Chapter 28

Everyone who entered this Secret Realm was a disciple of the Heavenly Martial Sect. To think there were such scum within the sect! As the Sect Leader’s daughter, Liuli could not tolerate this!

What she despised most were people who bullied girls. She decided on the spot to charge over and lend a hand!

Most importantly, this group seemed to know another way out… Ahem…

Liuli reached out and hugged the Stone Puppet’s head, declaring with righteous indignation: “Shizun, when the road is rough, one draws a blade to help! Let’s go!”

Feng Xiwu had no objections, only reminding her: “Do not reveal my identity.”

“Understood!”

Even if Feng Xiwu hadn’t said so, Liuli would have been too embarrassed to tell anyone: Hey guys, check out how cool and majestic my mount is? It’s actually not a mount, it’s a Shifu-ppet!

The Stone Puppet strode toward the source of the voices. They hadn’t gone far before the sound and the light from Liuli’s Illumination Talisman drew the attention of those ahead.

Seated high atop the Stone Puppet, Liuli looked down from her elevated position. On the ground below, a disheveled young woman had collapsed into the water, forming a standoff with two young men.

The young woman wore the standard uniform of a Heavenly Martial Sect disciple. Her waist, bound by a navy-blue sash, was slender enough to span with a hand. The hands exposed beyond her sleeves were also delicate and pale.

Sensing someone’s approach, the young woman turned her head first. A look of slight surprise appeared on her delicate, elegant, palm-sized face. She seemed to recognize who Liuli was.

The two young men opposite her also assumed defensive postures toward Liuli. “Who goes there… Uh, Senior Sister Xue!”

Liuli let out a cold laugh. “And what are your names?”

“We are…” The two young men stammered. Knowing full well what they were doing wasn’t honorable, they were too ashamed to give their names. But refusing to state them would make them look even more guilty. Left with no choice, they said,

“This one is Sun Peng,”

“I am Zhi Yun.”

“Oh.” Liuli said, “So it’s the Sun Ziyun brothers.”

“Not Ziyun, it’s Zhi Yun!” Zhi Yun’s face flushed red. [T/N: “Sun Ziyun” is a portmanteau of their names (Sun Peng + Zhi Yun). It sounds identical to “Sunzi” (grandson/bitch, a mild insult) combined with “yun”.]

“That’s not important. Tell me, what exactly are you doing here!”

Liuli’s self-righteousness was simply overwhelming. She seized the initiative from the start, using sheer force of presence to pressure them, forcing the two to instinctively follow her rhythm.

Sun Peng and Zhi Yun would naturally never admit they were robbing the girl. They had dared to target her because she had neither strength nor backing. But Xue Liuli was different—her father alone was intimidating enough, not to mention she had just won first place in this year’s Inner Sect Tournament!

So the two argued it was a treasure they had all discovered together, but the girl, Lin Mengxian, wanted to keep it all for herself.

After hearing this, Liuli turned her head to look at Lin Mengxian and asked, with utmost fairness: “It’s your turn to speak.”

Lin Mengxian paused for a moment, then pushed herself up from the ground with her hands. Hanging her head, she brushed off the Black Beetles clinging to her body before speaking in an unhurried, gentle tone:

“I have always traveled alone and am not acquainted with the two Senior Brothers. Just now, when I found a treasure, these two Senior Brothers, who had been following me from the shadows, revealed themselves. Forgive my bluntness, Junior Sister, but even by the wildest coincidence, there is absolutely no reason to hand over a treasure found through hard work.”

“You both make very valid points.” Liuli rubbed her chin, appearing to seriously deliberate over mediating the conflict. She seemed ready to play the peacemaker. “But how can we prove who is telling the truth and who is lying?”

Sun Peng sneered coldly at Lin Mengxian, then turned around and cupped his fist toward Liuli with an air of a gentleman. “Senior Sister Xue, the two of us are stronger in cultivation than she is. If we truly wanted to harm her, how could she still be standing here perfectly fine?”

Lin Mengxian: “Pfft—”

A mouthful of blood sprayed right out.

Liuli / Sun Peng / Zhi Yun: “…”

Shizun, Shizun, look! This Junior Sister spits blood even smoother than I do!

