62: Chapter 62 Observing the Snipe and Clam, Hearing Secrets, Unaware of the Oriole Behind

Ye Qing's gaze pierced through the thin mist and the light screen of the Formation on the lake, looking toward the battlefield.

Three Cultivators, all wearing uniform blue water-patterned robes, were likely people from some nearby cultivation Family or small Sect.

Two were at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, and one was at the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage.

At this moment, the three were joining forces, locked in a bitter fight against two Second-Stage Middle Stage Yao Beasts.

The Yao Beasts were shaped like giant turtles, their back shells as thick and heavy as small mountains, covered in ferocious bone spurs. Their heads resembled those of a Dragon, and they sprayed pitch-black poisonous water from their mouths; they were surprisingly troublesome "Poison Dragon Turtles."

The Poison Dragon Turtles had astonishing defense, their attacks were poisonous, and they coordinated tacitly. One attacking and one defending, they forced the three Cultivators into a flurry.

The three Cultivators clearly lacked experience in combat, their coordination was rusty, and while their Magic Treasure and Spell radiance were dazzling, they could hardly break through the Poison Dragon Turtles' defense, instead being forced into dangerous situations by the poisonous water and sharp claws.

The Foundation Establishment Mid Stage Cultivator appeared to be the leader, controlling a blue Flying Sword. The sword light was sharp, yet it was repeatedly deflected by the Poison Dragon Turtles' back shells, splashing sparks.

Of the other two, one drove a turtle-shell-shaped shield to struggle in support, while the other continuously cast Ice Spike Talismans, attempting to slow the Yao Beasts' movements, but with little effect.

"Looking at the style of these robes, they seem to be from the 'Bishui Sect'? A small water-type Sect, I believe their mountain gate is a thousand miles south of Zhuixing Lake. Why did they run to the center of this lake? To hunt Poison Dragon Turtles?"

Ye Qing was puzzled. The Materials from a Poison Dragon Turtle were of decent value, but not enough to make three Foundation Establishment Cultivators risk venturing so deep into the lake center, especially since these three had rusty coordination and clearly did not often perform such Yao Beast hunting.

Just as he was pondering, the situation changed abruptly.

The Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator who was driving the turtle-shell shield had a moment of negligence and was grazed on the arm by poisonous water sprayed by the Poison Dragon Turtle on the left.

His protective Spiritual Qi dissipated instantly upon corrosion, and the flesh on his arm turned black and festered at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The Cultivator screamed, lost control of the shield, and stumbled backward.

The Poison Dragon Turtle on the right seized the Opportunity, its huge head lunging out with sharp teeth, biting toward the Cultivator's head!

"Junior Brother, watch out!"

The Foundation Establishment Mid Stage leader's eyes were splitting with rage, and he roared. The blue Flying Sword's light surged, transforming into a sword rainbow several zhang long, recklessly slashing toward the Poison Dragon Turtle's neck in an attempt to besiege Wei to save Zhao.

However, the other Poison Dragon Turtle had long been prepared. A ghostly light flashed on its back shell, and it actually took the sword rainbow head-on with its shell, while its thick tail swept across like a steel whip, lashing toward the leader's waist and abdomen.

The leader had to retract his sword to block. With a bang, he was sent flying backward by the immense force, his blood and Qi churning.

It looked like the injured Cultivator was about to lose his life to the turtle's mouth.

At the critical moment, the Cultivator who had been releasing Ice Spike Talismans gritted his teeth, took out a golden Talisman exuding intense Spiritual Qi, and activated it with a pained expression.

The Talisman transformed into a brilliant golden rainbow, arriving first despite being launched later, and struck precisely on the Poison Dragon Turtle's gaping maw.

Boom!

Golden light exploded. The Poison Dragon Turtle wailed, several sharp teeth in its mouth shattered, and blood mixed with poison sprayed wildly, its offensive momentum stalling.

The injured Cultivator seized the chance to scramble backward, taking a Medicinal Pill to suppress the poison.

"Golden Rainbow Armor-Breaking Talisman? A Second-Grade top-tier attack Talisman; it's worth quite a bit. It seems this group was quite well-prepared, but using it here is a bit of a waste."

Ye Qing shook his head slightly. If this Golden Rainbow Armor-Breaking Talisman had been used at a critical moment, it might have heavily injured or even killed a Poison Dragon Turtle. Now, just to save someone, the effect was greatly reduced.

After this obstruction, the three Cultivators gathered again, back-to-back, with panicked expressions.

The two Poison Dragon Turtles were also enraged, their attacks becoming more ferocious, with poison liquid like rain and sharp claws tearing through the air.

The three were struggling, and signs of defeat were already showing.

The Foundation Establishment Mid Stage leader, while defending, roared anxiously: "Hold on! The entrance to the Immortal Cave is nearby. As long as we hold out, there must be treasures inside! The Old Ancestor's injury depends on this!"

Immortal Cave entrance? Old Ancestor's injury?

Ye Qing's ears twitched as he captured the keywords.

So that was it. These three from the Bishui Sect were not simply hunting Yao Beasts, but had come to find an underwater Immortal Cave. They were likely doing it for the treasures inside to save the Old Ancestor in their Sect.

