Chapter 69

Chapter 69: A Fateful Choice

Somewhere within the secret realm.

Yu Ruan Ruan gnashed her teeth in hatred: [Who on earth was it…]

When the Spirit Rain descended, Yu Ruan Ruan had been just as delighted as the other disciples, impatient to absorb the spiritual energy it brought. With her supreme aptitude of an ice-attribute Heavenly Spiritual Root, she had assumed she would be the greatest beneficiary of this Spirit Rain. Yet halfway through, some skulking figure appeared from who knew where and siphoned away all the Spirit Rain that should have been hers.

Only a little more, and she would have broken through to the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Yu Ruan Ruan asked the System for an explanation, but the System claimed it did not know.

Just then, a female disciple who was traveling with Yu Ruan Ruan came over to ask: “Junior Sister Yu, should we keep going?”

“Yes.” Senior Sister Yu forced down the bitterness in her heart and replied with a cool, neutral tone.

The two traveling with her were a pair of siblings: the elder brother named Feng Bin and the younger sister named Feng Li. Both had even tempers and were easy to get along with. Qin Yuan had promised to provide each of them a Foundation Establishment Pill in the future, on the sole condition that once inside the secret realm they stayed by Yu Ruan Ruan’s side at all times to protect her.

Feng Li hesitated, about to speak, when her elder brother Feng Bin patted her shoulder and said: “Junior Sister Yu, then let’s set out at once.”

“Mm,” Yu Ruan Ruan answered indifferently.

Two Qi Refining Stage disciples of ordinary talent were not worth the trouble of currying favor. Yu Ruan Ruan took the lead.

Seeing this, the Feng siblings had no choice but to follow. At first they had been glad to accept this private job. With humble backgrounds, no connections, and scarce resources, two Foundation Establishment Pills were no small fortune to them. But over this half month, Yu Ruan Ruan had used them like maidservants, nothing like the kindly, easygoing figure rumored outside. Half a month of running around and she still had not found the place she sought. At times, because they had to hurry on, even when they saw rare materials and treasures, the Feng siblings could only pass them by.

Walking at the front, Yu Ruan Ruan had no idea that the Feng siblings were already dissatisfied with her.

Her gaze kept sweeping the terrain around them. Five years had passed since anyone had entered the secret realm, and the environment within had shifted. After searching for half a month, anxiety had begun to creep in. For the sake of that thing, Yu Ruan Ruan had been suppressing her cultivation for the past five years, deliberately avoiding practice. Otherwise she would already have reached Foundation Establishment. She had stumbled into the place by accident back then and only remembered it was somewhere to the west. That place could be entered via an underground river.

The Feng siblings could not allow Yu Ruan Ruan to remain at the most dangerous point in front; after adjusting their mindsets, they moved into positions fore and aft to shield her.

At that moment, a deer-shaped beast leapt out of the trees, its whole body draped in satin-like streams of fire. Upon seeing the three of them, it did not attack like ordinary beasts. Instead it walked to a stalk of spirit herb and lowered its head to nibble the plant growing from the ground.

Feng Li’s eyes lit up at the sight: “Junior Sister Yu, that is a Blazing Plume Deer. It is a very gentle-tempered beast, an oddity among beasts.”

“Oh,” Yu Ruan Ruan said with a glance at the ordinary beast, showing little interest.

Catching the hunger in Feng Li’s eyes to form a contract with the Blazing Plume Deer, Yu Ruan Ruan curled her lip in disdain: [She actually wants to contract something so ordinary. As expected, those of low aptitude have narrow vision. Not like me. This time I intend to contract…]

“Let’s go,” Yu Ruan Ruan said, not caring whether Feng Li made a contract with the Blazing Plume Deer or not. She had yet to find the Contract Beast meant for her.

Hearing Yu Ruan Ruan speak, Feng Bin patted Feng Li’s shoulder in consolation. Biting her lip, Feng Li took one last look at the Blazing Plume Deer, then answered in a dull voice: “…Alright.”

Meanwhile, utterly unaware that she herself was the “bastard” in question, Rong Shu pressed both hands over her pounding heart, face full of distress: “Fine, fine,” she told herself. “Breaking through to the eighth level of Qi Refining is already pretty good. People should be content… yes, content.”

“Now that I’m at the eighth level of Qi Refining, I can try heading deeper into the secret realm.”

The deeper one went, the higher the quality of materials and treasures one would see, and the stronger the beasts one would encounter. For the first half month, to play it safe, Rong Shu had only circled around the outer ring of the realm.

[Which way should I go?] She mulled in place for a moment, happened to look up, and saw the sun hanging in the west. On impulse, she chose the west.

As dusk approached, she took out the Flying Boat she had hardly used before. Injecting fire-attribute spiritual energy, she sent the Flying Boat shooting off with a whoosh. Using dark-attribute spiritual energy was too flashy, and wind-attribute energy had to be reserved for emergencies, so she rotated among fire, wood, and metal. When her energy ran low, she popped a Spirit Gathering Pill.

[Sure enough, the deeper it gets… the stronger the beasts become…] From time to time, roars rolled up from the dense forest below. Watching the sinking sun, she muttered to herself: [Better find a place to rest first. I’ll explore this area tomorrow.]

After circling in midair, Rong Shu spotted a place with little sign of beasts, most importantly with a river for water. She guided the Flying Boat down by the riverside as darkness fell. The sun’s last light faded.

She gathered a pile of wood, then snapped her fingers. With a hiss, a flame bloomed.

Just as she was about to take out her tent, a prickle ran up her spine: [No. It’s too quiet. Even if nothing dens here, sounds from distant beasts should still carry. Why is it… this quiet?]