Quinn picked up the Yellow Jing, turning it over and inspecting it. The other Yellow Jing poked their heads out from under leaves, grass, rocks, and sand. Seeing the giant holding their companion, they cried out in alarm, and then, utterly lacking loyalty, retreated even deeper into hiding.
Quinn examined it closely. Its two legs were twisted together from many root tendrils, it wore a skirt woven of grass at its waist, and a beard of root-like fibers sprouted from its face.
It held a spear made of bamboo twigs, its tip gleaming—a strange piece of metal. Quinn was taken aback and picked up the tiny, needle-like spear to study the metal of its tip.
He couldn’t tell what kind of metal it was, but the odd thing was that the metal bore traces of rune imprints. Judging from the Yellow Jing’s attire, they couldn’t possibly be experts in rune spells or anything of the sort.
So where did the metal for the spearhead come from?
Perhaps it had woken up. The Yellow Jing was trembling all over, and suddenly a green leaf bud popped out from the top of its head with a soft sound. It was so nervous that the bud grew rapidly.
Quinn chuckled, "Stop playing dead. I’m not going to eat you—I just have a few questions."
The Yellow Jing bravely opened its eyes, saw Quinn smiling with his shining teeth, and let out a plaintive shriek before fainting dead away.
From the island came a chorus of battle cries as a hundred or so Yellow Jing charged in, fierce and determined—their rescue army. But when they saw Quinn holding their companion, they immediately turned and ran for their lives.
Quinn was dumbfounded and shook his head. "No loyalty at all…"
He flicked the leaf sprouting from the Yellow Jing’s forehead. The little creature woke up again. Quinn released his grip, supporting it with yuan‑qi so it floated before the three of them. "Stop pretending to be dead, or you really will be. Tell me, why are there so many Yellow Jing on this island?"
The Yellow Jing trembled and replied, "I don’t know either. You’ll have to ask the Ancestor!"
Quinn frowned. "Where do your spearheads come from?"
"I don’t know. You’ll have to ask the Ancestor."
Quinn sighed and set it down. "Take us to your Ancestor."
The Yellow Jing landed and walked toward the island’s interior. From the grass nearby, a tiny head popped out and shouted angrily, "Traitor!"
Quinn reached out and grabbed the Yellow Jing from the grass too. "You lead the way as well. Take us to your Ancestor."
This Yellow Jing immediately wilted, hanging its head and joining the traitor in leading the way into the island. The first traitor puffed up with pride, as if surrendering first was something to boast about.
"There are way too many Yellow Jing on this island."
Serena Yunxiang was astonished. Only upon entering the island did they notice something odd: houses hung from the trees, tiny and about the size of bird nests, woven from green vines and shaped like homes dangling under branches. From afar, they looked like oversized green apples.
As they approached, doors on the tree houses opened. Many Yellow Jing peeked out from behind them, sneaking glances at the newcomers—a strange world built in the trees.
On the ground, too, many Yellow Jing had built houses out of small stones, forming a city—though even the city was only about an acre in size.
The two Yellow Jing trudged into the gloomy city. The city guards stared blankly at Quinn and the other two giants, too stunned to speak, much less resist.
"There must be tens of thousands of Yellow Jing here!"
Serena Yunxiang was utterly shocked. She whispered, "Cult Master, if we captured all these Yellow Jing and sold them, we’d be as rich as a nation!"
Quinn stopped outside the city, not entering. He shook his head. "Why would we do that?"
Serena was puzzled. "Survival of the fittest—isn’t that the rule in the Great Ruins?"
"Saintess, the survival of the fittest in the Great Ruins isn’t quite what you think."
Quinn explained, "The beasts in the Great Ruins do hunt and eat the weak, but once they’re full, they don’t kill needlessly. That’s survival of the fittest—it doesn’t mean everything weaker than me must be killed and eaten. These Yellow Jing are intelligent beings with their own civilization and nation. We’re guests in their territory, so this is an exchange between civilized peoples. Why would we come in and immediately exterminate their nation and race?"
Serena seemed thoughtful.
Soon, a crowd of Yellow Jing escorted a carriage from a resplendent mansion in the city to the gate. Seated atop the carriage was a white-haired old matriarch, who shakily rose and greeted them. "It’s been ages since we’ve seen outsiders. My children were a bit panicked. I beg your pardon."
"Elder, you’re too kind."
Quinn returned the salute respectfully. "We three siblings are passing through your treasured land and have disturbed your people. Please forgive us."
Lynn Ling and Serena Yunxiang saw that the Yellow Jing matriarch was only about a foot tall—so tiny it was almost pitiful. But Quinn still observed all the proper courtesies, not daring to slacken in the slightest, which made both girls stifle their laughter.
The two girls also greeted her according to etiquette.
The matriarch said, "My humble home is too small to accommodate the bodies of three giants. I can’t invite you in—apologies. Are you just passing through?"
Quinn smiled, "We’re just passing by and stopped to rest. Your nation is so unusual that we couldn’t help but be curious. Elder, may I ask why there are so many Yellow Jing here?"
