“Qu Wu, come here.”
The moment Qu Wu’s aura leaked out, the voice of the Chi Di Demon Lord followed.
Qu Wu shuddered.
He knew just how much the Demon Lord valued the Dao Comprehension Fruit.
Now that he’d failed and let it fall into the hands of the righteous side’s Jun Xinyun, the Chi Di Demon Lord, unable to defeat that one, would definitely take his anger out on him.
Of course, as a cultivator at the Integration stage, the Demon Lord wouldn’t openly turn on him, but Qu Wu knew Chi Di’s personality well enough—he’d make sure Qu Wu suffered in secret from now on.
What a headache… Surrounded by people who wanted him dead, Qu Wu had faced all kinds of danger in his life, but this was the first time he’d been targeted by two Tribulation Crossing cultivators at once.
He decided that as soon as he muddled through this with the Chi Di Demon Lord, he’d go into seclusion somewhere no one could find him and stay there until that righteous cultivator ascended.
As for the Chi Di Demon Lord… Maybe he’d just stick to the original plan and pin the blame on the Ji Hun Demon Lord.
Chi Di had wanted to deal with Ji Hun for a while anyway, so if a fight broke out now, it’d be perfect—he could use the chaos to slip away.
Qu Wu’s head throbbed.
He’d always considered the Chi Di Demon Lord his top threat, and hadn’t paid much attention to Xinyun, thinking she wouldn’t come after him so quickly—or maybe he’d underestimated her determination to kill him.
After all, if a Tribulation Crossing cultivator really wanted someone dead, hiding was useless.
Xinyun kept a wisp of Qu Wu’s remnant soul, severed its connection to his main body, and locked it in a specially made cage.
Once she refined it into a tracking artifact, that man would have nowhere left to hide.
“Crack…” Xinyun heard a faint sound.
She looked up to see a crack appear in the sky above the secret realm.
The secret realm was collapsing.
So that’s how it was—the Dao Comprehension Fruit was the foundation of this secret realm’s existence.
Now that it was gone, the realm had lost its purpose.
Xinyun could already feel the space rejecting her.
A moment later, the Foundation Establishment cultivators who’d reached the realm’s upper limit were the first to be expelled.
Xinyun’s vision blurred, and the next second she found herself outside.
Except for her, who knew the truth, everyone else looked completely bewildered when they were thrown out.
The demonic cultivators, especially those who’d made big gains inside, hadn’t even had time to hide their aura before being exposed.
The demonic energy rolling off them basically announced their identity to everyone.
They froze.
The people outside froze too.
But the elder from Jing Dao Sect, who’d already gotten word about demonic cultivators sneaking in, reacted first—he grabbed the still-confused demonic cultivators in a flash.
“Everyone, I’ve received word—demonic cultivators have infiltrated the secret realm! Don’t let a single one escape!”
“There are demonic cultivators?!”
“How did demonic cultivators get in here?”
The crowd outside erupted into chaos.
Who would’ve thought the demon clan, quiet for hundreds of years, would suddenly sneak into a minor secret realm? There were not just rogue cultivators inside, but also rising stars from various sects, including some elders’ personal disciples.
Why had so many demonic cultivators shown up? Was it to kidnap or kill the top disciples of the major sects?
One after another, people were teleported out.
Xinyun watched the farcical scene outside.
None of the remaining demonic cultivators were as strong as Qu Wu; most were below Nascent Soul and couldn’t stir up much trouble.
With the sect elders present, it was enough to leave them to it.
“What’s going on?” Zhi Chang’an and Li Youxi were both dumbfounded when they were teleported out.
It clearly wasn’t time yet!
Xinyun waited a moment, her cold eyes suddenly lighting up as she strode over.
“Jiayin, are you alright?”
Xinyun sensed that Wen Jiayin’s aura had already broken through to Foundation Establishment, and her eyes softened with relief.
Her A-Yin had only been a step away from breaking through, and the Dao Comprehension Fruit had come at just the right time.
“I—I’m fine… What happened? Why did we come out early? Your hand is bleeding!” Wen Jiayin cried out, grabbing Xinyun’s hand.
The cut was deep and hadn’t been treated at all—it looked pretty shocking.
Wen Jiayin hurried to take out medicine and apply it, guilt welling up inside.
They’d teamed up, but she and the others hadn’t been able to help, leaving Hansu to face all the enemies alone.
“Are you hurt anywhere else? Any internal injuries? Don’t lie to me!”
Xinyun opened her mouth, then gave a helpless smile.
Qu Wu hadn’t been able to hurt her—this wound was self-inflicted.
To stop Qu Wu from chasing after A-Yin, she’d shattered her zither to pull out the sword hidden inside.
The zither had been a gift from a friend, made from phoenix-nirvana parasol wood and strung with flood dragon tendons.
The wound on her hand was from the broken strings and wood.
“No other injuries.
Don’t worry,” Xinyun said.
But as soon as she finished, a warm hand pressed to her face.
Xinyun looked at Wen Jiayin in surprise.
“Your complexion’s off!” Wen Jiayin frowned.
Hansu’s skin was always fair, but in a healthy way.
Now she looked sickly pale, her lips drained of color.
There was no way Wen Jiayin would believe she was fine.
“It’s… nothing, really.
Just that the zither was destroyed, so I’m a bit affected.”
Only then did Wen Jiayin notice the zither Xinyun had been holding was gone, replaced by a sword.
