Chapter 78

Ling Chenyan looked at the indignant Hua Niang, feeling guilty yet also filled with an indescribable sweetness.

She pretended to glare at Guan Luowei and said, “If you go easy on me like this, even if I win, they’ll think my victory was unfair.”

Guan Luowei raised an eyebrow: “I didn’t go easy on you; I just don’t know how to play.”

Watching the two of them acting so lovey-dovey, Hua Niang looked at the ice-faced blockhead sitting beside her and threw her cards down in a huff.

“I’m not playing anymore,” she declared.

Medusa also set down her cards, her gaze fixed on the shimmering island appearing outside the ship: “Mm, we’re almost there.”

Hua Niang shot her a glare and ran out of the cabin in a temper.

A look of confusion appeared on Medusa’s beautiful face as she swayed her snake tail and followed after her.

Inside the room, seeing that both had left, Ling Chenyan began to pack up the cards.

As she gathered them, she said, “It’s all your fault; you chased them away by going easy on me.”

Guan Luowei’s long lashes lifted slightly: “Miss Hua is angry at the Demon-Beast Queen.”

Ling Chenyan: “…” Wait, when did you become so perceptive?

“Well, you still played a part in it,” Ling Chenyan said. “Also, Highness, just call her Hua Niang; the term ‘Miss Hua’ sounds a bit awkward.”

Guan Luowei didn’t understand why, but she nodded anyway.

After putting the cards away, the two also walked out of the room.

The deck was already crowded with many demons and beasts looking toward the distance.

They were rubbing their hands in anticipation, excited for the challenges ahead.

A love for battle was carved into the very bones of the Demon and Demon-Beast races.

Tong Di and the beast-kin Sen Hao stared at each other, their gazes nearly striking sparks in the air.

Tong Di still remembered the grudge from when he was tied up by this man in the Demon-Beast territory.

Hostilely, he said, “Want to compete?”

Sen Hao was clearly not one to back down either; he narrowed his eyes and asked, “Compete in what?”

The surrounding demons and beasts, seeing the two facing off, gathered around to watch the fun.

As the crowd grew, the fighting spirit of Tong Di and Sen Hao became even more intense.

“Let’s see who finds the Divine Artifact, the Evil-Quelling Heavenly Book, first.”

“What happens to the loser?”

“They must hand over everything they find in the secret realm and loudly admit they are Read on BaiLianTales inferior to the other.”

“Deal.”

The two turned their heads in a silent pact, their eyes fixed on the island.

Their competitiveness reached its peak at this moment.

With so many witnesses, whoever lost would lose face not just for themselves, but for their entire clan.

While the two were bursting with competitive energy, Guan Luowei and Medusa remained silent.

However, in the final stretch, just as the two were about to fly off impatiently, the leaders struck simultaneously to hold them back.

Tong Di was stunned and turned back to Guan Luowei, speaking tentatively: “Highness…”

Guan Luowei glanced at him and then turned to look at the other eager demons behind her.

She spoke calmly: “In this secret realm, finding the Heavenly Book stolen content is secondary; the most important thing is…”

Hearing her words, the demons instinctively assumed she meant “staying alive.”

Though they didn’t take it to heart, they maintained a posture of solemn readiness.

Guan Luowei saw right through their thoughts and continued under their gaze:

“At all costs, increase your own cultivation level.”

The words left everyone in a daze.

Wasn’t this different from what was said back in the Demon Realm?

Even if it was different, it didn’t dampen the demons’ excitement.

Demons were born for war, and increasing cultivation was a synonym for battle to them.

Therefore, once these words were spoken, the demons all became exhilarated.

Unlike the excited demons, some of the beast-kin were outspoken when they heard the primary goal wasn’t the artifact.

“Didn’t the Humans, Beasts, and Demons agree that the main purpose was the Heavenly Book?”

“They’re only thinking about increasing their own strength; how selfish to act this way before the great enemy.”

The demons naturally wouldn’t let their Princess be spoken of in such a way.

Seeing that the two sides were about to start an internal feud before even entering the realm, Medusa swept the outspoken beast-kin into the sea with her tail.

Looking at the remaining stunned beasts, her golden pupils flashed with a cold luster.

“This time, our Beast clan’s goal is the same as the Demon clan’s.”

“…”

Following Medusa’s words, the previously vocal beasts were all dumbfounded.

They couldn’t believe their Queen was being so double-faced.

Guan Luowei originally didn’t intend to explain, but with this commotion, she feared discontent would brew before they even entered.

She addressed her subordinate demons: “Whether the Sacred Artifact can be forged depends on fate.”

“It is precisely because the great enemy is before us that we must increase our own strength.”

This simple sentence caused the impulsive members of both races to suddenly have an epiphany.

As leaders, Guan Luowei and Medusa naturally thought further ahead than they did.

The uncertainty of the artifact’s forging, the size of the hidden Evil Race, and when they would strike…

All these factors meant they could not place their hopes entirely on the reconstruction of the Sacred Artifact.

Therefore, Guan Luowei required them to increase their strength at any cost.

Only with strong personal power could they stand a chance against any powerful enemy.

Although these words were addressed to the demons, the beasts nearby were also meant to hear them.

After the outspoken beasts climbed back out of the water, they all coughed in embarrassment and looked away, trying to hide their guilt.

Guan Luowei did not hold it against them.

