"Junior Brother Wuyou... That's enough, I've finished setting up the formation. Hurry up and leave the Boshui Lake!" Seeing Shan Wuyou still entangled with the Tri-Eye Azure Water Python, Liu Wushuang immediately sent a voice transmission urging him to retreat from the lake right away.
"Understood, Senior Sister!"
Shan Wuyou immediately channeled his spiritual energy and sprinted toward the shore. The moment he reached the bank, Liu Wushuang was already prepared.
"Tri-Origin Water Prison Formation—"
"Rise—!"
At Liu Wushuang's command, three beams of blue light shot into the sky from the shores of Boshui Lake, instantly trapping the Tri-Eye Azure Water Python that was still pursuing Shan Wuyou!
The Tri-Origin Water Prison Formation only enclosed a radius of one hundred meters around the Tri-Eye Azure Water Python, leaving a two-hundred-meter gap between it and the Seven-Color Lotus.
It would be impossible to harvest the Seven-Color Lotus without separating the beast from it. Clearly, this first collaboration between Liu Wushuang and Shan Wuyou was remarkably seamless!
Seeing that the python was trapped within the formation and temporarily unable to escape, Liu Wushuang walked over to Shan Wuyou.
"Junior Brother Wuyou... well done. I didn't expect you to be so formidable—to hold your ground against a mid-second-order fierce beast for so long!"
Noticing that Shan Wuyou didn't even have a single drop of sweat on him, and that his aura was steady without the slightest sign of turbulence, Liu Wushuang was slightly surprised, but she didn't dwell on it. After all, everyone had their own secrets, including herself!
"Not at all, Senior Sister... I owe it all to your talismans! Otherwise, I wouldn't have lasted nearly that long."
At this, Shan Wuyou glanced at the Tri-Eye Azure Water Python attacking the barrier, thinking to himself, *It's obvious this formation won't hold it for long!*
"Senior Sister, you should hurry up and harvest the Seven-Color Lotus. I don't think this formation can hold out much longer!"
Hearing this, Liu Wushuang also noticed the python's actions and nodded. "Alright, once we harvest it, we'll leave. My stomach has been empty for a while."
With that, she began walking toward the location of the Seven-Color Lotus.
Watching Liu Wushuang's retreating figure as she approached the Seven-Color Lotus, Shan Wuyou thought thoughtfully, *I'll tell Senior Sister I have other business to attend to and let her head back by herself! ...... No!*
Realizing something, he suddenly gasped and cried out at the top of his lungs, "Senior Sister, look out!"
The moment he shouted, his figure surged forward like an arrow!
"Ah?"
Turning around, Liu Wushuang saw Shan Wuyou racing toward her and felt a sudden wave of confusion. *Why is he suddenly calling out to me for no good reason?*
While she was momentarily distracted, she suddenly noticed ripples stirring in the water beneath her feet. As time passed, the ripples grew larger and larger, as if something was about to emerge from the depths. Realizing something was terribly wrong, she wanted to get away immediately.
But just as she finished plucking the Seven-Color Lotus and tried to flee, it was already too late.
Right before her eyes, a massive python burst forth from the lake water! It looked identical to the one trapped in the formation, except this python was a late-second-order fierce beast!
*There's another Tri-Eye Azure Water Python... Run!*
Knowing she was no match for this beast, she immediately pulled out a Divine Travel Talisman and applied it to herself. But before she could activate it, she saw the giant serpent's tail whipping toward her. She raised her hands to block, but it was already too late!
"Bang——!"
With a deafening crash, Liu Wushuang was smashed straight into the lake water by the Tri-Eye Azure Water Python!
Everything happened in the blink of an eye!
"Senior Sister!" Seeing Liu Wushuang knocked into the lake, Shan Wuyou let out a furious roar!
"Heaven-Opening Palm——!"
When Shan Wuyou was still twenty meters away from the late-second-order fierce beast, he immediately unleashed the introductory technique of the *Nine-Extremes Sacred Scripture*. Instantly, a massive blue hand nearly twenty meters long materialized from his right hand.
The giant blue palm struck the late-second-order Tri-Eye Azure Water Python dead-on. Struck by the colossal palm, the beast dissipated at terrifying speed, vanishing into thin air in a fraction of a second!