Feng Xiwu had no mind-reading skills, so she naturally wouldn’t respond to this thought.

Lin Mengxian lifted her sleeve to wipe the bloodstain from the corner of her lips, coughed lightly twice, and continued in her slow, soft voice: “But it is precisely because I knew I couldn’t defeat the two Senior Brothers that I deliberately lured everyone down here. Without cultivation, there is no need to fight over it.”

So enraged that smoke practically billowed from his nose, Zhi Yun cursed: “Are you sick in the head? Now no one can go back up, and no one gets the treasure!”

Lin Mengxian curved the corner of her mouth gently. “Even if the Senior Brothers had obtained it, apart from exchanging it for money, what other use would it serve?”

Sun Peng: “What’s wrong with exchanging it for money? In this world, the strong prey on the weak. As long as I’m stronger than you, I can do whatever I want!”

Liuli finally couldn’t watch any longer. “Actually, I think what the Sun Ziyun brothers said is pretty spot on.”

Zhi Yun: “It’s Zhi, not Zi!”

Sun Peng was overjoyed and couldn’t help but cast a smug sidelong glance at Lin Mengxian.

Liuli drawled slowly: “In this world, the strong prey on the weak. Whoever’s fist is hardest is the boss. I think right now… my fist is the hardest. So that treasure… belongs! To! Me!”

Sun Peng / Zhi Yun: “…”

No, wait! How can you, the Sect Leader’s daughter, be so shameless!

Liuli saw the indignation on their faces, raised an eyebrow, and asked: “Who am I?”

“…Xue Liuli.”

“Who’s my father?”

“…The Sect Leader.”

“What place did I get in the Inner Sect Tournament?”

“…First.”

“Any more objections?”

“…No.”

Liuli snapped her fingers. Settled!

She leaned close to the Stone Puppet’s ear, cupped her hand to block the sound, and whispered: “Shizun, Shizun, let’s take her with us. She might be able to get us out.”

“Let her come up.”

Actually, Liuli hadn’t planned to let anyone else ride, after all, what she was sitting on wasn’t a real Stone Puppet, but… ahem. However, both the flowers and the water were poisonous. It was indeed safest to sit atop the Stone Puppet.

Having received an affirmative answer, Liuli straightened her back, pointed a domineering, cool, and wildly flamboyant finger: “Hey, you, this Junior Sister, you get up here and lead the way!”

Whether touching the black water or touching the Nether River Flowers, the True Qi within the body would be obstructed. Lin Mengxian, Sun Peng, and the others were now no different from ordinary people. Only Xue Liuli seemed to be able to use spells as before—hadn’t they just seen her manipulating a Stone Puppet?

It could be said that the greatest hope of leaving this place lay in following Xue Liuli.

Sun Peng quickly interjected: “Senior Sister Xue, we can also lead the way for you!”

Liuli was utterly disgusted. “Sorry, but my Stone Puppet is a clean freak. It only accepts fragrant, soft girls riding on it. Of course, out of respect for our shared sect, if you switch genders, I might consider it.”

Sun Peng: …

What the hell kind of clean freak is that?!

Unfortunately, circumstances were stronger than pride. Sun Peng and Zhi Yun could only swallow their resentment and watch as Lin Mengxian, trembling unsteadily, climbed up the side of the Stone Puppet. Halfway up, she seemed to run out of strength. Xue Liuli gently bent down, extended her hand, and pulled her up.

As she pulled her up, Liuli stared intensely at her, examining her from front to back and head to toe. Only when she confirmed no bugs had followed her up did she sigh in relief.

When she looked up, she saw Lin Mengxian looking flustered and blushing.

Since they hadn’t gone far yet and the show-off mode wasn’t turned off, Liuli raised her chin with a calm, arrogant air. “Mm.”

She didn’t even know why she was saying “Mm.” She just said it first and would figure it out later.

“Lead the way.”

Lin Mengxian smiled weakly, reached out a hand to point forward, and said: “The path isn’t far, but we must climb up.”

“Alright.” She said alright, but Liuli wasn’t actually sure if this Stone Puppet possessed the function to climb upward.

