CHAPTER 207: CHAPTER 75: PURPOSE

Rong Ye heard Yue Zhao’s words, let out a long sigh, and complained.

The thoughts of the others were similar to Rong Ye’s. After walking in the grasslands for such a long time, no matter how good the scenery was, they were tired of it. Naturally, they were very happy to be able to leave.

"I wonder what that place with the mysterious black mark is? Didn’t those who left the Trial Land before leave any records?" Mu Chen turned his gaze to Rong Ye and asked.

Rong Ye shook his head, "If there were, I would have told you earlier. I checked the entire Rong Family’s Book Collection Pavilion, and apart from records of it being very dangerous here, there was nothing else."

Rong Ye was somewhat regretting choosing this path now, especially when Gu Qingqing and the others were injured before; he couldn’t even begin to describe his regret.

In order to deal with Rong Yuanqiao, there wasn’t only this path; he thought that the Trial Land was just filled with some demon beasts, believing this method was the fastest and most direct. Who knew the situation inside would be so complicated!

If he had another chance, he would definitely not choose to enter the Trial Land. He would be fine on his own, but bringing Gu Qingqing and the others was unfortunate!

Upon hearing this, Mu Chen was not too disappointed. After all, Rong Ye had already mentioned it before; the reason he asked was just holding onto a sliver of hope.

"Rest a bit, adjust your state, and don’t think about those things," Si Lin looked at Rong Ye’s expression and knew what he was thinking, fiddling with the Dragon Capturing Sword in his hand, he said softly.

Rong Ye naturally understood Si Lin’s meaning, nodded, and stopped overthinking.

According to Si Lin’s words, they rested for about an hour before setting off again.

Just as Yue Zhao said, after about another hour, the environment around them changed once more.

The boundless grassland was gone, replaced by a large Cold Pond.

Nan Hua went to the edge of the Cold Pond to try it out and found that the water in the Cold Pond was icy and bone-chilling. He returned to the shore, looking at the Cold Pond in confusion.

"Why is there a Cold Pond here," he looked around and found only a cliff around, nothing else, "Could something be under the Cold Pond?"

Saying that, he gazed at the Cold Pond.

The Cold Pond was emitting cold air; the water looked rather clear but was deep, making it impossible to see the bottom. For the moment, he couldn’t figure it out.

The others, like Nan Hua, were also surprised as they looked at the Cold Pond.

They had speculated before, the black marking on the map could indicate a dangerous place or a place with treasures. Who knew it would be a Cold Pond?

"Stay away from the Cold Pond; it’s not simple here," Si Lin, whose cultivation was the highest among them, could discover more things, directly cautioned the others.

Yue Zhao and the others naturally trusted Si Lin very much and all retreated, stopping only at a distance away from the Cold Pond.

Si Lin thought for a moment, picked up a stone from the ground, and threw it into the Cold Pond.

"Splash!"

The stone fell into the water, splashing some water, drawing Gu Qingqing’s and the others’ attention to the Cold Pond.

Under their gaze, ripples suddenly appeared on the water surface, spreading out until they covered the entire surface.

What they didn’t see was a large black mass appearing beneath the water surface in the middle of the Cold Pond. Since the water surface wasn’t clear enough, they couldn’t see what it was exactly, but it was enough to make them wary.

"Could there really be something down there?" Rong Ye looked at the Cold Pond’s surface, seeing the increasing ripples, he mumbled in disbelief.

"Seems like it is, just don’t know what it is. Everyone get ready for battle." Unlike the others, who were tense, Si Lin seemed a bit relaxed.

The unknown is the most terrifying; now that they knew there was something beneath the Cold Pond, they just needed to remain vigilant and ready to fight at any moment.

Just when they thought the thing underwater would emerge, the commotion on the water surface suddenly stopped, leaving them puzzled. Si Lin hesitated for a moment, picked up another stone from the ground, and threw it down.

This time, the commotion was even larger than the previous, but even after Gu Qingqing and the others waited for a long time, the thing hidden in the water still didn’t come out.

This time, Si Lin and the others couldn’t help but frown.

"The thing below is quite cunning, testing our reactions like this." Nan Hua fanned himself with the Glazed Frost Flower Fan, finding it rather interesting.

"From this, it seems more likely to be a demon beast, just don’t know what kind." Yue Zhao, with a very calm expression, focused his gaze on the water surface and expressed his speculation.

"No matter what kind of demon beast it is, just find a way to make it come out." Rong Ye was impatient. He performed a sealing with his hands, and the Heavenly Awakening Record appeared above his head.

The giant book’s pages flipped open, and under Rong Ye’s command, more than a dozen talismans flew out. Under Rong Ye’s control, they fell onto the water’s surface, flashed with light, and then quickly disappeared. Suddenly, an explosion occurred on the water surface, causing the pond water to burst out, disturbing the entire Cold Pond.

