Chapter 21: If You Want to Be Cannon Fodder, Be My Guest
Although Xie Bailu was certain that Ling Song would give her some time this round, this was a game to Ling Song, but it was fatal to her. She didn’t know when Ling Song would get tired of it, so she couldn’t have the mentality of “I won’t die even if I’m caught.”
Therefore, after a brief rest, she continued on her way.
A cultivator who could pose a threat to Ling Song had to be at least at the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm. But just being a threat wasn’t enough. What she needed was someone who could kill Ling Song. But Ling Song also had the identity of a Ling family member. Those who could threaten Ling Song would most likely not kill him. Only evil cultivators, who were already rats scurrying in the streets, would have no scruples.
But evil cultivators were too dangerous. She couldn’t afford to provoke them, and she couldn’t find them either.
After much thought, she realized that her options for killing Ling Song were very limited.
She thought of the conclusion she had reached earlier: the Ling family didn’t actually care that much about Ling Song. There was a strange sense of incongruity. Could she start from this aspect?
In the end, Xie Bailu still had to ask Xiao Xing to help her look for any secret realms. She planned to hide in one first to buy some time.
Afraid of depleting Xiao Xing too much, Xie Bailu traveled on her own when she wasn’t in a hurry to escape. This was also beneficial for her to get used to using spiritual energy.
After traveling like this for five days, Xie Bailu was constantly tense, worried that Ling Song would appear at any moment. But he never came.
Until one day, while she was hiding and meditating to recover, she overheard two passing rogue cultivators mention that Ling Song’s cultivation had broken through to the late-stage Golden Core realm, their tones full of envy.
After the two rogue cultivators left, Xie Bailu and Xiao Xing looked at each other.
Xie Bailu said with a long face, “He’s too fast!”
Xiao Xing was also desperate. “He fights with his life on the line, and he has been on the verge of life and death many times. Of course, his cultivation improves extremely quickly.”
Xie Bailu agreed. High risk, high reward. For someone like Ling Song who fought with his life on the line, who else would break through if not him?
Looking at herself, the wound in her Dantian hadn’t even healed yet, and this was a normal recovery speed. She had only been here for less than twenty days, and the time she had to properly heal was pitifully small. She had been busy running for her life all this time.
Seeing Xiao Xing’s low spirits, Xie Bailu quickly comforted it. “He could have crushed us even at the mid-stage Golden Core realm. A small improvement in his realm doesn’t make a difference. A person can only die once, and you can only be destroyed once.”
Xiao Xing was speechless. “…” That’s right. In that madman’s eyes, we’re all just ants.
The human and the artifact spirit quickly adjusted their moods and continued to travel in silence, until Xiao Xing suddenly said, “There’s a secret realm ahead!”
Xie Bailu confirmed, “Are you sure it’s a secret realm and not an evil array or a domain?”
Xiao Xing said, “…Probably.”
Thinking of how every time it said “secret realm,” it had ended up in some strange place, Xiao Xing had no confidence at all.
Xie Bailu said, “We’ll know when we go and see.”
The cultivation world was already a dangerous place. Everything had risks, but all the risks were nothing compared to the danger Ling Song posed.
Therefore, Xie Bailu’s threshold for danger had also been raised a lot.
She hurried in the direction Xiao Xing had pointed. But before she reached the location, she heard a shout from ahead. “This is the joint trial ground of the Jing family of Guangyuan City, the Xing family of Gongxin City, and the Jinyuan Sect! Unrelated people, leave quickly!”
Xie Bailu’s steps faltered. She asked, “This is a secret realm, right?”
Xiao Xing had told her that secret realms were supposed to be a shared resource of the cultivation world, but some of the major families were more domineering and would occupy some secret realms. Other families, sects, and rogue cultivators, even if they had complaints, couldn’t fight them and had to accept it.
And some small secret realms, due to their geographical advantage, would be jointly held by the surrounding families. It seemed that this secret realm was such a case.
Xie Bailu hesitated for a moment. Although she wanted to find a powerful cultivator to get rid of Ling Song, she didn’t really want to involve the innocent. Besides, with these three families and sects sharing one secret realm, it was clear that there weren’t many powerful cultivators. She’d better not let them become cannon fodder for Ling Song.
However, perhaps because they were used to being arrogant in this place, seeing that Xie Bailu, a plainly dressed rogue cultivator, didn’t answer or retreat immediately, the person who had shouted said angrily, “You’re asking for it!” and then stabbed at her with his sword.
Xie Bailu was speechless. “…???” What did I do!
