Xiangmu Grove is a fragrant wood plantation spanning over a hundred acres.
It is the economic lifeline of Muxiang Village.
It is also a beautiful scenic spot.
Green grass blankets the ground, and the vermilion-scented trees fill the air with a fragrance reminiscent of sandalwood.
“Xiaoyan, are you sure you didn’t mistake it? There’s no sign of any monsters here,”
Chongchong bent down to tease the saplings newly planted by the villagers.
“Indeed,” Chen Xiaoyan shrugged. It seemed she was just being overly suspicious.
“Let’s go. We should come back another day to really enjoy this place. The scenery is quite nice.”
Chongchong stood up and hugged her arm, grinning. “So, what should we do after we return to the sect?”
“How about we go play in the Taohua Grove in the back mountain with the pink-furred rabbits?”
“Great, great! Last time, I had to kill a bunny with my bare hands for a mission. I was upset for a long time.”
Bare hands?
Chen Xiaoyan was stunned and instinctively glanced at her own slender jade-like hands.
She swallowed hard.
This girl’s constitution was probably pretty good—at least better than hers.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong, Xiaoyan?”
“Why can’t we teleport?”
Chen Xiaoyan opened the map and tried the teleport point to the Tianxiang Sect headquarters for a long time, but there was no response.
Was it stuck?
“Huh???”
At that moment, Chongchong also let out a surprised cry.
“Xiaoyan, I think I can’t teleport either.”
One person stuck was one thing, but both of them?
Chen Xiaoyan’s expression changed.
She took out her Spring Breeze Umbrella from her backpack and cautiously looked around.
“Be careful, there are monsters nearby. We’ve been forced into combat status, which is why we can’t teleport.”
“Monsters?”
Chongchong also drew her Spring Breeze Umbrella, the sharp tip pointing forward.
Her eyes were full of fear.
“Hahaha, I’ve been waiting for you two for a long time.”
Suddenly, a hoarse voice echoed through Xiangmu Grove, sending birds and beasts flying away in alarm.
Then, a streak of blood light descended from the sky, landing on the ground not far in front of them.
With a loud “bang,” the blood light exploded, and the shockwave flattened the grass within tens of meters around them.
Chen Xiaoyan shielded her eyes from the blowing dust with her sleeve, while Chongchong hid behind her.
“Well, well, two little girls from Tianxiang Sect. My luck’s pretty good today.”
Lowering his hands, Chen Xiaoyan finally realized this monster was not a mutated beast or demon but a person.
【(Evil) Blood Daozi, ??? level】
【Hidden Quest Triggered: “Blood Daozi’s Revenge” — Eliminate Blood Daozi; Reward: 500 Spiritual Energy, Title — “Evil Path Slayer” (Novice)】
Evil Path?
The level scan couldn’t detect anything.
By convention, this meant the opponent’s level was far above her own.
This damn quest was basically a suicide mission.
Damn it!
The smiling old man’s face was full of kindness.
His thin body was dressed in simple cloth garments.
If one ignored the glaring blood-red aura surrounding him, he looked like a very ordinary elderly man.
Moreover, even from this distance, Chen Xiaoyan could smell a strong stench of blood emanating from him.
He had killed a lot of people.
Suppressing the panic in her heart, she politely cupped her fists and bowed.
“Junior Chen Xiaoyan pays respects to senior.”
Seeing he did not respond, Chen Xiaoyan gently nudged the girl hiding behind her with her elbow.
Timidly, Chongchong stepped out and imitated her, cupping her fists and bowing.
“Junior Chongchong pays respects to senior.”
“Hahaha, interesting,” Blood Daozi laughed heartily.
“Usually when sect disciples from the Celestial Realm Alliance see me, they either attack or run away terrified and clumsily. Didn’t expect the Tianxiang Sect to have two such ‘different’ girls like you.”
Chen Xiaoyan pulled the corners of her mouth slightly.
“Junior has no grudge with senior, so why would we attack or run? Seeing you, I feel like I’m seeing an elder at home, full of warmth. There’s no way we’d run away.”
“Good appearance and sharp mind. Promising material.”
Hearing this, a weight was lifted from Chen Xiaoyan’s heart.
She had never come into contact with the Evil Path before and didn’t know their temperament.
But no matter who you were, praising someone first was always a good way to build rapport.
However, the next words from Blood Daozi brought her crashing back to reality.
“Too bad you’re from Tianxiang Sect.”
“Senior?”
Chen Xiaoyan felt uneasy.
Could it be that this NPC had a grudge against Tianxiang Sect?
If so, then…
She quickly sent a message to Chongchong.
【Chen Xiaoyan: Prepare to run】
Chongchong looked at her and blinked once, signaling she understood.
Blood Daozi smiled faintly.
The previously kind face suddenly turned fierce, and he let out a cold laugh.
“Don’t bother thinking about it. Trying to run? Heh.”
“Who goes there?”
Unexpectedly, a patrol team from the Exorcism Army rushed in.
Blood Daozi’s attention was drawn away.
Seeing this, Chen Xiaoyan seized the chance to summon their horses, quickly mounting and pulling Chongchong up behind her.
“Go!”
They started to flee toward the edge of the forest.
Blood Daozi showed no signs of hurry.
Calmly, he raised his right hand and reached toward their escaping direction.
Instantly, the blood light around him boiled, forming a huge blood-red vortex in his palm.
“If I let you two little girls escape from me, wouldn’t I be the laughingstock among my peers?”
“Go!!!”
Chen Xiaoyan urged the horse fiercely, pushing for more speed.
A powerful suction force gripped the horse, preventing it from moving an inch forward.
“This is bad, Chongchong, get off and run!”
Chen Xiaoyan prepared to jump off the horse.
Unexpectedly, the suction suddenly intensified.
They had no strength to resist in midair and were pulled back.
“I told you, you can’t escape.”
Blood Daozi spoke with great satisfaction.
His blood-sucking technique was so powerful that even an elder-level sect master would fall for it unprepared.
Let alone these two little girls.
“Who are you? Release the Tianxiang fairies at once!”
The Exorcism Army arrived, surrounding Blood Daozi with a dozen long spears pointed at him.
“Tianxiang fairies? Hmph,” Blood Daozi sneered scornfully at them.
“Only you foolish mortals would call them fairies.”
“Get lost. I have no desire to waste time killing useless mortals.”
The squad leader of the soldiers looked grave.
He knew this old man was no ordinary person.
His oppressive aura screamed ‘run for your life.’
But seeing the two Tianxiang disciples in the old man’s hands, he could not bring himself to make that decision.
Still, he had already sent a soldier back to the village to send a message.
He only needed to hold this man off until reinforcements arrived.
Though the Exorcism Army’s eyes were filled with fear, they gripped their spears and did not back down an inch.
Chen Xiaoyan sighed.
“Alright, you all can leave. We’ll be fine.”
As a player, even if she died here, she would resurrect and only lose a level.
But these soldiers were NPCs — it was uncertain if they would revive.
In other traditional online games, no matter how many NPCs died, she wouldn’t care.
But the Celestial Realm was different.
So far, to Chen Xiaoyan, NPCs didn’t feel like emotionless data but like real living people.