Chapter 22: Diverting Disaster
The crack was very deep, but fortunately, Xie Bailu was no longer an ordinary person. With the help of spiritual energy, she quickly reached the bottom.
At the bottom, the originally silent environment was finally filled with many sounds. Xie Bailu even heard people talking in the distance.
Below was a network of interconnected caves. The cave walls were covered with glowing moss, so it was not dark. From time to time, small animals and insects would scurry across the ground.
Xie Bailu thought for a moment, then changed into the blood-stained clothes she had gotten in the Absolute Demon Domain but hadn’t thrown away. Then she wandered randomly through the caves.
When the sound of human voices grew louder, she put on a full act, clutching her arm and running with a staggering gait, looking back from time to time with a terrified expression.
When she turned a corner and a group of people suddenly appeared in front of her, her steps faltered. When they all looked at her warily, she immediately screamed and turned to run.
In the cave was a small group of four, two men and two women, all from the same family. They had been resting and were all somewhat injured. Seeing this, they immediately became alert. One of them said, “That person just now… doesn’t seem to be from the other two families?”
Before they entered the secret realm, they were all required to wear their own family’s clothes. But the female cultivator who had just appeared and then disappeared with a scream was clearly not from any of their three families.
The four of them took out their weapons, and a male cultivator led the way, slowly walking in that direction.
But before they could get close, a head suddenly appeared in front of them, startling them into retreating.
This head naturally belonged to the returning Xie Bailu. Her eyes were fixed on them, from initial wariness to a flash of light. She revealed herself and said in a panic, “Do you know how to leave this secret realm?”
That’s right. She had approached them to first find out how to leave the secret realm. With the trump card of a safe exit, she would then consider other things.
The oldest male cultivator looked at Xie Bailu. “Who are you? You’re not from our three families.”
Xie Bailu, as if terrified, nodded repeatedly. “That’s right, that’s right, I’m not. Do you know how to leave the secret realm?”
The male cultivator frowned. “Stop playing dumb. How did you get in? Didn’t anyone stop you outside?”
Xie Bailu looked like she was about to cry. “Don’t ask, don’t ask! An evil cultivator is chasing me! He followed me in! He killed many of my friends! I want to go! I want to leave this place!”
First, she had to create a relatively urgent situation, but she couldn’t say that Ling Song was chasing her. That would be too difficult to explain. An ordinary enemy wouldn’t work either. Most cultivators minded their own business. Others’ grievances were others’ business, and they wouldn’t interfere. So it had to be an evil cultivator.
Only an evil cultivator, regardless of whether they encountered the person they were chasing, would kill on sight. Only then would it cause them to panic.
“An evil cultivator?” The man’s expression indeed changed. Evil cultivators were rats scurrying in the streets, but these low-level cultivators were also very afraid of encountering them. They had never encountered one before.
His junior brother’s face showed fear. “How could they let an evil cultivator in?”
A female cultivator pointed at Xie Bailu. “An outsider has come in. Something must have happened to the people outside.”
Another female cultivator said, “Then should we leave immediately?”
The more timid male cultivator said, “But if we do, our trial will fail.”
The calmer female cultivator said, “Is it better to fail or to lose your life?”
The older male cultivator said, “But we’re not sure if an evil cultivator has really come. What if he’s from one of the other two families and has changed his clothes to trick us?”
Xie Bailu was speechless. “…” Come on, it’s just a small trial for three families. Do you need to be so dramatic? Your perspective is too small. No wonder you can only share one secret realm!
The longer she was separated from Ling Song, the more uneasy Xie Bailu felt. She knew he wouldn’t give her too much time. She still had his spiritual sense imprint on her, and it couldn’t be blocked in this secret realm. If he could find the place where her spiritual sense imprint had disappeared, then finding her would be a matter of minutes, unless someone or something was holding him back.
But the few people in front of her were both wary of her and arguing fiercely, and they just wouldn’t say how to leave the secret realm.
If an evil cultivator is really chasing you, you’ll all be dead if you keep talking!
On the ground, Ling Song was floating in mid-air. His spiritual sense imprint was underground and hadn’t moved. He didn’t know if she was held up or if she had arranged something fun for him there.
He thought with a good mood, Should I go down and find her now, or give her some more time?
In the crack, a man in black had a hand on a pupil-less, giant-mouthed snake of the Nascent Soul stage. Spiritual energy with a black aura was injected into it, stimulating its eyes to turn red. He then casually pushed it towards the ground.
This innocent demonic beast, which had been sleeping peacefully, had lost its mind before it could even wake up and charged out.
The man in black turned and looked into the crack. Hehe, I hope this little snake can buy me some time.
In the cave, the four were still arguing.
Xie Bailu couldn’t stand it anymore. She, a normal person who had just transmigrated, was more decisive than them. Regardless of whether what she said was true or false, they should at least go to the “exit” where they could leave the secret realm at any time. This was a dangerous cultivation world. You could never be too careful.
“Can you stop arguing first? Go to the exit first. As for whether to go out or not, you can argue when you get there!” Xie Bailu couldn’t help but interrupt them.
The few of them immediately looked at Xie Bailu. The timid male cultivator said, “I think senior brother is right. This person must have been sent by the other two families!”
The calmer female cultivator said, “Let’s capture her first. If her companions don’t follow, we’ll just say she died at the mouth of a demonic beast.”
Xie Bailu was already not close to them. Hearing this, she turned and ran.
