Several people were scattered by the water flow. Fortunately, their spiritual power protected them, and no one was injured. Except for Ji Wuye, whose spiritual power was severely depleted, Ju Xian, Xiao Bai, and Qi Mo were not harmed in any way, aside from their slightly disheveled hairstyles.
Rumble~~ Rumble~~ A huge sound echoed from the end of the water flow. Ji Wuye, at the rear, his face changed greatly. "Sister, it must be a waterfall ahead. Judging by the sound, the water volume is immense, and the height is at least a hundred zhang."
"Qi Mo, scout ahead!" Ju Xian’s expression turned solemn. The water flow was very fast, and even with water control, it was difficult to slow down.
As expected, after fifty meters, they rushed out of the channel and entered a wider body of water with a faster current. The group surfaced and found seven or eight waterways. They had only emerged from one of the submerged channels. Above them was the cave ceiling. In the dim cave, some unknown plants emitted light. The general panorama was dimly visible. Ju Xian flew out of the water and landed on its surface. Xiao Bai pulled Ji Wuye out of the water, reverted to her true form, and carried him suspended in the air.
Ji Wuye was already dejected and felt miserable. He was indeed the weakest, no wonder his sister hadn't let him enter the water initially. Not only had he not helped, but he had also been a hindrance. Now, being carried by his sister Xiao Bai, he felt completely uncomfortable! He was determined to cultivate diligently and not be a burden to the team.
After a while, Ji Wuye recovered and hovered on the water's surface with his sword, his last bit of stubbornness. It was too embarrassing to be taken care of by his sister all the way!
Ju Xian was unaware of her brother's inner turmoil. At this moment, she was puzzled. The water spider couple had mentioned spiritual fluctuations in the water during their telepathic communication? Why hadn't they detected anything when they were buffeted by the water flow? Where had Feng Chu, Chi Zu, and Zhi Meng gone?
"Xiao Bai, contact Chi Zu and Zhi Meng. See where they are now," Ju Xian used her divine sense to scan several dark channels. Finding nothing, she turned to instruct Xiao Bai.
"Sister, I haven't found them. I used my contract power to search as soon as I came out," Xiao Bai was confused. She sensed no abnormality from the water spider couple. If something had happened to them, she, as their master, would have felt it.
"Master, hurry!" Qi Mo's urgent voice suddenly came. Then, there was silence.
Following Ju Xian's instructions to scout ahead, Qi Mo, being a dragon, was unaffected by the water. He was currently below the waterfall.
"Xiao Mo? What's wrong?" Ju Xian was anxious. Sensing that something was amiss, she flew towards the waterfall's opening first.
Xiao Bai and Ji Wuye quickly followed.
The rumbling sound was deafening. Indeed, the cliff was far more than a hundred zhang high! Looking down from the outlet, they couldn't see the bottom. Ten thousand zhang was not an exaggeration! Below, a hundred meters down, the water vapor mixed with mist, creating a scene like a fairyland. The mist was very dense, obscuring everything. The three had no mood to admire the scenery and were flying urgently towards the bottom of the cliff.
As they flew closer to the mist, before Ju Xian could speak, Ji Wuye exclaimed, "Sister, Xiao Bai, there's something in the mist! Be careful."
Ju Xian looked at her brother in surprise. His brother's perceptiveness was remarkable. If her divine sense hadn't been stronger than average, she wouldn't have detected the abnormality.
"Sister, brother is right, there's something in here. Be careful!" Xiao Bai enlarged her body, stepping on fox fire, majestic and imposing! She gestured for Ju Xian to ride on her back. She was now nearly five meters tall and had eight tails. In this world, apart from Qi Mo, no spiritual beast could match her, unless it were an ancient mythical beast.
Ju Xian nodded and stood on Xiao Bai's back. She didn't know what was in the mist. Such creatures that could conceal their forms would surely ambush them when they were off guard. Xiao Bai now had eight tails and was very powerful, more sensitive to the aura of demonic beasts than Ju Xian. This was also why Ju Xian hadn't restrained Xiao Bai much recently.
Even with the prying eyes from the upper realm, she couldn't keep Xiao Bai confined in the spatial dimension indefinitely. Uncle Dragon was right: fledglings must learn to fly, and Xiao Bai needed constant trials to truly grow. The divine dragon and the nine-tailed divine fox clans, being so noble and proud, never feared anything. How could they hide and act like the weak!
"Brother, come up. It's not advisable for us to separate now. There's unknown danger in the mist, so we must stay together as much as possible," Ju Xian explained as she noticed her brother hadn't come up yet.
Ji Wuye was silent for a moment, then nodded.
Xiao Bai slowly descended and plunged into the mist. The visibility in the mist was extremely low. The two humans and the beast looked solemn, their senses on high alert. Ju Xian unfolded her divine sense, only to discover that the mist could block it, allowing her to probe only within fifty meters. Ju Xian was astonished. With her current divine sense, she could cover an entire city the size of Motu City if she wished. Yet, this mist made the three of them feel like half-blind people.
She exchanged a glance with her brother, knowing he had also noticed.
"Sister, this mist is very peculiar; divine sense cannot penetrate it. Let's see if we can use other methods," Ji Wuye had undertaken many missions, but none had been as troublesome as this. With their vision obstructed and divine sense unusable, they were essentially exposed naked to danger.
"Sister, here it comes!" Xiao Bai suddenly exclaimed, interrupting Ju Xian’s intention to speak. Indeed, within fifty meters, Ju Xian saw a white figure charge at Xiao Bai, its claw striking with lightning speed before it instantly vanished.
Xiao Bai dodged sideways. Ju Xian quickly swung her Qingtian Sword, and a surge of sword energy pursued. A shrill cry suddenly came from the mist, and then silence returned. The mist quickly closed in again after the sword energy.
"Sister, what was that just now?" Xiao Bai had never encountered a creature with such speed. If she hadn't reacted quickly, she would have been scratched. Long San and Butler Zhu in the spatial dimension were also watching with bated breath. They were following Ju Xian's perspective and couldn't see what had attacked them in the mist!
"Didn't see clearly, it was too fast!" Ju Xian also felt it was troublesome for the first time and raised her vigilance.
"We can only see within fifty meters, yet when we spotted the creature, it was already upon us. What did it use to detect us? Sound? Scent?" Ji Wuye transmitted to Xiao Bai and Ju Xian.
"Then let's try!" Ju Xian suddenly sent out ice blades in one direction. Xiao Bai followed suit, and the sound of the two ice blades colliding was followed by a flash of white.
Ji Wuye immediately swung a sword energy, but the white shadow dodged it and disappeared into the mist. It seemed the creature in the mist was very vigilant. And it was not afraid of the pressure of divine beasts, which was very strange. Ju Xian tried to contact Xiao Mo again, but it was useless. As expected, Feng Chu and the others must have also entered this mist, which was why they couldn't be contacted.
"Xiao Bai, try using your fox fire to see if you can burn away the mist," Ju Xian felt the mist was like a living entity. The three dared not be careless at this point. Ju Xian even erected a barrier to protect their surroundings.
"Okay, sister!" Xiao Bai opened her mouth and spat out roaring flames. The mist evaporated rapidly upon contact with the fox fire.