CBGC - ch174

Chapter 174: Boundary Lake

“Demon core!”

Back in White Cloud Realm, Su Tingyun initially followed Xiao Mei's group to hunt spirit beasts and obtain spirit crystals in exchange for spirit stones. In the beast realm, however, the demon beasts have these small, round demon cores inside their bodies, about the size of a ping-pong ball. Because of its small size, Big Bai’s body has also shrunk considerably. As it rolls the core around, Su Tingyun mutters to herself, “Why isn’t Little Bai waking up yet?”

A sharp-eyed girl beast spots the demon core rolling on the ice, held by Big Bai, and exclaims loudly. Her voice is so loud that everyone hears her. Even the unconscious rabbit beast groggily wakes up, and once she’s up, she anxiously searches for Sister Jiu Yue. Upon seeing Jiu Yue in the center, looking like a dried-up corpse, she bursts into tears, drawing the attention of some of the other demons.

However, many demon beasts keep their eyes glued to the rolling demon core, their eyes practically glowing.

The demon core from a demon saint must be something extraordinary. Although Su Tingyun can’t sense any spiritual energy from it, for the beast race, it’s certainly no ordinary object.

Could these beast girls be thinking about snatching the demon core from Big Bai?

The strongest of these girls was the white peacock that had already died; the rest have faint and weak auras.

Meanwhile, Big Bai, though she looks shriveled after eating so many sacred fruits, has significantly stronger pressure than before. Though Su Tingyun isn’t sure exactly how much Big Bai has progressed, its small aura right now is unstable, making it hard to gauge.

Suddenly, the slightly older-looking beast girl leading the group rushes forward a few steps. She kneels down with a thud in front of Big Bai and starts kowtowing furiously, startling Big Bai so much that her body arches into a C-shape. She glares angrily at the demoness who rushed over.

“Chirp!” Big Bai, though chatty, still doesn’t like to speak to strangers. But Su Tingyun understands that this “chirp” means “Scram!”

The demon girl has grayish markings on her face, but it’s unclear which beast tribe she belongs to. After Big Bai’s shout, her body trembles, and due to her previous injuries and the tension she’s been under, the Pill holding her demon form finally fails. She suddenly transforms into a curled-up hedgehog. Curious, Big Bai nudges her, causing the hedgehog to roll away…

At that moment, several more demon girls muster up the courage to kneel before Big Bai. Soon, more and more follow, forming a dark mass of kneeling figures. The hedgehog that Big Bai had kicked away struggles in place, shifting forms until she barely maintains a half-demon shape. Choking on her words, she pleads, “Could you please save Priestess Jiu Yue?” After speaking, she kowtows again, and her forehead instantly becomes bloodied and raw.

Su Tingyun had thought these girls were coveting the demon core, but to her surprise, they are pleading for Jiu Yue.

Of course, she had returned Jiu Yue’s life force, sparing her from immediate danger. But Jiu Yue still looks like a dried-up corpse, hasn’t woken up, and most of her nine tails are damaged. Her strength has significantly diminished, so these girls probably believe her life is still at risk.

Big Bai is particularly obsessed with round objects, and even Su Tingyun finds it hard to take something spherical from her belly. All the beast girls are kneeling and kowtowing to Big Bai. Initially, Big Bai glares at them while in a C-shape, but after a while, she just stares blankly at the crowd, quietly pressing the demon core under its belly.

Su Tingyun asks Xuanyuan Wentian about the purpose of the demon core. He lazily replies, “If Jiu Yue eats the demon core, not only will she recover, but her strength will also greatly increase.”

Before death, demons often pass their cores on to their kin, or destroy them outright. Since the Yayu died suddenly, its core remained intact. A demon’s core can self-destruct upon death, which prevents the hunting and stealing of cores among the same race. This makes powerful demon cores extremely rare.

The girls can’t steal the core from Big Bai, so they can only kneel and beg, not for themselves but for Jiu Yue.

Su Tingyun takes a deep breath and telepathically asks Big Bai, “Big Bai, why haven’t you eaten the core?” If it’s something that enhances cultivation, Big Bai would have devoured it already, just like when she eagerly gnawed on the Kunlun Divine Tree and later ate all the sacred fruits. Big Bai has a keen sense for good things, so it’s odd that she hasn’t eaten the core and is just playing with it.

