The overwhelming resentful energy continued chasing them. Even while fleeing for their lives, Zhuxing House couldn’t stop their mouths from babbling. From four people quarreling, it leaped to nine people in endless noisy chaos.
“Who led that ghost thing here?!”
“Who else could it be? Xi Jue.”
“Nonsense! If you hadn’t kept nagging till my head hurt, how would I have teleported to the wrong location?! This young master never makes mistakes—if you want to blame someone, blame Rang Chen.”
“Everyone shut up and stop fighting! Who can kill that ghost thing behind us?!”
Everyone turned back in unison to look.
Countless fierce ghosts’ condensed resentment—pitch black throughout. Even ice and snow began forming in the black fog. Everywhere it passed, tree leaves were all frozen into frost—shattering into powder with a gust of wind.
…Everyone ran even faster.
This ghost thing—whoever had the ability to kill it could directly become the Thirteen States’ Supreme Lord. Would they still need to attend Tianyan Academy?
Lezheng Jiu swiftly stepped on poisonous creatures to fly to Sheng Jiao’s side, hurriedly saying: “How is he?”
Sheng Jiao’s arm was still bleeding, but he still held Yan Ling extremely steadily. Lowering his eyes to glance at Yan Ling who had his eyes closed in great pain, he only shook his head.
Lezheng Jiu’s sharp eyes discovered blood dripping from Yan Ling’s earlobe hidden under his dark hair. Remembering his xiangwen was ‘Idle Listening to Sounds,’ suddenly as if thinking of something, he directly and forcefully snatched Yan Ling from Sheng Jiao’s embrace.
Fortunately, Yan Ling’s ear cuff was still clipped to his collar. Lezheng Jiu casually picked it up and accurately clasped it on Yan Ling’s ear.
Just in an instant, Yan Ling sharply gasped, opening his unfocused eyes wide in confusion.
Finally awake.
Being carried by Lezheng Jiu while running, his body bouncing up and down, he felt a bit nauseous. Dazedly he said: “Gege?”
Lezheng Jiu mercilessly patted his head: “No more ‘gege’! Run quickly!”
Yan Ling groggily turned back to look, only to be shocked by the enormous, almost crushing black fog. Before he could react, he was pulled by the hand by Lezheng Jiu to run.
“What is that?” Yan Ling asked in terror.
Lezheng Jiu: “Who the hell knows? Run first, talk later—where’s Headmaster Liu? Does anyone know?!”
Feng Yu ran panting: “If anyone knew, would we be this desperate? Ahhh what the hell is that ghost thing? How long do we have to run? Where’s this secret realm’s entrance? Did Headmaster Liu seal it?!”
Three questions—no one could answer.
Nine people nearly ran their lungs out, but that thing behind still pursued relentlessly.
Seeing they were about to be caught, Xi Jue steeled himself. Raising his hand, he stuffed a spirit pill into his mouth. His teeth slightly closed, directly biting it open. Fierce Tianyan spiritual power instantly filled his entire body.
In that instant, ‘Wheresoever I Roam’ overflowed with golden spiritual threads like vines, crackling like swimming dragons as they wrapped toward the other eight people.
Everyone froze. Before they could react, Xi Jue’s xiangwen instantly activated.
The void violently twisted for an instant—the eight people abruptly disappeared from their original spot.
Fu Man, left in the original place, was stunned. Fortunately, the next instant, a golden thread appeared from the void again, as if just remembering him. It wrapped around his wrist and instantly yanked him away.
The moment Fu Man disappeared, the fierce resentful energy came crashing down overwhelmingly, blasting a crater several zhang deep in the ground.
—If they hadn’t escaped, each one would probably have been crushed into pancakes.
The resentful energy twisted and condensed into a small mass, instantly transforming into a wandering soul spirit with feet suspended in air.
The vengeful spirit coldly watched where Xi Jue had disappeared, its face gloomy.
At the same time, at another location in the vast secret realm.
