Chapter 2059: The Mystery of Little Mirror Lake

The Twin Wave Formation used specially crafted water droplets as its flags, arranged in the ocean. These flags constantly moved with the waves, making them undetectable even to powerful Pseudo-God realm experts who specifically scanned the area with their divine sense.

Yet, the person before them, upon arrival, immediately saw through it and even pointed out the formation’s flaws. This level of insight was simply terrifying!

“Elder Liu,” Sect Master Kui Xiao interjected, “the Pseudo-God realm immortal beast wandering nearby is a Dark-Backed Tortoise, which isn’t skilled in speed. The Twin Wave Formation, with its power fluctuations, can perfectly trap it…”

They had already considered that an oceanic immortal beast would use the water to its advantage during capture. The reason they still deployed this formation was precisely because their target was the Dark-Backed Tortoise. This immortal beast is inherently slow; even with the water’s advantage, it struggles to utilize it effectively. By concentrating the waves within the formation, they could instead create shackles, completely trapping its massive body.

“The Dark-Backed Tortoise is massive, excellent at defense, and slow, so using the Twin Wave Formation is indeed good,” Zhang Xuan said with a smile, “but... don’t forget, this is Little Mirror Sea, and tonight is the full moon, with such bright moonlight…”

Sect Master Kui Xiao and Elder Feng Qian exchanged glances, completely stunned.

They were talking about the formation and the Dark-Backed Tortoise; why was he bringing up Little Mirror Sea and the moon?

“Have you considered that this Dark-Backed Tortoise isn’t being cautious, but rather... has long since detected the formation you laid out and is waiting for tonight’s full moon?” Zhang Xuan asked.

Earlier, Elder Feng Qian had mentioned that the Pseudo-God realm immortal beast was extremely wary, which had puzzled him.

If it was already a Pseudo-God, who could harm it if it didn't want to be caught?

Its hesitation in such a situation definitely wasn't due to wariness!

Only after personally seeing the formation and the scene on the sea surface did he understand.

“What exactly is going on?” Sect Master Kui Xiao could no longer hold back.

The more the other person spoke, the more confused he became.

“Little Mirror Sea, resembling a mirror, you should all know the reason isn’t seagrass, but rather a creature living on this water surface, called Silverleaf Mayflies!”

Both men nodded.

They had long heard of Silverleaf Mayflies; they were tiny, as fine as dust, and entirely silver, which was why they made the sea surface appear like a mirror.

“The food source for these mayflies isn’t plants or animals, but rather the energy from a special kind of ore,” Zhang Xuan continued. “The entire seabed in this area is composed of this ore, which is why the mayflies never leave, creating the unique scenery of Little Mirror Sea!”

This time, only Elder Feng Qian nodded.

He had been in this place for a long time and had specifically investigated, confirming that it was indeed as the other person said.

“These mayflies are normally harmless, but what do you think would happen if the ore below them experienced vibrations or changes?”

“Well... if the ore undergoes changes, the mayflies would certainly try to salvage it…” Sect Master Kui Xiao replied.

Their very foundation of existence would be shaken, so they would naturally protect it.

“Exactly, they would certainly try to salvage it. If a massive number of mayflies were to all start moving at once, are you sure your Twin Wave Formation would still be useful?” Zhang Xuan chuckled.

Feng Qian was speechless.

With so many mayflies, each as tiny as a speck of dust, one or two wouldn’t matter, but if countless numbers moved simultaneously, even the most powerful formation would instantly collapse. It might even become a hindrance; let alone capturing the immortal beast, he himself could end up trapped and unable to escape.

“These ores have been buried deep beneath the sea for who knows how many years; they’ve never shifted, so they shouldn’t undergo any changes, right?” Sect Master Kui Xiao asked. “Besides... what does this have to do with the full moon?”

If these ores were prone to changes, it would have happened long ago. Their stability indicated they were very stable.

“Just because it hasn’t happened before doesn’t mean it won’t happen now,” Zhang Xuan said. “And... the reason it might happen is related to you!”

“Related to us?”

The two men exchanged bewildered glances again.

What was he talking about now? How was it related to them again?

“The Dark-Backed Tortoise loves shiny things the most,” Zhang Xuan said. “If I’m not mistaken, what you placed on the seabed to attract it must be some extremely precious silver diamond crystals!”

“These crystals, when placed in the deep sea, are hundreds of times more dazzling than night pearls,” Zhang Xuan continued. “They can attract a Dark-Backed Tortoise from thousands of miles away. But... have you considered that energy doesn’t simply appear out of nowhere? Even night pearls need to absorb sunlight during the day to emit light at night! If these silver diamond crystals are so dazzling, where does their energy come from? Don’t tell me it’s from these Silverleaf Mayflies; if you dared to absorb the energy from within them, they would definitely swallow you whole on the spot!”

The two men were stunned.

They had always thought the energy was drawn from the mayflies. Was it not?

As if sensing their thoughts, Zhang Xuan continued: “This object draws its power from the ore. On a full moon night, with the full moon high in the sky, it is precisely when the Silverleaf Mayflies reflect moonlight most intensely. At this time, they are at their weakest, and their absorption of energy is at its greatest! If, at this moment, a silver diamond crystal also appears below, absorbing energy... the ore’s energy supply is limited, making changes very likely! At best, the ground will shake; at worst, Little Mirror Sea will develop massive whirlpools, swallowing the lives of passing ships!”

