As Eddie was about to mischievously reach towards the mysterious beauty, the sky suddenly thundered with a loud crack.
Then, a dragon's roar echoed through the entire space.
The calm surface of the hot spring lake boiled into a massive whirlpool.
Eddie watched the sky in astonishment as a silver-white dragon-like creature soared gracefully through the air, its elegant body undulating with a long tail trailing behind... After a few seconds, the silver-white creature dived headfirst into the whirlpool, disappearing without a ripple or sound.
"My goodness, are there really dragons in this world?" Eddie was dumbfounded, unsure how to react.
"Human boy, I am not a dragon, but a Jiao, similar but slightly different," a veiled woman in a white robe with a silver circlet and a silver-threaded face veil appeared before Eddie, startling him.
Her face was as smooth as jade, but her hair was neatly combed silver threads.
She seemed aged yet showed no signs of it.
Her aura was subtly elegant, exuding a classical grace that was extremely pleasing to the eye.
Eddie quickly withdrew his mischievous hand from the mysterious beauty, putting on an innocent facade as he asked, "Who are you?"
The elegantly poised veiled woman with silver hair but no signs of aging made a gesture that Eddie couldn't comprehend, but he felt it was significant and memorized it.
In a soft voice, the woman said, "Human boy, you may call me Granny Chi. I was the owner of this lake. The Purple Gold Marquis came to demand a medicinal tome I was guarding. "
"We clashed, and he eventually imprisoned me in a dimensional space with an artifact. If he hadn't left the Dragon Ascending Continent, causing the artifact to lose its effect, I'd still be trapped."
" Young human Innate, thank you for saving me. I have nothing to offer in gratitude, but how about a drink of Fire Dragon Fruit juice?"
The self-proclaimed Granny Chi summoned a platinum tome.
Then she summoned a halo of holy light, enveloping Eddie and the mysterious woman.
Eddie felt a warm current entering through the crown of his head, coursing through his meridians, and bathing in the light. His skin and internal structures felt so comfortable that he wanted to moan. A sense of rejuvenation quickly gathered in his body.
The wounds on his skin healed visibly fast.
The bruises from the battle and burns from the demonic fire were also healing, reducing the swelling and regenerating new, baby-soft skin.
Aside from the fatigue from the intense battle, even his spiritual energy was significantly replenished.
Eddie leaped up from the ground, still in disbelief at how quickly his severe injuries had healed.
The severely injured mysterious beauty also slowly opened her eyes, but due to her weakened state, she couldn't move yet.
"It seems your Thorn Flowers will continue to fight for a while. Perhaps you and your companion should rest at my abode until you're fully recovered. It's not too late to leave then," said the veiled woman, turning to walk towards the lake.
Eddie quickly picked up the mysterious beauty and followed behind. Pretending to be unaware, he sneakily touched the still round and enticing curves of the beauty while maintaining an innocent facade.
When he bent down to pick up her ancient book, he took the opportunity to inhale her scent deeply, finding it refreshingly pleasant, almost melting his heart.
The mysterious beauty rolled her eyes in annoyance at Eddie's behavior. Though appearing innocent, he was indeed a wolf in sheep's clothing, unbearable to her! If she could move, she would have thrown a book at him already.
The veiled woman, claiming to be Granny Chi, walked ahead, parting the lake waters automatically, revealing not the lakebed but a wall of water. At the forefront was a blue water gate.
Eddie, while holding the mysterious beauty, curiously touched the water wall. It rippled like the lake surface upon contact with his fingers...
Passing through the water gate, Eddie found himself in a strange world, not very large, perhaps the size of the lakebed, but completely different. There was no water here, yet he could see fish swimming in the surrounding water walls.
This place had various plants and gentle animals, like slow-moving turtles or swiftly scurrying crabs. Though different from the lakebed, he could see everything happening there, including the Thorn Flower Witch sleeping on her platform and the other Thorn Flowers constantly sucking the Blood Sickle Demon's blood and energy.
The interior was decorated similarly to a human dwelling.
Granny Chi, still veiled, invited Eddie and the mysterious beauty to sit. An adorable creature, unrecognizable to Eddie, brought two cups on a silver tray.
