"Do you know what I dislike most about you? You never look back."

"Huh? What?"

Chen Xuantian awoke from the darkness, looking bewildered as he lifted his head and glanced back at the carp behind him.

Yes, a carp. Behind Chen Xuantian was a white carp speaking to him through bubbles. Its body was covered in scales as pure as fresh snow, each one thin enough to be translucent, as if the edges of the fish scales were trimmed with the finest silver thread.

As it swam, thousands of scales glimmered, like jade petals trembling in the shimmering light, resembling a veil of white silk or a back covered with overnight snow. In the pitch-black, boundless ink pool, it was especially conspicuous.

Chen Xuantian still remembered diving into the pools of the Netherworld Spring. The assassin seemed to be lying on the dark water surface, and the white carp lay on the surface too. It blew out purple bubbles which burst with lightning flashes, sending ripples and sound waves that transmitted into the Divine Court.

"Follow me, we don’t have time."

Looking at the scene, at the bubbles, and then the fish head, Chen Xuantian’s thoughts were stirred—a realization dawned upon him, understanding and acknowledgment, then he rose and bowed,

"I suppose the ancestor must be the elder of Kun, Bubble Ancestor. I am Chen Xuantian, greetings to Bubble... poof!"

The carp launched itself, flicking its tail and knocking Chen Xuantian away!

"Hey, what was that for!"

"I already told you, don’t waste time! Unless you want to be lost forever in the Netherworld Spring, devoured by the Heavenly Demon! Shut up and follow me!"

The carp "whooshed" across the lake surface and disappeared in the vast abyss, leaving behind a thread-like ripple in its wake.

Chen Xuantian had no choice but to take it as tacit agreement since there was no denial. He hurriedly pursued the white carp into the depths of the Netherworld Spring before the ripple faded away.

But after trying to run a few steps, he realized his footing was slippery and soft, unable to gain traction, and his body felt weightless, as if inverted in water—running on the shifting surface or like a frantic dream, exerting full effort but never finding solid ground, incessantly slipping.

However, Chen Xuantian wasn’t new to this. With a bit of thought, he found a solution.

This Netherworld Spring, pitch-black as it was, was quite similar to the low-gravity environment of the moon surface—the surface lacked support, so each stride’s energy got dissipated by the water waves. Instead of alternating leg movement, he adopted a moonwalk style of keeping feet together, launching with each step.

After some hopping, Chen Xuantian further discovered that jumping too high was futile, as the water surface was extremely smooth. A slight misstep would send him sprawling. Finally, he came to realize and mimic the movements of the white carp, propelling forward by gliding across the surface, resembling a giant salamander.

"Stop dawdling, hurry up."

The white carp was waiting at the ripple’s end, impatiently slapping the water with its fin.

"Dive to the other side."

Chen Xuantian hesitated for a moment,

"Which side? I came with a friend, did the ancestor see them?"

The white carp responded irritably,

"Asking questions, hesitating—you’re the most troublesome. You’ll know everything on the other side! Hurry, we don’t have time!"

Tsk, what’s with this fish? Not nearly as cute as Kun...

With no alternative, Chen Xuantian dipped his head into the water.

Suddenly, the world spun; the water curtain broke before his eyes, and he emerged into the Netherworld’s Void Realm from before, poking his head out of the pool. Outside, the jade ore veins gleamed with emerald green radiance, surrounded by the carved railings and painted pillars of the Qingcheng Immortal Palace, overflowing with immaculately dressed divine couples of typical immortal palace style, gathered by the pond in a lively celebration.

Wait a minute, why is this perspective so peculiar...

Chen Xuantian glanced at the lake surface reflection... Good heavens! He had turned into a carp!

But then Chen Xuantian also noticed that the pool water shimmered with clear waves, transparent and infused with rich Spiritual Qi, akin to liquid elixir, quite unlike the dark muddy Netherworld Spring. The surrounding carps were large and plump, rare treasures indeed, with more than a few sporting golden antlers and silver scales—a rare sight, Primordial Strange Species with True Dragon Bloodline.

From the illusion realm scenes, it seemed to be a glimpse from the flourishing times of the Netherworld Spring Palace ages ago. Unfortunately, after realizing he was a fish, Chen Xuantian couldn’t understand a word of the shore dwellers’ chatter, which was all "gibberish" and "blah blah," either due to heavy accents or a fish’s small head.

Now he could only observe the surroundings, guessing the divine beings might be having a meeting.

Indeed, circling the pond, divine beings gathered, hundreds of splendidly dressed True Cultivators assembled. Initially, the fairy-maidens like Flying Chang’e were performing dances and music, serving delicacies and fine wine. Suddenly, someone clapped in the main hall, prompting the Immortal Maidens and Immortal Children to leave the table, leaving a dozen or twenty divine old ancestors with seats of honor.

These immortals’ faces and features were shrouded in multicolored auspicious clouds, nine-colored celestial lights. In Chen Xuantian’s fish eyes, their true forms were obscured, only glimpsing pairs of pupils flashing like meteors, and blooming lotus flowers atop the Divine Court.