75: Chapter 75 Respecting the elderly, caring for the young, and helping others have always been my guiding principles.

This jade pendant was clearly extremely important to the old man.

Just as Jiang Xuan stepped forward, he saw the old man's face flushed red with anxiety.

He even rolled up his wide sleeves, acting as if he were about to jump into the deep pool three thousand feet below!

Jiang Xuan felt a surge of joy; the opportunity had arrived!

Without hesitation, he lunged forward, grabbed the old man's arm, and loudly dissuaded him: "Senior! You absolutely must not!"

The old man's figure paused as he was pulled; he turned his head and looked at Jiang Xuan with a face full of anxiety.

Jiang Xuan pointed to the deep pool below, where white waves churned and mist billowed into the sky, appealing to his reason and emotion:

"Senior, look at how turbulent this water is!"

"At your age, if you were to jump in rashly, I fear your life would be in danger!"

The old man stamped his feet in anxiety, his voice trembling slightly:

"Young man, let go! That jade pendant is a relic passed down by my late father!"

"I cherish it more than my own life and cannot bear to be parted from it for even a moment. If I lose it, what face will I have to see my late father again?"

Saying this, he tried to break free from Jiang Xuan's grip and rush downwards.

Seeing this, Jiang Xuan immediately straightened his back, patted his chest righteously, and said in a clear voice:

"Senior, do not panic! This Junior is young and strong with excellent swimming skills; leave this matter to me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he didn't give the old man a chance to refuse.

Jiang Xuan's Spiritual Qi surged wildly throughout his body as he stomped forcefully on the green cliff beneath his feet.

He leaped into the air like an arrow released from a bow and plunged straight into the boiling deep pool below!

Standing at the cliff's edge, the old man watched Jiang Xuan's back as he entered the water. The anxious expression on his face froze slightly, transforming into a look of astonishment.

"Splash!"

Jiang Xuan dove headfirst into the deep pool. The moment he entered the water, his expression changed instantly.

The temperature at the bottom of the water was terrifying!

An icy, bone-chilling cold instantly penetrated his robes and enveloped his entire body.

The cold air felt as if it carried countless tiny steel needles, drilling through his pores and into his Meridians.

Even though he immediately channeled his Qi Refining Stage 9 Spiritual Qi to resist it.

He could barely protect his heart meridian, and his movements became noticeably sluggish.

This was definitely not ordinary spring water!

Jiang Xuan gasped from the cold and tried to spread his Divine Sense to search for the jade pendant.

However, he discovered that this eerie pool water could actually suppress his Divine Sense, compressing his detection range to within a mere ten feet of his body.

He was completely unable to lock onto the target immediately.

But he had already made such a bold claim; he couldn't just crawl back to the shore in defeat now.

Jiang Xuan gritted his teeth, endured the bone-chilling cold, and widened his eyes to grope and search the dark, murky bottom of the pool.

Fortunately, the area at the bottom of the deep pool was not too large.

After about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Jiang Xuan finally saw the jade pendant emitting a faint green light in a crevice of a moss-covered reef.

His heart leaped with joy. He kicked his legs hard, preparing to swim over and retrieve the jade pendant.

The next instant, every hair on his body stood on end!

He saw that in the deep shadows behind the jade pendant, the water surged silently.

A massive snake head slowly emerged.

It was a giant snake, two or three zhang long, covered entirely in green scales!

Its cold, vertical pupils glowed with a chilling light in the dark water, staring intently at Jiang Xuan, the uninvited guest.

The dangerous Aura belonging to a Vicious Beast made Jiang Xuan's heart sink.

He subconsciously retreated ten feet, a layer of cold sweat instantly breaking out on his back, mixing with the pool water.

To think that such a Vicious Beast was lurking at the bottom of this pool! He hadn't even sensed a single warning sign just moments ago!

If he had rashly reached for the jade pendant earlier, he feared this giant snake could have bitten off his entire arm in one bite.

The green giant snake flicked its tongue, its massive body tensing up in the water, clearly preparing to attack.

