So, things were indeed changing.
Ning Jinyu looked at Cui Xian’s group and said with a curved-lip smile, “Are you new disciples of the Sword Sect? Why aren’t you going in? If you’re not, we’ll go ahead.”
“…” Cui Xian had been blocked by them in the first place, and her words only made her angrier.
She immediately dragged Peng Jing and the others, rushing into the Secret Realm and deliberately shouting as she walked in front of the two.
“First come, first served.”
…
The pair had left their baggage at an inn at the foot of the mountain, carrying only their personal Swords.
Song Qingyan observed Ning Jinyu’s expression. Seeing that she seemed to be in a reasonably good mood, he said softly, “These people are noisy. I can get rid of them.”
“…” That’s a bit much.
“Shh, shh, shh, what are you saying? We of the Joyful Union Sect are not such cruel and ruthless people. If they want to go, let them.”
Ning Jinyu glanced at Song Qingyan’s beautiful eyes, then quickly looked away. They always felt so imposing. Every time she looked into his eyes for too long, she felt an inexplicable discomfort.
“Song Qingyan, we’ve fallen quite a bit behind, so we need to walk faster. Once we get the Floating Life Memory and find your memories, don’t you dare be like one of those ingrates in a TV series and forget how good I’ve been to you.”
“TV series?”
“Ahem, it just means novels, the storybook kind.”
“I will not forget.”
“That’s good.” Ning Jinyu beamed, habitually reaching out to take his arm.
Little did she know that not long after, she would only want to get away from this person and never see him again.
Peng Jing and several of her senior and junior sisters warily observed the Secret Realm’s environment—the seven-colored sky, the strange pebble path, and the towering ancient trees.
Cui Xian walked ahead quickly with her hands on her hips. Her pampered nature was obvious, but she was also a coward.
“Ahhhh! Help!” A blood-curdling scream from behind them made Cui Xian’s arrogance vanish. Her face turned deathly pale as she looked back, only to see that one of the girls beside Peng Jing was gone. They all wore terrified expressions.
Seeing the two people far behind them still strolling along at a leisurely pace, her fear dissipated somewhat. She said loudly, “This must be an illusion! Chen Shimei must have stepped on some trap and is stuck somewhere. Let’s all look for her together now.”
Ning Jinyu and Song Qingyan chatted as they walked straight ahead, their eyes fixed forward, conveniently finding the path clear of people.
For some reason, Cui Xian felt annoyed just by looking at Ning Jinyu. It was an irritation mixed with jealousy and envy.
Ever since she was little, she had been compared to her cousin, Su Qingyue, by all sorts of people. Now there was another woman who resembled her cousin, and what right did she have to possess such a handsome Daoist partner?
The person she liked had always liked Su Qingyue.
Cui Xian rushed forward to block the two, her face a mask of righteousness. “You’re from the Joyful Union Sect, aren’t you? It’s one thing to dress so gaudily, but to be so cold-blooded? We are all fellow cultivators. Someone from our sect is in trouble, and you don’t even know to help look for her? She disappeared just now, you were walking behind us, you must have seen it!”
She was the Saintess’s cousin, after all. The remaining female cultivators chimed in while searching, “That’s right, that’s right! How can you two be so cold-blooded? What kind of cultivators are you?”
“…” Excuse me?
Ning Jinyu pursed her lips and smiled. “Miss, actually, the fact that we two refuse to help has a great deal to do with you!”
Hearing this, Cui Xian’s expression turned ugly. “What does it have to do with me?”
“Exactly. What do we have to do with you? Hmph, so much nonsense. Old Song, let’s go.”
Song Qingyan’s lips curved. “Alright,” he said.
Cui Xian was left speechless and could only clench her fists as she watched the two leave.
“Ahhhh! Help!” Before she could recover from her anger, Peng Jing grabbed her leg from the side, and they both sank into a patch of ground and disappeared.
The few remaining girls turned pale and ran out of the Secret Realm. As for finding anyone, they’d better forget it. The Saintess had already told them not to run around. Cui Xian was too headstrong; they couldn’t be blamed for this.