No wonder they dared to venture into a dangerous place despite their rusty coordination; they had a reason that compelled them to do so.

"Interesting. There is actually an ancient Immortal Cave hidden at the bottom of Zhuixing Lake? That's right, this place has star mineral veins and traces of ancient space cutting, so the existence of an ancient Immortal Cave makes sense. I just wonder if this Immortal Cave is related to that space cutting?"

Ye Qing became interested. An ancient Immortal Cave often meant Opportunity, but it also meant danger.

He continued to watch coldly from the sidelines.

The three in the field were already in precarious danger, their Spiritual Qi mostly consumed, and they had few Medicinal Pills left.

The Foundation Establishment Mid Stage leader showed resolve, slapped his Storage Pouch, and sacrificed a bead the size of a dragon's eye, entirely crimson red, radiating violent fire Spiritual Qi.

"Blazing Sun Thunder Bead! You guys move back!"

He roared, injected all his remaining Spiritual Qi into the Thunder Bead, and smashed it fiercely at one of the Poison Dragon Turtles.

The Poison Dragon Turtle seemed to sense a fatal threat. A ghostly light flared on its back shell, and its head and limbs instantly retracted into the shell, attempting to withstand it head-on.

Rumble!!!

An earth-shattering explosion erupted on the lake surface!

Crimson flames and violent lightning raged, kicking up water waves several zhang high, and the shockwave dispersed the nearby mist.

When the firelight and water waves subsided, the massive body of the Poison Dragon Turtle was seen with its back shell shattered, flesh mangled, floating on the water surface, on the verge of death.

The other Poison Dragon Turtle was also affected and suffered not-insignificant injuries. It let out a sorrowful, angry roar but did not dare to step forward again, staring vigilantly at the three.

The Foundation Establishment Mid Stage leader, having used this strike, was pale and swaying, clearly having consumed a huge amount of Spiritual Qi and mental energy.

The remaining two hurriedly went up to support him, looking at the heavily injured Poison Dragon Turtle with eyes full of greed and lingering fear.

"Quick! Take the Yao Beast core and the essence of the back shell, and we will immediately dive underwater to find the Immortal Cave entrance! The commotion here is too big, it might attract other Yao Beasts or Cultivators!" the leader urged weakly.

The two agreed. The injured Cultivator's condition stabilized slightly after taking a Medicinal Pill, and together with the other, they cautiously approached the heavily injured Poison Dragon Turtle, preparing to deliver the final blow and collect the Materials.

Just at this moment, a strange change occurred!

Under the lake surface, a slender black shadow approached the feet of the injured Cultivator silently like a ghost.

Splash!

With a light sound of water, a strange snake, entirely pitch-black, only as thick as an arm, and with a single horn on its head, suddenly darted out of the water. Its speed was as fast as lightning, and the ghostly light on its horn flashed, easily piercing through the protective Spiritual Qi the injured Cultivator had hastily raised, stabbing into his lower leg!

The Cultivator screamed, his lower leg turning pitch-black like ink instantly, and the poison gas spread upward rapidly.

"Ink-line Horned Snake! Second-Stage Late Stage! Watch out!"

The Foundation Establishment Mid Stage leader exclaimed in horror, forcing himself to raise his Spiritual Qi to control the blue Flying Sword to slash at the strange snake.

However, once the strange snake succeeded in its strike, it immediately released its bite, twisted its body, and submerged into the water, disappearing. Its speed was astonishingly fast.

The Flying Sword slashed at empty air.

The injured Cultivator was already pale as paper, convulsing on the ground; he was clearly deeply poisoned and on the brink of death.

The other Cultivator was scared out of his wits, hurriedly retreating, and no longer dared to approach the Poison Dragon Turtle corpse.

The Foundation Establishment Mid Stage leader's face was ashen. Looking at his dying Junior Brother and then at the Poison Dragon Turtle not far away, which was heavily injured but not dead and still watching covetously, as well as the Ink-line Horned Snake hidden in the dark and appearing and disappearing unpredictably, despair finally appeared in his eyes.

He knew that today, not only was the Immortal Cave Opportunity hopeless, but all three of them would likely be lost here.

"Sigh, it is fate..." the leader sighed long, seemingly having given up resistance.

However, the expected pounce and kill from the Poison Dragon Turtle and the strange snake did not come.

The heavily injured Poison Dragon Turtle suddenly let out a low whimper, and its massive body slowly sank into the water, as if it wanted to escape.

And under the lake surface, that slender black shadow also never appeared again.

It was as if the sneak attack just now was merely an illusion.

The leader was stunned, not understanding why.

But his reaction was not slow, and he immediately realized this was a good Opportunity to escape.

Enduring his weakness, he sacrificed an escape Talisman and slapped it on himself, and reluctantly drove the Flying Sword to lift his heavily poisoned and dying Junior Brother, roaring to the other: "Go!"

The three transformed into two wretched escaping lights, fleeing in a panic toward the southern shore of Zhuixing Lake without looking back, no longer caring about any Poison Dragon Turtle Materials or the underwater Immortal Cave.