Jiang Xuan dared not be the slightest bit negligent and immediately began frantically circulating the "Spirit Fusion and Qi Tranquility" Cultivation Technique within his body.

The vigorous and pure Spiritual Qi in his Dantian erupted without reservation.

An overbearing Aura, capable of sweeping through an entire army, was pushed forcefully from his palms toward the giant snake!

The water churned violently, and the powerful Spiritual Qi fluctuations instantly collided with the giant snake's body.

However, the intense collision he had expected did not occur.

The moment his Spiritual Qi made contact with the green giant snake, its massive, terrifying body suddenly froze for a split second.

Immediately afterward, it dissipated silently into the water ripples like a popped bubble, vanishing without a trace!

Jiang Xuan remained in his striking posture, staring at the empty bottom of the pool, completely stunned.

An illusion?

That realistic sense of oppression, the cold vertical pupils—were they all fake?

But the bone-chilling cold of the pool water pouring madly into his pores left him no time to overthink.

He quickly swam forward and grabbed the jade pendant stuck in the crevice of the reef into his palm.

Then, he kicked off the bottom of the pool with all his might, using the recoil of the water to shoot toward the surface like a fish.

"Splash!"

Jiang Xuan broke through the water, performed a few agile leaps in mid-air, and landed steadily back on the green cliff.

His green robes were soaked, clinging to his body and still dripping with water.

Seeing him come up, the old man hurriedly stepped forward twice, his gaze fixed tightly on his palm.

Jiang Xuan wiped the water droplets from his face, opened his hand to reveal the intact emerald jade pendant, and smiled as he handed it over:

"Senior, I have fulfilled the mission and helped you retrieve it."

The old man took the jade pendant with both hands, stroked it carefully for a moment, and after confirming it was correct.

He looked up, his deep eyes flashing with undisguised admiration, and said gratefully:

"Many thanks to you, young friend, for risking your life to help. This old man is deeply grateful."

Jiang Xuan patted his soaked hem, assumed an indifferent and carefree posture, and took the opportunity to toot his own horn:

"Senior, you are too kind!"

"Respecting the elderly and loving the young, helping others with joy, has always been my code of conduct."

"It was just diving into the water to fish something out; it was merely a small effort."

But just as he finished speaking, the old man's Aura changed abruptly!

A terrifying pressure that pierced through heaven and earth rose from the ground.

Its momentum was majestic, its might glorious!

Even just a sliver of the escaped energy felt like a mountain weighing millions of jin pressing down on his head.

It pressed down on Jiang Xuan's chest, making him feel stifled, and even his breathing stopped.

His scalp went numb, and he was terrified in his heart.

This terrifying Aura was definitely from an expert above the Nascent Soul stage!

But the next moment, the old man's energy instantly retracted completely, and he returned to the appearance of the ordinary Mortal old man from before.

He looked up and laughed a few times, his gaze full of admiration as he looked at Jiang Xuan: "Worthy of being a Child of Luck."

"Kind-hearted and courageous, the future is promising!"

"Much stronger than that good-for-nothing fellow in our Sect."

Jiang Xuan suppressed the shock in his heart, hurriedly cupped his hands, and performed a respectful Junior's salute:

"Junior Jiang Xuan, may I ask for Senior's honorable name?"

The old man stroked his beard and smiled, his eyes gentle: "I am Wuchen, an Elder of the Xuantian Sword Sect."

"I was passing by this place today by chance and saw that your inner brilliance was contained and your Qi Refining had achieved success, so I tested you slightly."

"Young friend, please do not take it to heart..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wuchen waved his large sleeve, and a stream of light flew out from his cuff, landing steadily in Jiang Xuan's palm.

Immediately after, the old man let out another hearty laugh, and his entire body transformed into a dazzling sword light that shot into the sky.

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the depths of the vast sea of clouds, leaving no trace.

Jiang Xuan stood dumbfounded in place, holding the jade box in his hands, unable to recover for a long time.

This... this is it?

Do big shots all like to play like this?

What Child of Luck? He's just a small shopkeeper running a business!