There was something unusual about the golden lake's water. The moment Xiang Shaoyun jumped inside, a stinging sensation tormented his entire body as though the lake was made of needles. A regular person would probably wail in pain the moment they jumped into the lake.

Xiang Shaoyun was already a late-stage Emperor, and his physique was amazing as well. This much pain was still bearable.

Something is weird about this water, thought Xiang Shaoyun inwardly.

He stopped hesitating and dove toward the lakebed. He planned to get his hands on some goldblood stone as soon as possible. The lake was deep, and the water was bone piercing. The stinging sensation grew increasingly uncomfortable. The deeper he dove, the stronger the pain. Even someone like Xiang Shaoyun was forced to protect himself with a protective barrier.

Is there something special about this lake? Xiang Shaoyun wondered inwardly.

The moment he had that thought, he had the urge to figure out its secret. He quickly suppressed his desire and shifted his focus back to his search for the goldblood stones.

The golden water was incredibly bright, making it hard for one to see underwater. Of course, that wasn't much of an issue for Xiang Shaoyun as his vision was far superior to an average person's.

When he was several hundred meters underwater, his discomfort reached an intense level. It was as though he was swimming amid needles, not water. Not even his defensive barrier could protect him, and the stinging sensation assaulted every inch of his skin.

What kind of water is this? This is strong enough to kill even a King, and a regular Emperor will suffer greatly here, thought Xiang Shaoyun.

He started looking around for the goldblood stones, trying to find them as quickly as possible. There was actually a lot of junk at the bottom of the lake. Many preserved corpses could be found as well. There were also some damaged weapons and corpses of mounts. Occasionally, evil spirits would appear out of nowhere, giving one a fright.

Xiang Shaoyun wasn't a timid person, and he also had the ghostrunes in his Nether Soul Domain. When the evil spirits tried entering his head, he had the ghostrunes eliminate every single one of them.

He ignored the damaged weapons. Although he could make some gains by searching through them, he was focusing on the goldblood stones because they were much more valuable.

Unfortunately, the goldblood stones weren't everywhere in the lakebed. It was possible that they could only be found at specific spots. Thus, he needed to put some effort into looking for the stones.

Soon, he selected a certain direction to focus in. A blinding golden radiance was also shining in that direction, and the location was emanating an unusual life force. When he sensed it, he hastened his speed.

The water resistance was quite strong in the lake, but for someone who had comprehended the profundity of water like him, the resistance wasn't that big of an issue. As he swam toward his target, the stinging sensation intensified. It seemed like the power causing his discomfort originated from that direction.

He lowered his speed and started advancing slowly. His gift of instincts was fully activated, but his eyes were suffering great pain from the stinging sensation. He even felt like he was about to be stabbed blind. Fortunately, after all the torment, he found some goldblood stones.

Instead of charging over immediately, he shut his eyes and gave his eyes some time to recover. Inwardly, he thought, That can't be the toad's lair, right? Whatever, I'll leave the moment I get the goldblood stone.

He pushed his defenses to the maximum and resumed his advance, but the stinging sensation kept growing. Xiang Shaoyun could only brace himself and continue onward as his defenses were already pushed to his limits.

His destination looked near, but he still spent a long time approaching. There, several goldblood stones could be seen scattered in several different spots. At the very middle of the stones was a clump of golden radiance as bright as a sun. It was quite a mystical sight to behold.

He narrowed his eyes and studied the clump of radiance. He found that the radiance was actually coming from an underwater cave. The goldblood stones were located to the left and right of its entrance, and it felt like they were all a hand's reach from the cave.

Withstanding the great pressure, Xiang Shaoyun approached one goldblood stone. Ever since he arrived, the stinging sensation had grown considerably. Not even his defenses could withstand it, and blood was seeping from his skin.

One ought to know that he was an Emperor as strong as a Sovereign. If even someone like him was injured in the lake, one could only imagine the might of the stinging power. Furthermore, Xiang Shaoyun had a body tempered by flame and lightning. His body was as tough as a sovereign weapon, yet even such a body was injured. Something was definitely weird about the lake water.

Xiang Shaoyun stopped moving and muttered, "Just what kind of water power is this for it to have such a weird effect? Or is this stinging sensation some sort of unique energy coming from the golden radiance?"

Xiang Shaoyun shook his head and tossed the thought out of his mind. He continued advancing as the Nether Soul Dragon Headband manifested around his head to protect it against the stinging power.

The nearer he got, the stronger the stinging sensation became. It was now stabbing into his bone marrows, tormenting him with great pain. He gritted his teeth and said, "I must get the goldblood stone!"

With renewed determination, he ignored the pain and increased his speed. His skin, meridians, organs, and bones were all tormented with insane pain. He gnashed his teeth and persevered. Ultimately, he reached the goldblood stone. He hugged it and tried pulling it off the ground.

At this point, he had already forgotten his pain. He only had the goldblood stone in his eyes. Blood continued seeping out of his skin and flowed toward the golden radiance in the cave. Even after using all his strength, he couldn't move the stone. In his desperation, he drew his Radiant Saint Sword, trying to slice the stone off the ground. Suddenly, the golden radiance intensified. An indescribable power flowed out and wrapped around Xiang Shaoyun.

The power felt like it was formed of countless needles. Blood instantly dyed Xiang Shaoyun red, and his pain reached an even greater level. The stinging sensation even invaded his soul. Without the Nether Soul Dragon Headband's protection, his head would have been turned into a pincushion.

His flesh seemed to be entirely destroyed, and his bones were revealed. He currently presented an overwhelming sight. He felt like he was actually going to die from the pain. A thick aura of death gripped his heart.

"I don't want to die! I have yet to carry on my family line! I'm still a virgin! Refine!" Xiang Shaoyun roared as powerful willpower erupted from within him. He circulated his cultivation method and started refining the stinging energy tormenting him.