Secrets Exposed

After walking for a while, Ye Ziyun slowed down and waited for Xiao Ning'er to catch up so that the two could walk side by side.

She glanced sideways at Nie Li and Shen Fei, who were walking a few steps ahead, then looked back at Xiao Yu, who was lagging behind, and lowered her voice to ask, "Ning'er, did you two encounter any danger after you came out of the fog? When Nie Li and I got separated, the fog was so thick that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. I called him several times, but he didn't answer."

Xiao Ning'er shook her head, her voice low. "We didn't encounter any major trouble. After the fog cleared, we met Mu Lin from a Spiritual Cultivation Family. He was leading five people in a standoff with a Legendary Rank 3-Star Demon Beast in the valley. He set a trap, using those rogue cultivators as cannon fodder while he hid his cultivation to reap the benefits. We didn't get involved; we circled around to the back and waited. He betrayed his people, wore down the Demon Beast, killed the remaining few, and went into his cave to pick Spiritual Origin Fruit. We followed him in and took care of him."

Upon hearing this, Ye Ziyun's eyes widened, and she slowed her pace by half a beat. "Legendary Rank 2-Star? You two are fighting a Legendary Rank 2-Star?"

Xiao Ning'er nodded, her tone even. "Shen Fei injured his arm, it's not serious. He won the fight, but that fighting style is indeed a bit harmful to his body, so we should try to use it less often in the future."

She paused here, her lips twitching slightly, as if she remembered something, "You know him, he'll never take a roundabout route if he can get away with it one step at a time."

Ye Ziyun glanced at her sideways and smiled, "You say that, but you're actually quite heartbroken, aren't you?"

Xiao Ning'er didn't respond, but the tips of her ears quietly turned red.

Xiao Yu Nie Li, "Young Master Nie Li, as a high-level Inscription master, you must know quite a bit about Inscription. Do you know what Inscription actually are?"

Nie Li did not answer immediately. He was still holding a blade of grass in his hand, which he had casually broken off by the roadside earlier, and now he unconsciously twirled it halfway around.

What exactly are Inscription? In the Glory City, any Inscription master who has studied for a few years can give you some answers, such as Spiritual Power engravings, Formation Array nodes, and rule-based leads.

But Xiao Yu's tone was too flat when she asked the question; it sounded more like she was assessing how much he actually knew than asking for advice.

"Inscription are used to carve the path of Spiritual Power onto a carrier, allowing the Spiritual Power to flow according to fixed rules."

Nie Li spoke slowly, "The medium can be Talisman Paper, animal hide, or even bricks and stones on City Wall. The engravings are the form, the rules are the substance. Only by understanding the rules can the Inscription be useful; without understanding the rules, what is engraved is just a bunch of pretty lines."

After listening, Xiao Yu nodded, her smile unchanged, and neither said whether the answer was right or wrong.

He took two steps forward, his gaze settling on the dark red rocky ground ahead, his tone as casual as if he were discussing a roadside Stone: "Nie Li speaks very frankly. However, the truly interesting aspect of Inscription lies not in how they are carved, but in why they work. Why does Spiritual Power willingly follow a carved line? Why do some overlapping patterns explode, while others remain stable? These things are all governed by Law. When Inscription masters reach a high level, they are not actually carving forms, but rules."

Nie Li didn't stop walking, but the lines of her shoulders were a little tighter than before.

Xiao Yu's words were indeed to the point. The higher levels of Inscription are linked to Law, and he himself had touched upon this boundary when he was repairing the Legendary Fragment.

But when these words came from the mouth of a stranger who casually clapped and praised someone in this dead land, they carried a different weight. He turned his head to look at Xiao Yu, his tone flat. "Young Master Xiao Yu also has knowledge of Inscription?"

"I wouldn't call it research," Xiao Yu waved his hand. "I've just seen and heard a lot, so I know a little bit. But—" He changed the subject, his gaze returning to Nie Li, his smile fading, but his eyes growing more serious. "What I'm more curious about isn't the Inscription. What I'm more curious about is you, Young Master Nie Li."

Nie Li didn't respond, waiting for him to continue.

Xiao Yu didn't mince words. "There are many interesting aspects to Young Master Nie Li. The Inscription are the same, but Inscription are merely a skill. Behind a skill lies the mind, and behind the mind lies a solid foundation. I watched for a while, and what surprised me most wasn't the Inscription skill, but the Law." He tilted his head, as if carefully choosing his words, "The Law of light and darkness simultaneously exist within one person, and they haven't clashed or shattered their Meridians. The light attribute follows the Yang Meridians, and the darkness attribute follows the Yin Meridians; the two paths run parallel within the body. Even a slight deviation would result in qi deviation. Nie Li not only withstood it, but also mastered both Law. This greatly astonished me."

Nie Li finally slowed his pace a little. Xiao Yu spoke in the same unhurried tone as before, as if he were stating a fact he had already confirmed, rather than testing him.

This person wasn't guessing; he had figured it out. Very few people in the Glory City knew about the simultaneous cultivation of light and darkness, and he himself usually kept it very secret, rarely releasing both auras at the same time.

Xiao Yu's ability to see this from a distance demonstrates that his level of perception is far above that of an ordinary Demi-God.

Nie Li remained calm. He resumed his original pace, his tone unchanged. "Young Master Xiao Yu has good eyesight. Cultivating both light and darkness is indeed not easy. I've been lucky enough to find a way."

He stopped there, neither explaining the technique nor asking Xiao Yu how she figured it out. Acknowledging part of it while suppressing the rest was his usual approach.

Xiao Yu glanced at him, smiled, and didn't press the matter. It seemed he was just mentioning it casually and had no intention of peeling back the layers of Nie Li's true nature.

The group walked a little further, and the withered grass by the roadside grew shorter and shorter. The dark red gravel was gradually replaced by a layer of damp black soil. The smell of sulfur in the air faded, and the sound of flowing water became clearer and clearer, splashing and gurgling. It sounded like there was a fairly large body of water ahead.

Just then, a loud explosion came from ahead.

The sound wasn't thunder or an explosion, but rather the sound of water crashing as something enormous burst out of the water—a dull, heavy sound mixed with a strong, fishy odor, surging towards the source of the sound.

This was followed by a deep roar, unlike the howl of an ordinary Demon Beast. The sound carried a sticky, vibrating quality, as if squeezed from the depths of its throat, making one's teeth ache.

Shen Fei reacted the fastest. He lightly touched the ground with his feet and leaped forward, quickly climbing onto a protruding rock platform in front of him.

Xiao Ning'er followed behind him, her Wind-Thunder Wings half-spread behind her, the lightning kept low and did not explode.

Nie Li quickened his pace, with Ye Ziyun close behind. Xiao Yu brought up the rear, her steps neither hurried nor slow, but her direction remained unchanged.