Given the situation, the creature at the bottom of the pond naturally couldn’t stay hidden any longer. Following the commotion on the water, it directly emerged from the water.

In front of everyone appeared a Jiao Long with black patterned scales and two small bumps on its head.

This Jiao Long was about thirty meters long, with over a dozen meters of its body emerging above the water surface. Its two earth-yellow eyes were as big as lanterns. Raising its upper body high, it stared at Gu Qingqing and the others, continually flicking out its tongue, greed shining in its eyes.

"It’s actually a Thousand-year-old Jiao Snake. It seems it won’t be long before it undergoes Dragon Transformation." Seeing the Black Flood Dragon, Nan Hua was somewhat surprised, even forgetting to fan with his hand.

"Who are you all? Why have you appeared here?" The Black Flood Dragon looked at Gu Qingqing’s group, feeling threatened by them, but didn’t take action immediately, asking first instead.

Hearing the Black Flood Dragon speak human words, Gu Qingqing and the group were somewhat astonished.

It’s known that demon beasts that can speak are usually above the ninth rank. Little Yu could do it due to a special talent, naturally gaining speech upon maturity, but the Black Flood Dragon’s bloodline wasn’t that formidable. This indicated that the Black Flood Dragon’s cultivation was not low!

"I am a descendant of the Rong Family, and I’m here for the position of Family Head." Rong Ye was fairly courteous to the Black Flood Dragon, hoping to avoid conflict unless necessary.

Upon hearing Rong Ye’s words, the Black Flood Dragon’s gaze lingered on him for a moment as if sensing something.

"Indeed, there is the aura of that kid’s descendant. I have nothing here for you all, so it would be best not to disturb me." Clearly, the Black Flood Dragon still held some impression of the Rong Family’s ancestors and, upon hearing this, did not attack but rather spoke.

"Senior Brother, is this Black Flood Dragon very powerful?" Gu Qingqing tugged at Si Lin’s sleeve from behind and asked through sound transmission.

"Hmm, probably similar to me, except it has been cultivating for nearly a thousand years, entering the Half-step Immortal Rank much earlier than I did. I may not be its match." Si Lin also transmitted back to Gu Qingqing.

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingqing was a little surprised.

She was also somewhat confused about the situation of this Trial Land. If it was meant to test people while enhancing their cultivation, considering what they experienced after entering, it didn’t hold much significance. Though dangerous, it wasn’t particularly beneficial for their cultivation advancement.

And if there were Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to boost cultivation, they had walked for so long without encountering any place of interest.

Now there’s even a Black Flood Dragon here, and this Trial Land is supposed to be an independent space. A Black Flood Dragon can’t possibly undergo Dragon Transformation here, so why is it here?

Furthermore, since entering the Trial Land, they hadn’t been given a clear objective. Even though they followed the map, they weren’t sure of its purpose.

Thinking this, Gu Qingqing couldn’t help but furrow her brow in deep thought.

"Apologies for troubling the senior, we juniors will leave immediately." Si Lin signaled to the others with a look, courteously uttered, and then led Gu Qingqing and the group away.

When they had walked about a hundred meters away, the Black Flood Dragon sank back into the pond.

"Senior Brother, why did we retreat again?" Mu Chen questioned, puzzled, looking at Si Lin.

"Geng Geng, what were you thinking just now?" Si Lin didn’t answer Mu Chen’s question but instead asked Gu Qingqing.

Not hiding her thoughts from Si Lin, Gu Qingqing voiced her confusion directly.

"I just don’t quite understand what we’re supposed to be doing in this Trial Land. If it’s about staying in here for a few days before exiting and passing the trial, then with our cultivation, we could just find a place to wait until the time is right. If advancement in cultivation is necessary to exit, the Spiritual Energy here, though denser than outside, isn’t enough for significant improvement in just a few days." Gu Qingqing spoke with a bit of frustration, feeling somewhat confused herself.

Upon hearing Gu Qingqing’s words, the others turned their eyes toward Rong Ye, since this was the Rong Family’s Trial Land, and he was likely more informed than they were.

"There is some record of needing to obtain the trial artifact within the Trial Land to uplift cultivation and leave the Trial Land." Rong Ye hurriedly explained.

"What kind of token? How does it look?" Si Lin furrowed his brows and asked.

"It’s probably a Token. I guess it would be like the key to entering the Trial Land. To leave, we need to obtain the key. Those ancestors spent quite some time in the Trial Land; it shouldn’t be like how we’re doing it." Rong Ye wasn’t entirely sure either, given that records about the Trial Land in the Rong Family were scant. His explanation was mostly a deduction from available records.

Hearing this, Si Lin nodded, and Yue Zhao showed a contemplative expression.

"If it’s about obtaining a trial artifact, could the black marking be the artifact?" Gu Qingqing rolled her eyes and asked directly.

The others exchanged glances, also thinking it could be possible. The place holding such an important artifact wouldn’t be easily accessible, would it?