Once Su Ye had fully recovered, Xue Mingzhao pulled him up from the riverbank and turned to head back.
Su Ye followed behind her, his heart in his throat. “Junior Sister, shouldn't we be running away right now? The faster, the better.”
“We're not running,” she replied.
Her senior brother had just blocked a sword strike for her. She couldn't just let it slide.
She was going to give him a grand gift.
The two of them squatted in the tree for a good while before anyone finally noticed something was amiss.
A startled cry pierced the air above the battlefield. “The demon beast cores... they're all gone!”
Xie Yunchuan whipped his head around to glare at the people from the Heavenly Origin Sect, his face livid. “Your Heavenly Origin Sect has gone too far!”
Shen Chaoyue retorted coldly, “I think you're the ones who have gone too far. Stealing all the demon beast cores amidst the chaos... how utterly shameless.”
Previously, both sides had held back to some degree during their clash. Now, realizing that not a single demon beast core remained, both groups completely lost their minds with rage.
Before the echoes of the accusation could even fade, Lin Xibai unleashed a full-strength strike at Yun Yanchen, his speed incredibly fast.
Shen Chaoyue lunged forward, shielding Yun Yanchen with her own body. The palm strike landed squarely on her chest, sending her flying backward like a kite with its string cut. The blood spilling from the corner of her mouth was as jarringly crimson as crushed flower petals.
Having already taken a palm strike from Xiao Jinghe earlier, she was now completely unable to stand.
“Junior Sister!” Lin Xibai's pupils contracted, his attacking hand still frozen mid-air.
Yun Yanchen caught Shen Chaoyue in his arms and bellowed at Pei Zongyuan, “Zongyuan, I'm taking Junior Sister out of here first! Hold them off! If you can't hold out, crush your jade pendant and leave!”
Lin Xibai made a move to pursue them.
Pei Zongyuan gripped the longsword tightly, stepping forward to block Lin Xibai's path without a word.
Yun Yanchen carried Shen Chaoyue, breaking through the encirclement and vanishing into the depths of the dense forest.
Xue Mingzhao tugged on Su Ye's sleeve. Holding the Kongming Formation plate, the two of them quietly followed.
Yun Yanchen stuffed a pill into her mouth. Looking down, he saw that the wound on her chest was still bleeding, and her face was terrifyingly pale. He reached out, intending to crush her jade pendant to send her out of the mystic realm.
However, Shen Chaoyue grabbed his wrist, her voice weak but exceptionally firm. “Senior Brother, I'm fine. I feel like the opportunity I've been waiting for is just ahead... Take me there!”
Yun Yanchen seeing the determination in her eyes, didn't try to persuade her further. He hoisted her onto his back and strode deeper into the forest.
Xue Mingzhao followed from a distance. She remembered from the original novel that Shen Chaoyue possessed a natural intuition for her own opportunities. No wonder she was holding on so stubbornly despite being so heavily injured.
But it was a good thing Shen Chaoyue was so persistent. Otherwise, Xue Mingzhao would have worried that the incident with the demon beast cores might have deterred Shen Chaoyue from seeking out this opportunity.
Just as she was thinking this, Shen Chaoyue suddenly raised her hand and pressed Yun Yanchen's shoulder. “Senior Brother, stop for a moment.”
Yun Yanchen immediately halted and glanced back at her.
Shen Chaoyue closed her eyes and sensed for a moment. “It's in this direction. I can't pinpoint the exact location... but there must be a great opportunity ahead.”
Xue Mingzhao carefully recalled the plot of the novel.
In the original book, the two of them went deep into the mystic realm, crossed the forest, passed a lake, and then right opposite the lake, behind an inconspicuous boulder—Shen Chaoyue shattered the boulder to reveal a cave. That was where the inheritance lay.
She released her Cloud-Gazing Finch and instructed in a low voice, “Fly ahead. Find a lake, and see if there is a large boulder by its shore.”
The Cloud-Gazing Finch spread its wings and soared into the sky, its silver-gray figure vanishing among the treetops in a flash.
Lying on Yun Yanchen's back, Shen Chaoyue looked up and saw a spiritual bird sweep past from behind, flying straight in the direction she wanted to go. A strange sense of unease welled up in her heart.
Before long, the Cloud-Gazing Finch flew back. Its wings flapped rapidly and urgently as it chirped excitedly at Xue Mingzhao.
Xue Mingzhao said in pleasant surprise, “Found it!”
Without paying any more attention to Shen Chaoyue and Yun Yanchen, she summoned the Azure Ripple Leaf, pulled Su Ye onto it, and slapped a supreme-grade speed talisman onto the lotus leaf.
The lotus leaf shuddered violently and shot forward with a whoosh, the sudden burst of speed nearly throwing Su Ye off.
Su Ye clung to the edge of the lotus leaf, his hair whipped into a messy tangle across his face by the wind. He thought to himself, This isn't flying. This is literally being launched along the ground.
The supreme-grade speed talisman was indeed effective. In less than the time it took to burn an incense stick, the two of them were hovering over the lake.
Xue Mingzhao put away the Azure Ripple Leaf and carefully inspected the boulders around the lake, confirming that only this particular one matched the description in the book.
Without a second thought, she threw out three Exploding Talismans at the same time.
Boom!
The boulder was blasted to smithereens, and behind it, a dark, gaping cave entrance was revealed.
Su Ye looked at the pile of pulverized rock, then turned to Xue Mingzhao. “Junior Sister, did you read about this in a book too?”
Xue Mingzhao coughed lightly and began to spin her tale with a straight face. “Elder Chen's book briefly mentioned it, saying that someone once recorded a hidden cave here. I just looked at the terrain, and this boulder seemed the most likely spot to hide a cave, so I decided to blow it up and see. I didn't expect there to actually be one.”
Without giving Su Ye time to think it over, she grabbed his sleeve and dragged him inside. “The book also said there are plenty of natural treasures inside. Let's hurry in. Once Shen Chaoyue and the others catch up, it won't be as convenient for us to take them.”
Hearing the words “natural treasures,” Su Ye hesitated no longer. He gripped his Wind-Breaking Sword tightly and strode inside.
Xue Mingzhao walked swiftly in the lead, with Su Ye following closely behind. The two of them bypassed patch after patch of natural treasures scattered all over the ground, without pausing for even a second.
First, a patch of small purple-pink flowers appeared by the path, their translucent petals glowing with a soft fluorescence, making the entire field of flowers look like a dream.
Su Ye excitedly tapped Xue Mingzhao's shoulder. “Junior Sister, those are Boundary-Breaking Flowers! And they're a thousand years old! This stuff can sell for tens of thousands of spirit stones outside, or even—”
Xue Mingzhao didn't even turn her head. “Senior Brother, we'll get them on the way back. Follow me first.”
Su Ye was puzzled, but he obediently followed.
Not long after, another patch appeared by the path—thousand-year red lingzhi. They were thick and plump, and the spiritual energy was so dense it had almost condensed into water droplets.
Xue Mingzhao still didn't stop.
Next came thousand-year essence-condensing fruits, thousand-year flesh-regenerating vines, and there was even a nearly ten-thousand-year-old red sun fruit. It was as red as a ball of burning fire, growing solitarily from a crack in the rock, seemingly beckoning to them.
One after another, they appeared as if intentionally tempting them to halt.
Xue Mingzhao didn't spare them a single glance, heading straight into the depths of the cave.
Su Ye followed closely behind. He grew increasingly certain that there must be something far more important ahead. Otherwise, given his junior sister's usual personality, she would have pounced on these valuable goods and harvested them clean. How could she possibly resist?
Rate on N.U.