Eddie glanced at it, and the timid creature vanished in a puff of white smoke.
With a flick of her finger, Granny Chi produced a white jade pot and elegantly poured a fragrant white liquid into cups for Eddie and the mysterious woman.
The mysterious beauty, regaining some strength, pushed away Eddie's overly helpful and opportunistic hand, struggling to sit up on her own and nodding in gratitude to Granny Chi.
However, possibly due to Eddie's presence, she still didn't reveal her name or family, instead making an intricate hand gesture with her delicate fingers, seemingly indicating some sort of identity.
Eddie, still clueless about its meaning, memorized the gesture for future reference.
Eddie thought that someone knowledgeable, like the Lord of Falling Blossoms City, might understand the meaning of the mysterious beauty's hand gesture.
While savoring the shallow sips of the drink, Eddie gulped down the small cup of white liquid like Zhu Bajie devouring ginseng fruit, feeling a refreshing coolness spreading from his stomach, transforming into spiritual energy and filling his entire body.
The sensation was incredibly delightful, like quenching thirst with a cold drink on a hot summer day, making him exclaim with pleasure.
"Since you like it, have another cup," said the veiled Granny Chi, pouring Eddie another, and also refilling the cup for the mysterious beauty.
"Thank you, Granny Chi," said the mysterious beauty politely, bowing in gratitude.
Eddie, on the other hand, was not so modest.
Knowing the Fire Dragon Fruit juice was valuable, he eagerly said, "If I could have another cup, that would be even better!"
The mysterious beauty, sitting beside him, was annoyed at his insatiable greed.
She almost wanted to hit him with her ancient book but restrained herself due to her current weakness, sparing Eddie from her wrath.
Granny Chi, with her silver hair and veiled face, seemed amused by Eddie's honesty and forthrightness, smiling as she said, "If three cups of Fire Dragon Fruit juice can express my gratitude, it would bring me great joy."
Eddie, however, hesitated to drink the third cup, intending to take it back for Sophia or Little Frost.
He guessed it was the essence of the Fire Dragon Fruit, which could unlock great potential even in someone like him, an Innate.
So, he planned to bring it back for his sisters.
While Granny Chi conversed with the mysterious beauty, Eddie sneakily moved his cup under the table, covertly produced a small bottle from his Witch-Ring, and poured the juice into it.
He even washed the cup with water from another bottle to take it with him.
The mysterious beauty, watching his surreptitious actions, was exasperated.
It was bad enough that he asked for two cups, but now he was even taking some with him. She thought Eddie embodied the epitome of shamelessness mentioned in legends.
She underestimated just how shameless Eddie could be. If there had been more juice in the jade pot, he might have even tried to take that with him.
"You are remarkable, defeating the Purple Gold Marquis at such a young age," Granny Chi commented on their victory over the Marquis, smiling and shaking her head.
"The Purple Gold Marquis is cunning. He's likely not dead, just used falling into the volcano as a ruse to deceive you. "
"The demon kings have Hellfire bloodlines, and fire and high temperatures are beneficial, not harmful to them... "
"He's not dead but has retreated to the demon abyss due to severe injuries. Given time, he will surely return to the Dragon Ascending Continent. Be very careful of his future revenge!"
"Ah!" Eddie was dumbfounded upon hearing this. Surviving a fall into molten lava? The Purple Gold Marquis was tougher than a cockroach!
"I've finally realized why the Purple Gold Marquis couldn't defeat us. He only summoned a Golden Level Seven Blood Sickle Demon and didn't call upon his life-protecting battle beast. He must have been weakened from a previous battle with you, Granny Chi…" The mysterious beauty suddenly understood.
"No way?" Eddie was astonished.
But thinking about it, her reasoning made sense. Without the prior battle between Granny Chi and the Purple Gold Marquis, which reduced his combat strength, the outcome of their fight would have been uncertain.
First, the Marquis never summoned his life-protecting battle beast, and being a prince of the demon abyss, it was unlikely that he only had a Golden Level Seven Blood Sickle Demon and a Silver Level Six grotesque creature. He definitely had other powerful battle beasts.
