"Intentional?"
"Yes, I did it on purpose! What are you going to do about it?"
"Didn’t I give him a chance?"
"I was risking my life to scout ahead, and the others were able to keep up, so what was Bian You doing?"
"I gave Bian You a way to live, I gave him a chance, but his distrust led him to expect others to risk their lives to scout ahead for him. He brought this upon himself; who else is there to blame?"
"If only he had moved a little faster under his feet, he would have made it through the tree hole. Would he be in such a miserable state now?"
"And you’re questioning me instead, you should ask Bian You himself!"
Ye Zhen’s series of rhetorical questions directly rendered Shadow Blade Shao Mo, who was furiously questioning him, speechless.
Upon further reflection, there was some truth in what Ye Zhen said. Bian You really had been too childish while trying to cross the Life and Death Road.
However, Bian You had ended up in such a tragic state, and even after his injuries healed, he would almost be a cripple. Pills that could regenerate limbs, although they existed, were treasured items that were invaluable. Shadow Blade Shao Mo was still somewhat indignant.
He looked helplessly towards Hundred Poisons Master Lan Shuiqiao, hoping she would administer justice.
Unfortunately, what Shao Mo got was just a long sigh from Hundred Poisons Master Lan Shuiqiao.
How was she to judge this matter?
It’s true that Ye Zhen had the intent to harm, but the entire foundation was built on Bian You’s selfishness and distrust of Ye Zhen.
Ye Zhen had repeatedly urged urgency multiple times before; even if Bian You had listened once, he would not have ended up in such a fate worse than death.
One could only say that what must come will come.
If Divine Calculator Bian You had not harbored the intent of harming Ye Zhen earlier, he might not have encountered these disasters.
Who’s right and who’s wrong—how can it be clearly stated?
Under the persistent request of Shadow Blade Shao Mo, everyone stayed put for a day, giving Bian You some time to recover.
At this point, halfway through the exploration of Ten Thousand Beast Valley, it would be suicidal for Shadow Blade Shao Mo to take Bian You back the way they came. Yet, Bian You’s injuries did not allow him to keep up with the team.
Fortunately, everyone present was reasonable people. After discussing, they agreed to rest on the spot for a day and wait for Bian You’s injuries to improve before continuing their exploration.
While Bian You was healing, the rest wouldn’t idle away the time. They gathered to discuss how to get past the next set of defenses in Ten Thousand Beast Valley.
Having passed through the tree hole at the endpoint of the Life and Death Road and moving forward in the vast white fog for hundreds of meters, the scenery suddenly changed. The shimmering lake was vast and full of rippling green waves—a boundless expanse of water was in sight.
"Is this an Illusory Realm?" Ye Zhen was somewhat uncertain.
"It’s not an Illusory Realm; it’s a vast lake that we call Ten Thousand Spirit Lake," said Yangh Yiguan.
"Actual lake water?"
Saying this, Ye Zhen stepped forward to attempt touching the lake water.
"Don’t!"
Almost simultaneously, Yangh Yiguan shouted in alarm, but Ye Zhen’s fingertips had already touched the lake water.
Whoosh x4!
The very instant Ye Zhen’s fingertips neared the water’s surface, numerous attacks including swift tentacles, sharp pincers, and keen teeth, along with various forms of aquatic plants and vines—more than ten assaults in total—simultaneously targeted Ye Zhen.
Everything happened too suddenly, and fortunately, Ye Zhen had always been cautious, maintaining his Protective Spirit Armor around his body.
Crack!
Ye Zhen’s Purple Jade Battle Armor shattered instantly under the bite of a giant purple claw.
Even though Ye Zhen retracted his hand swiftly, the tip of his finger still hurt, tearing a large cut, and a numbing itch made Ye Zhen’s face change instantly.
"Poison?" Hundred Poisons Master Lan Shuiqiao’s gaze sharpened as she looked at Ye Zhen, "Do you want my help?"
"Thank you, but there’s no need!"
Ye Zhen’s Purple Spirit Power circulated twice within his body, and the poison-infused Essence Blood passed through the Mirage Dragon Pearl, dispelling the numbing itch sensation.
