Chapter 9: Secret Realm

Outside Yanxin Valley.

Looking around, there was no sign of human beings within a radius of ten miles, and the surroundings were so quiet that only the sound of the wind could be heard.

Wen Xi carried Xi Meng on her back as she walked, slowly approaching the only entrance to Yanxin Valley, as if she was completely unaware of the trap hidden not far ahead of her.

The previous step was still on the yellow sand, and with the next step, the scenery around her suddenly changed from a desolate desert to a quiet valley filled with fragrant flowers and green grass.

Wen Xi immediately turned around to look at the person on her back. “Xi Meng?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” Xi Meng said cheerfully.

Seeing the person and hearing the voice, Wen Xi felt at ease.

Glancing at the surroundings, she found herself standing on a path at the entrance of the valley. There were flower fields on both sides of the path, and a steep mountain wall at the edge.

Looking forward along the winding path, there was a row of bamboo forest at the end of the flower field. Through the gaps between the trees, she could vaguely see a row of houses behind it. In the distance, there seemed to be the sound of flowing water coming intermittently.

It was a very ordinary scene; nothing unusual could be seen.

Wen Xi asked the person on her back, “How is it?”

Xi Meng said, “It seems to be just an ordinary illusion. There is no danger for the time being. Please continue to move forward.”

Wen Xi followed the instructions and walked slowly along the path toward the depths of the valley. After a moment, she passed through most of the flower fields but still did not see any unusual movement.

At the same time, Xi Meng released her spiritual awareness, which spread throughout the valley.

The secret realm only limits one’s cultivation level, but there is no hindrance to one’s spiritual consciousness. The spiritual consciousness of the Nascent Soul stage is extremely powerful. Once released, it instantly covers the entire valley. Xi Meng can see every flower, every blade of grass, and even every grain of soil in the valley clearly.

However, even so, she didn’t notice anything unusual.

Is there really nothing?

Xi Meng didn’t believe it. The other party set up such a large formation; it was impossible that they were just here to appreciate the flowers and view the scenery.

Since there is no movement, let them take the initiative to create movement.

“Try to swing your sword at the flower field over there, but be careful.” Xi Meng pointed to a flower field on the right.

Wen Xi nodded and lightly swept her sword toward the bright sea of flowers, causing a rain of petals to fall around them. As the petals fell, the air was filled with the scent of flowers.

“Hold your breath,” Xi Meng reminded urgently.

In fact, she didn’t need to remind her; Wen Xi had already held her breath at the first moment.

After Xi Meng reminded her, she was not afraid at all. She sniffed the floral fragrance floating on both sides of her nose and then uttered a name: “Illusion Flower Fog Rain Array.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the scene in front of her suddenly became illusory. In an instant, thick white fog enveloped the entire valley.

Flashy.

Xi Meng chuckled in her heart, confirming that the person who set up the formation was an old acquaintance of hers—it was a sure thing.

Xi Meng raised the corner of her mouth slightly and asked Wen Xi, “Do you want to try something exciting?”

“How to play?” Wen Xi inquired further.

Xi Meng’s tone was gentle, but her words were brutal: “Take his things away, turn his formation into ours, and let him experience it for himself.”

Wen Xi turned her head to avoid the breath spraying on her face and said, “Okay.”

Xi Meng noticed her hesitation and deliberately whispered a few words into Wen Xi’s ear. After that, she patted her shoulder and said, “It’s up to you from now on, Ah Xi.”

Wen Xi was just getting used to the hot breath beside her ears and didn’t notice the change in address for a moment. She asked impatiently, “Shall we start now?”

“Let’s get started. I say, you do. First, go to the blue flowers on the left.”

Xi Meng reported the location, and Wen Xi took action.

“Seven steps to the left, three steps forward, two steps to the right, stop…”

After the eight flags were planted, Xi Meng reported another location: “Chop it.”

Wen Xi immediately raised her sword, aimed at the white mist in front of her, and slashed with all her strength. The scene suddenly changed.

