Feng Jiu's eyes were narrowed as she felt the biting chill from the pool's water and the pain from the multiple wounds on her body. But after the initial pain, came a feeling of soothing comfort, like a warm flow was softly passing over her weary body with gentle touches.
[Warm flow?]
She suddenly opened her eyes and looked at her body in the supposed to be chilly water. At that moment, she seemed to be able to detect a faint aura over the water's surface.
[Not mystical power, but pure and untainted spirit power!]
Looking at the pool that was emanating with faint traces of spirit power aura, she thought back to those Burrowing Gophers she had encountered previously. [Was it due to the spirit power from this pool that had caused them to become so big and strong?]
[But why would there be such pure and untainted spirit power aura in a place like this?]
As she fell deep in thought, the golden egg she had placed high up on the side of the pool suddenly shifted a little and without any other warning, it began to roll towards the pool.
'Ploom'
The golden egg dropped into the water and it quickly sank under the surface. Caught by surprise and shock, her hand grabbed at the Cosmos Sack and dagger and she quickly dived down into the water.
With her eyes open underwater, she could see the golden egg slowly and gradually sinking. But, she saw that as it got deeper down, the crystal clear water in the pool became dark and impenetrable by sight, looking like a bottomless pit filled with endless mysteries.
She was worried that if it sank deeper, her breathe would not hold out long enough, and she was also worried as she did not know what kind of things she would encounter if she went down deeper, hence, she increased her speed as she dived down. When she saw that she was getting nearer, she reached out her hand and grabbed at the egg, holding it close to her.
And just as she was about to swim up to towards the surface after securing the egg in her arm, she suddenly seemed to have spotted an algae covered stone door further down into the dark dim depths?
Although puzzled, she wasn't too curious at that moment as she couldn't hold her breath any much longer and she immediately kicked and pushed with her arm and legs to push her speedily up. And at that moment, the stone door deep down in the pool suddenly creaked open.
A tremendously strong suction came out from behind that door, just like a vortex from the bottom of the pool, that sucked all the water in towards the door, carrying her down together with it.
"Ugh!"
Caught within that tremendous suction within the water, she was not able to avoid getting herself spinning together with the whirlpool that had suddenly kicked up, and was sucked in through the door.
But the immense pressure from the water and being caught in that fiercely swirling vortex made her suddenly feel her heart's blood surge into her chest and she vomited it out through her mouth, with most of it falling squarely onto the golden egg she had clasped firmly in her arm. But before she saw the heart's blood that she coughed out being absorbed by the golden egg, everything suddenly turned black before her eyes and she lost consciousness…..
At that same moment, the golden egg began to emanate a faint golden glow, the complicated looking runes on its shell that had disappeared surfaced once more, spreading out over the exterior of the shell together with the golden light.
What was really beyond anyone's expectation was that the golden egg that had been approximately the size of two fists was suddenly gradually growing under the golden light. It was still clasped in Feng Jiu's arm, but it was now the size of a huge watermelon.
And right between Feng Jiu's eyebrows, a scarlet red rune of the Fire Phoenix appeared. And at the same time when that rune appeared, her body was suddenly bathed in a golden light, and the multitude of wounds upon her body were closing and healing at a speed visible to the eye…..
A loud crash resounded. Feng Jiu who had been pulled in by that strong vortex was thrown straight onto the ground, the water from the whirlpool splashing onto her body. The impact and the stinging pain woke her as she gradually regained her consciousness. As she slowly peered her eyes open, she was almost blinded by a bright golden light.
'Crack!'
The sound of a clear and crisp crack startled her and she looked down at the golden egg that had rolled out from her grasp which was now as big as a huge watermelon, with a long crack running down the side.
'Crack!'
The crack sounded again and another long zigzagged line appeared on the shell of the egg. And when she saw the two halves of the shell break open, she was suddenly stunned and rendered completely speechless…..