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She was a healer from a small sect with few disciples. She had come here without even going through her sect's selection process.

She had only wanted to gather some rare spirit plants in the secret realm. She hadn't expected to be dumped straight into this place and run into the monster lurking in the shadows.

As soon as the girl finished speaking, an extremely hoarse female voice came from deep inside the cave.

The voice was so unnerving that it reminded Ning Ning of the awful sound of fingernails scraping across a blackboard.

The hoarse yet shrill voice drifted through the dark green space like a venomous snake oozing poison, with a hint of mad laughter in it. "Where are you? Where are you? Hee, I'll find you soon!"

The healer's face grew even paler, and she trembled as she spoke. "That's the voice! It's been following me, getting closer and closer... It's going to kill us!"

While she was speaking, the poison-laced, hoarse female voice sounded again, a little louder than before. It must have been slowly drawing closer to them.

"Where are you? Where are you? You'd better hide well. I'm coming to find you."

It really was rather terrifying.

Especially since that incredibly frightening voice was hidden in the darkness, leaving them no idea what it actually looked like.

But... she wanted to find out where the Heaven Heart Grass was, and the owner of the voice happened to be able to communicate with humans. What's more, it had lived in the Xiaochong Mountain Secret Realm for a long time and must know everything around its lair.

Ning Ning's eyes suddenly lit up.

Miss this village, and there'd be no next one. Was the thing playing hide-and-seek with them a monster? It was obviously her personal navigation system!

Coming one after another to offer help in her hour of need, and still making noise to give away its location—

Wasn't it practically telling her, "I'm right nearby. Come find me!"?

What luck!

"You should go on ahead."

With that in mind, Ning Ning smiled at the girl beside her. "I'm a Sword Cultivator. I'll be fine staying here."

Only then did the other girl notice the sword at her waist. The cloud patterns on Ning Ning's white robe revealed a crane, marking it unmistakably as the Xuanxu Sword Sect's uniform.

She had heard that most of the people from major sects who entered Xiaochong Mountain were direct disciples or inner-sect disciples. This pretty girl, who seemed so approachable...

Was actually an elite disciple of the Xuanxu Sect.

The girl seemed to have guessed how strong Ning Ning was. After thanking her, she hurried away. Ning Ning touched the cold scabbard of her Star Trace Sword and heard that chilling, distorted voice again. "Where are you? Where are you?"

But the corners of her mouth curled into a smile.

She was grateful that the Human-Faced Scorpion was so selflessly broadcasting its location. Judging by the sound, it couldn't be far away.

It had delivered itself right to her door. She couldn't be blamed.

The Human-Faced Scorpion was highly poisonous and hard as bedrock. By nature, it was cunning and malicious; when it encountered prey, it didn't capture them right away. Instead, it delighted in the thrill of the chase, giving them a little hope before personally crushing it into despair.

The one in this cave was no exception.

It hadn't seen a human in a long time, and it was especially fond of this once-in-many-years meal.

As it happened, it was in a good mood today, so it had pretended to let that female cultivator escape. In truth, it had already marked her. All it had to do was follow her scent, and it could eat her without lifting a finger.

But halfway along its way, as the Human-Faced Scorpion passed a bend in the cave, it came upon another figure without the slightest warning—

Another young human cultivator, a girl who looked even younger and tastier than the last one. She stood motionless in the middle of the cave, staring at it.

She looked so calm and unhurried, as if she had been waiting for it on purpose.

That couldn't be right.

She looked so weak and helpless. She should have been fleeing in a panic just like the last one. So why was she still rooted to the spot after seeing it?

Perhaps she was scared witless?

The Human-Faced Scorpion pulled a grim smile from the corner of its mouth. Its eerie, woman's face was frighteningly pale, and as it smiled, its skin rippled in layer upon layer of folds like swaying seaweed. A hoarse, demonic whisper came from its mouth. "Found. You."

It never imagined that the female cultivator opposite it still wouldn't show any fear.

Instead, she nodded and agreed with it, as if it had made a fair point. "Mm. I've finally found you, too. It was such a struggle to track you down by following your voice."

Human-Faced Scorpion: ?

W-wait. What had she said? She'd followed its voice to find it?

The thought had barely surfaced in its mind when—

It felt a bone-chilling Sword Intent.

White light flared, and Sword Qi surged. Ning Ning moved so fast she was almost impossible to see. Her Star Trace Sword flashed like a swimming dragon, cleaving through layer upon layer of still air with a ringing hum.

The pearls set in a line along the sword's blade left a string of cold afterimages. A fierce gale of sword wind gathered around them and shot straight toward the Human-Faced Scorpion.

She hadn't used a killing move, and she hadn't struck with much force. Yet the layers of sword wind crashed into the Human-Faced Scorpion and still sent it flying a distance, drawing a piercing howl from it.

This was a Golden Core Realm Sword Cultivator!

Among all cultivators, Sword Cultivators were the most aggressive.

A single sword could shatter ten thousand techniques. Even if their cultivation realms were the same, the Human-Faced Scorpion would have little chance of winning, let alone against Ning Ning, whose Sword Qi suggested she was several minor realms above it.

—It had been chasing that healer the whole time and never expected the snipe to be waiting behind.

All those menacing threats meant to scare its prey had become clues for her to pinpoint its location. She had simply waited like a rabbit by a tree stump and let it walk right into her trap.

The Human-Faced Scorpion was so furious it could have spat blood.

But it was helpless against her. Even though it wanted to hack her into a thousand pieces, it could only grit its teeth, swallow its rage, and turn to flee.

It knew the cave like the back of its hand. With its nimble movements and great speed, it soon left Ning Ning behind.

The Sword Cultivator didn't seem to be in a hurry to pursue it. Before long, even the spiritual energy around her had grown too distant to sense. The Human-Faced Scorpion breathed a sigh of relief, but before its thumping heart could settle, it suddenly began pounding again.

In the empty, narrow cave, a woman's voice suddenly rang out.