Chapter 25: “Aren’t You Afraid I’d Kill You?”

Bai Xiaoxiao was just one step from leaving, but catching the demonic beast horde’s situation out of the corner of her eye, she forcibly stopped.

The cultivators who’d run out of the fusion zone had all been teleported away by the Secret Realm Stone. With no one around, she could finally relax and observe carefully.

It was because of this that Bai Xiaoxiao discovered that outside the fusion zone, a faint gray fog still drifted—though much lighter, not enough to block everything.

However, this gray fog seemed to contain some kind of rule that forbade prying. Using Divine Sense to examine it met with resistance.

But thanks to her contract with the Secret Realm Stone, it posed no restriction on her.

Bai Xiaoxiao stood in the gray fog, gazing thoughtfully at the bright, clear fusion zone.

[Little Stone, is your energy still insufficient to complete your evolution?]

The Secret Realm Stone paused, then collapsed in sorrow. [Didn’t you see? If those cultivators hadn’t been sent away, maybe I could have gathered some energy…

Aaaah—no! If I ever find that little thief who stole my energy! I’ll devour him!]

Just speaking of it made the Secret Realm Stone gnash its teeth with hatred. But back then, although it had already given birth to a consciousness, it had been only a hazy wisp.

After its energy was stolen, that hazy consciousness had grown even weaker, acting purely on instinct.

If it could really convert the swallowed cultivators into energy, it would indeed speed up the process.

But now it was contracted, and the cultivators had been sent away. The prospect of completing its evolution seemed to be turning into a bubble. The more the Secret Realm Stone thought, the sadder it got.

Bai Xiaoxiao was still thinking about how to deal with the demonic beast horde. She considered for a long while, then asked, [Little Stone, can the fused area be split off?]

She sighed helplessly in her heart.

At her current Foundation Establishment cultivation, she had no way to eliminate this horde of beasts. And the rules of the fusion zone were chaotic, not fully under even the Secret Realm Stone’s control. So the only method she could think of was to cut off and separate that fused area.

No matter who had brought these demonic beasts in, they couldn’t be allowed to leave.

The best option was to make the fusion zone independent, so Rong Qingqing would have no chance to exploit it.

[Split it? How? I can voluntarily give up control of that area… Aaaah, but that’s all my territory! Why should I give it up?! Can’t we just throw these demonic beasts out?]

Hearing this, Bai Xiaoxiao frowned in dismay.

[We can’t just throw them out. If they hurt anyone, we’d carry that Karma.]

Bai Xiaoxiao had initially wanted to throw the beasts out too, but a thought that flashed through her mind made her abandon the idea.

If people were hurt or killed because of her and the Secret Realm Stone, let alone the harm to her cultivation, she couldn’t feel at ease in her heart first.

Bai Xiaoxiao looked dejectedly at the constantly roaring demonic beasts and couldn’t stop sighing. Her ideas were being shot down one by one. Her brows drooped as she agonized.

“Mm? Where are you? Why are there so many demonic beasts?”

Hearing the voice, Bai Xiaoxiao froze at first, then her eyes suddenly lit up. “Your Eminence?!”

She almost shed tears of joy. How could she have forgotten Shen Zhiyue!

And Shen Zhiyue was also startled—previously, Bai Xiaoxiao had always been cautious and careful, her emotions never changing so vividly or intensely.

Why was she suddenly so overjoyed?

It took a long moment before Shen Zhiyue gave a faint “Mm.”

“You’re still in the secret realm?”

Bai Xiaoxiao nodded frantically, hastily explaining everything that had just happened to Shen Zhiyue.

She held nothing back, even blurting out that she’d accidentally contracted the secret realm.

So honest and naive that it left Shen Zhiyue silent.

A long moment passed.

“Bai Xiaoxiao.”

Hearing her full name called by Shen Zhiyue, Bai Xiaoxiao jolted, instinctively tensing her face as her mind raced to recall if she’d done something wrong again.

“Your… Your Eminence? What is it? I… did I do something wrong again somewhere?”

Bai Xiaoxiao couldn’t find anything, but she knelt and groveled with great fluency. Before Shen Zhiyue had said a single word, she was already admitting fault on her own.

Shen Zhiyue’s expression had been serious, brows furrowed, but seeing Bai Xiaoxiao’s reaction, she fell silent again for a moment before speaking helplessly.

“You… there’s no need for that. This time, I’m not here to scold you.”

Hearing this, Bai Xiaoxiao’s expression instantly relaxed.

