Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Are those pitch-black ones coal?

Feng He Yun asked, his voice full of despair: “What exactly is causing this?”

Wen Xuan thought for a moment, then spoke: “Could it be because we took the Fire-Scale Vine?”

That would make sense.

The Fire Phoenix kept attacking Bai Mu Mu because she drank a potion made from the Fire-Scale Vine.

Lu Shi Qing added: “If we return the Fire-Scale Vine, maybe it will stop chasing us.”

Return the Fire-Scale Vine? Bai Mu Mu had only just found it, and the chance for her body to recover was right in front of her; how could she agree?

Wen Xuan struggled with the choice and said, voice tight: “But the Fire-Scale Vine means a lot to Junior Sister. If we miss this chance, who knows when we will find another…”

What was more, they had gotten it at the cost of Shen Sang Ruo’s life.

Bai Mu Mu’s eyes filled with tears as she said: “I am already the sinner who harmed Fifth Senior Sister. How could I, for my own sake, put my Senior Brothers in danger? Second Senior Brother, please return the Fire-Scale Vine to the Fire Phoenix!”

She added softly: “I have gotten much better these years. Even if I can’t cultivate and live like others, I’m used to it and I’m content.”

Wen Xuan hesitated. Seeing Bai Mu Mu like this made him feel awful. He gritted his teeth and decided: “This is only our guess. Even if we return the Fire-Scale Vine to the Fire Phoenix, we can’t be sure it will stop.”

He tried to brace everyone’s will: “Let’s hold on a bit longer. Maybe once the Fire Phoenix vents its anger, it will stop.”

Feng He Yun and Lu Shi Qing agreed.

Feng He Yun said: “Give all the defensive artifacts to Junior Sister. The three of us will take turns carrying Junior Sister.”

Wen Xuan took out all the recovery elixirs from his storage bag and handed them around.

The Fire Phoenix beat its wings, and the fireballs it spat were still tiny.

They started another round of running for their lives.

Inside the cave beneath the volcano, the Blazing Heart floated up and down.

Immortal Lord Chang Li was “speaking” with the Fire Phoenix, telling it to toy with that group slowly. Anyone who dared bully his future disciple would not be let off. He even thought, [Consider this my welcome gift for my future disciple.]

Beside the Blazing Heart, Shen Sang Ruo sat in meditation and cultivated. After undergoing Quenching, she was bold and fearless. She greedily drew in more spiritual power than her body could bear. Even when her meridians swelled and fine cracks formed, she refused to stop. She would not waste such a perfect chance to train.

Her cultivation climbed fast, step by step.

A month later, Immortal Lord Chang Li called Shen Sang Ruo awake. When she opened her eyes, the cave residence was already shaking, and stones kept falling.

Immortal Lord Chang Li said: “The Secret Realm is about to collapse. It’s time to go.”

Shen Sang Ruo nodded. She had looted almost everything worth taking. She had even taken the Fire Phoenix’s nest. [Fire Phoenix: ?]

Without lingering, she blasted through the mountain wall and came out beyond the volcano. Eruptions were everywhere. Red Peak Fire Sea had become a true ocean of fire, like a living hell.

Immortal Lord Chang Li pointed the way: “The exit of the Secret Realm is over there.”

Following his directions, she found the exit and left before Red Peak Fire Sea collapsed.

The Fire Phoenix was formed from Immortal Lord Chang Li’s spiritual power; as the Secret Realm fell apart, it returned to him.

Having grown used to the heat inside Red Peak Fire Sea, the normal temperature outside felt a little strange.

Shen Sang Ruo planned to go to Moonshadow Valley first and enter Ninghua Sect to hand over the artifacts, spirit plants, crystals, and other items she had gathered.

As she walked, she looked ahead and saw some pitch-black shapes in the distance.

She murmured with a sigh: “There are lots of resources here. They even mine coal.”

The “chunks of coal” were big too, each about the size of a person.

She was about to detour around them when one of the “coal lumps” spoke, the voice choked with emotion: “Was that Little Ruo’s voice? It is Little Ruo! You’re alive!”

Hearing that familiar voice, Shen Sang Ruo’s face fell at once. [Curiosity killed the cat.] She had acted like she’d never seen coal before and just had to take a closer look.

The other three “coal lumps” turned their heads together. From those black, unreadable faces, she could still make out joy. They were Feng He Yun and Lu Shi Qing.

Feng He Yun grinned, his row of big white teeth looking eerie on a blackened face: “Great, great, Fifth Junior Sister, you’re alive!”

Lu Shi Qing could not hide his excitement either as he blurted: “Shen Sang Ruo, you didn’t die!”

Shen Sang Ruo’s return from the dead was a huge surprise to them. Having something lost and then found again, how could they not be excited?

Only the weak-voiced Bai Mu Mu stared at her in disbelief. [What? Shen Sang Ruo didn’t die? How did she survive the lava? Then what did I scheme so hard for?] Thinking of her injuries and the drop in her carefully built favorability, Bai Mu Mu felt her qi and blood churn; she almost fainted.

Shen Sang Ruo saw her reaction and curled a mocking smile. [Sorry I couldn’t let you have your way. I’m still alive.]

Bai Mu Mu squeezed words out through her teeth: “Fifth Senior Sister, it’s really wonderful that you’re alright.”

Shen Sang Ruo smiled without warmth: “What a coincidence, meeting you Senior Brothers and Sixth Junior Sister here.”

Wen Xuan and the others had red-rimmed eyes.

Wen Xuan began to ask in a rush, “Little Ruo, what happened back then? How did you survive? Why didn’t you come find me for so long,” but Shen Sang Ruo cut him off, impatient: “I stumbled on a chance and crawled back with my life. It was a blessing in disguise, and my cultivation improved a lot. Isn’t that right, Sixth Junior Sister?”

Her gaze slid over Bai Mu Mu, and Bai Mu Mu silently clenched the front of her robe. Shen Sang Ruo already knew whose hand was behind it. In front of her, Bai Mu Mu was now an open card.

Only then did they notice that Shen Sang Ruo’s cultivation had reached Early Golden Core.

Wen Xuan stared in shock and asked: “Little Ruo, did you break through two stages in the Secret Realm?!”

It had only been one month, and one of those stages was the big jump from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core. What a terrifying speed.

But that was only what they thought. In truth, she had climbed from a wiped-out cultivation all the way back to Golden Core. And even now, a good deal of leftover spiritual power was still stuck in her meridians. It felt uncomfortable, and she needed to circulate and refine it as soon as possible.

Shen Sang Ruo only gave a soft “Mm.”

Bai Mu Mu’s eyes were so jealous they almost shot sparks. She bit down hard on her lip. [Why does Shen Sang Ruo get a lucky chance in the Secret Realm, turn danger into safety, and break through again and again, while I was chased all over the realm by that cursed Fire Phoenix, burned into a coal ball, and badly hurt?] Even the Fire-Scale Vine she had finally picked had to be given back.

In the end, they really couldn’t hold out. The Fire Phoenix still wouldn’t let them go, so they had no choice but to return the Fire-Scale Vine. Right before the Secret Realm collapsed, they finally found the exit and escaped.

For Bai Mu Mu, this trip was nothing but loss, with no gain at all.