Chapter 182: The Irrecoverable “Living Ground”
“I’m so used to sensing my surroundings with Divine Sense, it feels strange not being able to use it…”
Luo Xue groped her way through the mist. Although the mist contained Yin Poison, the concentration wasn’t high.
Less than 0.1, according to her previous measurement method.
Even as a mortal, Luo Xue could easily withstand it, let alone now.
The real problem was the mist’s properties. Divine Sense was completely unusable, and her vision was severely limited.
Luo Xue could only see clearly within fifteen meters. Beyond that, everything was blurry, and beyond a hundred meters, she couldn’t even see shadows.
This meant that Luo Xue wasn’t sure if there was anyone nearby, and worried about another attack, she remained vigilant.
As she went deeper, the silent environment was suddenly filled with the sound of splashing water.
Luo Xue held her breath and looked, but could only see the endless mist.
“Sound traveling through the mist, or…”
Luo Xue focused, her vigilance increasing, and moved towards the source of the sound.
Fortunately, the splashing water didn’t seem to be anything strange, and she wasn’t unable to approach it.
Soon, Luo Xue smelled a pungent, bloody stench, stronger than the mist, and the mist around her took on a reddish hue.
“Could it be…”
Had she reached the end?
Luo Xue estimated that she had only walked less than five kilometers. This secret realm shouldn’t be this small, right?
She quickened her pace, approaching the redness.
As she got closer, her vision gradually cleared, and finally, she stood before the redness, her breath catching in her throat.
“This is… the Blood Sea!”
Towering waves surged, a shocking crimson, repeatedly crashing against the shore, carrying a terrifying aura.
“It does look similar to the Blood Sea in the nine provinces and four domains… but I don’t know if there’s a connection.”
Luo Xue reached out, wanting to touch the water lapping against the shore.
Since her Divine Sense was blocked, she could only sense the Blood Sea through direct contact.
Cautiously, Luo Xue didn’t touch the Blood Sea itself, but the residual blood-red water left behind by the receding tide.
“No, don’t…”
Just then, Luo Xue heard a faint moan from behind her, not far away.
“Who!”
Luo Xue immediately looked back and saw a figure leaning against a rock in the mist.
“Don’t… go…”
“Hmm?”
Luo Xue frowned slightly.
She glanced at the Blood Sea, then at the figure.
Finally, she retreated and cautiously approached the figure.
At least she had encountered a cultivator who could communicate, and they seemed to have arrived in the secret realm earlier.
Perhaps she could get some answers from them.
As Luo Xue approached, she saw the figure’s condition and paused slightly, her cautious demeanor relaxing.
It was a middle-aged man with an ordinary face, similar to the one Luo Xue had buried earlier. They should both be from the first batch of cultivators who entered the secret realm, but this one didn’t seem to be doing well.
—He was missing the lower half of his body.
“Come back…”
The middle-aged cultivator continued muttering, but he didn’t seem to be talking to Luo Xue, as his pale eyes were fixed on another direction.
“Fellow Daoist?”
Luo Xue called out softly.
She wasn’t sure if he could hear her and didn’t dare to approach rashly.
With her Divine Sense blocked, it was indeed inconvenient.
After Luo Xue called out several times, the middle-aged cultivator finally reacted.
His eyes slowly moved, taking a few moments to finally focus on Luo Xue.
The next moment, the man’s pupils constricted, and a look of terror appeared on his pale face, his upper body scrambling backward.
“Ghosts, it’s a ghost… have the ghosts come for us again…”
“Damn it, I’m not a ghost.”
Luo Xue’s expression was helpless. She knew that her current ghostly girl appearance did resemble a ghost, but there was no need to be so scared, right?
“Fellow Daoist, look closely…”
Before Luo Xue could finish, the middle-aged cultivator’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.
“He didn’t… die of fright, did he?”
Luo Xue was a bit troubled. She cautiously approached again, confirming that the man wasn’t reacting, before examining him.
“Hmm?”
Luo Xue’s expression turned serious.
This was different from the strange cultivator she had encountered earlier. This man’s soul was almost annihilated, only one soul and three spirits remaining.
In other words, even if Luo Xue hadn’t scared him, death was just a matter of time.
The wound on his torso was even more intriguing. It was clearly caused by a sharp weapon, his body severed at the waist.
But the problem was… judging by the degree of decay, the wound was at least several months old.
Not every Foundation Establishment cultivator had Luo Xue’s regenerative ability. In this situation, most could only endure as the wound festered, clinging to life with their strong life force.
“That doesn’t make sense. Even for Nangong disciples, they’ve only been in the secret realm for a few days, how could they have a wound that’s months old?”
It was even less likely that he had the wound before entering. Luo Xue didn’t believe that those Soul Transformation examiners would let someone with half a body pass the test…
Only one possibility remained.
The flow of time within the Blood Sea Secret Realm was different from the outside world, but Luo Xue couldn’t determine the ratio yet.
One last question: what exactly had he experienced, and why did he keep muttering “come back” and “don’t go”?
Was he warning his companions not to approach the Blood Sea?
With only one soul and three spirits remaining, the man’s consciousness was almost gone, all his actions driven by instinct.
…He wasn’t like Nangong Mengxiang, who was still lively and active with one soul and three spirits missing.
“It’s a pity… if I hadn’t scared him to death, even if he was driven by instinct, I could still have asked him something.”
Luo Xue sighed and touched her face.
“Should I change my appearance? In this place, in this environment, the ghostly girl look is a bit… scary…”
Thinking this, she casually cast a spell, creating a screen of light as a mirror, to design a more suitable disguise.
But when Luo Xue looked at the mirror, she was startled.
“When did I change back?”
