Upon passing the wooden hut, Ye Ju discovered a pile of glistening pearls on the bed of leaves, wondering when Xiao Bai had spat them out. Ye Ju’s eyes sparkled; if this were modern-day Huaxia, she’d be a bona fide little rich girl! After admiring them enough, she finally had time to look at Xiao Bai. Huh? When did this little fellow grow three tails? Even in its comatose state, its body had grown noticeably. It was previously a bit bigger than a cat, but now it was about the size of a husky. How many Lan Lin Pearls had this little guy eaten?
Divine beasts were indeed divine beasts; even sleeping was a form of cultivation. Ye Ju was extremely envious. Since it was a contracted spiritual beast and she knew Xiao Bai was fine, she picked up her belongings and headed towards the cave.
As soon as she entered the cave, she heard the water of the pool rippling. The electric eel broke the surface, its large head raised, its small blue eyes fixed on Ye Ju.
Ye Ju was genuinely afraid of snakes. Seeing this creature abruptly made her jump. She couldn’t help but swallow, realizing the creature had grown by a circumference and its body had also lengthened, appearing to be over twenty meters long. Its open mouth could swallow Ye Ju whole. Fortunately, the two barbels near its mouth prevented anyone from mistaking it for a large python. However, Ye Ju was puzzled because the electric eels introduced in Huaxia’s Animal World on Earth did not have barbels on the sides of their mouths. Thus, the animals on this island were beyond Ye Ju’s comprehension.
Yet, it was said that electric eels were also famous killers in the freshwater world, feared even by crocodiles, and were top predators. Perhaps this creature wasn’t an electric eel at all, but merely resembled one. This pool was a mixture of freshwater and seawater; its salinity was far less than that of the outer sea! Regardless of its species, Ye Ju knew it could discharge electricity. The small one from last time had electrocuted Ye Ju quite painfully, nearly sending her to meet the Buddha!
“Um, I’m here, brought you some spiritual spring water,” Ye Ju said, forcing herself to stay calm, holding up the purple bamboo water flask and waving at it.
The electric eel’s mouth was wide open, revealing two rows of sharp teeth. Ye Ju poured the spiritual spring water from the purple bamboo flask into its mouth. Ye Ju had filled two large flasks. She had made three purple bamboo flasks but hadn't brought one because it was previously filled with Zhong Shi Ru and wasn't available. She planned to fill two more flasks with Shi Ru later. This item was rare and precious, so the more, the better!
After pouring the water, Ye Ju also took out several spiritual fruits:
“Do you want to eat this?”
The small blue eyes suddenly lit up, and its expression showed sheer eagerness. Ye Ju seized the opportunity and tossed it into its mouth. The creature, with a wide gape, swallowed it whole, likely without even tasting it. It then turned and submerged into the water.
“Master~~ Master~~ I’m here!” Suddenly, Xiao Bai’s voice was heard, coming from afar.
“Xiao Bai, I’m here. You’re awake?” Ye Ju saw the little creature wagging its three large tails and hopping excitedly around her. Ye Ju happily petted Xiao Bai’s head. Although she had never raised an animal, she understood the feelings of those pet owners since Xiao Bai arrived. It was too adorable!
“Master, wait a moment!” With that, it dove into the water.
A moment later, vibrations were heard from the bottom of the pool: blue light, electrical discharges, and the buzzing sound of explosions. Small fish, stunned by the commotion, suddenly floated to the surface. Ye Ju’s eyes widened. It wasn't what she thought, was it? Had Xiao Bai gone for revenge? Had it rushed to settle a score right after its advancement? Xiao Bai, you’re sure you’re not looking for a beating? Ye Ju thought the two beasts had buried the hatchet after yesterday’s harmonious exchange and the pearl gifting. Turns out she had been overthinking it! It was said that foxes held grudges!
Ye Ju became anxious, afraid her cub would be bullied, but she dared not enter the water. The water was flashing with electricity. Recalling the previous electrocution, she felt lingering fear. She felt like she was just weak. Seeing various fish floating belly-up continuously, Ye Ju couldn’t hold back any longer. She jumped into the water, not forgetting to condense a spiritual energy bubble around herself to separate her from the water, preventing electrocution. After entering the water, it indeed worked; she felt no current whatsoever. At the same time, she deployed her divine sense. She saw the large and small figures underwater appearing to be performing magic: one spat out a blue light blade, the other unleashed a bolt of lightning. They exchanged blows, constantly unleashing their innate skills.
