Chapter 1416: Infinite Rebirth

"What?" The group jumped in surprise and quickly looked at where the Yaoyu's head had just been, only to find the spot was indeed empty.

"Did the Yaoyu's head run back into the Ruoshui itself?" Zu'an looked bewildered. It was his first time seeing a severed head mysteriously disappear like this; it was truly bizarre.

"No," Yu Yanluo shook her head, her face a little pale. "That head didn't run back into the Ruoshui; it seemed to... melt away completely on the spot, like water." She stammered for a while before finally finding the right adjective.

"Melted away?" The others were greatly surprised, completely unable to understand what had just happened.

"Could it be that the Yaoyu was made of Ruoshui, and that's why it melted when it died?" Yu Yanluo wondered.

Yan Xuehen frowned and asked, "What if the Yaoyu isn't dead at all?"

"That's unlikely. Its head was cut off; we saw it with our own eyes, so it can't be fake," Yun Jianyue shook her head.

The group discussed for a long time but ultimately couldn't determine whether the Yaoyu was dead or alive.

The conversation quickly returned to their previous topic. Yun Jianyue asked, "Little An, you still haven't told me what you're going to give me."

Zu'an's expression stiffened. He quickly said, "How about I give you these Yin-Yang Twin Swords? You just praised how profound that sword was."

"Hmph, forget it. I'm not like you, able to wield both Yin and Yang energies simultaneously," Yun Jianyue said, her face dark. "Even if I could, these swords aren't as handy as my Crescent Wheel. You keep them."

Zu'an broke into a sweat. "How about you pick something from here?" He simply laid out all the treasures he had for her to see. Aside from the Tai'e Sword, which was Mi Li's dwelling, and the poisonous dagger, which was bound to him, she could choose anything else.

But to his surprise, Yun Jianyue showed no sign of happiness; instead, she looked angry. "There's no sincerity at all! I don't want it."

Seeing her stomp her foot, Yan Xuehen felt a sense of comfort. It seemed that Ah Zu still treated her differently. Let that demoness be fuming.

Zu'an hadn't expected Yun Jianyue to be so angry, but he reacted quickly and immediately said, "Indeed, I don't have anything suitable for you among my current possessions. How about this: if I ever come across something that suits you, I'll make sure to give it to you right away."

Only then did Yun Jianyue's mood change from worry to joy. "Now that's more like it! It makes all my kindness towards you worthwhile."

Seeing her appeased, Zu'an just breathed a sigh of relief. Who knew that the next second he would be hit with a wave of anger from Yan Xuehen.

He was practically in tears, finally understanding why in his previous life, GAL games had so many diverging routes and rarely allowed players to get everything. It was true: if you wanted one, you couldn't have the other.

Just then, the Ruoshui nearby suddenly roared. The group looked back and saw a monster with a dragon's head and a cat's body reappear on the waves, baring its fangs at them.

The group was instantly dumbfounded. This creature really wasn't dead?

The fierce beast Yaoyu seemed somewhat angered by being easily ambushed and slain by the group earlier. So this time, without hesitation, it flicked its tail, and countless water arrows suddenly surged from the Ruoshui, shooting towards everyone.

Sensing the fierce onslaught, the group instinctively dodged. Some water arrows struck the large rocks on the shore, quickly piercing through them. At the same time, everyone noticed that the holes showed a tendency to expand outwards.

"This water is corrosive!" Yan Xuehen exclaimed, finally understanding why her belt had broken earlier.

Zu'an asked curiously, "I held this water with my bare hands, so why am I perfectly fine?"

"Either you are immune to all poisons and your powerful body shielded you from the Ruoshui's corrosiveness, or the protective energy of a high-level cultivator insulated you from the water, preventing direct corrosion to your skin," Yan Xuehen quickly replied.

The group suddenly realized. Regardless of the reason, it was not a wise choice to withstand these water arrows with their bodies.

The people present were all top masters of their time. After dodging, they immediately began to counterattack. As Yun Jianyue brought forth the Changxin Palace Lantern, her Crescent Wheel transformed into a beam of moonlight, slashing towards the Yaoyu's waist.

