Chapter 232
The water surging upward pounded the turtle’s shell hard.
The round formation clenched in its mouth crumpled several times under the crushing water pressure.
Profound Void Perfected Person pulled the remaining formation glyphs inside the barrier and held the flow in place.
In the dark water, all Baek Cheong could see were the turtle’s enormous teeth blocking the way ahead and blue light scattering in every direction.
‘Just a little longer...’
Baek Cheong hugged the Heavenly Armor Formation Disc to her chest and looked upward.
The spiritual energy that had burst out as the ruins collapsed followed behind the turtle even through the depths.
Blue spiritual energy spread up from below, brightly coloring the blackly sealed surface of the water.
As the turtle paddled with all four limbs, the darkness above rapidly drew closer.
Soon, its enormous head slammed into the water’s surface.
Kwoooong!
A column of water shot high into the sky from the middle of the lake.
The turtle demonic beast thrust its head and shell out of the water at once.
Its open mouth carefully opened wider as it lowered the round barrier onto the water’s surface.
Then it lifted the barrier above its head, allowing them to climb onto its back.
Soon, the round formation came undone, and Baek Cheong and Profound Void Perfected Person set foot on the blue shell.
“We survived...”
“It would not have been easy if this spirit beast had not come at exactly the right time.”
Profound Void Perfected Person smoothed his disheveled beard and looked toward the turtle’s head.
Perhaps understanding the praise, the turtle raised its neck and spouted water forcefully once more.
The falling droplets caught the sunlight and formed a huge rainbow over the lake.
As Baek Cheong shook out her wet sleeve, she belatedly noticed the change around her.
‘Yeonha is glowing.’
The blue light did not remain only around the turtle.
Everywhere her eyes reached, blue light was spreading from beneath the water’s surface.
Nearby, the lake was bright as though clear jade had been melted into it, while farther away, the blue extended all the way to the horizon.
The spiritual energy of the fifth-tier spirit vein that had surged from the ruins was spreading throughout Yeonha along the lakebed.
Moreover, spiritual energy resembling a pale mist was rising even above the lake.
It was so dense that the core essence within her dantian moved on its own even though she had not activated the Five-Element Technique.
“Did all of this spiritual energy come from the spirit vein?”
“It did.”
Profound Void Perfected Person calmly surveyed the flow beneath the surface, despite being unable to hide his astonishment.
Wherever his divine sense extended, the glyphs on his robe lit up one by one.
“The fifth-tier spirit vein that the ruins had held captive for tens of thousands of years has finally been exposed in its entirety. The spiritual energy freed from the seal is spreading across the whole lake.”
“Will it keep glowing like this?”
“The light will fade before long, but the spirit vein itself will not disappear.”
Profound Void Perfected Person gazed at the blue Yeonha and smiled with satisfaction.
“From now on, spiritual energy throughout Yeonha will be far more abundant than before. The spirit fields along the lakeshore will grow more fertile, and many more spirit herbs and spirit creatures will grow. Cultivators and merchant groups will flock here, so this area will prosper as never before.”
Baek Cheong quickly calculated the changes that would follow.
The Baek Clan of Yeonha was a family that had grown by making Yeonha its home, just as its name suggested.
Countless spirit fields, mines, and cities governed by the clan surrounded Yeonha.
If the spiritual energy of the fifth-tier spirit vein spread into the surrounding area, the clan and nearby cities would gain enormous benefits.
‘All this from fifty high-grade spirit stones?’
Of course, the fifth-tier spirit vein was a treasure belonging to all of Yeonha.
Even so, if she had not followed the turtle, there was a high chance the spirit vein would have remained buried beneath the ruins for years to come.
The Heavenly Armor Formation Disc and more than twenty jade boxes of spirit herbs alone made it difficult to calculate the value of what she had already paid.
Considering the demonic core and scales of the third-tier Earth Dragon as well, fifty high-grade spirit stones were practically a bargain.
Her lips rose unconsciously at the immeasurable gains.
“Let’s return and divide up the things worth celebrating.”
After checking the sun in the sky, Profound Void Perfected Person shook the water from his robe.
“We wasted quite a lot of time inside. Your father and the cultivators of the Cheonnam Alliance must be worried, so we should hurry back.”
“Yes.”
As though it understood their words, the turtle demonic beast cried out in reply.
“Ang!”
Its enormous head turned toward the direction of the Cheonnam Alliance’s headquarters.
The turtle paddled its limbs powerfully with Baek Cheong and Profound Void Perfected Person riding on its shell.
Each time its small-mountain-sized body moved forward, blue waves parted on either side.
***
The watchtowers of the Cheonnam Alliance’s headquarters bristled with flags signaling that the area was on alert.
Hundreds of cultivators had gathered at Biseondae and along the lakeshore, gazing at Yeonha, which had turned blue.
Baek Cheong and Profound Void Perfected Person had entered the water, and no word had come from them for several days.
Then blue light rose throughout all of Yeonha, making it more than reasonable to assume that something had gone wrong.
“The demonic beast is approaching!”
A cultivator atop a watchtower shouted urgently.
The turtle’s head rising above the water was the first thing they saw.
