When Li Qi finally emerged from his state of sudden enlightenment, he fully understood the enormous gains he had made this time.
He also noticed Honghong's condition. Influenced by his epiphany, she had likewise entered a state of profound enlightenment.
If one were to classify states of enlightenment into levels, they could be divided into introductory, elementary, intermediate, advanced, top-tier, and maximum levels.
Supported by his heaven-defying Karmic Luck, the states of enlightenment Li Qi frequently entered belonged to the advanced tier. In this state, his Dao essence would affect those around him, allowing sentient beings with good fortune to enter enlightenment as well.
Clearly, little carp Honghong possessed a pure disposition and belonged to the category of fortune-attracting beings. Her innate Karmic Luck and fortune far surpassed those of ordinary creatures. Thus, she was exceptionally susceptible to Li Qi's influence, entering a special state of enlightenment herself.
While Li Qi was waking up and viewing the mysterious prompt, Honghong, still in a daze, began moving on her own, swimming deeper underground along the subterranean currents.
Had he not seen the information in the prompt and known this was Honghong's destined opportunity, Li Qi would certainly have stopped her, thereby ruining her stroke of good fortune.
Now that he understood the situation, however, Li Qi did not stop her. Instead, he quietly followed by her side, acting as her protector to prevent anyone from interfering with her quest for destiny.
The fish and the silkworm advanced side by side along the narrow underground current, finally arriving before a massive waterfall.
Looking at this colossal waterfall, Li Qi faintly sensed that a cave seemed to lie hidden behind it.
At this point, how could he not know that the cave behind this waterfall was none other than the Water Curtain Cave of Huaguo Mountain!
For Li Qi noticed that the surrounding mountains were covered with all sorts of wild fruit trees, some in bloom, others already bearing fruit. Through the observation of his telepathic will, he even detected the presence of a banana forest.
Fruits filled the mountains, blanketing numerous ridges. No wonder this massive range was known to the mortal world as Huaguo Mountain.
Countless monkeys of various coat colors roamed the wilderness. Although they belonged to different sub-species, they could speak and communicate, possessing considerable intelligence.
Li Qi could even sense a dense, surging life force and vigor emanating from them—a manifestation of innately powerful physical vitality.
He also noticed that any random monkey here could leap a distance of over thirty zhang—nearly a hundred meters—with a single bound. Fortunately, the trees of Huaguo Mountain were no ordinary flora; otherwise, the recoil from their leaping would have been enough to snap the branches.
Li Qi also observed some monkeys pushing aside massive boulders along the riverbank to hunt for small fish and shrimp hiding underneath for food. A boulder weighing thousands of jin could be effortlessly shoved aside by these monkeys who practiced no magic arts, showing just how immense their strength truly was!
The monkeys of Huaguo Mountain, capable of becoming Sun Wukong's subordinates and fighting against the heavenly soldiers, indeed possessed extraordinary qualities.
Most importantly, there were truly a great many monkeys here!
Within a radius of a hundred miles observed purely by Li Qi's telepathic will, he discovered no fewer than thirty thousand monkeys of various coat colors.
However, Li Qi had no time for detailed observation. For Honghong was currently diving deep into the massive, nearly five-li-wide pool beneath the waterfall.
Everything in this world—natural mountains, rivers, and lakes—shared a single characteristic: scale. They were immensely huge.
The river that formed the Huaguo Mountain waterfall alone had an actual water surface width of two li. The impact of the waterfall formed as it poured down was tremendously powerful—no wonder even the monkeys of Huaguo Mountain could not easily leap inward. Even the width of the pool itself was not enough for them to jump across.
Following Honghong, Li Qi arrived at the depths of the flowing water.
Beneath the water unexpectedly lay a subterranean rock tunnel less than a zhang wide, leading straight into the depths of the earth.
After penetrating nearly a hundred meters into this underground region, the two of them suddenly entered a vast subterranean water world.
Palaces stood in rows here, yet not a single living being existed. Countless corals, treasures, and pearls emitted a rich spiritual energy of water and heaven and earth, serving as decorations for the numerous palaces.
This complex of palaces was so vast, and appeared so abruptly, as if the fish and the silkworm had simply tumbled into it out of nowhere.
Such a phenomenon suggested only one possibility: the two of them had appeared within a blessed paradise. Or perhaps such a place was not yet grand enough in the Primordial World to be called a blessed paradise, deserving only to be termed a minor blessed land or a minor world.
This palace complex was quite unique; Li Qi's telepathic will could only scan a very small area. Over most of the region, his mind simply could not penetrate. This meant a large number of formations or seals existed here, making it far from a safe place.
Honghong continued swimming forward in a daze. Concerned for her safety, Li Qi had no choice but to keep following.
Together, they entered the perilous palace complex.