The Yaoyu had just suffered from the Changxin Palace Lantern, so it would hardly repeat the same mistake this time. It slapped with its sharp claws, sending countless streams of Ruoshui flying to block the myriad lantern flames. Then, with a twist of its body, it narrowly dodged the fatal moonlight.

At this moment, Yu Yanluo unrolled a scroll painting, and countless golden-armored warriors emerged, seizing the beast's four limbs.

The Yaoyu roared in fury, its entire body trembling, shaking off the golden-armored warriors completely.

At this point, Yan Xuehen made her move. She untied the Primordial Silk she had just received from Zu'an and wrapped it around the monster's legs. Then, with a flick of her wrist, she forcibly pulled it onto the shore.

The Yaoyu let out continuous roars of alarm, attempting several times to claw open the entangled Primordial Silk. However, despite looking like silk, the Primordial Silk was incredibly tough; no matter how it struggled, it remained completely undamaged.

This time, Zu'an no longer merely wielded the Yin-Yang Twin Swords. Instead, he unleashed celestial-grade weapons like the Fire-tipped Spear and the Qiankun Ring all at once. He also took out the Death's Edge Dagger. With so many magical artifacts assailing it, how could the Yaoyu resist? It was directly pinned to the shore by various weapons.

However, no one dared to be distracted. Instead, they watched it with grave expressions, surrounding it.

The Yaoyu feebly clawed at the ground, then finally stopped moving, closing its bell-like eyes.

"Is it completely dead this time?" Yun Jianyue showed a hint of joy, wondering if its body falling into the Ruoshui earlier was what gave it a chance to revive.

Now that its entire body was completely pinned to the shore, revival should be impossible, right?

However, her smile quickly froze on her face because, right before their eyes, the Yaoyu seemed to transform into an invisible puddle of water, its massive body melting away completely.

Even when Yan Xuehen tried to freeze the water with her Snowflake Divine Sword midway, it was useless; its body completely melted and vanished.

"What the hell!" Yun Jianyue exclaimed. "Don't tell me it revived again?"

Her question was answered not long after, because soon the monster with the dragon's head and cat's body emerged from the Ruoshui again, riding the waves and roaring at them.

It was clear that it was still resentful about what had just happened.

"I don't believe I can't kill you!" Yun Jianyue's temper flared, and she unleashed all her various abilities.

Zu'an and the others quickly coordinated their efforts, and soon the creature was slain again. However, this time, there was no surprise: the Yaoyu still vanished before their eyes, only to revive in the Ruoshui a short while later.

After this revival, it had clearly learned its lesson. It became much more cautious, no longer engaging them easily on the shore. Instead, it stayed in the center of the Ruoshui, letting out dog-like barks and confronting them from there.

"Come out!" Zu'an challenged, looking provocatively at the creature.

"Come down here if you dare!" The Yaoyu waved its claws, looking defiantly at the group, as if speaking these very words.

Zu'an was amused. However, he had just the means to deal with such a stubborn creature, so he directly activated his taunt skill, "Spewing Fragrance."

The Yaoyu's eyes instantly turned blood-red. It felt a surge of rage in its heart, compelled to kill this person immediately.

So, it charged furiously.

The outcome was predictable. Under the combined attack of two Grandmasters' ultimate techniques, Yu Yanluo's support as a top-tier auxiliary, and Zu'an, a prodigy whose combat power couldn't be judged by normal standards, it was quickly slain again.

This time, Yan Xuehen even deliberately used some Daoist exorcism runes. Unfortunately, the monster still vanished before their eyes and was reborn again.

After its subsequent revival, the Yaoyu bared its fangs and barked a few times at the group. Then, conceding defeat, it sank directly into the Ruoshui, no longer showing itself, seemingly afraid of falling victim to Zu'an's taunt skill again.

Now the group was in a difficult position. What would they do if the creature refused to come out again? The Ruoshui was truly too sinister, and they dared not enter it.