Chapter 23: “Do You Know Your Mistake?”

The atmosphere was suddenly on the verge of breaking into a fight.

The group of cultivators seemed dead set on believing they were thieves who’d stolen the spirit beast. Their eyes were full of vigilance, and spiritual power was already gathering in their hands—it looked like they were ready to attack if the group couldn’t explain themselves.

Ming Jingqiu didn’t want to waste words with them. One hand on her sword, she calmly met the crowd’s gaze.

The scene could explode at any moment.

Bai Xiaoxiao quickly stopped her, then shot her a look. The next second, she remembered this was the Cultivation World, so she hastily used Divine Sense Transmission instead.

Her studying during this period hadn’t been in vain. Bai Xiaoxiao’s cultivation base was more solid, and her control over spiritual power had grown more and more skilled.

Divine Sense Transmission was a basic technique, and she’d learned it too—it was just that her way of thinking hadn’t fully caught up yet, so she was often half a beat behind.

[Senior Sister, don’t be impulsive for now. The secret realm has changed, and demonic beasts have slipped in. We need to preserve our strength. Besides, they outnumber us. You should know their cultivation levels better than I do.

If a fight really breaks out, Senior Sister, you won’t lose—but the drain will be severe. If we end up with both sides wounded, and someone takes advantage of our weakness, we’ll be in a very bad position.]

Ming Jingqiu loosened her grip on her sword. She was surprised that Bai Xiaoxiao could say such things, but after a brief consideration, she abandoned the idea of fighting.

[What do you suggest?]

Bai Xiaoxiao hesitated for a moment, then said, [I’ve observed them carefully. They don’t seem to have any other motive—they’re genuinely after the spirit beast. But actually… I can sense that the spirit beast is on Rong Qingqing.]

Ming Jingqiu’s expression sharpened.

[Rong Qingqing? Are you sure? Why would it be with her? If so, why are these cultivators so certain we’re the ones who took it?]

Bai Xiaoxiao found this strange as well. If Rong Qingqing had taken the spirit beast, she would have left traces of its aura on herself—yet the tracking technique pointed to their location.

When she’d first seen these people appear, she’d suspected that the commotion from her fight with the demonic beast had drawn them here.

But thinking about it again, that seemed impossible, because Ming Jingqiu had snatched her away in time.

So it probably wasn’t because of the fight with the demonic beast.

Bai Xiaoxiao had a guess: could it be that on their way here, Rong Qingqing’s group had spotted them?

Rong Qingqing might not have seen her fight the demonic beast, but she’d seen their trail—so she’d used some means to lure this group over to make trouble for them.

Just like when she’d pushed Bai Xiaoxiao down the passage before—Rong Qingqing’s malice toward them was pure.

Bai Xiaoxiao was deep in thought while the crowd grew restless in her silence.

Just then, something occurred to her, and she suddenly spoke up. “Fellow Daoist, you suspect that we’ve taken the spirit beast?”

The cultivator seemed taken aback that Bai Xiaoxiao would ask so bluntly. He visibly paused, then frowned and nodded.

Bai Xiaoxiao kept her expression steady. “Fellow Daoist, actually, there’s a way to prove we never touched that spirit beast.”

The group exchanged looks.

Finally, someone couldn’t help asking, “What method?”

Bai Xiaoxiao’s expression was resolute. “A Heavenly Dao Oath.”

This had been inspired by the oaths the others had just sworn.

No matter their cultivation base, cultivators on the Nine Provinces Continent held clear reverence and fear for the Heavenly Dao.

Every time cultivators broke through a major realm, they underwent a Lightning Tribulation. The further they advanced, the stronger the tribulation. When breaking through from Soul Formation to Void Refinement, in addition to the Lightning Tribulation, there was also an Inner Demon Tribulation.

If one couldn’t survive the Inner Demon Tribulation, there were only two outcomes: either fall into the Devil Path and become a Devil Cultivator, or scatter one’s cultivation and gamble on starting over.

Neither outcome was acceptable.

A Heavenly Dao Oath skipped straight to letting the Heavenly Dao bear witness—if there was even the slightest falsehood in one’s words, the tribulation would descend immediately, without waiting for a breakthrough.

But that kind of tribulation was, in essence, a Heavenly Punishment. Being struck could either drop one’s realm or cause severe backlash injuries from the oath.

Cultivation base was built up bit by bit through painstaking effort. No one wanted to lose realms or suffer injuries over an oath.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, cultivators wouldn’t casually swear Heavenly Dao Oaths.

So when they heard Bai Xiaoxiao casually propose a Heavenly Dao Oath, the entire group of cultivators was shocked. The looks they shot her all read: “Are you insane?”

But precisely because of that, the few cultivators who’d been blinded by anger snapped back to their senses a little, and their eyes grew hesitant.

Their group was actually a Treasure Hunting Team. They’d formed up to explore the secret realm in hopes of finding some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to trade for Spirit Stones.

Cultivators might cultivate, but they still had to live. Most people were of ordinary aptitude, and not everyone could afford to use heavenly treasures directly on themselves.

