Chapter 10: Secret Realm

“Here I come.”

Wen Xi and Xi Meng stood up simultaneously, their gazes fixed on the southeast.

The wind in the air stilled for a moment, and two figures plummeted to the ground.

The masked man threw the person he was holding onto the ground and glared at Wen Xi and the other man. “You are the ones who stole my magic weapon?” he demanded.

Wen Xi turned to the other figure and asked, “Are you Zhu Liao?”

“Zhu Liao?” The man snorted, casting a disdainful glance at the person on the ground. “You ignorant young man, you actually compare me to this loser.”

So, he was not Zhu Liao.

Wen Xi pressed on, “Are you a disciple of the Yinhun Sect or the Corpse Puppet Sect?”

The man’s eyes darkened. He felt that the other party was being extremely rude and did not take his words seriously at all.

Gazing at the perfect face before him, the man spoke sinisterly, “Stop talking nonsense. Just hand it over and kneel down to beg me to use you as a furnace. If you show me your soft-heartedness, I might even spare your life.”

“Or if I do it myself, you won’t be able to save your life. At that point, I will peel off your beautiful skin with my own hands and extract your soul. You will be devoured by hungry ghosts every night. A beauty like you must have a very delicious soul.”

“Bah! You ugly bastard, you dirty and smelly toad who knows which gutter you crawled out from!” Before Wen Xi could react, Xi Meng’s anger erupted, and she began to curse.

“You know to cover your pig face, but why don’t you know to cut off your rotten and smelly tongue to prevent it from polluting people’s ears? You keep talking to yourself all day long, and you’re not afraid for your own life. Oh, I almost forgot—has your brain been eaten by maggots? Have you forgotten so quickly who just took away your formation and destroyed your ghost thing?”

“Still begging for mercy? I want to see who is begging for mercy today. If you want to be a furnace cauldron so badly, I will send you there. You dead eunuch, your legs are broken, but you still can’t be content. I will break more for you today. You’d better not die; wait for me to personally send you to the second floor of the Jade Powder Cave.”

Xi Meng spoke rapidly, her powerful voice unforgettable.

The man looked at her, his expression shifting to one of shock and anger. “You are…”

“I am your ancestor,” she retorted.

It seemed she had overestimated this idiot’s intelligence.

Without giving the man a chance to respond, Xi Meng turned to Wen Xi and said, “This man is an old pervert who has committed all kinds of evil. He is burdened with sins. Don’t be polite. Burn him to death. If his soul flies away, it is justice for the heavens. If he is half dead but not disabled, it is a good deed.”

Wen Xi and Xi Meng had known each other for several days. The other party was usually calm and dignified or charming and graceful. Today was the first time they had seen her swear like this, and they were momentarily taken aback.

After the shock, Wen Xi found her cute and full of vitality.

Finally, when he heard her mention the old pervert, he recalled the furnace tripod the man had mentioned. Could it be that the man had also said those words to Xi Meng? This thought ignited Wen Xi’s anger.

“Good,” he said.

Before Wen Xi finished speaking, he sprang into action.

He remembered what Xi Meng had said earlier—that the fire aura she possessed was the nemesis of this man. For the first time, he abandoned the iron sword and directly condensed a sword of fire.

As soon as the flaming sword was completed, it stabbed straight into the man’s forehead.

The man saw this and scoffed, “It’s just a trifle.”

As he spoke, he slightly opened his right hand, using his spiritual energy to form a shield to intercept the attack. With his other hand, he raised a small tripod, muttering a long string of obscure spells. The small tripod hovered in the air, transforming into a giant tripod six feet high. Strange-looking insects began to crawl slowly out of the mouth of the tripod.

Xi Meng hated these bugs the most and quickly shouted to Wen Xi, “A Xi, quickly burn these disgusting bugs with fire!”

“Um,” Wen Xi replied, taking a moment to respond. She then flew forward on tiptoe, grasping the fire sword. At the same time, she divided her focus and condensed a ball of fire, throwing it into the giant cauldron.

As soon as the flames touched the bugs inside, they immediately swelled as if plunged into a frying pan, greedily devouring more as they grew.

Before the man could feel distressed, Wen Xi had already arrived in front of him.

After all, he was an old fellow who had reached the half-step transformation into a god. Even though his cultivation was suppressed, he still had many magical instruments at his disposal. He immediately summoned another skull bracelet, commanding, “Go.”

The bracelet, composed of one hundred and eight skulls, automatically separated and surrounded Wen Xi, forming a small magic array.

Although Xi Meng didn’t take action, she kept a close eye on Wen Xi’s condition. She felt a moment of nervousness when the skulls appeared, but she quickly calmed down.

With her Jin Ling around, this kind of trick wouldn’t pose a problem.

Wen Xi, on the other hand, was indeed unfazed. No matter what whispered in her ears or what she saw before her, they were all mere illusions.

With determination in her eyes, she pierced a skull in the upper left corner with her sword, then turned the sword around and flew upward.

The sword split into two in the air, transforming into a mighty fire dragon. The two dragons moved in unison, one on the left and one on the right, attacking the man from both sides.

The man resisted while glancing at the onlookers.

Although he didn’t know how the other party had become involved with the immortal cultivator in front of him, it didn’t stop him from creating trouble for her.

“You don’t know who that person behind you is, do you? She’s a demon cultivator, approaching you…”

“I know,” Wen Xi interjected, her sword continuing its relentless assault.

The man pressed on, “Oh, you know she’s a demon cultivator. Did she tell you her identity? Have you seen her true face? Do you know her purpose for approaching you?”

“Too much nonsense,” Wen Xi replied, her frown deepening as her attacks intensified.

“Whether it’s nonsense or good advice, you should consider it. Does she really have no problems?”

