Chapter 64

Taking the jade isn't enough—we have to go back the way we came and reach the exit.

They couldn't afford to linger. Deep in the forest, they could hear voices in the distance at any moment. The area wasn't open ground; if someone ambushed them from the shadows to snatch the treasure, they'd be at a disadvantage.

After cleaning up, the group crossed the meadow and headed back into the desert. Spiritual energy thinned gradually, and their limbs grew heavy once more.

When they'd first arrived, empty-handed, their only worry had been beast attacks. Now, in addition to beasts, they had to keep a watchful eye on their fellow disciples at all times. Every step felt unsteady, but the desert offered wide views; as long as a single glance confirmed no one around, they could breathe a little easier.

It was daytime, so sand wolves wouldn't be hunting. That worry ebbed too. The group clustered around Qing Zhouxue, basking in her cool aura. After all the tension in the forest, victory now seemed within reach—light-hearted, they quickened their pace.

As they crested a dune and started down the slope, Ruan Mingzhu stopped, smiling. "I've got a fun trick to speed us up. Want to try it?"

Everyone turned to her. She pulled several slender branches and vines from her waist—picked earlier in the forest—then measured them against Bai Su for a while. Bai Su nodded thoughtfully. She gripped the sticks, which quickly lengthened and thickened, sprouting dense twigs. Those twigs extended just as fast, repeating the growth of the main trunk. Vines wound around, binding everything tightly together.

In no time, a sizable wooden boat sat atop the dune.

The bottom, woven from branches and vines, had plenty of gaps—useless for water, but perfect for sand.

Senior Sister Bai's comprehension was truly exceptional. Ruan Mingzhu nearly kissed her. "Yes, just like that!"

She smoothed the bottom and aimed the boat's prow down the slope.

Saving a few steps was never a bad thing. Qing Zhouxue raised no objection and settled in calmly. Since Bai Su had made the boat herself, she felt obliged to board as well.

Only Lin Xunzhen eyed the improvised craft dubiously, then met Ruan Mingzhu's gaze. "This... it's not going to fall apart, is it?"

Before she could react, Ruan Mingzhu yanked her in. The younger Ruan, as bold as ever, sat facing backward at the stern, resting a wooden stick across her lap, then kicked off with both feet. The boat tipped and shot down the slope at breakneck speed.

Once it started, there was no stopping.

As promised, it was incredibly efficient for travel—whoosh, and they'd covered several zhang, gaining speed all the while. Qing Zhouxue shut her eyes, expression blank. Ruan Mingzhu laughed like silver bells. In between, the two in the middle clung to each other; someone let out a shriek.

At the ridge of the dunes, the young women sped down, leaving the blazing sun behind. Long wind whipped their clothes and hair into streaming banners.

It had a certain free-spirited charm.

But sand in the face was inevitable; all of them were squinting hard. Ruan Mingzhu, facing backward, steered with her stick bracing left and right, sliding down in a wild, zigzag course.

"Stop! We're going to crash—" Lin Xunzhen opened her eyes and nearly snatched Ruan Mingzhu's stick to shove her off.

Ahead, a raised sand castle appeared—what was that? Ruan Mingzhu, at the back, couldn't see it. Sensing trouble, Qing Zhouxue opened her eyes and scraped her ice blade across the ground, melting half of it in a grating motion—

The scene cut off. The water mirror rippled for a moment, then stilled.

"Looks like they're having fun," Elder Zhou said, waving his fan with a faint smile. "Watching these kids takes me back—back when the Founder spent his days setting up all sorts of traps in the secret realm, calling it 'fun' but making real trouble for everyone."

The Sect Leader laughed too. "Like the time he planted a tree on the only path, hung it with caterpillars. I recall Junior Sister Yun, for once losing her composure, burned the whole tree to ashes and refused to move past it."

Yun Shuchen shot back, unruffled: "No one remembers when the Sect Leader of Taichu Sect, caught in the Founder's bewitching spell, gnawed on his own sword for a good while? Disciples gathered in a ring to admire your grand spectacle."

Yue Changge chuckled softly. In her hand, she'd produced a crystal-clear orb—a treasure called 'Memories of Joy,' which, as its name suggests, recorded moments in real time so they could be watched vividly much later.

"I recorded plenty back then. Want to see?" she said.

Without waiting for consent, she projected the embarrassing antics of their youth into the open. For a moment, the hall filled with coughs. The Sect Leader cleared his throat twice and quickly said, "Put that away."

Yue Changge swapped it out for a scene of simple, everyday life.

In a dim room, warm lamplight flickered. The Founder was still alive, and the Founding Mistress as well. The two sat together, kind-faced, like an immortal couple.

Around them, a group of young disciples sat in a circle. The then Senior Disciple, now Sect Leader, was speaking with the Founder. Two junior brothers were plucking at a cat's fur. Yun Shuchen leaned against the Founding Mistress's shoulder, and when the woman placed a piece of food she disliked into her bowl, her expression stiffened. Liu Xunqin quietly poured tea, then frowned and picked a stray tea leaf off the rim. Yue Changge propped her chin, watching Liu Xunqin fuss, her eyes curving unconsciously.