It was still the same valley, the same flower field, but the scene before their eyes was no longer as peaceful and beautiful as it had been at the beginning.

The originally delicate and beautiful flowers suddenly transformed into carnivorous plants. They opened their mouths wide, revealing sharp teeth, and spread their branches and leaves, greedily eyeing the two people standing in the middle.

The path under their feet was littered with white bones, both animal and human. Every step Wen Xi took was on bones.

The bamboo forest and wooden houses in the distance also changed. They seemed to have suddenly come to life, luring the two to come closer. The sparse wind blew through the bamboo leaves, sometimes producing giggles and sometimes mixed with low cries.

Xi Meng listened attentively to the voice in the wind and made a prompt decision: “Go to the wooden house.”

Wen Xi did not hesitate; her feet moved quickly as she nimbly navigated among the flowers.

Xi Meng on her back hummed an unknown tune, soothing and melodious, like a mother’s whispering song. The sound floated across the valley, and the carnivorous plants that were close to them swayed from side to side as if they were drunk.

When they reached the bamboo forest, a strong wind suddenly blew, causing the bamboo forest to emit a shrill howling sound. In an instant, millions of bamboo leaves turned into sharp arrows and shot straight toward Wen Xi’s face.

These were not ordinary bamboo leaves, but the resentment and wails left behind by thousands of evil spirits in countless battles.

It seemed tangible, but in fact, it was intangible, going straight into people’s hearts.

“Oh no! Ah Xi…”

Xi Meng’s expression changed, thinking that the ugly monster was indeed insidious and had actually unleashed all the Ten Thousand Ghosts Flags. Although it was just one of the small flags, it was a big deal to use it against a group of little cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Stage.

At the same time, Wen Xi also recognized that this was another common tactic used by the Yinhun Sect, but it was much stronger than those they had encountered before.

She had already learned how to restrain herself from previous experiences, but there were too many things rushing toward her. The sword light only covered a small area. To save time and energy, Wen Xi made a prompt decision, quickly put away her sword, and used a spell to ignite a flame as high as a person in front of her.

The ghosts that were rushing toward them thought they were not afraid of swords and knives, believing that ordinary flames could not hurt them. Without any hesitation, they excitedly rushed into the flames.

Then, the world suddenly became quiet.

Xi Meng, who hadn’t finished speaking, said: “…”

That’s it?

It ended too quickly, and Xi Meng was unable to react.

That ugly monster’s magic weapon was broken so easily by Wen Xi? You know, that old guy is half a step away from becoming a god?

Even she might not be able to deal with that ugly thing in such a short time, okay? Oh, not necessarily, but definitely not.

That old guy wouldn’t be so useless; that’s the problem with this person.

Xi Meng stared at the back of Wen Xi’s head thoughtfully for a long while.

The obstacle was removed, and Wen Xi carried Xi Meng toward the cabin.

Ignoring the noise in her ears, she asked, “We’re here, what should we do next?”

Hearing the sound, Xi Meng came back to her senses. After some analysis, she attributed the abnormality to the flames that Wen Xi had previously released.

To verify this guess, Xi Meng pointed at the wooden house in front of them and said directly, “Burn it down.”

The evil spirit in the wooden house, who was conscientiously trying to lure Wen Xi in, exclaimed, “!??”

“Okay.” Wen Xi didn’t even think about it.

The evil spirit heard the conversation between the two and immediately stopped them with a sharp voice: “No, no!”

However, the two ignored his previous persuasion with threats and inducements, as well as his sharp shouts now.

Wen Xi looked at the cabin with calm eyes. Without any hesitation, she started the fire and burned the house in front of her.

—

In Yanxin Valley, a masked man spat out blood.

“Senior Brother!”

When the disciples nearby saw this, they cried out in surprise, their faces filled with fear.

“Where’s that idiot Zhu Liao?”

The man gritted his teeth, his tone gloomy and vicious, as if he wanted to eat the man’s flesh and blood alive.