A late-second-order fierce beast! Killed instantly by a single strike of the Heaven-Opening Palm!
Without a second to waste, Shan Wuyou dove straight into the lake.
……
Before long, Shan Wuyou broke the surface carrying the unconscious Liu Wushuang.
He was about to treat her injuries when another twist occurred! The mid-second-order Tri-Eye Azure Water Python by the lake had broken free from the formation and was charging straight at him!
"Since you're asking for death... I'll send you to join your companion!"
Hoisting Liu Wushuang onto his back, Shan Wuyou charged directly toward the Tri-Eye Azure Water Python.
…………
Dodging the python's venom, Shan Wuyou reached a spot directly beneath its belly. He clenched his left hand into a fist and threw a punch!
"Star-Shattering Fist——!"
With the shout, Shan Wuyou's fist slammed into the Tri-Eye Azure Water Python!
"Boom——!"
The struck python died instantly. A massive hole was blown through its belly, and a giant fist imprint burst from its back, traveling fifty meters away before finally dissolving into nothingness.
Both second-order fierce beasts had been reunited in hell by a single punch and palm from Shan Wuyou!
………
Half an hour later, inside a cave on Baishan Peak, Shan Wuyou was eating a roasted mountain chicken.
Half an hour prior, after finishing off the Tri-Eye Azure Water Python, Shan Wuyou had carried the unconscious Liu Wushuang to this cave.
Checking her condition, Shan Wuyou found that her injuries were not severe. He figured she must have possessed some sort of defensive armor or other life-saving measures!
Since her injuries weren't critical, he gave her some basic treatment, estimating that she would wake up before long.
Returning to the present moment, Shan Wuyou looked at Xiaobai, who was currently munching on a chicken leg.
"Xiaobai... Did you know all along that there were two beasts in Boshui Lake?"
Shan Wuyou hadn't sensed what was at the bottom of the lake for two reasons: first, his cultivation was too low, and second, water could block most spiritual perception! But he refused to believe that Bai Ze hadn't sensed the two beasts in the water.
Even though water could block most spiritual perception, Bai Ze was a Divine Beast after all—and a late-third-order Divine Beast at that! How could it possibly fail to detect a lake measuring only five hundred meters in diameter? He wouldn't believe that if he were beaten to death.
Bai Ze turned its back to Shan Wuyou. "I... how could I possibly know?"
Seeing that Bai Ze refused to admit it, Shan Wuyou didn't press the matter further. The fault couldn't really be pinned on Bai Ze; if anyone was to blame, it was Liu Wushuang for failing to investigate properly!
"Xiaobai... I'm not trying to blame you! It's just that Senior Sister Liu has helped me. Even though I could have handled it without her, she still acted out of good intentions, and we can't just treat her like that!"
A favor as small as a drop of water should be repaid with a gushing spring! Even if one didn't repay it, one certainly couldn't stand by and watch someone die! Shan Wuyou still understood that basic principle.
Bai Ze froze for a moment! Then, stepping on tiptoes, it turned its body back around. "Eldest Brother... I... I didn't mean to. I just thought this lady seemed like a really nice person, so... so I wanted..."
"Wanted what?"
Shan Wuyou figured Bai Ze must have had some scheme of its own, which was why it had deliberately kept it from him!
"I... I just wanted you to play the hero saving the damsel in distress, so... so that she would feel grateful to you, and maybe fall in love with you in the future!" Bai Ze stammered in a low voice, clearly extremely nervous.
…………
Hearing this, Shan Wuyou couldn't help being startled!
"You're so young, and you already understand all that? What do you think love is? It's not as simple as you think."
"Love requires two people to mutually appreciate each other's strengths, accommodate each other's flaws, and grind through a very long period of time together, only to realize in the end that they still cherish each other deeply before they can truly make a life together! So... I'll accept your good intentions, but don't ever pull a stunt like this again."
"I... I understand. I won't do it again next time!"
Bai Ze hadn't expected love to be so complicated, and for a moment it struggled to wrap its head around it. In its mind, women naturally preferred men who were powerful and capable of protecting them.
Actually, Bai Ze wasn't entirely wrong, but humans and Divine Beasts were vastly different after all. Humans had complex thoughts, and naturally had many more factors to consider….