Chapter 31: Traveling Together to the Secret Realm

In San Shui Town,

Su Jiu met with a few friends from her last trip to the Half-Moon Secret Realm.

“Daoist Su!”

“Daoist Luo, Daoist Zhao!”

Su Jiu looked at the man and woman in front of her, raised her hand in greeting, and smiled.

Luo Ming and Zhao Ning were a couple she had met in a nearby village during her last trip down the mountain to exterminate demons. Both were late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. After they had just separated from dealing with the demon queen in that village, they met again in the Half-Moon Secret Realm and exchanged contact information.

Zhao Ning walked around Su Jiu in surprise, saying, “Oh? Didn’t you say last time that you would be with the person you like after returning? What happened…”

Su Jiu was taken aback, then quickly realized.

When she received the poison of the Three-Day Beauty, she thought that once she and Shen Wangchen became a couple, he would definitely marry her. Therefore, she hadn’t hidden this from them and even joked about inviting them to her wedding.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, she said, “Oh, I just said that casually…”

Zhao Ning hooked her arm and whispered, “What? Is your little lover unwilling to marry you?”

“What little lover?” Su Jiu’s cheeks flushed, unable to suppress her annoyance as she said, “Daoist Zhao, I just said that casually. I don’t have anyone I like; I’m focused only on my cultivation, okay? Don’t say such things.”

Zhao Ning smiled, releasing her, “Alright, it seems our Daoist Su’s love journey is still a bit bumpy, so I won’t say more.”

Luo Ming was quiet, and seeing Zhao Ning finish speaking with Su Jiu, he stepped forward and asked, “You sent us a message saying you wanted to go to the Half-Moon Secret Realm again. Is there a reason?”

Su Jiu naturally couldn’t reveal the poison of the Three-Day Beauty, but she had already thought of an excuse.

“After I returned last time, I realized that I seemed to have been poisoned. The elders in the sect said it was likely from the Half-Moon Secret Realm, so I thought I would go again to see if I could find any clues.”

“Poisoned?”

Zhao Ning was startled and quickly grabbed her wrist. After a while, her expression turned serious as she said, “Your spiritual energy is obstructed, and your meridians are damaged.”

Su Jiu nodded helplessly, “Yes.”

The reason she dared to tell them about her inability to use spiritual power was because she was confident in their characters.

Luo Ming was taciturn but righteous.

Zhao Ning loved gossip but was also a person of chivalry. The couple was a rare breed of just people, so Su Jiu felt at ease with them.

“Of course, I’m not asking you to accompany me for free. I…” Su Jiu hadn’t finished her sentence when Zhao Ning interrupted.

“Stop! Don’t mention any rewards. Last time in Qiansi Cave, you saved both of us. It’s only right that we accompany you on this trip.”

Luo Ming said nothing but nodded in agreement.

The three quickly made plans to leave San Shui Town before dark.

**Lingmiao Sect.**

“Qianxue, you’re daydreaming again.”

A gentle and ethereal voice came from a woman in white sitting at the table. She turned her head to look at the man in a purple robe, a hint of melancholy crossing her brow.

Cang Qianxue snapped back to attention, feeling a bit apologetic, “I’m sorry.”

Night had fallen, and he was worried about Su Jiu being alone; he wondered if she would encounter any danger.

Miao Miao could easily see the worry in Cang Qianxue’s eyes, and because she noticed it, she let out a soft sigh.

“I know you came to see me for a reason, so why beat around the bush?” She smiled and said, “Let me see the pill formula.”

Cang Qianxue didn’t speak about it, and naturally, she didn’t ask more.

After a moment, after looking at the damaged pill formula, Miao Miao pursed her lips and fell silent in thought.

“This formula looks somewhat familiar, but it’s been so long that I can’t recall clearly,” Miao Miao said sincerely. “Give me a few more days to think about where I might have seen it.”

It was already quite a hassle to come to Miao Miao, and Cang Qianxue naturally couldn’t say more.

“Then I’ll trouble you.”

Cang Qianxue raised his hand to bow, but the woman stopped him with her hand.

“No need,” Miao Miao said with a soft smile, though a trace of sorrow still lingered on her face as her gaze landed on Cang Qianxue’s features, her voice low and filled with melancholy.

“Qianxue, do you remember the divination that the national master of Xue Xiangguo did for you back then?”

