Lu Sheng stared at the sudden increase of Essence Qi swirling around him in cloud and mist form.
'What happened? There wasn't this much before—'
"Come out!" A commanding shout came from underground.
"Whoosh!"
The ground split apart at the edge of the lake, and a gray light shot out toward the sky. It landed on the shore with a boom, forming a black-robed woman surrounded by silver blue dots of light.
The woman's skin was deathly pale and her lips purple. Her black hair was coiled high with a black robe covering her lower body. Instead of legs, she had dense tree roots.
"You dare use the young one to disrupt my Essence Qi absorption, but don't have the courage to face me, is that right?" A sliver of anger and embarrassment flickered across the woman's face.
