Lou Yunxiao in peril

The python's words left Ning Ke silent.

He realized that details he had overlooked while reading the novel were gradually becoming clear.

In the novel his sister had written, Ning Ke was really just Lou Yunxiao's enemy, the driving force that spurred him to seek revenge and grow stronger.

The true villains of this world were the demons.

But the scene in the Dungeon had been the final scene. At that point, the demons had only recently emerged, and the Great Demons had yet to be fully unsealed.

His sister had stopped writing there.

Now he really needed to think about how to deal with the demons in the future.

[Host, a new side quest.] Xiao Yuan's voice interrupted Ning Ke's thoughts. [Find and investigate the stone monument ruins sealing the Great Demon within the Qianyuan Secret Realm.]

Ning Ke paused. Your quests really do keep up with the times.

[Indeed! As your circumstances change, we receive corresponding quests to fill in the plot.]

Ning Ke nodded and asked the python, "She-She, do you know where the Great Demon is sealed?"

The enormous python, whose body was as thick as Ning Ke's entire frame, went rigid.

His little eyes filled with excitement.

She-She!

His lordship called me She-She!

What an adorable nickname!

I love it!

"I do. My great-grandfather pointed it out to me once."

The python thought carefully before saying, "My great-grandfather also said that the Great Demon once possessed a mighty cultivator of the Human Clan and occupied his palace. After Heaven's Way sealed the demon, the palace was gradually buried underground by windblown sand. The stone monument sealing him should be near the palace."

Ning Ke pondered this.

That did match the plot.

A Ke, the character he played, had indeed died in a palace.

The python said, "My lord, if you insist on going, please let me guide you."

"I can go with you too, my lord!" The little sparrow hopped twice, only to receive a glare from the python. Nearly frightened into pooping again, the bird quickly ducked its head and fell silent.

The python's cultivation was close to the Nascent Soul Stage, so he should be able to protect himself against demons.

The little sparrow, however, could not.

So Ning Ke smoothed the little sparrow's feathers and said,

"Little sparrow, you should stay here. She-She, come with me."

With that, Ning Ke jumped down from the branch and landed steadily.

The python slithered down the thick trunk as well.

Even coiled on the ground, he stood more than two meters tall...

For some reason, he reminded Ning Ke of horror movies about pythons...

"She-She, can we discuss something? Could you make yourself a little smaller?"

"I can." The python flicked his tail and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Ning Ke crouched down and saw the now palm-sized Snakey curled on a dead leaf. Despite his tiny appearance, his voice was still deep and resonant as he called, "My lord, my lord! Is this small enough?"

Ning Ke nearly cried from how adorable he was.

He held out his wrist, and little She-She slithered across his palm and coiled around it like a bracelet, hundreds of times more lifelike than the finest jewelry from a certain luxury brand back in the modern world.

"That's plenty small. Let's go."

Meanwhile, Lou Yunxiao and Ning Xiaoxiao had spent five days crossing the desert, resting at night and traveling by day, with the little sand rat leading the way.

There was still no end in sight.

Flying on their swords would only make them lose their way faster in the desert. If they encountered a sandstorm, they would have nowhere to take shelter, so neither of them had flown. They could only travel on foot.

Ning Xiaoxiao's mouth and throat were parched, and her little face was red from the sun.

She shaded her eyes with a hand, gazed into the distance, and sighed. "Why is this desert so huge?"

She glanced at Lou Yunxiao beside her and found him as cool and composed as ever. Perhaps his Ice Spirit Root naturally kept him cool, because even under the blazing sun, his skin showed no hint of redness.

As a girl, Ning Xiaoxiao was terribly envious.

Noticing something, Lou Yunxiao asked, "Junior sister, are you hot?"

Ning Xiaoxiao's voice had gone hoarse. "Yes. I'm roasting."

Lou Yunxiao paused.

The next moment, an umbrella of ice appeared in his hand.

He leaned closer, shading Ning Xiaoxiao from the sun with the umbrella. The chill radiating from its icy surface instantly dispelled the sweltering heat.

With his other hand, he held out an ice cup filled with ice water in front of Ning Xiaoxiao.

"Here, junior sister. Have a drink."

Ning Xiaoxiao froze in astonishment!

"Senior brother, you're so-so amazing!" The girl clutched the cup and gulped down the water, then asked Lou Yunxiao for another.

The little sand rat benefited too. It lay sprawled contentedly on the sand with an ice cube on its belly and said, "Human boy, your spiritual root is the most useful one I've ever seen on a cultivator!"

Lou Yunxiao smiled faintly without speaking.

He was simply fulfilling his responsibility to take good care of Ning Xiaoxiao.

He knew doing so would make his junior brother happy.

Over the past few days, he had constantly been thinking about his elder sister's relationship with the yao.

But he had failed to reach any conclusions, so he decided to set the matter aside.

He would ask his sister himself when he had the chance.

For now, the priority was finding his junior brother.

"I hear something." Lou Yunxiao abruptly drew the Pale Silver Sword from his back, and Ning Xiaoxiao reacted just as quickly.

She immediately threw away her ice cup and slapped an Explosion Talisman onto the sand.

"Senior brother, get on your sword!"

