Opportunity in danger

"What is in that pond that this beast seems to be guarding, but then again, it is normal for beasts to guard some treasures waiting for them to mature. Since you are not bold enough to enter the pond, I don't mind." He disregarded the noises from outside at the moment.

He was sure the roar from this beast had caused it, but since Xiaohe was on the tree further away, he would be fine as long as he managed to pass by this beast.

He did not show any greed towards the pool but rather seemed to be shaking when the beast stood up.

"This one is a bit of a problem. It reminds me of the fight before that left me half dead. Well, can use this opportunity to test how strong I have become after reaching the fourth rank martial artist." He indeed was feeling confident as his transformation was not small and this beast, despite its huge body, it had yet to reach the same level as the one that was killed by that swordsman.

He did not yet have a weapon, after all, he was someone at the foundation set in the path of cultivation.

He observed the beast and when done did not seem to wait for it to attack, rather took initiative and as it looked at him without any fear.

It was just angry that the weak creature before him dared to charge straight at it. When it was preparing to make a move, Situ's speed seemed to have increased.

He jumped to the left, then used the rebound force to push himself above the creature that seemed to resemble a lion.

He then landed on its back, but the thing that got it was a fist on the head. He struck it seven times and seeing that he had just angered it rather than cause substantial damage, he jumped into the pond in the back.

It was shaking vigorously and he knew that falling before it would be no different from looking for trouble so he jumped backward, resulting in him entering the pond.

When the beast managed to react, he was gone, and angry roars could be heard but it did not seem to follow him.

The roars also attracted more beasts but the one that caused all this was already underwater cursing the beast secretly.

Yes. That indeed was what Situ was doing at the moment, as he thought the pond was easy to mess with. At the moment, cold air seemed to be entering his body from all directions, and he was feeling like he would freeze to death, but at the same time, his realm was rising fast.

In just a few seconds he felt his fourth-level rank rise by a quarter and his physique also had risen but he could not float to the surface of the pond as though something was dragging him downwards.

In less than a minute his cultivation stopped at the peak of rank four and was racing toward the fifth rank.

At the same time, he seemed to feel even his blood go cold, and a breakthrough happened to the fifth level, resulting in impurities being expelled.

He continued to sink and, in a minute, he had gone deeper and the water seemed to become colder and colder. At the moment, his heartbeat had also slowed down, but he could still survive.

The cold seeped into his bones, making his body shake, from the cold, and by the time he stopped, he was on the surface of the pond, an adult palm-like blue object could be seen and he was close to it.

Opening his eyes with difficulty, he could see that this was the thing that made the water in this pond very cold.

Reaching out with difficulty, he put his hand on the object managing to lift it halfway before some immense coldness seemed to enter his bones.

His cultivation this time jumped all the way to the peak of the sixth level before it stopped so did his physique follow along.

He also found that the bones seemed to have been strengthened, and with the object in his arm, he rose to the surface.

Since the pond was in a pitch-black cave, the moment he rose to the surface the blue object in his arm, seemed to be lighting the water.

Along the way back, he could feel that the water was indeed colder at the surface, and the higher he went it seemed slightly cool.

After reaching the surface, he pushed his head out of the water and grasped for Air, but could still see the beast standing at the edge of the pond.

"Damn! This thing doesn't even know what is in the water, and yet it is guarding like as though it is the family inheritance." As he complained he realized that the beast was also looking at him, and then at the thing in his hand.

It made the air around the pond seem to drop, and, when Situ checked himself, he was excited, and did not regret taking the risk, as he found that the cold air, was entering his body and allowing his internal organs, bones, and muscles to be strengthened.

At this time, he was stronger than before, but if he wanted to breakthrough to the late stages of martial rank, then he could only wait.

The cold object was helping him increase the circulation of inner Qi, and after it was formed from the bones, muscles, and internal organs, it was absorbed by the object, then purified, before being sent back into the body.

The process seemed to be what has been happening and some substance seems present in the object that is speeding up this process.

"At this rate, I should be able to enter the late stages of martial rank in less than a month. But it seems that this thing can only help those that have entered the mid stages of the martial rank, and Xiaohe would have to work on her own until she reaches it before I throw it to her." He was very excited and thought the object had only the function of purifying inner Qi.

Inner Qi is almost invisible and when purified, it takes on the form of gas, but it is visible at this stage. The impurities this time seemed to have been expelled faster and the same time mixed with the water. He could see the water surface had some substances floating, obviously, it was the impurities.

"I need to think about how to get out of this pool, but this beast seems to be guarding the place so seriously. My strength has increased so fast, I do not have control over it. Why not train here for a while when I adapt to my strength, I can deal with this monster on the way too." With this thought, he looked around and could not see anywhere else to go other than under him.

"Is this really the only option left." He did not have an interest of playing in cold water, but at the moment he had no other choice.