Chapter 027

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

Zhaoxue felt someone gently brushing away the dew from her cheeks and forehead.

It was damp.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and smelled the scent of ash left after the fire had burned out. Leaning against a tree trunk, dew drops from the leaves dripped onto her forehead.

Zhaoxue shook her head from side to side, trying to shake off the wetness in her hair.

“Big sister.”

Even though she could barely open her eyes, she called out to Zhaoyang and only relaxed when she heard her reply.

Half an hour later, they were already walking along a jungle path inside the secret realm.

Zhaoyang and Zhaoxue walked almost side by side, one in front of the other.

Jiang Lingfeng followed behind.

Zhaoxue’s vision was filled with the browns and greens of the trees, and the humid air made her body and mind feel refreshingly cool.

Zhaoyang introduced the uses of the talismans.

“This is a fire talisman. You saw it last night. It has strong burning power and can last for four to five hours without going out. It won’t burn other wooden objects and also provides strong illumination.”

“This is a protective talisman. When we were at the family home, the madam gave you these every year. They come in pairs — the person who has the other talisman stuck on them will feel increasing pain the closer they get to you.”

“This is a restraining talisman. Its effect is exactly the opposite of the protective talisman. The person who has the other talisman stuck on them cannot move more than fifty meters away from you, otherwise, they will feel piercing pain.”

—

Zhaoyang introduced many kinds of talismans to her.

Zhaoxue carefully memorized each one.

“Oh, by the way,”

Zhaoxue casually asked, “Big sister, yesterday I heard someone talking on the road about something called… the Sword Tomb in this secret realm. Is that what it’s called? Where is it exactly?”

Zhaoyang replied, “Do you want a new sword?”

“No,” Zhaoxue quickly answered, “I’m just curious.”

“It should still be in the southwest corner,” Zhaoyang said. “Before I came in, I asked some cultivators who had entered the Qingyang secret realm before and bought a map. Speaking of which, the medicinal herb I’m looking for is also in that direction. Later I’ll point it out to you from a distance.”

Zhaoxue obediently responded, “Okay.”

Before she could be happy for long, Zhaoyang suddenly remembered something: “Your sword ‘Splashing Snow’ really isn’t suitable as a weapon. It wouldn’t be bad to pick another one for you if we go there.”

“!”

Wouldn’t that mean meeting him? No way!

“No, no!” Zhaoxue hurriedly shook her head. “I like Splashing Snow, it was given to me by Zhaolan. I don’t want any other sword!”

“Is that so?”

Zhaoyang tilted her head to look at the girl.

“Yes!”

“Looks like, maybe Zhaoxue, you’re not meant to become a sword cultivator.”

Zhaoyang smiled, shadows from the trees flickering colorfully across her face like ripples. “A sword for a sword cultivator shouldn’t be so flashy and fragile.”

“…Is that so?” Zhaoxue paused, then lowered her head. “Actually, it doesn’t matter to me what kind of cultivator I become. Cultivation itself has always been a kind of luxury for me.”

“On the way, I saw many cultivators — some carrying their instruments, some using brushes as swords, some commanding beasts to fight for them, and monks chanting scriptures while using staffs as weapons. Martial cultivators have nothing but their bodies, and their fists are enough to fend off enemies… Such a diverse world I had never seen before. Compared to that, swords are just one branch. It’s okay if you can’t become a sword cultivator,”

Zhaoxue looked up and smiled, “Besides, my big sister is already the most powerful sword cultivator under the heavens.”

Zhaoyang was momentarily stunned.

After a while, she smiled gently, a little helplessly, and reached out to ruffle Zhaoxue’s hair.

“Zhaoxue, you should say things like this to me in private,”

Zhaoyang glanced back and said, “If your martial uncle hears you say things like this, I’ll be too embarrassed to show my sword skills in front of him from now on.”

Zhaoxue: “…”

Ah!

She hurriedly explained, “Martial uncle’s swordsmanship is in a league of its own! Totally different!”

“It’s like… uh,” Zhaoxue racked her brain, “everyone here is a contestant in the competition, my big sister is the champion, but martial uncle… you’re the referee!”

Zhaoxue felt satisfied with her explanation.

Now, no one could accuse her of being biased.

Zhaoyang chuckled quietly beside her.

“Maybe it’s because your martial uncle is the referee that I got first place. Not to mention the peak elders, even among my peers, there’s the ‘Little Sword Immortal’ from the Xuecheng Lu family who’s above me, not to mention many rising stars.”

When Zhaoyang mentioned the Lu family, Zhaoxue’s lips pressed down in displeasure.

