Chapter 12

The scattered cultivators nearby watched the group with curiosity. When they first entered, there had been no magical artifacts to fix their position; now that they’d been scattered, they could only form makeshift teams and hope to reunite with their companions at the finish line.

Seeing that Yin Xianyu seemed to have a plan, they all turned to watch what she was going to do.

The other three also looked at her with the same curiosity, clearly expecting some brilliant idea.

“Fire overcomes metal. I’m planning to melt it all here,” Yin Xianyu said.

At that, the others all looked away at once, even rolling their eyes. They thought the disciples of Lingzhan Mountain were really good at joking around; they’d expected something impressive for nothing.

The method was obvious. If it were really that easy to pull off, wouldn’t someone have done it already? Why would everyone be slogging along here like ascetics? It was simply ridiculous.

Of course, among the crowd, there were still some who couldn’t bear to watch and tried to persuade her. “Little friend, you’d better not do that. How much spiritual power do you even have? How could you possibly melt all the metal and earth here? That’s pure fantasy. Better not try.”

Yin Xianyu smiled and accepted the kindness, but unfriendly voices soon followed. The other cultivators nearby weren’t nearly so considerate, and sneering mockery drifted into the group’s ears.

“Dream on. If it could be done, wouldn’t it have been done already? Don’t tell me you’re going to fly halfway and then die while still thinking you’ve come up with something new. All you’re doing is spouting useless nonsense and making people laugh.”

“Why must Senior Brother speak so harshly and embarrass this Junior Sister? She’s only just entered the Xuanxu Realm and is still young; being a little naive is understandable.”

Several people around them snickered, and not even Bo Wenyu’s sharp glare could stop them.

Yin Xianyu quickly reached out and pressed down Xie Qingrang’s slightly raised hand. She paid those words no mind at all. “I don’t bother comparing notes with pigs.”

Their faces darkened. Hearing Yin Xianyu say that, they instinctively wanted to move. Since they could speak so brazenly in a secret realm, they clearly weren’t good people.

But before they could act, they were intimidated by Xie Qingrang’s Chiling.

Chiling’s naturally jade-like sword body was far too eye-catching; it was hard for anyone not to recognize it.

The moment their thoughts stirred, they were forcibly suppressed again. Their expressions soured at once, and they looked ready to draw their swords at any moment.

Bo Wenyu and the others also looked a little impatient, their gazes fixed on the group opposite them.

It seemed that once everyone entered this place, they all became somewhat irritable. The longer they stayed inside, the more they could feel that something was wrong.

Yin Xianyu guessed it was probably because the trial wanted to increase the difficulty. Besides, the Five Elements Land was already a place where mutual generation and mutual restraint were especially strong. Staying inside was like remaining in a giant furnace, where everyone was being refined over and over again. The longer they stayed, the harder it became to endure.

The others didn’t act like those few people; instead, they all kept their distance so they wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire if the two sides fought.

“Senior Sister, once I start refining the earth, you channel your spiritual power. Senior Sister Liu, you just absorb the metal qi. That should be fine, right?”

Liu Xinlan nodded. She hadn’t expected it to be so simple. Earth and metal were indeed not easy to absorb; this was where the metal qi was most concentrated. Her sea of consciousness was rather empty, so this bit of metal qi would naturally be a trivial matter.

Seeing Xie Qingrang also nod, Yin Xianyu had the remaining two sit down in front of Liu Xinlan and, at the same time, had Xie Qingrang release Chiling.

The others couldn’t figure out what she was trying to do, but they obediently followed her instructions and sat on the sword. Their serious expressions only made the sight seem even more absurd.

Yin Xianyu curved her lips. With a sword art, she pointed forward, and a thread of spiritual energy flowed out from her fingertip; Xie Qingrang followed immediately after.

Fire softened metal and earth. Bo Wenyu’s wood spiritual root added fuel to the flames, making them burn even more fiercely. The metal and water were pressed farther and farther together until they almost fused into Chiling itself.

Xie Qingrang’s mind shifted; Chiling shot out with a whoosh and disappeared without a trace.

The vast amount of metal qi produced in the process was all drawn into Liu Xinlan’s sea of consciousness, and the metal-water layer below vanished in an instant.

Only the ground remained, slowly “healing” itself.

The eyes of the cultivators watching from nearby all lit up at the departing sword, and the others around them also looked on, ready to imitate.

They were still waiting to see how these people would handle the Mistaken Killing Array up ahead.

But the group beside them was not like that at all. Seeing that Yin Xianyu could move forward, they quickly organized themselves and copied her method at once.

