Chapter 32: The Ugly Crane and the Sword Venerable’s Fall Part 2

A final cough wracked her, blood spilling into the spring and clouding the water.

Xie Wenxin had never seen the poised, gentle Xiao Yuxie so shattered. Her heart quaked until those pale lips whispered brokenly:

“…Little Yi!”

Xie Wenxin’s pupils shrank. She scanned around in shock. “Little Yi… Lu Mingyi? That Lu Mingyi?!” Then, crouching beside Xiao Yuxie, tense and thrilled: “Then you succeeded? I-I don’t have to…”

Xiao Yuxie’s frame trembled faintly. Ignoring her, she forcibly merged the Split Soul.

Still gravely wounded, the forced fusion would harm the main body further—but Xiao Yuxie didn’t care.

Through the Split Soul’s memories, she saw Lu Mingyi leaving with two others.

“The Lin Family and Zhao Family girls…” Xiao Yuxie shook her head, swallowing the blood rising in her throat.

What a massive mistake. The secret realm is so perilous—how could I let unsteady-rooted Lu Mingyi wander here?

Following with a Split Soul wasn’t enough. I should have come myself…

As Xiao Yuxie’s eyes reddened, a “splash” sounded.

She looked over. The massive bird-beast had broken its bonds and rose gracefully, slowly.

Its plumage, drenched and blood-mixed, clung pathetically, dripping.

Xie Wenxin whipped out her sword with shaking hands, shielding Xiao Yuxie. “What kind of bird is that?!”

Xiao Yuxie, kneeling on the ground, froze at the sight of the crane bird. The breakdown in her expression stalled.

The blood faded from her eyes. She rose, pressing Xie Wenxin’s shoulder.

“Cousin?” Xie Wenxin puzzled.

Xiao Yuxie stared straight at the bizarre crane bird. Her ragged breaths steadied after a few. With a faint smile, she said, “You’ve come too?”

The crane bird didn’t stir. Its pale red beast pupils simply gazed silently in the direction Lu Mingyi had fled.

—

Lin Chang carried Zhao Zhusheng on her back, Lu Mingyi aboard her immortal saber, speeding along until the moon hung dead center in the sky, blazing bright, before halting.

“This distance should be safe, right?” Lin Chang landed on a broad grassy plain below.

Lu Mingyi cautioned, “Fellow Daoist Lin, better park on those trees over there. Too open here—easy for beasts to spot us.”

“Got it!”

Lin Chang gently set Zhao Zhusheng down against a tree and fed her a Spirit Gathering Pill.

Lu Mingyi took it in, noting Zhao Zhusheng’s frame was slimmer than most.

Plus, despite the Spiritual Spring, she’d vomited blood twice post-injury. Probably some congenital ailment.

Seeing the worry in Lin Chang’s eyes, Lu Mingyi fell silent for a moment before taking the initiative. “Fellow Daoist Lin, what exactly is wrong with your junior sister? There are plenty of spiritual herbs and immortal medicines in this Secret Realm, plus this Demon Core. Using every method available might work better than relying solely on the Spiritual Spring.”

“It’s no use… Only the Spiritual Spring helps a little.” Lin Chang gently combed through Zhao Zhusheng’s long hair, her expression downcast. “After all, what my junior sister has is the Spirit-Devouring Gu.”

“Spirit-Devouring Gu?” The name was utterly unfamiliar to Lu Mingyi.

Lin Chang noticed the deeper confusion on her face. “Fellow Daoist Jing, you don’t know about this either?”

While at Taiqing Sect, Lu Mingyi hadn’t been the most diligent student, but she’d always scored top marks in every subject and had a solid understanding of gu insects. Yet in her memories, there was no such thing as a “Spirit-Devouring Gu.”

This must be a new breed that emerged in the 180 years after my death, she thought. And judging by Lin Chang’s reaction, it’s infamous!

“Er… I wasn’t great at my studies either,” Lu Mingyi could only say, doubling down on her cover story.

Lin Chang sighed and began to explain to Lu Mingyi.

The Spirit-Devouring Gu was a type of gu insect that had started appearing about a hundred years ago. It first ravaged the northwest region, then spread to the southwest, and eventually engulfed the entire Nine Provinces.

These gu were extremely troublesome, with unknown origins. The worst part was that they seemed to target only sect and clan disciples or high-level cultivators for parasitization.

Once the Spirit-Devouring Gu parasitized a cultivator’s Dantian, it began devouring their spiritual energy. When it had consumed every last drop, it would shatter the Dantian, causing the host to explode and die.

