At the bottom of the pool lay a shimmering, azure Water Storage Pearl.
[Water Storage Pearl, an item capable of storing water. When worn, it reduces damage from water-based skills.]
It wasn't that all the underground river water had been stored away by the Water Storage Pearl—its capacity wasn't that vast. Rather, the pearl was in the process of maturing, absorbing large amounts of water to nurture itself.
"A third-tier Water Storage Pearl can store up to 58 tons of water. If left here to continue maturing, it might even break through to the fourth tier."
Li Cunxu had no intention of leaving it to mature further. Waiting for it to reach the fourth tier would take an eternity, and besides, this was a public resource Secret Realm. If he left it here, someone else might take it before he returned.
However, Li Cunxu didn't immediately interrupt its maturation. If he did, the water level would rise rapidly without the pearl absorbing the underground river water.
In that case, the Earth Slime and its team's excavation work would become underwater operations, increasing the difficulty several times over.
Li Cunxu would also be forced to leave due to a lack of sufficient Underwater Breathing Potions.
On the fifth day of excavation, the team digging to the left struck silver ore.
On the sixth day, the team digging forward discovered the hidden space of the Blood Demon Jewel.
The corpses of Blood Cultists who had died here had pooled together, forming a Small Blood Pool, with the Blood Demon Jewel resting at its center.
Entering the blood pool recklessly was out of the question, as the Blood God Power contained within could corrupt him, potentially even transforming him into a Blood Cultist.
"Xiao Yi, weave a fishing net with spider silk and try to snag the Blood Demon Jewel from the center of the pool."
White Spider attempted fourteen times before successfully hooking and retrieving the Blood Demon Jewel from the blood pool.
Li Cunxu rinsed the Blood Demon Jewel repeatedly with Water Orbs, washing away the bloodstains that clung to it.
To avoid being tainted by the Blood Demon Jewel's aura, Li Cunxu used a pair of tongs to pick it up and placed it inside a Concealment Wooden Box.
Suddenly, Li Cunxu felt an odd sensation in his left arm. He immediately rolled up his sleeve.
Eight golden-red dragon scales had appeared on his left arm—a sign that the Golden Dragon Curse was consuming the Red Dragon Curse and growing stronger.
But now, the scales were rapidly disappearing.
Only two remained.
Li Cunxu narrowed his eyes. "This is a sign of the Golden Dragon Curse weakening."
Focusing his mind on the Curse Celestial Heart, he sensed the state of the curse and immediately understood the reason.
The Peach Blossom Calamity Curse had been strengthened once again.
"There are no women around me, so I couldn't have triggered the Peach Blossom Calamity Curse's characteristic of growing stronger upon encountering women. So why has it been enhanced?"
He couldn't figure it out.
After retrieving the Blood Demon Jewel, Li Cunxu headed to the source pool of the underground river. He climbed into the source of the underground river's water, where it cascaded down from above.
His first earlier guess had been wrong.
There was no other underground river above the pool.
His second guess, however, had been correct.
There was a treasure.
[Rare Item: Pure Water Source]
[Quality: Two Stars]
[Bearing Point: 6]
[Description: When embedded in the Beast Taming Space, it creates a spring that produces an endless supply of fresh water, creating an environment suitable for water-based Pet Beasts.]
"As expected, the player's principle is correct: never overlook any anomaly."
And just like that, he had obtained a top-tier two-star Rare Item.
Resource-type Rare Items aligned perfectly with Li Cunxu's plans, so he immediately embedded it into his Beast Taming Space.
Besides, if he didn't embed it, he wouldn't be able to take it out.
After placing the Pure Water Source into the Spatial Backpack, it continued to produce water. In no time, the Spatial Backpack was filled to the brim, and the excess water was expelled.
At the moment the Rare Item: Pure Water Source was embedded, the Foundation Dice rolled.
[Foundation Dice: 1 Point]
6-1=5
Li Cunxu only consumed five Bearing Points to bear the Foundation Dice, which normally required six Bearing Points.
"Sigh! Bad luck, only rolled the minimum of one point."