Since transmigrating, she had met many cultivators, but it was rare to see someone attack at the slightest disagreement. Fortunately, she was no longer the clueless newbie she had been at the beginning. She quickly took out her longsword and deflected the imposing sword that was stabbing at her.
As a result, the sword was knocked out of his hand and flew sideways.
Xie Bailu was shocked. She had such skills?
The other person was also shocked. “You’re not at the Qi Refinement stage?”
Xie Bailu was confused. “…?”
The other person was a male cultivator in a white robe. He didn’t even bother with his sword and quickly retreated, taking out a whistle and blowing it. The whistle was sharp and full of shock and anger.
Xie Bailu immediately understood. He was calling for backup because he couldn’t beat her!
Although she had little combat experience, she also understood that if there were more people, she would definitely be at a disadvantage. She decided to just run in the direction Xiao Xing had pointed, ignoring the cultivator who was angrily shouting for her to stop and not move.
Xie Bailu found it absurd. Come on, how dare a Qi Refinement cultivator shout at a Foundation Establishment cultivator like her? Although she knew that her Foundation Establishment cultivation was not what it seemed, he didn’t know that!
She definitely couldn’t outrun them, but it wasn’t at the point where she had to use the Divine Movement Art yet. Xie Bailu decided to enter the secret realm directly. A secret realm used for trials was probably not very dangerous.
As Xie Bailu ran, she couldn’t help but complain to Xiao Xing, “How dare that person! He’s only at the Qi Refinement stage! Is there something wrong with how these three families teach their disciples?”
Xiao Xing said, “…Maybe you don’t look like a Foundation Establishment cultivator.”
Xie Bailu came from a scientific world, and her growth trajectory was naturally different from that of the cultivators in this world. She completely lacked the aura that a Foundation Establishment cultivator would have after many experiences, and looked more like a mortal. In addition, her Dantian was still injured, so many people who saw her for the first time would think her cultivation was probably only at the Qi Refinement stage.
Xie Bailu said angrily, “Can’t you just say it nicely? I didn’t even want to involve the innocent!”
Xiao Xing said nonchalantly, “If they want to die, just let them!”
It was also getting used to the fact that people who provoked Xie Bailu would end up being schemed to death by that madman. Although this habit made it a little dazed, was that madman chasing them or protecting them?
Xiao Xing reminded Xie Bailu in a low voice to adjust her direction, but before she could enter the secret realm, someone had caught up.
“Be careful!”
With Xiao Xing’s anxious reminder, Xie Bailu hastily dodged to the side. A sword qi grazed past her ear, cutting off a lock of her hair.
The newcomer said coldly, “Trespassers will be killed!”
The sword moves unfolded like a fan, enveloping Xie Bailu. Her experience in direct confrontation was limited, and she was in a mess for a moment. Fortunately, the other person’s cultivation was on par with hers. She held on and was stabbed once, using the opportunity to escape. Then she threw her sword back at the newcomer and ran without looking back.
The whistle had definitely called more than one person. If she didn’t want to be surrounded, she had to run.
A cultivator who was used to using a sword would generally not throw it. Therefore, Xie Bailu’s action surprised the newcomer, which bought her some time to enter the secret realm in time.
Xie Bailu had entered a subspace several times before and felt that entering a secret realm was no different from entering a domain. Xiao Xing had said that even if they entered a secret realm from the same place, they would appear in different locations, so she relaxed after entering.
The surrounding area was a desolate scene similar to Mars, with the land a dark red.
She sat on the ground, took out a clean white cloth, and skillfully bandaged the arm that had been injured by the sword qi.
Xiao Xing said angrily on Xie Bailu’s behalf, “They’re finished!”
Xie Bailu comforted it, “Alright, why get angry with the dead.”
Xiao Xing was surprised. “You didn’t hit him with that sword just now!”
Xie Bailu was speechless. “…” She was just making a sarcastic remark.
She took out the spare longsword from her storage bag and tied it properly to her waist, feeling a little regretful that she hadn’t bought a few more. She couldn’t lose this sword again.
After a short rest, Xie Bailu stood up. “Let’s go. We can’t have suffered for nothing.”
She remembered the style of the clothes of the two people just now. The style of this sect was really not good. The other two families that were mixed in with them were probably similar, so she didn’t have to be too polite.
Her only worry was that these three families were too weak and didn’t even have the ability to be a stumbling block for Ling Song.
The sky in this secret realm was red, which was very uncomfortable. The land was not only red, but also had many ups and downs and sudden cracks. If a mortal were to enter by mistake, they would most likely be trapped and die somewhere.
