Chapter One Hundred 'Lake' Bottom

  Is it Wananling Spring Milk?

  The surrounding area, about two meters deep, with a milky white color, not only contains spiritual energy, but also emits a fragrance that touches the heart, although extremely faint. Only when Zuo Xiaoyao is completely submerged in the water and has "intimate contact" with them can she vaguely smell it, and it can have the effect of easy marrow washing on the body. Even if she doesn't run the cultivation technique, just being in it makes her feel that her body is gradually changing. Zuo Xiaoyao thought to herself, although her body had experienced many marrow washings due to taking elixirs or advancing in rank, she had never personally felt such a change.

  But thinking that even if it is something that can be encountered but not sought after, in the modern cultivation world, it only exists in the legends of the ancient cultivation world. The spiritual energy contained in the waters of the Ten Thousand Year Spiritual Spring had already been extinct for thousands of years, and its concentration should be far from this degree, let alone the Spiritual Spring Milk that is equivalent to the essence of the Ten Thousand Year Spiritual Spring!

  The spiritual energy contained within is so dense that it's absolutely unimaginable to ordinary people. Not only can these body-refining cultivators who haven't transcended the mortal realm withstand it, but even a cultivator like her who has achieved Spiritual Truth would suffer the same fate if she were to bathe in it - the difference lies only in the speed of their bodily explosion and death.

  If not, in Zuo Xiao Yao's impression, there really wasn't any other naturally formed milky white substance that could achieve this effect. Although her spiritual awareness couldn't penetrate too far into the not-too-thick milky white 'lake' water, it was barely enough to satisfy her needs and successfully saved her a lot of effort when exploring the source of the 'lake' water, without having to disturb others who were cultivating and making them move elsewhere.

  Fortunately, the lake was not too large, and after searching through it piece by piece, she had covered more than half of its area of over a hundred square meters. Then, Xiaoyao easily sensed a place where spiritual energy fluctuations were coming from. That place was about three square meters in size, and the person who chose to cultivate there had some connection with her - it was precisely Jiaoyun Fan!

  She circled around, unsure of what would happen if she released her spiritual energy to attack the area. Would it affect Focused Clouds Floating who was sitting cross-legged on top with his head submerged in the water? Would the commotion be too loud? Zuo Xiao Yao didn't dare act rashly, she really didn't want to end up losing everything while trying to gain something. The three old men by the lake had relaxed their guard, but they still stood firmly in place.

  If the noise was too loud, it wasn't what Zuo Xiao Yao wanted after all. The seal she had set up beforehand could only cover up the big waves under the lake's surface and couldn't completely stop the sound from spreading out. After thinking for a moment, she took out the soundproofing bead that Liu Cheng had left behind and released a layer of soundproofing around her.

  Just as she was about to take action, Zuo Xiao Yao stopped again. The outcome was uncertain, and she didn't want to be responsible for an innocent life being lost. If Jiao Yun Fan were to lose his life because of this, she would inevitably feel guilty.

  After a moment of hesitation, she unintentionally 'saw' that the position where Jiao Yunfan was located was relatively close. Her clothes were wet and clung to her body. At this time, even if she was still in the water, Mei Suoyun's curvaceous figure appeared in her line of sight, and a sly glint flashed across Zuo Xiaoyao's eyes.

  She infused some spiritual energy into the soundproof beads, causing the soundproof barrier to expand and envelop Mei Suoyun as well. Left Xiaoyao's mind slightly wandered. A small water arrow shot out towards her opponent's left arm, accompanied by a muffled cry of surprise that echoed through the silent lake, standing out exceptionally, yet only clearly transmitting to the ears of those who should hear it, while others remained completely unaware.

  Not disappointing Zuo Xiao Yao's expectations, upon hearing Mei Su Yun's exclamation, he woke up from his cultivation and subconsciously looked towards her. However, seeing Mei Su Yun's flustered appearance with a pale face, just like the others whose heads were not submerged in water, Jiao Yun Fan immediately swam towards her location, asking with concern, "Su Yun? Why are you so panicked?"

  She was stunned for a moment, then heard Jiao Yunfan's concern as he swam to her side, and she rushed into his arms like a swallow returning to its nest. Mei Suoyun looked even more terrified and flustered. "Yunfan brother, you're here, that's great! Just now my left hand...my left hand suddenly hurt terribly, it felt like something was stinging me. It still hurts now, could there be some snakes or insects around here?"

  I thought Mei Su-yun was having some problem with her cultivation, but it turned out she suspected there were snakes and insects here. Jiao Yun-fan patted her back, his tone warm and reassuring: "Don't worry! This is the Sacred Lake, I've heard that not only can those snakes and insects not survive here, even those who haven't cultivated their spiritual roots or have too low of a cultivation level can't live in this sacred water. So it's very safe here, Su-yun doesn't need to worry, it must be just her imagination!"

  "No, Yunfang brother, it's true..."

