Yuanshui Tianshan.

This mountain was extremely high, covered with dense vegetation that cast deep shadows like a canopy. A broad mountain path wound its way from the foot of the mountain all the way to the heart of Yuanshui Tianhu.

Golden sunlight pierced through the dense forest, sprinkling patches of light along the winding path.

The path was paved with dark green stones. These stones, trodden on by countless feet over the years, had developed indentations, and tenacious green moss squeezed through the cracks at the edges, gleaming in the sunlight like jade.

“Clomp~” “Clomp~” “Clomp~”

A rhythmic sound of hooves suddenly echoed.

Two robust, azure spirit oxen appeared on the path.

These spirit oxen were of a rare breed, with hooves dark as ink and eyes blue as water, their gait exceptionally steady and their speed far surpassing that of ordinary spirit oxen.

On the backs of the two oxen sat a man and a woman, respectively.

These two were naturally Wang Liyao and her hired guide, Lu Xianghui.

“Sister apprentice, our Yuanshui Tianhu lineage is the most ancient and powerful in the academy. However, we have always kept a low profile, which is why our reputation is not as widespread as that of the Xuanbing Hall.”

“Our Yuanshui Shangren is also a direct disciple of the dean. The dean has been in seclusion for many years and no longer manages affairs, so many of the academy’s matters are now overseen by Yuanshui Shangren. If you truly manage to join the Yuanshui Tianhu lineage, the benefits are indeed plentiful.”

As Lu Xianghui led the spirit oxen forward, he introduced the situation of the Yuanshui Tianhu lineage to Wang Liyao.

During their conversation, they passed by an ancient tree with an exceptionally dense and huge crown.

Lu Xianghui pointed at the tree and explained, “This Fusang spirit tree was personally planted by the dean 1,300 years ago. Of the several hundred trees planted at the same time, only this one has survived the years.”

“This white stone is jokingly called the ‘Love Pledge Stone’ by our brothers and sisters. Legend has it that Master Wan Liang and Sister Qiao Wei pledged their love there.”

“On summer nights, there are many fireflies here, and many senior sisters and junior sisters like to come here to practice swordsmanship.”

“And the forest up ahead, it’s said to have originally been a rhododendron forest, but it was destroyed by two brothers sparring here over a decade ago, so they replanted it with plum trees. That’s why this forest is so much shorter than the surrounding ones…”

The Yuanshui Tianhu lineage had a long history, and every plant and tree on the mountain had its own story. Along the way, Wang Liyao heard many interesting anecdotes from Lu Xianghui, feeling as if her eyes were being opened to a whole new world.

As they talked, they emerged from the plum forest, and other figures began to appear intermittently on the mountain path ahead.

A gentle breeze stirred, causing the shadows of the trees to sway and bringing with it a few strands of moist mist.

“The concentration of Yuanshui spiritual energy around us has increased,” Wang Liyao noted with a raised eyebrow, “Are we close?”

“Sister apprentice is indeed perceptive,” Lu Xianghui said with a smile, “Past this forest, we’ll reach Yuanshui Tianhu. At our current pace, we’ll arrive in no more than a quarter of an hour.”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but feel amazed at the speed of the spirit steeds.

Normally, when he traveled using his own movement techniques, he would need to rest for half a quarter of an hour after every quarter of an hour of travel. It would take at least a day to get from Qianqiu Hall to here, but who could have imagined they would arrive so quickly?

Today, he was indeed basking in the light of his little sister apprentice~

A quarter of an hour passed quickly.

After riding the spirit oxen past a towering black rock, Wang Liyao suddenly found her vision brighten. The surrounding forest abruptly thinned out, and the sunlight became more brilliant.

A little further on, the view opened up dramatically, and vast expanses of blue suddenly burst into her sight.

It was a huge, azure lake.

The sunlight poured down, making the smooth surface of the lake shimmer like sapphire, crystal clear. A gentle breeze brought ripples across the lake, shattering the reflections of the blue sky and white clouds, but it also stirred up more delicate glimmers of light.

In the sky, there were faint streams of light moving, like silky ribbons, constantly changing colors and shapes, weaving together a myriad of fantastical illusions.

Everything in front of her was like a huge painting, beautiful and surreal.

The impact of this scene was so great that Wang Liyao couldn’t help but widen her eyes, stunned and speechless by the gorgeous scenery.

“How is it? Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Lu Xianghui flicked the reins, leading the spirit oxen forward a few steps, his face revealing a proud smile. He too had been thoroughly amazed the first time he saw the lake and naturally understood Wang Liyao’s feelings at this moment.

“Yuanshui Tianhu, truly lives up to its reputation.”

Hearing this, Wang Liyao came back to her senses, taking a deep breath, her expression filled with emotion.