“In any case, in my heart, big sister is number one. Martial uncle surely thinks the same.”

As she spoke, she quietly glanced back at Jiang Lingfeng’s expression.

The man walked neither too close nor too far, like a silent shadow. His thick eyelashes hung down like a shade, hiding his eyes, but his shoulders and lips were relaxed. Occasionally, light flickered across his hair and cheek like a burn mark, leaving no trace.

—Is there really nothing?

Zhaoxue recalled the night before when she was hiding behind Jiang Lingfeng. For the first time, she had seen his restrained anger and the fine lines under his eyes.

After cultivators reach the Golden Core stage, their youth is preserved.

So what realm is Jiang Lingfeng in now? With his strength, why did his cultivation stagnate back then?

“I’m not as gifted as your big sister,”

Jiang Lingfeng said calmly, “At her age, I was just an unknown nobody. She’s the most talented swordsman I’ve ever seen in all these years.”

Even Jiang Lingfeng said that!

Zhaoxue felt as if she herself had been praised and proudly said to Zhaoyang, “See, even martial uncle said so!”

“All right, all right.”

Zhaoyang helplessly accepted the compliment.

By midday, on the way, Zhaoxue followed Zhaoyang and identified quite a few herbs. While heading toward the southwest corner, Zhaoyang pointed from a distance to a mountain tomb.

“That is the Hidden Sword Tomb.”

The system’s voice excitedly sounded: 【Yes, that’s right, I can sense the aura of the sword spirit!】

Zhaoyang spread the map on the ground and pointed it out to Zhaoxue: “We need to pass through the tunnel next to the Hidden Sword Tomb and go to Fuxiu Peak here on the bottom right of the map to get the Hundred Spirit Flower. The flower is guarded by fierce beasts and won’t be easy to obtain. Zhaoxue, stay close to me on the way.”

Zhaoxue asked, “Are we the only ones looking for those herbs?”

Zhaoyang replied, “No.”

Zhaoxue looked up and saw several cultivators flying by on their swords, and some flying beasts flapping their huge wings, casting large shadows over their heads.

Maybe if she had known this earlier, she would have stayed at the inn.

“You don’t need to worry about that,”

Zhaoyang saw through her thoughts and said, “Even if they arrive before us, they might not be able to defeat those fierce beasts. Besides, there are other dangers along the way.”

Soon, Zhaoxue understood what Zhaoyang meant.

As they passed a mountain peak ahead, those flying in the air trembled all over, falling like snowflakes from their mounts.

Zhaoyang squinted, “Thunderbolt Eagles.”

“Yes,”

Jiang Lingfeng’s voice also came through at that moment, “Because the Hidden Sword Tomb shares the same lineage, over many years this mountain has been infused with thunder attribute spiritual energy. The beasts nurtured in this ecosystem have mostly evolved into spiritual beasts with thunder abilities.”

“What should we do then?”

Zhaoyang took out a pill and said, “Fortunately, I prepared Thunder Avoidance Pills in advance.”

She handed some over and added, “…though I’m not sure if they can completely dodge the attacks from the spiritual beasts.”

She looked toward the distant mountain peak, worry deepening in her eyes.

—

Amidst the overlapping ridges and lush green forest paths, two figures were walking forward.

Lu Zhaoshuang put down a communication jade slip and slightly tilted his head: “There’s a message from the family.”

Lu Zhaohe was teasing a bird perched on her shoulder and whistled softly at it, “What does it say?”

“Don’t go around teasing everything you see.”

Lu Zhaohe was stunned: “?”

The bird flapped its wings and flew away.

“Is that what the family’s message said?”

“No, that’s what I wanted to tell you.”

Lu Zhaoshuang said expressionlessly, “Stop doing things that don’t suit your status.”

“…”

Out of his older brother’s sight, Lu Zhaohe quickly rolled her eyes.

“Yes, big brother, I got it.”

But with her left hand, she quietly reached out to tease a butterfly lingering around her clothes.

“Don’t you remember the lesson about getting pecked?”

The voice sounded beside his ear.

Lu Zhaohe said, “Brother, what are you talking about? When was I ever pecked—”

He instinctively froze.

Not sure what he was thinking, his eyes darkened: “Tch, just a kitten that hasn’t even been weaned.”

“Even if she’s no threat, the master behind her isn’t so easy to mess with.”

“Got it, got it, big brother, you’re not—”

Lu Zhaohe impatiently poked his ear and raised his voice, “You went up to her first too, right? You were attracted by that person as well?”

Lu Zhaoshuang unusually fell silent.

