Holding the Sword to Carry Away Senior Sister (Transmigration) - Chapter 52

In that very instant, Bai Yueli’s finger brushed across Fu Yan’s lower lip. The unexpected sensation caused her to momentarily freeze in a daze.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. By the time Fu Yan’s eyes filled with astonishment and she belatedly snapped back to her senses, she felt an exquisite, translucent bead inside her mouth.

“Mmph…”

The moment the Miasma-Avoiding Pearl entered her mouth, Fu Yan let out a reflexive, soft grunt. The icy-cold bead immediately settled on the tip of her tongue, finally allowing her thoughts to clear.

In the next moment, those slender, jade-like fingers were quickly withdrawn. Fu Yan felt as though her lips had been brushed by a dragonfly touching the water; it was a lingering itch that made her uncontrollably want to feel that touch once more.

At this moment, Fu Yan naturally didn’t notice the expression on Bai Yueli’s face. Just as her finger had rested on the lip, Bai Yueli felt a soft warmth against her fingertip. Although it was only a fleeting, ephemeral touch, she felt as if her finger was burning.

“Is this the Miasma-Avoiding Pearl Senior Sister just mentioned?”

Just as Bai Yueli was still reminiscing about the sensation from a moment ago, Fu Yan’s somewhat confused voice transmission echoed in her mind.

Bai Yueli paused slightly. Quickly assuming a natural demeanor, she slowly lowered her right hand. Finally, she raised her eyes to look at Fu Yan and continued the voice transmission: “Holding the Miasma-Avoiding Pearl in your mouth allows a cultivator to travel freely through this miasma. One does not need to waste True Essence to seal the seven apertures and six senses. However, it only remains effective for a certain period of time.”

Hearing the explanation, Fu Yan reached up to scratch her head awkwardly and sent back a sheepish transmission: “Hehe, I see. I was in such a hurry when I came in that I forgot to prepare a pearl in advance.”

In truth, the underlying reason was that Fu Yan hadn’t even known such a useful thing as a Miasma-Avoiding Pearl existed.

“Right.” To quickly move past the question that made her seem ignorant, Fu Yan immediately asked: “How did Senior Sister end up in the Demon Miasma Canyon?”

Taking advantage of Fu Yan’s awkward diversion, Bai Yueli had returned to her usual indifferent expression. She casually stowed the Yue Yao sword, which still carried an aggressive edge, and explained via transmission: “The original plan was only to remain in seclusion for two months. However, because I gained new insights into my strength during my cultivation, I was delayed for another half a month.”

In truth, it was only ten days ago that Bai Yueli had emerged from the High-grade cultivation chamber in Chaoyang City. After leaving the city, she intended to gain experience on her journey back to the sect. However, after traveling for only two days, she suddenly detected a distress signal.

It was a distress signal unique to the disciples of the Shui Ling Sect. Upon seeing it, Bai Yueli understood that a fellow disciple had encountered trouble, so she followed the signal all the way to this massive Demon Miasma Canyon.

“So that’s how it is!” Fu Yan replied with a smile after hearing the explanation.

At the same time, Fu Yan was basically certain that the distress signal Bai Yueli had seen was left by Shui Liuqing, and that she was likely indeed within this canyon.

Thinking of this, Fu Yan’s brow furrowed slightly. When she slowly raised her eyes again, she saw Bai Yueli staring fixedly at her. She paused for a moment, then hurriedly explained via transmission: “I am the same as Senior Sister; I found our Shui Ling Sect disciple’s distress signal and followed it here.”

As the words fell, Bai Yueli retracted her gaze. Fu Yan didn’t know if she believed her, but she certainly couldn’t say directly that she had found the place because of the soul-bound master-servant contract she shared with Shui Liuqing.

A wind had picked up in the canyon at some unknown point, and the surrounding miasma seemed even denser than before. Looking at the environment, Fu Yan knew they couldn’t stay here forever; they needed to find Shui Liuqing as soon as possible and leave this place.

“Senior Sister, the miasma seems thicker now, making it impossible to tell directions. Can you still perceive the distress signal?” Fu Yan observed the surroundings vigilantly, guarding against any poisonous creatures that might suddenly leap out to attack.

Hearing this, Bai Yueli shook her head. She had been inside the Demon Miasma Canyon for three or four days already but still had no definitive lead. Moreover, she could feel that the longer one wandered through this miasma, the easier it was to lose one’s sense of direction.

“The person fighting you just now… who was it?” Bai Yueli suddenly recalled the recent events and asked Fu Yan.

Fu Yan also shook her head: “I’m not sure who he was. I sensed Senior Sister fighting someone up ahead, but before I could get close, that man rushed out. He didn’t hold back at all during the fight; almost every move was fatal.”

Bai Yueli nodded. The person who had been fighting her had also leaped out suddenly. From the looks of it, those two were likely partners.

