Before today, Fu Yan had never once imagined she would see a cute little girl grab a crocodile by the tail and whirl it through the air. So when she witnessed it with her own eyes, even someone as calm and self-possessed as her couldn’t help being utterly stunned.
She felt like her delicate heart had been deeply scarred. Weren’t lolis supposed to be adorable and soft? How had this one picked up the wrong script?
Maybe Tong Zhen’s move was just too shocking. It wasn’t only Fu Yan on the shore who was frozen; even the saber-toothed giant crocodiles all over the lake seemed dumbfounded, as if they’d forgotten to attack the figure still standing on the water’s surface.
So in no time, Tong Zhen just strolled leisurely across the surface of the lake. Seeing how relaxed she looked, Fu Yan wouldn’t have been surprised if the girl reached into her sleeve and pulled out a drumstick to chew on at any moment.
Fortunately, Tong Zhen still made it safely to the shore.
Just as she started walking toward Fu Yan, Fu Yan had only just snapped out of her shock when a loud bang suddenly rang out behind them.
Both of them instinctively turned their heads.
The saber-toothed giant crocodile that Tong Zhen had flung onto the tree branch earlier had somehow struggled free and tumbled down, crashing solidly into the ground.
Luckily, its hide and flesh were thick and tough, so it didn’t actually suffer any real damage. But the instant it felt Tong Zhen’s gaze land on it again, it bolted headfirst straight back into the lake and never stuck its head out again.
Fu Yan was silent for a moment.
The body might be fine, but that mental trauma was for life, she thought.
She suddenly felt a bit sorry for the poor crocodile.
“Senior Sister Fu, your lightness skill is amazing. You crossed the lake in the blink of an eye.”
Tong Zhen, completely unconcerned about the crocodile’s psychological scars, looked up at Fu Yan with open admiration.
The scene from just now flashed through Fu Yan’s mind again. If she didn’t completely believe that Tong Zhen’s praise was sincere, she would have suspected the girl was mocking her on purpose.
“Ahem.”
Fu Yan coughed lightly in embarrassment and steadied herself. Only then did she look at Tong Zhen and say,
“Junior Sister Tong… your strength is quite impressive as well.”
When Tong Zhen had tossed that saber-toothed giant crocodile, Fu Yan had not sensed even a trace of spiritual power or true essence. Which meant Tong Zhen had done it with nothing but raw physical strength.
That was honestly a little terrifying.
“Hehe.”
Being praised like that, Tong Zhen rubbed her head, looking embarrassed.
“I just have a bit more strength than most people. My actual cultivation is terrible.”
Hearing that, Fu Yan had the urge to grab her and shake some sense into her.
You call that just “a bit” more strength?
Under normal circumstances, a cultivator’s physical strength had its limits. Even if you practiced a high-grade body refinement technique, it rarely got this exaggerated. Of course, the world was big, and there was never a shortage of freaks.
Tong Zhen was a living, breathing example.
Her cultivation was only at the early Aperture Opening stage, and her overall combat ability was basically half-baked. But just judging from her body alone, Fu Yan felt that if she really had to fight Tong Zhen head-on, it wouldn’t be easy to win.
“It’s fine.”
Fu Yan gave an awkward little smile, then said directly,
“Let’s keep going with the trial.”
Tong Zhen nodded quickly.
“Okay.”
The two of them headed deeper into the forest. As the giant crocodile lake behind them grew more and more distant, Fu Yan knew that the second stage was about to begin.
Earlier she’d still been a little worried about Tong Zhen, but now all her concerns were gone. As long as they didn’t run into a third- or fourth-rank demonic beast, Tong Zhen’s body alone had nothing to fear.
She didn’t know how long they walked before Fu Yan suddenly sensed something was off around them. Her brows furrowed slightly and she came to an abrupt stop.
“What’s wrong, Senior Sister Fu?”
Tong Zhen, who hadn’t noticed anything amiss, saw Fu Yan stop and couldn’t help asking in confusion.
“Shh.”
Fu Yan made a gesture for silence, then signaled,
“Do you hear something?”
