Chapter 8: Secret Realm

Since she had decided to help, Xi Meng no longer kept her secrets: “Although I am not completely sure how many formations he has stacked, I can prepare some things in advance. But you also know that I don’t have anything in my hands right now…”

As soon as Xi Meng said this, Wen Xi understood instantly. Without waiting for her to finish, she took off the storage bag from her waist and threw it to her: “Just take whatever you need.”

Xi Meng: “…”

“What?” Wen Xi thought for a moment and finally remembered that there was her spiritual consciousness on the storage bag. With Xi Meng’s strength, she might not be able to open it by herself, so she raised her hand to wipe it off, “It should be okay now.”

Xi Meng didn’t know how to comment on her behavior, so she said, “That’s not what I meant.”

She always felt like this girl was acting more and more foolish. What’s going on?

Perhaps this is the unique temperament of a sword cultivator?

Xi Meng thought back to all the foolish people she had met in the past and immediately agreed with them.

She adapted very quickly and said, “Okay, I can only simply sacrifice a few formation flags now; there aren’t many things needed.”

“As you said, given our relationship, you don’t need to be formal with me. Just take whatever you need. Even if you don’t need it, you can keep it for later.” Wen Xi always remembered the other party’s miserable appearance as she was so poor that she didn’t even let go of a weed.

Xi Meng glanced at her and said, “You are very generous.”

Things like storage bags can be given to you at any time.

Wen Xi said indifferently, “I still have these things in my cave. You have a hard time on weekdays…”

It turns out that she dislikes her being poor.

But,

Xi Meng glanced at the things in the storage bag: Snake Heart Water Lotus, fourth-grade elixir, seventh-level talisman… It could be seen that this was probably all her assets.

This girl is really not shy at all.

“You…” Xi Meng looked at Wen Xi and sighed helplessly. “Forget it. Remember, don’t trust others like this again in the future. You must know that people’s hearts are treacherous. What if someone deliberately pretends to be pitiful and innocent to deceive you?”

Wen Xi looked into Xi Meng’s eyes and asked, “Will you lie to me?”

Wen Xi’s eyes were transparent and clear, as if they had been washed by snow water, without a trace of dust.

When she stared at people, she always gave them the illusion that she was shining into their hearts, as if she could see through the whole person.

Xi Meng felt guilty for a moment and also had an inexplicable sense of guilt.

But she is a demon cultivator.

What does it have to do with the evil cultivator who is good at playing with people’s hearts?

Besides, this girl practiced the way of ruthlessness, and she clearly didn’t gain anything from her.

“What good would it be for me to lie to you?” Xi Meng smiled and asked. “Besides, you are so good to me; I would be a fool to lie to you. Why not curry favor with you? Wouldn’t I get more benefits?”

“I’m not trying to curry favor with you. We are friends.” Wen Xi now felt more comfortable saying the word “friend.”

Xi Meng’s lips curled up slightly. “Yes, we are friends. Since we are friends, will you listen to me or not?”

Wen Xi thought of the ‘joke’ she made last time and said cautiously, “It depends on what it is.”

“Don’t trust anyone else besides me in the future. Be more vigilant.”

In fact, Xi Meng wanted to say that it would be better not to even trust her.

Wen Xi nodded and said, “I’m not stupid.”

As she spoke, she kept looking at Xi Meng with her calm eyes.

Xi Meng didn’t know whether she had something to hide or something else, but she always felt that the other person’s words were suggestive, and the guilty conscience that she had just brushed away came back to her again.

The more she spoke, the more mistakes she made. Xi Meng simply kept silent and lowered her head to pick out useful spiritual plants and animal bones.

Wen Xi was sitting opposite her and saw Xi Meng suddenly become quiet, thinking that she had said something wrong.

At first, she felt uncomfortable because the other party was paying attention to her all the time, but now that the other party was ignoring her, she seemed even more uncomfortable.

Seeing the other party taking out animal bones, spiritual wood, and other things, Wen Xi tried to strike up a conversation: “What are you going to do with these?”

“Make something to break the formation.” Xi Meng took out a small bowl and poured the monster blood she had collected earlier into it while explaining, “Unfortunately, I don’t have a fire spirit root, so I can only use the Earth Fire Chamber to sacrifice and refine formation tools. Now I don’t have the conditions outside, so I can only simply use the monster blood to draw some formation patterns and make do with it.”

Wen Xi nodded when she heard this and then asked, “Are you talking about the fire spirit root?”

“Well. In fact, refining formation flags is based on the same principle as refining equipment, so fire is also needed to refine formation plates or formation flags,” Xi Meng explained.

Wen Xi asked, “Are there others who can do this?”

“It would be fine if they listened to my instructions.” Xi Meng smiled bitterly. “But time is tight now, so there is no time to look for someone.”

Wen Xi took over her work of stirring and squeezing the juice from the spiritual plants and replied, “Me.”

“You?” Xi Meng suspected that she had heard it wrong. “Aren’t you an ice spirit root?”

“No.” Wen Xi shook her head, her face strange. “Why do you think I have ice spirit roots?”

Seeing this, Xi Meng lost confidence. “Well, this is what is written in the Beauty Mirror.”

When Wen Xi heard the words “Beauty Mirror” again, her mind unconsciously flashed back to the beautiful figure she saw on the flying boat that day.

It’s strange to say, it seems that since she entered this secret realm, except for the dream she had in the cave that day, she had never entered that strange dream again.

Wen Xi was distracted for a moment, then cleared her name and said, “I have only fire spiritual roots, not ice spiritual roots.”