Xi Jue had forcibly used spiritual power to activate ‘Wheresoever I Roam,’ already exhausting all the Tianyan in his body. How could he have thought about landing spots? Everyone spun dizzyingly in the twisted void, not knowing how long they flew through the air.
Suddenly, several “thuds.”
Zhuxing House members one by one, like dumplings being dropped, splashed into a pond in the secret realm.
Everyone: “…”
Xi Jue’s small face deathly pale, he struggled to crawl ashore first. Having completely depleted his spiritual power, even each breath felt like his throat carried a thick bloody taste. His internal organs seemed to be bleeding—the pain making him cover his lips as he gasped with difficulty.
Rang Chen was the second to surface, extending his hand to pull Heng Yudu, who’d been clinging tightly all along, to shore. Lying weakly on the grass, he no longer had strength to speak.
The others also surfaced one after another.
Xi Jue’s breath hadn’t yet stabilized. His gaze hastily swept the surroundings. Suddenly grabbing Feng Yu who’d just come ashore: “Where’s Yan Ling?”
Feng Yu had choked on several mouthfuls of water, coughing his life away. Seeing this, he couldn’t speak—only waving to indicate he hadn’t seen him.
Xi Jue’s face looked even worse: “Yan Ling?! Yan Ling—!”
Lezheng Jiu tore off the obscuring black cloak. Looking left and right without seeing Yan Ling and Sheng Jiao, he anxiously dove back under the lotus-filled water.
But before diving to the bottom, he vaguely heard someone on the water surface shout sternly: “—Yu Er! Come up quickly!”
In an instant, Liu Changxing used his last trace of spiritual power to forcibly wrap around Lezheng Jiu’s waist, violently yanking him up through the water.
Lezheng Jiu was still in a daze when he saw that where he’d just been, an enormous creature had silently swum past. Looking carefully, it was actually the water beast Yu Er with fangs bared.
If not for Liu Changxing, he’d probably have been directly swallowed, leaving no bones behind.
Lezheng Jiu, still shaken, hastily thanked Liu Changxing. Asking each person: “Did any of you see Yan Ling and Sheng Jiao?”
The others were all in a sorry state, shaking their heads with ugly expressions.
Xi Jue’s ‘Wheresoever I Roam’ had been activated too quickly, and the landing spot was too unlucky. There was no way to look after others—they didn’t even know if they’d been teleported elsewhere or simply weren’t pulled over from the original spot.
The surroundings fell into deathly silence.
Who could have thought that the first practical training after entering Tianyan Academy would be so dangerous? Two people’s whereabouts even unknown, their lives uncertain.
After struggling nearly an entire day, everyone came away empty-handed—even losing Yan Ling and Sheng Jiao.
Around the secret realm, faint roars of vengeful spirits and fierce beasts could be heard.
After nightfall, fog rose everywhere. The water surface formed a thin layer of frost.
On a solitary island in the very center of the vast marsh, about several dozen zhang from shore, Yan Ling curled up in a tree hollow drowsily. Having depleted spiritual power and been soaked in cold water, he had groggily developed a fever just after nightfall.
The two had been teleported to a place relatively far from shore. Yan Ling, having grown up in the mountains since childhood, was completely unable to swim. Fortunately, Sheng Jiao knew how to swim and carried him to the nearest small island.
Sheng Jiao originally wanted to take Yan Ling to leave this place and find the others. But his spiritual power was completely depleted. The solitary island was surrounded by fog—he couldn’t discern direction to leave accurately. He could only first stay somewhere safe for the night.
Sheng Jiao sat cross-legged to the side with closed eyes, meditating, wanting to quickly restore spiritual power to hurry and take Yan Ling to find Lezheng Jiu.
But by midnight, Yan Ling’s whole body burned scalding hot. He’d even started deliriously talking nonsense. His body also began developing small rashes—the itchiness making him struggle wildly.
Sheng Jiao was woken from meditation by him. Seeing him scratching his arm non-stop, he lifted the sleeve to discover that snow-white small arm had already been scratched into bloody marks.
Yan Ling said vaguely with tightly furrowed brows: “It hurts.”
Both itchy and painful.
