Chapter 436 Entering the Lake

"Chu fellow daoist, I'll go in instead. You stay here to protect them."

Long Ziqian motioned for Chu Lingwei to pay attention to her two spirit beasts, who seemed different from before.

"Feng Ming, Phantom Cat."

Chu Lingwei was already feeling uneasy due to her two little beasts and was about to go in to investigate.

"Weiwei, I'm fine. This lake seems to be controlling my mind." Feng Ming hugged Chu Lingwei's waist, trying his best to keep his mind from being disturbed.

Soul-capturing?

The male cultivator they met today had also tried to capture her mind.

Chu Lingwei waved her hand, collecting the two of them into her spatial ring. "Don't tell Mother about my activities in Jingliang Forest. You two should recuperate properly."

"Weiwei..."

Before the two could reply, Chu Lingwei directly severed contact with them.

"You stay outside and wait for me." Chu Lingwei stepped forward, observing the lake surface. Apart from standing before them, it looked no different from any other lake.

"Chu fellow daoist, I will enter with you. It might be more dangerous outside." Long Ziqian said directly. If he encountered the cultivator from today again, he would surely not be his match.

Staying outside was no better than entering the lake with Chu Lingwei to see what was within.

Chu Lingwei glanced at Long Ziqian. She felt his words were not unreasonable and nodded, "Alright, follow me closely."

"Chu fellow daoist, you don't need to mind me. I have my own means of survival." Long Ziqian thanked Chu Lingwei. He dared to enter Jingliang Forest alone and was not afraid of perishing, and he had ways to escape.

"Good."

Chu Lingwei nodded and sent a surge of spiritual energy into the lake's surface. The lake seemed startled, ripples spreading across it, slowly forming whirlpools.

Chu Lingwei and Long Ziqian's steps towards the lake paused. Immediately after, a powerful aura rushed out from the lake.

Someone.

Chu Lingwei pulled Long Ziqian closer and quickly flashed to the side. A heavy object seemed to be pushed out and landed on the ground without any warning.

"Cultivator? Spirit beast?"

"Who is disturbing my good deed?"

Song Qianshan had just reached the threshold of this lake when he was blocked by a surge of spiritual energy and then kicked out by something within the lake. It was infuriating.

Chu Lingwei and Long Ziqian exchanged glances and remained silent. At this moment, they wouldn't foolishly admit anything.

"Was it you?" Song Qianshan stood up and cast a spell on himself, his wet clothes instantly drying.

"What is 'us'?"

Long Ziqian held his spirit sword, appraising the cultivator before him. A Tongtian realm cultivator. "Fellow daoist, you entered this lake alone. Where is your spirit beast?"

Song Qianshan was reminded by Long Ziqian and suddenly remembered that his spirit beast didn't seem to have come out with him. His expression changed, and he shouted towards the lake, "Little brat, come out quickly."

"..." That address was truly interesting.

Song Qianshan shouted for a long time without receiving any response from his spirit beast. He became anxious and was about to rush into the lake.

This time was different from when he first arrived. He thought he could enter the lake smoothly again, but his head hit something as hard as stone and bounced him back with a bang.

With a loud collision, Song Qianshan fell to the ground and took a long time to recover.

"Fellow daoist, do you need a pill?" Long Ziqian subconsciously touched his head. Fortunately, he hadn't intended to enter the lake in such a manner.

Song Qianshan glanced at Long Ziqian, took the pill without politeness, and swallowed it directly without a word of thanks. "Hmph, don't think a single pill will make me forgive your recklessness."

"Fellow daoist, we don't understand what you're saying." Long Ziqian rubbed his nose. Had Chu Lingwei's spiritual energy forced him out?

"Hmph." Song Qianshan took the pill, and his injuries healed by more than half. Considering the quality of the pill Long Ziqian gave him, he grudgingly wouldn't hold it against him.

Even if he didn't want to hold it against them, it didn't mean they weren't at fault for forcing him out of the lake.

"If you hadn't sent spiritual energy into that lake, I wouldn't have been forced out."

"Fellow daoist, were you forced out by my spiritual energy, or by the restrictions within the lake?" Chu Lingwei stepped forward. If she could get information about the interior from the cultivator before them, they might save some detours.

Song Qianshan saw that Chu Lingwei had hit the nail on the head and turned his head. "Even so, if you hadn't suddenly triggered the restrictions within the lake, I wouldn't have been forced out. My spirit beast is still inside."

"Fellow daoist, we were just about to enter the lake. Perhaps we can help you rescue your spirit beast," Chu Lingwei said.

Song Qianshan heard Chu Lingwei use the word "rescue" and looked at her properly. "My spirit beast will be in danger inside?"

"I don't know. I just feel that improving cultivation too quickly isn't a good thing." There are no free lunches in the world. Chu Lingwei didn't believe it.

Moreover, she had personally entered the Spirit Realm and knew how cultivators there survived indefinitely, making her even more skeptical of such rapid cultivation advancements.

"It's very strange inside. Only spirit beasts can enter." Song Qianshan lowered his eyelids. He had only intended to bring his spirit beast in for some experience, but unexpectedly, the little brat seemed trapped inside, and no matter how he tried to save it, it wouldn't come out.

When he witnessed the little brat's cultivation continuously increasing, he harbored a sliver of hope.

Now, hearing Chu Lingwei's words, he felt he had been too naive.

"Let's go in and see."

Chu Lingwei and Long Ziqian exchanged glances. Since no other cultivators had arrived yet, it was best for them to go in and see the situation inside.

"I'll lead you in. Remember, once you enter the lake, you cannot use spiritual energy." Song Qianshan said and then strode directly into the center of the lake, quickly disappearing.

Chu Lingwei and Long Ziqian quickly followed.

Upon entering the lake's center, everything looked no different from an ordinary lake. They followed Song Qianshan as they swam towards the lakebed.

Fish swam past them. These were all first or second-tier spirit beasts. They neither dodged nor attacked the cultivators.

"Chu fellow daoist, the spiritual energy in this lake is very dense," Long Ziqian transmitted to Chu Lingwei. They hadn't felt such abundant spiritual energy outside the lake.

"Mm, remember, don't use spiritual energy unless absolutely necessary," Chu Lingwei replied.

Soon, Chu Lingwei and the others, following Song Qianshan, arrived before a whirlpool.

In the center of the whirlpool, a fourth-tier spirit deer was cultivating with its eyes closed.

The cultivation of the fourth-tier spirit deer was rapidly increasing at a visible rate, and its body seemed to be growing much stronger.

"This is so miraculous," Long Ziqian couldn't help but exclaim. This was consistent with what other cultivators who had entered this lake had said.