Yuan Ming glanced at the corpse of the Leopard Fierce Beast, did not make any further moves, and continued to walk forward.

Now, revisiting the old place, everything had changed, including himself.

As a Registered Disciple of Biluo Cave, he naturally no longer needed to collect any Blood Food. Without the shackles, the experiences that once filled him with trepidation seemed to have become a thing of the past.

But he was very clear in his heart that, although Biluo Cave had led him into the Immortal Path by mistake, it was not his true destination. One day, he would find a way to return to Central Plains, to retrieve his true self and find the person responsible for all his sufferings.

Of course, before that, he had to grow stronger.

Because only the strong could avoid being despised and bullied, survive in a cruel environment, and possess the means for revenge.

This was what Ten Thousand Mountains and Biluo Cave had taught him.

An hour later, the view gradually became vast, and with a wave of fresh air hitting his face, a huge lake appeared ahead, as far as the eye could see.

The lake was a clear blue-green color, with lush reeds growing across it and stretching to the end of the horizon, painting a stroke of vibrant green in this world.

As the lake breeze blew, the thousands of reeds rustled, their collective whispers like waves sweeping across the land.

"So this is Qianlu Lake, it really is vast!" Yuan Ming looked at the scene before him, feeling his spirits lift.

Qianlu Lake was a lake within Ten Thousand Mountains, vast in size and stretching over a hundred miles. It was named for the countless reeds growing in it.

Yuan Ming had brought Huo Chan'er to Ten Thousand Mountains to give it a suitable playground, but of course, he had other reasons as well.

Everything in the Sect required Contribution Value, and since he was making a trip out, he took a relatively simple collection task from the Execution Hall: to find Bishui Stones, a local specialty of Qianlu Lake.

This was one of the many long-term tasks in the Execution Hall, with no time limit. As long as one collected Bishui Stones, they could be traded for Contribution Value in the Sect at any time.

Huo Chan'er, who had been lying drowsy on Yuan Ming's shoulder, perked up at the sight of the vast lake, showing curiosity as it hopped down to the shore and stared intently at the water, its body eager to leap in and play.

Yuan Ming was surprised; Huo Chan'er was a Fire Attribute spirit beast, and he thought it would resist being near water, but it appeared otherwise.

"How about we take a stroll across the surface of the water later?" he asked, crouching down and scratching the Fire Mink behind the ear with a smile.

Huo Chan'er glanced back at Yuan Ming, as if it understood, then immediately turned its little head away, focusing its attention on the vast expanse of water.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming paid it no further mind, took out his Green Fish Sword, and cut down several nearby large trees; stripping the branches and trunks, leaving only the main stems.

He then used ropes brought from the Sect to tie several tree trunks side by side, creating a simple wooden raft that was two to three zhang long.

"Let's go."

Yuan Ming scooped up Huo Chan'er onto his shoulder, jumped onto the wooden raft, and used a long and straight tree trunk as a pole, rowing towards the center of the lake.

Many Biluo Cave Disciples had undertaken the Bishui Stones task, and the ores around the lake had long been depleted; one needed to go to a deeper area to find any.

Huo Chan'er hopped and jumped around on the wooden raft, occasionally tapping the lake surface with a paw before snapping it back, playing gleefully.

Yuan Ming watched and understood that although Huo Chan'er didn't fear the Water, being a Fire Attribute spirit beast, it was still wary of it.

That was good; he wouldn't have to worry about it running away by jumping into the water while he searched for Bishui Stones.

The wooden raft quickly reached the deeper part of the lake. After surveying the surroundings, Yuan Ming leaped into the water and dived towards the bottom.

With his current Cultivation, even without undergoing a toad transformation, he could stay underwater for quite some time.

Fifteen minutes later, he emerged from the water empty-handed.

Yuan Ming turned to look at the raft, and seeing that Huo Chan'er was still safely there, he relaxed, rested for a bit, and dived back in, only to return after a long search with nothing to show for it.

"This darn task isn't as simple as it seems!" he muttered, climbing back onto the raft and continuing to row towards the center of the lake. He stopped several miles in and dived again, still coming up empty-handed.

Although Yuan Ming was slightly frustrated, he wasn't too disappointed. Bishui Stones had been searched for over many years at the bottom of Qianlu Lake and were quite scarce. If he had found them too easily, he would have been surprised.

He continued towards the deeper parts of the lake, changing spots three times, and finally found the first Bishui Stone.

The Bishui Stone resembled jade with flowing air currents within, giving it a cool and refreshing touch.

Yuan Ming looked at it a few times before putting it into his Storage Bag.

As a Water attribute ore, it was a commonly required spiritual material in the Sect, though its value was slightly less than Fire Jade, requiring ten stones to exchange for a point of Contribution Value.

Despite its lower value, Qianlu Lake was not as dangerous as Tali Volcano, hence there were quite a number of Sect Disciples who took on this task in the past.