“They are probably the ones hunting the disciple who sent the signal,” Fu Yan guessed.

After all, in this Demon Miasma Canyon, aside from the two of them, there should only be the pursuers. This was not an exploration site; ordinary people would not enter without a reason.

Just then, Bai Yueli seemed to perceive the distress signal again. She turned back to look at Fu Yan and transmitted: “Follow me.”

Fu Yan didn’t doubt her. Seeing Bai Yueli turn and walk in a specific direction, she followed without hesitation.

In the silent canyon, the two moved forward cautiously, one behind the other. Because no one knew what danger might arrive in the next moment, they didn’t speak further on the way.

However, because there were two of them now—one leading the way and one guarding the rear—while both strictly monitored the surroundings, the burden was much lighter. It wasn’t like being alone, where one had to look both forward and backward while worrying about sudden poisonous creatures.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Fu Yan looked up and realized they were getting closer to the cliff wall on the left side of the canyon. If they continued, they would soon reach the base of that wall.

“Aaaahhh!!”

“Ugh… help… save me…”

Right at that moment, a series of blood-curdling screams suddenly echoed through the silent canyon. In this environment, it sounded exceptionally bone-chilling.

Hearing the heart-wrenching screams, Fu Yan and Bai Yueli stopped in their tracks. They looked toward the direction of the sound and exchanged a glance.

With a whoosh sound.

In the next second, before Fu Yan and Bai Yueli could even react, a figure suddenly rushed out from beneath the cliff wall ahead. The speed was so great that it was startling.

If she hadn’t clearly felt the surging True Essence fluctuations around the figure, she would have doubted whether that shadow, which ran past like a flash of lightning, was even a cultivator at all.

“That was the Great Circle Opening Light expert who was fighting me just now,” Bai Yueli’s slightly surprised voice soon sounded in Fu Yan’s mind.

Upon hearing this, Fu Yan immediately thought of those agonizing screams. If she wasn’t mistaken, that person must have been the partner of the man she had fought.

However, the strange thing was that the partner’s strength was definitely not much different from Fu Yan’s, yet he was now likely meeting a grim fate. Even the Great Circle expert had failed to save his teammate, escaping instead in a state of pathetic disarray.

Given the strength of those two, yet ending with one dead and one injured, Fu Yan truly couldn’t imagine what kind of terrifying monster they had encountered. Thinking of this, she turned her eyes toward Bai Yueli beside her.

The other had clearly reached the same conclusion and nodded to her. In the next moment, the two of them showed no hesitation; they turned around immediately, apparently preparing to leave this place as well.

But… it seemed it was already too late.

Just as Fu Yan and Bai Yueli were about to utilize their movement techniques to leave, they felt they had already been surrounded. From within the surrounding miasma came the sound of thick, viscous saliva, a sound that made one’s skin crawl.

Fu Yan didn’t have time to think. She instantly gripped her Ling Long broken sword tightly. Very soon, a shadow rushed out from the miasma, pouncing directly toward the two of them.

The two dodged with a slight movement. It was only then that Fu Yan finally got a clear look at the monster’s appearance.

In the green miasma, the monster glared with a pair of blood-red eyes that were exceptionally conspicuous. Its front half looked like a spider, with four legs crawling rapidly on the ground, and its size was about half that of a person.

However, the monster’s lower half consisted of several slimy tentacles. That viscous saliva sound from before had come from these tentacles, which were currently secreting a green liquid that appeared to be poisonous.

The moment Fu Yan landed steadily to one side, a whole swarm of these monsters suddenly rushed out from the surrounding miasma, tightly surrounding the two of them.

“Senior Sister, let’s spread out a bit,” Fu Yan transmitted to Bai Yueli. If they stayed together, it would be too easy to be ensnared by those terrifying tentacles.

Bai Yueli nodded, naturally understanding this logic.

In the next second, with a whoosh, the tentacles behind those monsters flew directly toward the two women’s positions. Fu Yan immediately executed her Wind-Shadow Steps, weaving through the dense thicket of tentacles.

Bai Yueli was doing the same.

Because there were too many tentacles, even though Fu Yan was fast enough, it was inevitable that she would collide with one or two. She didn’t dare be careless and struck out directly with her sword.

With a thwack, a tentacle was finally severed by Fu Yan’s sword under the power of the Illusionless Sword‘s third form, falling directly to the ground.

However, before Fu Yan could even take a breath, she saw the tentacle she had just severed actually grow back instantly, as if no damage had been done at all.

Staring at this scene, Fu Yan, refusing to believe it, raised her sword and severed another tentacle. But the result was exactly the same as before; the monster’s tentacles seemed to possess infinite regeneration, taking no substantive damage at all.

