With a SPLASH, Mu Chen slipped into the water. He let out a comfortable sigh and said, "Miss Xian’Er, you can turn around now. This pool is deeper than I thought; there’s enough here to restore an arm. I’m going to submerge myself for a bit, so please stand guard for me."

Wan Xian’Er slowly turned around, only to see that Mu Chen was gone, with nothing but a few bubbles rising to the surface of the pool. She stamped her foot and sat cross-legged by the water’s edge. ’How outrageous! Making a weak girl like me stand guard for a playboy in this strange cave.’ She casually picked up Mu Chen’s clothes, and upon seeing the dried bloodstains, a blissful smile appeared on her cold, beautiful face.

She curled a finger, and a wisp of green Primordial Power coiled around its tip. With a light flick, the green energy instantly sank into the dirt beside her. A dull THUD echoed as the ground suddenly exploded, creating a crater half a meter in diameter. Collapsing earth would normally raise a cloud of dust, but after blasting open the crater, Wan Xian’Er’s Wood Elemental Power caused flowers and plants to sprout, securing the loose soil.

With a thought, a large amount of clean water poured out of her Storage Ring. She had prepared it for washing up during her journey and was normally reluctant to use it, but now she was taking it out to clean Mu Chen’s clothes. ’Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve ever washed clothes for a boy.’ The corners of her eyes curved into crescents. ’Hmph. You should be happy that I’m willing to lower myself to wash your clothes for you, even if your arm doesn’t end up recovering.’

After muttering to herself for a moment, Wan Xian’Er crouched down and began to scrub the clothes carefully. Her movements looked clumsy, but she was exceptionally focused. It made sense. Just six months ago, she was the pampered young miss of the Ding Palace, cherished by all and having everything handed to her. A chore like washing clothes would never have been her responsibility. To be able to do a passable job now was already a huge improvement.

VWOOP...

Just as Wan Xian’Er was intently washing the clothes, a subtle spatial fluctuation appeared out of thin air behind her. Immediately after, a two-meter-long beast leaped out of a Spatial Rift. Who else could it be but Xiaobai, the Snow Qilin capable of ignoring any Barrier? Seeing Wan Xian’Er washing clothes, the Snow Qilin extended its large, powerful head and asked, "Miss Xian’Er, what are you doing? Where’s my Father?"

"Ah?!" The unexpected voice made Wan Xian’Er jump in fright. Whirling around, she was confronted by an incredibly majestic and imposing Qilin Giant Beast. It had a well-proportioned black and white mane, long and elegant, that seemed to drift in an unseen breeze. Within its pitch-black eyes, a pair of cold, golden pupils held a questioning gaze. Its Steel Claws, surging with lightning, stood firmly on the ground. Arcs of Thunder Light coursed over them, striking the earth and producing a constant crackling sound. Even more frightening was its sharp horn, across which black lightning danced and leaped. It wasn’t hard to imagine that anyone impaled by it would be torn to shreds.

"Wh-Who are you?!" Wan Xian’Er took two steps back. But then, she suddenly remembered Mu Chen was still in the pool and immediately calmed herself. With a flick of her wrist, a longsword shimmering with emerald light appeared out of thin air, continuously emitting terrifying fluctuations of Primordial Power. A Spiritual Treasure Soldier!

This was one of the three treasures her grandfather had given her, which she was absolutely not to use unless it was a last resort, lest she harm others. But facing the Magical Beast before her, she could no longer remain calm.

The Snow Qilin was bewildered by Wan Xian’Er’s stance and answered quizzically, "It’s me, Xiaobai. Where’s my Father?"

"Xiaobai?" Wan Xian’Er was stunned for a moment, then immediately recalled the Guardian Magical Beast that had been with Mu Chen earlier. "How did you become like this? Your aura seems countless times stronger than before."

The Snow Qilin chuckled, its eyes filled with pride. It had successfully surpassed the limits of an ordinary Magical Beast and reached the Sect Beast Realm. The power from the sacrifice of two Holy Beasts was far more than it could bear, so in the end, the Nether Qilin had no choice but to place four Seals on their power. It was absolutely forbidden from opening them except in an extreme emergency. Once a Seal was opened, its power would skyrocket at a terrifying rate. Unlocking the first would allow it to reach the Emperor Realm, the second the Venerable Realm, the third the Saint Realm, and the fourth... the Peak of Saint Realm.

Of course, such a Heaven-Defying power came with extremely harsh restrictions. With the Snow Qilin’s current constitution, it could barely manage to unlock the first Seal and reach the Emperor Realm. However, if it were to unlock the second Seal, it would indeed gain extraordinary power but would fall into a long-term hibernation as a result. The length of that hibernation would depend on its own recovery. The third Seal? It couldn’t be opened. The Nether Qilin had placed an even stricter restriction upon it: it absolutely could not be unlocked until the Snow Qilin’s own cultivation reached the Venerable Realm. Not even the Seal-ignoring Snow Qilin itself could break it!

"Where’s my Father?" The Snow Qilin didn’t answer Wan Xian’Er’s question, instead asking again with anxiety.

