The Black Pond’s water was icy cold. It was as though it had been formed by Yin Qi. Not only that, visibility in the water was also very poor. Yun Jiuge could see nothing but an expanse of black before her, like the deep sea.

Broom Eyebrows Chen fished out a light blue pearl from his sack. He then injected his Spiritual Power into the pearl, and it began emitting a faint light. The light allowed them to roughly make out their surroundings within a 10-meter radius.

Yun Jiuge swam about adeptly, always maintaining a considerable distance from Broom Eyebrows Chen and his underlings.

Broom Eyebrows Chen did not seem to have any intention of approaching her anyway. He led his underlings towards the depths of the pond, and they soon found a bunch of black reeds at the bottom of the pond. The reeds looked very beautiful and emanated a gentle light.

Broom Eyebrows Chen waved the pearl in his hand at Yun Jiuge, and a string of words began to form.

“We’ll gather the Black Crystal Reeds. Cast a protective spell over us!”

Yun Jiuge moved her hands about to signal that she understood.

Broom Eyebrows Chen and his underlings slowly swam to the bottom of the pond. They then stretched their hands out and yanked the Black Crystal Reeds out of the ground.

Just as they did that, the originally tranquil pond suddenly became turbulent. It was as though some deep-sea monster had just been awakened from its slumber.

Next, Yun Jiuge noticed countless big-sized fishes with snow white scales charging towards her from a distance. The fishes were moving at such an alarming speed that their movements created a disturbance in the water.

The fishes’ mouths were packed with numerous white, razor-sharp teeth. They did not look friendly, and they certainly did not look like they were herbivorous either.

Broom Eyebrows Chen immediately injected Spiritual Power into his blue pearl. Thereafter, a faint blue light enveloped him and his four underlings.

“Heh heh! Face your death, Yun Jiu!” A smug smile formed on Broom Eyebrows Chen’s lips.

Su Junqing had given the five of them the real Qi Condensation and Water Repelling Pill before they entered the Secret Realm.

The pill that Yun Jiu had received earlier was just an ordinary Water Repelling Pill, and its effects were short-lived. Yun Jiuge would definitely not be able to escape from this Black Pond before the effects of the pill went away.

Broom Eyebrows Chen became immensely excited when he thought about how Yun Jiu would be ripped to shreds by the Fang Fishes right before his eyes, and he began imagining the bloody mess that would ensue after.

To his surprise, Yun Jiu was completely unfazed by the pack of Fang Fishes charging at him. He calmly took out a black bag from his sack and poured out its contents.

Numerous thin white bones drifted out from the bag and swiftly assembled themselves into the shape of a monkey.

In the next second, the Soul Fire lit up over the monkey’s head, and it spat out a gray light that enveloped Yun Jiu’s body.

Broom Eyebrows Chen could not stop staring at the monkey. He clearly recognized the Xuan Yin White Bone Monkey.

Feelings of greed surfaced within him. The Xuan Yin White Bone Monkey would greatly aid any cultivator who practiced the Devilish Cultivation. If he could get his hands on it, he would definitely be able to reach the Foundation Establishment stage soon.

However, before Broom Eyebrows Chen could even think about how he could snatch the Xuan Yin White Bone Monkey, he saw Yun Jiu placing a light blue stone in his mouth. Thereafter, Yun Jiu swam towards them at a speed that was even faster than that of the Fang Fishes’.

In the next moment, boom! — an explosion went off.

Three black Bone Spurs that shone in a variety of colors slammed against Broom Eyebrows Chen’s protective barrier.

After experiencing a series of violent tremors, the light from the protective barrier began to fade away.

Yun Jiuge waved her hands once more and the three Bone Spurs collided against the protective barrier once again.

This time, the light blue pearl shattered into smithereens, and the protective barrier vanished as well.

Broom Eyebrows Chen was immediately shaken by the fact that his protective barrier was gone. He quickly realized that Yun Jiu had seen through his trap, and he immediately fled the scene with his underlings.

Yun Jiuge’s lustrous black hair swayed gently around her as she floated in the water. She resembled a beautiful water spirit with her pale face, faintly red eyelids, light purplish lips and intricate facial features.

She fixed her icy gaze on Broom Eyebrows Chen and his underlings. The way she looked at the five of them was akin to how a seasoned pathologist would look at corpses.

She gently waved her white hand to the side, and the three Bone Spurs immediately transformed into wisps of black smoke. The black smoke then circled Broom Eyebrows Chen and his underlings and slashed their skins.