They completely ignored the contemptuous looks from the surrounding crowd, and with their heads held high, they even flew higher than Yin Xianyu and the others.

Naturally, they did not expend spiritual power the way Yin Xianyu did. They simply followed in the wake of her route, staying right behind her no matter how hard she tried to shake them off, laughing wildly the entire way and drowning out all the jeers from around them.

Bo Wenyu clenched the sword in her hand, only to be stopped at once by Ji Xingchen. “What are you doing? Sit down!”

Bo Wenyu flicked her sleeve in obvious displeasure and snorted. “I really want to stab my sword into their asses and give it a twist. They’re way too arrogant!”

Yin Xianyu couldn’t help but look up and imagine it. She really couldn’t picture what it would feel like to have something like that happen right at the edge of disaster, and she burst out laughing.

She honestly wasn’t angry. As more and more people followed behind them, everyone felt that this really was a good method, so there was nothing strange about using it.

Yin Xianyu pressed forward boldly, her speed unchanged. The people behind her still followed carefully, testing out her method.

Suddenly, she felt something like a solid wall ahead of them, blocking all the spiritual energy.

Her divine sense moved in an instant; Xie Qingrang immediately banked to the side. The bodies of those seated on the sword tilted slightly, then steadied again.

Because the turn was so sudden, the people behind them had no time to react. The spiritual energy only dissolved the earth in front of them for a moment, and by the time they realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

They stepped into the Mistaken Killing Array. The sword riders instantly turned into statues and fell from the sky, hitting the ground with loud, heavy thuds.

Yin Xianyu finally understood the principle behind the array. It was pretty much what she had thought: within the Mistaken Killing Array, metal qi was everywhere, almost condensed into substance.

Once someone entered the formation, the overwhelming metal qi would surge into their body and kill them from within; their bodies then became the medium through which the metal qi took tangible form. Though nothing could be seen with the naked eye, the dense metal qi inside had already become a weapon capable of killing without a trace.

The moment Yin Xianyu realized she could no longer push forward, she knew they had run into a formation.

Their speed wasn’t fast; as long as she and Xie Qingrang kept their divine senses in sync, they could naturally avoid it.

Once they understood the principle, Yin Xianyu released a great amount of spiritual energy to pave the way the instant the others failed to react. Chiling shot out like an arrow from a bow, flinging the people following behind them far away until they could no longer catch up.

Throughout the whole journey, Bo Wenyu’s laughter never stopped. “That feels great!”

She had long disliked the few people behind them who had mocked them earlier. Now that they were getting exactly what they deserved, it was nothing short of satisfying. Those people were no good at all; they deserved it.

Their deaths also sounded the alarm for the remaining cultivators still groping their way forward. Everyone became much more careful.

Earlier, Yin Xianyu had found it too troublesome to control everything herself, so after synchronizing her divine sense with Xie Qingrang’s, she handed full control over to her.

The group moved smoothly from the outer edge of the formation and all the way into the stone array.

There were almost no other cultivators around; they were actually the first team to arrive. These teams that had formed alliances on the way were not nearly as coordinated when working together. Unlike her and Xie Qingrang, who shared divine sense as naturally as fingertips touching, most of them stumbled and faltered all the way through, their efficiency greatly reduced.

Yin Xianyu stepped down from Chiling with ease. Liu Xinlan’s spiritual power could even nourish the entire team in return, and at that moment they were all brimming with energy.

The metal qi above the stone array was even denser. Though it wasn’t as oppressive as the Mistaken Killing Array, it still made them feel seven or eight parts of its pressure.

The group planned to rest in place and make a brief adjustment before charging ahead again. Xie Qingrang withdrew the sword and happened to meet Yin Xianyu’s eyes.

Their shared divine sense had not yet been severed. Yin Xianyu moved closer and, leaning in, spoke to her through divine sense. Though no one else could hear them, she still asked softly, “How was I, Senior Sister? Was I useful?”

Xie Qingrang’s fingers on Chiling flexed once, then tightened again. She turned her face away, not looking at her.

Yin Xianyu put her hands on her hips and moved in front of her, continuing, “I’m pretty good, aren’t I, Senior Sister?”

It was as if, unless she heard Xie Qingrang’s approval today, she would keep acting like this.

Xie Qingrang tightened her grip on the hilt and turned her face away again. Yin Xianyu followed after her, still wearing that bright smile.

