The Circle of Elders were in distraught these few days as the meeting with the landbeast Lord still did not commence. They tried to distract themselves by joining the new enjoyable mind-sharpening technique popularized by one of the clansmen. It was said that the strange technique was graciously bestowed by the generous Lord herself for fun. They couldn't come to terms with how this expert's mind worked, but in some way, formed an extremely favorable impression on her. Losing a couple of spirit crystals to the Young Miss' faction in exchange for learning the technique was acceptable.
However, a chilling scream from the air pocket a few days later made the whole clan jittery.
"Is everything alright?! Is Mistress Hana hurt?!" Grand Elder Watershade tried to barge into the air pocket, but was barred by Ara. The previously clean air was filled with a coppery scent, a telltale of blood being spilled. He was the main host and must bear the responsibility if something untoward happened to the shrewd landbeast Lord. A war will break if the Mistress was truly hurt on their territory. The notorious serpent was excessively petty and vengeful.
When he tried to force his way, the Elemental Fiends went into formation and were ready to attack. The brown bird appeared and revealed its hostile aura; the googly-eyed cuteness was all but gone at the moment.
"Calm down, calm down, Gramps Watershade. It's nothing. We will handle it. Mistress had strictly told us not to let others near her. She's currently in a semi-closed door cultivation. Even a small disturbance could hurt her more." Ara explained while revealing a nervous look. The Grand Elder had no choice but to step back and returned worriedly to the main hall.
Around three days later, an undulation of energy coming from the air pocket occurred, alerting the Grand Elder and the rest again. Grand Elder Watershade was so shocked as he knew who this aura was from. It was from their very own Princess! The Young Miss advanced a small realm again in such a short amount of time!
This time, he went to have a look again, but was barred by the white glacier mirage fox. However, to his shock, he saw something unthinkable until his long whiskers jumped.
"Turn back and forget what you see, Old One. We will send the girl to you when everything is done here. Don't kepoh again."
"Err, kepoh? What does it mean?"
"Mind your own business." A curt reply came from the white fox.
…
On the third day, Hana opened her eyes. Her black irises were glowing in aquamarine blue at the moment. She was still sitting in a cross-legged position with Ara hovering directly in front of her. However, she noticed something was very wrong!
Hana was inside the water bubble with Ara! The large water bubble was covering her entire body! Currently, she was breathing in water! That was what shocked the Grand Elder before. Trying her best not to be hysteric, she patted her own heart multiple times. She tried to breathe in and out deeply, only to get more panic, since she was practically sucking in water from her nose and was still fine!
Trying her best to calm down, she immediately asked her beloved pet fox.
[What happen, Shi-chan?! Where's my smartphone?!]
Expertly twirling the matte-black smartphone midair by manipulating the spiritual energy, Shiro knew that will be the first question asked by Mom. So, before she even asked, he had taken it out and show it off. [No worries, Mom. This treasure is fine. I've placed it aside. See? Very dry. I made sure not a drop of water touched it.]
Hana's breathing visibly relaxed as she sighed in relief. But she became nervous with what she did again. What was she doing sucking more water into her system?! She should've drowned ten times over.
He returned to the main point to explain to Mom. [Yesterday, your face slowly turned slightly blue. After a while, you got breathing difficulty. We tried to wake you, but you were too deep in your cultivation, Mom. Even the girl couldn't wake up. Shiro's worried telepathic-voice reverberated in her mind. He continued after a short pause. The little minnow, Chomper told me, Mom's condition was similar to a water creature accidentally losing its water bubble on land. Finally, I let Chomper immersed you in this water bubble. After that, you looked fine.]
[Seriously?]
Shiro nodded seriously. Hana turned to the Elemental Fiends. They were nodding too. She wasn't sure they were just following the motion or truly meant it. Even the little chubby brown bird nodded in synchronization. It was actually quite comical.
[Then, it must be true. I see.]
Her mind finally clicked. She had shared Ara's sense of smell. It equated with Ara's special breathing style!
[Ara.]
[Yes, Mistress.]
[How do you feel at this moment?]
Silence ensued for a good one minute before a reply came. [Liberated. Relief. Thankful to you. I could feel a strong link is present right now, and it isn't the normal telepathic connection we usually have.]
[Good. Go and have a nice swim. Let me rest for a while. I need to figure something out.]
[Ah? Okay. As you say, Mistress.]
Ara swam away happily, feeling liberated for the first time in many years. For once, she wished to cultivate as soon as possible. She had just advanced a small realm again! Although she didn't really understand what she learned from Mistress Hana, the fact that she advanced showed that she must be doing something right. Staying by the Mistress' side really was a blessing for her!
…
Hana closed her eyes. Once she opened them, the blue glow disappeared. She tried to immerse her face into the underground spring at the side of the stone platform only to get choked. She closed her eyes again and chanted, purposely selected the new bond she had with Ara, and tried the same stunt again.
Walah! She could now breathe underwater!
Mindblown!
How did the mechanism even work?! Won't her lungs will be filled with water? Once they did, she would've died from drowning!
There was a total of five senses for a human being, but as Hana remembered, the thread-like rope made from the modified Lightning Emperor's Divinity Soul chant produced six threads. If sight equates to seeing through the eyes of her pets, then, smell must mean using the pets' ability to breathe in different situations besides smelling things. Hana was very eager to know what else would happen once she could sync with her pets' sense of touch, hearing, taste and the mysterious last sense she didn't know of.
The aunty ruminated on how to leverage this new ability she suddenly gotten. It wasn't that important with the presence of the Water-barrier Art, but still, it will be important during emergencies. Her fear towards water stemmed from the inability to breathe properly out of fear of drowning. But now, nobody can stop her! She really wanted to try diving for the longest time, and now, once she returns, there was no need to pay the VR center to experience deep-sea diving. So exciting!