Chapter 58: Spirit Water Condensed Crystal

No child can be conceived in here anytime soon.

That wasn't a room; it was actually a secret passage, leading who knows where.

Lu Xingzhou barely managed to stop his endlessly rolling wheelchair, while Miss Qingli looked utterly bewildered.

She clearly wanted to stand, yet falling into a man's embrace felt exactly like this: her whole body went weak, limbs powerless; especially when his left hand instinctively wrapped around her waist, she trembled all over as if electric current had numbed her brain, leaving her unable to gather even a single thought.

Then her instinctive sound was: "Let go of me~"

The thought flashing through her mind was: I misunderstood you; indeed, I can't stand on my own. Even a Fourth Grade cultivator can't help, so no wonder a Fifth Grade one like me can't.

Lu Xingzhou let go, Miss Qingli sighed in relief, and struggled to try standing up.

But the moment she stood, her qi and blood surged chaotically, leaving her dizzy and faint, causing her to collapse back into a sitting position.

Lu Xingzhou bent forward: "You..."

This time the sitting position was somewhat fatal; something was about to be crushed.

This bend pressed her back even tighter; his head brushed past her shoulder, grazing her burning cheek.

The air seemed to freeze, leaving only the two of them with rapid, heavy breathing.

Miss Qingli took several deep breaths, her voice as faint as a mosquito's: "I'm injured... I can't stand steadily for now..."

Actually, Lu Xingzhou had been injured by the collision just now too... Don't let Bai Mao's tender appearance fool you; in reality, a Wu Xiu body crashing into one's embrace is no joke, as if all internal organs were nearly shattered, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

He said nothing, directly took out two pills, swallowed one himself, and stuffed the other into Miss Qingli's mouth.

His fingers brushed against her red lips, warm and soft. Lu Xingzhou's heart jumped violently, seeming more turbulent than the collision itself.

Miss Qingli was like a crashed system, silent for a long time, merely silently digesting the medicine's power.

Lu Xingzhou also silently paddled his wheelchair back to the doorway position, investigated for a moment, and was equally stunned.

Everywhere were smooth walls; there was absolutely no way to find where the switch was!

Lu Xingzhou, who prided himself on his sharp mind, searched for a long time with no results, and asked somewhat shamefacedly: "Um, you have rich experience exploring cave dwellings; can you find the exit?"

Miss Qingli's voice was still very soft: "This is an escape door; when encountering a powerful enemy, one drills inside, the door seals shut immediately to block pursuers, and he leaves via the rear passage; therefore, there definitely isn't a switch on Shen Tang's side."

"What about our side?"

"Our side will have a switch, but it won't necessarily be right by the door; it could be hidden anywhere along the rear passage. This is to prevent someone from accidentally entering from the end of the passage; if the switch were right by the door, it would be too easy to find and open, so it's hidden randomly somewhere; only the owner knows where it is..."

Lu Xingzhou pondered: "The situation is somewhat strange. According to your analysis, if the original owner previously left through here, then the door should have been sealed; we shouldn't have been able to crash in."

Miss Qingli nodded: "Correct."

"So either the original owner didn't leave this way... this possibility is low; a very temporary, crude cave dwelling shouldn't have so many exits. Or the switch on this end was triggered, restoring the door to its initial state, allowing us to crash in."

Miss Qingli's heart stirred: "Someone triggered the switch on this side, so why didn't they enter the door?"

"Go in and see." Lu Xingzhou turned the wheelchair, carrying Miss Qingli as they moved deeper into the passage.

Miss Qingli finally experienced what it felt like when Shen Tang sat in his lap, jolted and bumped all the way; her mind was now completely foggy, utterly confused about what had happened.

Especially this sitting position was perfect; it almost fit perfectly; if not for the pants, maybe she would have gone all the way in. That strange sensation pounded against her mind again and again, spreading through her four limbs and hundred bones. Miss Qingli stared blankly with open eyes, her small mouth slightly agape, her mind completely blank, leaning softly against him with absolutely no strength left.

Actually, she had already taken the healing pill; her self-recovery ability was strong; these few lines of dialogue should have been enough for her wounds to heal and for her to stand, but right now her mind was completely dazed, forgetting everything.

Suddenly, she herself had done what Shen Tang had done with him... If they were lovers, then what am I?

Blame him? But she was the one who sat down...

Bai Mao fell into deep existential doubt, completely crashing.

This path was much longer than the one from the courtyard to Shen Tang's bedside back then; Miss Qingli even wondered if there was an end at all...

Actually, Lu Xingzhou felt worse than she did; this feeling was truly unspeakable, impossible to describe. But what time was this now? What environment were they in? They were trapped in a secret passage, while outside Shen Tang faced the terrifying corpse puppet alone!

That corpse puppet had been beaten up by everyone; it should be much weaker now. Whether Shen Tang could win or not, at least holding it off shouldn't be a major problem. But regardless, no one could be so heartless to have the mood to mess around at such a moment! Besides, this actually wasn't comfortable either.

The passage, seemingly endless, finally reached its destination; a faint soft light appeared ahead.

As if the light triggered her shame, Miss Qingli suddenly shivered, slumped back even more, her hands and feet dropping down, her gaze scattered.

"..." Lu Xingzhou pressed his lips tightly, not knowing what to say.

You cultivate sword qi and frost, yet you turn out to be quite sensitive...

