Claiming the Throne of Gods, Starting from the Rebirth of Nezha
Chapter 64 The Secret Beneath the Hot Spring

Chapter 64: Chapter 64 The Secret Beneath the Hot Spring

Nezha had just arrived when someone came up to lead the horse away, though this person did not seem like the typical inn waiter.

While both are in business, sizing up customers, this person clearly lacked the savvy of the waiter, his glance alone made one feel uncomfortable.

He said: "Young master, are you here to bathe in the hot springs? However, the horse must be tied here, to prevent manure from dirtying the place. The outer pools cost five silver coins per day, whereas the central ones cost one silver tael per day."

As Nezha loosened his grip on the reins, the jujube red horse, being a spiritual beast from the mountains, refused to be bound by mortals. With a neigh, it joyfully lifted its front hooves, its hoofbeats thundering away into the distance as it went to entertain itself.

Nezha knew that with slaves who run errands on others’ coat-tails, the more face you give them, the more they climb over your head. Ignoring his displeased expression, Nezha asked with a smile, "Don’t fool me, I’ve heard of the top-grade spiritual spring in Lingquan Town and have come from afar just for it. How can you fob me off with those ordinary pools that are found everywhere, thinking I cannot afford it?"

Nezha jingled his money pouch before the man’s eyes, the gold and silver clinking inside, prompting the servant’s face to change as he tried to smile and reached out to take it. However, Nezha then withdrew his hand and, like a magician, made the money pouch disappear.

The servant rubbed his hands together and said: "My young lord, let me tell you, all these hot springs have been taken over by the Wang Family of Lingquan Town. There’s no such thing as not wanting to earn money, it’s just that today is really inconvenient."

Lingquan Town.

Wang Family.

Nezha had never heard of them, only perceiving them to be local gentry of Lingquan Town, and wondered since the hot spring pool had only appeared a few years ago and was originally unowned, who did the Wang Family take it from?

Actually, this servant of the Wang Family was just looking for an excuse.

Originally, the entire town of Lingquan relied on growing pomegranates for a living, but the lush pomegranate trees, along with the surrounding dozens of acres of flower fields, were scalded to death by the hot spring waters.

After losing their livelihood, the townspeople cried to heaven and earth. The Wang Family, originally local gentry, saw that the dozens of Fire Eye Hot Springs were far more precious than pomegranates, forcefully seized them by wielding the power of their clan, and, with proper bribes, saw silver flow into their coffers like water.

Nezha figured this out with just a thought and sneered, "What makes today so inconvenient?"

The servant smiled, glanced at Nezha, and proudly said: "Today, the innermost spiritual spring has been booked by the Army of Women from Sanshan Pass. They’ve hung brocade ribbons on the withered pomegranate trees outside, and even the houses inside for resting have been enclosed. With such a grand setup, even if you offered more money, I would not dare to trouble them."

"The Army of Women from Sanshan Pass?"

Upon hearing this, Nezha’s eyebrows slightly furrowed, wondering when Sanshan Pass got something called an Army of Women--he’d never heard of it.

Seeing Nezha’s puzzled face, the Wang Family servant explained: "Simply put, it’s a group of girls playing house, but the leader happens to be the daughter of Sanshan Pass’s General, named Deng Chanyu. She’s no older than you, my lord, but has quite a headstrong character, intimidating enough to deter others from provoking her."

Deng Chanyu?

Nezha thought to himself that he had never heard of the Army of Women, but the name of this female general was indeed well-known.

According to the book he read in his past life, in the story of King Wu’s campaign against Chengtang, Deng Chanyu, with her unique skill of throwing stones, managed to injure several divine generals consecutively.

However, now that he had embarked on the path of cultivation himself, Nezha fully realized how mysterious the techniques of cultivators could be and couldn’t understand how mere stones could harm those accomplished Daluo Immortals.