“At the valley entrance formation.” A Yinhun Sect disciple standing at the front trembled and said, “Senior Brother Zhu said someone came here yesterday and then left.”

The man sneered upon hearing this: “Useless! You found the person, but you haven’t killed him yet, and… Humph, a bunch of useless people.”

As the man spoke, he raised his eyes and swept a sinister gaze over everyone, then he stood up and walked out.

“Where’s the stuff?”

When Zhu Liao saw the person who suddenly appeared in front of him, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat. “Master… Senior Brother.”

After shouting, he saw the other party’s impatient face, and his fear became even greater. He said in a trembling voice, “I—I don’t know. The things… I put them in. An immortal cultivator came in this morning, and not long after, I couldn’t sense any connection…”

“Idiot! Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

The man slapped Zhu Liao away, not caring about his life or death, and started to control the formation on his own.

On this side, Wen Xi and Xi Meng also noticed something.

The murderous intent in the formation was ten times greater than before, and the changes were also happening faster.

Xi Meng knew that her previous actions had alarmed the other party, so she had to urge Wen Xi to speed up.

With a swing of the sword, the two of them transitioned from the scorching sun to an icy landscape. When the last chess piece was placed, Xi Meng instantly activated all the formation flags that had been buried earlier.

In the blink of an eye, everything changed.

The illusion before their eyes faded away and transformed back into the sea of sand they had seen before entering.

Xi Meng motioned for Wen Xi to put her down first.

The moment the rope was untied, both of them felt a sense of reluctance. However, time was running out, and Xi Meng didn’t have time to dwell on it. She sat down on the spot, her hands flying as she constantly manipulated the formation plate in her grasp.

Wen Xi knew that Xi Meng was still battling that man, so she sat quietly beside her and didn’t dare to disturb her.

After a while, Xi Meng finally looked up and said, “Okay.”

There were about a dozen people in the formation, and now she had thrown them all in to experience the backlash brought by the formation.

“However,” Xi Meng frowned and said worriedly, “the person who set up the formation is very powerful. I can only trap him for a while. I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold on for too long before the other party comes looking for me.”

After all, the temporary array was crude, and it was modified from someone else’s array, making it easy to trap others. But the ugly monster was the original owner, and he had a good talent for array formation. In this situation, she could only trap him for a quarter of an hour at most.

“Then we’ll wait for him to come.” Wen Xi did not back down at all and comforted her, “Don’t be afraid; I will protect you.”

“I’m not afraid.” Xi Meng shook her head and said hesitantly, “Ah Xi, if I…”

“What?”

Perhaps it was the aftereffect of the Lian Xi Rope, but Wen Xi felt a little shy about looking at the other person’s face, and the name “Ah Xi” sounded so strange.

Xi Meng hesitated for a moment but decided to let things take their course.

“It’s okay, but I suddenly remembered that the fire you used in the formation seemed to have a great restraint on the evil things within it. You can try to use it when you fight the enemy later. Also, I told you before that the people of the Yinhun Sect are very good at disturbing people’s minds, so remember to pay attention. By the way…”

As she spoke, she took out a small bell from her chest and placed it in Wen Xi’s hand. “Keep this; it can help you resist the noise. You can’t refuse it—just think of it as a return gift for the Shenbi you gave me. If you don’t accept it, then I don’t want the Shenbi anymore. And don’t worry about me; I have another one on me.”

Wen Xi looked at the golden copper bell, which still retained the breath of its owner.

All magic weapons have grades. For example, the iron sword used by Wen Xi is the lowest grade one magic weapon. Although the golden bell Xi Meng gave her was small, it was a grade five magic weapon. This alone was worth more than most of the things in her storage bag.

The other party had already blocked her words, so Wen Xi had no choice but to say, “Then I’ll borrow it for a while and return it to you after the matter is resolved.”

Xi Meng glanced at her and said, “It’s up to you.”

Hope there is still a chance.