NOVEL NEXT Chapter 335: Undine
There were no fleshy walls around him, whether it be the walls, floors, or even the—
The ceiling!
Li Lang looked up with a glint in his eyes. The main body of the Thousand Change Sea Breath was quietly looming over them. Even now, when a battle raged on nearby, it was completely undisturbed. That also meant it was a distance away, too far for him to do anything about it. Pressing a fist against his forehead, he quickly called out to his trump card.
"Ruby, make the fragment of the heavenly water reach out to its main body. Tell it to get it down to him somehow! We need its help."
"I'm on it, Master!"
As Li Lang's black hole shield continued to buckle under the onslaught from the ooze, an orb of water shot out from his chest. It crashed into the ceiling as if its rear had been lit on fire, but the impact didn't cause a splash or anything. It simply melded into the membrane on the ceiling. No changes could be observed, as its surface remained tranquil—until it suddenly didn't.
The membrane bubbled rapidly before all crashing down at once. Both humans and Qi beasts looked up, alarmed by the new development. However, it didn't splatter everything under it as expected; instead, it dexterously formed into a giant sphere of water during its drop. It bounced comically several times upon reaching the pink fleshy floor, landing right between Li Lang and the ooze.
Streams of acid shot dangerously close to it, so it extended several tentacle-like arms to intercept them. The attack penetrated into its arms, with the green ichor still visible through its translucent body. It didn't cause it to thrash in pain or cause any damage, though. It simply floated within its limbs, slowly fading away.
Li Lang couldn't tell if there was a limit to its ability to withstand attacks like that, as the ooze had stopped firing the moment it saw the heavenly water in its path.
"Li Lang!" Long Yi called out as he protectively positioned himself in front of his friend. "Are you good?"
"Yeah, but this fight of ours seems to have lasted a bit too long. It's time to end it," he replied, pushing his towering friend aside.
He only got to take two steps toward the heavenly water before Jun Ziyan abruptly appeared in his way.
"Are you serious? You want to approach it now, of all times? Can't you just sit back for once? I'm handling it."
"Don't worry. I just need to reach the Thousand Change Sea Breath, and things will be resolved. Trust me."
The Sword Saint disciple grimaced upon hearing the request.
"You're really that confident in subduing it? It definitely has the strength of a Violet Core Realm, you know? It's just been playing nice and had no interest in us. Trying to subdue could change that."
In a rare display, Li Lang summoned an ember of blue-silver fire in his right hand, while animated sludge twirled around his left.
"Leave it to me."
Meeting his gaze for several long moments, Jun Ziyan eventually relented, letting out a sigh and shrugging as she moved out of the way. Both she and Long Yi still stood near him as he drew closer to the ooze, carefully monitoring its movements.
Under the protection of his companions, Li Lang reached out for the blob of water that could easily envelop him several times over.
"Master, it's done, but this old thing wants to speak to you directly first. Do you want to entertain it?" Ruby's voice resounded in his mind.
"Sure. But can it speak? I don't think either the Voracious Mire or Primordial Star Fire could."
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"Yes, although weakened, this heavenly water still retains the strength approximately of the middle stage of the Violet Core Realm. The main body of the two you mentioned is either too young or has regressed after years of neglect, only having the strength of the late-stage Foundation Establishment Realm."
"I see. Patch me through, then."
A moment later, Li Lang felt something reach out to him, and he accepted, establishing a bond just like the one he had with his artifacts. A serene but synthetic voice sounded out in a slow, measured tone.
"Undine greets the Master of the Origin artifact."
"Undine? Is that your name?"
"That's correct. It was the name given to me by my previous master many years ago."
"Well, nice to meet you, Undine. I am Li Lang. What did you want to speak to me about?"
"I understand you wish for me to become a guardian of your sect? I'm not foolish enough to decline, but I'd like to make a request if that is to be the case."
"Um, right. That's about the gist of it. What request did you have?"
"I would like your aid in my search for a Heart of the Sea. I've searched for many years to no avail, but maybe one with a fate as strong as yours will have better luck."
"Heart of the Sea?"
"Yes."
A simple reply without any additional explanation. After waiting for a moment and realizing Undine wasn't going to explain, he asked his trusted artifact spirit.
"Ruby?"
"Yes, Master! The Heart of the Sea is one of the many natural treasures born into the world. It's a valuable crafting material and can empower any heavenly elements of the same affinity."
"That is correct," Undine supplemented.
"I accept," Li Lang declared. "I'll have my students keep an eye out for it. In the meantime, let us return to your new home. I'm sure you'll quite like it."
"As long as I do not have to stay near the earthen spirit of yours, I will be satisfied."
The conversation in his mind soon stopped as Li Lang opened his eyes. Before him, the heavenly water's appearance had taken a drastic turn. It was no longer a simple sphere and now took on the appearance of a motherly woman. It was still obvious its body was entirely composed of water, but the new form made the humans do a double-take. After all, it was hard to treat a ball of water the same way as one shaped like a sentient being. It didn't help that it had a full figure and appeared to be in its birthday suit as well.
"Is this what you do as soon as you subdue a heavenly element?" Jun Ziyan coldly asked.
"Um, Li Lang, I'm on her side for this one. Is this really necessary?"
Not wanting to bother with their accusatorial gazes, Li Lang shrugged and pointed to the ooze.
"Undine, can you defeat that thing or tell it to scram?"
The heavenly water turned to him and flashed a shockingly human smile. It pointed its palm at the green shivering ooze and then a huge torrent of water blasted from it. It swept the ooze away, smashing into the flesh of the deceased whale. The water then locked in place, holding the ooze captive as its body bubbled away. It was slowly but surely being torn to pieces, which made it accelerated the pace at which it dissolved in the water.
Through the connection he had with Undine, Li Lang could feel its masterful control over water. It could form thousands of tiny arms, ripping apart anything it engulfed, or could exert more precision by splitting into numerous parts. It was how the fragment of it managed to take on so many cultivators back in the crypt.
Under the protection of such a powerful entity, the trip out of the whale was an uneventful one. The three of them soon reunited with their peers waiting outside.
"This is the heavenly water known as the Thousand Change Sea Breath?" Gao Kai, a disciple of the Polar Extreme Sect, muttered as he stared on with undisguised desire in his eyes.
"Yes. As promised, each of your organizations will obtain an additional ten quotas whenever we open the Crucible to the world," Li Lang said. "The people you send can also request to make an attempt at taming a fragment of it, even if they weren't awarded the opportunity by the pocket realm."
"What about elders? Will you be removing the restriction on the age of those who can enter?"
"That—isn't something I arbitrarily decided. I may be able to convince the artifact spirit of the Crucible to consider each case, but generally, no. Older individuals aren't suited to take the trials."
"You must consider my case, then! In fact, allow me to make an attempt now. It'll save you the work."
Exchanging glances with his peers, Li Lang nodded. He didn't want to argue, and it wasn't like the man could forcefully subdue Undine anyway.
As the gruff man excitedly strode forward to make his attempt, Li Lang sat down and crossed his legs off to the side. He wanted some time to calm down after the excitement from earlier and investigate what exactly happened. How in the world did he learn a Qi art on the fly, and one as complicated as summoning a spiritual black hole?
At the same time, he had now gathered three heavenly elements out of the five. With Undine in the equation, he needed to make some adjustments to his spiritual sea as well.