Yet, he never summoned them at his most critical moment.
This proved that his power was severely depleted in the battle with Granny Chi, and even Eddie could have killed him, which is why he fled so desperately.
However, the thought that if the Purple Gold Marquis hadn't fought Granny Chi, they would have been utterly defeated under his full strength sent a chill down Eddie's spine.
"After defeating and imprisoning me, the Marquis still had enough strength to fight you fiercely. He truly is a formidable opponent," Granny Chi commented modestly.
Eddie wasn't fooled. A dragon that could transform into a human, and Granny Chi, whose full strength he couldn't discern even with his Level Three Wisdom Eyes, must have dealt significant damage to the Marquis.
"The Purple Gold Marquis's human form is destroyed, and it'll take him quite a while to recover.
We still have time to train and improve," said the mysterious beauty, encouraging Eddie.
"In about a year, or maybe just a few months, the Purple Gold Marquis could recover his body and return to the Dragon Ascending Continent. As for fully regaining his peak strength, that should take about a year and a half. In this year, he likely won't seek revenge but will hide to regain his strength," Granny Chi gave a timeline, leaving Eddie feeling troubled.
A year is neither too long nor too short.
Even if he trained his Innate Invisible Sword Qi rapidly, there was a limit.
Unless he could constantly consume treasures like the Fire Dragon Fruit juice to enhance his strength, defeating the formidable Purple Gold Marquis would be challenging.
Granny Chi suddenly handed Eddie an ancient-looking book with a time-worn cover, smiling, "The Purple Gold Marquis might come back. I'm not fond of fighting, so avoiding conflict is best. Traveling or visiting the Heaven-Reaching Tower to meet old friends could be a good idea. This 'Medicinal Tome' is of no use to me, so you might as well keep it."
Eddie saw two elegantly flowing dark golden symbols on the cover of the ancient book, which he guessed spelled "Medicinal Tome."
Flipping through it, he found it was filled with prescriptions and methods for refining medicine. Most of the methods were labeled "Innate Refining," making him realize why Granny Chi gave it to him; as an Innate, he was the only one who could utilize it effectively.
However, accepting such a gift made Eddie feel a bit hesitant, fearing Granny Chi might impose strict conditions he couldn't refuse.
Perhaps sensing Eddie's thoughts, Granny Chi smiled and nodded gently, "I'm old now. If you manage to find ingredients like the Life Rejuvenation Branch, Undying Nether River Water, Fountain of Life, Wishful Tithonia, and Dream Fruit, and refine an Elixir of Immortality... how about giving one to me?"
"Sure!" Eddie readily agreed, not missing a beat. He swiftly tucked the "Medicinal Tome" into his jacket, his movements as quick as a thief's.
The mysterious beauty rolled her eyes at him in a coy manner.
But Eddie misinterpreted her gesture as flirtation!
After bidding farewell to the hospitable Granny Chi, Eddie and the mysterious beauty exited the water gate and returned to the shore. The mysterious beauty prepared to leave using a teleportation scroll, but Eddie quickly stopped her: "Wait, beauty, you teased and wronged me, and even kicked me on the butt. Are you planning to just walk away without taking responsibility?"
The mysterious beauty was flustered: "That was just to confuse the enemy during the fight. Besides, you kicked me back later, so we're even, right? Oh, so your kick was revenge!"
Eddie hastily explained, "No, no, that wasn't revenge. I was protecting you, keeping you from getting hurt. My intentions were good, unlike your deliberate kick. My parents always said, whoever kicks my butt must marry me. You kicked me, so you owe me a wife. Can't break the rules."
The mysterious beauty almost fainted at his shameless words, exasperated: "What about where you kicked me? Only you have parents? Isn't my body precious too? You're being unreasonable! No, you're being shameless!"
"No, I'm very reasonable. In fact, I've decided to compensate you with a husband, if you need one!" Eddie replied with a bright, triumphant smile, though quite wolfish.
"Don't flatter yourself, who would want you!" retorted the mysterious beauty, raising her ancient book and smacking him away.