As soon as she entered the cave, Luo JinXiao nearly fainted, hit by the protruding rocks around her. Quickly, she summoned her spiritual power to envelop herself, preventing a painful fall.
Below seemed like an endless abyss, pitch-black and impenetrable. Luo JinXiao used her spiritual power to slow her descent. Suddenly, she felt something soft beneath her, rolled over, and finally, the cave came to an end.
In a daze, she realized that what she landed on could move. Startled, she struggled to get up, only to hear a low growl filled with exasperation: “Luo JinXiao, get off me!”
Luo JinXiao froze for a moment, realizing she had fallen on Qu WeiYin, even holding her as they rolled on the ground.
Perhaps the more anxious she was, the more mistakes she made. As she managed to stand halfway, she tripped over something and fell again. Even Qu WeiYin was unprepared this time, and they both tumbled together.
A stronger-than-usual floral scent filled her nostrils, and a soft body unexpectedly collided with her embrace. Luo JinXiao held her breath, too scared to move.
The woman’s body was indescribably beautiful, only the word “lovely” could suffice. Although covered in layers of clothing, its slender softness was still evident, something Luo JinXiao, as a young girl, could only dream of.
The cave was silent, their heartbeats almost synchronized, beating steadily.
Time seemed to crawl by slowly, until Qu WeiYin pushed her away and stood up without a word, stepping aside without attempting to illuminate the surroundings.
Luo JinXiao regretted her actions. She slapped her forehead in frustration, then quickly stood up. With a flick of her fingers, a silver light appeared at her fingertip, flickering on and off.
With the spiritual light, Luo JinXiao saw Qu WeiYin standing aside, cheeks slightly flushed, though she couldn’t see clearly as Qu WeiYin quickly turned away.
Qu WeiYin, in any lifetime, had never been so close to someone so frequently.
Although the girl’s body was not fully matured, it had a hint of a woman’s softness, and such a close embrace surprisingly felt warm…
Qu WeiYin despised this part of herself that subconsciously craved warmth.
“Little Martial Aunt, I’m sorry…” Luo JinXiao apologized cautiously, feeling genuinely guilty and hoping Qu WeiYin wouldn’t blame her.
But as she took two steps forward, Qu WeiYin suddenly spoke, her voice sounding somewhat exasperated.
“Stay away.”
Luo JinXiao immediately stopped in her tracks, thinking, she’s definitely angry.
“The Upper Heaven Realm is extremely dangerous. Why did you follow me down here?” Qu WeiYin continued, her breath still sounding uneven.
“Little Martial Aunt saved me earlier. Leaving you alone here would be too dangerous,” Luo JinXiao quickly explained.
“Then what use are you down here?” Qu WeiYin said, turning to walk into the pitch-black distance.
Luo JinXiao felt aggrieved at being looked down upon, but she kept up, raising her flame to light Qu WeiYin’s way.
She looked around and saw only rocks and scattered stones, not like a natural cave. It seemed more like ancient ruins, vaguely showing the shape of square corridors.
Ahead was darkness, leading to unknown places, quite terrifying. Fortunately, Qu WeiYin was in front, which made her feel a bit more at ease.
“Little Martial Aunt…” She began, but Qu WeiYin interrupted.
“This is the ruins of the Upper Heaven Realm. This should be the Divine Tomb,” Qu WeiYin said, walking effortlessly, naturally turning at intersections as if she knew the way.
Luo JinXiao was puzzled. She hesitated before asking, “Little Martial Aunt, how do you know the way?”
Qu WeiYin shook her head: “Stop talking.”
Naturally, she couldn’t reveal that she could sense faint demonic energy and was trying to avoid areas with it, hoping to find an exit.
Luo JinXiao fell silent.
Luo JinXiao increasingly felt that this so-called Upper Heaven Realm was more like a demon realm, lacking the serene seclusion of immortals, instead feeling eerie and terrifying. Occasionally, there were white things on the ground, possibly human bones, but whenever she tried to look closely, Qu WeiYin’s gaze stopped her.
