Junior Sister is skilled in subduing demons.

Chapter 196 Spirit Abyss Mirror Lake
Lingyuan Mirror Lake is located in the most mysterious place in Sichuan and Chongqing, the closest water source to the sacred mountain. The lake surface is not the blue-green of ordinary waters, but rather like crystal that has been tempered by the purest spiritual energy between heaven and earth.

Silver fish, trailing translucent tail fins, dart among colorful pebbles entwined with icicles, their scales refracting tiny fragments of light, like stars scattered on the lake's bottom.

The rime ice forest on the shore is reflected in the water, and the icicles on the branches and their reflections in the water overlap perfectly, making it hard to tell whether one is standing on solid ground or in a dreamlike fairyland.

"It's so beautiful..." Anzhi couldn't help but exclaim softly, his fingertips tentatively touching the surface of the lake.

The lake water wasn't the icy, snowmelt water I'd imagined; instead, it was warm and smooth, like jade warmed by the sun. The moment my fingertips touched it, tiny specks of light crept up my skin.

Ge Wensong stood behind her, his gaze fixed on her profile, illuminated by the water's glow. The ice crystals clinging to her eyelashes shimmered in the sunlight, like scattered stardust. He carefully handed her the snow lotus flower, its petals still glistening with dew: "Look, there are still dewdrops on the petals."

Anzhi took the snow lotus, her fingertips touching the ice-crystal-like petals. Suddenly, the round dewdrop in the center of the flower refracted seven colors, casting a small, flowing rainbow in her palm.

She carefully put the flowers into her storage ring, and when she looked up, she met Ge Wensong's smiling gaze. Her heart suddenly warmed: "Thank you, Wensong."

“Sister Anzhi, don’t be so polite with me.” Ge Wensong waved his hand with a smile, but his gaze suddenly drifted to the horizon. The once clear sky had been covered with a layer of gray. “But we have to find the divine tortoise quickly. Look at the sky, it looks like it’s going to snow again.”

The two walked slowly along the lake shore, the ice beneath their feet making a soft "crunching" sound.

The area around Lingyuan Mirror Lake was so quiet that you could hear your own heartbeat. The only sounds were the rustling of the wind through the rime forest, occasionally mixed with the crisp sound of ice cracking on the distant snow-capped mountains, like someone shattering glass on the horizon.

Anzhi gripped the demon-refining gourd at her waist tightly, her fingertips burning slightly with anxiety—the beacon fires of Qiang City, the fangs of the black python, the instructions of Senior Lingjizi, and... that trouble-prone Tuantuan, all urged her to hurry forward.

"Where exactly is the divine tortoise?" Anzhi couldn't help but mutter to himself, his gaze sweeping across the calm lake surface, which wasn't even rippled.

Ge Wensong frowned, gently tapping the ice with his sword sheath, the echo reverberating across the vast lake: "Logically speaking, in such a large lake, the divine turtle couldn't have vanished into thin air. Could it be hiding at the bottom of the lake?"

Just then, Anzhi suddenly remembered the precious mirror that the goddess Shibi of the Five-Colored Pool had given her. She quickly took it out, and sunlight fell on the mirror, instantly rippling out a layer of flowing golden light.

The Lingyuan Mirror Lake reflected in the mirror is exactly the same as the real scene before your eyes, except that at the center of the lake, a faint golden ripple is quietly spreading, as if someone has thrown a pebble into the water.

"Look!" Anzhi handed over the magic mirror, his fingertips trembling slightly with excitement: "The magic mirror is responding!"

Ge Wensong leaned closer and saw that the golden circle in the mirror was becoming clearer and clearer, and a blurry black shadow could even be seen moving in the center of the ripples.

"Could the divine turtle be in the middle of the lake?" As soon as he finished speaking, a series of bubbles suddenly rose from the lake with a "glug" sound. Then, a turtle shell the size of a millstone broke through the water, its surface covered with ancient bronze patterns.

"It's a divine tortoise!" An Zhi exclaimed in surprise, but before she could get close, the tortoise shell sank down with a "plop," leaving only ripples spreading outwards, as if mocking her anxiety.

