Yu Qingyao adjusted her breathing and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. On her frost-white cuffs, that splash of red was like red plum blossoms in the snow. Yu Qingyao folded her hands and performed a standard disciple’s salute toward Xia Lingshuang.
“Master,” Yu Qingyao’s voice was raspy, but the pride and composure radiating from her very bones could not be hidden. “I did not fail my mission.”
Even in such an environment, Yu Qingyao maintained her dignity. Su Qianqian stood by her side, her eyes red, though she kept the tears swirling in her eyes from falling. She silently stuffed the unused pills and talismans back into her Storage Bag, mumbling softly, “Elder Xia, Eldest Senior Sister, Senior Brother Lin.”
Xia Lingshuang waved her hand, sending a surge of abundant Spirit Chi toward the two of them. They felt their exhausted bodies suddenly fill with energy, and the Spiritual Power they had depleted to maintain the light barrier and attack was restored. Xia Lingshuang was indeed a Soul Transformation Stage cultivator; not only was her Spiritual Power reserve vast, but her control over its application was also extraordinary.
Wu Yan looked at Yu Qingyao’s face, which was forced into a mask of strength, and sighed as she stepped in front of her.
“Senior Sister?”
“Don’t move.” Wu Yan took the Snow Lotus Hairpin from Yu Qingyao’s hand and lifted her arms to pull Yu Qingyao’s head into a light embrace. The fragrance of lilies drifted from Wu Yan into Yu Qingyao’s nose, leaving her feeling dizzy and dazed.
“Sen… Senior Sister — “
The smooth chestnut hair slipped through Wu Yan’s fingers. Wu Yan clumsily tied up Yu Qingyao’s hair and neatly inserted the Snow Lotus Hairpin into the bun. Yu Qingyao did not fully snap out of her daze until Wu Yan pushed her gently out of the embrace.
Standing to the side, Lin Xiao and Su Qianqian stared wide-eyed at the intimate display. They had thought Yu Qingyao’s concern for Wu Yan was the limit, but they never expected the relationship between the two to develop to this point. Never mind them; even Xia Lingshuang had not realized their bond had grown so deep.
“Cough, cough, cough!” Finally, Yu Qingyao’s coughing broke the silence. “We are still missing Senior Brother Zhao and Junior Brother Gu.”
This Secret Realm was truly strange. From the moment she entered until now, Wu Yan had only encountered members of the Piaomiao Sect; not a single person from another sect had appeared. ‘Could it be that the mastermind specifically gathered disciples of the same sect together, attempting to raise the strongest, most frantic Gu King from among them?’
“By the way, should we go look for those two?” Lin Xiao asked.
“No.” Yu Qingyao stepped aside, revealing the object she and Su Qianqian had been protecting behind them. It was the very center of the Altar, where a Black Stone Tablet lay silently in a depression in the ground.
“The reason Su Qianqian and I were trapped here and unable to leave was actually because of this.” Yu Qingyao pointed at the stone tablet, her tone solemn. “The aura emitted by this tablet attracts nearby monsters. And the closer those monsters get to the tablet, the more frenzied they become.”
Wu Yan leaned down to observe the tablet and found it covered in curved runes that were emitting faint pulses of eerie light.
“The aura on this stone tablet is the same as that bone hand.” Xia Lingshuang swept the stone tablet into her hand, giving her conclusion after sensing it for a moment. “This is a Key.”
Xia Lingshuang took the Black Stone Tablet and tapped her fingertip on its center. As Spiritual Power was injected, a tooth-gritting grinding sound suddenly echoed from inside the tablet. A red light pierced through the dim air, projecting a fragmented, dark red three-dimensional phantom into mid-air.
Clack, clack, clack —
The runes on the surface of the tablet lit up one by one. The red light was dull and chaotic, possessing the texture of coagulated blood. In the center of the phantom, a massive black vortex slowly rotated. At the edges of the vortex, red dots flickered across three different regions. One red dot was shining brightly; based on their observations, that dot represented the Basin they were currently in. The other two red dots were located in entirely different directions.
“A Lopan,” Wu Yan said abruptly while looking at the projection in the sky.
Xia Lingshuang withdrew her finger, and the projection flickered accordingly.
“Eldest Senior Sister, what do you mean by Lopan?” Su Qianqian did not quite understand.
“That brightest red dot is us.” Wu Yan pointed at the projection. “And those two red dots should be Senior Brother Zhao and Junior Brother Gu. This thing is both a lure to attract Demonic Cultivators and monsters, and a Key that points the way, though it is currently incomplete.”
Hearing Wu Yan’s explanation, Lin Xiao came to a sudden realization. “In other words, the mastermind is encouraging us to find these Keys!”
To the northwest, the terrain rose sharply, appearing as a continuous mountain range within the phantom light. To the southeast, the terrain sloped downward, seemingly leading to a plain. Wu Yan turned around to seek Xia Lingshuang’s opinion. “Master, do we need to split up?”
“No,” Xia Lingshuang answered decisively. “The Spirit Chi here is thin and Divine Sense is restricted. Even with my cultivation at the Soul Transformation Stage, I cannot guarantee absolute safety. We will head northwest first.”
—
With the direction confirmed, all that remained was to move forward. The formation was adjusted for this journey: the thick-skinned Lin Xiao led the way at the front; Wu Yan and Yu Qingyao stayed in the middle to provide support and handle sudden emergencies; Su Qianqian was protected in the safest inner circle; and Xia Lingshuang, with the highest cultivation, brought up the rear.
As they left the Basin, Yu Qingyao subconsciously walked half a step behind Wu Yan’s side. She did not speak, but occasionally reached up to touch the cold hairpin in her hair. As her fingertips brushed against the smooth body of the pin, the cool sensation brought her peace of mind in this strange environment. She secretly reached out her hand, wanting to grab Wu Yan’s, but her fingers ultimately retracted just before they touched her.
‘Never mind, there will always be opportunities in the future.’
The scorching air that had been filled with the scent of sulfur gradually dissipated, replaced by a bone-chilling Yin Qi. The carbonized black ground beneath their feet turned into a gray-white gravel path, and the rock walls on either side became steep mountainsides. Half an hour later, a massive Mineral Cave appeared before them.
“This is where the red dot is located.”
The wind blew through the cave entrance, making a “whoo, whoo” sound that was identical to the whimpering of a child. Several thick wooden stakes stood at the entrance of the Mineral Cave, with “straw men” of various shapes hanging from them.
No, they weren’t straw men. Those were all living corpses. Some wore the robes of the Wanjian Sect, others the robes of the Liuyun Sect… Wait. Although they came from different sects, the way these corpses had died was identical. The moisture had been sucked out of their bodies, their skin clinging tightly to their bones like withered tree bark. Their eye sockets were sunken and their mouths were wide open, frozen in expressions of utter disbelief. The corpses swayed in the wind, their stiff lower bodies striking the wooden stakes with dull thuds.
Seeing the corpses, Su Qianqian’s reaction was much calmer. She even felt composed enough to crouch at the feet of a corpse and carefully observe its condition.
“There are no external wounds, nor are there any signs of struggle. There is a high probability they were attacked while completely off-guard.”
Wu Yan heard Su Qianqian’s conclusion and silently inspected every corpse. None of them showed signs of resistance. This was against common sense. If the opponent were a monster, the corpses would not be so intact; but if the opponent were a Demonic Cultivator, it would be impossible to kill everyone so cleanly without any struggle.
There was only one possible conclusion.
“The killers are of their own kind.”