So she hadn’t done anything wrong again. Good, good.

Still, being called by her full name was just too much for her heart to take.

Bai Xiaoxiao grumbled inwardly, careful not to show a trace on her face.

“I only wanted to remind you not to be so foolish. To be so… unreserved with me. Do you know how tempting a secret realm is to most cultivators? Being so defenseless, aren’t you afraid I’d kill you?”

Bai Xiaoxiao’s expression froze.

Actually, she hadn’t thought that far at all, and she simply couldn’t raise her guard against Shen Zhiyue.

After all, Shen Zhiyue’s cultivation was profound—she could easily obtain most opportunities. An entire secret realm’s worth of resources probably wasn’t that much to someone of her level.

And if Shen Zhiyue really wanted it, giving her the secret realm wouldn’t hurt.

At least it would go to Shen Zhiyue. As long as it didn’t go to Rong Qingqing.

She’d contracted the Secret Realm Stone by accident anyway. Finding it a better master now would surely make Little Stone happy too.

It was a win-win-win situation!

Bai Xiaoxiao nodded firmly.

Shen Zhiyue lowered her eyes wordlessly. “Have more of a mind. Watch out that you don’t get cheated until you have nothing left.”

Bai Xiaoxiao smiled brightly, starlight in her eyes. “But Your Eminence is wonderful. You’d never do that. I believe in you!”

Shen Zhiyue suddenly stilled, feeling something burn hot in her chest.

She slowly took a breath, suppressing that strange sensation, before saying, “Since you’ve contracted the secret realm, you should know whether this place has any cultivation restrictions.”

Bai Xiaoxiao scratched her face awkwardly. “Ah? I… I don’t know…”

Helplessness flickered in Shen Zhiyue’s eyes. She said slowly, “You are the master of the secret realm. As long as you’re inside it, you are its sovereign. Everything within the secret realm is your eyes and ears. Perceive it carefully.”

Her voice was gentle, yet carried a power that drew one in. Bai Xiaoxiao unconsciously closed her eyes and felt that thread of connection to the secret realm.

The sound of the demonic beasts gradually faded, and her Divine Sense seemed to follow that thread into some strange state.

Bai Xiaoxiao found that she could see very far—from looking down at the entire secret realm, down to every tree, every stone.

The gray fog could no longer block her sight. Her Divine Sense stretched on and on.

Bai Xiaoxiao had a feeling that she could do anything with a single thought.

And as her comprehension deepened, she finally arrived at the heart of the secret realm.

Here, she… saw a tree.

A tree? Wasn’t it supposed to be a stone? Why was it a tree?

[…I told you, I’m not a stone. Besides, this place is actually a manifestation of what’s in your heart. You subconsciously thought there should be a tree here, so a tree appeared.]

Hearing the Secret Realm Stone’s voice, Bai Xiaoxiao was dazed for a moment.

Its voice was no longer as jumpy as before, but steady and majestic.

Bai Xiaoxiao stared blankly at the seemingly ordinary tree. It wasn’t lush, wasn’t large—still a sapling. But if you looked closely, you could see spiritual light occasionally flashing through its branches.

She was so fascinated that she didn’t even know when she’d arrived beneath the tree.

Bai Xiaoxiao gazed fixedly at this unremarkable tree, motionless as if in meditation.

Yet countless scenes flashed through her eyes. It seemed only an instant, but Bai Xiaoxiao saw many things.

She snapped back to herself, realizing that what she’d just seen should be the process of the secret realm’s evolution.

After this comprehension, Bai Xiaoxiao was astonished to find that her connection to the secret realm had deepened, and she now had a vague sense of its rules.

She opened her eyes and said excitedly, “Your Eminence, I understand! This place hasn’t finished evolving yet, so there’s plenty of room to work with. As long as we suppress the cultivation limit to the Nascent Soul Stage, it’ll be fine.”

Shen Zhiyue’s expression turned strange, gaining a deeper understanding of Bai Xiaoxiao’s lack of wariness.

And the unwary Bai Xiaoxiao kept right on cheerfully sharing. “If it stays at Nascent Soul Stage, then once you act, Your Eminence, these demonic beasts will be no trouble at all!”

A worry was about to be completely resolved, and Bai Xiaoxiao was very happy.

Demonic beasts were a thorny problem no matter where they appeared. If they could be dealt with directly, then there was no problem at all.

Shen Zhiyue sighed, emerged from her Sea of Consciousness, and as she’d said, suppressed her cultivation to the Nascent Soul Stage.

