Chapter 37: Severely Injured

The secret realm shook violently, as if the end of the world had come.

Bai Xiaoxiao knew she couldn’t wait any longer. Since the person outside could directly find Little Stone, their cultivation base was definitely very high. Little Stone couldn’t hold out much longer either.

So she tried to return to human form and gamble. She still had one teleportation formation left that she’d exchanged from the System. If she was lucky, the moment she left the secret realm, she’d be teleported away.

But her luck was still too terrible. The plan didn’t even reach the leaving stage. No matter how hard she tried, she still couldn’t maintain her human form.

The Snake Molting Stage could only be endured in original form. I’m afraid no Mirage Serpent would be stupid enough to try returning to human form during this special period. There was no doubt it would cause enormous harm to oneself.

Especially since Bai Zhizhi had warned her that the Mirage Serpent’s molting stage couldn’t be disturbed. Otherwise, she’d have to go through molting three times before truly entering the Maturity Stage.

Bai Xiaoxiao understood perfectly well. But it was the only idea she could come up with.

If her original form was seen, there was a good chance her identity would be exposed.

Bai Xiaoxiao didn’t want her identity exposed, afraid of bringing trouble to the Mirage Serpent race. But she also didn’t want to die just like that. She still wanted… she still wanted to see Shen Zhiyue.

So she struggled desperately.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t the protagonist after all. She didn’t have that kind of good luck. Soon, she was exhausted by the constant shifting back and forth.

When she realized escape was a hopeless wish, Bai Xiaoxiao gave up struggling. She quickly sank into the Sea of Consciousness to take one last look at Shen Zhiyue’s face.

What a pity…

She still didn’t know whether Shen Zhiyue felt the same way about her, but she would never have the chance to ask.

In this short life, it seemed she’d gotten far too little.

As a child, even toys had to wait until last. And even then, she’d only get to play with them for a little while before other children snatched them away.

Bai Xiaoxiao was silent, but deep down she yearned. So she’d put in double the effort, trying to find a place where her heart could rest.

Unfortunately, the results often fell short of expectations. She never got a good ending, only an accident.

Until she met Shen Zhiyue. Moon-Gazing Peak had a place for her. She had friends, could learn spells with the disciples, and had a sword that belonged only to her.

So short…

The beautiful times were too short.

Bai Xiaoxiao took a deep breath, took one last deep look at the soul fragment with its tightly shut eyes, then reluctantly left the Sea of Consciousness.

[I… I can’t hold on anymore… Damn spirit beast, think of something fast!]

Little Stone shouted in panic.

Bai Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but tug at the corner of her mouth. [We’ve been through life and death together, haven’t we, Little Stone? Can’t you call me by my name…

Never mind. Not remembering is fine too.]

After all, it was just a brief bond. It was fine if it didn’t remember her.

Secret realms probably lasted a very long time. By then, Little Stone would surely have forgotten her too.

The Secret Realm Stone was stunned. Sensing something, it froze in disbelief.

[Are you crazy! What are you doing! Stop it! If you keep going, you’ll die!]

Having come to its senses, Little Stone roared in her divine soul. It was really noisy.

But Bai Xiaoxiao was in too much pain to pay attention to its fury.

[It’s fine… you won’t… be in trouble… As for me… I don’t want… anyone to discover… my identity.

Once I’m gone, Little Stone, you… run quickly… Don’t get… caught again…]

Without her as its contractor, Little Stone would be free, no longer bound by her. Since it had been attracted by the Flowing Light Spirit Cave before, that proved it wasn’t fixed to one place.

[Remember… run far away…]

Bai Xiaoxiao murmured, clumsily continuing her actions.

It was her first time scattering her spirit. She was unpracticed, and the pain made her movements halting. But no matter how clumsy she was, she could feel herself becoming like a leaking balloon, like a secret realm that had begun to crack.

She needed to speed up. Little Stone had been so sad over losing just a corner. If the secret realm shattered, it would probably be even more heartbroken.

Thinking this, Bai Xiaoxiao stared blankly at the sky, but all she could see was thin mist.

Facing death again, she felt nothing much. Her only regret was that she couldn’t return to Moon-Gazing Peak.