Ning Jinyu plucked a fruit from a tree and ate it, complaining as she did. Her voice was light and ethereal, soft and playful. “Those few must have thought there was something wrong here. Wasn’t that just an Earth Trap Array? Making such a fuss. Doesn’t their Sect teach them about arrays? Hahahaha.”
Song Qingyan watched her tap her head with a finger, her smile mischievous, like a cat that had just stolen a fish.
Being with her had a kind of magic; it always made him feel happy.
He raised his hand and ruffled her hair. Meeting her puzzled gaze, he explained succinctly, “You have a leaf in your hair.”
“Oh.”
…An unknown amount of time passed before they came upon a cave, which was quite vast.
Vines hung down from above, crawling over the plaque at the cave’s entrance, and the surrounding flowers and grasses were unusually lush.
“Tomb of the Upper God Lord Xi.”
Ning Jinyu blinked as she finished reading, then fell silent for a moment. “How crude. Is this the standard setup for an Upper God after death? It’s not even as good as an emperor’s concubine’s quarters.”
“Insolence! Where did this little brat come from, daring to be disrespectful to the Upper God!” A powerful voice boomed from above, carrying a weathered hoarseness.
Ning Jinyu’s body jolted. She grabbed Song Qingyan and warily looked toward the source of the sound. It was pitch-black there, obscured by vines, making it impossible to see clearly. Could someone be lying in wait?
Were there bad guys?
Song Qingyan felt the soft warmth of the hand holding his. He raised his Sword, shielding her, and slashed toward the source of the voice. The vines were all severed, revealing a ghoulish mask embedded in the cave’s rock, looking disgusting and bizarre.
The voice, which had been powerful and profound just a moment ago, suddenly changed its tune, becoming thin and shrill as it screeched from the terrified ghoul mask’s mouth. “Ahhhh, great hero, spare my life.”
“…” Well, then. A typical case of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, a coward in the light of day.
Ning Jinyu breathed a sigh of relief, walked out from behind Song Qingyan, and carefully examined the ugly face. “Who are you? Do you know where the Upper God’s Divine Artifact Floating Life Memory is?”
“…” The ghoul mask’s expression changed in an instant. Its fearful look became resolute again as it loudly berated them, “You think you’re worthy of the Floating Life Memory? My master set up layers upon layers of traps.”
Ning Jinyu’s eyes lit up. She hurriedly asked, “You belong to the Upper God?”
The ghoul mask’s mouth curled up high with pride. “I am a mask that the Upper God bought in the mortal realm and granted sentience!”
“…” Is that all?
“I thought you were someone important to the Upper God. Forget it, forget it. Song Qingyan, let’s go.”
Seeing her disdainful look, the ghoul mask grew anxious and quickly said, “You brat, stop right there! I was always carried by my master’s side. I even know where he buried the Floating Life Memory before he died!”
Ning Jinyu stopped in her tracks, raising an eyebrow at Song Qingyan with a triumphant smile.
Song Qingyan chuckled, watching her turn around and feign a profound air to negotiate.
“Is that for real? But from what I can see, you’ve been out here in this cave, exposed to the wind and sun. How could you be someone important to the Upper God and know about the Floating Life Memory? I don’t believe you.”
The ghoul mask said quickly, “After you enter the tomb chamber, open that coffin. Although it’s empty, there’s a mechanism inside that leads directly to the Land of Ruins. The Floating Life Memory was thrown in there by my master. This path directly bypasses all the traps ahead!”
“Wow! That’s so cool. So you’re that amazing, Big Brother Ghoul Mask.”
“Hmph, hmph, what did you expect!”
“Hehe, truly amazing, truly amazing. Great immortal, in that case, we’ll be on our way.”
“Scram, scram.”
Ning Jinyu pulled Song Qingyan and headed into the cave.
The ghoul mask watched the two disappear, whistling smugly. The next second, a question mark appeared over its head, and it spat out two words: “Wait a minute.”
How did it just blurt out… the location of the master’s Floating Life Memory!!! Ugh!
The inside of the cave was extremely dark. Ning Jinyu followed Song Qingyan, fumbling in the blackness. His vision, however, was excellent. He led her toward the coffin in the center of the chamber. After pushing it open, it was indeed empty, just as described. Most people, upon seeing a path ahead, would have ignored an empty coffin.
This design of the Upper God’s was rather ingenious.