Leaving the Soul Realm

Soul Realm, Sword Soul Mountain

Despite its imposing name, Sword Soul Mountain was not nearly as tall as one might imagine. To cultivators capable of using Dou Qi Manifested Wings or possessing high-level Flying Dou Techniques, it was little different from a small dirt mound.

Having easily crossed Sword Soul Mountain, Hun Ruoruo did not feel much better.

After stopping at the summit, she impatiently activated her Water attribute Dou Qi. Clumps of water splashed down over her head, soaking her soft, luxurious hair.

Only after viciously scrubbing the strands Hun Tiandi had touched did Hun Ruoruo finally let out a breath and stop.

Wiping the water from her pretty face, the girl disgustedly flung it to the ground and said hatefully, "How... disgusting! If it weren't for leaving the Soul Realm... Forget it. Even mentioning his name in the Soul Realm might alert him."

If she were in the Central Continent, Hun Tiandi naturally would not possess such an outrageous ability. Even with the strength of a peak Nine-star Dou Saint, he was nowhere near capable of it. But this was the Soul Realm, after all. As its master, he left Hun Ruoruo no choice but to take every possible precaution.

After calming down for a moment, she stripped the moisture from her body and turned to look below Sword Soul Mountain.

Lush forests occupied most of the land, with several small villages roughly the size of Soul Sacrificing Village scattered unevenly throughout. From above, they looked like pale patches on the forest's skin.

"According to the map in my memories, if I head south to the end and cross the Realm Protecting Soul River, I should be able to leave the Soul Realm, right? As long as I pass through the Spatial Wormhole, the rest of the journey should not be difficult once I reach the Northwest Region."

The Northwest Region was relatively barren. Across the entire Dou Qi Continent, it could practically be described as pitifully weak. Forget comparing it to the Soul Realm—even any moderately influential faction in the Central Continent could easily crush it.

But that was only true for now.

As a transmigrator, Hun Ruoruo knew perfectly well that within a weak empire in the Northwest Region lay terrifying potential capable of overturning the entire Dou Qi Continent.

A peerless Heavenly Prodigy carrying a heavy ruler and commanding myriad flames would rise all the way to Dou Di at an unmatched pace. Meanwhile, Hun Tiandi, the villain, would ultimately forcibly sacrifice the entire Soul Clan before being slain by the righteous protagonist.

By that logic, whether Hun Tiandi sacrificed her or the protagonist's group wiped her out along with the rest, she seemed doomed to die either way...

At that thought, Hun Ruoruo hated Hun Tiandi to the core. Other transmigrators got to steamroll their way through life with countless beauties at their side, yet because of this bargain-bin father who happened to be the great villain, she had not only endured his life-threatening menace every moment since transmigrating here, but also had to bear the protagonist's resentment for no reason at all.

Heaven was far too unfair.

Fortunately, she had no attachment to the Soul Clan, and she hated Hun Tiandi even more deeply. Her only concern was her mother, who was not a member of the Soul Clan, so she could more or less be considered to be on the same side as the protagonist.

Since that was the case, rather than wait to be sacrificed by Hun Tiandi at the finale, she might as well find the protagonist early and invest in him before he rose to prominence. Perhaps when he killed Hun Tiandi, she could even show her face and experience the joy of avenging her great grievance.

In the girl's impression, setting aside whether Xiao Yan had good character or not, he was absolutely a reliable friend.

"Friend? I'm using the protagonist. I just hope he hasn't changed too much from the original story."

She sighed. The confusion and hatred from before no longer showed in her eyes, while a charming smile once again hung on her lips, as though she had put on another invisible mask.

Though she admired Xiao Yan quite a bit, the word "friend" was still far too extravagant for Hun Ruoruo, who had spent years living in constant fear.

Flying out from Sword Soul Mountain, Hun Ruoruo arrived at the pitch-black realm gate guarding the entrance to the Soul Realm. Though it was not the main realm gate, its vast and steady aura was still enough to inspire fear.

Two rows of Guards in black armor stood on either side of the realm gate. Holding long spears, they stood ramrod straight as they continuously scrutinized the crowds entering and leaving the Soul Realm. At a glance, even the lowest-ranking Guards possessed the cultivation of a Dou Emperor.

If one tried to force their way through, bolstered by the realm gate, even a Dou Zun would likely meet a bitter end here.

Naturally, Hun Ruoruo had another act prepared for dealing with these genuine iron lumps. She simply draped herself in a black robe, wrapping her entire body within it, then quietly used an auxiliary Sonic Dou Technique capable of altering her voice.

"Cough, jie jie jie!"

Frowning as she made the hoarse, sinister sound, the girl compared it to Hun Huan's voice from her memories. After several adjustments, she reluctantly accepted the result.

"This should work..."

Hun Ruoruo knew that her previous village-girl appearance clearly would not have made it across Sword Soul Mountain. To avoid being questioned by the Guards, pretending to be someone from the Soul Hall on a mission was the most convenient option.

Taking a Soul Hall token from her Storage Ring and gripping it in her hand, Hun Ruoruo's black robe fluttered as she slowly moved through the twilight.

She did not line up at the back of the queue. Instead, she passed through the area where people waited for inspection and headed straight toward the Guards.

When they saw the Black Robe Person abruptly approaching, the previously cold-faced Guard froze for a moment before asking in a low voice, "My lord, are you from the Soul Hall?"

"Jie jie jie!"

At those words, surprise immediately appeared on the Guard's cold face.

After all, people of the Soul Hall generally were not qualified to enter the Soul Realm. Though they were usually quite strong, they ultimately did not possess Soul Clan status.

However, that did not mean those from the Soul Hall were inferior within the Soul Realm. On the contrary, anyone able to appear in the Soul Realm as a Soul Hall member invariably held an important position and possessed formidable strength. Their status naturally far exceeded that of ordinary Soul Clan members.

With that in mind, the Guard's attitude turned fawning, and he lowered his voice even further. "My lord, could you please show your token?"

"Jie jie jie!" Hun Ruoruo flicked her black robe and tossed out the token Hun Tiandi had given her earlier. Since she had been given resources, there was naturally no reason not to use them.

With only one glance, the Guard's eyes instantly went vacant, and he even forgot to breathe.

"The Heavenly Venerate Token?!"

After a long while, seemingly sensing the Black Robe Person's impatience, the Guard swallowed hard and hurriedly returned the token with both hands, his attitude incomparably respectful.

"Esteemed Lord, please follow this subordinate."

With that, he could not even be bothered to continue the inspections. He directly led Hun Ruoruo toward the Soul Realm's realm gate, and they proceeded without obstruction all the way.

Her appearance passed, her identity passed, and even her vocal commands passed. Naturally, there was no reason for any complications.

As she walked across the bridge over the realm river, the girl discreetly glanced at the Guard behind her, still bent at the waist, and curled her lips.

"Even I don't know what I'm saying, yet they can understand it. What a strange thing."

Thus, beneath the Soul Realm's night sky, Hun Ruoruo crossed the Realm Protecting Soul River and finally escaped the oppressive place where she had lived for sixteen years.