Anzhi, holding the magic mirror, chased after the ripples to the center. The dark shadow on the mirror was nimbly darting underwater, sometimes turning left, sometimes circling right, just like a mischievous child playing hide-and-seek. "This divine turtle is too naughty!" Ge Wensong watched helplessly, but couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Anzhi, however, found her strength. She raised the precious mirror, focused her mind, and channeled her spiritual power. Instantly, a soft golden light burst forth from the mirror's surface, like a golden ribbon plunging straight to the bottom of the lake. The dark shadow that had been swimming merrily in the water suddenly stopped, its movements noticeably slowing down, as if it had been entangled by invisible threads.

"Grab it!" Anzhi shouted, his voice tinged with laughter.

Ge Wensong immediately drew his longsword, but instead of attacking, he gently tapped the water's surface with the hilt, producing a rhythmic "dong dong" sound, as if giving some kind of secret signal.

The dark shadow at the bottom of the lake panicked and suddenly plunged downwards, trying to dive into the deep water. But the golden light of the treasure mirror followed it like a shadow, no matter where it swam, the warm light followed it firmly, like a little tail that it could not shake off.

The two remained locked in a stalemate on the lake for a full half hour. The divine turtle would sometimes pretend to be a stone and sink to the bottom of the water, and other times it would suddenly swim past Anzhi's feet and gently bump her boots with its shell, making her almost burst out laughing.

It wasn't until it was completely exhausted that it slowly surfaced, with a patch of emerald green waterweed on its head and its round eyes full of grievance, looking just like a naughty child caught in the act.

"Hey! You two little brats, you've been chasing this old man so hard!" An old, slightly arrogant voice suddenly rang out, startling An Zhi. He then realized it was the divine tortoise speaking, its mouth opening and closing, with seaweed still clinging to its nose: "It's just a nap, why are you making such a fuss over this old man?"

Anzhi was amused by it, squatted down to look it in the eye, and softened his tone: "Senior Divine Turtle, we mean no harm, we just want to ask you to take us to the Divine Mountain."

The divine tortoise glanced at her sideways, then at the precious mirror in her hand, and snorted, "That little girl's mirror at the Five-Colored Pool is really troublesome." It shook its head, and the waterweed finally fell down: "What are you going to the sacred mountain for? The snow lions there are very fierce, and they love to eat delicate little babies like you."

“We need to retrieve the Demon-Slaying Sword to deal with the demon soldiers of Qiang City.” Ge Wensong stepped forward, his tone firm: “If you are willing to help, senior, you will save millions of people in Bashu.”

The divine tortoise's eyes suddenly brightened, seemingly sensitive to the words "demon soldiers." It remained silent for a moment, then sighed, "So be it, what can I do when I received favors from the Shu Mountain Alliance back then?" It slowly turned around, and the patterns on its shell suddenly lit up: "Get on, hold on tight, my Hidden Dragon Path is not like your mortal's boat, it's very bumpy."

Anzhi and Ge Wensong exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes. They carefully climbed onto the tortoise's back; the cool shell felt surprisingly warm, and the ancient patterns seemed to come alive, shimmering with golden light in the sunlight.

Suddenly, the divine turtle plunged into the water with a "plop." Anzhi was so frightened that he grabbed Ge Wensong's sleeve tightly, but found that the lake water did not rush over. Instead, a transparent water film formed around the turtle's shell, separating them from the lake water.

"Don't be nervous." The divine turtle's voice was muffled underwater, with a hint of smugness: "My Hidden Dragon Path follows the spiritual veins at the bottom of the lake, which is ten times faster than your winding mountain path."

Through the water film, Anzhi saw the wonders at the bottom of the lake—winding "streets" made of colorful crystals, schools of glowing fish swimming through ice-sculpted palaces, and the golden light of the treasure mirror reflected on the patterns on the tortoise shell, leaving a golden trail underwater.

The turtle would occasionally bump its head against the coral next to it, making the small fish hiding inside scatter and scatter. It would even turn around and wink at them, saying, "Look, this is my pet. Isn't it cute?"

……