Whether or not they needed to eat, whether they'd achieved inedia, they still had three meals a day, and every evening the whole table was always full.

Just as the dishes were cleared, Zhou Shannan's cat buried its face in his chest, licking greedily. When it looked up, its whiskers were dripping with broth.

The other elders laughed at the scene, and a few sighs slipped in.

Yun Shuchen's gaze drifted to the Founder and the Founding Mistress, a smile on her lips, but it gradually faded from reaching her eyes. At last, her long lashes lowered, hiding a cold glint.

Great cultivators live as long as heaven.

And those two... they...

Both were long gone from this world.

*

Inside the secret realm.

The group's boat inevitably collided with the sand castle. The vine-and-branch boat shattered with a crack, and their bodies tumbled onto the sand. Luckily, cultivators were built sturdy—mortals would have broken bones and never gotten up.

Qing Zhouxue's jade slipped from her robe. She reacted swiftly, reaching for it, but her hand bumped into something else.

It wasn't her hand.

Luckily, Qing Zhouxue was a step faster.

She looked up to meet a stranger's face—a woman. Seeing she'd failed to snatch the token, she flew into a rage and struck at Qing Zhouxue's chest.

Qing Zhouxue rolled aside, hearing a crack. Ruan Mingzhu had scrambled to her feet, sweeping her long stick into the woman's palm, deflecting the force with interest.

She pulled Qing Zhouxue over, and Bai Su and Lin Xunzhen closed ranks, protecting the jade token.

Three more figures emerged from the sand castle—fellow disciples, ones they didn't know well. They'd likely calculated the timing, knowing a team that had gotten a treasure would be returning. They'd ambushed here, building a sand castle to lure people over, making them suspect hidden fortunes—no, they didn't want to hunt treasure; they only wanted to take it.

Qing Zhouxue silently counted: all four were at Core Formation, only minor differences in sub-stages. The two earth-attributed were sword cultivators, wielding crudely carved stone swords. The others' spiritual roots seemed impure; Qing Zhouxue couldn't sense them clearly, but she knew the woman who'd fought her held a bow and was extremely agile. The last one was likely a spell-caster.

The senior sister with the crude bow had nearly shattered her palm bones, and now glared at them, eyes darting, searching for an opening.

At the moment, earth had the advantage. Deep under the sand lay thick soil layers, and once raised, they were inexhaustible, like a water-root user beside a river.

Qing Zhouxue's side, however, had only Lin Xunzhen with an earth root, and she rarely practiced it, far less skilled than her water root.

"What do we do?" Bai Su whispered from behind. Ruan Mingzhu lowered her voice, eying the four. "Strike first?"

There was no time to think. The ground shook; spear-like pillars of earth burst from the sand. Qing Zhouxue's half-melted ice sword still served, and she stepped on a pillar's tip to launch into the air.

Ruan Mingzhu, meanwhile, slid low, planting her stick into the ground as a pivot, and spun to kick the spell-caster's waist, channeling all her spiritual power. The spell-caster hadn't expected such speed and took the blow solidly, slamming hard into the sand.

But their goal wasn't Ruan Mingzhu—it was Qing Zhouxue, who held the token. The two sword cultivators saw their comrade fall, frowned briefly, then without hesitation stabbed at Qing Zhouxue, flanking her.

In the melee, the jade was tossed high, arcing gracefully, and Lin Xunzhen caught it. She raised her hand, using the newly risen earth pillars to form a long shield, slowing the sword cultivators' turning assault.

In that gap, the earth shield shattered with a crack, and an arrow raced toward Lin Xunzhen's forehead. She dodged but stumbled into Bai Su, and they rolled across the ground. The jade fell, gleaming, into the sand—far away.

The enemy's eyes lit up. Qing Zhouxue and Ruan Mingzhu cursed inwardly and lunged with all their might toward the spot—

The sword cultivator was closer. He scooped up the smooth stone and spun to flee. Qing Zhouxue swept her sword across to block his path, while Ruan Mingzhu simply dove on him.

She'd discarded her long, cumbersome stick and pinned the man to the ground, scrabbling for the token. The junior disciple wasn't about to surrender his chance, so he clung on, and they wrestled, kicking up dust and rolling until no one could get a hand in.

Qing Zhouxue twirled her sword deftly in her hand—the half-broken blade had a beauty in its flaw—and clashed it against an incoming arrow, the one aimed square at Ruan Mingzhu.

The earth-attributed sword cultivator, now prone, wasn't at a disadvantage. Spear-like earthen spikes kept rising from the sand, trying to shove Ruan Mingzhu off. She grunted, sparks of fire flickering in the struggle, but they sputtered out just as quickly.

Lin Xunzhen and Bai Su picked themselves up, unable to jump in, frowning and ready to move as the situation grew ever more tangled. Bai Su stared at Ruan Mingzhu's flickering, dying sparks. Watching, watching, a sudden thought struck her—the vine-boat. She murmured, "Fire rises with wood; wind fans it stronger."

She snatched her robes and dragged the shattered boat back, tearing off the vines and scattering them into the earth.

A small, lively vine rolled beside Ruan Mingzhu—and within visible moments, grew into a sprawling thicket.