Sheng Jiao hurriedly pulled him into his embrace, one hand grasping both of Yan Ling’s wrists to prevent him from scratching wildly.
“It’s okay now. It’ll get better soon.”
Yan Ling curled up in Sheng Jiao’s embrace, struggling to scratch his arm. But he had such a severe fever—in his view, his desperate struggle was merely slight movement, posing no threat at all.
Sheng Jiao’s other hand stroked Yan Ling’s cheek, gently soothing: “Don’t be afraid. Not itchy, not painful.”
Yan Ling groggily opened unfocused eyes, staring at Sheng Jiao for a long while before murmuring: “Sheng Jiao?”
“Mm, it’s me.”
“Someone is crying.” Yan Ling listlessly leaned in his embrace, his voice barely audible.
Sheng Jiao brushed his sweat-soaked dark hair behind his ear, only then realizing Yan Ling’s ear cuff had disappeared at some point. No idea where it had fallen.
“Probably Yu Er.” Sheng Jiao covered one of Yan Ling’s ears, his voice gentle: “Don’t be afraid. It’s trapped here by chains—it won’t come over.”
Yan Ling said confused: “Fish?”
Sheng Jiao smiled helplessly, going along with his words: “Yes, a fish.”
“But it’s not.” Yan Ling was so drowsy his eyelids wouldn’t open. He murmured softly: “He spoke.”
Sheng Jiao froze: “What did he say?”
“He said he was originally a poor person from the Southern Territory. He looked similar to a great clan’s young master. The young master suffered from severe illness and couldn’t go out. The clan’s grandfather killed his parents and abducted him to be the young master’s substitute.”
Yan Ling groggily parroted.
Sheng Jiao was silent for a long while before finally remembering…
He himself had been in Shen Tianshe last year and seemed to have encountered a youth who said these words.
The youth abducted to be a clan’s young master’s substitute pretended to be obedient. One day at a family banquet, he poisoned them. The entire clan died under the poison. The youth was captured and taken to Xiezhi Sect, where he readily confessed to this matter but didn’t admit he was guilty.
In his view, stopping killing with killing, repaying resentment with resentment—this was the natural way of the Dao.
Since the Heavenly Dao couldn’t give him justice, he could only seek it himself.
Sheng Jiao said: “That vengeful ghost from before—is it a wandering soul from Shen Tianshe?”
Yan Ling seemed to half-understand, looking at him confused.
But Sheng Jiao already had a guess.
After the Shen Tianshe illusion realm broke, that youth’s wandering soul also escaped. In the secret realm, he devoured other wandering souls, relying on that bit of resentment to transform into a fierce, ferocious ghost.
It seemed Tianyan Academy shouldn’t know of that youth’s fierce ghost’s existence—otherwise they wouldn’t have sent so many people from Zhuxing House to this secret realm to die.
Yan Ling leaned drowsily in Sheng Jiao’s embrace, asking blankly: “Sheng Jiao, was he wrong?”
Sheng Jiao was silent for a moment before saying softly: “I don’t know.”
Even the Heavenly Dao couldn’t completely fairly judge right and wrong in this matter.
Right and wrong, cause and effect—all have their patterns.
Yan Ling was listless for a while, then suddenly said again: “Sheng Jiao, the fish is also crying.”
Sheng Jiao: “…”
Why is everything crying?
Yan Ling didn’t know if he truly heard it or if the fever made his ears ring. All night groggily hearing various things wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves by his ear—even with Sheng Jiao covering his ears, it didn’t help much.
Sensing Yan Ling’s fever getting worse, Sheng Jiao originally wanted to forcibly activate spiritual power to leave this solitary island. But the yin energy from the shattered barrier had silently drilled into his meridians and xiangwen. His internal organs slowly froze with cold frost—the slightest movement pulling his entire meridian system into waves of severe pain.
Sheng Jiao extended his hand to imperceptibly wipe away the fresh blood at the corner of his lips, wrapping his outer robe around Yan Ling and holding him tighter.
Looking at the faintly visible fog in the darkness outside, he could only place hope in the other Zhuxing House members being able to find Headmaster Liu to come rescue them.
