Obtaining the Treasure Map

The next day, Huangfu Ruiyao lay on the ground and opened her bleary eyes, feeling as though she had had a dream.

She had dreamed that after falling off a cliff, she had felt unbearably hot for some time. Then, someone equally unbearably hot seemed to have arrived and helped her for a long while. At first, his technique had been wrong and had made her uncomfortable, but later, he gradually gained experience. The two of them coordinated closely and overcame the difficulty together.

Huangfu Ruiyao felt deeply guilty as she thought to herself, Is this the world after death? It doesn't seem as terrible as I imagined. It's just that I failed to retrieve the divine object needed to break the barrier, so I can't see my parents one last time. I've also let Huangfu He and the others down.

I shouldn't have harbored such improper thoughts. I shouldn't have coveted the treasures in that cave. After being teleported there, I should have left immediately. Then Huangfu He and the others wouldn't have died.

It turned out that Huangfu Ruiyao had another purpose in coming out this time: to find Precious Medicine to treat her mother's internal injuries! Her mother had suffered severe internal injuries due to a mistake while cultivating. If she did not receive treatment soon, she would pass away.

When she saw the pills Zhuang Xingyu had previously left for Dugu Bo and sensed the immense life force within them, she had wanted to take them and see whether they could treat her mother. But before she could act, Dugu Bo had arrived.

"You're awake? Would you like something to eat?"

Just as Huangfu Ruiyao was grieving, she suddenly heard a voice that was both familiar and unfamiliar. She instinctively raised her hand, then jolted violently as her mind cleared.

Looking up, she saw a young man standing before her, about 175 centimeters tall. She could not see through his Soul Power Level. (Zhuang Xingyu always wore a Human Skin Mask when he went out.) His appearance could only be considered average, yet he looked exceptionally clean and sunny. Especially those deep eyes of his—despite his youth, they carried a sense of weathered maturity.

Yet his gaze was somewhat evasive, and he did not dare look at her.

"Huh? My injuries are completely healed! My Soul Power has even risen to level 50." Only then did Huangfu Ruiyao realize that not only did she feel no pain, but her entire body felt refreshed. Aside from certain places that had yet to heal and still ached faintly.

"Did you save me... No, that's not right! Why have my clothes been changed? My Extreme Yin Profound Body has even awakened ahead of time." Huangfu Ruiyao now understood what had happened.

"You, you..." Huangfu Ruiyao looked at the rather handsome man before her, raised her hand, then lowered it again, not knowing how to face this situation.

After all, her mother possessed the Extreme Yin Profound Body as well, so she knew better than anyone that one had to perform Marital Rites when it awakened. Besides, she had been gravely injured and had fallen from a towering cliff. If not for the man before her, she would likely have perished long ago.

"Um, miss, I came here looking for Precious Medicine and happened to find you hanging from the cliff wall, so I rescued you. As for what happened, I'm terribly sorry. Due to an accident, my Soul Power suddenly went berserk and I lost control, so that happened. Your clothes had been torn, so I changed you into one of mine. Don't worry, the clothes are brand-new. I'm truly very sorry!" Zhuang Xingyu hurriedly explained.

Huangfu Ruiyao stared expressionlessly at Zhuang Xingyu. Clearly, she did not believe his claim that his Soul Power had gone out of control. Yet her constantly trembling legs showed that she was not as calm as she appeared.

Huangfu Ruiyao remained silent for a long while before taking out 600,000 Gold Soul Coins from her Storage Ring and dropping them beside Zhuang Xingyu with a bang, forming two small mountains of gold.

"Thank you for saving me. The 400,000 Gold Soul Coins on the left are my reward for saving my life. The 200,000 Gold Soul Coins on the right are your payment! From now on, you must forget this matter and never mention it to anyone. Understand?" After saying that, Huangfu Ruiyao decisively turned and left.

"Miss, miss, you misunderstand. My Soul Power really did go out of control at the time. I'm truly sorry. I don't want the money." Zhuang Xingyu was dumbfounded.

What was going on? How had I become the king of Jia Niao?

No, no, I can't take this money. This is humiliating me! It concerns a man's dignity!

"What, is it still not enough?"

Huangfu Ruiyao took out another pile of luxurious gold items from her Storage Ring. "These items should be worth around 400,000 Gold Soul Coins. Consider them compensation for your emotional distress and physical injuries. When you return, buy more high-quality Saffron, Black Goji Berry, and Profound Turtle, and nourish your body properly."

"Miss, I..." Before Zhuang Xingyu could finish, Huangfu Ruiyao's scream cut him off.

A token suddenly flew out of Huangfu Ruiyao's Storage Ring, radiating golden light as it pointed toward a crack in the rocks.

"It reacted, it reacted! I finally found it! This is great!" Huangfu Ruiyao lost all her previous aloofness and ran toward the rock crevice like a child.

Then, as if realizing something, she looked warily at Zhuang Xingyu.

"Don't worry. Since you found it first, it's yours," Zhuang Xingyu hurriedly replied.

Zhuang Xingyu then thought to himself, That is, provided you tell me the secrets afterward.

After all, Zhuang Xingyu still needed to learn from her about the Ancient Secrets of the Continent, perhaps even some lost cultivation systems.

If she refused to tell Zhuang Xingyu afterward, then he would have to settle the score with her properly! When that time came, who would care who saw it first? Whoever seized it would own it!

Zhuang Xingyu was no Simp. Aside from their previous accident, he had no other connection with her. Whether they would ultimately be enemies or friends remained unclear.

Although he had taken her primal yin, the primal yang he had treasured for so many years was gone as well!

Zhuang Xingyu had relied on her to deal with the drawbacks of the Yin Yang Law, but when her Extreme Yin Profound Body awakened, she too needed to perform Marital Rites. If not for Zhuang Xingyu, she would have died as well.

In that respect, they both owed each other a favor, which canceled out.

But what about the other aspect?

Zhuang Xingyu had saved her from the cliff. If not for him, how could she have had the chance to awaken her physique and increase her Soul Power? She would have long been trapped to death in the illusion array.

At that moment, Huangfu Ruiyao took a map from the rock crevice. Even the paper was made from Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Iron Ox Hide.

"That's right, this is it!" Huangfu Ruiyao used the token to inspect it once more and confirmed that it was what she had been seeking. She quickly stored it in her Storage Ring.

Huangfu Ruiyao looked at Zhuang Xingyu and thought, According to this map, the divine object capable of breaking the barrier is inside a Secret Realm. There are quite a few challenges within it, and I cannot complete them alone.

I can't see through this man's Soul Power, and he was able to rescue me from such a high cliff. He must have quite a few abilities.

But he looks so young, so his Soul Power should not be very high. He is most likely around my level and has used some treasure to conceal his aura.

I can use treasures to tempt him into cooperating with me. Once it is done, aside from that divine object, everything in the Secret Realm can be his. That would not be treating him unfairly. If he wants to seize that divine object, I am confident I can escape with it.

As for my primal yin being taken, once I obtain the divine object, I will return to my clan. And after using it to break the barrier, I will need at least several decades to refine it. I will never come out again. After several decades, everyone will surely have forgotten about this matter.

Having thought it through, Huangfu Ruiyao was no longer saddened. She quickly put on a smile and extended an invitation to Zhuang Xingyu:

The second update today will take a while, so everyone should sleep first! I wish you all sweet dreams, good health, and success in everything!

A burst of updates tomorrow—four chapters! I'll make up for the extra chapters I previously promised.