My gorgeous wife
Chapter 565 - 537: The Scarlet Scabbard

Chapter 565: Chapter 537: The Scarlet Scabbard

At last, Li Chen just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

After all, he wasn’t someone to act recklessly.

Well, if he did act recklessly...

Ahem!

Taking advantage of the moment when a group of people were still enjoying themselves, Li Chen went to the ancestral hall.

Having already received An Cheng’s orders, no one stopped Li Chen on his way, and relying on his memory, he once again found the location of the Sacred Pool.

This time, he planned to dive to the bottom of the Pool Water in one breath, to see what was really at the bottom.

He sat by the Sacred Pool and began to meditate and regulate his breathing.

Before long, when Li Chen stood up, his body had returned to its most complete state.

Taking a deep breath, it seemed he was trying to inhale all of the surrounding air into his body, and next to his nostrils, you could even see wisps of white vapor, which showed how forceful that deep breath was.

"Splash!"

With a jump, Li Chen directly dove into the Sacred Pool.

Without any hesitation, Li Chen instantly transformed into a fish swimming in water, diving towards the bottom of the Sacred Pool.

It was the same as last time.

As Li Chen dived deeper, he felt the Pool Water around him getting colder and colder.

But this time he was prepared, and as he went deeper, the True Qi within his body circulated faster, keeping his body from going stiff in the water.

His body maintained its forward momentum, continuously diving towards the bottom.

In Li Chen’s hand, he held a waterproof flashlight.

He had brought it himself.

This flashlight was originally in his backpack; last time, due to a rush, he hadn’t brought it, but this time, he was fully prepared.

Facing the increasingly dark and cold Pool Water, Li Chen’s mood remained very calm.

He didn’t believe there would be any monsters at the bottom of the pool.

If there were monsters, the village would have had problems long ago.

Moreover, even if there were some monsters, as long as it wasn’t the terrifying Golden Monster he had encountered in the Mong Kok Forest Relic, he could handle it.

After all, his strength was not the same as before. After the Fusion of that Energy and several improvements, Li Chen’s power had indeed changed with time.

"Whoosh!"

Facing the increasingly icy Pool Water, Li Chen couldn’t help but frown, feeling a deep chill constantly eroding his body. If it weren’t for the protection of True Qi, even he would have probably frozen stiff by now.

"Almost at the bottom."

In such a dim environment, even the flashlight had limited use.

However, as Li Chen was continuously sweeping the flashlight around, he suddenly saw a weak reflection coming from below.

Although the reflection was very faint, he caught sight of it.

From this reflection, Li Chen knew he was finally approaching the bottom.

After nearly ten minutes of diving, Li Chen finally reached the bottom of the Pool Water.

There was little difference between the bottom of the Pool Water and an ordinary waterbed, but the pervasive chill made Li Chen deeply feel there must be something here.

Suddenly, Li Chen’s eyes caught a glint of Red not far away.

His gaze flickered slightly, and he strode towards the origin of the Red light.

However, when he clearly saw what the Red light was, his eyes were somewhat stunned.

It was a blood-red Scabbard.

The Scabbard was thrust into a large stone; it was unclear how long it had been submerged, as even around the stone, thick water plants had grown.

Only, these water plants didn’t seem to have much vitality; they seemed to be in a state of suspended animation due to the constant low temperatures here.

Moreover, Li Chen could even find similarities between these plants and the Sacred Herb.

"Could it be, the existence of the Sacred Herb is because of this stone, no, this Scabbard?"

Confusion filled Li Chen’s eyes.

But soon, he negated this judgment.

The Sacred Herb was growing on the water’s surface, relying more on Pool Water and light.

And this stone must have been buried at the bottom of the pool for many years; even if it had an effect, it couldn’t be the most important one.

However, what caught Li Chen’s attention even more was that blood-red Scabbard.

Approaching the large stone, Li Chen looked at the blood-red Scabbard with a somewhat solemn gaze.

Despite not knowing how many years it had been sleeping at the bottom of the pool, he could still discern something special about the Scabbard.

Its occasional Red gleam, reflected by the light, inexplicably induced a palpitation.

He reached out and grabbed the Scabbard; it was ice-cold to the touch, even colder than the bottom of the Pool Water.

This gave Li Chen an illusion, as if the Sacred Pool was so cold because of the Scabbard.

