her pupils, which allowed her to barely make out a long snake that was almost perfectly integrated with the lake water.
She flicked her finger, shooting out a Jade Bee Needle, killing it instantly.
"No scent of blood? It's more like an existence of Yin ghosts?"
Shao Heng looked around warily. After confirming there were no other water snakes, she began to change her direction.
The lake looked clear from above, but at the bottom, she discovered the water was mixed with silt. She wrapped her entire body in Dharmic power, weaving through the area; she felt rather like a loach.
Suddenly, her right hand unexpectedly brushed into a patch of silt and touched something hard.
With her palm protected by Dharmic power, Shao Heng did not hesitate and reached in to grab it.
When she looked at her palm, she found a segment of a lotus root—three segments in total. It was as white as jade, emitting a faint, ethereal glow even in this murky water. A fragrance could be smelled, though it had been blocked by the silt earlier.
"This must be the Spirit Lotus Root Ji Xuanyin mentioned."
There were many cultivators at the bottom of this lake, a mixed crowd; there was no guarantee that no one with extraordinary skills was present. Thus, Ao Chuan remained in its dragon-pattern form on Shao Heng's right arm.
It transmitted its voice: "The spiritual energy contained in this Spirit Lotus Root is abundant. It smells delicious."
"Of course, this Spirit Lotus Root should be considered a second-grade spiritual plant."
If Shao Heng wanted the horse to run, she wouldn't begrudge feeding it grass. She added, "I still have some spiritual rice left. I'll cook a pot of lotus root porridge for you later."
"Really?" Ao Chuan asked excitedly.
"Of course."
It replied coyly, "I suppose you do have a bit of a conscience."
Shao Heng thought to herself that it was indeed a little dragon.
If it returned to the True Dragon clan, with the foundation of such a great race, how could it possibly care for a tiny Spirit Lotus Root? Yet here it was, being swayed and confused by the promise of a pot of plain porridge she hadn't even started cooking.
Just as she was about to store the lotus root in her storage ring, she suddenly detected a very slight ripple in the water. A hand reached directly toward Shao Heng, attempting to snatch the lotus root on the spot.
Shao Heng dodged with a twist of her hand while simultaneously activating an escape technique to pull away.
"If it's yours, then take it!"
With a wave of her right sleeve, thirty-six Jade Bee Needles erupted outward instantly.
(End of Chapter)