Chapter 21: Secret Realm,

Cangwu Secret Realm, Rotten Bone Swamp.

The world spun. The weightless sensation of spatial tearing hit, as if the entire body had been tossed into a drum, causing the internal organs to shift.

When feet finally touched solid ground, a nauseating scent of decay rushed into the nose—the smell of wet mud, rotting leaves, and the fermentation of some creature’s carcass.

The light was dim. Surrounded by towering ancient trees, the bark appeared a sickly purple-black, with branches and leaves tangled like ghost claws, blotting out the sky.

Beneath was the soft, muddy swamp; every step sank half a foot deep. Occasionally, black bubbles rose and burst, releasing a faint purple miasma.

Bad luck. This was the most troublesome of the random teleportation points—the Rotten Bone Swamp.

And even worse luck was that they had not been teleported to the same location as the other disciples.

“Ugh—” The two other disciples with slightly weaker cultivation could not withstand the shock of teleportation and the erosion of the miasma. They leaned against tree trunks and gagged, their faces turning pale.

Wu Yan stabilized her form immediately, her spiritual power circulating as she held her breath.

She did not draw her sword. Instead, her right thumb pressed lightly against the crossguard, her gaze scanning the surroundings like lightning.

Amidst the mess, only a tall male disciple with a square face forced himself to stay upright.

Though his face was deathly pale and his forehead was covered in cold sweat, he bit the tip of his tongue to stay conscious. He drew the heavy broadsword from his waist, vigilantly guarding the group’s flank.

Gu Jian.

This man came from Jujian Peak and was one of the few there who honestly focused on swordplay. His personality was somewhat wooden and stubborn, following rules to a fault; in normal times, he only listened to orders.

Though he might seem blindly loyal in the eyes of the cultivation world, in such a critical moment, he was the only helper who could maintain his combat instincts.

Wu Yan stabilized her form, her spiritual power circulating as she held her breath. She didn’t draw her sword, simply pressing her thumb against the crossguard while scanning the area, then she spoke coldly:

“Gu Jian, count the numbers.”

Hearing the familiar commanding voice, Gu Jian jolted, subconsciously straightening his back as if he had found his pillar of support:

“Yes! Eldest Senior Sister, only Junior Sister Yu, myself, and two outer sect Junior Brothers followed through. The others must have been teleported elsewhere.”

Gu Jian’s voice trembled slightly, clearly experiencing such an oppressive environment for the first time, but he still faithfully executed the order, quickly closing in toward Wu Yan.

Wu Yan nodded, her gaze piercing through the mist to land on Yu Qingyao at the very back.

Yu Qingyao stood on a piece of withered wood protruding from the swamp. She looked panicked, her body trembling slightly as if she were terrified.

But within Wu Yan’s keen Divine Sense, although the Junior Sister’s face showed terror, her left hand was tucked unnaturally inside her wide sleeve.

There, a violent and unstable fluctuation of fire spiritual power was faintly leaking out.

Wu Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Is that… a Mid-grade Explosive Flame Talisman?

A flash of confusion and inexplicable irritation crossed her mind.

Holding a fire talisman in a place filled with combustible swamp gas? Does she have a death wish? She usually seems quite clever; why is she acting so stupidly at the critical moment?

“Sss…”

An extremely faint sound of scales rubbing echoed overhead, light as the wind blowing through leaves.

But the few people present instantly felt a chill rush to their skulls—the shivering sensation of being locked on by a top-tier predator.

“Watch your head!” Gu Jian cried out, his voice cracking.

Too late.

The thick branches above, which looked like withered vines, suddenly came to life! A Double-headed Corrosive Python, thick as a water bucket and sporting two hideous heads, crashed down like a meteorite accompanied by a stench of blood.

Its target was very clear—the seemingly weakest, most rearward-standing, and most unstable presence: Yu Qingyao!

At this moment, time seemed to stretch infinitely in Yu Qingyao’s eyes.

She saw the wide-open bloody maws, the green venom dripping from the fangs, and even smelled that suffocating stench.

It’s coming!

Although the opening time of the secret realm was different, the teleportation locations remained the same.

In the previous life, it was right here. To lure this beast away, Wu Yan (Inner) intentionally pushed me from behind to use me as bait, while she led the others to escape…

Yu Qingyao stared fixedly at Wu Yan’s back. There was no fear in her eyes, only a cold, dead silence.

Come on, Wu Yan (Inner). As soon as you get close, I will immediately swap the Explosive Flame Talisman in my hand for a Sword Talisman. In this life, I’ll make you taste the sensation of ten thousand swords piercing your heart!

However, the expected shove did not happen.

“Too slow.” A cool voice pierced through the bloody wind, its tone as flat as if simply evaluating a dish.

Yu Qingyao only felt a blur before her eyes.

That moon-white figure who was originally standing in front had weirdly vanished.

In the next instant, a sharp sword-wind exploded by her ear, the force of it making her cheek sting.

There was no earth-shattering clash of spiritual power, nor any pathetic rolling to dodge.

In reality, Wu Yan moved like a ghost.

She took a step in mid-air as if there were invisible stairs beneath her feet. Facing the whistling, giant snake head, she did not retreat but advanced, her body turning slightly to perfectly evade the bite range, coming within a hair’s breadth of the venomous fangs.

“The head on the left is a feint; the one on the right is the one that spits venom~ Little Wu Yan, be careful not to get your clothes dirty!”

In mid-air, Wu Yan (Inner) was hanging upside down from a tree branch, playing with a withered twig. She chirped happily like a commentator, her crimson skirt hanging down like an equinox flower blooming on dead wood, completely out of place in this gloomy swamp.

