"Hmm."

Ji Xueruo rolled her eyes playfully, quietly using the Water Purification Skill to dampen a cloth, wiping away the mess on her lower body. The reason she didn’t directly use the Water Purification Skill to cleanse herself was naturally to avoid making too much noise and being discovered by You Su.

The white cloth stained with her maiden’s blood was also carefully put away by her, leaving her with a sense of melancholy and loss.

"So Yui Zhen intends to use the lotus seeds contaminated with the evil poison to cultivate mermaids to feed the evil spirits at the bottom of the lake?" You Su felt that Ji Xueruo probably knew more than he did.

"You’re not wrong, it’s likely that Jade Ring Pool has been researching this technique for many years. Before Xiaoyu, two of Jade Ring Pool’s maidservants, who turned into mermaids, had already been thrown into the Black Pool. Those two maidservants were the only successes among Jade Ring Pool’s hundreds of failed products. But what I can’t understand is, as one of the eleven spiritual sanctuaries, Jade Ring Pool is already among the top forces of the Five Continents, why would they want to cultivate an Evil God?"

Hearing this, You Su also fell into deep thought, suddenly recalling the Kun fish he had seen outside Chuyun City.

In Mr. Liou’s description, there were actually many remnants of powerful evil presences hidden beneath the earth since millennium ago. Could the ’Water God’ beneath Jade Ring Pool also have been hidden there since thousands of years ago?

You Su shared his theory with Ji Xueruo, and Ji Xueruo replied:

"Jade Ring Pool has a history of over two thousand years, it’s likely that the evil presence beneath it was there long before Jade Ring Pool came into being... Otherwise, such a top power as Jade Ring Pool couldn’t have been infiltrated by evil presence without its knowledge."

"Wasn’t Jade Ring Pool populated as soon as it was established?" You Su was a bit surprised.

"They claim to be natives, but actually, they’re just the first batch of cultivators who built a cave dwelling at Jade Ring Pool."

First come, first served, survival of the fittest, these are the iron laws assumed by the Cultivation Realm. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"In another position, once the evil presence was discovered, it would be foolish to maintain Jade Ring Pool’s reputation by not publicizing it and attempting to remove it themselves, but they couldn’t possibly turn to fostering the evil presence."

You Su rested his chin on his hand, unable to understand no matter how he tried.

Someone who would risk themselves to feed the tiger must have an agenda, but the actual situation was far from the truth.

Suddenly, as if thinking of something important, You Su swung his head around and asked:

"Miss Ji, do you think the depletion of Jade Ring Pool might be related to this evil presence?"

Ji Xueruo’s legs, slim as jade chopsticks, opened slightly as she carefully wiped the floral dew between her legs, every touch leaving an inexplicable lingering feeling.

At this moment, You Su suddenly turned his head, startling her into quickly closing her legs to cover herself. She was about to lose her temper, but then remembered You Su was blind, blushed, turned her head, and said:

"What do you mean?"

You Su didn’t spare a thought to use his Divine Sense to probe what Ji Xueruo was doing, took out the Exorcism Order from his bosom, and explained:

"I’ve quietly used the Exorcism Order on everyone I met after entering the pool. None of them carried traces of being bewitched or corrupted, what does that mean?"

Ji Xueruo also paused her actions, her heart churning with immense waves:

"Are you saying that Jade Ring Pool’s people nurturing the evil presence isn’t to gain its power? Or rather... not for it itself?"

"Exactly!" You Su sat up straight and continued, "According to Miss Ji’s theory, this evil presence was already here before Jade Ring Pool existed. Why don’t we boldly speculate that Jade Ring Pool isn’t a heaven-sent sanctuary, but a warm bed born from this evil presence!"

Upon hearing this unbelievable answer with her own ears, Ji Xueruo inhaled sharply, hesitating before asking:

"But shouldn’t evil presences be vile and filthy? How could it nurture such a celestial spiritual land?"

This is the stereotype most human cultivators have of evil presences, including Ji Xueruo. However, You Su had personally experienced the mysterious nature of Taisui, so he knew very well that the power of evil presences couldn’t be pondered through inertia.

"Miss Ji, no one truly understands evil presences, including you and me." You Su warned seriously.

Ji Xueruo took a deep breath, subconsciously pressing her skirt tighter, feeling not only a chill in her heart but also between her legs.

"If this is true, then it makes sense... The mystery of Jade Ring Pool comes from the evil presence at the lake’s bottom, and its near depletion indicates this evil presence is also dying. So the people of Jade Ring Pool go to great pains hiding the truth with recluse, and strive hard to find ways to nurture the evil presence. To us, the monster at the lake bottom is an Evil God, but to them who have lived off decay for two thousand years, it’s a true Water God!"

This hypothesis is quite shocking, yet when thought about carefully, it seems highly plausible. No one would suspect that such an illustrious facade of Jade Ring Pool hides flesh and blood of foul evil presence beneath.

Because Jade Ring Pool leaves such a beautiful impression that when it turns evil, one couldn’t help but think of it in the worst possible way. Just as men feel their self-esteem crumble when looking at the highest courtesan of a brothel, and when the madam whispers in your ear how bold she is in bed, the thought shifts to turning her into the most debauched.

After all, that’s human nature, to enjoy witnessing extreme contrasts.

"Miss Ji’s thoughts match mine precisely." You Su nodded, "But these are just conjectures, to truly affirm this, we might need it for verification."

Saying this, You Su shook the Exorcism Order in his hand again.