“I don’t like it,” Big Bai answers.

Could it be that Big Bai is a vegetarian?

Obviously not. This simply means that the Beast Saint’s core doesn’t appeal to her. Since Big Bai isn’t interested, Su Tingyun hopes she'll give the core to Jiu Yue. Just as she’s about to speak, the little rabbit demon, eyes red from crying, runs over and stops in front of Big Bai. Tearfully, she says, “They said that if Sister Jiu Yue eats the ball, she’ll get better.”

Big Bai responds with a chirp, which clearly means, “Not my problem.”

The little rabbit demon is the clumsiest of the group. She hasn’t eaten any wisdom-enhancing sacred fruits and is still very young, innocent, and a bit foolish. Standing there awkwardly, she wants to retrieve the core from under Big Bai but is too scared to move due to Big Bai’s overwhelming pressure. Her legs tremble, her fluffy bunny tail pops out, and her remaining long ear twitches uncontrollably as tears well up in her eyes.

Big Bai, disinterested, turns to hop back to Su Tingyun, but the rabbit demon boldly takes two quick steps and blocks its way.

The red-eyed rabbit faces off with the red Big Bai.

Earlier, Su Tingyun had pulled a round stone from the bottom of the frozen river. It neutralized the fire poison and was much larger than this demon core. Big Bai had swallowed it in one gulp. Su Tingyun thinks of using that stone to persuade Big Bai to give the demon core to Jiu Yue, but before she can say anything, the rabbit demon shakily removes two bell-like ornaments from her head. Tearfully, she says, “These were given to me by my mother. Let’s trade, okay?”

The two ornaments are round bells, similar to the bronze ones Su Tingyun had seen before, tied with a red string and adorned with a little bow. The rabbit demon always wore them in her hair. The bells are somewhat worn, and the sound they make is faint and dull, lacking clarity.

Big Bai, which has no eyes or nose, lies on the ground, her body pressing the demon core. She stares at the rabbit and the bells for a long time. Slowly, little by little, she shifts her body, squeezing the demon core out from underneath.

An agreement.

Big Bai agrees to the rabbit demon’s trade.

Carefully, the rabbit demon picks up the demon core and, on her own initiative, ties her butterfly-shaped bells onto one of Big Bai’s leaf-like appendages, in roughly the same position they used to be on her ear. The thin red string wraps around Big Bai’s leaf stem, and as Big Bai bounces, the bells emit a muted sound, which seems to make Big Bai much happier.

Big Bai says, “It sounds like Little Bai talking.”

“Granny, when will Little Bai wake up?”

Su Tingyun notices that Little Bai's leaves aren’t as red as before. After casting the “Spring Wind and Rain” technique over Little Bai a few times, she finally says, “Soon.”

“How are you feeling now? Any discomfort?”

"Granny, I'm feeling great, like I've swallowed the heart of the Divine Tree," Big Bai says happily. "I was feeling so hot before, but after eating the ice ball Granny gave me, I feel so comfortable."

Big Bai actually compares it to the heart of the Divine Tree. Seeing Big Bai in such a good state, Su Tingyun finally feels at ease. Since Big Bai is closely connected to Little Bai, the fact that Big Bai isn’t worried about Little Bai means that Little Bai is probably fine too. Su Tingyun exhales a long breath, relieved that their journey in the Beast Realm, despite its dangers, went smoothly. Big Bai's strength has greatly increased, and Xuanyuan Wentian, the demon lord, is still weakened, making this a blessing in disguise.

As she holds Big Bai, Su Tingyun watches as the demon girls feed the Yayu's core to Jiu Yue. Before long, noticeable changes appear on Jiu Yue's body. Her previously shriveled form begins to regain flesh and vitality at a visible rate. The girls cry tears of joy, and at this moment, the older hedgehog demon returns, bowing deeply to Su Tingyun and Big Bai.

"Thank you," she says.

"Thank you for saving us."

"Jiu Yue saved you, and you saved yourselves," Su Tingyun replies, waving her hand.

"No, we are lowly and weak, unable even to leave the depths of this abyss. We were abandoned by our clan," she says, tears welling in her eyes. "Priestess Jiu Yue was willing to save us. Now that she's alive and her strength is restored, I believe she will continue to protect us. Without her, we would have no way out."