Wu Yan’s expression didn’t change as Relinquished Obsession left its sheath by an inch.

“Zheng—!”

There was no dazzling sword light, only a plain and unadorned cold glint that drew a perfect semicircle in the dim swamp.

Yu Qingyao, who was prepared to counterattack, hadn’t even seen what happened before she heard a soft “puchi” sound—the sound of a sharp blade slicing into flesh.

The snake head that was about to crush her skull stopped eerily three inches from her forehead. Immediately after, a thin line of blood appeared at the snake’s neck. The massive head slid off silently, crashing heavily into the mud and splashing black water.

But it wasn’t over. The giant python, having lost one head, thrashed violently. The other head let out a piercing hiss, opening its mouth to spray a large area of corrosive poison mist.

“Noisy.” Mid-air, Wu Yan tapped her toes lightly on the falling snake body, her posture as light as a bird diving into a forest. She gripped her sword in a reverse hold and, without even looking, thrust it backward.

This strike lacked any flourish, yet it was precise to the extreme.

The sword point pierced through the lower jaw of the other snake head, going straight into the brain, forcing the unsprayed poison mist back into its throat.

“Boom!” The massive snake corpse crashed to the ground, making the surrounding trees tremble.

From the moment the demon beast lunged to the point both heads were severed, only a few breaths had passed.

Wu Yan landed gracefully. Her moon-white Daoist robe was untainted by a single speck of dust; even the edges of her white cloth shoes hadn’t caught a drop of mud.

She performed a casual sword flower, shaking off the non-existent blood before the long sword returned to its scabbard with a crisp “clack.”

There was only the “gurgle” of bubbles bursting in the swamp.

Yu Qingyao stood frozen on the spot. The Explosive Flame Talisman was still held between her fingertips, but because she was gripping it too hard, her fingers were trembling and her knuckles were white.

How is this possible?

She saved me?

She didn’t push me; she didn’t even hesitate, she just charged straight in?

Why? This is different from the last life?

The intense cognitive dissonance left Yu Qingyao’s brain in a state of chaos.

Her hand holding the talisman seemed so redundant and ridiculous now, like a madman prepared to use any means to kill an opponent, only to realize the opponent just wanted to invite her for tea.

Wu Yan ignored the shock of the group. She walked slowly over to Yu Qingyao.

Yu Qingyao subconsciously took a step back, her spine feeling cold. She thought Wu Yan had discovered her hidden movements and was coming to hold her accountable.

Instead, Wu Yan simply glanced indifferently at the hand hidden in her sleeve.

That gaze was calm and cool, yet it felt as if it could pierce through the fabric to see the half-activated Explosive Flame Talisman in her palm.

“Qingyao,” Wu Yan spoke, her tone devoid of killing intent, containing only a pressure-filled sternness.

Yu Qingyao tensed up, her voice dry: “Senior Sister.”

“Facing a close-range ambush from a demon beast, your first reaction was actually to use that kind of fire-attribute explosive talisman?” Wu Yan frowned slightly, her eyes reflecting an unmasked disappointment.

“The Rotten Bone Swamp accumulates miasma year-round; it ignites and explodes easily when it hits an open flame. Setting it off at that distance… even if you managed to kill it, you would lose half your life, and the fellow disciples around you would be caught in the blast. What, do you think your life is too long, or do you think the sect’s pension is too easy to get?”

She paused, extending a slender finger to tap Yu Qingyao’s forehead: “This kind of low-level combat judgment is simply a disgrace to the Piaomiao Sect. Next time, remember to use movement techniques to create distance first, or directly activate a defensive treasure, rather than thinking of this suicidal attack. After we return, I will report this truthfully to the sect and request that you retake your combat theory courses.”

Having finished, Wu Yan stopped looking at her and turned toward the still-dazed Gu Jian: “What are you staring at? Go take the Demon Core. The scent of blood here will attract more trouble; we move in half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.”

Yu Qingyao stood there like a wooden chicken.

She had imagined countless possibilities—mockery, robbery, even a finishing blow.

But she never imagined that Wu Yan would criticize her tactical choices like a genuine, strict teacher.

That natural tone of authority, that attitude of completely ignoring her hidden schemes, gave Yu Qingyao an unprecedented sense of defeat and… confusion.

She doesn’t care at all what I was planning to do?

In her eyes, was I just being stupid?

“Pfft, hahaha!” In the air, Wu Yan (Inner) laughed until she was rolling on the tree branch, her red dress fluttering and the silver bells on her ankles vibrating violently despite being silent.

“Oh my, little Wu Yan, you’re too mean. Look at that little girl’s face; it’s turning blue and white. It’s obviously because your own strength is high enough to one-shot the monster, yet you have to say she was slow.”

Wu Yan (Inner) drifted down, hanging onto Wu Yan’s back like a person without bones, lightly nipping at Wu Yan’s earlobe: “But little Wu Yan, that Piaomiao Sword Technique you just used wasn’t bad. It was much cleaner than those old orthodox fogies from the previous life. Was it because I was cheering you on from the side?”

“Yes, and it would be even better if you could be quiet and behave.”

“Hmph, boring woman.” Wu Yan (Inner) curled her lip and floated over the head of Gu Jian, who was currently dissecting the beast’s carcass, offering her critiques of the bloody Demon Core. “Tsk, this quality is mediocre. It can only be used to refine some Foundation Establishment stage pills. A waste of effort.”

In the woods, the light was dappled.

Wu Yan closed her eyes to rest, her expression as cold as jade.

Yu Qingyao stood not far away, looking at that familiar yet strange figure. Finally, she silently put the Explosive Flame Talisman back into her Storage Bag.

This Wu Yan… she could no longer see through her.