Indeed, in the complex terrain of the Taixu Realm, intelligence was life. Rather than being on the defensive, it was better to take the initiative and master information.
“Okay,” Wu Yan nodded, reaching out to Bai Zhiqiu. “Then I wish us a win-win, Zhiqiu.”
‘Zhiqiu?’ Yu Qingyao noticed the address. ‘When did Senior Sister get so close to this girl?’
“Don’t worry, don’t worry!” Bai Zhiqiu immediately grabbed Wu Yan’s hand, smiling like a cat that had just swallowed a canary. “From now on, we are the Taixu Realm’s three musketeers—wait, I don’t use a sword. Eh, whatever, you get the point!”
“Hmph.” Yu Qingyao sheathed her long sword. Though she was still quite reluctant, since her Senior Sister had agreed, she begrudgingly accepted the existence of this ally.
“Since we’ve formed an alliance, I’ll give you a piece of important news for free.” Bai Zhiqiu’s expression turned serious as she pointed toward the southeast of the Stone Forest. “Ji Xuerou is over there. Her luck is either very bad, or perhaps very good. She fell into a Trap Zone right after landing. That’s one of the most troublesome places in the Taixu Realm. And…”
Bai Zhiqiu paused, a glint flashing in her eyes. “According to my divination, she seems to have run into the group from Queyue Palace. Those people are best at illusions and mental attacks, which happen to counter straightforward sword cultivators. It’s probably getting quite lively over there right now.”
Wu Yan’s gaze involuntarily shifted toward the southeast. Although separated by layers of the Stone Forest, her keen perception allowed her to feel the faint, violent fluctuations of spiritual power from that direction.
“I recommend going there! After all, maybe we can eliminate the favorite to win, Ji Xuerou, in the first round!” Bai Zhiqiu was already eager to move.
Yu Qingyao walked to Wu Yan’s side and whispered, “Senior Sister, do you really trust her?”
“Qingyao, Zhiqiu isn’t a bad person.” Wu Yan tried to convince Yu Qingyao, but Yu Qingyao remained hostile toward Bai Zhiqiu for reasons Wu Yan couldn’t understand.
—
When the three of them reached the southeast, the air was no longer dry. Instead, it carried an uncomfortable, sticky sensation.
“Qingyao, Zhiqiu, retreat!” Wu Yan made a decisive call when she saw the situation ahead was not right.
The scene before them was completely shrouded in a strange, thick fog. This was no ordinary white mist, but a silver-white vapor that even carried the scent of plum blossoms, standing out sharply in the dim Illusionary Realm.
Wu Yan was quick, pulling Bai Zhiqiu and Yu Qingyao out of the mist’s reach.
“Goodness, this is quite a big formation!” Bai Zhiqiu’s face was solemn, and the Lopan in her hand began to hum.
Seeing that Bai Zhiqiu seemed to know what the mist was, Wu Yan asked, “Zhiqiu, do you know what this is?”
“Naturally!” Bai Zhiqiu pointed at the surging mist in the distance. “This is the thick fog triggered by Queyue Palace’s signature Heart-Inquiry Formation. Their formation is incredible; every attack is aimed at the soul. According to survivors, those trapped inside will continuously experience illusions until their spiritual power is completely exhausted by this Pure Void Qi. Only then will the formation release.”
“It looks like Fellow Daoist Ji is really in danger this time. However, once the formation ends, the people from Queyue Palace will also be in a very weak state. We can just pick up the—”
Before she could finish, Bai Zhiqiu’s voice came to an abrupt halt.
A very soft, crisp sound suddenly echoed from deep within the heavy silver mist. Following that, an incredible scene unfolded.
The silver wall of mist, which had been standing like an impenetrable barrier, began to tremble violently as if it were snow meeting a blazing sun.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—
Accompanied by a sound like melting ice, the silver frost and mist across the sky began to retreat and collapse frantically in every direction. When the last wisp of silver mist cleared, the scene deep within the Stone Forest was revealed to the three of them without reservation.
Bai Zhiqiu’s eyes widened, and her mouth hung open, completely speechless.
On the ground in the distance lay three Queyue Palace disciples in plain purple gauze robes. They wore the Ebony Waist Tokens that symbolized their status as Outer Sect Disciples. Broken silver bells and dim formation flags were scattered around them.
Currently, these people all had their eyes closed and were breathing steadily. There was no blood on them, but they had clearly fallen into a deep coma.
In the middle of this mess, a slender figure stood quietly. Not a single speck of dust had touched her body, and there wasn’t even a wrinkle on the corner of her clothes.
“Unscathed? Even if the opponents were only Outer Sect Disciples, this is a bit too exaggerated, isn’t it?” Bai Zhiqiu felt like her worldview was about to shatter. If she had to defeat those three Outer Sect Disciples before the Heart-Inquiry Formation was set up, it wouldn’t be difficult. But since the formation was already active, even she would have struggled to win without paying a price.
As a bystander, the visual impact was far more shocking than being in the middle of it. There were no traces of the formation being broken by force, nor were there any destroyed stone pillars. This meant that Ji Xuerou had faced their attacks while the formation was fully operational and successfully broke through it.
As if sensing the gazes from the perimeter, the figure slowly turned around. Wu Yan’s line of sight happened to overlap with Ji Xuerou’s. Their eyes met.
Those amber eyes swirled with a faint, rainbow luster.
‘Tsk, Glass Sword Heart and Glazed Pupils. This woman is as disgusting as ever.’ The inner Wu Yan looked at the distant Ji Xuerou with loathing.
The intimidating glazed luster in the depths of Ji Xuerou’s eyes faded, returning to a normal amber color. Even though they were far apart, Wu Yan could still see what Ji Xuerou silently said to her.
The Jade Tokens on the waists of the three Queyue Palace disciples beside Ji Xuerou suddenly shattered, and the three were teleported out. Immediately after, Ji Xuerou transformed into a streak of light, racing toward another part of the Stone Forest. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared deep among the jagged rocks.
Decisive and efficient. She took the points and left without any hesitation.
A brief silence fell over the scene until Ji Xuerou’s figure completely vanished.
Bai Zhiqiu was the first to break the silence. “It seems that being number one on the Heaven’s Pride List really isn’t just for show. She is indeed… a tiny bit stronger than me.”
As Bai Zhiqiu spoke, she gestured with her right index finger and thumb to show a small gap.
Wu Yan didn’t speak. She just quietly looked in that direction, the silent mouthing of those words echoing in her mind.
‘See you again?’
“Zhiqiu, Qingyao, let’s go.”
After leaving the Soul-Bewildering Stone Forest, the three-person team’s speed increased significantly. With Bai Zhiqiu acting as a human radar, their journey could even be described as smooth sailing.
The only problem was that the enemies were too scattered, making their point-gathering efficiency too slow. Wu Yan had managed to get 2 points, and Bai Zhiqiu had 3 points. Aside from the initial 3 points she started with, Yu Qingyao had only managed to get 1 more point.
“Sister Wu.” Bai Zhiqiu had a mischievous smile on her face. “I have a good idea. Want to try it?”
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