Two quarters of an hour later, all that met the eye was darkness and cold.
Is this a lake? Or more like a deep-sea trench? Zhu Wu sighed quietly. Di Tian controlled the water-repelling bubble as it descended rapidly. Although they were going down at a slant, Zhu Wu estimated the depth was at least a thousand meters—and yet, they still hadn't reached the bottom.
This depth was honestly a bit absurd.
But then again, considering that the deepest freshwater lake in the previous life exceeded 1,600 meters, it didn't seem so unreasonable.
After a long time, for some inexplicable reason, Zhu Wu suddenly felt the surrounding space ripple.
In the next second, his vision shifted. Before him lay a vast, eerie stone forest covered with all kinds of vegetation, lush and vibrant, bursting with flowers in full bloom. In the center was a large open clearing, where several figures were seated in a circle. At the very core lay a white silkworm, from which a milky-white aura continuously rose, drifting toward the surrounding figures.
"Looks like it's been captured by now," Zhu Wu thought without even guessing—it was the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm mentioned in the sequel.
How pitiful—it's being drained right now!
Damn, it's really beautiful. Di Tian's luck is impressive. As the bubble rapidly descended, Zhu Wu clearly saw two humanoid female figures standing ahead. On the left was a woman in a jade-green long dress, her face exquisitely beautiful, elegant and serene—a gentle type at first glance. On the right stood a figure covered in purple-black scales, slender with smooth pale skin below the neck, purple hair, and purple eyes, her aura exotic and cold.
Purple Ji. Her identity was obvious from her appearance.
Conquering such a high-cold great mother dragon must be quite an achievement. Zhu Wu wondered what San Yan Jin Ni would look like if transformed into human form… His thoughts drifted inexplicably.
To be honest, if the opportunity arose to subdue a dragon and tame a Ni, it wouldn't be a bad thing—preferably a dragon belonging to the Silver Dragon King.
If you're going to do it, be the king's man!
Having a romantic mindset does have its perks—at least you get to be the only one, and you don't have to worry about getting scammed!
Lost in thought, the bubble landed on a nearby clearing and dissolved into nothingness.
"Bi Ji, greetings to the elder." The green-clothed woman stepped forward and politely bowed.
"No need for formalities, just call me Zhu Wu," Zhu Wu calmly replied with a smile. "Most of my memories have been lost, so in terms of experience, I'm far behind compared to you all."
"Since you're all friends of Di Tian's Chief Guard, let's consider ourselves peers."
Bi Ji glanced at Di Tian, who nodded slightly.
"From today on, Zhu Wu's status is equal to mine. I'll explain more about him later." Di Tian cast a glance at the dark golden giant bear standing behind them, looking very uncooperative, and continued, "From now on, do not treat him lightly."
"Of course," Bi Ji smiled gently.
Having such a capable partner definitely made things easier. Thinking of the jerk Zhu Wu met in his previous life, he wanted to curse.
But his face remained calm. His eyes shifted to observe the other fierce beasts, then noticed Purple Ji standing beside Bi Ji, who just withdrew her gaze from him and turned to look at Di Tian instead.
Zhu Wu's lips pursed slightly, his eyes tinged with a hint of grievance.
Had they quarreled? Zhu Wu wondered.
"Zhu Wu, let's go. I'll introduce the others to you after we meet the master," Di Tian's voice suddenly came.
Purple Ji's expression clearly darkened, and she fell silent. The other fierce beasts' faces changed as well.
It was clearly an urgent matter for Di Tian to want to wake the master earlier than planned. At the same time, it confirmed Zhu Wu's identity and status. None of them had met this so-called master before.
"Alright." Zhu Wu nodded and followed Di Tian, heading toward a canyon on the right side.
"Hey." Bi Ji looked back at Purple Ji and sighed quietly, remaining silent.
"Bear Lord, I suggest you be polite to him from now on. I know you look down on his previous form as a parasite, but think about whose parasite he was," the Ten Thousand Demon King, also transformed into human form, said as they walked away. "Before his fall, he was a true god. Even the weakest one like him could probably slap you dead with one hand."
"Hmph." The Bear Lord snorted coldly and returned to sit on the clearing.
Suck! The Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, imprisoned, was being fiercely drained.
If someone tries to suck me dry later, looks like I'm going to have one more person to worry about. Poor me, the Ice Silkworm thought desperately as it lay on the ground.
Meanwhile, Zhu Wu observed the surroundings and noticed Di Tian hadn't spoken for a long time, so he turned his head.
After sizing him up, he said, "What's wrong? Did you quarrel with your wife?"
"That purple-clothed woman was staring at you intently just now, and there seemed to be some resentment in her eyes."
"Zhu Wu, stop teasing me. Brother, I'm actually troubled by this," Di Tian said with a rare wry smile and a sigh, as if treating Zhu Wu like an old colleague of similar age. "That woman's name is Purple Ji. Her true form is a Hell Demon Dragon, with pure bloodline, considered a rising star among our dragon race. I've watched her grow since she was young, treating her like a daughter in my early years."
He even gave her that name himself.
Doing the math, Di Tian's cultivation age was about 810,000 years, while Purple Ji was less than 300,000—over 500,000 years difference. With that age gap, he wasn't just a father to Purple Ji, but practically an ancestor. No wonder he raised her from the start. Zhu Wu nodded slightly and waited for more.
"It's just that seeing her bloodline potential rivaling mine, I recognized her as a sworn sister after she passed her second thunder tribulation and became a fierce beast capable of human form. This was meant as both encouragement and supervision," Di Tian continued.
But unexpectedly, it caused trouble. Sworn daughter might be unreasonable, but sworn sister was acceptable, Zhu Wu thought as he glanced at him.
So Purple Ji felt worthy and got ideas. And you ended up accepting her!
Looking at it from Purple Ji's perspective, across the entire Starry Forest, the only qualified, talented, and capable beings who could live long enough to withstand multiple thunder tribulations and stay by her side were: Di Tian the dragon, a tree, a bear, and a three-headed dog.
Seems like there really wasn't much choice!
Plus, having to watch Di Tian and Bi Ji's public displays of affection every day—whether jealous or not, it had to stir something in her heart, like "Where is my true love? My destiny?" Suddenly Zhu Wu found it quite understandable.
"If only I had recognized her as my sworn daughter earlier," Di Tian said gloomily.
Zhu Wu couldn't tell Di Tian what the future held, so he vaguely comforted him, "Di Tian, it depends on whether you can get past that mental hurdle."
Honestly, maybe Di Tian accepted her because her 300,000-year thunder tribulation was approaching, and he worried that her resentment toward him would prevent her from passing it? At least, that was a good reason to convince himself.
But what does any of this have to do with me? How to take advantage of this situation and get out quickly is what I should be thinking!
"Ah," Di Tian sighed and shook his head. "Forget it, let's not talk about this. Let's hurry."
He shook his head and quickened his pace.
Zhu Wu nodded and followed silently.
Soon, the two arrived deep in the canyon. Ahead was a bare stone wall.
"Zhu Wu, wait here a moment," Di Tian said, striding forward and pressing his right hand against the wall.
Soul power flowed along his arm, swirling with black light. The stone wall rippled like flowing water, then suddenly undulated as his arm passed through it.
"An independent space?" Zhu Wu thought as he watched Di Tian step in and disappear.
No wonder the Silver Dragon King, who controls multiple elements, was behind this special space isolating the lake water.
Zhu Wu stood quietly, waiting.
(End of chapter)