Just as she was thinking of what to say, Bo Wenyu strolled over and casually threw an arm around Yin Xianyu’s shoulder. “Junior Sister, this is all thanks to you. Otherwise we’d still be walking right now. Once we get out, how about Senior Sister treats you to a feast at the Golden Crow Pavilion?”

Yin Xianyu was pulled over and smiled. “That would be a real trouble for Senior Sister.”

The words Xie Qingrang had been about to say caught in her throat. She only looked calmly at the laughing group, fingers tightening around Chiling.

The sword trembled faintly. Its pale jade body carried a trace of red, but hidden behind her wide sleeves and held upright at her back, it could no longer be seen at all.

Yin Xianyu did not get discouraged. Turning around, she called for Xie Qingrang to follow.

Her figure drifted ahead as the group continued upward.

The stone array wasn’t particularly difficult. The Mistaken Killing Array ahead had already given those cultivators enough trouble for a while; its formations were exquisite, and a single misstep meant utter ruin. Everyone valued their lives and was unwilling to make a mistake just for the sake of speed.

Aside from stones flying everywhere and the fact that the path was long and required some stamina, the stone array itself didn’t pose much pressure. Bo Wenyu and the others even found the time to chat with Yin Xianyu.

“Junior Sister, I don’t think I’ve seen you much before. When did you meet Immortal Lord Qingrang?”

Yin Xianyu naturally couldn’t remember much from before. After thinking for a moment and confirming that she truly couldn’t recall, she honestly said, “Senior Sister and I both came from Qingxu Sect. She’s a bit more independent, I suppose.”

Bo Wenyu froze when she heard that. She had vaguely heard that Xie Qingrang’s former sect had declined, and that there was a fellow disciple in the sect who didn’t get along with her. Could the person in front of her be Yin Xianyu?

Just as she was about to ask, a huge boulder hurtled straight toward her. She drew her broad sword to block it, only to be smashed downward by the stone in an instant.

Ji Xingchen and Liu Xinlan each supported a chunk of rock, and the three of them fell together.

Yin Xianyu saw the three of them plummet, stirring up a cloud of dust below. The area beneath was choked with black and yellow haze, and their figures were swallowed completely. She hurriedly shouted, “Are you all right?”

It took a long time before a voice came up from below. “Pah, pah! We’re fine! You go on ahead; we’ll catch up right away!”

Only then did Yin Xianyu breathe a sigh of relief and become even more alert to the flying stones in the stone array.

After Hanguang Sword split apart several stones flying at them, she wielded it even more vigorously, while also keeping an eye on Xie Qingrang’s side. “Senior Sister, be careful. Let’s move a little closer; that way we won’t be attacked from both front and back.”

The spiritual shield in front of her suddenly weakened. Xie Qingrang at her side pulled her shoulder into an embrace, and Yin Xianyu had no choice but to withdraw Hanguang Sword so she wouldn’t accidentally injure Xie Qingrang.

The spiritual shields in front of them merged at once, shrinking into a small circle that enveloped the two of them together.

“Senior Sister, should we go down and help them?” Yin Xianyu asked.

Xie Qingrang only held her in place. “They’ll come up on their own.”

“All right.”

Yin Xianyu kept glancing down now and then, searching for the others’ figures.

The person beside her seemed to tighten her hold on her even more, forcing her to raise her head; otherwise, she would have ended up pressed against Xie Qingrang’s shoulder.

With every bit of elevation in the stone array, the resistance grew stronger. Yin Xianyu knew Senior Sister didn’t like this sort of thing and was only accommodating her, so she simply let Xie Qingrang hold her, drew in her limbs, and stood straight and still.

Xie Qingrang could feel the stiffness in her body. For some reason, a sudden irritation rose in her heart, and her sword attacks became even sharper. The stones shattered into powder and were swept away by the spiritual shield.

Yin Xianyu sensed a trace of her mood and thought she might have done something wrong, so she asked, “What’s wrong, Senior Sister?”

Xie Qingrang said, “Junior Sister, why are you being so restrained?”

She made it sound as if she were the one pushing too hard, even though earlier Yin Xianyu had smiled and answered when Bo Wenyu had her arm around her.

Yin Xianyu hurriedly loosened both hands and feet. Hearing that Xie Qingrang seemed to care about her tone, she instantly smiled with genuine delight. “Can I move around? I was worried I’d get in Senior Sister’s way. Then I won’t be polite anymore.”

“You..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Yin Xianyu wrapped both arms around Xie Qingrang’s waist. Yet her figure remained the same, completely unaffected, while the sword intent in her hand became a little disordered.

“I’m fine, Senior Sister. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“...”