She wondered if Shen Zhiyue would be sad to learn of her death. And that little one, Fushui—would she still be waiting for her to come back for class together? But children forget easily. She’d probably forget Bai Xiaoxiao soon enough.

Her consciousness grew hazier. Bai Xiaoxiao involuntarily sucked in cold breaths from the pain.

“System… I’m sorry… looks like I… won’t be able… to continue… the mission…”

There was no response in her mind. Bai Xiaoxiao fell silent too.

She remained in her snake form, lying on the ground at death’s door, waiting for death to come.

But just for an instant, the secret realm suddenly stopped shaking. Immediately after, a sword light split the sky, and a figure rushed in through the torn opening.

Little Stone was shrieking, crying and saying something.

Bai Xiaoxiao couldn’t hear it anymore. She thought the person had finally broken in, so she tried to speed up her spirit scattering.

But before she could continue, her body suddenly felt light, as if being cradled in someone’s hands. Something was fed into her mouth—a pill. Warm medicinal power flowed through her limbs and bones, soothing the pain all over her body.

The sudden change stunned Bai Xiaoxiao. But she was too weak, barely able to keep her eyes open. Yet when she caught the familiar scent, an unprecedented sense of security made her subconsciously give up on scattering her spirit.

In a daze, she seemed to see Shen Zhiyue, her face cold as frost. But then her vision went black and she lost consciousness.

Even if she never woke again, at least she’d caught a whiff of Shen Zhiyue’s scent before dying. Even if it was just an illusion, Bai Xiaoxiao was content.

But the unconscious Bai Xiaoxiao didn’t know it wasn’t an illusion. The one who’d fought her way in from outside the secret realm was indeed Shen Zhiyue.

And after the other entered the secret realm, the soul fragment dormant in Bai Xiaoxiao’s Sea of Consciousness returned to its main body.

Shen Zhiyue looked down at the dying little snake carefully cradled in her arms, her gaze dark and unreadable.

If she’d been even a step later, the little snake would have been beyond saving.

And this was supposed to be an ordinary training trip…

Bai Xiaoxiao was carefully protected by her. Then the two figures flickered and left the secret realm through the opening.

Surprisingly, the flying boat hadn’t been damaged. It hovered silently in the air, eerily quiet all around, not even a shadow of a person.

A cold light flashed in Shen Zhiyue’s eyes. Her divine sense poured out, instantly covering a thousand li in every direction, precisely capturing a strange demonic aura that clearly didn’t belong to the Cultivation World.

“Demonic cultivator, you deserve death!”

The Lone Snow Sword left its sheath, frost spreading for ten thousand li.

The figure fleeing at full speed felt the sword light chasing from behind and her pupils trembled. She cursed under her breath.

At this moment, Moyen truly regretted it. She regretted not finishing things quickly, dragging it out until this killing god arrived.

No one knew better than Moyen how strong Shen Zhiyue was.

Both the Devil Realm and the Demon Realm were sealed, but neither was willing to stay sealed. So both realms were searching for a way to break the seal.

Moyen was a spy that the Demon Realm had painstakingly sent out through countless attempts.

But the two realms had been sealed for so long that they had no idea what was happening in the Cultivation World.

Moyen’s only knowledge came from the Demonic Lord, who claimed that their sealing was merely the Cultivation World’s desperate last stand.

In that battle back then, the Cultivation World had lost many mighty figures. Only a thousand years had passed since. There was no way they’d recovered that quickly.

Moyen deeply agreed. And being newly released, she was too excited, with no intention of hiding her tracks. She appeared openly, reeking of demonic qi, planning to find a mountain to use as a base.

But before she could find a suitable mountain to claim as king, she was slashed by a passing Shen Zhiyue, losing half her life in one sword strike. She also lost one of the three tails she’d painstakingly cultivated, her strength plummeting.

At that moment, Moyen’s heart was full of question marks. She vaguely sensed something was wrong. This Cultivation World didn’t seem as useless as the Demonic Lord had said. At the very least, she couldn’t even beat a passing cultivator.

So Moyen, thoroughly frightened, fled. This time, she decided to change tactics, planning to gather information first before proceeding with the next step.