“The ruins of the Upper Heaven Realm contain many treasures and spiritual artifacts, but are extremely dangerous. The WuHui Sect has a rule, passed down from who knows when, allowing disciples to summon spiritual artifacts here, but not to take too much, to avoid trouble,” Qu WeiYin suddenly said.
Upon hearing this, an image of the puppet from before flashed in Luo JinXiao’s mind.
“Someone tampered earlier, trying to bring me into the Divine Tomb, intending to kill me,” Qu WeiYin said, suddenly stopping, causing Luo JinXiao to almost bump into her. She quickly sidestepped to Qu WeiYin’s side.
“Is it Elder Qu?” Luo JinXiao tentatively asked.
Qu WeiYin’s gaze suddenly turned to her, their eyes meeting—one mysterious like the deep sea, the other clear like a shallow lake.
Eventually, it was the deep sea that rippled first. Qu WeiYin looked forward again without answering.
But Luo JinXiao clearly felt that her mood seemed to have improved.
“Don’t get involved in this, just stay away from him. He’s not a good person,” Qu WeiYin said, unusually talkative.
Luo JinXiao nodded repeatedly. She already knew and would rather never see Qu ChengZhou again in her lifetime.
Qu WeiYin seemed to lose her sense of direction, pacing around before touching the wall thoughtfully: “We’re trapped in a maze.”
“The Divine Tomb usually contains treasures, countless people have come to seek them, and none have left alive. We are likely doomed,” Qu WeiYin said, deliberately slowing her speech for the last four words, sounding both leisurely and as if trying to scare.
Luo JinXiao couldn’t understand this demoness. Doom is doom; why was she so pleased about it?
“Do you want to slay demons in the future?” Qu WeiYin suddenly asked, her expression more serious.
Luo JinXiao intended to answer firmly, but the word got stuck before it came out.
“A cultivator’s path is to slay demons for righteousness, isn’t it?” Luo JinXiao replied.
Qu WeiYin snorted coldly, her expression suddenly darkening. She scrutinized Luo JinXiao before turning to leave.
Luo JinXiao was confused but hurried to catch up, “Little Martial Aunt, you…”
“Then today you might have your wish fulfilled. Apart from you, everything under this Divine Tomb is demonic,” Qu WeiYin said, suddenly turning around. Luo JinXiao, having nearly bumped into her several times today, was prepared and stopped abruptly.
This time, however, Qu WeiYin approached, her right hand suddenly gripping Luo JinXiao’s neck with such force that Luo JinXiao almost rolled her eyes. She quickly countered with spiritual power, the sudden white light forcing Qu WeiYin back a few steps.
“What do you mean by this, Little Martial Aunt?” Luo JinXiao asked, clutching her slender neck and coughing.
“Do you see? I really can kill. So if we get out, stay away from me,” Qu WeiYin said, breathing heavily, her phoenix eyes full of anger.
Luo JinXiao was indeed startled by her sudden action, wondering if she’d angered her, perhaps by mentioning demon-slaying.
But she hadn’t yet become a demon, so why react so strongly to the word?
“Little Martial Aunt, you’re not,” Luo JinXiao suddenly said.
“Not what…” Qu WeiYin, still angry, spoke quickly but was interrupted by Luo JinXiao.
“Not a demon,” Luo JinXiao replied.
Qu WeiYin looked at her coldly, but the anger visibly dissipated.
Although Luo JinXiao was a bit scared, she knew that even though Qu WeiYin was fierce earlier, she didn’t really exert much force. Otherwise, with her level of cultivation, she wouldn’t have just been scared, she’d have been severely hurt.
Was she worried about turning into a demon someday?
The girl’s bright eyes sparkled, as if recalling something. She searched her body and found a pouch hanging at her waist. Grabbing the tail of the sleeping QiongQi, she pulled it out.
“Look, this is what a demon looks like, fat-headed and oddly shaped. You’re beautiful, you won’t become a demon,” Luo JinXiao said, trying to alleviate Qu WeiYin’s worries about falling into demonic ways, pointing at the drowsy QiongQi with a slight smile.
Qu WeiYin blushed.
She quickly turned away, biting her red lips, still sounding angry: “Sweet talker.”
But this time, the anger seemed somewhat forced.
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