They walked a few dozen meters forward and finally saw the place Lin Mengxian said “required climbing.” It was a massive gourd-shaped “cliff” formed by Nether River Flowers and coarse, thorny vines.

To be precise, it was a tall platform jutting abruptly from the flat ground. There was nothing else around it, and the platform pinched into a slender waist at its middle.

Before Liuli could ask Feng Xiwu if they could climb this, the giant Stone Puppet had already hooked onto the vines and started ascending. Its movements were nimble and steady.

When they climbed to the upper half, the two sitting on the Stone Puppet clung tightly to its neck, half of their bodies now suspended in the air. Liuli said darkly: “Rock climbing is so fun.”

Lin Mengxian pursed her lips and smiled shyly.

After much difficulty, they finally climbed onto the platform surface. Even though she hadn’t exerted much effort beyond securing herself, Liuli’s arms were already unbearably sore. Turning her head, she saw Lin Mengxian was even worse off, collapsed on the ground and trembling slightly.

There was something about this that felt… very familiar.

Liuli looked toward the center of the platform.

From the moment they started climbing, she had noticed that the higher they went, the fewer the Nether River Flowers. Atop the platform, within view, there was only a single, solitary flower.

It was identical in shape and size to an ordinary Nether River Flower. There was just one difference—it was white.

“So that’s a Nether River Flower?” Liuli muttered, “What does a Nether River Flower do?”

Lin Mengxian explained: “According to legend, the Nether River Flowers can revive the dead and regrow flesh on white bones. It is indeed a Spiritual Herb, just not as exaggerated as the legends say. For ordinary people, it is merely a common healing medicine. But I, your Junior Sister, have a secret method to refine it. For me… it has another use.”

Feng Xiwu’s voice sounded in her mind: “She is likely not lying.”

If that was the case, Liuli didn’t need it. But she didn’t want to be a spineless goody-two-shoes. Generosity without limits only bred ulterior motives in others.

“Then…”

Liuli had just spoken one word when Lin Mengxian said softly: “The Nether River Flower is rare and priceless, with demand but no supply. Since this flower now belongs to Senior Sister, I am willing to buy it at market price. I beg Senior Sister to part with it lovingly.”

This little girl is quite sensible! Liuli appreciated this greatly, and her favorable impression of her immediately rose. She generously stretched out a hand and said:

“You’re being too polite. For the sake of being fellow sect members, I’ll give you a friendship discount—twenty percent off. If you can lead us out of here, I’ll lower it further to fifty percent off!”

Lin Mengxian nodded, smiling. “Then many thanks to Senior Sister.”

She added: “Senior Sister, please come here. The poison of the Nether River Flower can be neutralized by eating a single petal of a Nether River Flower.”

Hearing this, Liuli couldn’t wait to land on the ground and went over with Lin Mengxian. She had truly had enough of this state where her shoulders couldn’t carry and her hands couldn’t lift. Each of them plucked a petal and ate it, then sat down cross-legged. Before long, Liuli opened her eyes in pleasant surprise.

Her cultivation had recovered! The toxins in her body, encountering the dissipating medicinal power of the Nether River Flower petal, rapidly transformed into pure True Qi. It merged into Liuli’s body, replenishing and repairing the damage she had previously sustained.

This flower is truly miraculous.

After recovering her True Qi, Lin Mengxian took out a Small Jade Box and carefully picked the Nether River Flower. The moment the flower was placed into the jade box and sealed, the platform beneath their feet, formed of vines and branches, let out a series of crackling sounds.

Lin Mengxian cast a protective spell around herself and said: “Senior Sister, run! Nether River Flowers are about to bloom here!”

Liuli turned her head. The Stone Puppet that Feng Xiwu was possessing walked over slowly. Liuli hesitated for only a moment, then rushed over, hoisted the Stone Puppet onto her shoulder, and shouted back: “Lead the way! Quickly!”

Lin Mengxian: “…”

Flight was forbidden here. The two people and one puppet could only rely on running. They hadn’t run far when one after another, Nether River Flowers began to sprout from the vines. The buds grew larger and larger, on the verge of blossoming.