Yuan Ming continued towards the deep parts of Qianlu Lake, periodically diving into the water to search, never staying too long.

He could stay underwater for a longer time as a toad using the Fur Cloak Skill, but doing so would accelerate the skill's backlash, an unworthy trade-off.

Half a day passed in the blink of an eye. Catch the formatted version at *.

Yuan Ming paddled the wooden raft forward, looking around with a tightly furrowed brow.

Busy all morning, he only found seven or eight Bishui Stones.

This was not an issue, as his task was merely a secondary concern. The real problem was that in his search, he had ventured deep into the heart of Qianlu Lake.

The lake was alarmingly vast, and patches of fog occasionally rose from its depths. Today, without the sun, he could no longer discern the direction.

"Huo Chan'er, they say a spirit beast's sense of direction is much sharper than a human's. Can you tell which way to go?" Yuan Ming looked at the Fire Mink.

Having lost its initial vitality, Huo Chan'er lay limp on his shoulder, letting out a weak cry, looking utterly listless.

"Could it be that this little one can't stay in this damp place for long?" Trying to communicate again, Yuan Ming received no response.

He took out a piece of Fire Jade to feed it, but Huo Chan'er glanced at it and looked away.

"It isn't sick, is it?" Yuan Ming couldn't help but grow anxious.

If something happened to Huo Chan'er, he would struggle to explain himself to the Three Cave Masters.

After a brief contemplation, he put Huo Chan'er into the Spiritual Beast Bag.

Huo Chan'er usually yelled and screamed when put into the Spiritual Beast Bag, but this time there was no reaction; it lay quietly inside, not moving for a long time.

Yuan Ming hastily maneuvered the wooden raft, choosing a direction to quickly make his escape.

The water and reeds around him receded swiftly. After nearly half an hour had passed, there was still no sign of the edge of the lake. Instead, the fog over the water grew even denser, limiting visibility to just seven or eight zhang ahead.

"It seems I've gone in the wrong direction," Yuan Ming stopped paddling, ready to turn back.

"Squeak squeak squeak..." Suddenly, Huo Chan'er started calling out from within the Spiritual Beast Bag, jumping up and down inside as if eager to come out, shaking off its previous feebleness.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming was both shocked and delighted. He slapped the Spiritual Beast Bag and released Huo Chan'er.

Huo Chan'er ran to the front of the raft in a few quick steps, stood on its hind legs looking forward, and let out a series of frantic squeaks.

"Do you want to go ahead?" Yuan Ming asked, momentarily taken aback and uncertain.

Huo Chan'er turned its head and nodded at him repeatedly.

Yuan Ming looked ahead with some hesitation.

Going further would mean entering the central region of Qianlu Lake, where the moist air would only grow denser. It might harm Huo Chan'er rather than help, but considering its sudden insistent behavior, could there be something special ahead?

Yuan Ming silently recalled the records of spirit beast habits he had read in the Gui Cang Pavilion. After much consideration, he decided to trust Huo Chan'er's judgment and continued paddling the raft forward.

As a spirit beast with a pure lineage, Huo Chan'er wouldn't gamble with its own life carelessly.

If they encountered any danger, he could easily stow the little creature in the Spiritual Beast Bag and use the Fur Cloak Skill to transform into a toad and abandon the raft to escape.

As the wooden raft advanced, the surrounding fog grew even thicker, reducing visibility to only four or five zhang.

Suddenly, the water began to ripple, continuously striking the raft with a "whooshing" sound.

Yuan Ming immediately stopped paddling. Unprovoked waves surely had a cause.

At that moment, the water beneath the raft stirred violently, forming a vortex several zhang wide, with a powerful tearing force.

The raft was sucked in immediately, spinning around. The ropes tied to it snapped, and the already unstable structure quickly fell apart.

Yuan Ming's face darkened as he grabbed Huo Chan'er onto his shoulder and leaped into the air.

A flash of green light passed over his arm, and the Mysterious Incense Burner appeared, hovering in the air.

Yuan Ming grasped the incense burner with one hand and the pole with the other, suspending himself in mid-air.

The incense burner was particularly sensitive to the Exorcism Technique. With a slight activation, it could float in the air. He had whimsically used it to lift off the ground during practice.

Over the past half a month, Yuan Ming had practiced multiple times and could now skillfully control this skill. However, his mana was not profound enough and the incense burner was not a proper Flying Artifact, so he couldn't stay aloft for too long.

In that instant, the water surface burst with a "sizzling" noise, and a thick black tentacle emerged, shimmering with blue electric arcs, striking the already broken raft.

The sturdy trees snapped upon impact and flew in all directions.

Feeling a chill in his heart, Yuan Ming followed the trajectory of one flying piece of wood, landed lightly on it, and stood firm. Quickly he began to push forward with the pole.

With just a single log, he moved swiftly, soon leaving behind the enormous whirlpool.