The old matriarch smiled, "It must be the water and soil. When I awoke, I was beside a spring. Suddenly, I gained intelligence, spread my branches, and multiplied—so my children grew more and more numerous."
"A spring?"
Quinn was surprised. "Elder, could you show us?"
The matriarch smiled, "Of course." She ordered the other Yellow Jing to drive the carriage out of the city and led them to a spirit spring in the middle of the island. The spring wasn’t large—just a deep pool six or seven zhang across, but bottomless. Many Yellow Jing drew water there, yet no matter how much they took, the water never diminished.
Quinn scooped up some spring water and opened his Azure Firmament Heaven-Eye to examine it, his expression growing serious. He saw a strange, powerful force hidden in the water—truly extraordinary.
The Yellow Jing on the island must have drunk from this spring for years, which is why they gained intelligence—and why they bore no demonic aura.
"This spring is no ordinary thing," Lynn and Serena realized, sensing its strangeness.
Quinn stood up. "I noticed your weapons are unusual. May I ask where you got them?"
The Yellow Jing matriarch replied, "The children found them—they were flushed out by the spring water."
"Flushed out by the spring?"
Quinn looked at the deep pool, pondering for a moment. "Elder, we’d like to go down and have a look."
"You may be giants, but be careful. This pool is unfathomable—it’s drowned countless of my children."
The matriarch quickly ordered her people, "I’ll have them bring a long vine. Tie it around yourselves before you go down. If you can’t hold your breath, climb up along the vine."
"No need."
Quinn drew a deep breath, winds howling around him as he inhaled an enormous amount of air into his chest, then leaped into the pool. Lynn Ling and Serena Yunxiang also took deep breaths and jumped in after him.
Each of the three activated their own techniques. Lynn used the Nine-Dragon Emperor Art, her body moving through the water like a flood dragon; Serena used the Creation Heavenly God Art, darting through the water like a fish, all heading for the bottom.
The pool was truly bottomless. They swam for a long time as the surroundings grew ever darker, still not reaching the bottom, and the pressure increased steadily.
Suddenly, a light appeared ahead. The walls of the deep pool widened, and on the stone walls hung night-pearls as big as buckets, casting a dim, eerie glow.
"These are even bigger than the night-pearls in the palace!" Lynn exclaimed in surprise.
The deeper they went, the more night-pearls there were. They dove hundreds of zhang further, feeling the pressure so heavy it threatened to crush their lungs, their eyes bloodshot, eardrums buzzing. Any deeper and their lives would be at risk. Quinn was about to call the girls back, but just then, they saw a giant cauldron.
They had finally reached the bottom of the pool.
At the bottom sat a huge cauldron, more than ten zhang long and wide—massive. A gentle current flowed out from the cauldron. Around it, though, there was no water—just air, bright as day.
Quinn swam through the curtain of water, dropped down, and quickly landed on his feet.
Lynn and Serena also swam out of the water and landed, dripping.
Quinn glanced over; Serena quickly hugged her chest, but Lynn seemed oblivious. Serena nudged her with her shoulder and whispered, "He’s looking at you!"
Only then did Lynn realize, hurriedly turning her back and shaking the water off with yuan‑qi.
Quinn looked away, thinking, "It’s not like I haven’t seen before. Last time she slept at my place, I saw her—her chest is bigger and whiter than mine, but that’s nothing special; she’s not as strong as me."
The three dried their clothes and looked around. It was clearly the seafloor outside, pitch-black water, with chimneys spewing black smoke and occasionally lava. Sometimes strange sea creatures, drawn by the light, swam past, exposing huge bodies—who knows what monsters they were.
Ahead of them, rows of grand ornamental columns stood, glowing softly. Farther on, white mist billowed, and the outlines of vast palace halls loomed within.
Beneath their feet stretched flawless white jade, neatly paved, with rubble scattered around.
Behind them, the cauldron was surrounded by columns—likely the ruins of a great hall.
Water rose from the cauldron but did not mix with the sea; the Yellow Jing on the island drank only the water flowing from this cauldron, which awakened their intelligence and made them spirits.
"I’ve seen a place like this before."
Quinn’s heart trembled slightly. "There’s a Dragon Palace in the Great Ruins, set up much like this place, but smaller. That’s where the Dragon King of Yongjiang lives and rules the river."
"Could this be a Dragon Palace too?" Serena asked, a little excited.
"It’s not a Dragon Palace."
Lynn shivered and whispered, "I don’t sense any dragon aura. In fact, I sense something very unfriendly to dragons... There might be a god here!"
"Even if there is a god, it’s a dead one."
Quinn stepped forward, waved his sleeve, and swept away the rubble, revealing a toppled stone stele. The writing was ancient, inscribed with the words: 'Qushan Divine Hall.'
"Qushan God?"
Quinn frowned. "There’s a mountain god under the sea?"
Serena shook her head. "There can’t be a mountain god under the sea—unless this used to be land..."