Chapter 84: Escape

Chen Chen held a large clump of "ink crystal" the size of a sea bowl in his hands, feeling its heavy weight, which made him so excited that he felt a bit dizzy.

He was so agitated that he could hardly speak, never expecting that the hard object he had mistakenly thought was a human head in the fish's belly was actually a large clump of undigested earth vein black crystal from the fish king.

Such a rare and precious object, even a thumb-sized piece, would cause a great stir in the outside world. Countless powerful cultivators who wished to refine superior magical treasures would be proud to be able to incorporate a small piece of earth vein black crystal into their refinement process. The superior magical treasures they refined would always make others envious when they were used!

But now, what Chen Chen held in his hands was such a large clump!

This was a supreme spiritual object revered as the pulse of the earth. If it were placed in the outside world, even the high-ranking officials of huge organizations like the Netherworld Palace would spare no effort to obtain such a large clump!

"Perhaps there has never been a magical treasure in the Tianlong Continent that was entirely refined from earth vein black crystal..." Chen Chen drooled, recalling the many legendary powerful magical treasures he had heard of before. His conclusion was... there had never been a magical treasure in the world that was entirely forged from earth vein black crystal!

The rarity of such a spiritual object was almost self-evident. At this moment, Chen Chen suppressed the trembling in his heart and secretly resolved that when he became powerful enough in the future, he would definitely use this clump of earth vein black crystal to refine a shocking magical treasure. When that time came, the entire Tianlong Continent would be shaken...

"Buzz... Buzz..." Just as Chen Chen was overjoyed, the ancient mirror in his mind also began to tremble violently.

"Hehe, Brother Mirror, are you also happy for me? To obtain such an object is a blessing I have accumulated over many lifetimes!" Chen Chen felt the movement of the ancient mirror and immediately looked smug.

Encountering such an opportunity, even the rulers of those huge organizations would probably be so excited that they would howl to the sky three times, let alone a small cultivator like him at the bottom of the martial path.

"Whoosh~~~"

However, just as Chen Chen was smiling broadly, thinking about how to store this precious treasure, suddenly, a dazzling seven-colored light shot out from his forehead and shone on the clump of earth vein black crystal.

"Whoosh!" In the next moment, right before Chen Chen's eyes, the clump of ink crystal in his hands disappeared in an instant.

At the same time, in the natural stone room, the massive body of the black stone fish king, which Chen Chen had already gutted, began to shrink visibly, finally transforming into a fist-sized clump of essence blood that entered Chen Chen's forehead. The fish king's body disappeared along with the earth vein black crystal.

"This..." Chen Chen's smile froze, his mouth agape, as if he had gone crazy. Such a bizarre scene made him think he was hallucinating.

Chen Chen confirmed that the earth vein black crystal had really "flown" away. This was definitely not a hallucination. The moment the seven-colored light appeared, the earth vein black crystal in his hands seemed to evaporate into thin air, which was very strange.

"Could it be that Brother Mirror took it? Oh no, Brother Mirror, don't take it, that's mine, you can't do this..." Chen Chen quickly snapped out of his shock, his mouth twitching as he howled like a pig being slaughtered.

There was no one else here, although a large group of black stone fish had surrounded him, they clearly did not dare to get too close and were now circling around him. All signs indicated that the earth vein black crystal had likely been taken by the ancient mirror.

If it were something else, even a precious treasure, Chen Chen would not have been so anxious. He and the ancient mirror were now inseparable, and it didn't matter who got it.

But this clump of earth vein black crystal was different. Chen Chen had been planning to use this supreme spiritual object to create a shocking and powerful magical treasure. If it were swallowed by the ancient mirror, he might as well bash his head in...

Feeling indignant, Chen Chen quickly sat cross-legged, preparing to enter his mind to try to retrieve the clump of earth vein black crystal.

But before he could sit properly, suddenly, a seven-colored light shot out from his forehead again. Then, with a "whoosh," a hard clump of ink crystal appeared out of nowhere and landed in front of him.

"My earth vein black crystal!" Chen Chen was delighted and quickly pounced on it, grabbing it before it could fall into the water.

Then, he clutched the hard clump of ink crystal to his chest as if guarding against a thief, afraid it would be taken by the ancient mirror again.

"Something's not right, it seems lighter..." A few breaths later, Chen Chen's pupils constricted as he suddenly felt the weight in his hands was not as heavy as before. He instinctively looked down.

Sure enough, the clump of ink crystal in his arms had visibly shrunk by a third. This scene almost made Chen Chen faint.

It wasn't that Chen Chen was guessing; the ancient mirror had taken at least two thousand pounds of the earth vein black crystal. Such a weight, let alone Chen Chen, would make even a nobleman spit blood in anger!

With Chen Chen's current arm strength, lifting a thousand-pound bronze tripod was like holding a ball of cotton. He had easily gauged that the clump of earth vein black crystal, though only the size of a sea bowl, weighed no less than six thousand pounds. Now, it had lost a third of its weight, which was unbearable for anyone.

However, despite his lament, Chen Chen was also very curious why the ancient mirror had taken the earth vein black crystal, taken a part of it, and then returned it.

"Could the ancient mirror be using this supreme spiritual object to repair its damaged cracks..." Thinking this, Chen Chen's anger subsided somewhat. If the ancient mirror had indeed used the taken part to repair the cracks, it seemed reasonable. The ancient mirror had saved him several times in dire situations, showing deep affection, and this request was not excessive.

Moreover, the ancient mirror had been quite fair. It had taken a part, but the remaining large clump was still enough to create a shocking magical treasure. Chen Chen felt he had no reason to complain.

