"Rustle—"
A dense fog engulfed the area as light rain drizzled down.
Zhiwei, clutching the blood-drenched and weak-breathing Qing Jun, stumbled forward desperately.
The cold rain mixed with the blood and muck seeped through her thin clothes, chilling her to the bone.
But none of it compared to the pain and despair in her heart.
Qing Jun... Is Qing Jun dying?
It is all her fault!
If only she had listened to her master and not trusted that Bai Susu, how could Qing Jun have been so severely injured?
Hadn’t her master warned her repeatedly before leaving...
It was all her fault!
"I’m sorry... Qing Jun..."
Zhiwei’s face grew paler, overwhelmed by guilt, remorse, and agony, making it hard for her to breathe.
It was at this moment, however,
that the water element spiritual power around them suddenly became unusually active, almost merging with the big girl!
A pure and cold aura spread from deep within her body, quickly calming her mind, which had been chaotic with fear and grief, bringing it into a unique state of clarity.
This is the Purity Glaze Body!
The more Zhiwei’s emotions were in pain, the more this power hidden deep within her bloodline would awaken.
At this moment, due to Qing Jun’s severe injuries, her Purity Glaze Body was triggered again, achieving an incredible affinity with the water element spiritual power, akin to a Single Water Spiritual Root’s talent!
Not only that, the reason the Purity Glaze Body is called ’Purity’ is because there is almost no obstruction between it and the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
This allowed Zhiwei to control her own aura at a completely new level, instinctively concealing the spiritual power fluctuations of herself and Qing Jun, like two droplets in the ocean, untraceable in the mist-covered Mist Forest.
Yet, even though Zhiwei tried hard to hide, occasionally some Loose Cultivators would stumble upon them by sheer luck.
"Hey, found them! These two little girls!"
A crafty Loose Cultivator, with greedy eyes, approached with a sinister grin,
"Truly heaven-sent, ha ha..."
In the daze of awakening, Zhiwei hadn’t fully come to her senses, just staring blankly as the Loose Cultivator came closer.
"Strange? Could she be scared stupid?"
The Loose Cultivator felt a chill under the big girl’s gaze, instinctively stopping in his tracks.
But as soon as he realized he was intimidated by a mere girl, he immediately flew into a rage, ready to attack!
"Zing!"
A sword hummed clearly, a cold light flashing.
Xiaohan flew out, transforming into a graceful arc in the Loose Cultivator’s pupils.
"Boom!"
The world spun, and before his vision went black, he caught sight of his headless corpse.
"Not allowed... to bully my senior sister!"
In Zhiwei’s arms, Qing Jun suddenly opened his eyes.
Those blood-red pupils had returned to their clear black color, but a hint of chilling ruthlessness lingered deep within.
"Uh... Qing Jun?"
Zhiwei’s vision blurred for a moment, a cold sweat breaking out from fear, the consequences unimaginable had Qing Jun not woken up in time.
Qing Jun, however, didn’t look at her, merely withdrawing his blood-stained flying sword in silence, glancing down at the glaring red on the blade, softly asked: "Sister, has Qing Jun... become a bad kid? I... I killed him."
"No, Qing Jun is the fairest child in the world..."
...
"Strange..."
Not far away, perched nimbly on a tree branch, a little girl with dazzling blonde hair swung her slender legs, looking at them with interest.
It was Bai Susu.
Earlier, after losing track of the two girls, it took her a significant effort to find their whereabouts again.
She intended to take direct action, but to her surprise,
the auras of these two girls were strengthening at an incredible pace!
"Hmm? In the face of life and death, their progress is so rapid... could they possess some kind of special physique?"
Bai Susu, with her keen intellect, guessed a bit.
Considering Qing Jun’s flying sword from earlier, just the level of spiritual power of the little girl likely equaled the Fourth or Fifth Layer of a Cultivator, or else she couldn’t have used the Flying Sword Technique to kill.
But she was clearly at the 2nd layer!