Looking at the white-haired girl in the light screen, Luo Xue almost thought she had used the wrong technique.
She quickly let down her hair and examined it carefully.
“I really… changed back?”
Luo Xue stared at the light screen.
The silver-white hair, the double pupils, the familiar face.
This was her own appearance, not Princess Xue’s.
The disguise technique used by the Empress had been undone.
“Then why were you scared of me? And called me a ghost?”
Luo Xue looked at the middle-aged cultivator, slightly annoyed.
She wasn’t wearing a dress, nor had she let her hair down. Being mistaken for a ghost as a young girl was a bit of a blow to her self-esteem.
But the poor, half-bodied man could no longer answer Luo Xue’s question. His last soul and three spirits were dissipating, truly dead now.
“Well, time to bury another one.”
Luo Xue sighed helplessly. She hadn’t done anything since entering the secret realm, just burying people.
What a professional corpse burier.
After burying the man, Luo Xue looked at the Blood Sea again.
She approached, held her breath, and touched the remaining water on the shore.
Instantly, Luo Xue felt dizzy, as if something was affecting her consciousness.
“Ugh…”
Luo Xue’s mind was hazy, and she heard faint voices.
“Is this the legendary Heaven-grade pill secret realm? I finally have this opportunity…”
“Is that girl over there a Nangong disciple? But she looks a bit strange.”
“Let’s go say hello. It’s rare to have the chance to interact with these ancient clan disciples. Maybe we can make a connection.”
“…”
“She’s coming, she’s coming again… It’s a ghost… She’s a ghost from the Blood Sea Secret Realm…”
“Run, run…”
“Isn’t that Li Sheng? Why is his body severed?”
“Don’t mind him, let’s hide in the Blood Sea!”
The voices abruptly stopped, and Luo Xue opened her eyes, looking at the Blood Sea.
The conversation she heard was clearly from the first batch of cultivators who entered the secret realm. The “Li Sheng” in the conversation was obviously the poor guy she had just buried.
Then what?
These people said they wanted to hide in the Blood Sea, what happened after that?
Unfortunately, there were no answers.
She only knew that they had encountered an incredible “ghost” on this island.
Based on the voices alone, Luo Xue didn’t know if this “ghost” looked like her, which was why Li Sheng had mistaken her for it.
At least, Luo Xue had obtained some new information.
The Blood Sea Secret Realm was called “Blood Sea” for a reason. Most of the secret realm was occupied by the Blood Sea, with only a few islands remaining.
All those who entered the secret realm would be teleported to these islands, rarely venturing into the Blood Sea.
This should be a deliberate arrangement by the Nangong clan elders. The Blood Sea Secret Realm had opened several times before, and its dangers should be known.
But… what exactly were these dangers?
Luo Xue had a reckless thought, to touch the Blood Sea itself…
But she immediately dismissed it.
Who knew what kind of effect the Blood Sea would have on her soul, and whether this effect would persist even after death, following her consciousness to another world.
This wasn’t impossible. Even with her “resurrection armor,” Luo Xue didn’t dare to act rashly.
“Let’s see if I can find other cultivators… What the—”
Another sneak attack. Luo Xue narrowly dodged, looking towards the source of the attack with lingering fear.
If not for her constant vigilance, she would have been hit.
“Who!”
Luo Xue shouted, drawing the Snow Blade.
The cool feeling in her palm brought a sense of comfort.
But the attacker didn’t explain, launching several more attacks.
“Even the techniques are similar to the previous one…”
Luo Xue calmed down, dodged the attacks with a few short teleports, then seized the opportunity and unleashed a sword beam with the Snow Blade.
The same thing happened again. The sword beam pierced the attacker’s body, and they collapsed.
“This…”
Luo Xue couldn’t ignore these strange phenomena any longer. She approached cautiously and, upon seeing the attacker’s face, her pupils constricted.
“Li Sheng?”
Indeed, it was the same poor guy she had just buried.
Luo Xue quickly checked his condition. His soul was intact, and even his lower body had regenerated.
“Don’t tell me… my burial service also includes… cosmetic surgery?”
Luo Xue went to the place where she had buried him, only to find an empty grave.
So, this “Li Sheng” who attacked her was the same person she had buried.
But how did he come back to “life”…
Luo Xue’s expression turned serious, and she looked at the lifeless “Li Sheng” on the ground.
She thought of another possibility.
“Perhaps, the current ‘Li Sheng’… isn’t truly dead…”
As expected, after a while, Li Sheng’s body twitched, his limbs moving uncoordinatedly, and he stood up stiffly.
He looked like a zombie as he turned his neck stiffly, seemingly sensing Luo Xue’s location and looking at her.
And then, Luo Xue saw his eyes.
Two small flames.
And these flames… she was very familiar with, because they had once burned within her own body.
This was… the will of immortality.
The will of immortality had completely taken over “Li Sheng,” preventing him from truly dying. Even after death, he would be forcibly kept in this world, forever watching.
Luo Xue suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
Because she had heard that all cultivators left behind soul lamps, and as long as the lamp was lit, the person wasn’t truly dead.
And before entering the secret realm, none of the soul lamps had been extinguished.
But now…
“Controlled by the will of immortality, how could their soul lamps be extinguished,” Luo Xue smiled wryly. “It’s very likely that… no one in this secret realm is truly alive…”
Luo Xue had personally experienced the power of the will of immortality. Even when her body was occupied by the will of withering, she had still felt the unbearable terror. For these peak Foundation Establishment cultivators who hadn’t even touched the laws, it was even worse.
The unextinguished soul lamps of the Nangong disciples had given the clan elders false hope, and the cultivators who entered later, all for this false hope, had walked into an inescapable death trap.
Or rather, a “living ground.”
Truly, a fate worse than death…