Chapter 3516: Martial Aunt (33)
Chapter 3516: Martial Aunt (33)
Ning Shu pressed her hand against the barrier, and the water inside began to churn. It bubbled and seethed until it reached a rolling boil.
"Boiling a turtle in its shell," she muttered.
The entire crystal ball became searing hot as the temperature of the Weak Water inside skyrocketed.
Even if it did nothing to the immortal estate, boiling it like this made her feel wonderful.
"You underestimate the immortal estate too much. Do you really think a little heat like this can affect us? We feel absolutely nothing in here," Yi Youxuan said coldly.
The immortal estate could withstand being plunged into magma without a scratch. Whether soaring through the heavens, tunneling through the earth, being struck by lightning, or facing celestial winds, the estate remained unaffected.
Ning Shu replied with a smile, "What does that matter? I simply enjoy watching a boiled bastard. Besides, this is Weak Water, not ordinary water."
Ordinary water reached its limit around a hundred degrees, but Weak Water was different. Its weight and properties were unlike any normal liquid, and the temperatures it reached when heated were on an entirely different scale.
Yi Youxuan was not one to be easily intimidated. She gave a derisive snort. "Insignificant, petty tricks. You only resort to such things because you are powerless. Are you not embarrassed?"
"We will see if it is effective or not once we have tried it. If one month is not enough, I will boil you for two. If two months is not enough, I will boil you for four," Ning Shu said cheerfully, appearing to be in no hurry at all.
Yi Youxuan scoffed. "Jiang Xueci, one month, two months, four months… do you even know how much time will pass for us inside? You are a complete moron."
If she were truly locked away for that long, her strength would grow so much that breaking the barrier would take no more than the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn.
Once her power increased, she would be able to unleash the true potential of her divine artifacts.
Recalling how she had detonated so many artifacts—effectively cutting her armory’s stock in half—Yi Youxuan decided that once she emerged, she would destroy all of Zisha Island.
Ning Shu tapped the surface of the Weak Water, added a bit more, and then continued the boiling process.
She tried to project her spiritual consciousness into the barrier to check the status, but the heat was so intense it felt as if her spiritual consciousness was being scalded.
Ning Shu retracted her sense. The temperature of the Weak Water was indeed high, yet it seemed to have no effect on the translucent, jade-like immortal estate. It remained steady and unshakable within the sphere.
"Master! Master! Come quickly!" Ye Heyu’s panicked shout echoed from outside.
Ning Shu had never seen the boy this anxious before.
She stowed the barrier and went out. She saw a fist-sized bird covered in flames, running around frantically.
"What happened?" Ning Shu summoned water to drench the bird. As the water hit the fire, it hissed and steamed, but the flames did not go out immediately. The bird let out a series of shrill, agonizing shrieks.
It took two more soakings before the fire finally died down. The bird was now charred black, and the few sparse feathers it had were gone. Ning Shu could even smell a faint scent of roasted meat.
"What is the meaning of this?" Ning Shu asked Ye Heyu.
As the boy fed the weakened bird a pill, he explained, "It ran to the beach. There was fire there, and it got caught in the flames."
Ning Shu looked at the now even uglier bird. "You want to emulate a phoenix, but you lack the strength. In your current fragile state, the Innate True Fire could have burned you to death."
The bird let out a weak chirp toward Ning Shu before its head slumped to the side and it fainted.
"Master, is Little Ugly okay?" Ye Meiyu cried out, terrified when she saw the bird stop moving.
"It is probably cooked through," Ning Shu said.
"Master!" Ye Meiyu was stunned. Even though she usually called the bird ugly, she never wanted it to die.
"Little sister, it is not dead. Master is just teasing you. It is still alive." Ye Heyu was more composed. He could see the bird’s chest rising and falling, so he knew it was still breathing.
"Master!" Ye Meiyu stomped her foot and ran off.
Ning Shu looked at the bird and told Ye Heyu, "Do not apply any medicine to it. It probably did this on purpose."
Ye Heyu looked hesitant. "Should I really not apply medicine? What if something happens?"
"Even an ant clings to life. It is not stupid. It intentionally sought out the fire. If it catches fire again in the future, you stay far away from it. Its body has a certain level of fire tolerance, but yours does not," Ning Shu explained.
"Master, why would Little Ugly do such a thing?" Ye Heyu asked.
"To become stronger, of course. Just leave it be. If it cannot take the heat, it will come running to me." She meant it would come to her to put the fire out.
Ning Shu had only said it in passing, but as soon as the bird recovered and grew a few more thin feathers, it went right back to its suicidal antics. It brought a ball of fire into Ning Shu’s courtyard and chirped at her incessantly.
Ning Shu: …
She intentionally let the fire burn for a while longer and only extinguished it when the bird was on the verge of death.
The featherless, blackened bird looked even worse than before. Ye Heyu carried the bird away, thinking he had never seen such a death-seeking creature.
Eventually, the feathers that grew back were much more beautiful, though the bird refused to grow in size. It remained about the size of an adult man’s fist. Without the feathers, it was even smaller.
It didn't have even two catties of meat on its bones.
However, the bird’s fire resistance improved significantly. It could stay on fire for half a day without any ill effects.
The only current benefit of the Innate True Fire was that it tempered the bird’s physical body.
This creature might be a Luan bird, or it might be a phoenix. Who could say for sure?
In her spare time, Ning Shu checked on her disciples' progress.
Ye Heyu’s progress was steady and solid, but Ye Meiyu was far less diligent. She was only seven or eight years old—an age for playing—and her desire for strength was quite vague. There was a faint trace of spiritual energy in her dantian, but it hadn't even formed into a cohesive force yet.
Meanwhile, her brother was on the verge of Foundation Establishment.
Ning Shu watched the girl silently. Ye Meiyu twisted her small fingers together and whispered, "Master, I will definitely work hard."
"Do you still want to be a beauty? Do you still want to be the number one beauty in the cultivation world?" Ning Shu asked. "According to your current cultivation speed, you won't even be a beauty in a hundred years."
"I… I will definitely work hard!" Meiyu said hurriedly.
Ning Shu waved her away. Once Meiyu was gone, she turned to Ye Heyu. "If anything happens to Zisha Island, take your sister and leave."
"Is it still because of Yi Youxuan?" Ye Heyu asked. "Hasn't she already been trapped by you, Master?"
"I do not know how long I can keep her there. Once she gets out, Zisha Island is finished. When that time comes, take the others and hide in the hidden realm."
Once Yi Youxuan broke free, she would undoubtedly seek blood-soaked revenge. The entirety of Zisha Island might even be sunk.
"Master, is there truly no way to deal with her?" Ye Heyu asked.
"I am still thinking of a way." She was facing the entire legacy of a Divine Dao sect. Her individual strength felt like a mayfly trying to shake a giant tree.
Even boiling the estate with Weak Water had proven useless. Ning Shu tapped the crystal ball, and the boiling water inside slowly turned to ice, freezing the estate solid.
I'll boil you for a while, then freeze you. Then I'll boil you again. It’s an endless cycle. It might not do anything to you, but it makes me happy.
"Jiang Xueci, are you a lunatic?" Yi Youxuan roared.