"Talent... frighteningly strong. Could she be a prodigy on the same level as I am? I once killed a Late-stage Qi Cultivator with Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer skills..."
Bai Susu pondered a moment, shaking her head silently.
The gap between the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer and Late-stage Qi Cultivator is far larger than that between the 2nd layer and the Fourth-layer.
How could this little girl possibly be on my level?
Of course... Bai Susu didn’t know that, in the original story, she would be killed by Xu Qingjun, surpassing her own rank.
Suppressing the curiosity and surprise in her heart, she decided not to reveal herself immediately but rather continue observing, covertly guarding them.
Only between life and death can one’s physique be stimulated!
Moreover, if they do possess a special physique, it surely won’t overdraw its potential due to this early to middle-stage Qi Cultivation battle, affecting their future development.
As for the mental health of these two little girls?
Bai Susu shrugged, wondering, is that something you can eat?
While Bai Susu was plotting in secret, two overwhelming auras suddenly emerged from the forest’s edge, carrying undisguised killing intent, rushing straight at her!
"Foundation Establishment Cultivators?! There’s the presence of a Puppet..."
Bai Susu furrowed her brows, recognizing the loathsome aura.
"How did they find this place? They even dare to attack me directly?"
She was puzzled in her heart, but her movements did not slow down in the slightest.
Two black-robed cultivators with masked faces sprang out from the forest like specters. One wielded a pitch-black long banner, while the other summoned a fierce puppet with a green face and fangs, launching a ferocious attack on Bai Susu without saying a word!
"Looking for death!"
The cold light flashed in Bai Susu’s amber eyes. Although she didn’t know why these two were targeting her, since they made the first move, she naturally wouldn’t be courteous!
With a shout, the golden flying sword in her sleeve whistled out once again, bringing up a brilliant golden light, meeting the two Foundation Establishment cultivators head-on!
"Hmph, two cowards hiding their heads, dare to act presumptuously in front of me!"
Bai Susu shouted, advancing instead of retreating.
Though her figure was petite, under the pincer attack of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, she was like a small boat in stormy waves — seemingly perilous but actually handling it with ease.
The cultivator wielding the pitch-black long banner muttered incantations continuously, and with a shake of the banner, the air immediately filled with ominous winds. Several strands of solid black evil qi howled out like venomous snakes, attacking Bai Susu from different angles.
Wherever the evil qi passed, the poisonous miasma in the forest was absorbed, turning its color even deeper and more terrifying.
Meanwhile, the other cultivator drove the fierce puppet forward while also summoning a magical treasure to launch an attack!
The puppet, over a zhang high, was cast in bronze.
It roared, bringing down the massive axe in its hand, as large as a door plank, with unstoppable force, aimed directly at Bai Susu’s fragile figure!
Faced with such a grand combined assault, there was no panic in Bai Susu’s amber eyes; instead, a glint of excitement flashed across them.
"Come on!"
She didn’t dodge or avoid it. The golden flying sword in her sleeve suddenly shone brightly, emitting a clear and crisp sword hum!
In an instant, a dazzling golden sword rainbow shot into the sky, dividing itself into nine — nine sharp sword beams cutting through the sky.
Among them, five sword beams accurately met the strands of black evil qi. As the golden light and the black qi touched, hissing sounds of disintegration erupted, retreating step by step.
The remaining four sword beams merged into one, transforming into a more substantial golden giant sword, charging fiercely against the puppet’s massive axe attacking from above!
"Clang——!!!"
A deafening sound of metal clashing echoed through the forest!
The poisonous miasma in the forest rolled continuously; several trees as thick as an embrace were directly shattered by the aftershock!
The green-faced fanged puppet staggered back several steps under the impact of the strike, and even the hard bronze on its axe-wielding arm showed a fine crack!
However, Bai Susu’s golden giant sword also dimmed slightly, flying back and transforming into nine sword beams again, swirling and dancing around her, protecting her petite figure tightly, before attacking the other Foundation Establishment cultivator!