The lake surface returned to calm, leaving only a hint of blood scent and Spiritual Qi fluctuations, which slowly dissipated into the mist.

On Hunyuan Island, Ye Qing withdrew his gaze, the corners of his mouth curling up.

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. No, that's not right, it should be the snipe and clam fight, the fisherman gains. Hmm, that's not right either, I haven't gained anything yet."

With his powerful Divine Sense and keen perception of spatial fluctuations from the Void Dao Seed, he had seen it clearly just now.

The reason the Ink-line Horned Snake retreated immediately after one strike was not out of kindness, but because it had detected a more obscure and lethal aura — from the direction of Hunyuan Island, the extremely faint, chaotic Void Realm-tinged Formation pressure leaked when the "Lesser Hunyuan Five Elements Earth Vein Array" was running at full power.

This thread of pressure might be hard for human Cultivators to perceive, but for a Yao Beast with keen perception, especially a treacherous and cunning Second-Stage Late Stage Yao Beast like the Ink-line Horned Snake, it was no less than a thunderous warning bell.

It instinctively felt a huge threat, so it decisively abandoned the prey in its mouth and fled into hiding.

As for that heavily injured Poison Dragon Turtle, it was already at the end of its rope and had been heavily damaged by the Blazing Sun Thunder Bead. Sensing the Ink-line Horned Snake retreat and also perceiving the obscure aura from the direction of Hunyuan Island, it naturally prioritized saving its life and slipped away.

"That saved me some trouble."

Ye Qing chuckled, his figure swayed, and he had already left the Immortal Cave, quietly arriving at the lakeside.

He steered a small boat, paddling unhurriedly toward where the battlefield had just been.

On the lake surface, the corpse of the Poison Dragon Turtle, which had been blasted half-dead by the Blazing Sun Thunder Bead, was slowly sinking.

Ye Qing scanned with his Divine Sense, confirming there was no more danger around, especially that the Ink-line Horned Snake had fled far away.

Only then did he make a move to fish up the Poison Dragon Turtle corpse and put it into the space waste area.

Next, he used his Divine Sense to carefully search the nearby waters.

Very quickly, among the chaotic rocks at the bottom of the lake, dozens of zhang below, he found the other Poison Dragon Turtle corpse, which had been injured by the Golden Rainbow Armor-Breaking Talisman at the very beginning, abandoned by its companion, and died from excessive blood loss.

He collected that as well.

As for the three Bishui Sect Cultivators, they had fled in such a hurry that they didn't even have time to collect the corpses of the few First-Stage Yao Beasts they had killed at the beginning, which were now lying quietly at the bottom of the lake.

Acting on the principle of not wasting anything, Ye Qing accepted them all and sent them into the space.

Even mosquito legs are meat, let alone First-Stage Yao Beasts, which also made a minor contribution to the space's growth.

After cleaning up the battlefield, he carefully searched the nearby lake bottom again.

The "Immortal Cave entrance" mentioned by the Bishui Sect leader might be nearby.

Sure enough, in a hidden depression in an underwater rock wall, he found a narrow crack, covered by water grass, that could only fit one person.

On the edge of the crack, there were extremely faint, ancient Restriction fluctuations remaining, which were completely different from the aura of the space cutting traces in the stone cavern at the bottom of the lake, being closer to traditional water-type concealment Restrictions.

Only, the Restriction had been destroyed by human hands, leaving fresh traces, which must have been done by the three from the Bishui Sect.

"It seems this is the place. However, the situation inside is unknown; rushing in blindly is not the act of a wise man. Moreover, the three from the Bishui Sect returned in defeat; they might attract higher-level Cultivators from their Sect. This place is not suitable for a long stay; investigating the Immortal Cave requires careful planning."

Ye Qing did not risk entering the crack, but merely firmly memorized the location and characteristics of the place with his Divine Sense, and left several extremely hidden early-warning Restrictions fused with Void Realm imprints outside the crack.

Once someone approached or triggered them, he would be able to perceive it at the first moment from Hunyuan Island.

After doing this, he steered the boat back to Hunyuan Island and reopened the Formation.

His consciousness sank into the space.

Today's harvest was bountiful: two Second-Stage Middle Stage Poison Dragon Turtle corpses and several First-Stage Yao Beast corpses were being rapidly digested and absorbed by the space.

The feedback energy rolled in; although it was not a qualitative change like the Star-patterned Jade Marrow, it won by being abundant and filling, steadily pushing his cultivation toward the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage Perfection.

"Bishui Sect, underwater Immortal Cave, Old Ancestor's injury... This Zhuixing Lake seems to be more interesting than imagined. However, Opportunity is often accompanied by risk. I need to be more cautious and improve my strength to be qualified to get a share of the pie."

Ye Qing withdrew from the space, his expression calm.

He returned to the meditation cushion and sat down, continuing his daily Cultivation and deduction.

Outside the window, the twilight of Zhuixing Lake was deep, and the mist was rising, as if hiding all secrets within that blurred water light and night.

Only in the depths of the lake center, that destroyed underwater Restriction crack was quietly recounting the slaughter that had just passed and the Opportunity that had yet to be revealed.