Chapter 121

Chapter 121: Tsk, I Fell Down~

Daoist Wu Wei suggested, “How about letting the girl Yu and that lad Song Wei Yan go with you? The two of them formed their cores recently. Traveling with you would give you some backup.”

Su Xi Yu and Song Wei Yan had become Immortal Lord Chang Li’s Personal Disciples for a reason. They were not ordinary. They had already found their path in cultivation, so their restart was extra smooth. In a very short time, they had reached Early Golden Core.

Shen Sang Ruo guessed that before disaster struck them, her four Senior Brothers and Senior Sister had all been at least Nascent Soul cultivators.

But she shook her head and refused Daoist Wu Wei’s idea: “Let my Senior Brothers and Senior Sister stay in the Ninghua Sect.”

Daoist Wu Wei looked puzzled.

She explained, “Before long, the Cultivation World’s Sect Grand Tournament will begin. It is the best chance for the Ninghua Sect to return to the stage.”

The Sect Grand Tournament was held once every ten years. Each sect’s Young Heir led the team. The results set the ranking of all sects in the Cultivation World. The Flying Cloud Sect had taken first place several times in a row.

Hearing this, Daoist Wu Wei understood at once, and he was a little surprised that she was already planning for the sect’s return. “You think of everything. Then your Senior Brothers and Senior Sister will remain in the sect to cultivate and prepare for the Sect Grand Tournament!”

His voice trembled with excitement and his eyes shone. As the Sect Master of the Ninghua Sect, the sect had fallen for so long that he dreamed of seeing it rise again. Now the chance was right in front of him. How could he not be thrilled?

Immortal Lord Chang Li was in Closed-Door Cultivation, and Daoist Wu Wei would strictly urge the others to train. The more he looked at Shen Sang Ruo, the more he liked her. The Ninghua Sect had indeed found a treasure.

“You must be careful on this trip. Leave the Sect Grand Tournament to us,” Ye Huai said in his usual calm tone. It somehow made people feel steadier.

“Alright,” she replied with a smile.

That same day, Shen Sang Ruo left the Ninghua Sect and set out for the Phantom Mirage Domain.

She planned to go first to the Wuqing Stockade where the Old Shaman would appear, then search for the Ten-Thousand-Year Myriad-Transforming Wood.

Because she had gone there before and had a clear goal, she hardly stopped along the way. A few days later, she reached the edge of the Phantom Mirage Domain. But the domain covered the entire Southwest and spanned a huge area. Even now, she was still far from the Wuqing Stockade.

The moment she stepped into the dense forest, dangers gathered around her. The real journey had just begun.

The trees grew thicker as she went deeper. Trunks rose taller, and layers of leaves blocked the sky, letting only specks of light fall through.

Staying alert, she held the Luan Feather Fan in one hand and the map in the other.

She followed the marked route at a steady pace. After two days, other than a few Demonic Beasts that blocked her way and were swiftly cleared, the road was smooth. Among those beasts, one small Demonic Beast at about Foundation Establishment Early Stage carried an odd, eerie aura. She guessed the forest miasma had affected it.

She raised her guard again. With roughly five days left to travel, she quickened her steps.

At a flat stretch of ground, the view suddenly opened. It was not just fewer trees. Many trunks had been snapped in half, as if a huge Demonic Beast had rampaged through.

She frowned and sniffed the air, not planning to go around. Judging from the marks, that Demonic Beast was likely at Late Golden Core, or had just broken through to Nascent Soul.

She had never had a true fight since she began cultivating. Sparring with Bai Mu Mu had been complete one-sided pressure, so that did not count. [Real combat is the best way to improve.]

If she met that beast on the road, it would be the perfect practice target.

She crept forward with care, her Divine Sense fully spread.

After she walked another hundred meters, the sound of footsteps reached her ears. [Is that the Demonic Beast?] The next instant she dismissed the idea. The steps were light. No matter how slowly a huge beast walked, it could not be that light.

She leaned toward another guess: [Maybe a person. A cultivator training in the Phantom Mirage Domain?] The aura felt unfamiliar, not someone she knew.

That person moved sneakily and drew closer, yet showed no killing intent.

Shen Sang Ruo raised a brow. His strength was below hers. She decided to wait and see what he was trying to do.

She kept walking while her Divine Sense watched the stranger. His aura, first behind her, circled around to her front and stopped right on her path.

[Planning to ambush me?] He hid behind a broken trunk, rubbing his hands together, set to spring the trap as soon as she passed.

But Shen Sang Ruo’s lips curved. At the last moment, her leading foot changed direction. She turned right and took a different route.

The man waited and waited but never saw her pass. Puzzled, he peeked out and discovered she had already gone around him and was some distance away.

He cursed under his breath and rushed ahead to set up another ambush where she had to pass.

Shen Sang Ruo calmly changed course again, mischief written on her face.

She wanted to see how long his patience would last.

After several failed “ambushes,” the man finally could not hold back. “Why are you not walking here again? No wonder they say women are fickle,” he gritted out.

Shen Sang Ruo clearly felt the temperature rise where that aura was hiding. She tugged at the corner of her mouth, then smoothed it down. [Almost there.]

When she changed her path yet again, he snapped. “Forget it, I’m going all in!” He would attack first.

A ball of Shadow Wraiths sprang out and flopped right in front of her: “Oh no, tsk tsk, I fell down~” The voice was syrupy and fake.

It was a young man in loose blue robes. He still had some boyishness to him, and his eyes were strikingly beautiful, almost mesmerizing. If he started winking and throwing flirty looks at her, it would be both weird and hard to watch. Even his collar had been carefully designed so that, as he fell, it showed off his pretty collarbones.

Shen Sang Ruo stared, [Speechless.]

She had not expected her little mind game to lure out such a flashy peacock. Her interest vanished at once. She stepped around him to leave.

Fang Yu panicked. Why was the charm technique his Master taught him not working?

He tried again in the same syrupy tone: “I fell down~ is there a kind, pretty Elder Sister who will help me up~”

Shen Sang Ruo walked even faster. Song Wei Yan often read storybooks and had warned her long ago: do not pick up strange men by the road. After seeing Fang Yu today, she agreed even more.

Seeing her leave without a backward glance, Fang Yu dropped the act, scrambled to his feet, and hurried after her, pitching his voice higher: “Tsk tsk! Tsk tsk! Don’t go! Look at me!”