Cai He and Du Sisi listened intently from the side.
The old woman mused for a moment before speaking. "It is said that the Tree of Eternal Youth has existed since the very dawn of heaven and earth — an extraordinary tree that neither perishes nor decays, enduring alongside heaven and earth itself, taking on ten thousand forms. The Undying Original Liquid is its sap. However, according to legend, while a rare few with heaven-defying fortunes have managed to obtain a small amount of the Undying Original Liquid, no one has ever actually laid eyes on the Tree of Eternal Youth. Whether it truly exists or not, even I cannot say."
"So that's how it is!" Yang Kai stroked his chin thoughtfully. If that was really the case, then cultivating the Indestructible Five Elements Sword technique was far more practical. Even if its description had been somewhat exaggerated, it was still an excellent Body Tempering cultivation method, and practicing it would undoubtedly be of great benefit. The Undying Original Liquid and the Tree of Eternal Youth, on the other hand, existed only in the realm of fantasy and speculation — far too unrealistic.
"Very well, that's enough about the three great divine waters. Let us divide this Life Essence Liquid first." The old woman waved her hand, her expression turning considerably more solemn. She looked at the three Saint King Realm cultivators. "I won't bully you juniors or take advantage of you. How about we four divide the Life Essence Liquid here equally?"
Cai He and Du Sisi exchanged a glance, then nodded eagerly in agreement, their faces beaming with delight.
Yang Kai had no objections either.
The old woman immediately produced several jade bottles and began working her methods to extract the Life Essence Liquid from the pool. The entire process took place under the watchful eyes of the three Saint King Realm cultivators, and she made no attempt to pull any tricks. The full pool of Life Essence Liquid was genuinely divided into four equal portions, one for each person.
"Keep your portions safe, but after we leave, you must absolutely, under no circumstances, reveal this to anyone uninvolved!" the old woman added gravely.
"Yes!" Cai He and Du Sisi each gripped their Life Essence Liquid tightly, their faces flushed with excitement, before carefully storing the jade bottles into their spatial rings.
Having obtained something so precious, everyone felt the trip had been well worth it. Du Sisi, in particular, had no reason to blame Cai He anymore for making the decision to bring her to the black spatial gate. In fact, deep down, she felt a measure of gratitude.
If not for Cai He, she might have missed out on such a rare treasure entirely.
"Let's go. We should look for a way out." The old woman seemed to be in a rather good mood as well. After saying this, she led the three Saint King Realm cultivators flying off into the distance.
Yang Kai remained silent throughout. Only just before departing did he turn back to glance at the rockery, a strange glint flashing through his eyes.
The Life Essence Liquid — since it was known as one of the three great divine waters — logically speaking, its effects should have been far more significant than what the old woman had demonstrated. She had only become a few years younger after testing it, which clearly didn't make sense.
Moreover, the old woman's decision to divide the Life Essence Liquid equally into four portions struck Yang Kai as odd. Given her strength and age, she could easily have claimed a larger share. Even if she had demanded one, Yang Kai believed Cai He and Du Sisi would have agreed, and he himself wouldn't have objected. Yet she had asked for only one-quarter — appearing magnanimous to an extraordinary degree.
Connecting this with the traces of liquid flowing across the rockery's surface, Yang Kai quietly suspected that the pool of Life Essence Liquid they had found was not the genuine article.
Perhaps... it had flowed in from somewhere else — a diluted product!
If he were to follow the direction of those flow traces, he might just find more of the pure, undiluted Life Essence Liquid!
If that was truly the case, then the old woman's behavior was easily explained. She had probably noticed this as well, which was why she had divided the liquid equally — to keep the rest of them satisfied for the time being while she planned to return and explore further on her own.
It wasn't impossible! At the thought, a faint smile curved Yang Kai's lips. Others could have that idea, and there was no reason he couldn't as well. After all, the greatest satisfaction came from claiming good things for oneself.
Of course, these were merely his own speculations, and whether they held true remained to be verified.
Roughly a day later, the group of four reconvened at a gathering point, each sharing their respective findings.
After half a day of exploration, everyone had discovered that this place truly contained no dangers, so they had immediately decided to split up and search for an exit. After spending another half day, they finally reassembled here.
Once they had shared their discoveries, Yang Kai quickly understood that their current location was a semi-enclosed space of enormous area. Apart from the pool of Life Essence Liquid they had found earlier, there was nothing else of particular value — and there were very few exits as well.
The only exit had been found by Cai He.
After he described the situation there, the old woman replied thoughtfully, "So you're saying we can only leave through that exit? Young Cai, was there anything noteworthy about the place?"
"Reporting to the senior, there is one thing worth noting. In front of the exit stands a humanoid statue over ten zhang tall. It looks fierce and grotesque, with a hideous expression. It stands there, and the exit is located beneath its legs."
"A humanoid statue?" The old woman frowned.
"Yes. Besides that, there was nothing suspicious."
The old woman nodded slightly. "In that case, let's go take a look first."
After a brief discussion, the four headed toward the location Cai He had identified. Half an hour later, they arrived at their destination. Cai He pointed ahead and said, "Senior, that is the exit I found."