Xiao Bai’s body grew explosively. The massive fox body was estimated to be over two meters tall. Suddenly, it closed the distance and swung a fox claw at the electric eel’s head. Sparks flew, like metal colliding with metal. The electric eel slapped Xiao Bai with its tail fin, sending it flying backward. The immense impact cracked the reef before Xiao Bai could finally come to a stop. The electric eel didn’t fare well either; its head bore three bloody claw marks.
Xiao Bai was truly angered by the blow. Its body suddenly expanded again, absorbing all the surrounding spiritual energy. At some point, it had grown another tail—a young nine-tailed fox’s advancement was represented by each grown tail! It had advanced during the battle!
Xiao Bai then charged forward at extreme speed, spitting ice blades. These were enhanced versions of the previous ones. If Xiao Bai’s previous ice blades were like sickles, these were like elongated scimitars. Three ice blades, carrying killing intent, struck out. Ye Ju felt Xiao Bai’s murderous intent. Xiao Bai had become so ferocious; there must have been some deep-seated animosity!
Clearly, the electric eel, having not yet fully absorbed and digested the spiritual fruit, was ambushed by Xiao Bai and was at a disadvantage. As the ice blades approached, the electric eel opened its mouth and emitted lightning-like currents, which also charged forward rapidly. They collided with two of the ice blades, exploding with a thunderous roar!
Ye Ju’s ears buzzed from the sound. At this moment, Ye Ju finally swam to the bottom of the pool. She had no choice; her doggy-paddle swimming technique wasn’t fast.
She saw the last ice blade was about to split the electric eel in two when Ye Ju shouted:
“Ice-fireball, explode!” She blocked the ice blade.
Seeing the two beasts fighting with bloodshot eyes, she shouted:
“Guardian! Knock them out!”
A stick shadow appeared, and with two thuds, both the fox and the fish were knocked unconscious. After the deed was done, it immediately returned to Ye Ju’s sea of consciousness.
Ye Ju: …
Xiao Bai fainted, its body shrinking rapidly. Ye Ju swam over and scooped it up, examining it. She found it had a minor internal injury, with its spiritual energy nearly depleted. She then went to check on the electric eel. The three bloody wounds on its head were deep enough to expose bone!
Ye Ju sighed, feeling the peculiar sensation of cleaning up after her own mischievous child. She used a healing technique to aid its recovery and then used her spiritual energy to send it back to its cave. The water was not as accommodating as land, consuming a large amount of spiritual energy. Ye Ju, carrying Xiao Bai, felt exhausted even after swimming to the surface. After recuperating for a while, she went to collect the Shi Ru and some of the stunned Lan Lin fish that had flipped their bellies. Only then did she return to the wooden hut. She placed Xiao Bai on the leaf bed and went to get a large pot of spiritual spring water to stew the Lan Lin fish she had collected.
Ye Ju discovered by the pool that the Lan Lin fish were merely stunned; many had regained their vitality and swum away. This was understandable. The pool was over a hundred feet deep, and fish farther from the bottom were only lightly stunned. However, those at the bottom of the pool suffered greatly. The battle had shattered the entire pool bottom. The bottom of the pool was filled with the corpses of various fish. Even those hiding in rock crevices did not escape.
Ye Ju muttered to herself, "Could it be that I’ve wiped out more than half of the Lan Lin fish? This time, I absolutely must discipline Xiao Bai. This guy is too ferocious when it fights. And it has the nerve to talk about me, its master?"
After drinking the spiritual spring water and eating two more fruits to recover her spiritual energy, she cast a healing technique to treat Xiao Bai’s internal injuries. The fish were also stewed.
Xiao Bai woke up to the aroma. Did it have a dog's nose? Ye Ju also felt sorry for the little guy’s depleted spiritual energy and its recent advancement. She poured a large bowl of meat and soup, using her ice spiritual energy to cool it down, and placed it before Xiao Bai.