Bai Xiaoxiao only felt a chill at her side. She turned and saw Shen Zhiyue had already come out.

She still wore that cold, aloof expression. With a calm face, she raised her hand to eliminate the demonic beasts.

Bai Xiaoxiao remembered the way Shen Zhiyue had made her move before and quickly called out, “Your Eminence!”

Shen Zhiyue paused.

Bai Xiaoxiao said tactfully, “Can you leave the corpses?”

Shen Zhiyue’s eyes flickered. “What do you want the corpses for?”

Bai Xiaoxiao smiled sheepishly, her gaze drifting. “Demonic beast corpses… seem like they can be sold…”

Shen Zhiyue: “…”

She didn’t say yes or no, but when she struck, she held back three parts of her strength.

After a sweep of frost and snow, the demonic beasts were all dead, leaving only corpses behind.

Shen Zhiyue glanced at Bai Xiaoxiao, then, unable to bear the sight, dove back into her Sea of Consciousness.

Bai Xiaoxiao happily thanked her and, while no one was around, had the Secret Realm Stone help move the beast corpses over.

The Secret Realm Stone didn’t understand. [But don’t you dislike demonic beasts?]

Bai Xiaoxiao spoke earnestly. [But they can be sold for money. I don’t need the corpses myself, but I can sell them. Everyone came to this secret realm and got nothing. We can’t let this go to waste.]

[…Can human cultivators even use them?]

Bai Xiaoxiao thought for a moment. [They should be able to. I’ll ask around later.]

As she talked, Bai Xiaoxiao moved all the corpses back into the secret realm.

Looking at that fusion zone, she thought for two seconds, then made up her mind.

[Split it, Little Stone. Withdraw all the power, including the Power of Rules. We don’t want that piece of land anymore.]

With the beasts gone, she no longer had any concerns.

Bai Xiaoxiao had a hunch that leaving power in the fusion zone wasn’t a good thing.

Rong Qingqing had contracted Flowing Light Spirit Cave, so there was no way she didn’t know about the secret realm’s changes. Hiding in the shadows like this, who knew what she was plotting? It was very suspicious.

Especially that fusion zone between the two secret realms. Leaving it felt like something bad would happen.

The Secret Realm Stone started losing its mind again, as if its earlier composure had been an illusion.

But Bai Xiaoxiao had made up her mind. Finding no room to turn back, the Secret Realm Stone could only curse resentfully as it withdrew the power and rules of that area.

Its perfect secret realm, so round and good everywhere just a moment ago, was now clearly missing a corner. The Secret Realm Stone shed tears of sorrow.

[Wuu…]

Bai Xiaoxiao awkwardly tried to comfort it. [It’s fine. It’ll definitely grow back eventually. Aren’t you short on energy? I’ll go on more secret realm expeditions later to nourish you!]

That statement was quite poignant.

She’d contracted a secret realm, but she was a pauper.

If Rong Qingqing had contracted it, she would indeed have been more suitable—after all, that girl’s fortune was strong, and finding heavenly treasures was like child’s play to her.

Bai Xiaoxiao sighed inwardly. Still, being able to snatch this opportunity at all was already a stroke of luck.

After confirming there was nothing left behind, Bai Xiaoxiao left the secret realm.

When she opened her eyes again, she found she’d returned directly to the mountain in front of the secret realm’s entrance.

The moment she appeared, several beams of spiritual light descended. Bai Xiaoxiao’s eyelids twitched, almost thinking she was being robbed.

Looking closer, she realized it was Ming Jingqiu and the others. Even Rong Yuzhuo and Jing Ying hadn’t left.

“You’re out! We almost thought you were trapped in there. Although we don’t know how you got out, at least everyone’s safe.”

Ye Xingtong was visibly relieved.

Having been teleported away so suddenly, the four of them were all bewildered—especially when they realized Bai Xiaoxiao hadn’t been teleported with them.

The group guessed that the secret realm had thrown everyone out, since not just them but everyone else had been tossed out too.

But what puzzled them was that the Flowing Light Spirit Cave secret realm had also inexplicably closed.

Ming Jingqiu’s expression was rather grim. She’d come to this secret realm for a spirit plant, but not only had she failed to find it, she’d also encountered danger. Completely unexpected.

Although the saying goes “if it’s not meant to be yours, don’t force it,” Ming Jingqiu had no choice but to seek it.

Unfortunately, the secret realm had already closed, so even if she wanted to search, there was no way.

This expedition had really ended with a whimper.