Seeing the color gradually drain from Yun Xiao’s face, Fang Zhiluo quickly stepped forward and supported her, not having time to remove the formation.
Yun Xiao leaned into Fang Zhiluo’s shoulder and laughed, “I’m fine. It’s just that I won’t be able to go with you to the Grand Sect Competition.”
Taking a breath, she continued, “I think I need to go into seclusion to heal.”
The spiritual energy was running wild inside her body, and she had to refine it as quickly as possible.
Sensing the instability of the spiritual energy around Yun Xiao, Fang Zhiluo knew Yun Xiao had to enter seclusion immediately. She took out ten high-grade Spiritual Stones and tossed them to the innkeeper, then helped Yun Xiao out of the inn with a single arm.
Daring not to delay, she leased a Cave Dwelling with rich spiritual energy for Yun Xiao.
Although the Cave Dwelling came with its own Defensive Formation, she still took out and activated her only Grade-Seven Defensive Formation.
She turned to look at Yun Xiao, who was already sitting cross-legged in meditation, and said softly, “Heal with peace of mind. this formation can withstand three attacks from a Soul Transformation cultivator.”
Sensing that Fang Zhiluo was about to leave, Yun Xiao opened her eyes: “After I come out of seclusion, I will find you.”
Fang Zhiluo paused, hesitated, nodded, and replied, “Alright.”
Returning to the inn, the lobby, which had been damaged by the fight, had been restored to its original state. The cultivators who planned to rest there were chatting and laughing again, as if nothing had happened.
Just as she was going upstairs, Xie Yunfan, who was waiting in the hallway, stopped her.
“Bustling about for the female cultivator who repeatedly humiliated me in front of everyone—do you still regard me as your fiancé?” Xie Yunfan demanded sternly.
Fang Zhiluo stepped back two paces and replied indifferently, “She is my life-saver.”
Xie Yunfan was dissatisfied with the answer and coldly questioned, “Do you mean to demand that I treat her as a life-saver, too, just like you?”
“I wouldn’t dare,” Fang Zhiluo countered, changing the subject, “I just cannot stand by and watch her get injured in front of me.”
On that day, in the ninth-level Giant Crocodile’s lair, if Yun Xiao had not fought desperately to buy her a chance to escape, she might have perished.
Yun Xiao didn’t mention it, but Fang Zhiluo could not forget.
She owed Yun Xiao a life.
Xie Yunfan smiled coldly, scoffing, “You heard her words just now. There will be a fight between her and me eventually. Which side will you stand on then?”
Fang Zhiluo frowned, not understanding why Xie Yunfan regarded Yun Xiao as an enemy.
Yun Xiao had indeed verbally provoked Xie Yunfan, but she had never launched a sneak attack. On the contrary, Xie Yunfan had provoked Yun Xiao the first time they met. It was only right for Yun Xiao to harbor resentment.
She did not pursue the matter further. She raised her eyes to meet Xie Yunfan’s cold gaze and stated resolutely, “I will stand on neither side.”
If she stood with Xie Yunfan, she would be failing Yun Xiao for the grace of saving her life.
If she stood with Yun Xiao, she would be criticized, and if this caused a rift between the two sects, her sin would be great.
Feeling that he had been betrayed, Xie Yunfan’s anger surged. He gnashed his teeth and said, “Do you think I cannot do without you?”
Fang Zhiluo shook her head: “Not so. Martial Uncle Xie never lacks admirers.”
Xie Yunfan’s anger dissipated somewhat, and a hint of smugness flashed in his eyes: “It’s good that you know. However, I have only you as my fiancée.”
“A fiancée with a vast green meadow above her head?” With that, Fang Zhiluo turned and left.
She could accept that Xie Yunfan had no affection for her, but she could not tolerate Xie Yunfan’s failure to grant her the respect she was due.
Even after being clearly told that Yun Xiao was her life-saver, Xie Yunfan still launched an attack on Yun Xiao, which was a lack of respect.
Being ambiguous with another female cultivator right in front of her was also a lack of respect.
Questioning her, and then threatening her, was an even greater lack of respect.
In that case, she had no need to treat him kindly.