Originally, their plans had been good. The Flowing Light Spirit Cave Secret Realm had opened many times, and there was plenty of known information—it was a relatively controllable and stable secret realm.

But unexpectedly, they’d run into unforeseen changes. They’d lost several team members before managing to pull through.

Now they’d finally managed to find a rare spirit beast, and everyone was delighted, hoping to take it out and sell it for a good price.

Capturing the spirit beast wasn’t hard for them—they’d worked together for so long that their coordination was excellent.

But just as they’d finally worn the beast down to exhaustion, an unknown hidden weapon flew in and wounded one of their members.

The formation had a gap—a huge hole.

The spirit beast seized the opportunity and slipped out, vanishing in less than a breath.

Luckily, they’d cast a Tracking Technique in advance. They’d followed the beast’s aura all the way here—and this was where it led.

And the only people here were these few cultivators, so naturally, they became the prime suspects.

Now one of their suspects said she could swear a Heavenly Dao Oath…

That speech directly short-circuited them.

The cultivators hesitated, unable to make up their minds.

“Boss, she… she wants to swear a Heavenly Dao Oath. Could we really have gotten it wrong?”

“Wrong how? The Tracking Technique was cast by Second Sister. You don’t trust her?”

“But they dare swear a Heavenly Dao Oath.”

“…”

A few people in the crowd muttered, then looked at Bai Xiaoxiao with strange expressions.

Seeing their expressions, Bai Xiaoxiao suddenly took it as a sign of urging, and without a second word, she imitated the oath Ming Jingqiu and the others had sworn earlier.

Everyone had sworn with their Dao Heart, so Bai Xiaoxiao followed the same template. As the last word left her lips, light flashed beneath her feet, signifying the Heavenly Dao Oath had taken effect.

And after swearing, she was still standing there safe and sound. The sky remained clear, with no sign of Heavenly Punishment at all.

The cultivators: “!!!”

“Ah, we really did get the wrong people. What do we do now?”

“No idea. How could Second Sister’s Tracking Technique fail? She didn’t drink too much again, did she?”

“Bullshit. You’re the one who drank too much. You dare question your granny’s Tracking Technique? If you think your life is too long, I’ll send you off myself.”

“…Sorry.”

They suddenly started infighting, leaving Bai Xiaoxiao dumbfounded.

She watched for a while, then muttered, “Senior Sister, why are they fighting among themselves…”

Ming Jingqiu was equally bewildered. She’d been on many expeditions, but this was the first time she’d encountered a group like this. Her expression turned hesitant as well.

The others silently watched with unreadable expressions for a while, but the infighting didn’t stop.

In the end, Bai Xiaoxiao couldn’t hold back and called a halt to their fight.

“Fellow Daoists, stop fighting. You won’t settle anything by—oh no, I mean, do you not want to find the spirit beast anymore?”

At the mention of the spirit beast, their heated brains instantly cooled. The leader of the cultivators quickly called everyone to order.

Then he straightened his rumpled clothes, cleared his throat, and cupped his hands in salute. “Our apologies. We’ve wronged you Fellow Daoists. We were too impatient. Please forgive us.”

Bai Xiaoxiao didn’t really mind, but before she could speak, Ye Xingtong’s voice rang out beside her.

The Eldest Miss had held back long enough. She finally lost patience and said crossly, “You say ‘forgive us’ just like that? This is a disaster we didn’t ask for.

Weren’t we just saying we’d only arrived? You wouldn’t believe it.

If you ask me, you’re the suspicious ones. We’d barely been here a few moments, and you came chasing after us, accusing us of hiding your spirit beast. Who exactly has ulterior motives here?”

The cultivators: “…”

Half of them stared at the sky, the other half at the ground—anywhere but at Ye Xingtong.

The leader sighed helplessly. “Please don’t be upset, young friend. It’s just that we lost people on this trip, and we’d finally managed to find a precious spirit beast. We hoped to take it out of the secret realm and sell it for a good price, so we were a bit anxious.”

Ye Xingtong was taken aback. “Sell it? You don’t want to contract it yourselves?”

The leader cultivator smiled ruefully. “Fellow Daoist jokes. The resources needed to raise a spirit beast aren’t something we can afford. Better to sell it. The beast will find a good master, and we can improve our lives.”

Ye Xingtong: “…”

She opened her mouth, but didn’t know what to say.

Since childhood, she’d never lacked for anything. If she wanted a spirit beast, she only had to mention it, and by the next day, all sorts of spirit beasts would be delivered to her courtyard.

Raising a spirit beast required no effort from her either. When the mood struck, she’d grab one and pet it. She’d never thought raising a spirit beast was troublesome or expensive.

Hearing this now, Ye Xingtong’s heart inexplicably grew a little heavy.

Ming Jingqiu glanced at her Eldest Miss Junior Sister but didn’t say anything more. She only reminded them, “Fellow Daoists, there are many cultivators following behind you. Have you tried searching over there?”

Her gaze passed through the crowd and precisely met Rong Qingqing’s eyes. She saw her Junior Sister frown for an instant.

The group turned in surprise and indeed saw quite a few cultivators behind them.

Presumably, the commotion from capturing the spirit beast had attracted so many cultivators.

