Martial Arts: Starting with Creating a Genius Persona

Chapter 47 The Source of the Body Tempering Pool

"Lu Yuan!"

Liu Qiuyan suddenly stood up, and pool water gushed down from her body.

She quickly took a few steps in the direction where Lu Yuan had disappeared.

Only one whirlpool remained on the water's surface, slowly rotating.

She called out to the whirlpool a few more times, but no one answered.

The tall, thin man climbed out of the pool.

Standing by the pool, soaking wet, he hadn't yet managed to wipe the smug look off his face.

"Senior Sister Liu, look, I told you he was overestimating himself! You told him to proceed step by step, but he wouldn't listen and insisted on going into the deep waters."

"Now look what happened! The pool bottom collapsed and everyone's dead. Wasn't that just asking for death?"

Liu Qiuyan turned around abruptly, her gaze as cold as ice.

"Wang Teng! Shut your mouth!"

Wang Teng shuddered and swallowed the rest of his words.

Lin Fan slowly got up from the pool, water droplets running down his fair chest.

He walked to Liu Qiuyan's side, his voice gentle and steady.

It carried a deliberate calmness.

"Qiuyan, although Wang Teng's words were harsh, it was indeed that junior brother who broke the rules and overestimated his abilities."

You've fulfilled your responsibility to remind me; the rest... I can't blame you.

He reached out, seemingly wanting to pat Liu Qiuyan on the shoulder.

But Liu Qiuyan skillfully dodged it by turning to the side.

"The new disciple has disappeared in the body-tempering pool. Do you think this is a trivial matter?" Her voice was colder than usual.

"It's certainly a big deal. But there's nothing anyone can do about accidents."

"The Iron Bone Mountain Range has never been an earthquake zone."

Liu Qiuyan turned around to face Lin Fan, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"When did you witness the earthquake behind the Iron Bone Sect?"

Lin Fan did not answer.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something to comfort her, but Liu Qiuyan was no longer looking at him.

She waded through the pool and walked towards the shore, leaving without looking back.

"I'll report this to the sect. The disappearance of an inner disciple in the Body Tempering Pool is no joke."

The figure disappeared at the end of the path.

Wang Teng stood by the pool, looking in the direction Liu Qiuyan had left, then at Lin Fan.

He noticed that Lin Fan's gaze was fixed on Liu Qiuyan's back, and his expression darkened slightly.

The gloom lasted only a moment before he regained his gentle demeanor and turned to speak to the disciples in the pool.

"Everyone, you can leave now. Don't soak today; wait for the steward to come and check."

...

Deep inside the cave.

The light was dim, and the sound of the water was deafening.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

Unwilling to give up, he channeled his inner energy into his feet, attempting to break free from the edge of the vortex.

But the suction power was ridiculously strong.

He possessed a force of nearly 5,000 jin, combined with the internal energy of the Blood Condensation Realm.

Faced with this force, it's like an ant trying to pull an elephant.

He was swept into the depths of the vortex, with countless undercurrents squeezing his chest from all directions.

The dull thud of my back hitting the reef was drowned out by the roar of the current.

The remaining air in my chest was squeezed out little by little.

Lu Yuan's consciousness began to fade.

He instinctively tried to swim upwards.

But in the end, it was all in vain.

Then everything went completely black.

When he opened his eyes again, a warm, faint light stung his pupils.

Lu Yuan looked around and found himself lying on a patch of fine gravel.

He was soaked to the bone.

My arms are slightly sore.

He pushed himself up and found himself in a huge underground cavern.

The cave was so spacious that it could fit an entire training ground.

The cave ceiling is covered with stalactites, and the cave walls are covered with luminous stone crystals.

Some glowed with a soft blue light, some emitted a warm yellow light, and a few were a rare fiery red, making the entire cave look like an underground palace.

The air was warm, even a little stuffy.

He stood up and stretched his joints.

Fortunately, most of the external wounds on my body have healed, and the internal injuries are not serious.

The stream in the cave still flows at your feet, extending deeper into the cave following the terrain.

There's no way back; we can only move forward.

He followed the light deeper into the cave.

Footsteps echoed through the empty cave.

He wanted to find an exit, but the place was ridiculously large.

The further you go in, the denser the crystals on the stone walls become, and the more reddish their color becomes.

But it doesn't feel lifeless. The stones on the cliff face seem to have come to life.

Just then, the cry appeared again.

Closer and clearer than before.

It was a low, drawn-out sob.

Like an animal that has been trapped for a long time... using its last strength to cry for help.

He followed the sound into a side cave. The cave walls were very narrow, allowing only one person to pass sideways.

There is a shallow stream at the bottom of the cave, and the water is reddish, just like the body-tempering pool.

The further you go in, the darker the color becomes, changing from light red to deep red, and finally to a dark red that is almost ink-like.

The temperature was rising, and the air was filled with an indescribable atmosphere.

Lu Yuan looked down at his right arm, where the Qilin tattoo had reappeared at some point.

This time, it didn't come to him actively; it emerged on its own.

The view suddenly opened up at the end of the fork in the tunnel.

A much larger cave, even bigger than the one before.

The dome is over ten feet high, and the stone walls are covered with fiery red crystals, densely packed together.

A cycad stands in the very center of the cave.

The trunk and branches are made of iron-gray metallic material. The iron branches are bare and leafless, but covered with fiery red crystals.

Like a tree laden with ripe fruit.

All the light in the cave came from this iron tree, turning the entire space into an eerie sea of ​​red and white flames.

In the center of the cycad, a thick iron chain hangs down from the trunk, with a small dog tied to the end.

The dog was very small, even smaller than a typical hunting dog.

It huddled on the stone slab under the tree.

It was trembling all over, with a few tufts of red mane on its body.

There was a deep wound on his leg, and blood was flowing down the stone slab into the stream.

Deep red.

It's the same color as the stream flowing in the cave.

The water source for the entire forging pool is drawn from this stream.

The puppy yelped in pain again.

The deep, lingering sound penetrated his eardrums.

Then, a huge wave of dizziness suddenly hit me.

The scene before Lu Yuan's eyes distorted rapidly.

The caves, iron trees, and crystals have all disappeared.

Instead, a series of rapidly flashing illusions...

A fiery red Qilin, its body as large as a small mountain.

He was surrounded by raging flames and was engaged in a fierce battle with dozens of terrifying martial artists.

It was fiercely protecting a cub behind it.

The battle lasted for an unknown period of time, with warriors falling one after another.

The flames on the Qilin's body were also getting weaker and weaker.

Finally, a sneak attack came from behind.

Its forelegs buckled and it collapsed to its knees. Dozens of thick iron chains flew out from all directions and tightly bound its limbs and neck.

It took one last look at the cub and let out a heart-wrenching growl.

The image flashed by in an instant.

Lu Yuan shuddered, as if he had been pulled out of cold water and thrown into boiling water.

He lowered his head and gasped for breath, discovering that the Qilin tattoo on his body had somehow reappeared and covered his entire body.

The little dog tied to the iron tree was looking at him with wet eyes.

His eyes were filled with extreme grievance.

It was full of bitterness.

Lu Yuan remained silent for a moment.

He didn't know whether the illusions were real or not, but the iron chain was real.

The blood on the puppy's leg is real.

He stepped forward and looked down at the tiny creature.

"Little dog, don't move. I'll try to get you out."