Following Xiao Bai, they arrived at the foot of a cliff. The spiritual spring served as a coordinate, placing them roughly to the southwest. When Ye Ju first drifted to the island, she had walked along the shore, but not to the bottom of the cliff.
Xiao Bai burrowed into an opening that led to the water's surface. It was an arched inlet. Stepping on slippery reef rocks along the edge of the opening, one could enter. The opening was vast, capable of holding a small boat with four or five people. Reaching the end, they discovered a natural karst cave with a deep pool at its base. The cave ceiling was rugged, adorned with countless stalactites, densely packed like bamboo shoots, crystal clear. Stalagmites also covered the ground. It was a true marvel of nature, exquisite! Ye Ju couldn't help but marvel inwardly. This was a karst landform as described in National Geographic, taking hundreds of thousands, even millions of years to form. White water droplets occasionally fell from the stalactites, but before they could reach the pool, blue-scaled fish leaped out of the water to devour them.
The pool was estimated to be the size of a basketball court. The water was exceptionally clear, with a blue luminescence from the depths, making the bottom invisible. Light streamed down from the highest point of the cave ceiling, likely obscured by trees on the cliff top, which prevented them from discovering the pool earlier. This was likely one of Xiao Bai's more secluded territories. Animals all possessed territorial instincts.
The pool was very deep. Despite the clear water, the bottom remained unseen. Ye Ju tentatively probed the depths with her divine sense, a transfer from her Nascent Spirit Guardian. Indeed, her Natal Magic Treasure was in sync with her. Concentrating, she slowly extended her divine sense, discovering the immense depth. She saw many blue-scaled fish but not the third-tier fierce electric eel that Xiao Bai had mentioned. The further down she reached, the more a sense of danger she felt. Ye Ju felt dizzy and withdrew her divine sense.
"Xiao Bai, I didn't see the third-tier electric eel. Where does it usually hide?"
"Master~~ Master~~ That fierce beast usually hides in its lair. The smaller blue spirit fish here are carried out to the outer sea by the tide during high tide. So, Master, sometimes you'll find some blue-scaled fish on the shore during low tide. They are very weak out of water, and the blue-scaled fish cannot adapt to very wide bodies of water. Their habitat is very harsh. Only in these naturally formed caves, where the stalactites on the ceiling produce stone milk, do the blue-scaled fish feed on it. They also require a place where freshwater and saltwater combine for the female blue-scaled fish to lay eggs, which is conducive to the hatching and growth of blue-scaled fish eggs."
Ye Ju understood everything after hearing Xiao Bai's explanation. So, the dripping from the stalactites was stone milk! This was a precious item. Her Nascent Spirit Guardian informed Ye Ju that this stone milk, formed over thousands or even tens of thousands of years, could reshape tendons and bones and increase cultivation.
So, these blue-scaled fish fed on millennium-old stone milk. No wonder blue-scaled fish were cultivation treasures. The stone milk itself was a treasure for cultivation, and the blue-scaled fish ate it, which explained its rarity. Yue Ju mused inwardly, she wanted to obtain some of this stone milk. She saw the stone milk dripping from the stalactites in the center of the pool, but it was too far from the edge to retrieve easily.
Ye Ju asked Xiao Bai, "Do you know where I can get some stone milk?"
"Master, you want stone milk? Follow me."
Xiao Bai dove into the water and swam to the opposite bank. The opposite bank, crystalline and emitting white light, was where the stone milk was. There was a concave groove there. White liquid continuously dripped from the tip of a giant stalactite. It must have formed for a long time; the groove was filled with stone milk that had already overflowed and slowly flowed into the lake, attracting many blue-scaled fish. As Xiao Bai approached the shore, the blue-scaled fish were startled and quickly submerged. They were indeed difficult to catch, and these blue-scaled fish were very vigilant. Xiao Bai, unable to catch the blue-scaled fish before, also fed on this stone milk. Although stone milk could reshape tendons and bones, it was of little use to ancient spiritual beasts with naturally robust physiques; it was tasteless! Ye Ju also swam over. She drank the spiritual spring from one of the purple water bottles she carried and filled it with stone milk to take back to the wooden house to reshape her tendons and bones. This was a story for another time. For now, Xiao Bai was focused on avenging its previous electric shock:
"Master, Master. That third-tier electric eel is probably hiding in its cave. There's a treasure in that cave that can block divine sense. I tried it just now and couldn't see clearly inside the cave. Perhaps, Master, it's because our cultivation is too shallow, and we can't use our divine senses to see."
Ye Ju concentrated again. After a while, she felt dizzy from overusing her spiritual power. The Guardian in her sea of consciousness suddenly emitted a soft green light, healing Ye Ju's headache and dizziness.
"Xiao Bai, is this green light from the Guardian also a healing technique?"
"Yes, Master. The Guardian's green light is an ancient divine technique. It contains very powerful vitality. If this green light is used on plants, it can make flowers, grasses, and trees grow, bloom, and bear fruit instantaneously. It's different from my innate healing skill; I cannot make plants bloom and bear fruit." Ye Ju knew that the Guardian's previous form was a divine tree, so possessing such divine powers was not surprising.
Looking at the blue-scaled fish in the pool, Ye Ju tried several times to catch them with spiritual power, but it was difficult. She also feared making too much noise and attracting the third-tier electric eel, so she acted hesitantly, and after a period of effort, she hadn't caught many. Accidentally, she was hit by water arrows shot by the blue-scaled fish in the water. It seemed that Ye Ju and Xiao Bai's probing had angered the adult blue-scaled fish. Could you imagine water arrows shooting out from the water surface like a volley? Ye Ju and Xiao Bai dodged somewhat awkwardly. The big boss was still in the water, and the enemy situation was unclear, so they could only lie low. If all else failed, they would use their ultimate moves.
"Xiao Bai, what were you thinking before? These blue-scaled fish are so hard to catch. How did you dare to provoke them before you gained sentience? And who said these blue-scaled fish are gentle and docile? They are simply aquatic versions of angry birds," Ye Ju asked curiously as she destroyed water arrows with her ice blade.
"Master, I used to sneak into the water and attack them by surprise," Xiao Bai replied in its simple voice. In Xiao Bai's logic, these blue-scaled fish were its food. Compared to the fierce electric eel, they were much more docile. How could its food be wrong?
Ye Ju hid in a rock crevice, contemplating a strategy. She saw the blue-scaled fish eating stone milk. Because the stone milk contained spiritual energy, it attracted the blue-scaled fish. Could she use some spiritual spring water to lure them? Then she could catch them directly. A flash of inspiration struck Ye Ju. She quickly picked up the purple water bottle hanging from her waist. She acted immediately, pouring a little spiritual spring water near the edge of the pool. As soon as she did, the blue-scaled fish, which had been agitated and active, swam over docilely. Ye Ju hurriedly scooped them up with a basin. Three or four lively fish were caught in the basin. Suddenly, the blue-scaled fish in the water scattered, and a huge dark shadow gradually approached from the depths. It was the electric eel. Ye Ju nervously swallowed, her fingertips brimming with spiritual power. A water-bucket-thick, multicolored creature that was neither snake nor eel, but with horns, emerged from the water and lunged towards the shore where the spiritual spring water was sprinkled. Ye Ju's heart stirred. Enduring her fear, she poured the spiritual spring water from the purple bottle directly into the giant electric eel's mouth. At this moment, the electric eel became incredibly docile.
Xiao Bai was stunned. Where was the promised great battle? Where was the promised thrashing of the electric eel? Why was the scene so bizarre? Did it win so easily with spiritual spring water? How did it not think of that? Master is truly amazing!