Xie Bailu and Xiao Xing chatted in low voices as they walked, to pass the boring time. However, after walking for a long time, she didn’t see a single person.
She was getting tired of walking and asked with confusion, “Where are the people? Didn’t they say it’s a trial ground? Has the trial time not started yet?”
Xiao Xing added, “Besides people, there are no demonic beasts either.”
Demonic beasts were the most common in secret realms, but Xie Bailu had been walking for a long time and hadn’t seen a single living thing.
She couldn’t help but stop and think. After a moment, she said, “Could they all be in the cracks in the ground?”
Xie Bailu walked to the edge of a crack and looked in, but it was dark and she couldn’t see anything clearly.
She asked Xiao Xing, “Do you think I should go down and take a look?”
She had entered the secret realm not only to hide, but also to find a way to trap Ling Song. But if she couldn’t see anyone, she would be completely in the dark and wouldn’t know anything. How could she trap him?
Although it was most likely that she couldn’t trap him here, how would she know if she didn’t try?
Xiao Xing said, “I’ll listen to you!” It felt that Xie Bailu was a child of fortune, and any decision she made was good. Even if it seemed unreliable at the moment, it would definitely lead to a good result in the end. It firmly believed this.
Xie Bailu said, “Then let’s go and see.”
Entering and leaving a secret realm were not the same method. Similar to a domain, a secret realm was easy to enter, but to get out, one had to find a special exit. And a secret realm was not like a domain, where the domain would completely dissipate once the demon died. It took thousands of years for a secret realm to form, and it was not easy to dissipate or destroy after it was formed.
Besides looking for an opportunity to trap Ling Song, she also had to find a way to leave the secret realm, and the disciples of the three families who had come for the trial most likely knew.
Xie Bailu walked along the crack for a long time and finally found a convenient place to go down. She slowly climbed down.
Outside the secret realm.
The male cultivator who had discovered Xie Bailu was talking to the male cultivator who had injured her. “Senior brother, should we tell the senior uncle about this?”
The male cultivator who was called senior brother said, “It’s just a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Today is for the trial. This person can also be an extra trial for them.”
The words were beautiful, but both senior and junior brothers knew that this was to cover up their negligence in letting someone in. They were not the only ones guarding the place. Even if the disciples in the trial found the intruder, they wouldn’t know that it was them who had let her in.
The other male cultivator said fawningly, “Senior brother is right. Senior brother is so powerful that you could injure that person. If it were me, I wouldn’t have been able to.”
The senior brother was pleased. “Your cultivation is still shallow. When you’ve cultivated long enough, you’ll be able to kill that person with a single sword strike.”
The two senior and junior brothers thought they were alone, so when a clear voice suddenly sounded, they both broke out in a cold sweat.
“Who do you want to kill?”
The speaker slowly walked out of the shadows, his red clothes bright and flamboyant, moving with the wind. His handsome face had a faint smile, but his eyes were extremely cold.
The two senior and junior brothers were startled. The less experienced junior brother had already attacked first. “Who are you? How dare you trespass! This is…”
But before he could finish, his mouth was covered by his senior brother.
His senior brother’s face was pale. Ignoring his junior brother’s struggle and confused and questioning gaze, he said respectfully, “Are you Young Master Ling?”
Red clothes, high cultivation… it was that madman, no doubt about it!
Ling Song smiled and walked closer step by step, each step seeming to tread on their hearts. He continued to ask slowly, “Who do you want to kill.”
The senior brother didn’t understand, but a sense of danger was frantically reminding him. He said in a panic, “It’s… it’s a female cultivator who trespassed, but she’s not dead!”
Ling Song smiled. “Not dead, but injured, right?”
The senior brother was stunned. He didn’t dare to admit it, nor did he dare to deny it. What was the relationship between that female cultivator and this madman? She was clearly just a rogue cultivator!
Before he could think of what to say, he saw a flash of silver in front of him, and then he could no longer speak.
And his junior brother, before he could react, also followed his senior brother.
Ling Song’s steps did not stop. He passed by the two still-warm bodies and disappeared into the secret realm.
A moment later, a man in black slowly walked over. Looking at the two corpses on the ground, he chuckled, for some reason.
He looked up in the direction Ling Song had disappeared and also followed.
A few days ago, he had found his junior brother’s body, but the storage bag was gone. Seeing the tragic marks on his junior brother’s body and hearing that Ling Song had been nearby those few days, he knew that his junior brother was probably killed by Ling Song.
If his junior brother died, he died. But his junior brother’s storage bag still had his things. He had to get them back.
Today was the death date he had carefully chosen for the brat Ling Song.