Wan Xian’Er pointed to the jade-colored pool. "He’s in there, regenerating his arm right now. If possible, try not to disturb him."

The Snow Qilin scanned the pool with its golden pupils and said gravely, "The life force in this pool is very rich, but it’s not enough to completely restore my Father’s arm. Even if it looks identical to a normal arm on the outside, its internal strength will be far inferior."

Wan Xian’Er was taken aback by its words and asked in a panic, "Then what should we do?"

The Snow Qilin said, "Originally, even I wouldn’t have had a solution. But things are different now. I have a way to make Father’s restored arm even stronger."

As it spoke, the Snow Qilin leaped lightly and came to a hover over the center of the pool. The black lightning arcing from it etched terrifying cracks into the ground...

At that moment, Mu Chen was submerged in the pool, his focus turned inward. He used Introspection to watch his bones regrow, and a smile gradually appeared on his face. Although the newborn bone seemed a bit fragile, that didn’t matter. The human body could be strengthened through Postnatal training.

CRACK...

Mu Chen’s brow twitched. The section of bone, which had already reached his elbow, extended a little further. Though it was painful, it was also an incredibly pleasant sensation—a pleasure he had never experienced before. Reconstructing a body followed a sequence: first the skeleton, then the meridians, and finally the flesh, blood, and skin. The bones were the foundation. The stronger the bones, the stronger the arm.

Seeing the level of the Spiritual Liquid in the pool drop again, the Snow Qilin’s expression hardened. It knew it couldn’t wait any longer. RRRIP! Its sharp claw, crackling with violent black lightning, tore open its own foreleg. Droplets of grayish-black blood trickled down its sleek fur, gathering into a thin stream that fell into the Jade Spiritual Liquid.

Apparently sensing that the blood was flowing too slowly and that the wound was already healing rapidly, the Snow Qilin raised its giant claw again. The sound of tearing flesh rang out once more.

SPURT! A jet of blood shot out from the Snow Qilin’s wrist, plunging entirely into the pool. The Snow Qilin’s expression remained calm, though its Spirit had clearly weakened. Watching the pool gradually turn black from its blood, the Snow Qilin clenched its sharp teeth and forced a single drop of pure golden blood from between its brows. It fell slowly into the water.

The moment she saw that drop of blood, Wan Xian’Er trembled all over. ’Golden blood... that’s Holy Spirit Blood! No! A gold that pure... not even Grandfather could achieve that. Could it be... could it be Emperor Vein Divine Blood?! Just what kind of Divine Beast *is* this Xiaobai?!’

But Xiaobai had no time to pay Wan Xian’Er any mind. Its golden pupils were fixed on the pool. As the drop of golden blood entered the water, a pillar of golden light shot toward the sky. The Spiritual Liquid, now mixed with black blood, began to boil violently, and an extremely frenzied, violent aura erupted from within.

The Snow Qilin’s tension finally eased. Its body tilted, and it crashed down from the sky. Fortunately, it managed to shift its body just as it fell, otherwise it would have landed in the pool.

Seeing the weakened Snow Qilin, Wan Xian’Er rushed to its side. She pressed her hand against the wound on its wrist, frantically pouring Medicinal Power from the Medicine Cauldron inside her body into the beast. The Snow Qilin looked at Wan Xian’Er with its golden pupils and said in a pleading tone, "Miss Xian’Er, there might be some side effects after Father’s arm recovers. When that happens, please, you must help my Father. If he can’t release that violent aura, his life could be in danger. I’ve lost too much blood and must go into hibernation, so I’m entrusting his care to you..."

After speaking its last words, the Snow Qilin slowly closed its majestic eyes. Its entire body was enveloped in a dazzling ball of white light as it slowly ascended into the air.

"’Side effects? His life will be in danger if he can’t release the violent aura?’" Wan Xian’Er muttered. She suddenly realized she had no idea what the side effects even were. "Hey... you have to at least tell me what to do! Hey! Xiaobai! Hey!"

But Xiaobai had already completely entered hibernation and couldn’t hear Wan Xian’Er’s calls at all. She stomped her foot and muttered in annoyance, ’Oh, well. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Since Xiaobai said I can help, the side effects probably aren’t that severe...’ She glanced at the half-washed clothes, and with nothing else to do, she crouched down and resumed her task.

However, at the bottom of the pool, Mu Chen suddenly frowned. The Spiritual Liquid, which had been gentle and stable just moments ago, had suddenly become frenzied and violent. Not only that, but Mu Chen, in direct contact with the liquid, felt a wave of scorching heat spread through his body, as if his very blood were about to boil.

CRACKLE! CRACKLE!

The aura of the Spiritual Liquid was so violent that the tender, newly-formed bone completely shattered, not leaving even a single fragment behind. Mu Chen was stunned. ’Did something go wrong?!’ he thought in alarm.

But just as he thought all his progress was lost, a grayish-black bone rapidly extended from his shoulder, replacing the original one. It grew at a speed that even Mu Chen hadn’t anticipated. Feeling the new bone, which was even harder than Xuan Iron, Mu Chen was utterly astonished. ’What in the world is happening? This regrown arm bone... it’s not something a human should have... It’s so powerful...’