The wheelchair finally rolled out of the passage; ahead was actually a water pool. A pillar-shaped jade crystal-like object floated quietly above the pool water, emitting an extremely gentle water-spirit breath.

Miss Qingli's fading spiritual light slowly returned, and she cried out in shock: "Spirit Water Condensed Crystal!"

Lu Xingzhou's heart stirred.

He had heard of this thing; it belongs to the extremely dense spiritual springs, where water spirit condenses over tens of millions of years, gradually forming a solid essence.

Setting aside the narrow definition of Innate, in the broad sense this thing can already be counted as an Innate object; at the very least, it is a top-tier heavenly material and earthly treasure; whenever even a small piece appears in the world, it is a priceless treasure!

Here was such a huge pillar-shaped mass, looking almost like a bone...

Bone...

Lu Xingzhou held his breath.

Miss Qingli murmured: "I understand now... this water pool connects directly to our back mountain's Sun-Moon Pool; previously, the spiritual spring over there vanished because the original owner used this condensed crystal to block the spring eye. That day, when we broke this prohibition, it was equivalent to flushing it open."

Lu Xingzhou continued: "So it appears in this pillar shape because of the shape caused by being stuffed into the spring eye. Also, because the spiritual qi of all the spiritual springs constantly gathers toward the blockage, it has grown larger and larger."

Miss Qingli said: "Furthermore, it is also the switch to open the stone door; since it was flushed open, that secret door opened, allowing us to crash in."

Both fell silent at the same time.

Miss Qingli seemed to realize only now that she was still in the state of sitting in his lap; she jumped up, took a few steps forward, and stood with her back to him, saying nothing.

Poor Bai Mao had absolutely no idea how to face him right now.

Feeling that some places were wet, it was very uncomfortable.

Lu Xingzhou said: "You... need this object?"

Discussing serious matters at least made Miss Qingli sigh in relief; she answered quickly: "Speaking purely of the treasure, naturally I want it a bit, but regarding my cultivation, it actually doesn't match well. I cultivate sword qi first and ice frost second; ice frost and this water-soft celestial spirit are not the same thing."

"Water-soft..." Lu Xingzhou seemed to mutter to himself: "Is it tough enough..."

Miss Qingli realized his meaning, turned around abruptly: "You want to use it to refine bones?"

Lu Xingzhou let out a dazed "Hmm."

This returned to the previously discussed "prosthesis" proposal: a "prosthesis" forged from such a supreme treasure would be far more than a mere prosthesis; it could completely replace normal bones, offering sensation identical to the natural kind, even more perfect than replacing them with immortal bones. After all, another's bones are always someone else's, whereas a treasure one refines oneself will fit perfectly. Moreover, the innate water spirit breath it provides could rapidly forge an exquisite water-element cultivation foundation.

Lu Xingzhou's fire-element cultivation was only at the seventh grade anyway; wasting it to start over was no great matter, so possessing such a treasure was entirely worthwhile. Besides, there was the possibility of compatibility; if handled well, he might not even need to waste his cultivation.

But unfortunately, there was only one, capable of solving only one leg.

Miss Qingli stated clearly: "Although its toughness is not as renowned as other treasures famous for toughness, it absolutely far exceeds what bones require. The forging material of my Frost Heaven Sword contains it, used to temper its excessive rigidity."

The Frost Heaven Sword was Miss Qingli's life-spirit ice sword; its grade and its status as a life-spirit treasure could continuously improve or be reforged alongside her cultivation. Currently, the Frost Heaven Sword was only fifth grade, but its foundation was aimed at super-grade; one could say that in terms of toughness and resistance to damage alone, it was super-grade. It was custom-made by the number one person under heaven for his own beloved disciple.

If something could be added even to forge a super-grade flying sword, then its toughness was certainly more than sufficient for forging bones!

Hearing Lu Xingzhou's breathing become noticeably coarse and heavy, she could fully comprehend the longing in his heart. A feeling of joy for him rose in Miss Qingli's heart as well, and she quickly said, "Then sit here; I will go fetch it."

Having spoken, she prepared to flash into the pool.

"Wait." Lu Xingzhou swiftly reached out and grabbed her left hand, yanking her back.

Miss Qingli was startled as two sword qi blasts crossed in front of her: "Trespassers shall die!"

Looking closely, she saw two talisman papers floating on either side of the pool water, from which two talisman spirits emerged.

Miss Qingli silently cursed herself for being mentally chaotic from the moment she entered the door until now, losing the alertness she usually possessed; whereas Lu Xingzhou, with his lifelong obsession right before his eyes, had still managed to remain clear-headed.

The door over there had talisman spirits guarding it; this side was also a door, and it held a supreme treasure, so the guards should only be stronger!

Limited by the energy a talisman could store, perhaps releasing a single technique could reach first grade or even super-grade, but to create a spirit with commands that existed long-term, three or fourth grade was the absolute limit. The guard over there had exchanged a palm strike with Shen Tang, roughly fourth grade, so one could judge this side was the same, but here there were two!

Miss Qingli stepped across, shielding Lu Xingzhou's wheelchair tightly; no one knew where she, a mere fifth grader, had found such confidence.

Lu Xingzhou looked at her back, his expression complex and indistinct. Suddenly, he flung the talisman paper he had taken from the entrance to the side: "Do not act; we are allies!"

(End of this chapter)