Feng Xiwu said helplessly: “Put me down.”

This Stone Puppet body of hers could block the Nether River Flower poison. Only by carrying Liuli and Lin Mengxian could they escape.

Liuli knew this was no time for respecting teachers and honoring the Way. She chuckled sheepishly, put the Stone Puppet down, and climbed back onto it with Lin Mengxian.

They followed the path Lin Mengxian pointed out and stopped at a certain spot. Lin Mengxian looked up at the ceiling above and said: “I came down from here just now, but that entrance and exit has already closed. We need to find a way to open it.”

Liuli said: “That’s simple; I have a method.”

Her method was—violent bombardment.

She directly controlled a Heavenly Thunder Talisman, pressing it against the ceiling above. After a thunderous “BOOM!”, shattered stones flew everywhere and dust filled the air. Even with a protective shield blocking it, Lin Mengxian still coughed as if affected by the shockwave.

Liuli couldn’t help but glance sideways. This Junior Sister’s body is really weak.

Unfortunately, although she blasted open a hole, it was too high up, and flight was impossible. Liuli looked at the frail Lin Mengxian and considered the possibility of forming a human pyramid.

But then she saw the Stone Puppet suddenly remove a part of its own thick arm and place it under its feet.

Liuli: “!”

Lin Mengxian praised: “Senior Sister Xue’s puppet is truly exquisitely crafted and practical.”

Liuli: “…Ahaha.”

She felt a bit guilty. After all, she wasn’t controlling this Stone Puppet at all.

That’s right, this giant Stone Puppet had been assembled from the small stone puppet and the large stone puppet. In just a few moves, it dismantled everything on its body that could be detached. The Feng Xiwu Stone Puppet immediately shrank down, returning to the size of a normal person. The detached stones and the small stone puppet were stacked carefully and tall beneath its feet, just enough to reach the hole in the ceiling.

The two people and one puppet could finally leave this godforsaken place. They crawled through the hole and walked along a long, narrow, winding, and damp cave tunnel. When Liuli saw light ahead, she was so moved her eyes brimmed with hot tears.

She couldn’t wait to rush out. What met her eyes was a vast grassland and sparse trees.

Liuli collapsed onto the ground with a plop. She turned her head to look at Lin Mengxian and Feng Xiwu, who were walking behind her, and said excitedly: “Let’s have a picnic!”

She was starving to death!

As she spoke, she had already taken out the food stored in her Storage Ring and looked expectantly at the Stone Puppet.

Feng Xiwu, however, said: “Now that we are out, walk the next path on your own.”

Liuli naturally didn’t want to. But in front of Lin Mengxian, she couldn’t speak directly to Feng Xiwu. The frustration nearly suffocated her.

After holding it in for a long time, she finally figured out how to say it without arousing Lin Mengxian’s suspicion: “I’m pondering a question.”

Lin Mengxian was puzzled. “What question?”

Liuli said: “This Stone Puppet still has energy inside. But bringing it along—wouldn’t it be too conspicuous? Not bringing it along—wouldn’t you think I’m wasteful? Alright, I know you’d definitely think that.”

Feng Xiwu: “…”

Lin Mengxian said weakly: “Actually, I…”

Liuli interrupted her coolly: “There’s no helping it. Who told my father to be the Sect Leader? Sigh, becoming an arrogant, wasteful second-generation cultivator—I can’t help it either.”

Lin Mengxian sensed something was off and could only play along. “Mm, Senior Sister is truly… wasteful.”

Feng Xiwu ignored Liuli.

.

Lin Mengxian’s own strength wasn’t good. Being able to travel with Xue Liuli meant her safety was somewhat guaranteed. Naturally, she had no objections to a picnic. She even took the initiative to bring out a low table and a set of tea utensils. Her slender, pale wrist hovered as she brewed a pot of green tea.

Watching the wisps of steam curl upwards, Liuli had a sudden flash of insight: “I finally know why I kept feeling you were very familiar.”

Lin Mengxian: “Perhaps Senior Sister has seen me before.”

“That’s not it.” Liuli said decisively, “It’s because you’re—Sister Lin!”

Lin Mengxian: “…?”