Xie Lingjun was both startled and suspicious.
Clearly, he and Fu Yun had many unpleasant encounters, so why did Fu Yun help him time and again?
Could there truly be someone in this world who repaid enmity with kindness?
Xie Lingjun swung his sword at the demonic vine, but the combined efforts of the Joyful Union Sect disciples partially neutralized his strike. This blow failed to kill the vine king, instead enraging it. A massive vine swept across, smashing both Xie Lingjun and Fu Yun against the mountain wall.
Fu Yun grabbed hold of Xie Lingjun. Under the impact of the airflow, his sleeve tore open, revealing half of his forearm, which happened to press against Xie Lingjun’s nose.
Xie Lingjun saw a flash of white rushing toward him. He rarely had such close contact with others, let alone having someone’s arm pressed directly against his face… He couldn’t decide whether to cut it off or push it away, and in that moment of hesitation, his vision went completely dark.
He didn’t see that Fu Yun was holding a grass puppet in his other hand.
“Boom ”
The section of the mountain wall they crashed into suddenly cracked open, revealing a cave entrance. A deafening roar echoed as a powerful suction force surged from within the cave, swallowing both the vision-impaired Xie Lingjun and the well-prepared Fu Yun!
The system panicked: “Wait, wait, wait! Why are you following the harem plotline?”
Fu Yun confirmed: “So this is indeed the core of the secret realm.”
The system: “Yeah. Congratulations.”
The system couldn’t figure it out until it saw Fu Yun retrieve the grass puppet. Never before had it been so clever the key conditions to unlock the core in the original plot were these: the protagonist and his love interest traveling together, the demonic vine attack, and a life-or-death crisis.
The grass puppet infused with Xie Yun’s sword intent was judged as Xie Yun. Fu Yun guided the demonic vine to attack Xie Lingjun, creating a life-or-death crisis, and finally crashed into the stone wall. All the conditions were met!
The grass puppet was something Fu Yun had prepared before entering the secret realm.
Had he been scheming from that early on?
Outside the cave, the vine king roared in frustration, its main body seemingly blocked by some kind of restriction, unable to enter. However, one vine stubbornly persisted, crashing into the cave. Ignoring Xie Lingjun, who was closer, it instead attacked Fu Yun!
But Fu Yun sensed something amiss: the wood spiritual energy on this vine was faint and unstable, while its demonic aura was overwhelmingly thick.
As the vine coiled toward him, Fu Yun didn’t dodge. Instead, he formed a cage with his spiritual energy and trapped it
He had caught the vine or rather, not.
It was a demonic snake disguised as ancient vine bark, now writhing frantically.
Seeing its pure demonic aura and unknown origins, Fu Yun knocked it unconscious and temporarily tossed it into the newly acquired storage pouch capable of holding living creatures.
Damn it!
The great demon was both furious and terrified before being knocked unconscious.
It had slept for ten years, only to be startled awake by the aura of its destined master. The great demon, born of noble lineage, had always been proud and aloof. It had followed Xie Yun, observing him along the way, and was somewhat satisfied with Xie Yun’s leadership as the team captain.
After another nap, the great demon discovered that its destined master had entered the illusory mist. Upon emerging, his fifth senior brother actually provoked the vine king to attack.
The great demon decided to repay like with like, disguising itself as a demonic vine to kill Fu Yun.
But it ended up trapping itself instead!
Originally at the Nascent Soul stage, its cultivation was suppressed by the remnant soul of an ancient demon. Its opponent’s cultivation level determined its own suppressed level. However, with the techniques passed down by its clan elders, it could still dominate within the secret realm.
For example, using transformation techniques to disguise itself as a vine cultivators were foolish, and no one had ever seen through its disguise.
Who would have thought its true form would be exposed, and Fu Yun would seize its vital point? The great demon struggled in vain, forced to retreat resentfully into the storage pouch!
Bastard, once I wake up, I’ll bite you until your skin splits and your flesh tears, drink your blood, eat your.
It was knocked unconscious by spiritual energy.
The cave entrance they had come through vanished, leaving only a pitch-black, endless tunnel with no visible beginning or end.
Just as Fu Yun was about to take out a fire talisman for light, a small flame flickered to life at Xie Lingjun’s fingertip. The tiny flame grew in his hand, swelling into a palm-sized ball of fire.
Judging solely by Xie Lingjun’s rigid, icy expression, it was hard to imagine he was actually a single-element fire spiritual root.
They could see the path now, but they still needed to find their direction. Xie Lingjun said, “I was once trapped in a Joy Sect illusion array for an entire day.”
Fu Yun understood this was a subtle way of saying he didn’t know the way.
Fu Yun pulled a compass from his storage pouch. The needle spun wildly like a top, whirling dozens of times until Xie Lingjun’s eyes grew uncomfortable. He shifted his gaze to Fu Yun, but the man remained patiently focused.
The needle gradually slowed until it finally stopped.
Xie Lingjun said, “It may not be reliable.”
Fu Yun replied, “There’s no turning back, and ahead lies north since we’ve found our bearing, let’s go.” He added, “Unless you’d rather split up.”
Xie Lingjun thought for a moment, glanced at Fu Yun again, and chose the northern path. But he strode directly past Fu Yun, taking the lead.
Fu Yun was surprised: Xie Lingjun dared to leave his back exposed to him?
The air was damp and oppressive. For a long while, aside from their faint, intermingled breaths and footsteps, there was no other sound.