But then, what about the Pool Water under the cliff?

Shaking his head, Li Chen reached out to pull the scabbard out.

Seemingly stuck in the stone for many years, Li Chen’s tug failed to dislodge it.

The next moment, True Qi surged in Li Chen’s hand, and he pulled forcefully.

"Crack!"

Several clear cracks appeared in the stone beneath the scabbard, and Li Chen successfully extracted it.

Having secured the scabbard, Li Chen did not delay, as True Qi was limited, so he began to ascend directly upwards.

After emerging from the Sacred Pool, Li Chen didn’t tell anyone and tucked the scabbard away before returning to his room.

He intended to thoroughly examine what exactly this scabbard was.

He had a feeling that this red scabbard might bring him unexpected gains.

...

"How are the preparations going?" asked a man dressed in Miao nationality attire, his face darkened.

"Almost there," Miao Zheng replied, his expression also somewhat grim.

Last time, their plan to make a move on Li Chen, and simultaneously eradicate and annex a rival stronghold, had unexpectedly backfired at the last moment.

Li Chen was not one to play by the rules.

"We are masters of Gu insect warfare, fighting with Gu insect techniques. He actually attacked us directly; isn’t that cheating?"

Some were indignant, but they were helpless against someone like Li Chen.

They couldn’t expect everyone to fight in the same way they did. Besides, even if Li Chen were willing, he didn’t know how to use Gu insects, so the negotiation was doomed from the start.

"Now our situation is somewhat unstable, but with all our pieces in place, isn’t it about time to make our move?"

"I think we can strike now!"

"Hmm, just remember, we must be extremely cautious before we strike, and once we do, it must be a thunderous blow, leaving no opportunity for resistance," Miao Zheng nodded in agreement.

"Agreed."

"Then that’s decided."

...

Li Chen sat in his room, staring blankly at the red scabbard.

For some reason, it felt oddly familiar to him, but no matter how much he racked his brains, he couldn’t remember where he had seen it before.

Unable to figure it out, Li Chen temporarily put it aside, deciding to study it some other time.

However, no sooner had he stowed the scabbard away than the door suddenly burst open.

Li Chen looked up and saw a girl who was somewhat wet, rushing into the room while taking off her shirt.

At this sight, Li Chen was momentarily stunned.

"Can it be..." he swallowed hard, watching An Xiu who had burst in, disbelief etched on his face.

Were the girls in this stronghold so forward?

This was... a bit too fast, wasn’t it?

At that moment, An Xiu seemed to finally notice Li Chen’s presence and froze, her face turning red from her cheeks to her ears.

"I... it’s not what...," An Xiu stammered, at a loss for words.

This room had been hers before Li Chen arrived, and she had accidentally drenched herself outside, which made her rush back to change clothes without remembering that Li Chen was now living here.

Seeing An Xiu’s near-tearful expression, Li Chen quickly stepped forward to comfort her, "It’s okay, it’s okay, I know... you came to change clothes, right?"

Li Chen was no fool; An Xiu’s soaked clothes said it all.

But still, there was a time and place for changing clothes...

Lucky for her, she encountered someone as pure-hearted as Lieu Xiahui; had it been someone else...

Pah, what am I thinking!

"You go ahead and change. I’ll stand guard outside for you," Li Chen said cleverly.

But ’Lieu Xiahui’, before stepping outside, couldn’t help but sweep his gaze over An Xiu a few times.

Cloaked in thick garments all the time, who would have guessed she was so well-endowed; she must be at least a D cup, Li Chen mused silently to himself.

Standing by the door, Li Chen took up the role of a loyal guard. Observing a group of people enjoying themselves not too far away, he didn’t feel too bleak, only slightly annoyed.

However, contemplating An Xiu who was still changing, Li Chen’s annoyance disappeared instantly.

Even a slight lascivious smirk crept onto his face.

Just as Li Chen was smirking, a voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

"Brother Li Chen, what are you laughing at?"

Li Chen, somewhat startled, turned around only to find that An Xiu had cracked the door open and was peering out, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Nothing, nothing at all," Li Chen replied, straight-faced.

"I’ve finished changing," An Xiu came out and looked at Li Chen, "Brother Li Chen, shall we join the others?"

"Sure," Li Chen nodded, agreeing to go along.