“Hmm?” He waited for her to continue, not surprised, as he had anticipated this.

“That day after I pushed down Madam Wang and ran out of the estate to clear my mind, I walked to the old embankment and slipped, falling into Mo Ti Zhun’s formation. Somehow it activated, and I was transported to the distant Shenglong Pool.”

“You sabotaged Mo Ti Zhun’s plans. It’s a miracle he didn’t kill you afterward.” The smile at the corner of Yun Ya’s lips widened. No wonder Mo Ti Zhun hadn’t appeared when he fought the turtle beast alone—the formation had already been used by her. The Mountain-Moving Formation was a one-time array that came at an especially steep price. In his haste, Mo Ti Zhun couldn’t gather spirit stones of high enough quality to set up another formation.

This meant the young girl had unwittingly helped him.

Feng Miao Jun shrugged. “I saved his life once in Tianshui Village. Our debts cancel each other out—we owe each other nothing.”

Even a tiger fallen to the plains would make a good opportunity, but was Mo Ti Zhun’s life so easily saved? Just for this alone, she deserved his reassessment. “What did you see in Shenglong Pool?”

“You, and the turtle beast,” she answered truthfully. “You were fighting. I was hanging in the treetops on the cliff wall, not daring to make a sound.”

Yun Ya concentrated briefly, remembering that after he killed the turtle beast and took its pearl before leaving the pit, he had sensed something—as if someone was watching him. But he had been exhausted then, and there seemed to be nothing unusual around, so he hadn’t given it much thought before leaving.

“So it was you in the tree.” So she had been hiding in the tree, less than… hmm, less than twenty zhang away from him. “And then?”

This was the key point he wanted to hear. Yun Ya leaned forward slightly, expressing his intense interest.

Feng Miao Jun understood this body language and spoke in one breath without daring to pause: “Later I was cold and hungry, and when I saw fish below, I jumped into the water. Unexpectedly, many large fish were fighting over something, and they pushed it into my mouth. I was terrified, and after being bumped several times and choking on water, I gasped and swallowed it… It was round, like a pearl. Fortunately, after I ate it, I could breathe underwater, otherwise, I would have drowned on the spot.”

Yun Ya’s expression changed subtly.

This would mean the turtle beast produced two pearls. When he broke open the turtle beast’s skull back then, perhaps he hadn’t searched thoroughly enough and missed one? According to ancient texts, the same demon has an extremely small chance of producing more than one core. Although no one had ever confirmed this. Between these cores, there might be some mysterious connection. Was this why Feng Miao Jun shared spiritual power with him?

“Is that so?” Yun Ya neither confirmed nor denied. “Since you jumped down, how did you leave Shenglong Pool afterward?”

“The bottom of the pool connected to flowing water, with channels leading to the outside world, so I…”

Before she could finish, Yun Ya interrupted her: “How did you know the pool bottom connected to the outside world?” She wasn’t a fish, and she was still young at that time.

He pressed her step by step. Feng Miao Jun knew she had to appear calm and forthright, or she wouldn’t escape death. “I saw a fish with a hook in its mouth. Fishermen can’t cast lines into the deep pool where the turtle beast lived so that fish must have swum in from outside. This means the pool had a hidden connection to the outside world.”

He nodded, considering that she passed this question: “Then you swam out?”

“Yes.”

“How did you leave the forest and return to your hometown?” His eyes flickered. “I remember you appeared in the county magistrate’s court just days later.”

“After climbing out, I walked toward the direction of the rising sun—traveling by day, sleeping at night. After three days, I met a hunter in the forest. I promised him a handsome reward, and he guided me out.”

Yun Ya tilted his head slightly: “Your luck is indeed remarkable. Southeast of Shenglong Pool is Juping Village; the northwest leads deeper into the mountains where there are no settlements. Had you taken one wrong step, you wouldn’t be sitting here today.”

“Indeed,” she sighed. “I may lack other abilities, but I am blessed with good fortune.”

Yun Ya’s thin lips curved slightly upward: “But how can I verify that everything you’ve said is true?” Unreliable. He didn’t care how bizarre the process was—after all, the world is full of wonders. What concerned him was that her words couldn’t be verified or disproven.

“It can’t be verified—that all happened three years ago,” she shrugged. “But isn’t the focus on the sharing of spiritual power that occurred after I swallowed the dragon pearl? Or do you want me to swear an oath?” She didn’t even blink, though her heart was racing with tension.

Regarding what happened in the deep pool, she certainly couldn’t tell the whole truth, especially not revealing that the turtle beast’s soul had once existed. If Yun Ya knew she had swallowed the pearl at the turtle beast’s urging, he would surely understand this was the turtle beast’s means of revenge.

If so, he would eliminate the potential threat before it manifested, and Feng Miao Jun would be in danger.

She was gambling. Gambling that her insignificance wouldn’t be worth his effort—just as people don’t go out of their way to step on ants—and also betting on his research interest in their shared spiritual power. To someone like him who sought to exhaust all principles of heaven and earth, she had value.

Yun Ya looked at her for a long while, seemingly weighing his options, before finally responding with waning interest: “No need. All oaths have loopholes. Taking an oath doesn’t prove that everything you’ve said is fact.”

The young girl was right—the focus was on the changes that occurred after she swallowed the dragon pearl.

Feng Miao Jun looked at him eagerly: “With your vast abilities, in your opinion, can this connection be severed?”

He nodded casually: “Yes, it’s simple.” Seeing him answer so promptly, Feng Miao Jun’s heart sank with an ominous feeling. Sure enough, he continued, “I just need to kill you.”

She grimaced: “Is there a solution where we both stay alive?” She wanted to blurt out: If I die, you won’t live long either!

But reason told her to try one more time.

“That would require thorough research,” he looked at her with burning eyes, like a scientific fanatic. “Besides, why should I choose the difficult path when there’s an easier one?”

“Cases like ours are extremely rare—wouldn’t it be a shame to end it so abruptly?” This was a life-or-death moment. Feng Miao Jun knew she couldn’t escape this forever, so she might as well try to persuade him while he was in a good mood. “Moreover, my cultivation is low, and the spiritual power I draw from you is at most a drop in the ocean. Besides, I’ve already formed my core now, and as my cultivation deepens in the future, I won’t need to use your spiritual power anymore. We can coexist peacefully hereafter!”

Yun Ya propped his chin with his hand, smiling at her: “Continue.”

“What benefit would killing me bring you?” Feng Miao Jun gritted her teeth, continuing to fight for her life. Unless necessary, she would not reveal her ultimate trump card—that their lives were linked. “Aren’t you curious about the mechanism behind this? You might even establish a new mystical technique from it. Besides, though you’re certainly powerful and self-sufficient, even a fence needs three posts, doesn’t it? If we encounter another situation like the Lava Sea, I could still be of some help.”

“How unfortunate,” Yun Ya spoke slowly. “Killing you would bring me great benefits.” The way the little girl racked her brains to persuade him was quite interesting. Girls her age all feared death, but when disaster struck, they would either resign themselves to their fate, weep in fear, or curse loudly. Those who could argue so convincingly and systematically for their survival were truly rare.