Finding Xie Yunfan’s character objectionable, Fang Zhiluo continued her journey the day after he left.
Cultivation knows no time. In a flash, Yun Xiao had been in seclusion for a year. She had finally refined all the spiritual energy in her body and was ready to break through to the Soul Transformation stage at any time.
The reason she did not immediately break through was that she had heard A’Luo mention that the top two hundred participants in the Grand Sect Competition could enter the Ancient Secret Realm.
This Ancient Secret Realm had a cultivation restriction, only allowing cultivators below the Soul Transformation stage to enter.
It was said that this Ancient Secret Realm was full of peril, but corresponding to the danger were resources. All cultivators who came out of this Ancient Secret Realm alive had gained a rich harvest.
She felt her luck was quite good. If she went, she might really gain something, and if she could conveniently seize Xie Yunfan’s opportunity, that would be even better.
Besides, with A’Luo’s cultivation, let alone the top two hundred in the Grand Sect Competition, even the top ten would be no problem.
She had said she would find A’Luo after coming out of seclusion, and she could not go back on her word.
Yun Xiao ignored the Dragon Egg’s protest and forcibly stuffed it into her Spiritual Beast Pouch.
During her seclusion, she noticed something unusual about the Dragon Egg and didn’t know how to help it. Thinking that the Treasure Grass Nourishing God Fungus was originally prepared for the Dragon Egg, she simply found it and gave it to the egg.
It was a desperate measure, but unexpectedly, it actually brought the egg back to life and made it grow a size larger.
After settling the Cave Dwelling rental fee, Yun Xiao traveled without stopping, finally arriving in time for the opening of the Ancient Secret Realm.
In addition to the Heavenly Talents of the various major sects gathered here, there were also rogue cultivators and people from the Demon Race.
Spotting Fang Zhiluo’s location at a glance, Yun Xiao walked directly toward her and called out, “A’Luo, I’ve come to find you.”
Fang Zhiluo turned around and saw Yun Xiao walking towards her with a radiant spirit.
She looked Yun Xiao up and down, confirming that Yun Xiao was unharmed. She was instantly relieved. She walked up and quietly reminded her, “One cannot enter the Ancient Secret Realm without a token.”
Yun Xiao took out the token she had traded for from her Storage Pouch and held it up in front of Fang Zhiluo: “This one?”
Fang Zhiluo reassured her: “It’s fine that you are prepared. The Ancient Secret Realm is full of dangers. Be sure to be careful after you enter.” With that, she handed half of her talismans to Yun Xiao.
Yun Xiao smiled, her eyes crescent-shaped. She patted the Storage Pouch on her waist: “I am prepared. I even prepared this,” she said, pulling out a Binding Immortal Rope. “With this, we can teleport to the same location.”
Fang Zhiluo did not forget the mission given by her sect and said truthfully, “There are other sect disciples entering this time, and I need to look after them.”
“That’s perfect. I’ll look after them with you, and you can relax a bit,” Yun Xiao did not want to be separated from A’Luo right after seeing her.
Just as Fang Zhiluo was about to respond, a cry of surprise rang out.
“It’s open! The Secret Realm is open!”
Yun Xiao had never witnessed the opening of a Secret Realm. Before she could even see clearly, her body was sucked into a vortex.
Realizing what was happening, she immediately shouted, “A’Luo, wait for me to find you!”
This Ancient Secret Realm only opened once every five hundred years. Fang Zhiluo was only a little over a hundred years old, and her understanding of the Secret Realm came entirely from the previous generation. She had never heard of the Secret Realm having a phenomenon of swallowing people.
Harboring this doubt, she quickly found Daoist Yu Hui and asked hesitantly, “Master, do you know what the situation was just now?”
Daoist Yu Hui gazed at the direction where the vortex had disappeared and said indifferently, “It has never happened before. Alright, go now. Remember what you promised your Master.”
“Yes,” Fang Zhiluo replied. She turned to the disciples who were whispering to each other and said, “Azure Cloud Sect disciples, heed my order: follow me into the Secret Realm!”
The Azure Cloud Sect disciples who obtained tokens to enter the Ancient Secret Realm this time totaled twenty-four people, including her: six Foundational Establishment disciples, ten Core Formation disciples, and eight Nascent Soul cultivators.
