Chapter 111: River Bottom Water Mansion, Meeting The Goddess!
The small boat drifted downstream, already far away from Luancheng.
Ji Qing sat in the cabin with his eyes closed in meditation.
Between half-asleep and half-awake, he seemed to “float” above the Yunmeng River again.
“Huu…”
A gentle breeze blew in.
A golden carp leaped out from the river water, transforming into a graceful woman emanating a sacred aura.
It was the Yunmeng Goddess!
The Yunmeng Goddess wore a smile, clearly in a very good mood.
She bowed toward Ji Qing and said, “Thank you, Mister Ji, for your righteous aid. You have finally slain that demon, allowing the Yunmeng River to return to peace!”
Clearly, the Yunmeng Goddess already knew Ji Qing’s identity.
“Goddess, that spiritual grass is in Your Ladyship’s Water Mansion. I wonder if Ji Mou could take a look at it?”
Ji Qing was still focused on the spiritual object.
After all, up to now, whether it was the spiritual object or anything else, it was all just the Yunmeng Goddess’s word.
Ji Qing had never seen the spiritual object himself, so he naturally harbored doubts.
“Of course.”
“However, one cannot breathe underwater, and Mister Ji has not yet reached the Innate stage, so internal breathing is not possible. I will have the Turtle Elder deliver a Water-Repelling Pearl to Mister Ji. Then Mister Ji can jump into the water, and the Turtle Elder will carry him into the Water Mansion.”
Ji Qing nodded.
Although it was somewhat troublesome, he indeed felt uneasy without seeing the spiritual object with his own eyes.
“Shua.”
Ji Qing opened his eyes again.
He found himself still in the cabin.
However, the previous scene was still fresh in his mind, so clearly, the Yunmeng Goddess had sent him another dream.
“Turtle Elder…”
Ji Qing murmured softly.
Thus, he stood up and went to the stern, gazing toward the river surface.
The boundless river surface was very calm, with no apparent anomalies.
Ji Qing was not anxious and waited quietly.
About a quarter of an hour later, a calf-sized giant turtle appeared on the river surface, moving faster than the small boat and quickly approaching it.
The giant turtle looked at Ji Qing on the boat and spat out from its mouth.
A lustrous white pearl fell into Ji Qing’s hand.
This should be the Water-Repelling Pearl that the Yunmeng Goddess had mentioned.
“Quick, look, a turtle is coming toward us.”
“The giant turtle actually spat out a pearl?”
“Is this specially delivering a pearl to Great Hero Ji?”
In the cabin, almost all the passengers who saw this were stunned.
They could hardly believe it.
However, thinking about it, demons had appeared before, so a giant turtle showing up now seemed normal too.
But was it really normal?
“Boatman, could you stop the boat on the river surface here and wait for Ji Mou for one hour?”
Ji Qing spoke up.
The boatman asked in surprise, “Great Hero Ji, where are you going?”
“By the Goddess’s invitation, to visit the Water Mansion.”
“Goddess?”
The boatman widened his eyes.
He was extremely devout in his faith in the Yunmeng Goddess and immediately knelt on the boat, muttering prayers.
Then, the boatman looked up, his eyes excited as he gazed at Ji Qing: “Great Hero Ji, go ahead and visit the Goddess without worry. This little old man will surely wait for you.”
“Good, then I will trouble you, Boatman.”
Ji Qing then leaped up and directly jumped onto the giant turtle’s back.
Afterward, the giant turtle slowly submerged into the water and disappeared from sight.
It was not until Ji Qing disappeared that the people in the cabin seemed to come back to their senses.
“This is truly unbelievable—a turtle delivering a Treasure Pearl, the Goddess inviting Mister Ji to visit the Water Mansion. Are we reading a storybook?”
“So the Yunmeng Goddess really exists…”
“Of course she does. The Goddess has sheltered the Yunmeng River for over a thousand years. The Goddess blesses us…”
Two scholars were especially shocked.
Everything they had seen here filled them with immense wonder.
They also wanted to visit the Yunmeng Goddess’s Water Mansion.
It was just a pity that, unlike in other storybooks, the Goddess had no interest in scholars.
The Goddess had only invited the Great Hero!
At this moment, Ji Qing held the Water-Repelling Pearl in his hand, sitting on the giant turtle’s back as it shuttled through the water.
This Water-Repelling Pearl was truly magical—Ji Qing could still breathe, and the surrounding water currents seemed to automatically part around him.
Even his clothes did not get wet.
This Water-Repelling Pearl was indeed a rare Treasure Pearl.
The giant turtle moved very quickly underwater and soon reached the river bottom.
Ji Qing saw a cluster of white light in the distance.
Then the giant turtle carried Ji Qing and swam into that massive white light.
“Weng.”
Ji Qing felt his whole body shake and twist. He opened his eyes and saw a grand and majestic mansion ahead, filled with an immortal aura.
This was the Yunmeng Goddess’s Water Mansion.
Within the Water Mansion, one could breathe normally even without the Water-Repelling Pearl.
The giant turtle carried Ji Qing into the Water Mansion. Ji Qing leaped down from the giant turtle’s back.
He entered the main hall of the Water Mansion.
There was a pool of water inside.
“Huala.”
A golden carp leaped out from the pool, instantly transforming into a tall, white-dressed, dignified and elegant beauty emanating a sacred aura.
“Greetings, Goddess.”
Ji Qing immediately knew that this woman was the Yunmeng Goddess.
She was exactly the same as in his dream.
“Mister Ji, no need to stand on ceremony. This is my Water Mansion—feel free to look around.”
The Yunmeng Goddess was very amiable in attitude, with a pleasant voice, showing no airs of a “Goddess.”
“Goddess, Ji Mou still wants to see the spiritual object first.”
“Very well.”
Thus, the Yunmeng Goddess led Ji Qing to a hidden place in the Water Mansion.
“This is the Medicinal Garden of the Water Mansion. After I awoke and recovered some memory, I discovered this spiritual object in this garden. But what exactly this spiritual object is, I still haven’t remembered.”
The Yunmeng Goddess shook her head.
The loss of memory left her unfamiliar even with the spiritual objects in her own Water Mansion.
Ji Qing saw that this Medicinal Garden actually contained many exotic flowers and herbs.
But none were as extraordinary as that spiritual grass.
Spiritual objects are hard to find.
Even when Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy was abundant, not just anything could be called a spiritual object.
A so-called spiritual object must be a miraculous thing naturally nurtured by Heaven and Earth.
Even when Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy was abundant, spiritual objects were equally precious.
Therefore, it was normal for this vast Medicinal Garden to have only one spiritual object.
“Can the spiritual object grow faster?”
Ji Qing asked.
“Yes, as long as Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy is abundant, the spiritual object can grow faster.”
“Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy…”
Ji Qing shook his head. This was the Dharma-Ending Age, with spiritual energy cut off—how could it be abundant?
“Goddess, Your Ladyship’s divine position has existed for at least a thousand years. Why is your magic power so weak?”
Ji Qing asked again.
He had asked in the dream before, but the Goddess had only given a simple explanation, not in detail.
Ji Qing had even asked some old men.
This Yunmeng River had worshiped the “Yunmeng Goddess” since ancient times, traceable back a thousand years.
With such a stable divine position, why couldn’t the Yunmeng Goddess deal with a mere water demon?
This was clearly abnormal.
Ji Qing’s gaze fell on the Yunmeng Goddess.
He wanted to know how the Yunmeng Goddess would explain.
