Chapter 17

Yin Xianyu’s mind was a complete jumble, and it took a long while before she finally came to.

She opened her eyes a little warily, not knowing how she had fainted or how she had woken up.

Fortunately, Xie Qingrang was the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes; that alone put her at ease.

The surroundings were still pitch-black. Yin Xianyu could only make out the vague outline of Xie Qingrang’s figure.

Supporting herself against the bamboo behind her, Yin Xianyu got to her feet and felt that the spiritual energy in her sea of consciousness was no longer surging wildly; it had calmed down considerably.

She staggered forward and weakly called, “Senior Sister.”

The person in front of her slowly turned around. Xie Qingrang’s expression was somewhat cool as she gave a low acknowledgment. She studied Yin Xianyu for a long time before asking, “Rested enough?”

“Yes. What happened to me?”

A flicker flashed through Xie Qingrang’s eyes. “Nothing much. Your spiritual energy wasn’t enough to suppress the Chongyuan Pill inside you, but I’ve already helped you force down the runaway qi. From now on, you have to put your own safety first. Do you understand?”

Hearing this, Yin Xianyu nodded repeatedly and said earnestly, “Okay, Senior Sister. I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”

Xie Qingrang’s expression darkened. “No. Keeping you safe is the most important thing.”

How could she think that? Clearly it was her own...

“Mm!”

Yin Xianyu answered solemnly and reached out to take Xie Qingrang’s hand, only for her to withdraw it without a trace and stride ahead.

Yin Xianyu grasped at empty air, but she didn’t think much of it and followed after Xie Qingrang.

The two of them didn’t know how long they had been moving through the pitch-black forest. Yin Xianyu was walking in a terribly awkward state; using only her own two feet like this was something she rarely had to do.

Her stamina was decent, but she was still exhausted. Seeing that the exit was still nowhere in sight, she could only call out to Xie Qingrang and stop to rest for a while.

Transmission of sound seemed to have gone dead in this stretch of forest as well. After all this time, they still hadn’t heard any reply from the other three.

Yin Xianyu sat down and picked out the things around her that gave off a faint light, gathering them together into a bundle so they would be easier to use for lighting the way later.

What a miscalculation. She hadn’t even thought about lighting when she entered the secret realm. Her eyesight was good, but even so, it was still very hard to see the road clearly in this kind of light. Every step had to be taken with caution; she was terrified of letting go and getting separated if she wasn’t holding onto a hand.

Xie Qingrang, on the other hand, seemed not to notice any of this at all and simply watched quietly as she made the lighting tool.

After resting for a while, Yin Xianyu stood up again, and the two of them continued through the woods.

Yin Xianyu carried the lantern she had made, and her steps became much lighter. Suddenly, a rustling sound came from within the forest.

Both of them instantly tensed. Before long, several people emerged from an exit not far away; when they saw the two of them, they were startled as well. The sound of swords being drawn rose one after another, and both sides remained highly wary.

In the light, Yin Xianyu saw the faces of that group; it turned out to be the same group as Ling Yaoguang’s, the ones who had previously asked to form a team with Xie Qingrang outside.

Yu Yuanqing and Zhao Ruitian were with her. The two of them looked terribly disheveled, covered in dust and dirt. Inner disciples at the Foundation Establishment stage simply didn’t have as much spiritual energy as they did, and in this dense forest, they didn’t dare use it carelessly for fear of wasting it.

They had been walking the whole way. Ling Yaoguang was a little better off than the other two, but her appearance was just as miserable as Yin Xianyu’s.

They didn’t have any lighting tools; after spotting the two of them by the light from Yin Xianyu’s lantern, they shifted their gaze to Xie Qingrang’s face, and their eyes immediately lit up.

Ling Yaoguang hurried forward, took a deep breath, and forced down the excitement in her heart. “Senior Sister Xie, what a coincidence to run into you here.”