The Purple Spirit Power Ye Zhen cultivated already had a strong detoxification effect. Ordinary poisons did not affect him much, and with the powerful purifying ability of the Mirage Dragon Pearl to refine negative energies, poisoning was not a significant threat to Ye Zhen.
"Young Hero Ye, what capability!"
Seeing Ye Zhen’s complexion return to normal, Hundred Poisons Master Lan Shuiqiao praised him, "The attacker just now should be a Heavenly Level Middle Grade Demon Beast called Purple Sun Demon Crab. Besides having strong attack power, it also carries a potent poison.
This poison is generally too much for most to handle and requires the aid of Detoxification Pills. Young Hero Ye, your poison resistance is simply extraordinary."
"The Cultivation Technique I practice has good detoxifying capabilities." Smiling lightly, Ye Zhen then looked at Yangh Yiguan.
"According to the information that I have gone to great lengths to gather, this vast body of water is called Ten Thousand Spirit Lake, which is densely packed with all kinds of Water Beasts and is predominantly home to extremely attack-capable aquatic plants, with a minority being water creature Demon Beasts, totaling in the billions!" said Yangh Yiguan.
"What, billions? That many?" Ye Zhen was greatly surprised.
"How vast is this Ten Thousand Spirit Lake exactly?" Lan Shuiqiao inquired.
"It’s two hundred li wide, and there’s hardly any consensus on its length. A few records mention it being five to six hundred li long, while others say it is endless. Nevertheless, I am more inclined to believe another theory," Yangh Yiguan explained.
"Which theory?"
"That Ten Thousand Spirit Lake is annular, encircling the entire Ten Thousand Beast Valley to form the lake. Because it’s circular, it seems boundless. And the reason I believe in this theory is because of the function of Ten Thousand Spirit Lake," Yangh Yiguan elaborated.
Everyone’s gaze shifted at the same time, "Purpose?"
"What purpose?"
"Food!"
"The rapidly breeding water-based Demon Beasts and various aquatic plants in Ten Thousand Spirit Lake are the food for the Demon Beasts raised by the Ten Thousand Beast Valley! Those powerful Demon Beasts have terrifying appetites. Only such a huge quantity of aquatic creatures can satisfy their hunger!" Yangh Yiguan explained.
The crowd showed a thoughtful expression, "It looks like we can only cross through this Ten Thousand Spirit Lake. Elder Yangh, do you know how to cross the lake?" Lan Shuiqiao asked.
Yangh Yiguan’s gaze, however, turned towards Ye Zhen.
"This is the important reason why I invited Young Hero Ye to come. For this hurdle, I’m afraid only Young Hero Ye might have a way to get us through! Aside from that, I can’t think of any other method!" Yangh Yiguan said.
"Oh? How so?" Ye Zhen suddenly furrowed his brows, sensing an ominous premonition.
"You all might have noticed that although the Ten Thousand Beast Valley is tightly guarded, there are always paths to life, mainly because when it was first established, the Martial Artists of the Beast Taming Sect needed to enter and exit continuously. Despite the tight security, they had to leave a passage.
The Heavenly Time and Place Enchanting Soul Formation is like this, the Life and Death Road is the same, and this Ten Thousand Spirit Lake is no different! However, when they travel in and out, they have Talisman Seals guiding them, which naturally makes it extremely easy!"
"The predecessors of the Beast Taming Sect had only one method to cross the Ten Thousand Spirit Lake: by boat, specifically using a Spirit Boat made from the bones of a Tiger Shark King of the Overturning Sea, which has a strength close to that of a Spirit Beast of Heavenly Level High Grade.
By riding this Spirit Boat, the powerful pressure emanating from the corpse of the Tiger Shark King can subdue the Demon Beasts in the lake, preventing them from attacking and allowing safe passage to and fro.
And every hundred years, the elders in the Sect would sort out the Demon Beasts in Ten Thousand Spirit Lake, capturing those of Heavenly Level High Grade King-level among them, to maintain safety!" Yangh Yiguan said.
"Where is this Spirit Boat?" Ye Zhen inquired.
"The opposite shore!"
"The opposite shore of Ten Thousand Spirit Lake!"