Especially after witnessing the likes of Yu Ding, who could sever the Divine Bridge with a single sword strike, a highly skilled cultivator who had been practicing for many years.

Nezha said: "Find me a place near the center for the hot spring bath."

After handing over the money, Nezha was assigned a small cabin with a Jiǎzǐ number. By giving out an extra two pieces of silver, the servant showed his shrewdness; with the silver collected, Nezha only then discovered his hot spring was no more than ten steps away from the silk textiles set up by the ladies.

Through the gauze, one could see the red rocks standing at the edge of the hot spring and even faintly hear the girls’ crisp laughter, ringing like silver bells. As for anything else, let’s just leave it to everyone’s imagination.

Nezha didn’t ponder too much, as this place accommodated both men and women. Although the world under Chengtang was open-minded, it wasn’t to the extent of being completely exposed to each other while soaking in the hot springs. There were private wooden cabins built beside each pool where everyone would pay, get the key, undress in their own cabin, and immerse themselves in the springs.

Once truly inside the cabin, Nezha felt a surge of hot steam hitting his face. He quickly undressed and plunged into the pool, his body fully submerged and blowing several bubbles before he popped his head out again.

He shook the water from his hair with a flick of his hands, the dropping droplets tracing a line in the air before splashing back into the pale-green water, creating a moderate splash that then evaporated into white steam.

Nezha moaned in comfort, watching as the peaceful Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was twisted into wavy patterns by the rising steam which then was drawn into the body with each breath.

He extended a finger and drew a line in the air, cutting the previously calm Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi in two, which then reshaped themselves into a sharp line to confront his fingertip.

To the ordinary eye, it seemed as if nothing had happened, with merely a child playfully splashing water in the hot spring.

But for a cultivator, the simple variations of these lines of Primordial Qi reflected the fundamental principles of the entire cultivation system and the very foundation of the Fengshen World.

"The Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi in this pool are indeed much denser than elsewhere, and there are strands of Life Essence Qi as well. The heat of this spring comes from the natural Fire Eye, but from where does this Life Essence originate?"

Driven by curiosity, Nezha took a deep breath, and a whirlwind arose in the cabin. The moist air was all drawn into his lungs, and then the outer air rushed in to fill the space.

Diving into the water, he descended several man-made steps and found the spring was deeper than expected.

It took a dive of two zhang to reach the bottom, where he saw streams of water emerging from the crevices in the spring’s base, with trapped air forming bubbles that surged upwards.

Nezha threw a punch down, and the entire Hot Spring Villa shook. The water churned, rocks crumbled, and the suddenly accelerated flow naturally lifted Nezha back to the surface.

The spring appeared to remain tranquil, but the floor of the original pool now revealed a pitch-black cave.

Nezha floated in the bath, his hair soaked through, yet his face revealed a peculiar expression.

It was not strange that there was an underground river beneath, but where this river originated from and how these threads of Life Energy suddenly appeared in the water required further investigation.

...

Merely a few zhang away, within the curtained hot spring enveloped in steam, the pool was noticeably larger and the terrain was significantly elevated compared to other areas.

Aside from the constant stream of bubbles emerging from beneath the pool, a nearby cliff, formed by tectonic movements and squeezed out rock crevices, had water cascading down the steep wall into the pool, creating a misty spread of white steam around the area.

On a wet, slippery boulder beside the pool, a little girl wearing only a clinging undershirt sat with her legs kicking the water, examining a crystal-clear pebble the size of her thumb brought close to her moonlit-cool eyes, while the sheer undergarment, completely soaked and almost transparent, clung to her still-developing youthful body.

The sight was as picturesque as a painting.

Suddenly, the earth trembled. The girl cried out in surprise as she slipped off the rock and with a splash plunged into the pool.

But when the girl went under, six emerged, each fair-faced with an exquisite countenance.

Upon a closer look, the girl who had been sitting on the rock was encircled in the middle, her large eyes wide open with panic on her face.

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