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As one of the top swordsmanship sects, the disciples of the Xuanxu Sword Sect were either talking to themselves in a terrifyingly terrifying way, occasionally letting out eerie laughter, or gathered in rooms like members of a demonic cult, refining ○ in pill furnaces.

Xu Ye was about to cry.

His mind had taken a double blow. He really couldn't take it all by himself.

The Communication Talisman in his arms flashed faintly. He saw a message from a senior fellow disciple: [How did your inquiries go? The Xuanxu Sword Sect is our mortal enemy. I wonder what they're like.]

Xu Ye was so frightened that tears streamed down his face. With his trembling right hand, he took a brush from his Storage Bag and wrote a few crooked words.

Each of the three exclamation marks at the end contained an endless history of blood and tears.

[Terrifying beyond belief. Stay far away!!!]

The Thirteenth Chapter

At the hour of the Dragon the next morning, the Xiaochong Mountain Secret Realm opened right on time.

The disciples taking part in the trial were randomly sent to various places throughout the secret realm, while the elders who had accompanied their sects sat around several Mystic Mirrors, keeping a constant watch on the images within.

At that moment, the mirror in the center projected two figures facing off against each other.

One held a sword in her left hand and wore a pale yellow dress. The cold wind stirred her long black hair, adding a few notes of desolate, resolute chill;

The other stood atop a massive boulder, one corner of his blue-and-white Daoist robe fluttering lightly. He toyed with a Heavenly Thunder Talisman in his hand.

"Fellow Daoist Su."

The young Talisman Cultivator gave a bitter smile. "You and I have no grievances. Why must we fight to the death in the secret realm? I still need to go deep into Xiaochong Mountain to search for Moon White Stone. How about we fight another day?"

Su Qinghan's expression was calm, and so was her tone. "This is the twelfth time you've told me we'd fight another day, Bai Ye."

With that, a flash of sword light cleaved through the gale rushing toward her. A sword's roar rang out like a dragon's, and wave after wave of snow-white sword shadows surged toward the Talisman Cultivator;

A helplessness deeper still crept into his smile. He silently recited an incantation and activated his talisman, unleashing a storm of thunder.

Sword flashes streaked through the air as thunderous shadows surged. Someone outside the Mystic Mirror laughed heartily. "Su Qinghan truly is a disciple of the Wanjian Sect. She's just like her battle-crazed master."

"Bai Ye's no slouch either."

A red-robed female cultivator covered her lips as she chuckled. "He's mastered the Five Elements Incantation quite thoroughly. But today he's run into Qinghan, so at last he's found a worthy opponent. Who knows how long they'll keep at it?"

"They're still fighting, while Mingkong over there is already heading straight for the deepest part of Xiaochong Mountain."

An elder from Liuming Mountain mused, "He must be hoping to get his hands on the Moon White Stone. But the monster guarding it... probably won't be easy to deal with."

"Moon White Stone appears once in a hundred years. Now that Xiaochong Mountain has appeared, of course everyone will fight for a chance to claim it."

Tian Xianzi leaned against an ancient tree and casually picked up a little pastry. "Not just Fanyin Temple, Liuming Mountain, Taxue Pavilion, and the Beast Taming Sect... Which sect wouldn't want to give it a try?"

He paused, seeming to grow more interested. "Why don't we make a wager and see whose disciple can claim the Moon White Stone?"

"What, Elder Tianxian, are you out of money again?"

The red-robed female cultivator glanced up at him, her eyes brimming with a mocking smile. "Ten thousand Spirit Stones on my Wanjian Sect."

He Xiaochen took a sip of tea. "I'll put up ten thousand too, on Liuming Mountain. Elder Tianxian, since I'm supporting your business so generously, how about you spar with me later?"

Tian Xianzi, cheap labor: "You got it!"

=====

The elders outside the secret realm were discussing things animatedly, while Ning Ning inside had fallen into deep thought.

The Xiaochong Mountain Secret Realm opened once every few years. Few traces had been left by people, and it brimmed with rare beasts and precious spirit plants. It was an exceptionally rich treasure trove of resources.

But it was precisely because there were so many resources that she found herself at a loss.

Liuming Mountain had given everyone a map of the secret realm, roughly marking the locations of common spirit plants and ores. It also listed quite a few treasures in Xiaochong Mountain that were almost impossible to come by.

Ning Ning had read the original novel and knew where some opportunities and secret treasures could be found. But if she relied on the plot to snatch opportunities that should have belonged to someone else, she'd feel like some kind of thief, and she couldn't quite bring herself to do it.

After much thought, she eventually chose the Heaven Heart Grass, which had never been mentioned in the original novel and was rumored to cure every illness when used in medicine.

Heaven Heart Grass was a rare treasure that appeared only by chance, and its location wasn't marked on the map. But the most important thing now wasn't how to find it. It was—

Ning Ning looked up at the jagged rocks beside her and the unfathomably deep cave, then sighed inwardly.

She had gotten lost in the cave.

The cave was eerie. Damp moisture seeped into the stone walls, fostering patches of moss. Countless branching paths sprawled like wild-growing vines, each one vanishing into the distance.

For some reason, the stalactites hanging upside down from the ceiling glowed faintly. Dim, pale-green light pressed down heavily. At least it brightened the place a little, but she had to admit that this filter, straight out of a horror movie, was terrifying.

There was no sound around her, nor any sign of animal activity. Faint footsteps echoed through the empty passage, and even her breathing was clearly audible, like a cold hand brushing across her eardrum.

Without warning, Ning Ning suddenly heard the rapid thud of someone running.

Before she could turn to see what was happening, she had barely twisted halfway around when she crashed hard into the person.

"Ah!"

The young female cultivator who had suddenly appeared seemed scared out of her wits. She let out a tearful cry, then, upon seeing Ning Ning, grabbed her sleeve in a panic. "Run! There's a Demonic Beast in the cave!"

A Demonic Beast?

The words landed heavily in Ning Ning's ears. Her expression softened, and she gently reassured the girl. "Don't be afraid. What does the Demonic Beast look like? How strong is it?"

"It—it's a giant poisonous scorpion with a woman's face."

The girl shuddered. "I ran into it as soon as I got here. It seemed to be at the Golden Core Second Layer Realm. When it saw me, it didn't kill me right away. Instead, it asked me to play hide-and-seek. Once it finds me, my life will—"