The nine-tailed fox truly risked her life to protect them, so they believe in her wholeheartedly. These beast girls have no one else to rely on, so Jiu Yue is their only hope.

Su Tingyun nods and then asks, "Do you know where the Boundary Lake is in this realm?"

"Boundary Lake? What is that?" The demon girls know nothing about it and has never heard of it.

It seems she’ll have to ask Jiu Yue.

Fortunately, Jiu Yue wakes up quickly. When she opens her eyes and looks around, she asks, “I’m not dead?” Then she senses the spiritual energy within her, her charming eyes widening in surprise. “I…” She swings her nine long tails, their fur sleek and shiny, and bursts out laughing in delight.

The Beast Saint Yayu is dead, and after receiving its demon core, not only did Jiu Yue suffer no loss of strength, but her cultivation has significantly improved.

"Jiu Yue, you're awake! They helped us," the rabbit demon says, pointing to Big Bai in Su Tingyun's arms.

Big Bai lets out a shy chirp.

Su Tingyun greets Jiu Yue and then asks, “Where is the Boundary Lake in your realm?” She’s been delayed in the beast realm for a month and wants to leave soon to continue her search for the Ice Jade Realm.

Jiu Yue hesitates for a moment, then frowns and replies, “There is no Boundary Lake.”

Su Tingyun feels as if she’s been struck by lightning. “How is that possible?”

"Senior, there really isn't one," Jiu Yue says as she stands up. “What is the Boundary Lake? We’ve never heard of it, and I’ve never seen it.”

Given Jiu Yue’s strength, she should have been able to see the Boundary Lake after ascending, like opening a door to a higher realm. Once one's power reaches a certain level, the lake should naturally appear. After all, the True Immortal Realm is the highest level. But Jiu Yue has no knowledge of the True Immortal Realm or any sense of a Boundary Lake.

How is she going to leave...?

Su Tingyun frowns and explains the concept of the Three Thousand Realms to Jiu Yue. After listening, Jiu Yue suddenly says, “While there is no Boundary Lake, the Bodhi Mirror of Reality can create a lake in other places. The butterfly beasts used this method to enter Mount Tihuo and harvest sacred fruits.”

It requires a full moon night, drawing the essence of the moon, and channeling it into the Bodhi Mirror of Reality to open a path to Mount Tihu.

“Yes, that’s the lake.”

Su Tingyun had originally come through that lake. But when she arrived, the lake couldn’t be used to return to other realms anymore, right?

“The Bodhi Mirror of Reality is a divine artifact. I wasn’t strong enough before to know all of its capabilities, but I suspect that with my increased strength, I could open a lake to other realms within the Three Thousand Realms,” Jiu Yue says, her spiritual energy now significantly stronger. Her eyes brighten with realization.

She can now attempt to use the mirror’s power to succeed.

“The Bodhi Mirror of Reality indeed has that ability,” Xuanyuan Wentian interjects with a faint voice.

It feels like finding hope in the most hopeless moment. Though Su Tingyun is inwardly anxious, she maintains a calm appearance and gently says, “Then I’ll need your help.”

After all, she had helped save them, restored Jiu Yue’s strength, and Big Bai had given Jiu Yue the demon core. Jiu Yue doesn’t seem malicious, so she should agree. Still, to be safe, Su Tingyun plans to maintain an air of mystery, keeping Jiu Yue slightly wary of her.

Unexpectedly, Jiu Yue shakes her head.

She takes out the Bodhi Mirror of Reality and holds it out to Su Tingyun. “I used the mirror in battle against that… monster, and it cracked. It’s badly damaged and needs time to repair before it can be used again.”

She adds, “It also requires the full moon to function.” Despite her increased power, the mirror still requires the moon’s essence on a full moon night.

Su Tingyun stares at the cracked surface of the mirror, feeling a little helpless.

Jiu Yue suddenly smiles, “I’ll aim to have the Bodhi Mirror of Reality repaired by the next Mid-Autumn Festival. Don’t worry, senior.”

She twirls the mirror in her hand and then turns to the surviving demon girls, smiling gently. “Thank you.”

At that moment, Jiu Yue’s powerful aura radiates, and her nine tails swirl behind her, making her look like a regal demon queen.

Arrogant yet majestic, standing above the world.