These were all Heaven-blessed talents that the Azure Cloud Sect had cultivated with countless resources. Every lost disciple was a loss to the sect.
But in the cultivation world, the strong prey on the weak. Disciples could not stay in the sect forever. Only by experiencing setbacks and dangers could they truly grow. All she could do was fulfill her duty as the Senior Disciple Sister and do her best to protect them.
Yun Xiao, who was forcibly sucked into the Secret Realm, fell flat on her face. She climbed up from the ground, muttering curses, and looked around.
This was a small valley, with a large area of middle-grade and high-grade spiritual herbs growing on the ground. A winding small river was three miles away. The surroundings were quiet. No matter how she looked at it, something felt wrong.
She didn’t sense any immediate danger. She threw out the Defensive Formation Plate that A’Luo had given her earlier, crouched down, and huff-huffed began digging up the spiritual herbs.
She continued digging for two consecutive days before she finished digging up all the spiritual herbs in this small valley.
She cast a Dust Cleansing spell on herself, sat down on the ground, took out the Spiritual Food stored in her Storage Pouch, and began eating large mouthfuls.
Suddenly, the pitted valley she had dug up shook.
Yun Xiao quickly chewed and swallowed the Spiritual Food in her mouth. She bent down, put away the formation plate, used the Lightness Art, and took off running.
The moment after she ran out, the small valley was flipped over. A five-foot-long ninth-level Earth Dragon shook its body, then swayed its body and chased after her.
Looking back at the Earth Dragon pursuing her relentlessly, Yun Xiao felt a herd of horses rush through her heart. She muttered to herself, “I just picked some spiritual herbs, alright, I picked all the mature ones, but they were only middle-grade and high-grade spiritual herbs, right?”
“Ugh, there were a few supreme-grade spiritual herbs mixed in, but there’s no need to be like this!”
The Earth Dragon sprayed a mouthful of mud at Yun Xiao, who had stolen its spiritual herbs.
Yun Xiao dodged and provoked it, “Brother Earthworm, you need more practice with your aim!”
This sentence completely enraged the Earth Dragon. It slammed its tail on the ground, and eight mud pillars shot up from the ground, striking directly at Yun Xiao.
“Damn it, it’s getting serious.” Yun Xiao knew the Earth Dragon would not let her go easily. She took out a sword from her inner space and swung it at the mud pillars.
During this year, besides refining her spiritual energy, she also haphazardly came up with a set of sword techniques.
Although this sword technique was still rudimentary, it was much stronger than her previous bare-handed combat.
Daring not to slack off, she poured thunder spiritual power into her sword and slashed at the Earth Dragon.
Before the Earth Dragon could react, she tossed a high-grade Rejuvenation Pill of her own making into her mouth, then tore a Grade-Six Swift Wind Talisman, and quickly vanished from the spot.
Running non-stop for two hundred miles, and confirming that the Earth Dragon had not caught up, Yun Xiao let out a long sigh and collapsed onto the ground.
The peak Nascent Soul stage and the Soul Transformation stage were indeed separated by a chasm. Even though she had used eighty percent of her strength earlier, she had only injured the Earth Dragon. It seemed that after leaving, she would have to quickly undergo the Tribulation of Accumulation and take advantage of the Heavenly Dao’s ‘wool’.
After resting for a while, Yun Xiao headed eastward.
She truly had some good fortune. Along the way, she harvested dozens of supreme-grade spiritual herbs and fruits. It was just that the guardian demon beasts were too difficult to deal with and chased her all over the place.
Her self-created sword technique also reached the Minor Accomplishment stage with the help of these demon beasts.
On this day, Yun Xiao lay on a tree, staring blankly at the clear blue sky.
If she could use a Transmitting Talisman within the Secret Realm, she would definitely have found A’Luo by now.
“Senior Brother, hold on! You will be saved once we find Martial Aunt Fang.”
Yun Xiao parted the leaves and saw a female cultivator at the peak of the Foundational Establishment stage struggling to carry a dying male cultivator. Both of them were wearing the robes of the Azure Cloud Sect.