Reversing the Milky Way

After a while, the two arrived at a large lake, which was Mirror Moon Lake, northeast of Yu Family Village. Bai Cheng arrived at the lake and noticed a huge tree in the middle of the lake, as if it were the guardian of the lake. The tree was covered with white flowers, and from a distance, it looked like a huge white umbrella, covering a large area of ​​the lake.

Its trunk is thick and strong, like a giant pillar piercing the sky. The tree is covered with white flowers, densely clustered together, like pure white clouds hanging from the treetops. Bathed in sunlight, these flowers emit a soft glow and a delicate fragrance, bringing a sense of freshness and tranquility.

Whenever a gentle breeze blows, the flowers on the trees sway softly, and some even fall gently. The whiteness of these flowers and the clarity of the lake water complement each other, creating a beautiful scene.

Bai Cheng was also shocked by the scene before him. After looking at it from a distance, he estimated in his mind that the tree was over two thousand meters tall, which far exceeded the height of any tree on Earth.

On the shore of the lake, a dirt road winds its way forward, passing through the woods, winding around the lawn, and finally leading to the huge tree in the center of the lake. Bai Cheng and Yu Qing'an followed the dirt road to the tree, stood under it, and looked up, their eyes filled with white blossoms.

At this moment, Yu Qing'an, who was standing nearby, said, "I found you under this tree."

Bai Cheng was also taken aback after hearing this: "Here?"

Yu Qing'an replied firmly, "Yes."

Bai Cheng took a closer look at the tree's diameter, which had reached two hundred meters. Standing in front of the tree, it felt as if he were facing a small mountain, and a sense of oppression washed over him.

Yu Qing'an paused for a moment and then said, "This tree has a very long history. It seems to have been here before the establishment of Yu Family Village. No one knows when this tree appeared, nor does anyone know what it is called. Later, because every night the moonlight would shine on this tree, the white flowers on the tree seemed to glow, reflecting the surrounding lake and vegetation as moonlight. And because this lake is also called Mirror Moon Lake, everyone named this tree the White Moon Tree."

After listening, Bai Cheng nodded and said, "Then what does this have to do with us?"

Yu Qing'an then explained, "After this tree became known as the sacred tree, the villagers would hold events or witness contests under this tree. Your contest with Zhao Bo should have taken place here."

Bai Cheng was slightly surprised: "Such a thing actually happened?"

Yu Qing'an then added, "As time goes by, the villagers will often come to worship this tree, hoping that the sacred tree can bring good luck."

Then Yu Qing'an looked around to make sure no one was there, then turned to Bai Cheng with a meaningful smile and said, "Little Cheng, how good are you at swimming?"

Bai Cheng was a little flustered by the question: "Ah...I...I don't think I can do it."

Upon seeing this, Yu Qing'an said, "How about this, you come down with me first. If you can't hold on, I'll help you."

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng immediately replied, "Well... alright."

Bai Cheng then walked to the water's edge and looked down. Although the water of Mirror Moon Lake was crystal clear, that was only from the shore. In the middle of the lake, all one could see was the dark and deep water, as if falling into it would plunge one into boundless darkness.

At this moment, Yu Qing'an suddenly plunged into the lake, and Bai Cheng quickly followed suit, jumping into the lake as well.

As Bai Cheng and Yu Qing'an dived deeper and deeper, the visibility in the water decreased, and soon they reached a depth where sunlight could not reach.

At this moment, as Bai Cheng slowly descended, the surrounding water pressure subtly increased. Initially, the water pressure was as light as a soft veil pressing down on Bai Cheng, but as he continued to descend, the pressure began to grow heavier, as if an invisible force was compressing his body. Slowly, as the water pressure continued to increase...

The pressure on his chest made it increasingly difficult for him to breathe. His vision began to blur, and he knew he could only hold on for as long as he could. He desperately wanted fresh air, and his body was sending out signals of oxygen deprivation.

