Chapter 1409: Hunter and Prey

"You didn't see those enormous, monstrous waves?" This time, it was Zu'an's turn to be surprised.

"What waves?" The three women looked even more confused. Yu Yanluo shook her head. "We only saw you getting further and further from the shore. Then the river surface became covered in mist, as if a fog had rolled in, and your figure disappeared into the thick fog."

Zu'an was stunned, never expecting that what they saw would be so different.

He then briefly recounted what he had just experienced.

Hearing how dangerous it was, the three women's expressions changed.

"Are you hurt?" Yu Yanluo quickly began to check Zu'an all over. The two Yan and Yun women also looked at him nervously. At first, they hadn't realized the danger, so when they saw he hadn't been bitten by the monster, they genuinely believed he was unharmed.

Zu'an waved his hand. "I'm really fine. My blood and energy are just a bit agitated, but I'm tough and recover quickly."

Yan Xuehen released his wrist. "Your energy is indeed a bit chaotic, but your vitality is strong. Your recovery ability is quite impressive."

She suddenly thought of his seemingly endless stamina, and her cheeks flushed.

Yun Jianyue, standing nearby, was puzzled. "Ice Maiden, why are you blushing?"

Lately, she had noticed Yan Xuehen blushing quite frequently.

"I'm not blushing," Yan Xuehen denied guiltily, quickly changing the subject. "By the way, what do you make of what Ah Zu just said?"

Yun Jianyue's attention was indeed diverted. "There are two possibilities. One is that Little Anzi was affected by something, perhaps the mist was toxic, causing him to hallucinate..."

Zu'an shook his head. "That was definitely not a hallucination, I'm absolutely sure. And given my constitution, it would be quite difficult to poison me."

"If that's the case, then only one possibility remains: this Weak River was created by the will of this land and is not a true physical entity, similar to our domains. What you just experienced was merely meant to prevent you from crossing it," Yun Jianyue said with a serious expression.

"Exactly," Yan Xuehen nodded as well. "This also explains why we saw it as a clear river from the mountain, yet when you tried to cross it, it was wider than an ocean. Unless something unexpected happens, even if you had enough strength to break through those giant waves and keep flying inward, you would never reach the other side."

"That's even possible?" Zu'an was dumbfounded. "Is there a solution?"

Yan Xuehen shook her head. "Unless your power surpasses the will of this land and you can directly transcend its rules, or you find that glimmer of hope."

"A glimmer of hope?" Yu Yanluo asked, puzzled.

Yun Jianyue explained, "As the saying goes, 'The Great Dao has fifty, Heaven's law forty-nine, yet a glimmer of hope remains.' It's impossible for such an unsolvable, dead-end place to truly exist; it wouldn't make sense. What remains for us is to abandon the idea of forcing our way across this Weak River and instead find that thread of vitality."

Yu Yanluo listened, filled with both admiration and self-consciousness, realizing that truly, these Grandmasters possessed insight far beyond her own.

Zu'an's heart stirred. "The Yaoyu!"

The women nodded. "That's what we were thinking too. The Weak River can't even float a feather, yet this Yaoyu can swim freely within it. Such a clear anomaly must be the clue."

Zu'an's mind cleared. "It seems this is the first trial of the path Shun spoke of. Now there's a problem: how do we deal with that creature when it's hidden in the Weak River?"

Yu Yanluo suggested, "Ah Zu, aren't you naturally attuned to water? You could try by the shallow parts near the shore, see if you can enter the water."

If he could enter the water, it would be much easier to either find or deal with the Yaoyu.

Zu'an nodded. "Okay!"

He had been thinking the same thing. He hadn't dared to try in the middle of the river, fearing he wouldn't be able to get out if he went in. But the water was so shallow by the shore that any unexpected situation would be easy to handle.

After speaking, he went to the water's edge, eager to try. The three women quickly urged him to recover from his injuries first, but he shook his head. "My recovery ability is extraordinary. My internal injuries are mostly healed already. Let's just try it first."

