After thinking it over from every angle, Song Changsheng could only attribute everything to Song Qingxi's natural talent.
Talent was an invisible, intangible thing yet undeniably real. Some people were born for body cultivation, others for swordsmanship.
Take Song Qingxing, for example he was a natural-born swordsman.
So, for Song Qingxi to possess some unique gift wasn't all that surprising. If anything, it was a good thing.
Song Changsheng withdrew his hand and asked curiously, "What did you pour on it just now?"
"This?" Song Qingxi lifted the jade bottle and gave it a little shake. "It's a spirit solution I mixed myself. It helps plants grow faster."
Song Changsheng took the bottle and examined it. As expected, it was a common type of spirit solution no different than fertilizer used for crops in his past life. The plum tree's change had nothing to do with it.
With no answers in sight, he decided to put the matter aside for now. He would observe the situation for a while longer to determine whether the change was just luck or truly due to Song Qingxi.
....
The next morning, after finishing his cultivation, Song Changsheng took a small boat to patrol Mirror Lake. The number of spirit fish in the lake had increased compared to before, but the fish king was nowhere to be found.
That puzzled him.
After some thought, he decided to ask the two children.
"Qingxi, let me ask you when you two were on the island, did anything unusual happen in the lake?"
Song Qingxi was casting a watering spell over the spiritual fields. Tilting her head in thought, she replied, "Hmm... not really. The lake has been super calm."
"Calm?" Song Changsheng frowned. "Whether the breakthrough succeeded or failed, there would've been fluctuations in spiritual energy. There's no way it should've been calm… unless it hasn't broken through yet?"
He stroked his chin in doubt.
At that moment, Song Qingxing, who had been quietly cultivating, suddenly spoke: "A month ago, something did happen in the lake."
Song Changsheng's brows rose. "Which direction?"
"Southeast. The water churned for nearly half an hour."
"The lake was churning? Then something must be down there."
Looking out over the now-tranquil water, Song Changsheng thought it over and finally decided to investigate. Water wouldn't stir for no reason something must've happened down below. It might even be related to the fish king.
With that, he turned to the two and warned, "There might be something beneath the lake. I'm going down to take a look. You two stay on the island and don't go near the water for now."
"You're going into the lake? That's too dangerous!"
Song Qingxi shook her head like a rattling drum.
Underwater, human cultivators were at a serious disadvantage if he ran into a water demon, he'd be nothing more than a snack.
Song Changsheng chuckled and ruffled her soft hair.
"Don't worry. I never head into danger unprepared. I'll be back before you know it."
In the past, he wouldn't have dared venture into the water so recklessly. But now, he had a Water-Repelling Pearl he'd recently come across by chance and it was finally time to put it to use.
He placed the pearl in his mouth, and then dove straight into the lake. The moment he entered the water, a thin, transparent membrane enveloped his body, completely blocking out the lake water.
Song Changsheng could move and breathe underwater as if he were on land.
Mirror Lake was far deeper than he had imagined. Darkness enveloped everything below, and visibility was extremely poor.
He activated the Eye of True Sight once more, and instantly, the underwater world shifted into shades of gray and white. Occasionally, glowing dots of light swam past those were spirit fish.
After descending for a while, his feet finally touched the muddy lakebed. He cast a Water Manipulation Spell and swiftly moved toward the southeastern area where Song Qingxing had noticed the disturbance.
As he got closer, Song Changsheng keenly sensed something was off the water's current was growing steadily stronger.
His spirits lifted, and he immediately picked up speed. The treasure gourd appeared in his hand he was ready for a fight.
In just a few moments, he reached the section of the lake in question. Sure enough, the water here was subtly rippling. The disturbance was faint, making the surface appear deceptively calm.
Song Changsheng activated his ocular technique and scanned the area, but saw no sign of any water demon.
"If it's not a water demon causing this disturbance, then what's responsible for it?" he muttered, frowning.
Circling the area, he soon noticed that the lake water to the left was flowing much faster as if something was either pushing it or pulling it inward.
Swimming upstream against the current, it didn't take long before Song Changsheng found the source: a large hole at the bottom of the lake, with a steady stream of groundwater gushing into Mirror Lake.
Song Changsheng was stunned. Could there be an underground water vein connected to this lake?
Staring at the pitch-black hole, he didn't hesitate. He dove in. Now that he'd discovered it, he had to find out where it led.
If it connected to the area outside Little Azure Mountain, that would be a major security risk. An enemy could potentially sneak into Mirror Lake unnoticed.
Cautiously, he made his way upstream through the narrow underwater tunnel, no more than a few meters wide. After about fifteen minutes, the passage suddenly opened up the waterway had become vast and spacious.
He figured he had entered an underground river. Rising upward, he quickly broke through to the surface.
Glancing around, he found himself in a huge, pitch-black cavern. Apart from the sound of flowing water, it was utterly silent.
He cast a Daylight Spell, and in the glow, he saw that he was floating in the center of a broad subterranean river. The ceiling above was more than ten meters high, giving the space an eerie, cavernous feeling.
"I didn't expect Mirror Lake to be connected to such a massive underground river. The only question is how long does it stretch?"
Behind him was a smooth stone wall; if he wanted to explore further, he could only move forward.
Since he had already come this far, Song Changsheng wasn't about to back down. He continued along the dark river.
Roughly half an hour later, as he rounded a large bend, a surge of pure water-element spiritual energy suddenly hit him.
"Could there be a water spirit vein beneath this river?" he thought, his eyes lighting up. A water spirit vein was incredibly valuable.
Heart pounding with excitement, he accelerated.
As he rounded the bend, the space opened up again. The rich water's spiritual energy was almost intoxicating it felt wonderfully nourishing.
"I've reached the end… This underground lake might be just as big as Mirror Lake itself!" he murmured as he took in the scene. He had reached the source of the underground river: a massive subterranean lake.
What surprised him most, however, was that plants were growing in this underground lake. On the eastern side of the lake, a large stretch of jet-black lotus leaves spread across nearly a third of the water's surface.
At the center of those leaves stood a lotus pod the size of a plate, its seeds dark as black gems, radiating powerful spiritual energy.
Song Changsheng's eyes widened in shock.
"Black Jade Ghost Lotus?!"
He rushed forward to confirm his suspicion but in the next instant, an overwhelming sense of danger slammed into him.
His expression changed drastically, and he immediately retreated with all his strength…
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