After seeing the character of the two cultivators before entering the secret realm, she shouldn’t have had any expectations for these three families. An “evil cultivator” was coming, and they were still bickering. What was the difference between them and those who sought death in horror movies? Anyway, if someone had shouted “Ling Song is coming” at her, her first reaction would have been to run. As for whether it was true or false, she could verify it after she had survived.
Thinking of the cultivators she had met before, none of them were as unguarded as them. Perhaps this was the difference between a family sect and a rogue cultivator.
Rogue cultivators fought alone and had suffered a lot. Their difficult experiences had shaped their personal habits. Because the margin for error was too low, they had to become highly sensitive. Those who were not sensitive to danger had died long ago. And these three families she had encountered this time had probably been living in a corner for too long, so they were still very indecisive.
But from what the female cultivator had said, they seemed to be very decisive when it came to killing their own people.
Forget it. She would try another group of people. She hoped she could meet someone who was alone and easier to fool.
Xie Bailu ran fast and decisively, so she didn’t know that the cultivators who were about to chase her were completely distracted by the person who appeared behind them.
The appearance of an evil cultivator was very distinctive. Therefore, when the man in black appeared, the same thought flashed through the minds of the four: So what that person said was true. An evil cultivator has really come in! And it’s a terrifying high-level evil cultivator!
Why did they have to argue for so long? If they had listened to that female cultivator and gone to the exit to argue, or just left the secret realm directly, wouldn’t they have been able to avoid the evil cultivator?
But now, even if they regretted it, it was useless. Under the pressure of a high-level cultivator, their legs trembled, and they didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.
The man in black thought for a moment and asked, “Have you seen an outsider female cultivator? An injured one.”
The older male cultivator immediately said, “Yes, yes, she just left!”
He mustered his courage and pointed in the direction Xie Bailu had left, only hoping that the evil cultivator would go after that female cultivator and not harm them.
As soon as his voice fell, the man in black passed by the four of them and chased in that direction. And as he left, the four of them also collapsed to the ground, silent.
Xie Bailu was grabbed by the shoulder when she realized someone was behind her. She immediately froze, not because she was so nervous she couldn’t move, but because her Dantian was sealed, and her body couldn’t move.
Then, the person holding her turned to face her. Her pupils constricted, and she was in utter disbelief.
Before her stood a man robed in black, his face bearing a sickly pallor, his features sharp yet unnaturally pale. He appeared to be in his thirties, with long, narrow eyes that seemed to hold a venomous glint, gazing at her as if she were already a corpse.
Damn it, it’s an evil cultivator! How could there really be an evil cultivator! I was just making up the most logical plot! Do I really have the power of verbal command? Then I hope Ling Song dies a violent death! This evil cultivator too!
The man in black sized up Xie Bailu. Although he didn’t understand why Ling Song was looking for her, the spiritual sense imprint on her couldn’t be faked.
Of course, he had casually erased that spiritual sense imprint. He didn’t know what that brat would think when he found out.
He grabbed Xie Bailu with one hand and moved quickly through the caves, soon getting far away from the place where her spiritual sense imprint had been erased before stopping.
After the initial panic, Xie Bailu had calmed down.
He hadn’t killed her immediately, so she still had a chance.
Besides, she felt that this evil cultivator’s attire was quite familiar. She had only met one pair of evil cultivator master and disciple, and she felt that this evil cultivator was similar to them… but it was also possible that all evil cultivators were similar.
The man in black stood in front of Xie Bailu and rubbed his chin. “Who are you to the brat Ling Song?”
Xie Bailu was speechless. “…?” Hmm? So it’s related to Ling Song? But how did he know…
She understood. Ling Song must have already chased her into the secret realm, and this man in black had followed Ling Song but had found her first. But after catching her, he hadn’t stayed in place but had taken her far away.
That is to say—
She didn’t answer but asked, “Senior, did you by any chance erase the spiritual sense imprint Ling Song left on me?”
The man in black misunderstood Xie Bailu’s meaning and smiled. “It’s not good to let that brat find you too quickly. I still have some questions to ask you.”
It was a little awkward for someone who looked to be in his thirties to call himself “old man,” but Xie Bailu couldn’t be bothered with these details now. Both spiritual sense imprints had been erased by an evil cultivator. In this respect, evil cultivators were her benefactors.
Xie Bailu said quickly, “Reporting to senior, my relationship with Ling Song is a bit complicated and hard to explain in a short time. We’re the most familiar strangers, I suppose! What business do you have with him? If there’s anything I can do, please feel free to ask.”
The man in black looked at Xie Bailu with some surprise and smiled. “A smart little girl. Ling Song took something of mine, and I want to get it back from him.”
Xie Bailu’s heart skipped a beat. Was he talking about the Five-Star Cauldron? The Five-Star Cauldron was hanging right at her waist. If that was his target, then she was dead.
She tried her best to remain calm. “May I ask what it is? Perhaps this junior knows.”
The man in black said, “Some things I temporarily stored with my junior brother. Ling Song killed my junior brother, so the things are naturally with him. Do you know?”
Xie Bailu had to try very hard to maintain her composure.
Who was the evil cultivator Ling Song had recently killed? How could she not know? She was there! What “with Ling Song”? She was the one who had taken it! But the problem was, besides the spirit stones, she had buried everything else, including the storage bag. For a powerful evil cultivator like this to come after her, it couldn’t be for some spirit stones.
But the bad thing was, she had just buried it casually, and she didn’t remember where!
Meeting the man in black’s sinister gaze, Xie Bailu said with a certain expression, “That’s right, it’s with him!”