Recalling that Great Circle expert who had fled in a panic just now, Fu Yan felt a surge of lingering fear. These monsters were truly bizarre.

“Senior Sister, these things are too strange. They can’t be killed; they seem to have infinite regeneration.” Fu Yan didn’t dare delay and immediately sent another transmission to Bai Yueli.

Bai Yueli’s voice soon responded in her mind: “Yes. We shouldn’t stay here for long. We must break through and get out immediately.”

As she spoke, the True Essence within Bai Yueli began to surge rapidly, as if she intended to forcibly carve a path through the swarm of monsters.

Seeing this, Fu Yan also instantly mobilized all her True Essence. In the next moment, the Ling Long broken sword was covered in a layer of frost. Fu Yan gripped the hilt tightly and directly unleashed her most powerful Earth-grade Low-tier sword move.

“Wind Sweeps the Clouds!”

With Fu Yan’s low shout, the surrounding airflow surged violently. A terrifying power instantly formed on the Ling Long sword. Without any hesitation, she swept the sword out directly toward the left.

In an instant, sword light erupted within the green miasma. Wherever Fu Yan’s sword passed, the tentacles were crushed to dust, falling to the ground as ash.

Taking advantage of this opening, Fu Yan executed her Wind-Shadow Steps to the extreme, following closely behind the light of the sword strike. Naturally, she didn’t forget to transmit to Bai Yueli: “Senior Sister, let’s go!”

Back when Fu Yan was preparing this strike, Bai Yueli had been somewhat stunned by such terrifying power. She hadn’t expected that after only a few months of not seeing each other, the other would have already mastered such a frightening sword technique.

Fortunately, it was only a brief lapse of concentration. Upon seeing Fu Yan’s action, Bai Yueli also quickly utilized her movement technique and followed closely.

Soon, the two finally broke through the siege of the monsters. However, they didn’t dare to stop, quickly vanishing beneath the cliff wall on the far left of the canyon.

After running for an unknown amount of time, Fu Yan finally sensed that those strange monsters hadn’t pursued them, so she slowed her pace.

Finally returning to the center of the canyon, the two who had been racing all this way finally came to a stop. Fu Yan took a deep breath and looked at Bai Yueli beside her: “Senior Sister, are you alright?”

Hearing this, Bai Yueli shook her head.

Fu Yan nodded and finally began to relax a bit, sighing with a hint of a wry smile: “The Demon Miasma Canyon is indeed terrifying, to actually have such bizarre monsters.”

After speaking, as if suddenly remembering something, Fu Yan fixed her gaze on Bai Yueli and transmitted: “Senior Sister, let’s continue along the center of the canyon.”

With a swarm of monsters under the left cliff wall, who knew what even more bizarre monsters might appear under the cliff wall on the right.

“Alright,” Bai Yueli replied.

In this vast Demon Miasma Canyon, every extra minute spent meant extra danger. Thus, after a brief rest, the two continued forward along the center of the canyon.

Perhaps because the center was too open with no place to hide, Fu Yan and Bai Yueli walked for a long time without encountering any more monsters like those poisonous tentacled creatures. Only some ordinary poisonous pests appeared occasionally, but they naturally couldn’t get close to them.

Soon, the first light of dawn appeared on the distant horizon. Fu Yan looked up at the sky above the canyon, knowing it was about to be daylight outside.

Yet she and Bai Yueli had actually wandered through this miasma for an entire night.

After a few more steps, Fu Yan suddenly saw Bai Yueli lower her head and spit out a bead. She paused for a moment. Looking closer, she realized that what Bai Yueli had spat out was the Miasma-Avoiding Pearl.

However, the pearl was now entirely black, as if it contained a mass of dense, concentrated miasma. Fu Yan then remembered Bai Yueli saying that the pearl had a time limit.

Clearly, the pearl had reached its limit and was now completely useless, which was why Bai Yueli had spat it out.

Thinking of this, Fu Yan didn’t dwell on it. Just as she expected Bai Yueli to take out a new pearl, she saw the person in front of her directly use True Essence to seal her seven apertures and six senses.

It was exactly the same operation Fu Yan had used when she first entered.

“Let’s go.” Bai Yueli didn’t seem to pay much attention to Fu Yan’s expression. After finishing her preparations, she turned again to continue leading the way.

But this time, Fu Yan behind her did not move.

Bai Yueli had only taken a couple of steps before she noticed. She couldn’t help but turn back to stare at Fu Yan and transmitted: “What’s wrong?”

Unexpectedly, Fu Yan was staring fixedly at her, her clear eyes actually carrying a trace of anger. This left Bai Yueli even more confused, unable to understand why the other was suddenly angry.

Fu Yan was indeed a bit angry. She looked at Bai Yueli for a long time before transmitting: “Senior Sister, did you give me your last Miasma-Avoiding Pearl?”

