“It’s so cold…” Qiqi wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, moving closer to Lei Yan.

After Qiqi mentioned the cold, the others also noticed waves of cool air rising from Deep Dark Lake.

“What should we do now? Break the ice to draw out those two ancient temple spirit crocodiles?” Mu Yunjin folded her arms, looking at the frozen lake water below. If the ancient temple spirit crocodiles were inside, they would need to break the ice first to obtain the Crocodile Pearl.

“This ice is extremely solid. If we want to break it and draw out the ancient temple spirit crocodiles, we’ll need everyone to channel their true qi into it! But there’s one thing—those two spirit crocodiles already have extremely volatile temperaments. If we deliberately break the ice to draw them out, they’ll become even more agitated, making them more difficult to handle with caution.”

Daoist Feng Xuan warned everyone nearby.

“Let’s try breaking the ice first. With so many of us here, surely we can handle two beasts!” Huang Yan refused to be intimidated.

“Let’s each spread out in a circle around the lake,” Daoist Feng Xuan waved his hand and stood at the edge of the circular lake.

Hearing this, the others formed a circle around the perimeter of Deep Dark Lake.

After everyone had taken their positions, Daoist Feng Xuan frowned tightly, his expression serious. “Channel your true qi, break the ice!”

With that, everyone extended their hands, gathering and concentrating true qi in their palms.

Mu Yunjin was grateful that she had diligently practiced the first form of the Mysterious Spirit True Scripture back at the prince’s mansion. Now, layers of inner power and true qi surged from her dantian.

“Break!” Daoist Feng Xuan commanded.

Immediately, following the guidance, everyone sent the true qi from their palms sweeping toward Deep Dark Lake.

Before reaching the lake surface, all the true qi merged, forming a powerful halo that spread across the surface of Deep Dark Lake.

After waiting for quite some time, there was no reaction on the surface of Deep Dark Lake; it remained completely frozen.

“This… it won’t melt?” Mu Yunjin was surprised. Everyone had nearly exhausted their strength, and yet the combined power of so many people had no effect whatsoever…

She truly wondered if those two spirit crocodiles could still be alive under this indestructible ice lake…

“No, it’s melting!” Chu Li looked intently at the lake surface. Just as he finished speaking, the ground beneath their feet began to shake violently.

Not just the ground—the entire stone chamber of Deep Dark Lake trembled with it.

“Rumble—”

“Rumble—”

Powerful explosive energy surged through the ground in waves. The vibrations caused by this explosive energy made it almost impossible for everyone to stand, causing them to sway from side to side.

Mu Yunjin’s feet gave way, and she fell to the ground. Upon touching the surface, she could sense a powerful dark force emanating from below.

This dark force was extremely fierce, almost capable of consuming them all completely.

At the same time, a cracking explosion of ice sounded from within Deep Dark Lake—

The silver-blue light floating in mid-air suddenly disappeared, streaming into the bottom of Deep Dark Lake. Under everyone’s astonished gaze, rolling black mist rose and enveloped the lake surface.

Then, beneath the initially frozen lake, two black shadows gradually appeared…

“Gurgle… gurgle…”

“Gurgle…”

At this moment, no one was approaching Deep Dark Lake.

Hearing these sounds, Mu Yunjin drew in a slight breath and tentatively took two steps forward, wanting to see what the two ancient temple spirit crocodiles looked like.

Before coming, the image of ancient temple spirit crocodiles in her mind mostly resembled the ordinary crocodiles she had seen before.

But now, moving closer and seeing the two ancient temple spirit crocodiles floating on the water’s surface, she couldn’t suppress her astonishment.

The two ancient temple spirit crocodiles did not entirely resemble the crocodiles she was familiar with.

They were mutated crocodile species.

Their bodies were enormous, about ten meters long, with one giant’s tail making up more than half of its body.

Of the two ancient temple spirit crocodiles, one had a deep green shell on its back covered with sharp thorns, while the other was deep red with six legs, a smooth body shell, and a pair of wings on its back.

Both spirit crocodiles now had their mouths wide open, revealing pairs of sharp fangs, their eyes half-open as they lay on the surface of Deep Dark Lake.

Mu Yunjin wanted to see their eyes, but unfortunately, they were only half-open, and she couldn’t see clearly.

With that thought, she first glanced toward Chu Li.

Chu Li’s expression was calm as he observed the two spirit crocodiles.

The two ancient temple spirit crocodiles currently showed no signs of aggression, but the dark, ominous energy that had surged out when they broke through the ice made everyone wary of underestimating them.

“Hey, Hanque, aren’t you a crocodile spirit? Can you tell anything about them?” One of the Phoenix Feather Pavilion subordinates suddenly spoke up, pointing to Hanque, a crocodile spirit who was present.

Hanque, a male, glanced toward Deep Dark Lake upon hearing this. “They are not true crocodile species. I cannot discern anything about them.”

“Gurgle…”

“Gurgle… gurgle…”

The two ancient temple spirit crocodiles made sounds again, and before anyone could react, the deep green spirit crocodile suddenly slapped the lake surface, splashing water several meters high. Then it spewed a jet of gas from its mouth, instantly transforming the splashed water into ice needles that flew toward everyone.

No one had expected the lake water to transform into ice needles in an instant, but they had all been on alert since the spirit crocodiles emerged. They quickly waved their hands to avoid the ice needles.