But misfortunes never come singly. Just past the third watch, Sheng Jiao, resting with closed eyes, suddenly sensed icy coldness soaking through his clothes. Opening his eyes to look, he was shocked to discover this solitary island was actually being submerged inch by inch by water.
The solitary island wasn’t large to begin with. When Sheng Jiao discovered it, only this towering giant tree remained above water.
Sheng Jiao hurriedly picked up Yan Ling to leave the tree hollow. The Tianyan Pearl faintly emitted light, barely illuminating the surroundings enough for Sheng Jiao to climb the tree with difficulty.
Watching the water rise higher and higher like a tide, Sheng Jiao hastily activated spiritual power. But another trace of blood slowly flowed from the corner of his lips.
Sheng Jiao coughed dully, casually wiping away the blood at his lips, struggling to climb another section up the tree.
The Tianyan Pearl was useless at this time—only good as a lamp.
Lamp?
Sheng Jiao seemed to think of something. His fingers lightly rubbed the Tianyan Pearl. Once again from his internal organs full of frost and yin energy, he mobilized a trace of spiritual power, forcibly sending a Tianyan Pearl into the night sky.
The Tianyan Pearl’s light was like a firefly—in the pitch-black night sky and vast white fog, it couldn’t be seen by people far away at all.
The next instant, Sheng Jiao violently activated that Tianyan Pearl.
With a boom.
The Tianyan Pearl immediately flashed intensely in the air. Rippling waves swept away the white fog on the water surface in vast expanses—even the dark clouds at the horizon were temporarily scattered.
The sky became clear with sparse stars. Bright moonlight poured into the secret realm.
The Tianyan Pearl’s residual light remained in mid-air for a long time without dissipating, visible to people within several li.
The Tianyan Pearl’s spiritual power directly exploded. The pearl full of lightning light instantly became dull gray, silently falling from mid-air—caught accurately by Sheng Jiao in one grasp.
Sheng Jiao caressed the Tianyan Pearl without half a trace of spiritual power, wordlessly putting it away.
When he looked up again, the void twisted.
Xi Jue appeared out of nowhere, glaring at him with an ugly expression. He extended his hand: “Give him to me.”
Sheng Jiao didn’t bicker with him either. Extending his hand, he handed over Yan Ling, who was burning groggily in his embrace.
After Xi Jue held Yan Ling tightly, without another word he turned and disappeared into the void.
—He didn’t plan to acknowledge Sheng Jiao at all.
Watching the water about to submerge the entire tree, Sheng Jiao wasn’t anxious. He just methodically wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his lips, as if waiting for something.
Sure enough, the void twisted again. A golden thread came through, with a “snap” roughly wrapping around Sheng Jiao’s hand, forcibly yanking him over.
After dizzying spinning, Sheng Jiao appeared in a small spirit mustard seed.
Looking at the gaudy surroundings, he knew it was definitely Xi Jue’s dharma artifact. Lezheng Jiu had already taken Yan Ling over, pinching his chin and desperately stuffing spirit pills—forcibly choking Yan Ling awake.
Yan Ling coughed his life away but still struggled to grab Lezheng Jiu’s arm, murmuring: “Gege, where’s Sheng Jiao?”
Lezheng Jiu had been so worried he didn’t sleep all night. Hearing this, he couldn’t help scolding: “He won’t die. You sleep!”
Yan Ling’s gaze swept around in a circle, accurately finding Sheng Jiao. Only then did he lean on the soft couch and completely pass out.
Sheng Jiao’s whole body seemed about to freeze. Liu Changxing, seeing something wrong, walked forward and patted Sheng Jiao’s shoulder: “Are you okay…”
Just as his words fell, Sheng Jiao wordlessly fell forward.
Everyone was in chaos again.
In the secret realm for this day and night, no one could sleep. Fortunately, Xi Jue’s spirit mustard seed had an illusion barrier outside, preventing that fierce ghost from finding them and wiping them all out in one go.
The morning sun rose.
