Mystic Realm

Su Xuan's group of three walked straight into the mystic realm, only then discovering that it was a world unto itself.

It was like a fairyland.

The maple trees' verdant branches and leaves flourished thickly, swaying gently in the breeze as though reminiscing over their former glory.

Pristine white petals drifted slowly through the air like snowflakes. They were the tears of gods, seemingly recounting an old sorrow.

Su Xuan doubted his own eyes. This place was as beautiful as a fairyland.

Wood Spirit, however, felt his scalp prickle as cold sweat poured down his body. His spiritual senses were warning him!

Su Xuan understood then that the naked eye could not see the "truth" of this place.

Daojing Secret Technique—Transcendent Vision.

A clear radiance appeared in Su Xuan's pale golden eyes.

Su Xuan saw it: beneath the ancient trees, lush and emerald-green, lay the corpses of gods and demons; the flowers, delicate and vying in beauty, were nourished by blood rain transformed from the blood of gods and demons.

Restless souls clung to their bodies, making them seem both alluring and terrifying.

Cold sweat streamed down Su Xuan's face as well.

This damned place was filled with danger.

Meanwhile, Passerby A could no longer suppress his excitement.

His body trembled with exhilaration, and even his voice came out in broken fragments.

"Star Grass, Snow Lotus, Dragon Blood Tree... This place is practically heaven!"

Su Xuan frowned and turned to Wood Spirit. "Do medicinal herbs grown from the corpses of gods and demons have side effects?"

Wood Spirit shook his head. "No. But this place is practically a graveyard for gods and demons. Too many powerful beings died here. The resentment and Fierce Souls are terrifyingly numerous, and the herbs are all steeped in dense yin energy. Eating a little is fine, but if you consume too much, the yin energy will become too heavy and your body will definitely develop serious problems."

Su Xuan frowned. If that was the case, then these medicinal herbs would be useless.

"Can you deal with it?"

Wood Spirit looked at Su Xuan proudly and patted his chest. "Who do you think I am? I'm the Jianmu Spirit, a beloved child of heaven and earth. Would resolving this little bit of yin energy even be a problem?"

Su Xuan was pleasantly surprised. As expected of Jianmu—it was truly useful.

But then Wood Spirit's old habit flared up again. He looked at Su Xuan with haughty pride, his gaze brimming with ill intent.

Su Xuan sensed the intense malice.

He stared at Wood Spirit warily. "What are you planning?"

Wood Spirit chuckled and rubbed his hands together. "Well... you can't let me work for nothing, right?"

Su Xuan sighed. He had thought it would be something serious. "Go ahead. As long as it is within my ability, I can satisfy you. And on this continent, as the Saint Son of Spirit Hall, there is almost nothing I can't handle."

Su Xuan patted his chest with some pride.

Wood Spirit's eyes lit up. "You said it. Don't you dare go back on your word."

Su Xuan patted his chest again and declared proudly, "My friends call me the 'Honest and Dependable Young Gentleman.' Naturally, I would never break my word."

Wood Spirit gave an eerie smile. "Fine. Then I want to see you dress as a woman and dance—preferably in a maid outfit with black stockings!"

After saying that, Wood Spirit excitedly rubbed his hands together. Just thinking about it made him look forward to it. With such a handsome, delicate face, if Su Xuan wore women's clothes, a maid uniform, black stockings, and danced... even if he was a man, it would still work, right?

Su Xuan froze.

As the realization gradually sank in, his expression became extremely strange—half black with rage fit to burst his lungs, half red with embarrassed fury.

Su Xuan's voice was calm, but his expression had completely fallen apart.

"I should never have expected anything from you. I was wrong."

Wood Spirit anxiously said, "Hey, we agreed on this! Aren't you the 'Honest and Dependable Young Gentleman'? How can you go back on your word?"

For the first time, Su Xuan felt the urge to kill someone.

Someone like this was better off being killed directly, wasn't he?

Watching Su Xuan, who stood on the brink of going dark and seemed ready to explode into murder, Wood Spirit muttered under his breath, "Tch. In the era of your previous life, face-swapping technology was so advanced. Swapping your face onto a dancing blogger in a maid outfit and black stockings would be nothing. It was already merciful that they didn't photoshop you into the heroine of a 'Japanese young-blooded action film.'"

Su Xuan's face had returned to normal. Wearing a smile as gentle as a spring breeze, he asked Wood Spirit, "Say, Wood Spirit, if we replaced firewood with Jianmu when cooking fish soup, would it taste better? And if Jianmu were snapped in half at the waist and turned into lumber, just how many houses could it build?"

Cold sweat trickled down Wood Spirit's face. He forced a smile. "Of course not for the first question. As for the second, we can use mathematical formulas. After some simple calculations, we can naturally arrive at the answer."

"Oh, I see." Su Xuan nodded and smiled warmly. "But I think practice is still the best test of truth."

Wood Spirit retreated in terror. That chilling aura paired with that kind smile—help! This guy had probably snapped.

He was going to kill a tree! Kill a tree! Was the great Jianmu Spirit going to perish here today?

Su Xuan slowly approached him step by step, still wearing that gentle smile.

After signing a series of unequal treaties.

The Wood Spirit had finally, for the moment, doused Su Xuan's anger.

He still muttered under his breath, "It was just a maid outfit and black stockings for a dance. There wasn't any real loss, and it's not like you have to dance every time. Why get so angry?

"It's not like I asked you to wear it and 'fence' with me. Though I seem to be a tree.

"But I'd bet, based on my understanding of human nature, that the maid outfit and black stockings definitely hit this guy's weird X fetish. Damn it, he got embarrassed and angry himself, yet I had to bear the consequences.

"A tiger fallen to the plains is bullied by dogs. Even the great Jianmu Spirit has fallen this far."

The Wood Spirit shook his head dejectedly.

Su Xuan called out to the Wood Spirit, "What are you standing around for? Hurry up and move. The phenomenon was too obvious. Powerhouses will definitely come soon. We have at most two hours to safely search this mountain."

The Wood Spirit gave Su Xuan a resentful look and said helplessly, "Got it. I'll be right there."

Su Xuan looked at the forest before him, shrouded in mist.

All the valuable spirit herbs at the foot of the mountain had already been plundered clean by Su Xuan's group of three.

Su Xuan looked at Passerby A before him and said sincerely, "You can still choose to leave now. It seems there are no restrictions on entering or leaving this place. You've already gained plenty from this trip. If we continue onward, even I don't know where the danger lies.

"If we encounter danger, my protector will definitely prioritize me. It'll be difficult for him to protect you as well. If you keep going, your life will be in danger."

Passerby A fell silent. That was indeed true.

There were already so many spirit plants at the foot of the mountain. What about the mountainside? The summit?

There had been no danger at the foot of the mountain, but would the mountainside be just as fortunate?

Passerby A shook his head and said, "Then I'll take my leave here. I wish you both a smooth journey."

With those words, his life as a bit player came to an end.

After Passerby A left, Su Xuan and the Wood Spirit finally dispelled the spell disguising their appearances.

The Wood Spirit looked at Su Xuan. "Continue?"

"Without question."

The two strode forward and walked straight into the mist-shrouded forest.

After they left, a Fierce Soul stopped where Su Xuan and the Wood Spirit had previously stood.

A piercing shriek echoed through the air.

Within the forest, one pair, then two pairs, then countless pairs of red eyes opened at once.