  Her beautiful face was filled with grievances and determination, Su Yun Zheng was about to retort when a sudden commotion beside her not only made her momentarily forget her words but also shocked Jiao Yun Fan into losing his color, staring at the youth who had suddenly appeared.

  They saw the people behind them not even bothering to greet him, directly attacking the legendary sacred lake birthplace at the previously selected location, and the resulting power fluctuations brought him a familiar yet strange feeling, which was not simply a combination of magic or martial arts.

  There were soundproof beads and the seal she had laid down earlier, so although Zuo Xiao Yao's attack was unsuccessful, it did not attract anyone else's attention except for Mei Su Yun and Jiao Yun Fan.

  "Who are you? What do you want?"

  Upon hearing Jiao Yunfan's stern and severe question, she turned her head to look at the handsome young couple who were still embracing each other, looking extremely pleasing to the eye. Zuo Xiaoyao revealed a playful smile "Long time no see, are you both doing well? I heard that you got first place in this realm, congratulations!"

  "Carefree! How did you end up here?"

  Look at her face, see that she is wearing a loose and long robe, water droplets on her body are automatically isolated by the young man around her. She didn't release any protective shield like they did, but the water was kept away from her. Focused on listening to Zuo Xiao Yao's words, Jiao Yun Fan subconsciously asked his most concerned question in shock. Among the top twenty selected this time, there is absolutely no one else like her, he confirmed this without a doubt.

  After a small test, it can be roughly confirmed that the place has become precarious. The spiritual sense that was originally unable to penetrate far into the lake water can now see through it, and it is indeed a place similar to another space. Zuo Xiao Yao did not rush to leave immediately, but instead said with interest: "It's really here, as Jiao Gongzi said last time, meeting each other is also fate, this time I may bring some trouble to everyone, so let's take this thing as compensation!"

  "What do you want to do?"

  He subconsciously caught the small leather bag that Zuo Xiao Yao had thrown at him, and in an instant, he sensed that things were not as simple as they seemed. Jiao Yun Fan's face was filled with shock and doubt as he loudly asked, but he soon realized that things were far beyond his understanding. He could no longer maintain the warmth he once had, and even if he wanted to, he couldn't understand why Zuo Xiao Yao was here, or why the sudden change hadn't caught anyone else's attention, not even those who were only three to five meters away from him and Mei Su Yun.

  It was as if she had seen through his intentions, Zuo Xiao Yao lightly laughed and said "Feng Gongzi doesn't need to be anxious, this person is very likely different from the one nine years ago who might have been my acquaintance. The compensation I give you will definitely be enough to make up for your losses, farewell, let's not say 'see you again'!"

  "You..."

  Before he could finish speaking, the strange power was released again. Xue Xiao Yao quickly launched another attack at that place and then disappeared on the spot. Jiao Yun Fan was somewhat dazed and muttered to complete his question "...it's a girl!"

  "What happened?"

  As Zuo Xiao Yao left, she not only withdrew the strand of consciousness that had temporarily entered the Thunder God Sea, but also casually picked up the soundproof bead, causing her last move to attract the attention of everyone on the scene, including the three old men by the lake. Her sudden disappearance was also exposed to the public eye. At this time, people who were shocked and stunned heard the loud question from the Fa Huang stage.

  As soon as the three powerful seniors jumped into the lake to investigate, they returned empty-handed after a few moments. With scrutinizing gazes sweeping across everyone, Focused their minds and quickly gathered their spirits. Jiao Yunfan and Mei Suoyun successively spoke out everything they had seen, including their previous encounter with Zuo Xiaoyao at Yanhuage. However, the compensation mentioned by Zuo Xiaoyao, which was the leather bag she threw to Jiao Yunfan, was coincidentally glossed over by both of them.

  Even years later, Jiao Yunfan would often think back to this unconscious decision he made at the time and feel quite pleased with himself. Although in order to keep that secret, he had to marry Mei Suoyun, who had always been one-sidedly infatuated with him, the leather bag actually only contained a piece of medicinal formula. However, that piece of medicinal formula was indeed enough to make up for the loss caused by the gradual disappearance of the Sacred Lake on the mainland later on, and it made a huge contribution to the Jiao family becoming the most prominent family on the mainland!

  Almost as soon as Zuo Xiao Yao broke through that layer of prohibition, she quickly disappeared from the bottom of that "lake" at the same time, and the lake bottom that was naturally emitting spiritual power fluctuations was restored to its original state.

  After entering, she had probed slightly with her spiritual awareness but didn't sense any threatening space. Only then did Zuo Xiao Yao let out a long sigh of relief. This matter of 'inquiring about the whereabouts of an old friend' was now temporarily settled for the time being.

  Although there are still many things to do and the outcome is uncertain, at least her current direction should be correct, and she no longer needs to worry about how to successfully avoid those powerful masters on that continent. Her old friend mysteriously disappeared in this 'Sacred Lake', and it's highly likely that his trail and clues about where he went later are left in this large stalactite cave at the bottom of the lake. Zuo XiaoYao is looking forward to it very much!

  ps：

  PS: The second update will be posted before 9 pm!