Just then, Yu Qing'an, who was ahead, had reached the bottom of the lake. He then glanced at Bai Cheng behind him and saw that Bai Cheng's expression was extremely painful. His face was pale, as if he was on the verge of collapse.

Upon seeing this, Yu Qing'an immediately took out a bead from his backpack. The bead was completely transparent. He then took out a talisman from his bag and stuck it on the bead. Suddenly, the bead emitted a strong wind pressure, which repelled the water around Yu Qing'an. Then, it immediately arrived in front of Bai Cheng.

Bai Cheng only felt a strong wind suddenly rise around him, repelling all the water around him. At this moment, he could no longer help but breathe in the fresh air deeply, and his complexion slowly returned to normal.

At this moment, he also noticed the bead in Yu Qing'an's hand, which was the bead with wind attribute spiritual power that Yue Ling had mentioned before. Bai Cheng was also looking at this scene in disbelief. He saw that the bead in Yu Qing'an's hand was constantly emitting strong winds. However, the wind force was not very strong within the range of the bead. Instead, at the edge, the wind pressure continued to rotate, forming a hemispherical space with a radius of three meters.

Bai Cheng coughed twice and said, "Uncle Yu, why didn't you take this out sooner?"

Yu Qing'an: "Do you think this thing is common? This is a rare wind spirit bead. I usually can't bear to use it. If it weren't for your determination, I wouldn't have taken it out to use at this depth of water. You should be content."

Bai Cheng was also very gratified to hear what Yu Qingan said. He hadn't expected Yu Qingan to bring out such a good thing for him. Then he paused for a moment, looked around, and saw that the water was now more than fifty meters deep, and sunlight only shone through a small part of the dark water.

At this moment, Yu Qing'an took out a small glowing ball. That's right, this is also a type of spirit storage bead, but it is very small in size. Then, Yu Qing'an held the spirit storage bead in one hand and explored it.

Meanwhile, Bai Cheng discovered many aquatic fish he had never seen before. They were all quite large, with the largest reaching five meters in length. Due to the surrounding wind pressure, most of them swam around the area. At this time, Yu Qing'an led Bai Cheng to explore underwater. Since they had descended from the land in the center of the lake, they were located directly below the White Moon Tree. The rocks here were uneven, with many pits of varying sizes, which were mostly inhabited by aquatic creatures, primarily fish, shrimp, and crabs.

At this moment, Yu Qing'an led Bai Cheng to the base of a neat, huge rock. Then, he took the glowing spirit-storing pearl and carefully examined it on the side of a rock, saying, "This is it."

Before Bai Cheng could figure out what was going on, Yu Qing'an suddenly tossed two spirit-storing beads to him. Bai Cheng quickly caught them, and then saw Yu Qing'an walk to the side of the rock, place his hands on it, and push hard. As the sound of the rock scraping against the ground continued, a huge hole appeared in front of Bai Cheng.

"This..." Bai Cheng was somewhat incoherent upon seeing this. He hadn't expected there to be such a large underwater hole in the center of the lake, with the opening just larger than the area covered by the Spirit Storage Pearl.

Then, Yu Qing'an took back the Spirit Storage Pearl from Bai Cheng's hand and said, "You'd better keep up, or you'll fall behind."

He then led Bai Cheng into the cave. Upon entering, Bai Cheng noticed that the large cave extended downwards at a 45-degree angle in a spiral pattern. Under the illumination of the metallic spirit-storing pearl, the cave walls were pitted and uneven, with faint traces of what appeared to have been dug. Moreover, around the cave, one could clearly see massive tree roots twisting and turning haphazardly—the very roots of the enormous White Moon Tree. The cave seemed to have avoided all the roots, creating a path through the gaps between them.

As the two ventured deeper into the darkness, Bai Cheng vaguely sensed faint lights around them, the glow of a plant that emitted a pale blue light in the darkness. At this moment, Yu Qing'an, who was walking ahead, said, "This herb is called Candlelight Grass. It can only be found underground or in water where there is no light. It's a medicinal herb that can accelerate the recovery of injuries. It's an ingredient in the first-grade elixir, the Rejuvenating Pill."