She single-handedly endured the combined attack of two Foundation Establishment cultivators and a Tier Two Puppet, and remained undefeated!
The two black-robed cultivators were shocked.
This Bai Susu is indeed not just a name!
...
Meanwhile, at the edge of the Mist Forest.
The newly arrived loose cultivators in the middle to late period of Qi Cultivation had already surrounded the previously scarred-faced burly man.
Leading them was a cultivator in the late stage of Qi Cultivation with a sinister look. He stared coldly at the burly man and asked in a deep voice, "Speak! Who exactly are those two girls? And where is the Secret Realm?"
This cultivator was named Ji Yunting, with cultivation at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, and was a rising star of the Ji Family. The group of loose cultivators followed his lead.
The burly man turned pale.
How did the Ji Family arrive so quickly?
Clearly, only a few people knew about this...
His gaze suddenly fell on Hee Guai within the crowd, and his face became extremely ugly.
So that’s it!
Hee Guai was known for his long-winded nature, fond of boasting, and had a late-stage Qi Cultivation brother, so the usual loose cultivators didn’t want to dispute with him.
But the burly man thought that with things such as magical treasures and Secret Realms, Hee Guai wouldn’t possibly talk...
"Hmm?"
Ji Yunting’s gaze was like lightning, piercing at the burly man. He felt equally anxious; if he wasted another moment, it might be too late for him!
The burly man had already lost his previous arrogance under the pressure of the late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator, trembling fearfully, not daring to hide anything.
He explained how he discovered the two girls, how he was injured by the white-haired girl, and the matter of the pair of united second-tier flying swords they possessed, without omitting a word.
In the crowd, Hee Qi listened to the burly man’s description, his expression becoming increasingly grim.
Two girls, one with black hair and one with white hair; the black-haired girl calm, the white-haired girl lively...
The more he listened, the more it resembled those cherished disciples of Brother Chen!
As the saying goes, the onlooker sees more clearly.
Chen Ye believed that with the two girls at home, coupled with the long journey, they couldn’t possibly reach the Moon Rhinoceros Lake District.
But Hee Qi wasn’t aware of the situation between Chen Ye and his disciples, thinking instead that Chen Ye brought the two girls to the Moon Rhinoceros Lake.
Moreover,
Hee Qi was present and could hear more details... the more he thought about it, the more he felt certain that those two girls were indeed Chen Ye’s disciples!
"Little brother, what are you daydreaming about?"
A sturdy man with a similarly large build, having some resemblance to Hee Qi in appearance but looking more weathered, patted Hee Qi’s shoulder, gruffly inquiring.
This was Hee Qi’s elder brother, none other than Hee Guai mentioned in the tea house!
Seeing his brother had been absent-minded and his expression shifting constantly, he couldn’t help but ask.
"No... nothing, big brother."
Hee Qi was startled, snapping back to reality, yet looking even more troubled.
No way! This must be reported to Brother Chen immediately!
He knew all too well the greed of these loose cultivators.
If those two girls were really Brother Chen’s disciples, they were likely in grave danger!
With that thought, Hee Qi could no longer sit still.
He squeezed out a reluctant smile at Hee Guai, "Big brother, I... I suddenly remembered something urgent. I have to go first, you all take care!"
Without waiting for Hee Guai to react, he abruptly turned, pushed through the crowd, and dashed off toward the direction of the Herb Pavilion in the Moon Rhinoceros Lake District, without looking back.
Chen Ye had just taken up the position of Spirit Plant Master in the Lingyin Sect. If he had come to the Moon Rhinoceros Lake District, he would definitely be at the Herb Pavilion!
"This kid... even if he doesn’t get the magical treasure, getting a share of the Secret Realm is still good..."
Hee Guai watched his brother’s hurriedly departing back, perplexedly shaking his head, but didn’t dwell on it, soon returning his attention back to the so-called Secret Realm treasure.