Chapter 042

Chapter 42: Senior Sister, We Need You!

[At this pace, I can return to Foundation Establishment in less than half a year.]

Ye Wan Wan drew back her aura, stood up, and walked over to Star Marsh. She saw the little one sitting beside Sun Qu, staring hard at what Sun Qu had dumped out, his face tense.

She asked, “What is it?”

Star Marsh pointed at the pile from Sun Qu’s spatial pouch: “Look.”

Sun Qu, an elite disciple of Cloud Wave Fort, actually did not carry many treasures. There were a few second-tier blades and swords, and several Mystic Spirit Pills, all ordinary grade, not even First Grade. The only valuable things were a few hundred Spirit Stones. The rest was worthless.

Ye Wan Wan frowned as her gaze stopped on another stone. It looked a bit like a Spirit Stone but was darker. It gave off almost no aura, yet it felt different. Low-grade spatial pouches have no Blood Binding contract. She beckoned, and the stone flew into her hand. Holding the faintly blue stone up to the light, she seemed to see runes inside.

Star Marsh said solemnly, “This is an Illusory Dream Stone.”

Ye Wan Wan weighed it and asked, “From the Illusory Dream Star Marsh’s Illusory Dream Stone? I heard this kind of stone can help people sense illusions and train illusion arts.”

“That is the common Illusory Dream Stone,” said Star Marsh, even more serious.

Ye Wan Wan raised a brow and lifted the stone: “So this one isn’t common?”

“Uncommon. This is a stone from the Illusory Dream Realm. Think of it as an Array Stone, something as important to that place as the Spirit Lake is to Star Marsh,” Star Marsh said, pushing himself to his feet with a grave face. “If refined and absorbed, it can give someone temporary illusion abilities and even let them grasp the method for shaping a secret realm.”

Ye Wan Wan’s heart stirred: [The method for shaping a secret realm? Isn’t that the same as creating a Spatial Realm? That is no small thing.]

Star Marsh continued, “This piece has almost no spirit left. It’s only a rim fragment. Once used, it cannot be used again, and it barely carries any insight. But the fact that it is here means the Array Stone inside has already been badly damaged.”

Ye Wan Wan followed his line of thought and asked, “You’re saying the Illusory Dream Realm has a problem too?”

“The Illusory Dream Star Marsh is called one secret realm, but it is really two. Usually when you cultivators come in, you only reach the first-layer Illusory Dream Realm. Only you,” Star Marsh shot her a furtive look, “noticed the Star Marsh hidden behind the Illusory Dream Realm, which is me.” He straightened his chest at that.

“But by the maintenance rules of the Illusory Dream Realm, it should be able to run for seven or eight thousand years at least. If even the Array Stone has been dug out, and then the Star Marsh collapses…”

Ye Wan Wan did not need him to finish. She already knew the problem. [This secret realm is about to collapse. This trial was a setup.]

“Out,” she said at once.

She flashed out of the Violet Cloud Ring, which slipped back onto her finger. Sun Qu remained tossed on the riverbank.

Star Marsh asked, “Do we take him?”

Ye Wan Wan glanced at Sun Qu and kept moving: “No. A disciple like him won’t know much. Better to go see for ourselves.”

She rose on her sword into Sword Flight, heading for the area called Sheep’s Belly.

Wind whipped past her as she flew. In her mind she quickly broke down the situation. The moment the Cloud Wave Fort disciples entered, they rushed toward the valley. Everyone knows Sheep’s Head Valley holds the Core Formation Fruit, so people who need it will head there first. But Cloud Wave Fort moved too fast. Ye Wan Wan herself had been accidentally sent near Sheep’s Head Slope and chose it because it was close. Core Formation Stage cultivators, however, would prefer the richer Sheep’s Belly. And there were three of them together. That breaks the usual teleport rules. Unless they already knew this secret realm would not hold long, and someone told them to grab the Core Formation Fruit first, then deal with the rest.

If so, a treasure-hunting team like Sun Qu’s wouldn’t be the only one. There would be more at Sheep’s Belly for sure.

Ye Wan Wan sped up, broke through cloud and fog, and dove toward the wide terrain of Sheep’s Belly. At that moment, she also noticed black cracks flickering across the sky.

Star Marsh said, “As expected.”

Ye Wan Wan’s eyes flashed: “By your guess, how long can this secret realm last?”

“If it stays closed, it can hold for another one or two hundred years. But if people start fighting, it’s hard to say. The more disturbance, the faster the collapse. Under normal use, a month would still be fine,” said Star Marsh.

“Good.”

Heart Questioning Sword surged faster.

In a blink, Ye Wan Wan entered a dense forest full of danger.

At the same time, two teams were sprinting through the trees. In front, a young woman was carrying a huge rainbow-colored ore bigger than a tree, charging through the woods with her head down. Everywhere she passed, people were stunned by her raw strength.

Behind her, Fang He An lagged a bit. He shouted, “Senior Sister, Senior Sister, put it away first!”

Bai Jian was filthy and covered in dust, but her eyes shone. Hearing him, she sounded puzzled: “My spatial pouch won’t fit it.”

Fang He An almost slapped his thigh: “The ring!”

Before leaving, they had borrowed a ring from Senior Uncle Pei Xuan.

“I tried,” Bai Jian called back, “but it says it needs time.”

So that was why Senior Sister was running while carrying it. It needed time to store. Maybe the ore was too high grade; even with her divine will, she could not move it instantly.

Fang He An ran as if his soul were chasing his body, and the group behind them kept them from stopping.

“Junior Brother Li can’t hold them long. I’ll stall. You focus on putting it away,” he said.

Bai Jian nodded but did not slow. She circled toward a secluded spot and started storing the ore. This was a gift for her junior sister. No one could take it.

Fang He An skidded to a stop, dug two bottles out of his spatial pouch, and poured them onto the ground with quick hands. Even the powders he usually hated to use, he used now. He used all of them. The earth sizzled; white smoke rose and blended into the heavy mist. He swallowed an antidote first, then hurried back into the forest’s shadows.

He still gripped a clear porcelain vial. Inside, several tiny ant beasts crawled.

He took a deep breath and muttered, “You’d better perform.” He opened the mouth of the vial and let the tiny Poison Ants out. They crawled out and buzzed into the air. They could fly.

Fang He An edged deeper. Li Wan Zhi’s voice drew closer: “You brats were raised but never taught! We found that Spirit Stone vein first. We even gave you room out of kindness, and you still dared to chase us down for our goods.”

“I spit,” someone snapped.

Several blood arrows shot out. Li Wan Zhi jumped and barely dodged. Seeing the purple stain on the arrowheads, he cursed louder: “Blood Rainbow Pavilion, don’t think I don’t know your pavilion master’s name. You wear masks and think I can’t see your background!”

“Your pavilion master killed his own brother and father, stole his big brother’s position, and even seized his own sister in law. Your disciples don’t condemn your sect master. Instead, you bully men and women and run wild!”

“If I make it out, I will enforce justice for Heaven!”

“I’ll make sure you die for it!”

“Darn it!”

“What is that smell? Why can’t I use my spiritual power?”

“Ah, poison! I’m down!”

Even as he pretended to collapse, the young man fired a string of ice arrows. The group cursed.

“Hahaha, behold my hidden weapons!” he crowed.

His loud, annoying voice gave everyone a headache. They chased after Li Wan Zhi, itching to kill him. Only Li Wan Zhi knew the truth. Things looked bad. Without Senior Sister, they could not win.

He shouted, “Senior Sister!”

We need you!!