Her family’s Zhuwei Lake was also beautiful, but the beauty here was completely different.

The beauty of Zhuwei Lake was full of poetic charm, but the lake before her eyes was more like a gem that had fallen from the heavens to earth, possessing a pure and ethereal beauty, untainted by the slightest trace of mundanity, making it seem especially sacred and inviolable.

Moreover, what shocked her was not just the scenery, but also the concentration of spiritual energy around her.

The density of spiritual energy here was several levels higher than at her home.

Just standing here, breathing lightly, she could feel that every breath she took was filled with rich Yuanshui spiritual energy, as if her body was being permeated by it, feeling incredibly comfortable and pleasant.

There must be a powerful spiritual vein beneath Yuanshui Tianhu.

“What are those floating lights in the sky?”

At this moment, Wang Liyao had recovered from her shock and pointed to the floating lights in the sky, asking.

“Oh, that’s the Water Curtain Sky Splendor,” Lu Xianghui explained, “It’s our Yuanshui Tianhu lineage’s protective formation. It’s daytime now, so it’s not very clear, but at night, when the lights flow in the sky, it’s like a river flowing above, ten times more beautiful than now.”

“I see.”

Wang Liyao nodded in understanding.

As they spoke, the two had already ridden their spirit oxen to the lakeside.

Not far from the lake, there was a ferry port, and a medium-sized ferry boat was docked at the pier. Several young people dressed in the attire of the Yuanshui Tianhu lineage disciples were queuing up to register and board the boat.

“Although the entire Yuanshui Tianshan belongs to our Yuanshui Tianhu lineage, the place where we usually practice and study is actually located on an island in the center of the lake. Our Yuanshui Shangren’s Yuanshui Pavilion is also on the Lake Heart Island.”

Lu Xianghui tied the two spirit oxen to the animal pen by the lake and led Wang Liyao towards the lakeside, explaining as they walked.

“We’ll take the ferry over in a moment. Once we’re on the island, I’ll introduce you to the situation there. Believe me, joining our Yuanshui Tianhu lineage, you won’t regret it.”

As they spoke, the two had already arrived at the ferry port.

Lu Xianghui, familiar with the process, registered his identity and had Wang Liyao show her pass to the disciple in charge, then led her onto the ferry, sitting down near the railing.

The ferry was not much different from the ones used for ferrying across the An River. After Wang Liyao sat down, she turned her attention back to the lake outside.

Soon, the ferry set sail.

Midway through the journey, Wang Liyao’s gaze suddenly fell on the lake surface: “Huh? What’s that?”

There were quite a few large and small black dots swimming on the lake, their shapes and outlines strikingly similar to the Yuanshui spirit turtles raised by her family, making her feel both familiar and nostalgic.

Moreover, she noticed that there were actually people standing on the backs of two of the turtles, looking like mounts.

“Oh, you mean the Yuanshui spirit turtles?” Lu Xianghui looked out and immediately understood, “A large group of Yuanshui spirit turtles live in this lake, and many brothers have them as mounts. You’ll get used to seeing them after a while.”

Wang Liyao was somewhat surprised: “But isn’t that too many? There must be at least a hundred here.”

It was not unusual for the Zifu Academy to breed spirit beasts, but the scale of these Yuanshui spirit turtles was indeed astonishing.

“Sister apprentice might not know this,” Lu Xianghui said with a proud smile, “There lives a seventh-order spirit turtle in this lake, and these are its kin and offspring. It is because of the old turtle’s protection that these spirit turtles are considered the overlords of Yuanshui Tianhu, and even the academy’s disciples dare not provoke them lightly.”

“However, among these spirit turtles, there are quite a few that are friendly to humans. Occasionally, some disciples are lucky or powerful enough to gain the favor of a spirit turtle and make it their mount,” he said, pointing to the two spirit turtles with people on their backs on the lake, “Those two are core disciples of our Yuanshui Tianhu lineage, and many disciples in the academy envy them~”

“I see.”

Wang Liyao nodded in realization, feeling somewhat moved.

Her Wang’s Clan had raised a Yuanshui spirit turtle, which had attracted the envy of many families, but she had not expected that there would be such a large group of them in Yuanshui Tianhu.

Several young disciples sitting nearby heard their conversation and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Is this sister apprentice’s first time here?” one of the young men said with a smile, “The old turtle in this lake is the dean’s spirit pet and is considered an ancestor in our place. Among its offspring, there are also several with good talents, and it is said that they have the potential to become sixth-order or even seventh-order spirit beasts~”

Hearing this, another young disciple also chimed in, “If sister apprentice is interested, you can try your luck. Maybe one of the spirit turtles will take a liking to you~”

As they were talking.