Xie Qingrang took a step back and didn’t respond. She merely nodded at the two people behind her, who hastily saluted, and after confirming there was no danger, she prepared to leave with Yin Xianyu.

Being left hanging made Ling Yaoguang feel a little awkward, but the moment she saw Xie Qingrang about to leave, she followed after them at once. “Senior Sister Xie, why don’t we go together? It’s dangerous in this forest; I can also help protect you.”

Zhao Ruitian and Yu Yuanqing hurried to keep up as well. Hearing Senior Sister say that, they didn’t know what to make of it.

Protect Xie Qingrang?

What a joke. Weren’t the three of them the ones borrowing her protection from behind?

The two exchanged a helpless glance. What could they do? Ling Yaoguang was Xie Qingrang’s fanatic devotee and follower.

Even though she had pursued Xie Qingrang for years without change, Xie Qingrang remained unmoved and barely even acknowledged her.

To Xie Qingrang, passersby were insignificant; the trouble was that Senior Sister Yaoguang simply refused to give up.

Ling Yaoguang’s gaze moved between Yin Xianyu and Xie Qingrang, and the fire that had long since died in her heart flared back to life with a sudden whoosh.

She didn’t understand what exactly was going on with these two. Why was Yin Xianyu following Immortal Lord Qingrang, and why was she being allowed to follow so openly?

The two of them even seemed to know each other well. Clearly, they had stopped interacting ten years ago.

The unwillingness in her eyes almost solidified into something tangible, but Yin Xianyu, walking ahead, remained completely oblivious and didn’t spare her a single glance.

Xie Qingrang walked in front and flicked her wide sleeves backward. Yin Xianyu was immediately swept by them and instinctively swatted them away.

Xie Qingrang: ...

She didn’t know where Yin Xianyu’s earlier sharpness had gone. She flicked her sleeves again, only for Yin Xianyu to wave them aside once more.

The person behind them muttered under her breath, not understanding what she meant, and said softly, “Is the wind very strong?”

Xie Qingrang: ...

In the end, she simply stopped pretending and wrapped Yin Xianyu’s hand in her sleeve.

Yin Xianyu was a little puzzled and was just about to ask when Xie Qingrang’s divine sense reached her: “Stay farther away from her.”

“Why, Senior Sister? Aren’t they from the same sect?”

Yin Xianyu still had other thoughts in her heart. This person seemed far too enthusiastic toward her; she didn’t remember ever seeing a fellow disciple get this excited over Senior Sister before.

However, Xie Qingrang did not fully pry into her thoughts, so those words didn’t get through.

Xie Qingrang’s voice came again. “She seems to dislike you a bit.”

Yin Xianyu pointed at herself in confusion. What, dislike her?

Why?

She hadn’t offended anyone; why would they hate her?

She found the person behind them inexplicably strange, but she also accepted Xie Qingrang’s words without the slightest hesitation.

Since that person insisted on following them, there was no way to shake her off anyway; the place was only so big.

After muttering for a while, Yin Xianyu moved a little closer to Xie Qingrang and practically clung to her completely. Since she wanted her to stay farther away from the people behind them, she would just do as she said.

The two of them were pressed so close together that, if one wasn’t paying attention, they looked as though they were holding hands while walking.

Watching from behind, Ling Yaoguang’s gaze gradually turned dark. The two people beside her looked at the low-pressure Senior Sister Yaoguang with some trepidation.

They exchanged exaggerated looks, asking each other what exactly was going on; why did it seem like she became a completely different person whenever she saw Xie Qingrang? She had always seemed pretty normal in daily life, and she was normal in front of other people too.

These two could be considered her trusted subordinates, so they had seen that darker side of her.

Yu Yuanqing had the feeling she was sweating all over. This didn’t look like a good thing at all.

Yin Xianyu didn’t pay attention to the three people behind her. In fact, she didn’t even recognize Zhao Ruitian; most of her previous memories were almost entirely gone. Only the important ones remained. Things like her Senior Sister and master were still relatively clear in her mind, and beyond that, only Xie Qingrang was left.