After a while, he slowly said, “That’s different. In any case, try not to provoke her in the future. I don’t want to have to clean up your mess every time.”

“What’s so different about it…”

Lu Zhaohe mumbled, “Besides, I don’t really count as provoking her—who knows that little trickster’s backing is a Sword Sovereign…”

Lu Zhaoshuang was annoyed by his noise. He tossed the jade slip back into his brother’s arms, quickened his pace, and put some distance between them.

Lu Zhaohe was caught off guard but caught the jade slip, flipped it over, and was momentarily surprised by the message on it.

“Hey, big brother, is this news for real!? No way!”

Lu Zhaoshuang was too lazy to reply and quickened his pace.

Ahead lay the Hidden Sword Tomb. Even from such a distance, they could feel the thunder attribute spiritual energy radiating from it.

If the family’s message was correct, they should be among the first to know about this.

A spiritual soul born from the thousand-year-old secret realm…

The Lu family was determined to claim it.

Zhaoxue knew the path of cultivation was dangerous, but she didn’t expect the danger to come so quickly!!

The cave trembled, within seconds, stones began to fall!

The cultivators at the forked path all ran out like their lives depended on it, the crowd pressing and pushing, making the already gloomy, damp place even harder to walk or even stand in.

What was happening?

Zhaoxue tightly held Zhaoyang’s hand, trying to keep up with her pace and not get separated by the crowd.

At that moment, Jiang Lingfeng’s voice sounded:

“Someone ahead has awakened the dormant beast in this mountain. Perhaps because of its massive size, there is now a risk of the tunnel and cave collapsing during its awakening.”

What should they do?

Zhaoxue was a bit stunned.

“Take a detour? Big sister!”

Zhaoyang’s voice came out steady but strained, “No, we won’t detour.”

Zhaoxue widened her eyes, “But—”

“This is a perfect chance for us to reach the destination before others. If we return the same way, someone else might seize the opportunity first.”

Zhaoyang’s eyes were deep and determined, “There is only one Bailing flower. I absolutely cannot let others get it.”

…What kind of herb is really that important?

Just as Zhaoxue was about to speak, Zhaoyang released her hand. After letting go, she swiftly and lightly slipped through the crowd and disappeared into the darkness ahead.

The crowd pushed Zhaoxue backward until she found herself embraced by a tall, solid figure.

Jiang Lingfeng stood firm amidst the crowd, reaching out to hold her shoulder: “I’ll lead you out first.”

Zhaoxue, pale-faced and gasping, said, “No.”

She held Jiang Lingfeng’s hand and shook her head, feeling panicked, “Big sister is alone, it’s dangerous for her!”

“She can handle it alone.”

Jiang Lingfeng felt her palm trembling slightly and growing damp. Her shoulders also trembled lightly.

“No, big sister will get hurt!”

Zhaoxue shivered and shouted loudly.

The events that had happened in her dream surfaced again in her mind.

Everyone in the family had died in that great fire. She found her mother barely alive in the ancestral hall, and her mother’s last gaze was still fixed on her eldest sister’s memorial tablet.

—The memorial tablet of the eldest sister who died in the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons.

Then there was the memorial tablet of Zhaolan, who had committed suicide.

Countless memorial tablets were neatly arranged together, just waiting for a fire. With no one to help, they would all turn to ashes in the flames.

The story had changed because of her. She absolutely could not take this risk now.

Absolutely not.

Jiang Lingfeng saw that she was somewhat stressed. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, dampening the strands of hair by his cheek. His lips were bitten, leaving faint white marks from his teeth.

“I’ll go.”

The man’s low voice sounded.

Zhaoxue looked up.

His thick eyelashes drooped, hiding the emotions in his eyes. Only his pressed lips and the shadow beneath his eyelids were visible.

Amid the noisy chaos, his voice was so clear.

Before Zhaoxue could ask more, he suddenly pulled her close by the waist, pressing her into his broad chest.

Screams, shouts, and cries for help passed by her ears like wind. Before she could react, the warmth was gone.

Zhaoxue steadied herself by holding her arm and managed to stand, finding that Jiang Lingfeng had already brought her to a safe cave.

Scattered around were many cultivators who had just escaped the collapse, looking exhausted, replenishing their energy and bandaging their wounds.

“I’ll be back soon.”

Jiang Lingfeng said this.

Soon, the hem of his dark robe disappeared ahead.

Zhaoxue’s mood slowly began to calm down.

With Jiang Lingfeng here, nothing serious would happen to her eldest sister.