"When the people from the Beast Taming Sect crossed Ten Thousand Spirit Lake before, the Talisman Lead would fly out, and a Spirit Beast would drive the Spirit Boat over, carrying people to the other side, and when they left, it would carry people out and then return to the opposite shore to stay.
To prevent intruders from being able to cross this Ten Thousand Spirit Lake," Yangh Yiguan explained.
"Can’t you fly?"
Ye Zhen asked again!
"You can fly, but we should be close to the center of the Geomagnetic Heavenly Spirit Grand Formation by now. You can only fly up to about eight meters high at most. You can try it!" Yangh Yiguan said.
Without needing to try, with just a hint of effort in perception, Ye Zhen knew what Yangh Yiguan said was true.
Ye Zhen’s gaze once again turned towards Yangh Yiguan, and just as he was about to speak, a flash of light from Yangh Yiguan’s hand revealed a huge Demon Beast corpse from his storage ring, which he threw towards the airspace above Ten Thousand Spirit Lake.
Without waiting for Ye Zhen to speak, Yangh Yiguan already knew what Ye Zhen was about to ask.
It was whether they could fly low across it, right?
Hiss!
The moment the huge Demon Beast corpse flew across, everyone gasped in shock.
Hu Qingtong and Fengh Qingyue even recoiled several steps in fear from the dense aquatic plants, water beast tentacles, and water columns that emerged from the lake’s surface.
The instant the Demon Beast corpse passed overhead, tens of thousands of different-colored aquatic plants and nearly ten thousand water beast tentacles, pincers, and so on, protruded from the surface of the lake.
Before the corpse could fall to the ground, that hundred-meter-square Demon Beast corpse was reduced to stark white bones.
A part of it was gnawed away by the water beasts, while the rest was corroded away by the poisonous liquid on some of the aquatic plants.
"Under these conditions, who could get through?" Elder Yangh asked with a wry smile.
"With such a dense attack, not to mention us, even a King at the Peak Ninth Stage Establishment would likely be unable to fly smoothly over it."
"This Ten Thousand Spirit Lake truly deserves its reputation as the guardian of the Ten Thousand Beast Valley!" Lan Shuiqiao exclaimed in admiration.
"Actually, it’s not too difficult. If we find the corpse of a Water Beast King and make it into a Spirit Boat, we might be able to get across," Shao Mo interjected.
"It’s not that simple, the pressure of just a Heavenly Level High Grade Water Beast King might not be enough to suppress them. There must be other marvelous methods used when making the boat," Lan Shuiqiao said while shaking his head in admiration, "This matter cannot be treated carelessly. If you really fall into it, even a King at Establishment Realm would be doomed!"
"Let’s talk about it, why is Young Hero Ye the only one who might have a way to get through?"
At these words, everyone’s gaze shifted toward Ye Zhen.
"Under this situation, as you all know, the only way for us to pass through Ten Thousand Spirit Lake smoothly is to get that Spirit Boat on the opposite bank over here, and then have it carry us across," Elder Yangh started to explain.
"Normally, there’s no way to get that Spirit Boat over here, because none of us can fly across Ten Thousand Spirit Lake to the other side.
However, the creatures within this Ten Thousand Spirit Lake don’t have a strong hostility towards Demon Beasts, and the smaller the Demon Beast, the less it’s taken into account.
To my knowledge, Young Hero Ye’s Cloud Winged Tiger King has the ability to gather and scatter Cloud Qi, which can provide a good disguise for it.
Most importantly, Young Hero Ye’s Cloud Winged Tiger King can freely change its size. The last time I was trapped here, I tested it, and found that water creatures in the lake hardly attack any Demon Beast that is shorter than one meter in length.
And for Demon Beasts less than ten meters in length, the attacks from the lake creatures are few and far between.
Additionally, Young Hero Ye’s Cloud Winged Tiger King grew up bonded with a Blood Covenant. It’s extremely talented in Spirit Communication! It can be directed by Young Hero Ye from a hundred miles away to drive the Spirit Boat over for us!
It could be said that Young Hero Ye’s Cloud Winged Tiger King is our only hope to get through this Ten Thousand Spirit Lake!" Elder Yangh stated.
In an instant, the gazes of everyone present turned to Ye Zhen, and his expression became gravely serious!
Because Ye Zhen was very aware of what was at stake! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

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