The few of them wound around through the forest. The deeper they went, the denser the trees became.

Yin Xianyu had no choice but to stick carefully close to Xie Qingrang’s side.

If the scene in front of them was anything to go by, then their direction should be correct. After all, the formation core was a ring, and it made sense that it would get smaller toward the center.

The rich spiritual qi here pressed in on everyone like it was trying to crush them flat, as if it wanted to merge into every person’s body.

If anyone grew greedy and opened a gap to let that spiritual energy in, they would immediately be blown apart and become part of this place.

Several very faint popping sounds rang out from all directions. It was hard to say exactly what the feeling was, but hearing it was enough to make one’s skin crawl.

The thought that the air they were breathing contained part of another cultivator’s body made Yin Xianyu shudder.

The trees ahead had become too dense to pass through any longer, and they were blocked here, unable to continue forward.

The top was sealed tight, leaving only the bottom as a possible path.

The two exchanged a glance and understood what the other meant, immediately channeling spiritual energy to bore into the ground.

Ling Yaoguang followed closely behind, bringing the other two with her as they drilled down as well.

The Lingzhan Mountain token would always guide her toward the strongest cultivator in the sect, so she wasn’t worried about losing them.

Thus, she followed the two of them all the way underground.

In front of Yin Xianyu, a layer of black soil crust blocked the way. She had some trauma toward this kind of soil crust and didn’t know whether she should go in.

But at this point, there was no retreat left; she could only steel herself and follow Xie Qingrang.

The two of them sent their swords forward and broke through the crust. With a crack, the soil shell split open, leaving behind a large hole that was slowly healing. Below it, the dark underground flickered with a faint light.

Yin Xianyu felt herself drop into a spacious underground passage. The roar of noisy voices immediately surged in from all directions.

In front of her were glittering red crystal stones, huge as iron trees; every facet reflected her image.

The lantern in Yin Xianyu’s hand made the crystals shimmer and ripple like water, dreamlike and extraordinarily beautiful.

Subconsciously, Yin Xianyu reached for Xie Qingrang beside her. “Senior Sister, look at these red crystals!”

But Xie Qingrang was already nowhere to be seen. The surroundings were empty, leaving only Yin Xianyu alone.

Her echo rang through the entire cavern, but the person beside her had long since vanished without a trace.

Yin Xianyu turned a full circle and still could not find Xie Qingrang’s figure; she couldn’t help but panic.

She anxiously shouted toward the surroundings, “Senior Sister!”

But all that remained was her own hollow voice; no one answered her anymore.

Yin Xianyu looked up at the space above, trying once more to force her way out, but the soil layer was far sturdier than before. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t split it open.

Panting, she came back down and was just about to try contacting Xie Qingrang with her divine sense when her voice suddenly came through from her sea of consciousness: “This is the formation core. Don’t bother looking for me for now; go find whether Bo Wenyu and the others are among the red crystals.”

Yin Xianyu immediately asked, “Senior Sister, are you all right?”

Xie Qingrang: “I’m fine. Don’t worry. Go with them to the next level. Since our divine senses are connected, we’ll find each other. Be careful of danger.”

Only then did Yin Xianyu finally relax. As long as Xie Qingrang was fine.

It looked like she had already entered the trial.

After getting her message, Yin Xianyu felt as though she had swallowed a stabilizing pill. She began to study the red crystals seriously and discovered that besides her own reflection, she could also make out other people’s figures deep within them.

Seeing this, she understood that this was part of the trial ground. Enduring patiently, she searched until she finally spotted the silhouettes of Bo Wenyu and the others within a huge cluster of crystals.

Steadying herself, she reached out and tried to touch it; in an instant of spinning disorientation, she found herself in another space.

The people inside, upon seeing her appear, first burst into delight, then started howling.

Those three were none other than Bo Wenyu and the others.

“Junior Sister Yin! Why did you come in too? It’s over, it’s over, what are we supposed to do now!”