Lei Jun and Shangguan Hong simultaneously leaped out from the Middle Immortal Pond.
Both of them looked up.
Above them, in the direction of the Upper Immortal Pond, the clouds churned even more violently than before.
Shangguan Hong turned to look around. "I don't see Senior Brother Li Ming. Should we go up and see?"
Lei Jun nodded. He had only witnessed Chen Yi retreat from the challenges of the highest reaches of the Cloud Sea, unaware of his whereabouts after he escaped it.
Perhaps Chen Yi ultimately still fell into Li Ming's subtle psychological trap and headed for the Upper Immortal Pond. But it was not merely that. I also speculated that Chen Yi might have other profound secrets with which to detect treasures or opportunities nearby. It was for this reason that Li Ming went to the Lower Immortal Pond, half-believing, half-doubting.
I recalled my own luck with opportunities. Aside from the Sixth-Rank Opportunity, the Misty Cloud Crystals, in the highest cloud sea, there were indeed separate opportunities in both the Upper and Lower Immortal Ponds. Combining that with Li Ming's slight deception, it made sense for Chen Yi to have chosen the Upper Immortal Pond. This, in turn, confirmed my earlier speculation that there was more to Chen Yi than met the eye. However, in both the Upper and Lower Immortal Ponds, besides small opportunities, there were also great disasters and tribulations...
Previously, at fate's crossroads, for people who made different choices than myself, I mostly followed the principle of putting aside my complex about helping others and respecting individual fate. Senior Brother Li Ming was somewhat special, so I made an exception, actively helping him out and offering an Eighth-Rank Opportunity. Whether he could receive it, that was up to Senior Brother Li's own luck.
Lei Jun was untroubled.
Now, whether it was up or down, it was best to just watch calmly.
The clouds surrounding the Upper Immortal Pond above began to surge with increasing ferocity.
After a while, a flicker of an apricot-colored garment flashed through the sky.
A young Taoist fell from midair.
It was then that Lei Jun, together with Shangguan Hong, went to greet him.
"Junior Brother Chen?!" Shangguan Hong exclaimed in surprise.
The youth before them was indeed Chen Yi. However, his apricot-colored Taoist robe was now tattered, and he himself resembled a cooked shrimp. His exposed skin was fiery red, and his body was scalding hot.
Chen Yi was no longer screaming. His face scrunched in pain as he clenched his teeth, though sharp intakes of breath could still be heard through them.
Lei Jun and Shangguan Hong helped him sit down by the banks of a small lake in the Middle Immortal Pond.
Once Chen Yi recognized their faces, he nodded slightly in thanks, then closed his eyes and sat cross-legged, completely focused on regulating the mana and Spiritual Energy within his body.
Seeing his whole body tense and his teeth clenched, Shangguan Hong took out some healing Dan Medicine, but it was not convenient to help him take it.
After a while, drawn by the earlier commotion, figures began to approach.
"What happened?" Taoist Fang Jian, the fourth disciple of the Celestial Master, arrived and frowned upon seeing the scene. Li Ying and Guo Yan also hurried over.
After a period of focused meditation to regulate his condition, the redness on Chen Yi's skin gradually subsided, and he was no longer emitting heat like a steaming basket.
He opened his eyes, glanced around at everyone, then took a long breath before taking out Dan Pills to swallow. He was drenched in sweat, as if he had been fished out of water.
Fang Jian looked up towards the sky, then asked, "Junior Brother Chen, did you go to the Upper Immortal Pond?"
Chen Yi was silent for a moment before nodding.
"Young people are very curious, which is understandable," Fang Jian sighed. "However, Junior Brother Li had already mentioned the dangers of the Upper Immortal Pond. Why did you still go?"
Chen Yi remained silent.
Fang Jian's expression suddenly shifted as he looked around.
Li Ying asked curiously, "Where is my second brother... I mean, Senior Brother Li? Junior Brother Chen, haven't you seen him all this time?"
Everyone exchanged perplexed looks; no one had seen Li Ming for some time.
Fang Jian frowned. "Although the Cloud Sea Immortal Pond is ever-changing, Junior Brother Li has the cultivation of the Three-layered Heaven Dharma Platform Realm. He may also possess a Spirit Talisman given to him by Master Ziyang for protection..."
Before he could finish, his body suddenly swayed.
It wasn't just Fang Jian; everyone standing by the Middle Immortal Pond became unsteady on their feet. The entire Small Cave Heaven seemed to shake at that moment.
The source of the disturbance was not the recent turmoil in the Upper Immortal Pond above but rather from below. Beneath their feet, in the direction of the Lower Immortal Pond, a greater change appeared to be occurring.