Surprisingly, it was Xie Lingjun who broke the silence first: “You used a spirit bird to snatch the Joy Sect disciple’s storage pouch, didn’t you?”
Since Fu Yun had dared to do it, he wasn’t afraid of being exposed. His expression remained unchanged. “Yes.”
Xie Lingjun said, “Looting amid chaos is not conduct befitting a disciple of Taiyi Sect.”
But Taiyi was exactly like that. Fu Yun fell half a step behind Xie Lingjun, a faint trace of mockery flickering across his face. Xie Lingjun stood too high to see it.
There were many things Xie Lingjun couldn’t see, filled with hidden strife. But the young master of the Xie family didn’t need to know.
Fu Yun didn’t argue. “Indeed.” Taiyi’s ability to brainwash the Xie young master into a little Confucius was truly impressive.
Xing Lingjun sensed Fu Yun’s indifference and didn’t bother wasting more words.
Fu Yun, however, eagerly struck up a conversation: “Junior Brother Xie, I have a question too.”
Xie Lingjun kept his eyes forward, his tone indifferent. “Speak freely.” He had a bit more patience for those with skill. Fu Yun was cunning, but his techniques were truly impressive.
Fu Yun said, “Last night, you warned me ‘not to be frivolous with your cousin.’ I truly don’t understand.”
With that, he stepped right onto Xie Lingjun’s sore spot.
Xie Lingjun’s footsteps faltered slightly. He turned his head and shot Fu Yun a glance his eyes were like ice spikes, unsoftened even by the fireball in his hand, his mockery evident. “Ever since we teamed up, you’ve often been watching Xie Yun. Are you pretending to be ignorant in front of me now, or do you expect me to pretend to be blind?”
Fu Yun suddenly understood. “You’ve misunderstood. I noticed Junior Brother Xie’s sword techniques were exquisite and wanted to observe and learn. I had no other intentions.”
Xie Lingjun said, “Then how did the sword tassel I gave you end up back in Xie Yun’s hands?”
Only then did Fu Yun remember back then, he had used a puppet as a decoy. To protect his own fragment of soul, he had left the defensive sword tassel on the puppet and accidentally lost it.
It seemed Xie Yun had found the tassel and returned it to Xie Lingjun.
Most likely, he had also embellished the “friendship” with Fifth Senior Brother.
That little bastard.
Fu Yun had no intention of revealing his deadly feud with Xie Yun, fearing Xie Lingjun might side with his cousin and simply stab him to death in the secret realm.
“Actually.” Fu Yun paused. “My heart belongs to another.”
Xie Lingjun: “Who?”
Fu Yun replied calmly, “The Azure Sage.”
The icy chill in Xie Lingjun’s brow shattered Qing Sheng was Fu Yun’s master!
Taiyi Sect placed the utmost importance on propriety and discipline. A master and disciple harboring private feelings was grounds enough to have their cultivation abolished and be expelled from the sect. Fu Yun waited for this little Confucius, Xie Lingjun, to denounce him with words like “treacherous speech” and “take you back to the sect for trial.”
But Xie Lingjun abruptly halted his steps, showing neither shock nor anger, only silence. From this silence, Fu Yun sensed a subtle implication.
Could it be that Xie Lingjun had already witnessed a master-disciple romance before?
Considering one possibility, the corner of Fu Yun’s mouth twitched, a mix of amusement and disgust. Could it be that Xie Yun and Qing Zun had already.
System: “Don’t let your imagination run wild. They haven’t gotten together yet.”
Fu Yun: “Then enlighten me, when will they get together?”
“In principle, I can’t say,” the system lowered its voice to a whisper, “but it’s after this secret realm ends, when Qing Sheng returns to the sect.”
Fu Yun: “You’ve unlocked new plotlines again?”
System: “I really can’t tell you any more.” Just like it couldn’t tell Fu Yun that the demon snake he had captured was one of the future harem members, the future Demon Emperor!
Each lost in their own thoughts, both were distracted. It was Fu Yun who first pulled himself out of his speculations and picked up the previous thread of conversation.
“What I said earlier about caring for my master was a lie,” Fu Yun said with a curved smile, “but the previous sentence wasn’t a lie.”
He had said his heart belonged to someone.
Xie Lingjun slowly exhaled the breath he had been holding, reassembling a cold and sharp expression, ready to mock, but suddenly met Fu Yun’s eyes. They quietly melted in the firelight, eyelids lowering and rising, as if two pieces of glass had been forged in the flames.
That glass held the person before him completely within.
Xie Lingjun furrowed his brows tightly. “Don’t look at me with such strange eyes.”
Fu Yun showed genuine confusion, countering, “But when I was observing your sword techniques before, I looked at you the same way.”
Xie Lingjun insisted on verification: “When and where?”
“In the secret realm, when you were slaying the demon beasts with your sword,” Fu Yun answered frankly.
Xie Lingjun had always believed Fu Yun was interested in Xie Yun. Now, he began to recall the details, and the more he thought, the worse his expression became.
Yes, he and Xie Yun were partners, almost inseparable. Could it be that Fu Yun had been watching not only Xie Yun but also him?
But why would Fu Yun watch him?
Fu Yun’s statement, “You and Xie Yun are like two peas in a pod, not a speck of green can come between you,” was meant to clear up Xie Lingjun’s misunderstanding, especially since he still needed to make good use of his junior brother’s combat strength.
The effect was excellent. Xie Lingjun pressed his lips together, turned his head away, and completely ignored Fu Yun.