Fortunately, Li Qi sensed no danger along the path Honghong was taking, though the surrounding palaces filled him with a sense of crisis. Clearly, Honghong was being guided by a mysterious destiny, walking upon the correct path.
The palaces here all had walls of white jade, tiles of glazed glass, and floors paved with silver bricks. Water-grown jade trees and spiritual herbs radiating divine light adorned the grounds.
The only difference was the complete absence of living creatures. An eternal silence reigned, as if this were a terrifying, uninhabited forbidden zone!
Eventually, they arrived at the very center of the palace complex.
Here, Li Qi saw a tiny, blood-colored vision flowing across the void, yet the river appeared entirely real. The endless streams of blood-colored water looked precisely like charging blood dragons.
Honghong suddenly leaped into that mysterious visionary river, struggling and swimming upward against the current.
Yet Honghong was not the only Fortune-Born Dragon Carp in the river; other carps swam among them as well.
Among them were multicolored striped koi, pure white jade-colored koi, deep red blood-red koi, golden koi, purple koi with multiple feathers and wings on their backs, and divine green life-carps overflowing with the aura of life...
One could say that carp of every conceivable color could be seen here!
Every single one of them was a demon cultivator who had achieved success in cultivation, possessing extraordinary auras and formidable bloodlines. Placed in an ordinary transcendental world, any one of these carps could be regarded as an immortal beast.
The most powerful among them, a purple carp, already faintly carried the aura of an immortal. Li Qi deduced that this purple carp had likely reached the peak of the Refining Void to Integrate with Dao realm, just one step below true immortality!
Regardless of their strength, all these colorful divine carps were now striving forward in the red visionary river, swimming against the current in a race for first place.
Honghong was among them as well, and her condition was remarkably favorable.
For the red river produced blood-colored waves, whirlpools, and undercurrents that served as obstacles for those swimming upstream. Yet all of these inexplicably bypassed Honghong, allowing her—though her speed was not the fastest and her aura not the strongest—to advance with smooth sailing, gradually emerging among the front runners.
Just then, having shattered a whirlpool and a wave with brute force, the purple carp sensed the threat posed by Honghong, who had risen to second place.
Honghong happened to swim right beside him.
With a fierce dash, the purple carp slammed directly into Honghong, attempting to knock her into a newly formed giant whirlpool nearby.
Yet at that exact moment, a tiny undercurrent suddenly appeared. Influenced by this current, Honghong abruptly dropped back.
As a result, not only did the purple carp fail to hit Honghong, but he was swept into the massive whirlpool himself. Breaking free from the vortex, the force carried him straight into a golden carp. The two collided, bounced off each other, and smashed into countless powerful carps trailing behind.
Affected by this mishap, their speed plummeted instantly.
Honghong rapidly claimed the first-place position, and at that moment, a dragon-shaped jade gate appeared within the river.
Honghong leaped across it in a single bound, disappearing behind the jade Dragon Gate.
Meanwhile, Li Qi noticed the information in the mysterious prompt and finally understood everything.
"The Huaguo Mountain Aolai River has long lacked a River God, but this divine position belongs exclusively to the carp clan. The previous generation of the river set up the Minor Dragon Gate trial; whoever leaps across the Minor Dragon Gate first shall obtain the position of River God and gain mastery over the eight-thousand-li Aolai River."
"The Aolai River originates in Huaguo Mountain, flows through the Aolai Kingdom, and serves as its mother river!"
"Honghong was born with abundant Karmic Luck, and further influenced by your heaven-defying fortune, she has seized the position of River God through sheer destiny!"
"Honghong is currently receiving the River God inheritance!"
"The defeated shall be automatically teleported out of the River God's paradise. From this day forth, this realm of the River God's paradise shall belong entirely to the dominion of the Fortune-Born Dragon Carp Honghong."
"Witnessing the visionary Dragon River has inspired you. You have entered a state of minor enlightenment and comprehended the spell: River of Frost and Cold!"
"Once the River of Frost and Cold is unleashed, all things are frozen in ice, frost descends upon the earth, and a realm of glacial cold is formed."
This time, Li Qi did not sink into a special state of suspended animation. He merely felt a sudden surge of inspiration and comprehended a unique spell.
This spell could use magical power to manifest a river of frost and ice, possessing extraordinary might.
Honghong had become the River God and was now receiving the River God inheritance. Her fortuitous opportunity this time was truly monumental.
One had to realize that previously, Honghong was merely a wild carp with no background and no formidable strength.
With the position of River God, both her strength and her official, recognized status would undergo a massive elevation.
Moreover, this place was the starting point of the Journey to the West grand drama. Honghong might well become a participant in that epic journey in the future.
If fortune favored her, she might even secure a share of Karmic Luck from it.