Shaping Spring was an underground river flowing for millions of years. Subjected to constant heat from the core, it was formed of earth's essence and it was priceless.
While Ice Heart Moon Soul of Xue Qingjian was a peak water treasure of yin, the Shaping Spring was a yang water essence.
Just like Diamond Sand, the Shaping Spring was among the best ingredients, if not the best itself. They said Diamond Sand was the blood of the earth, while Shaping Spring was earth's blood's blood. Diamond Sand was a hard ingredient and Shaping Spring a soft one. Diamond Sand made strong spiritual weapons, while Shaping Spring allowed a spiritual weapon to go through endless changes.
Water had no form, shape or size, and with just a drop of Shaping Spring placed in a spiritual weapon, it would turn into a sacred item, free to change its size at will.
Big and unstoppable as a hammer of a thousand pounds, or small and sublime like an invisible needle.
There was one more incredible property the Shaping Spring had the others didn't know about. It matched with a body refining array. Zhuo Fan grinned as his mind drifted to the tall pillar in his Thunder Ring.
It not once crossed his mind to take this direction, since he never could. But now he had a chance at getting the Shaping Spring and with it, he could complete that art written in the Nine Serenities Secret Records. He may very well gain the same freakish power Gu Santong exhibited!
Zhuo Fan was very excited to try.
If he could get his hands on the same power that made Gu Santong invincible in Tianyu, then the father and son pair… but not even his imagination could fully grasp the extent of such power.
The danger of achieving such a godly refinement was thousands of times greater than when he refined his body with Diamond Sand.
Hesitation had him for a second, but he shook his head clear. [There's no time to delay. That thought comes after I can get it.]
Then his trademark evil smile graced his face once again, "Miss, what would you have me do?"
The girl eyed him skeptically. [Why is this punk so warm all of a sudden? Odd…]
But taking a look at Zhuo Fan's cultivation in the Bone Tempering Stage, her worries were put to rest.
What could a 9th layer of Bone Tempering Stage possibly do when he only had a 6th grade spiritual weapon built for speed?
The girl smiled in kind, "Come with me. Help me get the Shaping Spring, and what you did to me… uh, it'll make us square."
The girl blushed.
Zhuo Fan nodded with the same hypocritical smile as always.
He felt like sighing. [Oh, so many people judge me by my cultivation, only to be swallowed whole by me.]
[This girlie is no different.]
He followed close behind her with a cold smile.
For some very odd reason, she shivered from a creepy feeling striking her very core. Yet her response was to cock her head in bewilderment…
Ah, another lady got duped…
The duo soon arrived at the edge of a lake. Zhuo Fan's eyes trembled, [Isn't this the same lake I saved her from?]
The girl smiled, "Hey, do you know why I was in danger last time?"
"Do you even need to ask? Bathing in some else's home is the same as taking a leak in it. If I was that water serpent, I'd swallow you in one gulp too." Zhuo Fan said sagely.
Blushing, she seethed, "W-what bathing? Who would do that in such a dangerous place? Where do you come up with all these dumb conclusions?"
"What else is there? Weren't you going all natural when I got you out?" Zhuo Fan scratched his nose.
Yet for some reason, despite his unfazed face, his body was quite honest. Two trails of blood flowed down his nose.
Zhuo Fan was stunned, "Eh, why am I bleeding?"
The girl was flushed and smacked his head in resentfulness, "Stop having errant thoughts or I… I…"
"I what? Make me bathe naked for you to look?" Zhuo Fan snorted.
The girl was stomping in anger, red as a tomato. Why was she so unlucky to meet this creep?
Then again, only by working together with this creep could she get the Shaping Spring and she sighed. She reigned in her indignation and turned grave, "Do you see that cave across the lake?"
Zhuo Fan followed her fingers to see endless fog surrounding a mountain. There was also a faint image of a man sized cave entrance at its foot, half of it submerged in water. Zhuo Fan nodded, "What of it?"
"That is the serpent's cave." The girl said.
Zhuo Fan asked, "How, that thing was five hundred meters long. The cave is too small for…"
Zhuo Fan's eyes jumped. The girl giggled and made good use of this rare chance to mock him, "He-he-he, you're not as dumb as you look. Yes, that serpent is definitely eating the Shaping Spring. It allows it to change its size and enter that cave."
"What makes you so sure Shaping Spring is in there? Perhaps the venomous serpent ate it somewhere else, or maybe it's in the middle of eating…" Zhuo Fan frowned.
Whoosh~
With a flash of light, a golden-tailed carp jumped in front of him, splashing his face with icy cold water.
Pff!
The girl giggled, reveling in his misery, content she finally managed to get some retribution. Zhuo Fan wiped his face, uncaring that she did it on purpose, "I see. You have a 1st level water type pet you used to scout the poisonous serpent's cave while it was away."
"Clever boy."
The girl winked and smiled, "I've been staking out the strange 6th level spiritual beast since I found it a month ago. Until three days ago, it only kept to the cave. So I used my 1st level spiritual beast, Golden-fin Fish, to find that it really contained Shaping Spring. But that poisonous serpent was truly vicious, coming back just an hour later. So I waited the past three days for it to come out. But since it didn't, I had no choice but to go in and confront it."
Seeing the girl's charming smile, like she had hit the jackpot, Zhuo Fan jabbed, "So you got naked and tried working your wiles on it? Wait, that ain't right, you're different species. Even if you forced yourself on that 'hunk', it would only see you as lunch."
"W-what nonsense are you babbling? Who would ever seduce that beast?"
Blushing, the girl gnashed her teeth in anger, "I-I only intended to use my beast controlling art to tame it. There is nothing obscene about it!"
"Beast taming? What does that have to do with you running around in all your glory?" Zhuo Fan raised an eyebrow.
The girl's glare sharpened a notch, "Oy, could you stop with the vulgarities? My clan's beast controlling art pays special attention to being one with nature. The more in tune one is, the stronger the art. Since I can only tame a 4th level spiritual beast at most, I had to give my body and soul in joining with nature this time around. But I failed anyway because its soul is stronger than average and almost lost my life at its jaws of death."
Zhuo Fan nodded. The venomous serpent was related to the Flood Dragon. Dragon blood flowed through its veins. How could it be just a mere 6th level spiritual beast? The girl was in over her head trying to charm the beastie with her skill.
"Oi, brat, weren't you quick at flying? Draw the venomous serpent out and let me fetch the Shaping Spring! Do that and I will cross out the crass attitude and disrespect you showed me."
The girl showed a bewitching smile and batted her big puppy eyes.
That might have worked on your average hormone riddled male to fire him up in braving any dangers. But Zhuo Fan, however, was a stone cold killer.
"My thoughts exactly." Zhuo Fan showed his trademark evil smirk.
The girl's eyes shined with glee, but Zhuo Fan could easily see a spark of contempt hidden there. One that said, [All men are the same.]
[Humph, ignorant bint, now that I know where Shaping Spring is, you've outlived your usefulness.]
Snickering to himself, Zhuo Fan flew to the cave. The girl stared at him all the way with an increasingly wider smile.
She could practically hold the Shaping Spring in her arms.
Yet something nagged her in the corner of her mind. [Isn't this perhaps a little too easy? Is this man that much of a fool, so easily taken in by some eye batting and exploited to his literal death?]