“If that’s the case, my formation would indeed become useless,” Elder Feng Qian asked, “but... the Dark-Backed Tortoise would surely also be restricted, perhaps even getting trapped and unable to escape as well…”

If these mayflies rioted, it would be detrimental to his formation, but it wouldn't benefit the Dark-Backed Tortoise either. So why wait specifically for the full moon night?

“Unable to escape?” Zhang Xuan scoffed. “You underestimate Pseudo-God realm immortal beasts too much! Its defense is invincible. Once a riot occurs, in just three breaths, it can swallow your silver diamond crystals. With the crystals inside it and no way to digest them, it would become a source for energy consumption. What do you think those mayflies would do then?”

“They would definitely attack it…” Elder Feng Qian said, his pupils suddenly contracting. “Your meaning is... the Dark-Backed Tortoise discovered my plan long ago and deliberately waited for the full moon night. Not only does it want to destroy the formation, but it also wants to take the opportunity to devour these Silverleaf Mayflies, and even... me?”

If the mayflies attacked the Dark-Backed Tortoise, they would naturally be devoured. At that point, with the formation already destroyed and himself trapped amidst the mayflies, unable to escape... He, who had intended to hunt, would very likely become the prey instead!

If that were true, it would be terrifying!

He had always felt he had control of the situation and that the other party would surely fall into the trap. He never imagined he had been part of the other party’s scheme all along.

“You? Your strength is probably not worth its attention,” Zhang Xuan said, nodding. “If it truly wanted to eat you, it would have acted long ago. What it really wants is likely... Sect Master Kui!”

“Me?” Kui Xiao froze.

“If I weren’t here, you would probably already be at the bottom of the sea, waiting for the Dark-Backed Tortoise to take the bait!” Zhang Xuan chuckled. “You’d be waiting for it, and then, if all the Silverleaf Mayflies surged forward and blocked all your acupuncture points and meridians?”

Sect Master Kui Xiao’s entire body stiffened.

The other person was right.

If Elder Liu hadn't come, he would very likely have been waiting in the sea, just like Elder Feng Qian. At that point, if the mayflies became agitated, their dust-like bodies could easily block his acupuncture points, rendering his immortal power inoperable for a short period!

After all, he didn’t possess the formidable defense of the Dark-Backed Tortoise.

At that moment, if the Pseudo-God realm immortal beast seized the opportunity to launch a sneak attack... even with his strong power, he would surely be hit!

After replaying all the scenarios the other person described in his mind, Sect Master Kui Xiao’s body grew colder and colder.

If that were indeed the case, the probability of him being killed and devoured by the beast could reach eighty percent!

In other words...

Just as Elder Liu had said, while they were scheming against the Dark-Backed Tortoise, the beast was also scheming against them... He had thought the beast was a simple prey, never dreaming that he himself would become the real prey!

If they hadn't discovered this, he would very likely have died today. Even if he managed to escape by relying on a treasure, his vitality would surely be severely damaged!

Terrifying!

No wonder it could become a Pseudo-God realm powerhouse; these immortal beasts living in the ocean truly shouldn’t be underestimated...

After a moment of silence, Elder Feng Qian couldn’t help but look over. “Elder Liu, then... what should we do now?”

At this moment, he was utterly impressed by Elder Liu, even more so than by Sect Master Kui Xiao.

Unsure what to do, he directly asked for guidance.

“It’s very simple,” Zhang Xuan chuckled. “Do you still have the water droplet formation flags you used for the Twin Wave Formation?”

“Yes…”

With a flick of his wrist, dozens of water droplets appeared, hovering in his palm.

They looked identical to ordinary water but were actually specially refined formation flags that could merge with water, forming unique power diagrams and activating the formation’s power at any time.

“Having these is good,” Zhang Xuan said with a faint smile. “If it wants to scheme against us, we’ll simply modify the formation and scheme against it instead…”

With a faint smile, Zhang Xuan crooked a finger, and the water droplets in Elder Feng Qian’s hand immediately flew towards him.

“Go!”

With a raised eyebrow, Zhang Xuan flicked his true qi.

Whoosh!

Dozens of water droplets immediately scattered across the shimmering surface of Little Mirror Sea and disappeared.

Seeing him release all the droplets at once, without the slightest hesitation or pause, Elder Feng Qian was stunned.

It was his first time seeing a formation deployed like this!

The speed was simply too fast!

“Go down and wait…” Zhang Xuan said with a soft laugh, not elaborating further.

“Just wait like this?” Sect Master Kui Xiao sounded somewhat incredulous.

“Yes, wait for the Dark-Backed Tortoise to appear,” Zhang Xuan nodded. “Everything will proceed as you originally planned; don’t make any other moves…”

“Do as he says!” Sect Master Kui Xiao said after a pause, seeing Zhang Xuan’s confident expression and how thoroughly he had explained everything earlier.

“Understood!”

Elder Feng Qian said nothing more. He steered the small boat straight towards the center of Little Mirror Sea.

They soon arrived at the center.

“It’s here…”

Nodding, Elder Feng Qian formed a hand seal, and a whirlpool appeared before them on the water’s surface. He flew into it first, and the small boat was also put away into his ring.

Zhang Xuan and Sect Master Kui Xiao closely followed, also flying inside. Before long, they reached the somewhat dark and gloomy seabed.