And that was the most correct decision she’d ever made. From the intelligence she’d collected, the cultivators of the Cultivation World were indeed not as powerful as they’d been a thousand years ago, just as the Demonic Lord had said.

It was all because her luck was too terrible. The one who’d wounded her that day was currently the number one combat power in the Cultivation World—the Sword Venerable Mingyue of the Shangqing Sword Sect.

After learning the truth, Moyen gnashed her teeth in hatred, but she also knew that wounded as she was, she was even less a match for Shen Zhiyue. She could only lie low for now.

But that sword strike had left a deep impression on her.

She was a fox demon, with an unchangeable demonic nature, and she’d always been indiscriminate in her tastes. So toward such a strong Shen Zhiyue, alongside her wariness, she’d also developed some other thoughts.

So while carrying out her undercover plan, she secretly collected information on Shen Zhiyue, looking for an opportunity.

If she could dual cultivate with someone that powerful even once, her lost cultivation base would definitely return quickly.

Unfortunately, Shen Zhiyue was too strong. Before her great task was accomplished, she needed to keep a low profile and disguise herself.

Becoming the top courtesan of Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion was a carefully chosen result. With the boost of that identity, Moyen’s disguise was very successful. To this day, no one had discovered her.

Until she found an interesting person… or rather, spirit beast.

She’d sensed a familiar aura on the other party but couldn’t remember where from. But it didn’t matter. She could bring the person back and study them slowly.

Having not stretched her muscles in a long time, and finally getting out for some fresh air, Moyen admitted she was a bit excited again. She wanted to enjoy a few more cultivators’ angry yet wary expressions.

It was only upon arriving that she realized, among those with familiar auras wasn’t just the person she’d met at Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion. There was another person beside her.

Clearly, both of them were spirit beasts in human form.

Naturally, Moyen developed the desire to take both of them away. But the one she was most interested in was the one she’d seen at Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion.

What an innocent spirit beast. She’d never seen anything like it in the Demon Realm.

Moyen wondered, since cultivators could fall into the Devil Path, could spirit beasts fall into the Demonic Path?

If that spirit beast fell into the Demonic Path, would that expression still appear on its face?

Moyen didn’t know. But she became even more determined to capture the person and study them.

Who knew the little spirit beast she hadn’t taken seriously would have such nerve, and even special means—teleporting the others away right under her nose.

Moyen was a bit angry. She decided that once she brought the person back, she’d discipline them properly.

But her plan fell through again. The person vanished right before her eyes.

She immediately realized the other party had an even greater opportunity on them. So she developed the desire to seize it, planning to wait outside for them to come out.

But instead of the spirit beast, what came out was a strange person. The person appeared out of thin air and started attacking the empty air.

Moyen hid to the side. After observing for a moment, she realized the person was attacking the place where the little spirit beast was hiding.

But strangely, she couldn’t see through that person’s cultivation base at all. She couldn’t even see their aura or face clearly. She could see a person, but she couldn’t sense anything about them.

What level of cultivation could achieve such a feat? When had the Cultivation World produced such a figure?

Moyen was alarmed and uneasy. Sensing something wrong, she wanted to flee. But just as she was about to run, she discovered she’d been unconsciously pinned in place.

Being able to trap her so easily showed how high the person’s cultivation base was. Clearly not someone to be trifled with.

But the person trapped her without making a move. What exactly did they want?

Moyen couldn’t escape. She could only watch helplessly as the person’s attacks struck the air again and again, the residual force spreading far.

Even just the residual force was this terrifying. Moyen broke out in cold sweat, already considering whether to cut off her tail to survive.

Last time, Shen Zhiyue’s strike had cost her a tail. She’d only just managed to cultivate back half of it. Seeing the situation was bad, she might have to sacrifice that half tail to buy a chance at life.

But before she could act, the restraint disappeared. The strange cultivator also vanished.

Moyen froze for a few seconds, then suddenly realized a powerful aura was rushing toward them from afar.

Sensing the familiar aura, she turned and fled without hesitation.

Shen Zhiyue! It was actually Shen Zhiyue!!!

Why was this killing god here?

Moyen’s thoughts were in a whirl. An inconceivable notion flashed through her mind.

It couldn’t be… for that little spirit beast… could it.