Then the dark blue shell advancing through the water emerged above the surface.
The cultivators at headquarters simultaneously drew their dharma treasures and talismans.
However, those who recognized the people standing on the shell quickly raised their hands to stop those around them.
“Do not attack!”
“Profound Void Perfected Person and Miss Baek are with it!”
The commotion quickly spread all the way to the lakeshore.
Baek Mu-jin, who had been watching Yeonha from the very front, pushed through the crowd and stepped forward.
He tried to maintain his usual expression, but he could not conceal even his tightly pressed lips.
Before the turtle had even slowed down, he quickly examined his daughter’s face and limbs.
‘Even Father came out.’
When Baek Cheong’s eyes met her father’s, she gave a small wave to show that she was all right.
Only after confirming that his daughter was safe did Baek Mu-jin release the tension from his stiff shoulders.
The turtle demonic beast approached the shallow water in front of headquarters and stopped moving.
It tilted one side of its shell to make it easier for Baek Cheong and Profound Void Perfected Person to climb ashore.
Profound Void Perfected Person lightly stepped through the air and reached the lakeshore first.
Baek Cheong also summoned clouds with the Cloud-Rain Technique and jumped down from the shell.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Baek Mu-jin came straight toward her.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m not hurt anywhere.”
“Are you sure?”
“Profound Void Perfected Person kept watch over me the whole time.”
She did not bother admitting that she had fought the Earth Dragon alone.
Profound Void Perfected Person looked at Baek Cheong and gave a faint smile, but he did not correct her lie.
“Ang!”
The turtle demonic beast stretched its head far out toward the lakeshore.
Its golden eyes passed over the people around it and looked only at Baek Cheong.
Baek Cheong slipped away from her father’s side and approached the turtle.
“I survived thanks to you.”
When she placed her palm against its enormous forehead, the turtle leisurely lowered its eyelids.
As a token of gratitude, she infused the Cloud-Rain Technique with spiritual energy.
Ink-dark clouds gathered over its shell and sprinkled thick raindrops.
As though it had been waiting, the turtle happily stuck out its head and basked in the rain.
The cultivators around them were no longer surprised.
They merely gazed, spellbound, at the blue-glowing lake and the enormous spirit beast enjoying the rain.
‘I should give it some spirit stones later.’
Baek Cheong discreetly withdrew the hand reaching toward her spatial dharma treasure.
It would be awkward to take out spirit stones and feed them to the turtle in front of her father and hundreds of cultivators.
The turtle did not open its enormous mouth, as though it was not looking for food either.
The spiritual energy rising from Yeonha was too dense to compare with high-grade spirit stones.
Its golden eyes watched her for a moment before turning back toward the blue Yeonha.
It lowered its head, lightly bumped its forehead against her palm, and turned away.
“Are you leaving now?”
“Ang.”
The turtle slowly entered the water.
Its dark blue shell sank beneath the blue waves.
A short while later, its small-mountain-sized shadow swam into the depths and moved away from headquarters.
‘You’ll come find me again next time, won’t you?’
Baek Cheong stood on the lakeshore until the turtle disappeared from sight.
Even if they met again while wandering Yeonha, she felt there was no way they would fail to recognize each other.
“Alliance Lord, what on earth happened beneath the lake?”
At someone’s urgent question, Baek Cheong also turned around.
The cultivators of the Cheonnam Alliance were all waiting for Baek Mu-jin and Profound Void Perfected Person to answer.
Profound Void Perfected Person looked over their faces, then pointed toward the blue-glowing Yeonha.
“The fifth-tier spirit vein that had been sleeping deep beneath Yeonha was freed from its seal today. The blue light you see now is the vein’s energy spreading throughout the lake, and it will bring great fortune to Yeonha and the surrounding lands.”
The silence did not last long.
Astonishment and joy spread across the cultivators’ faces at the same time.
Some of them scooped up lake water themselves and examined its spiritual energy.
“It really is denser than before.”
“A fifth-tier spirit vein!”
“For such an auspicious event to occur right after the Cheonnam Alliance was founded—Heaven is clearly helping us!”
Voices erupted from every direction, making headquarters tremble.
Baek Mu-jin did not let himself be swept up in the joy and immediately issued orders.
“Starting today, entering the depths of Yeonha is forbidden. Record every change in spiritual energy throughout Yeonha and in the spirit fields along the lakeshore without fail, and monitor the movements of the aquatic demonic beasts.”
The nearby cultivators of the Cheonnam Alliance bowed in unison.
“Send word to the southern clans as well. Tell them not to approach Yeonha recklessly until the spirit vein stabilizes, and to report any abnormalities to headquarters immediately.”
“We receive your command!”
Baek Mu-jin’s orders immediately flew in all directions on transmission jade tablets and flying swords.
Profound Void Perfected Person also added a few words as he discussed the necessary measures.
He urged them not to forcibly draw in the spirit energy of the freed spirit vein and to monitor its flow for at least a month.
The cultivators who had been celebrating excitedly took up their tasks one by one and scattered throughout headquarters.
The people remaining at the lakeshore also dwindled before long.