Suddenly.

A noisy shouting came from the lake surface ahead.

“Quick, quick, quick! Block it! Don’t let it escape!”

“To the right! Block it quickly!”

“Watch out for the water arrows!”

Wang Liyao looked in the direction of the noise and saw a boat about the same size as theirs stopped on the lake to the left front. On the deck, several young people dressed in the attire of the Yuanshui Tianhu lineage disciples were forming a circle, rolling up their sleeves and wielding tools, trying to capture a giant pearl clam that was frantically trying to escape.

She watched with curiosity and asked, “What’s this about?”

“Oh, that’s another specialty of our Yuanshui Tianhu, the Yuanshui pearl clam,” Lu Xianghui explained, “Those brothers are harvesting pearls. The pearls produced by the Yuanshui pearl clams are fourth-grade spiritual materials, not only useful in medicine, but the jewelry made from them can also nourish the skin and improve complexion, making them quite popular among female cultivators.”

“Qianqiu Hall can take on academy tasks for pearl harvesting, and the rewards in academic credits are quite generous,” the young man beside them said enviously, “However, that’s a task only disciples at the Lingtai realm can take on. We don’t have the cultivation level to even accept it.”

“Oh.”

Wang Liyao nodded in understanding.

As they spoke, the brothers on the other boat finally managed to control the Yuanshui pearl clam, which was as tall as half a person, and fixed it to a rack on the deck.

Then, one of the brothers took out a green spirit herb and, using some method, coaxed it to open its shell, then climbed into the shell and retrieved several fist-sized colored pearls.

From a distance, they could also hear snippets of conversation drifting from the other boat.

“Don’t forget to plant a new pearl nucleus…”

“We’re one pearl clam short of completing the task…”

“Move quickly, maybe…”

Wang Liyao watched with great interest, finding it all very novel.

The academy was indeed different from home~

Along the way, everything she saw and heard in the academy was so different from the outside world. It was as if this place was another world, with its own set of rules.

No wonder her father insisted on sending her to the academy, saying that “without going out to see the world, one does not know the vastness of heaven and earth.” There was indeed some truth to it.

Apart from cultivation, the academy must have many other things to teach her.

…

Meanwhile, inside the main hall on Yuanshui Island.

In the Zifu Academy, the Shangren who were not out on missions gathered together.

“Changchun brother, how is the condition of my unworthy disciple Yu Hang?” Yuanshui Shangren, dressed in a water-blue robe and as gentle as a refined gentleman, bowed to Changchun Shangren who had just emerged from the secret chamber.

The Yuanshui lineage was also skilled in healing, but this time, the injury of his beloved disciple Yu Hang was too severe. His Qi Sea Xuan Core was almost shattered, and the Xuan Yin Sha poison had nearly spread throughout his organs. If it weren’t for Yu Hang’s profound cultivation and the thick Yuanshui Xuan Qi in his body, along with the support of a sixth-grade life-extending Golden Elixir, he might not have survived long enough to make it home.

Therefore, Yuanshui Shangren placed all his hopes on Changchun Shangren.

Changchun Shangren’s face, as tender as a baby’s, was slightly pale and tired: “Fortunately, his mastery of the ‘Yuanshui True Scripture’ is profound, and his injuries have been temporarily stabilized. However, the damage to the Xuan Core in his Qi Sea is too severe, and he must take Yuanshui essence for a long time to heal gradually.””However, the most troublesome is the Xuan Yin Sha Poison. This poison is several times more ferocious and vicious than the common Yin Sha Poison. It has already penetrated deep into his viscera, lungs, and meridians. Without removing this poison, I’m afraid his injuries will not heal day by day. He needs to take a long-term course of fifth-grade fire-elemental elixirs—the Xuan Yang Fierce Fire Pill—to gradually neutralize and extract the Xuan Yin Sha Poison, and use the fifth-grade Yang Yuan Pill to nourish the damaged viscera and meridians.”

“Even so, the consumption of resources will be enormous. If things don’t go well, it might take eight to ten years for a full recovery.”

The tense mood of the Yuanshui Ascendant slightly relaxed: “Yu Hang was injured on the battlefield beyond the realm. Neither the Lingyun Holy Land nor The Great Qian can afford to stay out of this matter. Plus, with the subsidies from our academy, we should be able to pool enough resources for the expenditure.”

The other ascendants all nodded in agreement, indeed, that was the case. It would be unreasonable to expect the disciples to fight for the country and all of humanity, only to be neglected when they are injured, wouldn’t it?

Not to mention that the Yuanshui Ascendant would not agree, even they would not consent. Who doesn’t have a direct disciple carrying out missions on the battlefield beyond the realm?

…