This was getting troublesome.

The few of them crossed their arms and watched from the side, smoothly transitioning from participants to spectators.

“But these cultivators are surprisingly easy to talk to. I thought they’d make a big fuss.”

Bai Xiaoxiao marveled.

Ming Jingqiu glanced at the Disciple Token at her waist. “It’s not that they’re easy to talk to. They spotted the Disciple Tokens we’re carrying and recognized which sect we’re from.”

Bai Xiaoxiao suddenly understood. No wonder the cultivators had been so agreeable—it was because of the Sword Sect’s prestige. If they’d been anyone else, this probably wouldn’t have ended so peacefully.

With the matter resolved, she deliberately observed Rong Qingqing and noticed her expression change for a split second before quickly calming down. Bai was a bit curious.

She shouldn’t have sensed wrong—the spirit beast really was on Rong Qingqing. So why didn’t she seem flustered at all?

But she soon found out why.

Rong Qingqing had used some Secret Art to hide the spirit beast’s aura so thoroughly that not a single trace leaked out.

The cultivators cast their Tracking Technique, but that spiritual light flickered at their fingertips—and then directly dissolved.

The group was all stunned by the sight, and their expressions turned extremely ugly.

Bai Xiaoxiao was confused.

“When a Tracking Technique collapses, it means the aura of the thing being sought has vanished, and it can no longer be tracked.”

Bai Xiaoxiao was startled at first, then realized it was Shen Zhiyue’s voice. Overjoyed, she sank her consciousness into her Sea of Consciousness and indeed saw the small Soul Fragment figure with its eyes open.

“Your Eminence! You’re awake!”

Shen Zhiyue responded with a faint “Mm.” Looking at her lively, bouncing form, Shen’s heart relaxed slightly. But then her brows turned stern, and she said coldly, “Do you know your mistake?”

Bai Xiaoxiao was startled, completely confused. “Ah? I… then I… I was wrong?”

Her expression was hesitant. She didn’t really understand where she’d gone wrong, but since Shen Zhiyue was asking, there had to be a reason. So she planned to admit fault first.

Shen Zhiyue’s eyes shifted slightly. It had been a long time since she’d felt so speechless. When it came to Bai Xiaoxiao, her emotions were always in flux.

After a moment of silence, she slowly asked, “When that demonic beast appeared, why didn’t you seek me out?”

Bai Xiaoxiao froze, then smiled awkwardly. “I… I didn’t think of it…”

An answer she hadn’t expected—but it was very much in character for this foolish little snake.

Shen Zhiyue fixed her with a look, then finally drew back her imposing aura.

“Never be so reckless again. Do you understand? If I hadn’t sensed you were in danger and protected your vitals in time, you would have suffered backlash from forcibly stirring the Power of Heaven and Earth.”

Cold sweat poured down Bai Xiaoxiao’s forehead. “R… really? Actually, the situation was too urgent. That demonic beast fought dirty—it wanted to eat me! And I had no combat experience. In my desperation, I remembered a line the Elder mentioned during a lecture, so…”

She rubbed her nose and defended herself. “I didn’t think it would work, honestly.”

Shen Zhiyue’s gaze turned cold. “And if it hadn’t worked? What would you have done?”

Bai Xiaoxiao froze, then slowly fell silent.

If it really hadn’t worked… at most, she would have died.

Bai Xiaoxiao wasn’t afraid of death. It was just that she would have been a little… reluctant to let go.

“I’m sorry.”

She hung her head, dejectedly admitting fault.

Shen Zhiyue said nothing, just looked at her coldly.

Still too weak.

“When you return, train harder on your own.”

This time, her voice softened a few degrees.

Bai Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief, knowing the matter had passed.

But looking at the Soul Fragment that had shrunk a size, her expression suddenly turned anxious. “But Your Eminence, why has your Soul Fragment shrunk so much? Were you hurt?”

Shen Zhiyue lowered her eyes. “It’s nothing. A period of quiet cultivation and I’ll recover.”

Bai Xiaoxiao wasn’t entirely convinced, but she suffered from a lack of education, so she nodded half-doubtfully.

“When will you return?”

Hearing Shen Zhiyue ask this, Bai Xiaoxiao was taken aback for a moment, but quickly reacted. A starlit smile appeared in her eyes. “Your Eminence, are you…”

She started to blurt out, but swallowed back the words “missing me,” and obediently said instead, “Should be within these next two days. I don’t know who brought those demonic beasts in, but something feels off. I don’t think we’ll stay long.”

Shen Zhiyue gave a soft “Mm.” “Go on.”

Bai Xiaoxiao nodded and happily withdrew from her Sea of Consciousness.

By then, the spirit beast matter was already drawing to a close.

The Tracking Technique hadn’t worked. The cultivators exhausted every trick but still couldn’t find the spirit beast, so they had no choice but to swallow their loss.

Bai Xiaoxiao saw the smug smile tugging at Rong Qingqing’s lips and turned away in displeasure.

There was still one thing she didn’t understand: why had Rong Qingqing suddenly jumped out to talk about the new secret realm?

Was it really just out of kindness?