The calm pool suddenly rippled, a vague shadow moving slowly beneath the surface. Xie Zhaolin's pupils contracted, and the Dark Shadow Mirror instantly appeared before her.
"So that's how it is…"
She let out a cold laugh, finally understanding why this icy pool could nurture Xuanyin Grass. There had to be a Yinsha-type beast dwelling in the water, its aura nourishing the growth of these spirit plants.
Thankfully, the queen bee had warned her in time.
A beast capable of hiding even from her divine sense would be deadly if it attacked suddenly; even if she survived, she'd be severely injured.
Xie Zhaolin stayed calm, signaling the queen to send three worker bees to cautiously approach the pool.
Plop!
The water exploded. A monstrous fish, completely black and covered in bony spikes, burst from the pool, its gaping maw swallowing the three worker bees in an instant.
"Blackwater Mystic Fish?"
Her gaze sharpened.
This second-rank apex beast was extremely difficult to deal with underwater, but once out of the water, its strength would drop significantly.
"If it won't come to the water…" she said with a small smile, quickly spotting a hidden cave nearby. She stationed the queen and the worker bees to patrol and protect her safety.
"Finally, a use for you so soon…"
She retrieved the Shisha Spider whose consciousness had been erased from the spirit beast bag. Forming hand seals, black qi surged from her fingertips, wrapping around the spider's body.
"Refine!"
Unlike crafting Yuzhu puppet, a beast's body was far tougher. Xie Zhaolin's hand seals shifted, black qi seeping into the spider's veins, traversing every inch of its flesh and marrow to reforged it.
At the same time, a faint light flickered between her brows as a divine mind imprint was inserted deep into the spider's consciousness.
Crack… crack…
The spider's eight legs twitched unnaturally. Its compound eyes glowed red, and fine blood-colored patterns appeared across its exoskeleton.
Three hours later—
The once black Shisha Spider had completely transformed. Blood-red runes now covered its shell, and its eight compound eyes glowed with a cold light. It moved mechanically, obeying Xie Zhaolin's commands perfectly.
She tapped the puppet's abdomen lightly. Black qi flowed in, and as she formed her seals, its abdomen slowly swelled.
Whoosh—
A thread of faintly blue silk descended from the spinnerets, quivering slightly in the air.
"Still works." She smiled in satisfaction.
Even as a puppet, the body retained its instinct to spin webs.
She controlled the Shisha Spider puppet and retrieved the Nine Nether Mystic Ice Lotus from her storage bag. She carefully tore off a translucent petal. This treasure, rich in pure spiritual energy, was irresistible to any beast, even if it wasn't Yinsha-affiliated.
She tied the petal to the end of the silk and lowered it into the icy pool. Ripples formed, but the Blackwater Mystic Fish lingered below, unwilling to bite.
"Clever." She narrowed her eyes, sending a thread of pure baleful qi down the silk. The lotus' aura mixed with the qi, spreading through the water.
Finally, the fish couldn't resist and slowly approached the bait.
Just as it was about to strike—
Splash!
Its tail whipped violently, reversing direction and darting back into the deep water.
"Not so easy to fool."
Xie Zhaolin stayed calm, retracting the silk with the puppet. She pulled out a dark red Blood Thorn Fruit from her storage bag—a fruit from the Heisha Thorn she had collected when taming the queen bee. It was about to come in handy.
She pinched it lightly, letting the red juice drip onto the ice lotus petal, immediately forming eerie blood-colored patterns.
"Let's see if you can resist this."
She lowered the silk into the water again.
The lotus petal, infused with the Blood Thorn Fruit juice, gave off an even more alluring scent. The Blackwater Mystic Fish circled anxiously in the distance, eyes gleaming with greed and caution.
Suddenly, it accelerated—not toward the bait, but directly for the silk!
Clang!
Xie Zhaolin flicked her wrist, and the silk snapped taut. The fish's sharp teeth bit down, producing a crisp sound—it couldn't break the thread!
The puppet suddenly exerted force, yanking the fish from the water. It thrashed violently in the air.
Splash—
A jet of black water shot straight at Xie Zhaolin's face!
Prepared, she dodged to the side while the Dark Shadow Mirror flared. A wall of blue light blocked the water jet, which splashed on the rocks, instantly corroding small pits.
"Truly a second-rank beast." She didn't dare relax. Forming hand seals, she made the spider puppet's legs dig into the ground. Black qi surged along the silk, piercing the fish's scales.
The fish writhed in pain, smashing the ground with its tail. It dove hard, trying to use the recoil to break free.
At the critical moment, the queen let out a piercing buzz. Dozens of worker bees dove from all directions, stingers glowing cold as they jabbed at the fish's exposed wounds.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
The venom instantly seeped through the gaps the silk had cut in its scales. The fish convulsed violently, its thrashing weaker. Even more lethal, the queen struck personally, her stinger glowing red as it pierced the fish's eyeball.
"Hiss—"
The fish let out a wailing screech. Its scales creaked and the blue glow vanished. Xie Zhaolin seized the moment, sending a concentrated blast of black qi through its head.
Boom!
The fish slammed heavily onto the ground, finally still.