“I practice both zither and sword,” Xinyun added quietly, feeling a little guilty for deceiving Wen Jiayin.
“I’ll find you an even better zither next time!” She’d helped them, blocked the demonic cultivators, gotten hurt, and lost her artifact, yet received nothing in return.
Wen Jiayin felt terrible about it.
For this favor alone, she was determined to find Hansu a better artifact.
“No need.
I may have lost a zither, but I found the demonic cultivator I was looking for.
It was worth it.”
“No way, I insist! When I find a good zither artifact, you have to accept it, Hansu, or I’ll be too embarrassed to be your friend! You’ve helped me so much—at least let me do something for you!” Wen Jiayin shook Xinyun’s hand.
“Just say yes~”
Xinyun could never resist Wen Jiayin’s wheedling.
After being pestered for a while, she surrendered and promised she’d accept it.
“We were all worried sick about you! And here you are flirting?” Li Youxi, who was never one for tact, blurted out the truth as soon as she ran over.
“W-what flirting? If you can’t talk properly, don’t talk at all!” Wen Jiayin bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
“Don’t listen to her, Hansu, she just can’t keep her mouth shut!”
A faint, secretive smile tugged at Xinyun’s lips.
This kid Li Youxi was sometimes way too sharp.
But the next second, her smile vanished as a small figure suddenly darted out and threw herself into Wen Jiayin’s arms.
“Waaah…” Zhi Chang’an clung to Wen Jiayin, sobbing—she’d been terrified.
“Don’t be scared, Chang’an, I’m fine!” Wen Jiayin shot Li Youxi a glare, then patted the crying child’s head.
“Tch.” Li Youxi looked away, but accidentally caught a glimpse of someone’s cold gaze fixed on Zhi Chang’an.
The chill made her break out in goosebumps.
“You…” Li Youxi thought this Bai girl was weird.
Trusting her instincts, she stepped forward to block her view of Zhi Chang’an.
Xinyun glanced at Li Youxi, watching her nearly bristle with nerves before finally saying, “Now that the secret realm’s over, you’ll be heading back to your sects.
Looks like this is goodbye.”
All good things must end.
Though Wen Jiayin was reluctant, she could only say, “Where do you live, Hansu? I’ll come find you when I have time!”
“I’m just a rogue cultivator, no fixed address.
If you want to find me, just leave a message at… Wanjige.
I’ll let them know, and they’ll get the message to me right away.
I’ll come find you.”
Wanjige—the information and trading hub of the cultivation world, with branches everywhere.
All sorts of gossip and rumors came out of there, like the various rankings.
Ever since she’d learned her Master was only ranked second on the beauty list, Wen Jiayin had stopped trusting Wanjige’s authority.
Wen Jiayin frowned.
“Are they reliable?”
Xinyun’s expression softened.
“If Wanjige heard you doubted their ability to deliver messages, they’d probably come knocking to argue with you.”
“Well, they shouldn’t spread false rumors! No wonder their reputation’s slipping!” Wen Jiayin said righteously.
“Just don’t say that inside Wanjige, or they’ll throw you out.” Xinyun could tell—Wanjige must’ve offended her precious A-Yin somehow.
She didn’t know what happened, but if it made her good-tempered A-Yin mad, it was definitely Wanjige’s fault.
It wasn’t until one day, when Xinyun overheard sect disciples talking about the beauty rankings being updated—she’d moved up to first place, and Yan Shuzi, the so-called know-it-all, had been beaten up, and then the Wanjige master came to demand compensation—that she realized Wen Jiayin’s anger that day had actually been for her.
Xinyun didn’t care about those silly rankings, but she cared about Wen Jiayin’s feelings.
Nothing made her happier than A-Yin’s favoritism, so she was extra generous when sending the Wanjige master away.
“Of course I wouldn’t be dumb enough to say it to their faces.
If they ganged up on me, I’d be in trouble.” Wen Jiayin winked playfully at Xinyun.
She’d only ever ambush them from behind!
“…Jiayin, let’s go.
The elder’s calling us.” Zhi Chang’an glared “fiercely” at Xinyun.
She’d thought she’d never see this woman again after leaving the secret realm, but she was so scheming! No way could she let this suspicious person trick Jiayin.
Xinyun met Zhi Chang’an’s glare.
Her expression didn’t change, but it made the other girl bristle all over.
“Jiayin! She’s bullying me!” Zhi Chang’an turned away, trying to tattle.
Wen Jiayin didn’t mind.
“Hansu’s just a bit cold by nature, she’s not bullying you, silly.
Be good~” She patted Zhi Chang’an’s head, and the little one, half-placated, nearly started crying again.
Jiayin was completely blinded by this bad woman—her own place in Jiayin’s heart was definitely going to be stolen!
Author’s note:
Mini-theater:
The Wanjige master stormed up to Jing Dao Sect’s Lingjian Peak, showing off his disciple’s swollen, pig-like face and the smashed branch office, complaining to Xinyun and demanding she discipline her disciple.
After sending the Wanjige master away, Xinyun found Wen Jiayin, who was waiting obediently for punishment, and asked what had happened.
Wen Jiayin admitted she knew she was wrong, but she’d do it again next time.
Wen Jiayin, who was sulking and waiting to be punished, really did get “punished”—she was “punished” with a quick, butterfly-light kiss.
The dismissed head of the Wanjige Pavilion: Human joys and sorrows are never truly shared.