She leaned weakly against the cave wall and closed her eyes to rest.

The air was thick with the bitter smell of medicinal pills and the scent of blood.

Water droplets dripped down, and her eyes moved slightly beneath her thin eyelids.

Soon, she opened her eyes.

A strong instinctive surge struck her soul in an instant—

She struggled to roll over onto the nearby open ground.

“Boom—”

A huge boulder collapsed from above. The moment it hit the ground, dust filled the air!

Zhaoxue suppressed the urge to look back. She only heard the brief screams of countless people crushed before they could escape, mixed with agonized howls.

Even Zhaoxue could feel the oppressive pressure of the demonic beast lingering on the boulder.

So, was that demon beast always here, or—

Were there two demonic beasts!?

Zhaoxue had no time to think further.

Such a terrifying pressure was pressing so close that she felt one moment of delay would mean becoming the beast’s prey.

She quickly pulled out two speed talismans from her dimensional pouch and stuck them on herself. Her speed increased, but her body couldn’t withstand it. She fell hard, rolled on the ground, and was forced to see the true form of the monster.

—A gigantic spider. Pitch black, covered with a hard shell, its back growing countless crowded human faces. About several tens of feet tall, with eight legs—each leg taller than Zhaoxue. The closest leg’s writhing hairs almost touched her.

Zhaoxue fought the nausea rising in her throat, feeling her sanity severely shaken.

She held her breath, climbed up from the rubble, forcing herself not to look or think about the cultivator whose abdomen and internal organs had just been pierced by the spider’s long leg. Covering her mouth and nose, she struggled forward.

Soon, a sharp pain came from her legs.

Zhaoxue looked down and saw blood gushing from the injured area around her calf and knee.

“…”

It felt like heaven was against her.

【Host, be careful!!】

The system warned her.

Zhaoxue tilted her head and rolled to the right. A cascade of falling rubble poured down from above.

She turned her head away. There was a cultivator making a last desperate stand, but with such an overwhelming power difference, it was only adding to the number of lost souls.

【It’s a mid-stage Golden Core demonic beast, long fallen into demonhood.】

Mid-stage Golden Core…

Such a demon beast—even her eldest sister wouldn’t know how likely she was to win.

Zhaoxue gritted her teeth, leaning against the stone wall, limping forward. The stabbing pain continued. If she kept going like this, she didn’t know how long she could hold on. Worse, the cave’s terrain was already complex and confusing, and with so much damage, she wasn’t sure if she could still recognize the original layout or find her eldest sister.

“Huff, huff…”

Her vision blurred more and more.

Just as Zhaoxue was about to run out of strength and collapse, she heard fighting sounds, collapsing noises, and loud shouting—along with one familiar voice.

“Looks like there’s a collapse ahead. Are there large demonic beasts?”

“Probably. Let’s change routes.”

“Hey, big brother, if we’re going to the Sword Tomb, this is the shortest path, right? Detouring will take half a day longer… I’m too lazy to walk more, and this broken terrain doesn’t even allow flying…”

Lu Zhaohe stretched out his arms lazily, seemingly unconcerned by the dangers ahead.

Lu Zhaoshuang frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, “That demonic beast is not easy to deal with.”

Lu Zhaohe finally straightened up, his expression slightly serious and heavy. “No way, big brother, you think it’s hard to deal with?”

“It can be handled, but it’s troublesome. There’s no avoiding a fight. The time spent won’t be any shorter than taking a detour.”

“You should have said that earlier.”

He turned around on the spot. “Then let’s go. I’m not the kind of fool who charges in blindly.”

However,

The young man beside him did not turn around.

He furrowed his brows and stared steadily ahead, as if he had seen something.

Lu Zhaohe noticed this and turned around—

Through a gap in the rubble not far away, a slender and weak figure was struggling to dodge among the debris. When she reached a spot with a faint light ahead, he barely made out the fragile girl who looked as delicate and easy to break as a reed.

She was coughing violently in the dust, crawling and stumbling in a miserable state. Her clothes were stained with spots of blood, and one of her legs seemed useless.

She noticed them, looked up, and tears welled up in her eyes. The dirty face was dotted with translucent glimmers.

Almost instinctively, and for some unknown reason, a sharp pain echoed in Lu Zhaohe’s heart.

His pupils trembled slightly, and he felt the urge to reach out his hand.

The girl’s unusually bright eyes stared at them, her pale lips trembling as she moved them.

“…Save me.”

Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

Just as her words fell, a piece of rubble crashed down from above her head with a thunderous “rumble,” blocking their view.

The girl’s figure collapsed.