Cang Qianxue was slightly taken aback.

“Of course.” He paused and forced a somewhat unnatural smile. “It’s been a thousand years; that national master may have reincarnated a hundred times. Why are you suddenly bringing this up?”

Miao Miao looked at him, her tone light yet tinged with helplessness. “You said back then that you didn’t believe his words, yet you still gave up the supreme throne of the Jiuzhou and stepped onto the path of immortality. For hundreds of years, you’ve traveled the world just to find the destined person he spoke of. Have you found them now?”

Cang Qianxue lowered his gaze and remained silent.

He didn’t know whether he had found that person.

The national master had once divined for the newly ascended emperor, saying that in this life, he was destined to fall in love with someone who did not exist, did not belong to him, and whom he could not attain.

At that time, Cang Qianxue found it laughable; he did not believe it.

He was the emperor who held the Jiuzhou, with mountains and rivers stretching for thousands of miles, and millions of commoners under his command.

Cang Qianxue could not believe that there was any woman in this world he could not have.

But later, after many twists and turns, he still stepped onto the path of immortality because of that prophecy. Over the past few hundred years, he had traveled through the Three Realms, met many people, and experienced many things, yet he had never found that person.

Shen Wangchen once commented on that national master, calling him a fraud.

Cang Qianxue thought the same.

But now, he was somewhat uncertain.

He remained silent for a long time before finally shaking his head.

Seeing this, Miao Miao’s furrowed brow, which had been clouded with worry, slowly relaxed, revealing a faint smile.

“That’s good.”

As long as he hadn’t found that person, she would have a chance to stay by his side.

“It’s getting late,” Miao Miao stood up and said. “I’ll have my disciples take you to rest. I’ll go review some scrolls; perhaps I can find a result sooner.”

She turned and walked away slowly. As she reached the door, she paused, glanced back, and saw Cang Qianxue resting his chin on his hand, seemingly worried about something, not looking at her.

The Half-Moon Secret Realm opened at midnight. Su Jiu, Luo Ming, and Zhao Ning followed the same route they took last time, and by dawn, they had covered nearly half the distance.

“Let’s take a break here,” Su Jiu, now without spiritual power, felt just like an ordinary person. Zhao Ning noticed her fatigue and suggested proactively.

“Ah Ming, go hunt a few spirit beasts for us to replenish our energy.”

Luo Ming always complied with Zhao Ning’s requests. As soon as she spoke, he agreed and turned to leave, looking a bit like a loyal servant, which made Su Jiu envious.

Seeing her expression, Zhao Ning sat down next to her and grinned, “What’s wrong? Are you jealous? If you are, just find one for yourself. In the future, you can let him handle all the chores while you just look pretty. Isn’t that wonderful?”

Su Jiu shrank her neck, pretending to be scared. “It’s just that you, Zhao Ning, are skilled at taming men. I wouldn’t dare.”

Letting Shen Wangchen handle chores would be like bringing a lantern to the toilet—inviting disaster.

Zhao Ning looked at her, exasperated. “You need to have some ambition! Or is it that your crush has a high status, and you’re afraid to boss him around? Su Jiu, Daoist Su, what’s going on between you and your crush? Didn’t you swear last time that you would definitely win him over this time? What happened? Did something go wrong?”

Su Jiu sighed with a bitter smile. “Sister Zhao Ning, please don’t ask me about that anymore. There’s really no possibility between me and him now.”

Before awakening her consciousness, she still had some feelings for Shen Wangchen.

Now that she was aware, knowing that Shen Wangchen was the protagonist of this world, if she still had feelings for him, she would truly be living a pointless life.

Zhao Ning wanted to ask again, but suddenly Su Jiu grabbed her wrist.

“By the way, where did I say that to you?” Su Jiu suddenly remembered. Since she could say that to Zhao Ning, it must mean that before this, she had acquired the Three-Day Youthful Vitality and already knew its purpose. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have confidently proclaimed that she would surely win over Shen Wangchen.

Strangely, many of the events that transpired in the Half-Moon Secret Realm were now unclear to her.

Everything felt vague, like a dream.

In fact, she couldn’t even remember how she knew about the Three-Day Youthful Vitality poison in the Half-Moon Secret Realm.

Everything was truly puzzling.