If it weren't for the fact that the Foundation Dice was unaffected by luck-enhancing items, Li Cunxu would have gathered hundreds of such items before embedding the Rare Item.
Soon, Li Cunxu realized that embedding the Pure Water Source wasn't the best idea.
This Pure Water Source was too efficient at producing water. In a short while, the ground of the empty Beast Taming Space was covered with a layer of water.
Given ten more hours, it could turn the Beast Taming Space into an aquatic world.
"Fortunately, there's a remedy. Otherwise, Yi Yi wouldn't be able to return to the Beast Taming Space unless she transformed into a water-attribute water spider."
Li Cunxu swam back to the downstream end and tossed the incubating Water Storage Pearl into the Beast Taming Space.
Normally, the Beast Taming Space only accepted contracted Pet Beasts and nothing else. However, there was a loophole: Pet Beasts could bring weapons and items in and out each time.
Li Cunxu had Xiao Ruan bite the Water Storage Pearl, then recalled Xiao Ruan into the Beast Taming Space. Xiao Ruan spat out the Water Storage Pearl, and after releasing Xiao Ruan, the Water Storage Pearl remained in the Beast Taming Space.
He had exploited a bug in the Beast Taming Space.
"It's fortunate that the incubation of the Water Storage Pearl wasn't interrupted."
Items in the process of incubation couldn't be moved casually, as it would disrupt the incubation. Even a slight movement had a fifty percent chance of interrupting it.
With all the treasures secured, Li Cunxu had completed his tasks in this Secret Realm. Next, he would meditate and mine.
Li Cunxu was striving to break through to the Black Iron Intermediate Stage, while the Miner Slime and Earth Slime dug up silver and gold deposits.
Another day passed.
The remaining two dragon scales on his left arm disappeared, and the power brought by the Evil Dragon Curse was fading. Sensing the Curse Celestial Heart, he noticed that the Peach Blossom Calamity Curse had grown stronger again, and the Golden Dragon Curse was barely being suppressed.
Yet another day passed.
The Peach Blossom Calamity Curse grew even stronger, completely overpowering the Golden Dragon Curse.
At the same time, a new dynamic emerged.
Originally, the Golden Dragon Curse was both consuming the Red Dragon Curse and suppressing the Peach Blossom Calamity Curse.
Now, the Golden Dragon Curse stopped consuming the Red Dragon Curse and instead joined forces with the Red Dragon Curse to resist the Peach Blossom Calamity Curse.
"Curses don't grow stronger out of nowhere, especially not three times in three consecutive days, each time stronger than the last. Unless... unless the person who cast the curse on me used the forbidden Curse Connection."
"That shouldn't be the case! Could it be that I have an irreconcilable feud with the person who cast the Peach Blossom Calamity Curse? Are they determined to fight to the death?"
Curse Connection, also known as the 'Hundred-Day Curse,' is a forbidden technique in curse arts. Even Saint Curse Masters dare not use it lightly, as once invoked, it becomes a fight to the death, with only one survivor.
The Curse Master pays with their own life and lifespan to strengthen the curse previously cast on the target. Over the course of a hundred days, the curse grows increasingly powerful until it completely kills the target.
Why is Curse Connection a fight to the death?
If the target of the curse withstands it within a hundred days, the Curse Master will inevitably die, even if he is a Saint Curse Master.
Moreover, within those hundred days, the life and lifespan used to strengthen the curse are permanently consumed.
Li Cunxu couldn't understand why this Curse Master would use a Curse Connection on him that was so relentless and unyielding.
What kind of deep-seated hatred or grievance could there be?
He was so weak. As a Grand Curse Master, the Curse Master could easily hire assassins to kill him without resorting to a curse. There was no need to pay such a high price by using a Curse Connection.
After much deliberation, Li Cunxu could only think of one possibility.
This Curse Master might be unable to leave for some reason but was determined to curse him to death, hence resorting to this desperate measure.
"Unable to leave, yet determined to curse me to death—could it be that
this Curse Master is conducting some special ritual? Unable to break away, and my death by curse is a crucial part of the ritual?"