The three women couldn't persuade him otherwise and had to agree, but they all ultimately made one demand: he must have protective measures on him.

"The water's so shallow, there's no need for that, is there?" Zu'an looked at the water by the bank, which appeared only a foot or two deep, and was a bit dismissive.

Yun Jianyue shook her head. "What you see isn't always reality. We just saw this river from the mountain, and it looked like a normal width, but the closer we got, the more it changed."

Hearing this, Zu'an also agreed it made sense. The next step was to discuss what protective measures to use.

Seeing everyone's gaze fall on her, Yan Xuehen was both embarrassed and flustered. "Why are you looking at me?"

Yun Jianyue chuckled, eyeing her slender waist. "Of course, we need to borrow your sash again."

Yan Xuehen's face flushed. "You all have sashes too, why don't you give him yours?"

"Oh, come on, our sashes don't have your elastic function! Besides, you just untied it for him once; what's wrong with untying it for him again?" Yun Jianyue said, reaching for her sash.

"Hey, stop messing around," Yan Xuehen said. She knew Yun Jianyue was just joking, but she felt guilty herself.

However, since it concerned Zu'an's safety, she still untied her sash and wrapped it around his waist, holding the other end in her hand. "If anything unusual happens, pull the sash, and I'll pull you up immediately."

Zu'an smiled and nodded at her, sharing a look that only they understood.

Yan Xuehen's heart skipped a beat. This guy was really bold, daring to flirt with her right in front of the others.

Soon, Zu'an reached the shore. Out of caution, he didn't plunge directly into the water. Instead, he scooped up a handful to feel it. The water wasn't poisonous, and apart from being unusually cold, it seemed no different from ordinary water.

After testing, he finally stepped into the shallow water by the shore. However, the moment he entered, his expression changed drastically. In that instant, his body immediately became heavier than a plummet, and there seemed to be an inexplicable suction underwater, pulling him swiftly towards the depths.

The women on the shore were also startled. They saw Zu'an lose his balance and sink immediately after entering the water. Yan Xuehen instantly pulled back on the sash, but her hand suddenly went slack. It turned out that the part of the sash that had touched the water had unknowingly become incredibly brittle; with a strong pull, it snapped.

"Ah Zu!"

"Little Anzi!"

Yu Yanluo and Yun Jianyue cried out in alarm. Yan Xuehen was also distraught, a heavy feeling clogging her heart. Before, she had desperately wished to keep her distance from him, but in that moment, it felt as if she had lost something vital.

She was only momentarily stunned before she flew directly into the water.

Almost instantly, Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo also moved, though they felt very pessimistic. This Weak River was too strange; their hope of rescuing him was incredibly slim.

Just then, a vibrant red ribbon flew out of the water, still some distance from the women.

Yan Xuehen's heart stirred. With a flick of her wrist, the half of the sash in her hand directly entangled with the red ribbon.

Then, with a powerful tug, a figure was awkwardly pulled out of the water. Who else could it be but Zu'an?

"Ah Zu!" Yu Yanluo exclaimed, her voice filled with both surprise and joy.

Yan Xuehen also breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a sense of relief as if she had recovered something precious.

However, before he could feel happy, his expression suddenly changed. "Watch out!"

A monster with a dragon's head and a cat's body suddenly leaped out of the water again, lunging at Zu'an.

"Right on time!" Zu'an had already prepared himself. If he made the same mistake after suffering once, he might as well just die of shame.

He suddenly conjured his Qiankun Ring. The bracelet grew larger with the wind and then slammed into the Yaoyu's head with a resounding thud.

The Yaoyu's head buzzed from the impact. The fact that its head didn't explode on the spot was a testament to its high power.

Seeing the three women on the other side glaring menacingly, it immediately realized that these individuals were not to be trifled with. It felt as if it had transformed from a hunter into prey, so it twisted its body, intending to disappear back into the water.