Thinking this, Chen Chen quickly calmed down. He slowly sat down in the water, placed the earth vein black crystal on his thigh, and then his consciousness entered his mind to check the ancient mirror's condition.

After a few breaths, Chen Chen's consciousness returned to the ancient mirror. At this moment, the ancient mirror was emitting a blinding light, floating up and down, as if radiating the rhythm of a grand cosmic law, like a celestial being descending to the world, very mysterious.

"Wow? The cracks really have been repaired, and all three major cracks at once!" After a careful count, Chen Chen was pleasantly surprised. The mirror's surface now had three cracks that had completely disappeared, leaving fourteen. This change made even Chen Chen gape in amazement.

For a long time, Chen Chen had known that the ancient mirror in his mind was extraordinary. Similarly, the damage on its surface was not just a few simple cracks. In Chen Chen's memory, each time the ancient mirror repaired a small crack, it was extremely difficult, requiring an unimaginable amount of spiritual energy.

The last time, using the spiritual energy from the black stone fish's flesh, the two smallest cracks were repaired, and there had been no progress for a long time. During this period, Chen Chen had consumed a lot of black stone fish flesh, but the ancient mirror's repair progress was still minimal, as if it had encountered a major obstacle. Even the black stone fish, a rare treasure, had lost its effectiveness.

But now, the ancient mirror had repaired three major cracks at once, making rapid progress. Chen Chen sighed in admiration, confirming that the earth vein black crystal was indeed a supreme spiritual object, and he was also very excited about this result.

"Brother Mirror, if you can repair the other cracks... why don't you take the remaining large clump, don't be polite!" After a few breaths, Chen Chen clenched his teeth and seriously looked at the ancient mirror.

He did this sincerely, without any pretense. On one hand, the ancient mirror had saved his life twice, a debt that could not be repaid with material things. No matter how valuable the gift, he was willing to give it.

Moreover, the ancient mirror, even in its damaged state, was already so mysterious and powerful. If it were fully restored... Chen Chen drew a sharp breath, unable to imagine what kind of divine object it would be at its peak...

However, in response to Chen Chen's sincere offering, the ancient mirror remained unmoved, slightly swaying from side to side under Chen Chen's hopeful gaze!

"Oh!" Chen Chen muttered in disappointment. With his intelligence, he could easily understand the ancient mirror's meaning.

In fact, Chen Chen should have realized this earlier. Even the black stone fish, a rare treasure, had lost its effectiveness. The earth vein black crystal, though revered as a supreme spiritual object, also had its limits, at least for the ancient mirror. Its several cracks seemed not to be repairable with just spiritual energy or spiritual objects...

Thinking this, Chen Chen no longer dwelled on the matter. The more difficult it was to repair the ancient mirror's cracks, the more terrifying its origin must be, which was a good thing. However, just as Chen Chen was about to leave his mind and the dark waters, the ancient mirror moved again!

"Buzz... Buzz..."

As it floated, a strange vortex slowly appeared on the ancient mirror's surface. Then, the clump of earth vein black crystal on Chen Chen's thigh flew into his mind again.

"Brother Mirror, could it be that..." Chen Chen looked surprised, thinking he had misunderstood the ancient mirror's meaning.

However, the next scene left Chen Chen speechless. After the clump of earth vein black crystal flew into his mind, the ancient mirror ignored it and continued to emit divine light. In the blink of an eye, it had created a large, magical pool in Chen Chen's mind.

"Rushing water..." In the next moment, a massive amount of cold underground river water was sucked into the pool by the vortex on the ancient mirror.

From the outside, this scene was even more astonishing. It seemed as if a black hole had appeared on Chen Chen's forehead, sucking in an endless amount of water.

Before long, the large pool in Chen Chen's mind was filled with water, the amount of which was so vast that Chen Chen almost dropped his jaw. A rough estimate would be at least several million pounds!

"Several million pounds of water in my mind..." Chen Chen looked strange in front of the ancient mirror. Was this what they meant by "water in the brain," and not just a little, but several million pounds! Chen Chen was speechless!

However, what left Chen Chen even more speechless was yet to come. After filling the large pool, the ancient mirror trembled again, emitting blinding divine light, and the vortex on its surface suddenly enlarged.

Then, Chen Chen saw that the thousands of black stone fish in the stone room, which formed a dark mass, were... sucked into the pool!

"Boom!"

This was not the end. With a tremor from the outside, the massive underwater stone pillar, surrounded by the remnants of the earth vein black crystal's transformation, suddenly rose from the ground, quickly shrank, and entered Chen Chen's forehead, also falling into the pool!

One scene after another left Chen Chen dumbfounded, as if he were in a dream...

...

A moment later, Chen Chen's consciousness returned, and the moment he opened his eyes, he saw a huge pit on the ground not far ahead. The massive stone pillar that had stood there, over a dozen zhang tall, was nowhere to be seen!

"Brother Mirror... you're ruthless!" In the water at the bottom of the stone room, Chen Chen stared at the scene, his mouth and facial muscles twitching.

He had already felt ruthless when he had been feasting on the rare black stone fish, but he never expected the ancient mirror to be even more ruthless. This was not just killing; it was like scooping everything up and raising it slowly!

After the shock, Chen Chen was also trembling with excitement. The black stone fish were no longer useful to the ancient mirror, but it still did this, the meaning of which was clear.

Moreover, Chen Chen had not expected that his mind, with the ancient mirror as its guardian, could also contain objects. He had been struggling to find a suitable magical tool to store valuable items, but now it seemed the problem was solved.

"Brother Mirror, thanks, let's go, it's time to leave this dark and gloomy place!"

A moment later, Chen Chen laughed wildly, grabbed the crimson gold sword, and kicked off with his legs, swiftly swimming toward the large round hole above...

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