“That’s the origin of the name ‘Spirit-Devouring Gu.’ Over the past century, countless clans and sects in the Cultivation World have been plagued by it. Many prodigies have fallen victim. Even worse, no one knows where it comes from. The medical cultivator families of the southwest have poured all their efforts into finding a solution, but to no avail.” As Lin Chang spoke, her gaze toward Zhao Zhusheng grew even more sorrowful.

“So, you brought your junior sister to the Spiritual Spring to use its spiritual energy as a substitute for the energy in her Dantian, to satisfy the Spirit-Devouring Gu?”

“Exactly.”

Lu Mingyi listened in shock and suspicion. The symptoms this Spirit-Devouring Gu causes… they’re so similar to what I went through back then?

But 180 years ago, her own cultivation had regressed because of the Five-Colored Stone.

In an instant, Lu Mingyi arrived at a conclusion. “Is it the Demon Sect behind this?!”

Who benefited most from the prodigies of major clans and sects having their spiritual energy devoured, their cultivation regressing, or even perishing? Without a doubt, the Demon Sect!

“That’s what everyone suspects,” Lin Chang said through gritted teeth, though utter helplessness laced her words. “But we have no proof. And after the Long Rainbow Sword Venerable fell back to the Soul Transformation Stage, the entire Cultivation World is on edge. Some even say she was parasitized by the Spirit-Devouring Gu too!”

Lu Mingyi’s expression grew grave.

She had no desire to meddle in the affairs of old acquaintances or chase down the Five-Colored Stone. Yet even after her rebirth, she was still her mother’s daughter—she still had to avenge them.

“Fellow Daoist Lin, in that case, once that strange bird-beast leaves, take your junior sister back to the Spiritual Spring.” Lu Mingyi sighed too, guilt rising in her heart at the thought that her delay might have harmed Zhao Zhusheng when the spring was so vital to her.

“Yes, that’s my plan.” Lin Chang cupped her fists in salute to Lu Mingyi. “Fellow Daoist Jing, meeting someone like you in this Secret Realm is my junior sister and my fortune. If you ever visit the southwest, you must come to the Lin Family or Tianyan Sect as a guest.”

With that, she took a white jade token from her Storage Ring and handed it over.

“I definitely will if the chance arises,” Lu Mingyi returned the gesture.

After Lin Chang left with Zhao Zhusheng, Lu Mingyi sat on the tree branch, gazing up at the bright moon, her mind weighed down by many things.

She had a premonition: just as 180 years ago the Demon Sect had schemed step by step to obtain the Five-Colored Stone from her, this Spirit-Devouring Gu was undoubtedly their next move.

Thinking of her past life darkened Lu Mingyi’s eyes.

She could choose to ignore others out of old sentiments, but not Ji Xuyun—the true Child of Prophecy who sought the Five-Colored Stone to threaten the world. Her, Lu Mingyi could not let go.

She took out the half Demon Core from her Storage Ring and sat cross-legged on the branch to absorb it.

For a Foundation Establishment cultivator like her, the Demon Core of a Golden Core Stage snake demon provided tremendous aid—especially with this body’s superior spiritual root. By the time she’d fully absorbed the half core, Lu Mingyi’s cultivation had advanced significantly, breaking straight through to the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment!

She could even feel she’d faintly touched the edge of the fifth layer.

But the true importance of reaching the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment was that she could now wield artifacts.

A suitable artifact was like adding wings to a tiger for any cultivator. If not for borrowing Zhao Zhusheng’s immortal blade earlier, Lu Mingyi never could have slain that Golden Core Stage giant python so smoothly.

She had no intention of retrieving her old sword, Gu Li, so she needed to forge a new one or find one in the Secret Realm.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Mingyi watched the pale golden sunrise on the horizon. She stretched lazily, oriented herself, and dashed north.

Where in the Secret Realm was she most likely to find a superior artifact? Naturally, the habitat of the Realm Eye!

Moreover, she needed to avoid the people from before and return to her original landing spot—the most dangerous place was the safest.

By the time Lu Mingyi raced back, she beheld a thoroughly ravaged battlefield.

A vast swath of the once-lush forest lay snapped and uprooted, trees flung haphazardly about. The flat grassy ground was pockmarked with craters, scorched black, and the air hung thick with the stench of blood and gunpowder.

Lu Mingyi halted at a distance, eyeing the scene suspiciously.

This looked like far more than a single skirmish!

And the damage to the Secret Realm’s environment suggested battles of extreme ferocity—at least Nascent Soul Stage and above!

This Secret Realm was filled with disciples from various sects competing in the Nine Provinces Grand Competition. Who could have done this?

Hiding in the shadows of the trees, Lu Mingyi prepared to emerge when a mournful wolf howl pierced the air.

She quickly retreated, observing two entangled shadows.