Although it was a question, Fu Yan’s tone was exceptionally certain.

Realizing this fact, Fu Yan couldn’t help but feel a bit upset. She didn’t know if she was angry that Bai Yueli had so casually given her the last pearl, or if she was angry at her own ignorance for causing Bai Yueli more trouble.

Though it was just a Miasma-Avoiding Pearl—and losing it only meant wasting some True Essence—Bai Yueli had already been wandering this canyon for four or five days. She had fought several battles against both people and monsters in succession; her internal True Essence must be quite depleted.

Moreover, using True Essence to seal the seven apertures and six senses had a glaring disadvantage: one’s perception of the surroundings would be weakened. In a canyon where danger could strike at any moment, a split-second delay in perception could lead to a dire situation.

Thus, the thought of Bai Yueli giving her the last pearl filled Fu Yan with regret and heartache, even if Bai Yueli’s strength meant she might not be affected at all.

Hearing Fu Yan say this, Bai Yueli seemed to understand something immediately and couldn’t help but feel a bit amused: “Don’t worry. Whether I have the pearl or not doesn’t affect me much.”

Fu Yan continued to look at her without a word.

Bai Yueli seemed to realize for the first time that the person before her could be unexpectedly stubborn. She could only transmit helplessly: “Actually, I just felt that if you were affected by the miasma, I would have to spend effort looking after you, so you…”

Before she could finish, Bai Yueli saw Fu Yan step directly forward and actually grab her right hand. The sudden action left her somewhat stunned.

Fu Yan said nothing more, simply pulling Bai Yueli along as they continued forward. Only this time, she was the one walking in front to lead the way.

Bai Yueli looked up at Fu Yan’s back. After a thought, she didn’t bother to say anything more and allowed Fu Yan to lead.

Of course, she did not withdraw her hand either.

Fu Yan had acted on a sudden impulse when she grabbed Bai Yueli’s hand. Only after walking a few steps, as her mood gradually calmed, did she belatedly feel the soft warmth in her palm.

For a moment, letting go felt wrong, but not letting go felt even worse. Fu Yan didn’t know what had come over her just now. It was fine to want to lead the way, but why had she gone and grabbed the other’s hand? Now she was stuck in this awkward predicament.

Fortunately, Fu Yan was walking in front, so Bai Yueli behind her couldn’t see her face. The awkward atmosphere wasn’t as unbearable as it could have been.

As they walked, Fu Yan’s mind uncontrollably drifted back to the sensation in her palm. Bai Yueli’s palm was slightly warm, light and soft, and the skin on the back of her hand was as smooth as fine jade. It felt like holding a piece of top-quality Hetian jade, making one’s heart feel a bit itchy…

Stop.

Fu Yan quickly composed herself. She felt like a rogue, focusing all her attention on the feel of Bai Yueli’s hand. It was simply too sinful.

After quickly tossing those inappropriate thoughts out of her mind, Fu Yan took a deep breath, raised her eyes, and began to concentrate with full alertness on the surroundings.

They hadn’t walked for long when Fu Yan finally noticed something wrong. It seemed that since daybreak, this canyon had become exceptionally quiet. They had walked for so long and encountered basically nothing strange.

Things being too smooth was even more suspicious.

Right at that moment, Fu Yan suddenly realized the path ahead was gone. To be precise, it wasn’t that the path was gone, but that a massive fissure had appeared ahead, as if the ground had been sliced open by a single sword strike.

The fissure was three or four meters wide, and it seemed to lead directly down to underground magma. Plumes of heat were slowly erupting from it.

“Is this…” Fu Yan murmured.

Bai Yueli had also stepped up to her side at some point. She looked down at the massive fissure, her expression serious: “The True Immortal of back then actually sliced open an underground chasm with a single sword as well.”

Hearing this, Fu Yan recalled the legend she had heard in the Ancient City of Liujin. Now hearing Bai Yueli’s words, her face was filled with disbelief: “Senior Sister, are you saying those legends are true? This place was really split open by a single sword strike from that True Immortal expert?”

Bai Yueli’s gaze remained fixed on the underground chasm ahead, but she nodded.

At this, Fu Yan’s gaze also fell once again onto the chasm. Below was pitch black, with the faint, glowing red of hot magma visible.

Fu Yan truly found it hard to imagine how a casual sword strike could split the earth open like this. Just how powerful was that kind of strength?

It took quite a while for Fu Yan to recover from this shocking fact. She turned her head back to look at Bai Yueli, and just as she was about to ask something else, she realized the other had already withdrawn her hand at some point.

Finding this fact, Fu Yan felt a bit relieved in her heart. At least it saved her from more awkwardness; she had been agonizing over how to naturally let go of Bai Yueli’s hand.

And yet, feeling the lingering warmth in her palm…

Why was there also a sense of loss?