The blood that spilled from the cuts on their bodies sent the Fang Fishes into a frenzy.

Broom Eyebrows Chen widened his eyes in fear. Su Junqing had repeatedly warned them against bleeding while they were in the Black Pond because the pills would lose their effects the moment they bled.

Escape! They had to escape right now!

Broom Eyebrows Chen brandished his Bone Spur and injected all his Spiritual Power into it as he bolted towards the water’s surface. The other disciples followed suit.

Yun Jiuge made her way over to the bottom of the pond where the Black Crystal Reeds were. She then watched the five of them scramble for their lives as she languidly gathered the Black Crystal Reeds.

When it came to conquering the Qi Condensation and Water Repelling Pill, what other thing in this world could possibly be more effective than her Xuan Yin White Bone Monkey and Blue Crystal?

The Fang Fishes completely disregarded her and the White Bone Monkey as they chased after Broom Eyebrows Chen and his underlings crazily.

Broom Eyebrows Chen and his underlings tried their best to fight against the hordes of Fang Fishes that surrounded them, but they were eventually overpowered as their flesh got nibbled away. It did not take long before the entire pond turned bright red with blood…

Back at the campsite, Su Junqing was wide awake and waiting for Broom Eyebrows Chen and his underlings to return. He could not stop himself from looking at the entrance of the valley every now and then.

Based on his calculations, Broom Eyebrows Chen and his underlings should have finished the task by now. But, why weren’t there any signs of them yet?

At this moment, a disciple who had been assigned to patrol the area ran towards him frantically and said, “Senior Yun Jiu has returned, and he’s brought back a lot of Black Crystal Reeds!”

The disciple had just finished his words when a slender figure appeared at the entrance to the valley with a load of Black Crystal Reeds on his back.

The sack that he carried around his waist was partially open, and a lump of Black Crystal Reeds was sticking out from within. It looked like the sack could not be closed properly because it was too full.

“Senior Yun Jiu is the best!” The disciples began cheering when they saw how many Black Crystal Reeds he was carrying on him. The sight of Yun Jiu carrying a load of Black Crystal Reeds on his back only signified one thing:

The sack could not hold all of the Black Crystal Reeds that he had gathered.

The Low-rank Disciples were worried that there wouldn’t be enough Black Crystal Reeds for everyone, but now it looked like their worries were unfounded.

Su Junqing nearly blew his top when he saw Yun Jiuge return to the valley.

“Broom Eyebrows Chen and his underlings are so useless!” Su Junqing thought to himself. He had come up with such an elaborate plan to get rid of Yun Jiu, but Yun Jiu actually survived!

“Senior Su, we won’t have any problems making our way across the Death Swamp with this many Black Crystal Reeds on our hands, right?” Liu Tian’er asked Su Junqing with a sweet smile. It was as if she didn’t see the unpleasant expression on his face.

“There shouldn’t be any problems at all,” Su Junqing replied with a forced smile.

“Senior Su, I’ve successfully finished the mission.” Yun Jiuge tossed the load of Black Crystal Reeds in front of Su Junqing.

“You sure are blessed with good luck, Junior Yun Jiu.” Su Junqing forced yet another smile before he looked behind Yun Jiuge, asking, “Where are Junior Chen and the others?”

“Senior Chen and the other disciples accidentally cut their hands when they were gathering the Black Crystal Reeds. Their blood attracted a lot of Fang Fishes and the situation became very dire. As they wanted to get the Black Crystal Reeds back to everyone at all costs, they then asked me to leave with the Black Crystal Reeds first. In the end, they were surrounded by the Fang Fishes and tragically lost their lives. The Fang Fishes devoured them whole — not even a single bone was left behind.” Yun Jiuge was expressionless as she spoke, but there was anguish in her voice.

“Aigh… Senior Chen is such a noble man…”

“Aigh… We’ll never forget Senior Chen’s kindness…”

The Liu Sisters began sobbing.

The rest of the disciples also concurred that Senior Chen and the other disciples had died honorably, and that they’d never forget how they sacrificed their lives.

“Pfft! What do you mean by ‘tragically lost their lives’? They were obviously killed by you!” Su Junqing’s thoughts roared inside his mind.

However, he did not want to say anything that would dampen the disciples’ mood further. All he could do was force a smile and say, “I’ll definitely report their heroic deeds to the sect once we go back. I’m sure they will get the credit they deserve.”

“Yes, yes. You should do that.” The disciples nodded their heads in unison. However, in their minds they were all thinking the same thing: what was the point of applauding their actions when they were already dead?