Tong Zhen didn’t doubt her. She stopped at once and focused all her attention on listening. The vast forest fell back into silence—but it was a kind of silence that felt faintly sinister.
Rustle, rustle…
It sounded like something was sliding through the grass. The faint sound brushed right along your nerves, making your body tense up on its own.
“Could it be a snake-type demonic beast?” Tong Zhen ventured, glancing at Fu Yan.
Fu Yan still didn’t reply. That faint sliding noise did sound like a snake crawling, but something about it didn’t feel right to her.
The next instant, her tightly knitted brows flew up and her eyes widened. She shot out a hand and shoved Tong Zhen to the side, her own body twisting and dropping the other way.
In that split second, a green vine shot straight past where they’d just been standing. If Fu Yan hadn’t reacted in time, the two of them might have been skewered like kebabs.
The sudden ambush startled Tong Zhen as well. As soon as she recovered, she reached out and grabbed the vine—then yanked.
The green vine tore cleanly in half in her hands.
Fu Yan fell silent again.
Fine. Stay calm.
“Run.”
Fu Yan knew there was no way only one vine was lurking here. She didn’t have time to think too much. She grabbed Tong Zhen and sprinted forward.
Sure enough, in the next heartbeat, countless green vines shot out of the trees like arrows, lashing toward the two of them and trying to block their path.
Realizing they couldn’t outrun them, Fu Yan let go of Tong Zhen’s hand and tightened her grip on her Linglong Broken Sword, preparing to fight these vines head-on.
“Be careful on your own.”
With that, she charged straight in with her sword.
In an instant, sword light flashed through the forest. Segments of vine fell like rain, chopped apart and scattered across the ground. But no matter how fierce Fu Yan’s swordwork was, she couldn’t keep up with the sheer number of vines.
In the middle of a roll, a vine suddenly wrapped around her ankle. It gave her no time to react and instantly coiled up her limbs.
In just one breath, Fu Yan realized she couldn’t move at all. The Linglong Broken Sword slipped from her fingers.
Very quickly, thick clusters of vines wound tightly around her. She couldn’t even see the light outside anymore, completely mummified in green.
“…Senior Sister Fu, are you okay?”
Seeing this, Tong Zhen grew anxious.
Her own situation was much better than Fu Yan’s. There might have been a lot of vines, but they were no match for her brute strength. The instant they tried to bind her, she simply snapped them apart.
Not hearing any response from Fu Yan, Tong Zhen grew even more worried. If Fu Yan’s hands and feet were bound so tightly, she probably wouldn’t even be able to crush the jade bead the elder had given them to forfeit the trial.
Thinking of that, Tong Zhen could only inch her way carefully toward Fu Yan’s direction.
Inside the darkness, Fu Yan couldn’t see a trace of light, nor could she hear a single sound. It was like the whole world had vanished, leaving only herself.
Illusory Sword… illusion and reality… everything around is but phantasm… with the sword there is no sword…
Like a drop of water falling into a still pond.
In the darkness, Fu Yan suddenly opened her eyes.
“Linglong Sword!”
The Linglong Broken Sword on the ground, already buried under a layer of green vines, suddenly surged up as if responding to a summons. It shot free and landed neatly in Fu Yan’s hand.
A faint smile curved Fu Yan’s lips.
“Illusory Sword, Second Form—Phantom Shape.”
With her low shout, Tong Zhen saw sword light explode within the mass of green vines. In that instant, even the air seemed to turn into countless blades, chopping down on every vine around.
A flash of white light.
The tightly bound cocoon of vines burst apart, and Fu Yan stepped free, landing steadily on the ground not far in front of Tong Zhen.
All around them, severed vines crashed down in a torrent.
Tong Zhen’s face lit up in relief at seeing Fu Yan unharmed, but before she could even voice her joy, the world suddenly went dark. It felt like something had snapped its jaws over her and swallowed her whole.
Fu Yan had just started to turn when she saw Tong Zhen get gulped down in one bite by an enormous man-eating flower that had appeared from who-knew-where.
Fu Yan was silent yet again.
