This stone shard came from the rocks that the Ao Fish had struck at the shore during the fierce battle earlier, its edge razor-sharp. She slashed with all her might along the wound near the fish’s ear, but it didn’t even leave a white mark.

This creature not only had thick skin, but its flesh was also unreasonably hard. By comparison, she now understood Yun Ya’s abilities. That man could cleave such a deep and wide wound with just one sword strike; while it might partly be due to his divine weapon, it mostly demonstrated his unfathomable prowess.

She wasn’t angry, but asked the new soul calmly: “How do I retrieve the pearl?”

For the Ao Fish, having someone take its dragon pearl was already a great humiliation, but the most frustrating part was that it had to provide instructions. Yet his desire for revenge left him no choice: “The second dragon pearl is in the crop at the bottom of the throat.”

“…” How could this creature have a crop when it wasn’t even a bird! She complained inwardly, knowing this meant she’d have to climb into the Ao Fish’s huge mouth with its forest of sharp teeth.

Well, in she would go.

This was truly an unforgettable experience.

Fortunately, Yun Ya’s ruthless strike had inadvertently opened a passage for her, so she only needed to crawl through the wound.

The slimy, fishy stench along the way needs no elaboration.

However, once the dragon pearl was retrieved, the surrounding fish went mad and tried to pounce on her. Seeing herself about to be torn apart by countless sharp teeth, she had a flash of inspiration and threw the pearl directly onto the pile of rocks on the shore.

Sure enough, the fish returned to feast on the Ao Fish’s blood, ignoring her.

She breathed a sigh of relief, swam back to shore, and picked up the dragon pearl.

The pearl felt smooth in her hand and had the luster of a real pearl. The Ao Fish’s soul followed beside her, urging repeatedly: “Swallow it quickly!”

She examined it in her hand for a long time, then shook her head: “I won’t swallow it.”

“Why not!” The Ao Fish became anxious, “Do you not value your life?”

“With this pearl, I won’t starve to death,” she said with a light laugh, bringing the pearl close to the water.

“Splash!” A large fish burst from the surface, opening its mouth to swallow the pearl. She lifted the pearl, and the unfortunate fish fell onto the dry rocky shore, flopping helplessly.

She raised the stone shard and quickly chopped off the fish’s head, then cut out several strips of flesh and chewed them carefully. She had enjoyed eating sashimi before, and this fish wasn’t fishy at all, making it easy to eat.

The Ao Fish’s soul stared with eyes nearly popping out. He had miscalculated terribly. She was using the elemental pearl as bait to catch fish after fish for food. What necessity was there to swallow the elemental pearl?

“There are so many fish in this pool, it seems I won’t starve for half a month.” She shrugged, and he noticed that the unnatural flush on her cheeks had subsided.

Speaking of which, she had also drunk several mouthfuls of the Ao Fish’s fresh blood earlier. This was highly nourishing, not just for the fish in the pool, but also for strengthening her constitution and replenishing her energy, reducing her high fever.

“You, you…” The Ao Fish’s soul pointed at her, unable to form complete sentences, yet powerless against her.

“It seems your time is more pressing than mine,” she blinked, “compared to before, your form has grown fainter.”

The Ao Fish suddenly calmed down: “What will it take for you to swallow the dragon pearl?”

She suppressed her smile: “I fear that as soon as I eat it, your next step will be to plot my death.”

The Ao Fish stared at her, silent. This was indeed his plan, and no amount of disguise would help.

She suddenly said: “How about this, if you help me find a way to leave this abyss cold pool and return to the outside world, I’ll eat the dragon pearl.”

The Ao Fish said grimly: “You want to coerce me, and escape this place too? Where in the world is there such a good deal!”

“What else can we do?” She spread her hands, “Even if I eat the dragon pearl, just staying here won’t kill me. How can you fulfill your wish for revenge?”

“…”

The Ao Fish soul’s expression shattered for an instant.

Indeed, if she wouldn’t die by staying here, what was the point of him expending so much effort to help her swallow the dragon pearl?

She looked small and weak and might die soon after leaving this place, which would fulfill his wishes.

But why did he feel so frustrated?

The Ao Fish soul said stiffly: “The pool connects to an underground river, with the nearest exit point half a li away.”

There were many underwater caves, otherwise so many fish wouldn’t have gathered in the pool. She calculated that half a li was about two hundred meters, which would have been no problem if she were in her former healthy state. But this little girl’s body was too weak, and she had just recovered from a high fever, leaving her completely limp. How could she possibly hold her breath and swim two hundred meters underwater?

Not to mention the complex underwater environment without light; if she took a wrong turn, she would suffocate in the dark river. So she asked directly: “I can’t swim that far, what now?”

The Ao Fish soul wanted to grind its teeth: “I’ll take you out!” Saying this made him want to vomit three liters of blood and die again. Facing this small girl seemed to drain him more than facing Yun Ya! “But you must swear that you will swallow the dragon pearl!”

“Fine.” She didn’t pretend, made a gesture, and swore a vicious oath, not forgetting the condition that she would eat the pearl after leaving the abyss. Otherwise, if it controlled a large fish to deliberately stop in the underground current, it could immediately get its revenge.

Only then did the Ao Fish say: “I will attach my soul to the largest fish and control it to carry you into the dark river. Just hold onto its fin and don’t let go!”

The largest fish here was over four feet long, more than capable of pulling her light, young body.

She looked at the big fish in the pool, then at the soul floating in the air, saying nothing. The Ao Fish knew what she was thinking and said weakly: “You are human, the lord of all creatures. I am just a remnant soul without the power to control your body, rest assured!”

They were different species. He was like a candle in the wind, barely able to attach to ordinary aquatic creatures, but unable to manipulate her.

She untied her belt, calmly securing everything she wanted to take, then wrapped the dragon pearl in fish skin before wrapping it in several layers with her removed outer garment.

Then, she kicked the leftover fish back into the water, making sure the shore was clean without any trace of human presence, before confidently leaping onto the large fish that the Ao Fish soul had possessed.

She stabbed the stone shard into its back as a support, then took a deep breath and submerged it in the water.

The fish’s speed was naturally much faster than a human’s. Even through the complex network of underwater passages, it only took a dozen breaths to swim half a li away, before breaking through the surface with a splash.

As far as she could see, there was blue sky and white daylight, with lush green grass on both banks of the river.

She had escaped with her life.

She flipped off the fish’s back, but as soon as her feet touched solid ground, her legs weakened, and she collapsed in the grass, panting heavily.

“Your promise!” The Ao Fish soul stared at her intently. After all this exertion, his soul had become so faint that it seemed ready to vanish at any moment.