Fang Zhiluo stood still, observing Yun Xiao’s poor acting with composure, and countered: “Who was it just now that claimed they could fight three hundred more rounds? Where is she now?”
Yun Xiao felt her face flush. She hung her head and mumbled, “A’Luo, you don’t care about me anymore. You never used to expose me.”
Fang Zhiluo caught the look of dejection in Yun Xiao’s eyes. Her heart trembled slightly, and she unconsciously stepped forward two paces, leaning over to stop just inches from Yun Xiao. She asked gently, “Where do you need me to blow?”
Yun Xiao raised her gaze, meeting Fang Zhiluo’s eyes.
Fang Zhiluo’s delicate face was reflected in her eyes, and she, too, was reflected in Fang Zhiluo’s eyes, which shimmered with affection.
Their breathing entwined with their stray strands of hair. At this moment, their eyes held only each other.
“A’Luo, I missed you, missed you so much,” Yun Xiao whispered, confessing her feelings straightforwardly.
Fang Zhiluo straightened up and immediately turned to leave: “Since you are fine, let’s go.”
After only a few steps, she stopped again and said coldly, “You have repeatedly helped me. I will strive to repay the favor I owe you.”
Was she drawing a line between them, or was she telling her not to harbor foolish fantasies?
Yun Xiao’s heart felt terribly sore, and a thin mist unknowingly covered her eyes.
Why feel sad? It’s not the first day you’ve known A’Luo doesn’t hold you in her heart.
Sincerity penetrates stone. There would come a day when A’Luo would see her and hold her in her heart.
Thinking this, the gloom gradually dispersed, and Yun Xiao brightened up again.
She placed her hands on the ground, stood up swiftly, and chased after her: “A’Luo, wait for me.”
Fang Zhiluo slowed her pace and found her fellow disciples together with Yun Xiao.
Seeing Yun Xiao, Chu Hui’s eyes lit up with admiration: “Senior, you are amazing! Even a ninth-level Vajra Ape was no match for you.”
This emotional appreciation was very gratifying to Yun Xiao. She smiled and waved her hand: “Pure luck, pure luck.”
Bai Mofeng comforted his fellow disciples for a moment, then walked over, expressing his gratitude: “If Senior had not given us the formation plate, I fear we would have fallen into the hands of those four rogue cultivators. Please accept this profound gratitude from a junior.” With that, he formally bowed to Yun Xiao.
Seeing that the rest of the disciples were also getting up, intending to bow to her, Yun Xiao immediately said, “There is no need for such formality. This formation plate belonged to your Martial Aunt Fang; I merely passed it along.”
Fang Zhiluo took over the conversation: “Once this formation plate was given to you, it was yours. You deserve their thanks.”
The disciples agreed and performed the respectful bow.
Yun Xiao was not a hypocritical person. If A’Luo said she deserved it, then she deserved it.
Glancing around, she asked, “Where are those four people?”
Bai Mofeng gritted his teeth and said, “Those four were too cunning; they managed to escape.”
Yun Xiao advised, “We are going to be in this Secret Realm for a year. There will be a chance to get revenge.”
“Rest here and we will set out tomorrow,” Fang Zhiluo announced.
She had looked around when they arrived and did not sense any danger. Furthermore, the disciples were all more or less injured. Although they had taken pills, they still needed to meditate to recover.
Yun Xiao leaped onto a nearby tree and sat down cross-legged.
After consuming that high-grade spiritual herb, the spiritual energy in her body was becoming slightly difficult to suppress.
She had only been here for two months and had just reunited with A’Luo, so she did not want to leave right away. Thus, she compressed the spiritual energy in her body repeatedly, mobilizing it to wash over all her acupuncture points.
With the Grade-Seven Defensive Formation in place, Fang Zhiluo only had the disciples form pairs for rotation duty.
At first light, the Azure Cloud Sect disciples were mostly recovered, and the spiritual energy around Yun Xiao had also stabilized.
She jumped down from the tree and threw a sixth-level demon beast from her Storage Pouch.
Without her needing to say anything, Chu Hui and Bai Mofeng voluntarily stepped forward, expertly skinning and boning the demon beast.
The fellow disciples who witnessed this were puzzled and asked, “What are you doing?”
Chu Hui rolled her eyes: “Eating, of course! Let me tell you, the spiritual food made by Senior Yun is absolutely incredible!” She patted her chest. “Didn’t you notice I’ve already reached Core Formation? It’s all thanks to Senior Yun’s spiritual food.”
Hearing this, the Azure Cloud Sect disciples became excited and eagerly offered to help.
Yun Xiao took out two large pots: one for stewing soup, and the other for braising.
The several hundred pounds of demon beast meat left the Azure Cloud Sect disciples’ mouths dripping with oil. They ate while continuously praising Yun Xiao’s cooking skills.
Having not eaten Yun Xiao’s spiritual food for over a year, Fang Zhiluo couldn’t resist drinking two bowls of soup herself.
After eating their fill, the group was about to depart when they suddenly heard a rumbling sound from the west, startling birds and beasts into flight.
Hu Hongtao watched for a moment, then told Fang Zhiluo, “This commotion is louder than yesterday. Perhaps there is a treasure.”