Boom-

The sand exploded, and red willow branches gleaming with bloody light shot toward them, their finger-wide tips resembling thick, long needles!

There were hundreds of them, packed densely together!

"They're mutated Carnivorous Red Willows!" The little sand rat grabbed the hem of Ning Xiaoxiao's robe and scrambled all the way up to hide behind her hair. "They're the demons' hunters! They've taken plenty of my kin away as offerings to the demons!"

Ning Xiaoxiao and Lou Yunxiao exchanged a glance, then stood back-to-back. Ning Xiaoxiao formed a hand seal, and her sword split into two, then four, instantly forming a sword formation.

With another sweep of her hand, dozens of talismans spread out in midair.

The girl gave a laugh.

She looked just like Ning Ke.

"You've eaten so many humans and yao. Now let's see how you like the taste of Explosion Talismans."

Boom, boom, boom-

Explosions rang out without pause.

Sand and stones flew everywhere as the red willows were blasted to pieces.

Lou Yunxiao raised an ice wall to block the dust.

The Pale Silver Sword slashed, severing every red willow branch in its path.

But when the dust cleared, they discovered that the red willows had not diminished at all. Instead, the shattered pieces seemed to reproduce like seeds, sprouting into new red willows soon after falling into the sand.

The red willows surrounding them multiplied from hundreds to thousands, blocking out the sunlight and forming a massive cage.

"Senior brother, use fire!"

As she spoke, Ning Xiaoxiao took out a Blazing Fire Talisman.

"Let's break out!"

But before she had finished speaking, a howling wind swept toward them from the distance. In an instant, yellow sand blotted out the sky.

Both their expressions changed!

A sandstorm!

Of all the times it could have come, it had to come now!

With this, flying upward was out of the question!

Lou Yunxiao said gravely, "We'll go underground!"

Ning Xiaoxiao knew there were no good options left, so she nodded. They split the sandy ground with a sword strike and plunged beneath it.

In the darkness, willow branches struck whenever they found an opening, only to be severed by Lou Yunxiao and Ning Xiaoxiao.

After descending to a certain depth, they suddenly felt the pressure around them ease, and their feet landed on a flat surface.

Ning Xiaoxiao looked up at a towering palace and exclaimed, "An underground palace?!"

Before she had finished speaking, the red willows caught up with them. Lou Yunxiao directed the flames to burn them away, while Ning Xiaoxiao stared at the ground, her brows knitted in thought.

Then her eyes lit up.

Pointing at the four-legged stone beasts before the palace entrance, she said, "Senior brother, I'll guide you with my spiritual energy. We'll each attack one statue. Those are the roots of these demonic willows!"

If she was right, the roots of the red willows were protected by a formation. Once they destroyed the statues serving as its anchors, the red willows would be finished.

And she was right.

She and Lou Yunxiao worked together to blast the statues apart, then burned everything away.

All the tendrils fell to the ground and turned to ash.

"Hmph! Let's see you eat anyone now!" Ning Xiaoxiao kicked a red willow branch.

But the little sand rat on her shoulder suddenly realized where they were. It let out a frightened cry. "Quick! Run!!!"

Its panic startled both Ning Xiaoxiao and Lou Yunxiao.

Neither questioned it.

They immediately turned to leave.

But before they could take a step,

the palace doors opened, and a terrifying pressure poured out.

Lou Yunxiao reacted swiftly.

He pulled Ning Xiaoxiao behind him and used every bit of his strength to resist the pressure.

Even so, veins bulged at his temples under its crushing force. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning deathly pale.

Despite his protection, Ning Xiaoxiao felt as though her head were splitting apart, and she collapsed to the ground.

It was the first time they had come so close to death, and the first time they had realized just how insignificant they were.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lou Yunxiao let out a low cry and slash his wrist with the Pale Silver Sword, offering his blood to the divine blade. His power surged, finally breaking through the crushing restraint. He scooped her up and flew desperately toward the surface.

But Ning Xiaoxiao saw something else too.

Behind them, the dark figure emerging from the underground palace was smiling.

It was roughly human-shaped, but only its mouth split open.

Its mouth moved as it said,

"You cannot escape."

An instant later,

Ning Xiaoxiao heard Lou Yunxiao grunt in pain.

She lowered her eyes and saw a blade of black mist protruding from Lou Yunxiao's abdomen.

Her eyes trembled. "Senior brother!"

Blood trickled from the corner of the young man's mouth. Using every last ounce of strength, he split open the ground with his sword and sent Ning Xiaoxiao out.

"Junior sister, you have to survive."

Lou Yunxiao severed the black mist, then turned to block the dark figure's other attacks.

"Find A Ke. Tell him I'm sorry..."

"Tell him I probably... won't be able to help him get home."

Ning Xiaoxiao reached the surface, where the sandstorm was still raging, and was blown far away.

She struggled with all her might to cling to the sand.

"Senior brother-" she screamed.

The wind scattered her tears, and they quickly evaporated.

Already wounded by the pressure, Ning Xiaoxiao forced herself to hold on, dragging herself forward with her arms.

"Senior brother..."

"Senior brother... my brother is still waiting for you..."

"If you die, my brother will never forgive you!"

Ning Xiaoxiao repeated those words again and again, crying all the while, but in the end, her strength gave out, and the swirling sand buried her...