The other party had already given her enough surprises, and Xi Meng didn’t think there was anything unacceptable about one more.

She picked out the last usable piece of animal skin and returned the storage bag to Wen Xi while curiously asking, “I’ve seen that those cultivators with fire spirit roots don’t like cold and wet places. Why do you like living on the snowy mountains?”

“It’s because of my physical condition,” Wen Xi said calmly.

Having said that, as it involved private matters, Xi Meng was very sensible and stopped there.

After going through the things she needed to do in her mind, she changed the subject: “Okay, since you have the fire spirit root, you can help me. I will have a better chance tomorrow.”

“That’s good.” Wen Xi’s eyes softened.

After everything was ready, Xi Meng told Wen Xi what she needed to do.

After Wen Xi understood, she performed the fire sacrifice while Xi Meng drew the magic array, and the two worked together to complete the production of the array flags.

Although it was the first time for the two to work together, they had a great understanding of each other. They only failed the first time, and then their cooperation went very smoothly.

After working hard for most of the night, they finally got a chance to rest as dawn approached.

After their energy was fully restored, the two of them quietly made their way to the entrance of Yanxin Valley.

Yesterday, because she was far away, Xi Meng couldn’t see clearly. Now, after careful observation, she found that the method of setting up the formation was more sophisticated than she had thought, so her plan naturally had to change accordingly.

“I’ve seen it, and the opponent is stronger than I thought. With my current strength, if I want to break the formation, I can only enter the formation and find the center of the formation first.”

Wen Xi frowned slightly when she heard this. “No, that would be very dangerous for you.”

“For a cultivator who defies fate, there is no place without danger,” Xi Meng said indifferently. “In fact, there is no need to go too deep. As long as we can break the hidden formation outside, the rest should be much easier.”

Wen Xi still disagreed, and after thinking for a while, she said, “Then you tell me how to break the formation, and I will do it.”

“It’s not impossible for you to go, but…” Xi Meng looked at her with doubt on her face. “Are you sure you can understand all the directions I tell you and know how to find the center of the formation? If the person controlling the formation finds out and changes it at will, can you adapt to the situation?”

“I cannot.”

Wen Xi was very self-aware and knew that what the other party said was true; she indeed had no talent in the art of formation.

“Don’t even think about breaking the formation by force?” Xi Meng observed her expression and added.

Although her thoughts were guessed, Wen Xi didn’t want to give up.

Seeing this, Xi Meng gently lifted the hair from her cheek and chuckled, “Alright, don’t think too much. I still have some ability to protect myself. If worst comes to worst, I still have you, right? I believe you will definitely protect me, right?”

Perhaps because she was thinking about other things, Wen Xi forgot to dodge for a moment.

Realizing that she took such a risk because of her, Wen Xi felt a little guilty in addition to being grateful, so she could only promise again, “Okay, I will definitely protect you.”

Xi Meng looked at her serious expression and curled her lips slightly. “Got it.”

Because things had changed slightly, Wen Xi and Xi Meng renegotiated and revised their plans.

Finally, the two of them entered the formation together, with Wen Xi carrying Xi Meng on her back. They tied themselves together with a breath-linking rope, allowing their auras to blend into one. In this way, even if the people who set up the formation noticed someone entering, they could not separate the two.

Half of the items in Wen Xi’s storage bag were given to her by Master Yuxuan, and the other half were stuffed in by Wen Xue.

This strange and bizarre item, the Breathing Rope, was given to her by Wen Xue.

She still remembered that when the other party gave her the rope, he said it could be used to fuse the auras of different people into one.

Wen Xi didn’t pay attention to the other person’s expression at that time, but she remembered the words.

But only when the rope was tied around her and Xi Meng did she truly understand what the other party meant by “the blending of breaths and becoming one.”

It’s more than just a fusion; it’s as if even the breath carries the scent of another person.

The cool moisture and the scorching fire blend perfectly together.

From this moment on, they were no longer two independent people, but a whole connected in mind and spirit.

Wen Xi and Xi Meng’s hearts trembled at the same time.

Wen Xi stammered, “I don’t know… this…”

Xi Meng tilted her head slightly, and after the initial panic, she accepted the situation faster than Wen Xi and was even somewhat happy to see it happen.

“It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

Xi Meng sniffed the scent on her neck; it was a familiar yet unfamiliar vapor, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.

After laughing, she deliberately leaned close to Wen Xi’s ear and whispered, “You smell like me.”

As a demon cultivator who can play with people’s hearts, her voice was naturally charming, and when she was sincere, her gentle and affectionate tone was irresistible.

Wen Xi’s usual calmness and composure vanished, replaced by panic and helplessness.

This feeling was too strange, and this emotion was too strong—dozens or hundreds of times stronger than the anger and shame she had felt toward Xi Meng before.

Even though she couldn’t see Xi Meng in this position, her mind couldn’t help but imagine all the expressions that should be on the other person’s face at that moment.

Her back, supporting the other person’s hand, was close to the other person’s face, and every part of her body felt hot.

Wen Xi thought that she was probably having an attack of fire poison again and that she would need to soak in the cold pond for ten days and ten nights to relieve it.

Unfortunately, there was no time and no conditions to detoxify herself now, so she could only try her best to restrain herself.

“I’m going in.” Wen Xi tried her best to ignore the abnormality in her body and said calmly.

Xi Meng looked at her expression, which had not changed at all, and frowned slightly. It was really useless that she did not react in such a situation.

After a moment of disappointment, Xi Meng quickly got used to it and replied, “Okay.”