“There’s no treasure, but there is a ninth-level Earth Dragon,” Yun Xiao explained upon meeting Fang Zhiluo’s questioning gaze. “I came from that direction.”
Pointing to Bai Mofeng and Chu Hui, she continued, “They came from the east. In the end, we chose to head south the whole way to find you.”
Bai Mofeng and Chu Hui nodded.
Fang Zhiluo believed Yun Xiao. After hesitating for a moment, she decided: “We will head north. Does anyone object?”
Hu Hongtao was the first to shake his head. Since Yun Xiao knew of the ninth-level Earth Dragon’s existence, she must have already crossed paths with it. If they went that way, they would likely be targeted by the Earth Dragon.
The Ancient Secret Realm was vast, with countless treasures; there was no need to fixate on just one.
Since the Nascent Soul Martial Aunts and Uncles had no objections, the lower-cultivated disciples naturally dared not voice any.
Once the route was decided, Hu Hongtao and Yao Rui each led a team of disciples for training. Yun Xiao and Fang Zhiluo each paid attention to one team, ready to intervene at a crucial moment.
A month passed quickly. After countless battles, the Azure Cloud Sect disciples had gained much, and their cultivation levels had all improved. Bai Mofeng’s advancement was the most notable, having broken through two stages in just two months to reach the middle Core Formation stage.
Chu Hui finished meditating and recovering. She turned her head and saw Yun Xiao lying lazily on a tree while Fang Zhiluo sat cross-legged beneath it. Although the two weren’t speaking, the scene looked extraordinarily warm.
She nudged Bai Mofeng beside her with her elbow and whispered via voice transmission, “Senior Brother, don’t you think Senior Yun and Martial Aunt Fang are a perfect match?”
Bai Mofeng’s face darkened, and he scolded, “Stop talking nonsense! Martial Aunt Fang is already engaged to Celestial Derivation Sect’s Junior Martial Ancestor Xie.”
Chu Hui pouted: “But that Junior Martial Ancestor Xie doesn’t even hold Martial Aunt Fang in his eyes. There is endless gossip about Junior Martial Ancestor Xie down the mountain. He always has fairies following him, and some fairies even get jealous and fight each other.”
“In my opinion, Martial Aunt Fang should annul this engagement,” she said indignantly.
Martial Aunt Fang might be a bit distant, but she treats us juniors sincerely. Chu Hui sincerely hoped Martial Aunt Fang could achieve enlightenment and ascend soon.
Bai Mofeng gripped his life-bound sword tightly, his expression serious: “You must not say such things again. Martial Aunt Fang has her own judgment.”
Yun Xiao was unaware of their voice transmission. She flipped over, suddenly sensing a slight spiritual energy fluctuation one hundred miles away. The spiritual energy was so pure that it did not seem to belong to a cultivator.
“I’m going to take a look; I’ll be back later.” Before she finished speaking, she had already flown out.
Fang Zhiluo opened her eyes and said faintly, “It’s fine. Even if she encounters a tenth-level demon beast, she can still buy herself a chance at survival.”
Earlier, when she and Yun Xiao fought the Vajra Ape, she had noticed that Yun Xiao’s spiritual energy was much deeper than it had been a year ago. She was probably close to the threshold of advancing to Soul Transformation, or perhaps she could advance to Soul Transformation at any moment.
Hearing this, Chu Hui immediately swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
Hu Hongtao and Yao Rui had not gained much during this period. Whenever they saw their Junior Brothers and Junior Nephews gaining great harvests, they couldn’t help but feel anxious.
After much hesitation, Yao Rui walked out and told Fang Zhiluo, “Senior Sister, I want to venture out on my own for a while.”
Hu Hongtao also came out: “Senior Brother, I will go with you.”
Fang Zhiluo was initially worried, but upon hearing they would go together, she felt slightly reassured and advised, “No matter how rare the treasure, you must be alive to claim it. Do not prioritize the trivial over the essential.”
Not long after the two left, several people from the Celestial Derivation Sect walked over.
“Who might this be? Ah, it’s Daoist Friend Fang, who doesn’t know right from wrong,” said the newcomer.
The person was Hua Xuan, the daughter of the Celestial Derivation Sect’s Sect Master and the Second Senior Sister of the main peak, a middle Nascent Soul cultivator.
Chu Hui immediately exploded and tried to step forward to argue but was stopped by Bai Mofeng.
Bai Mofeng stepped forward to bow: “This junior greets Martial Aunt Hua,” he said, changing his tone, “May I ask if Martial Aunt Hua’s words have any basis? If not, then Martial Aunt Hua is deliberately damaging Martial Aunt Fang’s reputation.”
Hua Xuan scoffed, stating righteously: “When Junior Martial Ancestor Xie was severely injured, you, as his fiancée, not only failed to visit him but even mixed with the Azure Dragon that injured him!”
Her fists were clenched, and her eyes seemed venomous as she shouted the accusation: “Is this the way of your Azure Cloud Sect?”
Yun Xiao, who was returning from her reconnaissance, heard these words as she approached. Her peach blossom eyes widened, filled with disbelief.