At the bottom of the deep pool.
Yibai felt puzzled when the pressure of Shi Gandang on him decreased, and he didn't even have time to digest the monster.
He immediately sought out his old friend and mentor, Prophet Old Tortoise, for answers.
But when Yibai found Old Tortoise at the bottom of the pool, he was taken aback.
At this moment, Old Tortoise had completely retracted into his shell, leaving only the tortoise shell drifting with the water's flow.
Such a tortoise shell, when fallen among the rocks, was truly not noticeable at an ordinary glance.
Yibai could recognize that it was Old Tortoise only because he had spent a lot of time with the large black tortoise and knew where to find him.
"This Old Tortoise, quite skilled he is, to disappear even the Monster Qi once tucked inside his shell."
Yibai muttered to himself.
His movements were quick.
His serpentine body twisted a few times, and he arrived next to the tortoise shell.
He looked at the tortoise shell in front of him.
After thinking for a moment, he gently tapped the tortoise shell with his tail.
"Prophet, Prophet, it's me, Royal Serpent."
Yibai's massive serpent head loomed over the tortoise shell before him.
His voice fell.
After a long while.
The tortoise shell finally stirred.
A head sneakily poked out from the shell.
"What are you doing here, Royal Serpent, if you've no business?"
Old Tortoise asked.
It had only spoken one line.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, a pained expression came over its turtle face.
Yibai could tell at a glance that Old Tortoise was in great pain due to the suppression by Shi Gandang.
"Prophet, if you are in so much pain from Shi Gandang's suppression, why not choose to leave this pool?"
Yibai was somewhat puzzled.
He thought the deep pool was neither large nor small.
If you are uncomfortable, why not choose to leave.
"Leave? Why should I leave? With Shi Gandang pressing down from above, this pool is undoubtedly the safest place. Where else could be safer than here? You, Royal Serpent, if you have something to say, then spit it out. If I retract my head, I won't feel the suppression anymore."
Old Tortoise spoke somewhat exasperatedly.
Yibai: "?"
Is there such a notion?
It seems that it is indeed the case.
With Shi Gandang holding sway, this deep pool, for the demons, is forbidden territory; and for humans, there is no need to venture into a deep pool in the depths of the mountains and forests.
It seems that this place truly is the safest.
Yibai shook his head, casting those thoughts aside.
He looked at Old Tortoise again and repeated his question.
"What? You're saying you suddenly felt that the divine object, Shi Gandang, has lessened its suppression on you by a lot?"
Old Tortoise wore a look of astonishment.
"Right, just like that."
Yibai nodded his head vigorously.
"That's impossible, absolutely impossible. It's one thing for Shi Gandang not to subdue demons, but how could the suppression on you weaken?"
Old Tortoise was thoroughly incredulous.
But after thinking for a moment, as if realizing something, it gave Yibai an odd look and spoke in a lowered voice, "If we say that a divine object like Shi Gandang would lessen its suppression on you…"
"It can only be if you have done something beneficial to the world, accrued merit and virtue, that Shi Gandang would lessen its suppression on you."
Hearing this.
Yibai paused for a moment, then raised his serpent head, concealing the emotions in his pupils.
Merit and virtue?
What merit and virtue does he have?
All he did was take a trip to the Red Moon World.
It was the events in the Red Moon World that brought him merit and virtue, causing Shi Gandang's suppression on him to lessen?
Was it because he had slain those monsters?
Did it end up helping humans in disguise?
Yibai only knew that he had done these two things.
So, which one of these actions caused Shi Gandang to change his attitude toward him?
Old Tortoise looked at Yibai, seemed to think of something, but did not say it out loud.
It paused for a moment, then continued to speak, "Royal Serpent, listen to my words, do not leave this deep pool in the coming days! Do not leave it at any cost! Outside, it's very dangerous!"
Yibai came back to his senses, looked down at Old Tortoise, who had been instructing him all along, with confusion in his eyes.
"Prophet, are you talking about the matter with Mountain Lord?"
Yibai asked patiently.
"Indeed, the Mountain Lord's actions have been too foul, drawing the attention of the human's Heavenly Observatory, I fear this matter will not end well."
Old Tortoise said gravely.
"Foul? Hasn't Mountain Lord just been eating humans and demons? Could it be that Mountain Lord has done something else?"
Yibai became curious.
"You, Royal Serpent, why ask so many questions? Just do as I say and don't go out,"
Old Tortoise seemed to get somewhat annoyed.
It drew its head back into its shell, ready to continue playing dead.
"Old Tortoise, don't go back so quickly, tell me, how can I see my merit?"
Yibai hastily asked.
But the turtle shell in front of him didn't move, nor made a sound.
It seemed Old Tortoise had already entered a state of deep sleep.
Disappointed, Yibai was about to leave.
Then a voice leisurely emerged from within the shell.
"Merit cannot be glimpsed, unless your merit is dense enough to manifest, otherwise you can't see it."
It was Old Tortoise's voice.
Upon hearing this, Yibai understood, looked back at the shell for a moment, and then, like an arrow released from its string, disappeared from the spot.
...
Yibai found an incomplete patch of ground deep within the pool, and continued his friction.
He needed to digest those monsters in his belly; rubbing his belly would help with the digestion.
...
Yibai focused on digesting the monsters inside his belly.
Time passed, bit by bit.
Unknowingly.
Another day went by.
It wasn't until the night of the second day that Yibai finished digesting.
When he woke up, he felt refreshed and full of inexhaustible energy within his body.
Yibai looked down at his belly.
This time, after digesting those monsters, the 'qi' generated didn't flow to his head like before but accumulated in his belly.
"I can manipulate this 'qi'?"
Yibai was intensely curious.
He stared at his belly, trying to control this 'qi' with his thoughts.
It was his first time controlling this qi, but it felt as if he had an innate ability to do so, managing it with ease.
Boom!
Yibai released this qi from his mouth.
They instantly turned into dozens of sword-like streams, cutting through the water and hitting the distant ground, causing a slight tremor.
"Holy shit, is it that powerful?"
Yibai was astonished.
He had no idea what kind of move it was; he had just randomly manipulated the qi from his belly.
Wait a second.
Yibai suddenly became aware of his belly.
He had exhaled all the qi; hopefully, it didn't mean his consumption of the monsters was in vain.
After observing for a while, Yibai finally felt at ease, the 'qi' in his belly seemed to be consumable, but not one-time use only.
This 'qi' would recover over time...