Xi Jue kicked and shattered a priceless porcelain piece, saying coldly: “Since childhood, this young master has never suffered such frustration! Which of you will come out with me to slaughter that thing?!”
The others hadn’t slept all night, all slouching and dozing everywhere. Hearing these rousing words, they all fell silent.
Xi Jue waited ages without anyone answering, sneering: “Useless.”
Feng Yu controlled little ghosts to scout ahead. Hearing this, he rolled his eyes: “Young master, of us nine, the most reliable is Sheng Jiao who possesses the Spirit-grade xiangwen ‘Fathom the Heavenly Dao.’ Look at him now—can he even move? If we few go over, aren’t we just purely sending a plate of dishes for that thing to eat?”
Xi Jue said coldly: “So you’re planning to just wait here, is that it, Feng Turtle?”
Feng Yu: “…”
Feng Yu forcibly endured it.
If not for the fact that yesterday, relying on Xi Jue’s ‘Wheresoever I Roam,’ the few of them hadn’t lost their lives, the others would have rushed up to beat him long ago.
How could he be so punchable?
Xi Jue quieted down for a while, then suddenly said displeased again: “Who said the most reliable is Sheng Jiao? Isn’t it me? Yesterday it was me magnanimously giving you all a way to survive. Not showing gratitude is one thing, but you actually look down on my xiangwen?”
Everyone: “…”
Rang Chen finally couldn’t help retorting: “Otherwise, what do you think? If not for yesterday’s incident, how could we have tolerated your blabbering all night long? That’s about enough.”
Xi Jue kicked another vase, shouting: “The reason I’m blabbering is because you all don’t have the guts to deal with that fierce ghost?!”
While they were arguing noisily, Yan Ling groggily walked over supporting himself on the door frame, saying vaguely: “Gege, are you going to deal with the fierce ghost?”
Xi Jue turned back, frowning as he beckoned to Yan Ling: “Come here.”
Yan Ling obediently walked over.
Xi Jue extended his hand to feel his forehead. Finding the fever had broken, he said coldly: “If not for that fierce ghost, why would you have burned with fever all night? This brain was already stupid to begin with—what if burning makes it even stupider?”
Yan Ling: “…”
Yan Ling irritably slapped away his hand: “You want to deal with the fierce ghost, right? Fine, I’ll go with you.”
Xi Jue’s brows furrowed even tighter.
He’d been saying all night he wanted to kill that fierce ghost, but when Yan Ling said it, he hesitated instead. Arms crossed, he said indifferently: “With your small frame, what can you do going over there? Purely send a plate of dishes for it to eat?”
The others: “…”
Felt the disparity of the world.
Yan Ling said: “But we can’t just do nothing.”
Xi Jue: “What do you want to do?”
Yan Ling gripped the small wooden sword Sheng Jiao gave him at his waist. His tender small face carried a trace of coldness as he said indifferently: “Kill him.”
Everyone looked at him, seemingly unable to imagine that Yan Ling, who looked gentle-natured with an obedient, pretty baozi face, was actually even more hardline than Xi Jue.
Strangely cute.
Lezheng Jiu just rolled his eyes without making a sound.
From this morning when Yan Ling woke to see Sheng Jiao tormented by that yin energy into unconscious sleep, this child had been somewhat off. Gripping a broken wooden sword and boasting about slaughtering the fierce ghost.
Xi Jue looked at him suspiciously: “You’re not afraid?”
“Afraid of what ghost ball.” Yan Ling also learned Feng Yu’s cursing style, saying coldly: “Maybe joining forces to subdue that fierce ghost is precisely our training this time. Should we just stay holed up here waiting for Headmaster Liu to rescue us?”
After Yan Ling said this, the others looked at each other.
Rang Chen said thoughtfully: “Indeed so. We can’t just cower here. Otherwise, those people from Lixiang House will laugh us to death.”
Feng Yu also expressed agreement: “Ling’er is right.”
Xi Jue: “???”
I clearly just said the same thing!
Felt the disparity of the world.
**
Prisha On IMMFBCG Chapter 2