Chapter 10: A Pond You Can't Get Out Of

"Why is this mountain peak deserted, so quiet?"

"But the scenery is not bad."

After landing, Su Wenjiu looked around.

She wasn't in a hurry about the matter of accepting disciples; after all, now that she was here, there was no escaping.

First, she wanted to assess her surroundings.

By observing the traces left behind, she could get a preliminary understanding of Lin Feng's master.

For example, she could determine the owner's personality by examining the layout style.

Or by looking at some formation facilities, she could ascertain the owner's strength.

This would prevent any unexpected situations during negotiations and make things go much smoother.

It was also because she valued Lin Feng too much.

Otherwise, why bother with such effort for an ordinary person?

Just toss out some benefits casually, and if the disciple was willing, fine; if not, it didn't matter.

"Besides the scenery, there doesn't seem to be anything else here."

After a casual observation, Su Wenjiu couldn't help but mutter, "The owner is most likely just an ordinary cultivator, nothing particularly special."

"Well, let's just go directly to him and be upfront."

"If it doesn't go smoothly, facing such a genius disciple, it might be unavoidable to use some force."

Su Wenjiu made this decision. Just as she was about to use her divine sense to locate where Zhong Qing was specifically, the next moment, something deeply attracted her attention.

It was a small pond, no more than two yards in length and width.

Snow piled up on the edge of the pond.

The water in the pond, for some reason, looked pitch black, and it was impossible to see the bottom.

In the center of the pitch-black water floated a pure white lotus.

The lotus had nine petals, set against the black water, it looked like the white moonlight on the fifteenth night.

Su Wenjiu's gaze was deeply attracted by this white lotus.

In the cold winter, a white lotus floating in the center of the pond was already quite surprising.

Moreover, the lotus itself didn't emit any unusual aura, it seemed to be just an ordinary plant.

But even so, Su Wenjiu couldn't help but feel delighted and picked it.

She couldn't help but walk towards the edge of the pond, her delicate feet enveloped in a thick aura, stepping onto the water's surface.

As her toes touched the water, ripples spread across the pitch-black water.

With her feet in the water, she gradually approached the lotus step by step.

However.

After walking a few steps, she felt something was wrong.

The pond was only two yards long and wide, and from the shore to the center of the pond, it was only a yard, a distance even a child could cover in ten steps.

However, she had walked a few steps just now, but she didn't get closer to the lotus. On the contrary, visually, the distance between the lotus and her was the same as when she was on the shore.

"Hmm?"

Su Wenjiu furrowed her brows lightly.

She simply lightly touched the water's surface with her jade feet, her whole person lifted into the air, and flew towards the lotus.

However.

When she landed again, she found that she and the lotus were still the same distance apart.

But before she could be surprised, she suddenly realized that she couldn't see the opposite bank of the pond anymore?

Looking around again, not only the opposite bank but also the banks she came from and the ones on both sides were nowhere to be seen.

Except for the bright white lotus that her gaze could reach but couldn't touch, there was only the vast black water, endless, like being in the middle of the sea.

"Illusion?"

"Interesting."

Seeing this scene, Su Wenjiu's mouth revealed a hint of playfulness.

"Let's see how I break this illusion."

Su Wenjiu remained calm, sitting cross-legged on the water's surface, entering a state of meditation.

Facing a typical illusion, as long as one's mind wasn't affected, remaining as calm as still water, it could be broken without attacking.

After a brief entry into a trance, Su Wenjiu opened her beautiful eyes again.

She thought that after opening her eyes, the illusion would be broken, but she found herself still in the midst of the endless black water, and besides the dazzling white lotus, there was nothing else in sight.

"Something's not right."

Su Wenjiu's expression became slightly serious.

"Since breaking it earlier didn't work, I'll have to use brute force."

Su Wenjiu was very confident in her strength.

Although she was of the younger generation, she was the number one figure in the history of the Sunrise Valley's younger generation, having reached the Moon Profound Realm a year ago.

"Ha!"

With a light shout, abundant aura enveloped her jade palms.

Then, with a palm strike, the water's surface erupted with huge waves, sweeping across dozens of miles.

With her full Moon Profound Realm power, even if the pond was ten times or a hundred times larger, it would evaporate instantly.

Even the most powerful illusion, once its foundation intermediary was destroyed, couldn't be maintained.

However.

As she confidently waited for the illusion to break, she found that a long time had passed, and even the effects of her previous attack had returned to calm, but the illusion remained unbroken!

There was still the same endless black sea.

"What?"

"Can't break the illusion?"

Su Wenjiu's brows furrowed, her playful demeanor from earlier completely gone.

She looked at the only reference point in front of her, the white lotus.

"I don't believe it."

She directly rose into the air from the water, exerting all the speed she had in the Moon Profound Realm and flew towards the white lotus.

Days passed.

In the blink of an eye, two days had gone by.

Su Wenjiu's slender body stood on the water's surface, and although her exquisite pretty face still looked good, it couldn't hide the fatigue and dejection on it.

Gone was the calm and composure from the previous two days.

Replacing it was a flicker of panic that occasionally flashed in her eyes.

Because she had flown in the direction of the white lotus at her maximum speed for two days, but she still hadn't left this small pond.

Nor had she touched the white lotus; it always remained a yard away from her line of sight.

"What kind of illusion is this!"

Su Wenjiu clenched her teeth tightly.

The feeling of powerlessness that came from exhausting all methods and still not being able to get out, made her unconsciously anxious.

She even tried to seek help from the sect using communication jade slips, but it was like throwing a stone into the ocean.

Just then, she suddenly felt something stirring under her feet in the water.

Instinctively, she shot up into the air.

When she looked down at the water's surface after soaring thousands of feet into the air, her eyes widened.

Because there was a huge creature swimming in the water.

It was tens of thousands of feet long.

It was completely red, and it was indistinct, like a dragon and yet like a serpent, slowly swimming in the water.

As it swam, the water surface slowly broke, revealing its arched back, which from above looked like a mountain range stretching for tens of miles.

But its huge body wasn't what made Su Wenjiu feel terrified.

What truly terrified her was the aura emitted by this huge creature.

The aura wasn't aimed at her, it was just inadvertently released.

But just this bit of unintentional aura made Su Wenjiu's scalp tingle. Without a doubt, if it breathed out, she would be annihilated.

At the same time, she seemed to have thought of a terrifying possibility...