Lei Jun moved down with the crowd.
From afar, they saw that the vast clouds that once enshrouded the Lower Immortal Pond had now completely dispersed. The large lakes constituting the Lower Immortal Pond were all rippling violently. The water defied gravity, surging upwards and converging midair, forming a massive suspended vortex that continuously twisted and undulated.
"A geothermal eruption?!" Fang Jian's expression changed drastically.
The tremors from the Lower Immortal Pond began to affect the entire Small Cave Heaven. At that moment, someone forcibly breached the Small Cave Heaven from the outside. Three Taoists in deep red robes rushed into the Small Cave Heaven and were also taken aback by the scene.
Fortunately, though surprised, the trio quickly joined forces. They unfolded gigantic Spirit Talismans the size of city gates, working together to suppress the rebellious waters of the Lower Immortal Pond.
The upheaval within the Small Cave Heaven finally began to gradually subside. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and then stepped forward to pay their respects.
"Master!"
"Big Brother!"
"Sister Jingzhen!"
"Third Senior Sister."
Listening to the crowd around him speaking one after another, Lei Jun felt somewhat emotional for a moment. The three who entered the Small Cave Heaven to quell the chaos and perform the rescue all wore the deep red Taoist Robes of Talisman-bestowed Taoists.
The person Guo Yan called "Master" was a middle-aged Female Crown, who was indeed her mentor, Elder Hu. The one Li Ying called "Big Brother" was a young-looking Taoist, appearing about thirty years old, the eldest son of Elder Ziyang, Li Xuan—the direct elder brother of Li Ming and Li Ying. The remaining person was a Female Crown who appeared to be in her twenties or thirties, with a noble and unsullied aura. Shangguan Hong referred to her as "Sister Jingzhen," while Fang Jian called her "Third Senior Sister." Like Fang Jian, this Zhang Jingzhen was also a direct disciple of the current Celestial Master.
"Although the Cloud Sea Immortal Pond is ever-changing, how could it have suddenly caused such a huge disturbance?" Elder Hu furrowed her brows.
Zhang Jingzhen's gaze swept over Lei Jun, Fang Jian, and the others before asking, "Where is Junior Brother Li Ming?"
Li Ying's face turned pale. "After the incident occurred, my second brother should be out searching for us, right? It's just that we've gathered together, and he was searching somewhere else..."
Everyone's gaze swept around. The huge upheaval earlier had dissipated much of the vast white mist in the Small Cave Heaven, resulting in a much clearer view. But looking left and right, there was no sign of Li Ming. Everyone's gaze hesitated, but unanimously, they all turned toward the Lower Immortal Pond.
Li Xuan, the eldest of the three Li siblings, had a grim expression as he descended toward the Lower Immortal Pond. Elder Hu followed without a word, while Zhang Jingzhen stayed behind to guard the group of transmission disciples to prevent any further incidents.
As Li Xuan and Elder Hu approached, the placid waters of the Lower Immortal Pond parted automatically.
Not long after, Elder Hu surfaced first. Emerging with her was another person. To be precise, a body.
If Chen Yi had earlier looked like a shrimp that was almost boiled, then Li Ming now not only appeared to have been boiled but also had his shell peeled off.
Li Ying's body wavered in mid-air, nearly collapsing. Her elder brother, Li Xuan, emerged from the water from another direction. Seeing the scene, he held his breath, his eyes nearly splitting with anger.
The young Taoist approached Elder Hu and Li Ming's body, took a deep breath, and spoke solemnly, "An anomaly suddenly occurred in the Cloud Sea Immortal Pond. Li Ming, to protect his fellow disciples, strove to calm the disturbances in the Lower Immortal Pond, but unfortunately..."
Lei Jun glanced at Li Ming's corpse. He noticed some fiery red crystal sand clinging to the body. Elder Hu also frowned, retrieving two Spirit Talismans from Li Ming's body. Lei Jun recognized these talismans. They were the same kind as the one he had used earlier to store the Misty Cloud Crystals: Soul Containing Talismans. These two Soul Containing Talismans belonging to Li Ming were completely covered in red, obviously used for collecting the treasure from within the Lower Immortal Pond—Heat Crystal Sand.
So, this was the opportunity in the Lower Immortal Pond... Lei Jun thought calmly.
Suddenly, the scene fell silent. Everyone exchanged glances. The air seemed laden with unspoken questions and discussions.
Li Ying looked at her second brother, then raised her head to look at her elder brother. Li Xuan was forced to stop halfway through his speech, as if he had been slapped in the face while speaking.
With an expressionless face, Elder Hu asked, "Did he go down to help with the emergency, or to hunt for treasure?"