Bai Cheng said excitedly, "Wouldn't we be rich if we collected more and took them back?"

Yu Qing'an explained, "What are you thinking, kid? Do you think that's all there is to a pill? Each pill contains at least four or five herbs; it can't be made from just one ingredient."

As the two ventured deeper, the passage became a straight path leading forward, while its width remained unchanged. Bai Cheng was now even more certain that this passage must have been dug by some ferocious beast, or at least not by a human. After all, they had already reached a depth of a thousand meters, and were underwater. This also made Bai Cheng curious about how Yu Qing'an knew about this path.

As time went by, the two had unknowingly walked for more than half an hour. According to their route, they had already left the area of ​​Mirror Moon Lake. Only then did Bai Cheng realize that Cloudfall Forest was right next to the north of Mirror Moon Lake, and the fishing village and Beilan River were quite far away. It was unlikely that Yu Qing'an would take Bai Cheng to such a far place, at least this passage should not be that long.

The two walked for about half an hour, and the passage began to extend upwards. However, they hadn't walked far up the passage when they emerged from another cave.

As the terrain became increasingly flat, the two gradually emerged from the water. What came into Bai Cheng's view was a vast expanse of candlelight grass emitting a blue glow, standing out starkly in the darkness. Their light was soft and mysterious, as if driven by some unknown force.

The grass swayed gently in the breeze. The top and sides of the cave were covered with rocks of various strange shapes. On the rocks grew all sorts of glowing mushrooms, which looked like tiny, glowing umbrellas stuck in the rocks from a distance.

The cave interior exudes a tranquil and mysterious atmosphere. Besides the glowing grass, there are various other luminescent plants in the cave. They vary in height, thickness, and shape, but all emit light of different colors.

The entire cave was transformed into a dreamlike fairyland. Deep within the cave, a waterfall cascaded down from between the rocks, creating a thunderous roar. Reflected in the waterfall, the light within the cave became even more dazzling, as if the entire waterfall itself had been illuminated. The water flowing below the waterfall then rushed in the same direction as the pool where Bai Cheng had come from.

Bai Cheng was completely stunned by the scene before him. He had never seen such a beautiful view, even on the virtual computer on Blue Star. He thought that the White Moon Tree in Mirror Moon Lake had already amazed him, but the scene before him once again shocked his vision.

Yu Qing'an looked at Bai Cheng in front of him, and then said, "Bai Cheng, have you sensed anything here?"

After listening to Yu Qing'an's words, Bai Cheng carefully began to sense his surroundings. He first quietly closed his eyes, trying to calm his breathing. He felt the gentle breeze in the cave caressing his cheeks, bringing a cool and damp sensation. He could also smell the various plant scents filling the air, each with its own unique aroma.

At this moment, Bai Cheng had completely calmed down, as if the sound of the waterfall in the distance could not affect his heart. Soon, he seemed to feel that everything around him had quieted down. It was as if he was the only person left in the whole world.

Slowly, he seemed to sense something. It was as if there was an invisible energy in the surrounding air, pricking Bai Cheng's skin. Although the feeling was very subtle, it was indeed a subtle sensation. Soon, the surrounding noise slowly returned. Soon, as the surrounding sounds gradually returned to normal, the sounds of wind, the friction between plants, flowing water, waterfalls, and even the faint chirping of insects in the grass could be heard.

Bai Cheng immediately said excitedly, "Uncle Yu, I feel like there's a subtle energy in this place stimulating my body. It's a very subtle feeling."

After hearing Bai Cheng's words, Yu Qing'an immediately burst into laughter, "Ha...ha...ha...ha...Bai Cheng! I knew I hadn't misjudged you. Now you have the potential to cultivate!"

After hearing what Yu Qing'an said, Bai Cheng was also dumbfounded and asked, "What? I haven't even reached the Body Refinement Realm yet, and he already knows whether I can cultivate or not? Could it be that..."

Yu Qing'an: "That's right, what you just sensed was spiritual energy."