Before Mu Yunjin could react, Chu Li had already shielded her in his embrace. With a wave of his wrist, he created a barrier around them, preventing the ice needles from reaching them.

At this moment, the other spirit crocodile stomped its feet, took flight, and heavily swung its tail, creating a terrifying gale.

Struck by this gale with its immense power, everyone was instantly thrown back several meters. Several who couldn’t withstand it fell to the ground, spitting blood.

Mu Yunjin was among them.

The gale had struck her directly in the chest, giving her the sensation that her heart meridians had been shattered. Blood surged upward, and she spat out several mouthfuls.

“Yunjin!” Chu Li frowned, went over to help her up, and gripped her wrist, channeling true qi into her body.

Mu Yunjin originally had a mass of fire-attribute true qi coursing through her body. Now, as it came into contact with the true qi sent by Chu Li, the two energies collided within her body, making her feel even worse.

“Puh…” Another mouthful of fresh blood was expelled.

Chu Li’s heart constricted, and he immediately withdrew his true qi. In the next second, seeing a flash of red light pass across her forehead, he narrowed his eyes, seeming to understand something.

“These two spirit crocodiles are indeed formidable! But we can’t just wait for death. Let’s attack together!” Nearby, Qu Xinyao couldn’t help but speak up. They had already suffered twice without even making a move—it was truly frustrating!

Daoist Feng Xuan’s face was grave. From the two strikes earlier, he had already gauged the unfathomable power of the ancient temple spirit crocodiles. Now, everyone had already lost half their vital energy; it seemed this mission would be difficult to complete successfully…

“Gurgle…”

The deep red ancient temple spirit crocodile suddenly flapped its wings and took flight. All six of its feet had sharp claws. With a body already dozens of meters long, once airborne, it almost completely covered the ceiling of the Deep Dark Lake stone chamber.

“Gurgle…” After circling in flight, the deep red spirit crocodile suddenly darted toward Qu Xinyao with lightning speed.

Despite its enormous size, the speed of the deep red spirit crocodile was astonishingly fast.

After catching Qu Xinyao with its sharp claws, the spirit crocodile carried her body into mid-air.

“Xinxin!”

“Sect Leader Qu…”

Everyone looked up to see that Qu Xinyao had been caught by the deep red spirit crocodile and carried above Deep Dark Lake.

In Deep Dark Lake, the other spirit crocodile opened its mouth wide, seemingly eager to devour its prey.

At this moment, Qu Xinyao wasn’t afraid at all. Her gaze was quietly fixed on Xu Heyu nearby, and her lips even curved into a smile of joy.

That earlier call of “Xinxin” had come from Xu Heyu.

After so many years, she had finally heard him call her that endearing name again.

So, did that mean Xu Heyu did have feelings for her?

Just as she was thinking this, her gaze suddenly froze, and she shouted at a figure flying toward her, “Idiot, don’t come over here!”

In her moment of reflection, Xu Heyu had used his lightness skill to fly toward her.

Was he trying to get himself killed?

Xu Heyu’s heart was tightly clenched, and he wouldn’t listen to Qu Xinyao’s words. He flew to her side and gripped her hand tightly.

“Xinxin, don’t be afraid!” Xu Heyu smiled at Qu Xinyao.

Looking at Xu Heyu, Qu Xinyao’s eyes gradually reddened. She truly wasn’t afraid; she just hadn’t expected, hadn’t expected that Xu Heyu would…

“Gurgle…”

The deep red spirit crocodile promptly caught Xu Heyu as well, carrying both of them above Deep Dark Lake.

Below, the deep green spirit crocodile opened its mouth even wider…

Mu Yunjin watched this scene with her heart pounding. She knew clearly that if the spirit crocodile released them, Qu Xinyao and Xu Heyu would be devoured completely by the one below.

They would die…

No, this couldn’t happen!

“Gurgle…”

When the green spirit crocodile in Deep Dark Lake made a sound, the red spirit crocodile flying above flapped its wings and then released its claws…

“No!”

“Heyu, Xinyao!”

Everything suddenly became very quiet…

In a flash, a black shadow materialized out of thin air, accompanied by a roar that penetrated the clouds and resounded through the sky…

Someone suddenly exclaimed in astonishment, “Heavens, that’s an Ink Qilin!”

Xu Heyu and Qu Xinyao thought they were facing certain death, but unexpectedly, a black shadow suddenly caught them in mid-air and quickly brought them back to solid ground.

Chu Li had summoned the Ink Qilin at the critical moment, saving Qu Xinyao and Xu Heyu. Now, looking at everyone, he indeed found their gazes all fixed on the Ink Qilin.

After completing its task, the Ink Qilin walked to Chu Li’s side and gently nuzzled his clothes with its head, as if seeking praise from its master.

“Chu Li, is this yours?” Daoist Feng Xuan’s mouth opened slightly, his eyes full of astonishment.

This Ink Qilin was an ancient divine beast!

Chu Li nodded calmly.

From the moment the Ink Qilin appeared, Mu Yunjin’s gaze had been firmly locked on it, and her body couldn’t help but tremble.

This Qilin beast…

She had seen it before…

Under the thousand-year-old tree at Water Cloud Temple…

And in her dreams as well…