The man spoke seductive words in an attempt to distract his opponent. At the same time, he kept an eye on Xi Meng’s movements. Just as he anticipated her next move, he pretended to strike and threw out an explosive flame bead.

The explosive power of the flaming bead was so great that Wen Xi and Xi Meng had to dodge. When they looked again after the explosion, the man and Zhu Liao on the ground had vanished.

“A coward who only knows how to run away,” Xi Meng spat.

Wen Xi frowned, examining the traces left around them. She raised her sword, wanting to pursue, but Xi Meng held her back. “Forget it, don’t chase him for now. You won’t find him.”

Aside from anything else, this ugly guy was truly adept at escaping.

Wen Xi had no doubts when she heard this. She extinguished the fire sword in her hand, nodding in agreement. “Okay.”

Seeing Wen Xi’s nonchalant demeanor, which she often wore, Xi Meng couldn’t help but ponder this time.

After hesitating for a moment, she finally asked, “Aren’t you going to ask me?”

“What do you want to ask?” Wen Xi replied, puzzled.

“Ask…” Xi Meng sighed, her tone somewhat helpless. “Ask me why I know so much? What did that person just say mean? Did I lie to you? Anyway, you can ask whatever you want to know.”

“Oh.” Wen Xi realized and asked, “Then did you know that demon cultivator before? Did he bully you?”

“I guess I know him. His name is Shuang Qishui, and he’s a disgusting bug. As for bullying me, he was attracted by my face when we first met and wanted to take me in as a concubine, so I guess I know him.”

Of course, the result was that she had her guards beat him half to death. Later, when her cultivation level improved, she personally dealt with the ugly guy so thoroughly that he didn’t even recognize his own father.

“Calculate,” Wen Xi said, pinching out the flame emanating from her palm, regretting that she had been too gentle just now.

Xi Meng waited for a while but heard no response, asking curiously, “Anything else?”

“No more.” After saying that, fearing the other party would overthink, she explained, “I believe you. Even if you are hiding something from me, you must have your own difficulties. I don’t want to force you, and I don’t want to embarrass you.”

“You really are a fool,” Xi Meng said disdainfully. “What if I say that I really have bad intentions and deliberately approached you?”

Wen Xi shook her head firmly. “You are not. You haven’t taken anything from me during this journey together. On the contrary, I have benefited a lot. Besides, there’s nothing in me worth others’ efforts to deceive.”

“Why not?” Xi Meng stared at her face and asked, “Can’t I just covet your beauty?”

“Do you want to be my Taoist partner?” Wen Xi asked directly.

“…”

Faced with Wen Xi’s pure and clear eyes, Xi Meng suddenly found herself unable to say “one time in love.” After all, her attitude toward life was to enjoy it while she could, but she didn’t plan to tie herself down for the rest of her life at such a young age.

Before she could think of what to say, Wen Xi added, “I’m sorry, I practice the ruthless way; I’m afraid I can’t respond to your feelings.”

Really.

Xi Meng breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

She raised her eyes to glance at the person opposite her, her mind shifting slightly, and then lowered her gaze, whispering, “I knew it all along, and I didn’t dare to ask for too much. As long as I can be with you like this and see you all the time, I will be satisfied.”

Wen Xi looked at the forbearance and deep affection in her eyes, stunned. “You…”

She should have decisively persuaded the other party to give up, but the person in front of her spoke so humbly that, for a moment, she felt a little at a loss.

“Feel sorry.”

In the end, Wen Xi could only say this.

Wen Xi was confused, suddenly realizing that Xi Meng loved her deeply. She didn’t care about Shuang Qishui’s provocation. The two of them fell into silence for a while, and then Xi Meng opened the formation, releasing the demon cultivator who had been tortured within.
Of the fourteen people, three were poisoned to death, leaving eleven still alive.

Xi Meng glanced at the people on the ground and asked, “What should we do with these people? Kill them all?”

“No, please, don’t kill me…”

Wen Xi and Xi Meng looked over when they heard the sound and saw a man in blue in the crowd, holding his breath and slowly raising his head. His face was covered with bloodstains and swelling, making it almost unrecognizable, and his body was also stained red with blood.

Even so, one could still see the great desire for life sprouting in his eyes, which were only slightly slit.

“Don’t kill me, please,” he pleaded, blood oozing from the corners of his mouth. “I haven’t killed anyone, nor have I done anything evil. Please, don’t kill me.”

Wen Xi really didn’t see too much cause and effect in him. She was not a person who killed indiscriminately, so she would not kill this man again. Instead, she admired his tenacity.

She raised her hand and threw a bottle of pills to the man, asking him to heal his wounds. “Medicine for injuries.”

Xi Meng looked at her with some surprise and said nothing.

Seeing this, the remaining people all had hope in their eyes and immediately begged for mercy. “Fairy, I was wrong, please spare my life…”

Just when Xi Meng thought Wen Xi was going to be soft-hearted again, Wen Xi suddenly released several sword energies, and instantly four or five people lost their breath. Even for those who were still alive, Wen Xi did not give them elixirs as she had done before, but just asked them to leave after questioning them.

Xi Meng suddenly couldn’t understand her. People said she was soft-hearted, but she was decisive in killing people. People said she was cruel, but she let these people go.

Seeing the confusion in her eyes, Wen Xi took the initiative to explain, “When I was young, I learned some fortune-telling techniques in Tianji Pavilion, and I can see some causes and effects clearly.”

As for calculating the cause and effect, all cultivators know a little bit, but that is just the surface. The only ones who can really see through the secrets of heaven are the crazy people in the Tianji Pavilion. They can not only calculate the secrets of heaven but also see through the cause and effect of good and evil carried by a person.

Wen Xi had learned this?

Then what about me…

Xi Meng suddenly couldn’t think any further.