She glanced at Ling Chenyan, who was looking at her with starry eyes, and curled her lips slightly.

“Turn into a sword in a moment; you can change back once we are inside.”

Ling Chenyan nodded vigorously; turning into a sword made it convenient to enter the realm alongside Guan Luowei.

The ship soon reached the shore; the island was bare without a speck of green to be seen.

Everywhere one looked, there were strangely shaped rocks.

The members of the Beast and Demon clans disembarked together.

Tong Di and Sen Hao counted their respective clansmen.

Guan Luowei casually scanned the clansmen behind her.

Seeing that the numbers were roughly correct, she was about to look away when she suddenly paused.

Sensing something, Ling Chenyan asked, “What is it, Highness?”

Guan Luowei retracted her gaze, looked back in the previous direction, and shook her head: “Nothing.”

Ling Chenyan nodded and said nothing more, because at that moment the System had returned.

She was currently engaged in a heated discussion with the System.

Zong Xian, hidden among the demons, breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Her injuries were mostly healed; a secret realm like this held many opportunities.

She would work hard to increase her strength so that the Princess would notice her.[Sys, what did the Main System say?]

The System’s voice sounded incredibly haggard: [The Main System has completely stopped caring.][It said something like, ‘I don’t even know what to do, how would he know?’]

Ling Chenyan: […Forget it, let’s just take it one step at a time.][The Humans, Demons, and Beasts have allied against the Evil Race.][We are currently preparing to get the fourth artifact, the Heavenly Book, from the realm to forge the God-Demon Heaven Sword.][That’s good,] said the System.[However, the original text says the Heavenly Book was eventually obtained by the male lead.][You had better act quickly.][It’s fine, the original plot has been altered so many times already.][Maybe this time the male lead won’t get it either.][Let’s hope so,] the System said wearily.[Since things have come to this, let’s just roll with it for now.]

Once the Demon and Beast clans finished counting their numbers and were about to scatter to find the entrance…

An array suddenly appeared in the sky above the island.

Immediately following, as if space were being torn apart from the center, countless human cultivators emerged.

The sheer number was a dark mass covering the sky, far more than the Demons and Beasts combined.

Leading the way was a group headed by major sects like the Lingxiao Immortal Sect.

Zen Master Guixu looked particularly conspicuous among the group of immortal-looking cultivators.

The three races nodded to each other as a greeting.

Then they all turned their gazes toward the slightly haggard monk.

Zen Master Guixu looked as if he hadn’t slept well, with dark circles under his eyes.

Under everyone’s gaze, he frankly let out a yawn.

Everyone: “…”

Zhenling Daoren could take no more and said with a black face:

“Zen Master Guixu, please lead us to the entrance of the secret realm quickly.”

Zen Master Guixu gave an apologetic smile and landed on the ground.

After walking forward two steps, he suddenly paused and frowned.

“The secret realm has already opened; someone has gone in ahead of us.”

“What?!”

Everyone stared with wide eyes, clearly finding this answer hard to believe.

Zen Master Guixu didn’t waste time; he closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath.

Soon after, a golden light flew out and headed in one direction.

Without Zen Master Guixu saying a word, everyone knew they should follow the golden light.

The human cultivators were the first to follow, and the Beast clan was not far behind.

Only Guan Luowei, after glancing [unauthorized copy]back at Zen Master Guixu who remained in place, led the demons to follow the pace.

Zen Master Guixu smiled and nodded to Guan Luowei, falling unhurriedly to the very back.

Once the last demon had vanished from his sight, he stopped walking.

He turned to look toward the sea; beyond the endless ocean lay the continent where they lived.

Thinking of something, he hummed a couple of notes in a good mood.

“Qiu Tian, it will still take some time over there.”

“During this period, no one in the secret realm can be allowed to escape.”

As his voice fell, the figure of a middle-aged man glowing with golden light appeared.

He stared quietly at Wenxin, then shook his head and sighed.

“Your obsession is too deep. If you do this, the cultivation world will be plunged into misery.”

“Qiu Tian,” Zen Master Guixu was still smiling, “I don’t care. You’ve always known that.”

Yes, he had always known, from the day he recognized him as master.

He had simply overestimated himself, thinking he could redeem him and make him let go of his obsessions.

Unfortunately, he had never succeeded up until now.

Qiu Tian sighed and vanished into the air.

The smile on Zen Master Guixu’s face faded slightly.

“Qiu Tian, when this matter is settled, I will dissolve the spiritual contract with you.”

Qiu Tian said nothing, and Zen Master Guixu did not speak again.

He simply started walking slowly toward the entrance of the secret realm.

The transmission points of the secret realm were random.

After a dizzying transmission, Ling Chenyan opened her eyes and found herself still in Guan Luowei’s arms.

She let out a relieved breath and looked at their location.

The place they were sent to was an ancient ruin.

Besides themselves, there seemed to be no one else in sight.

Ling Chenyan broke free from Guan Luowei’s embrace and closed her eyes to sense carefully.

After a moment, she opened her eyes, transformed into human form, and said to Guan Luowei:

“There are many treasures in these ruins. Shall we go take a look?”

Guan Luowei nodded; this transmission point was exactly the same as in her previous life.

She remembered that an inheritance from a Demon Ancestor should be within these ruins.

Though called a ruin, it was actually an ancient battlefield between humans and demons.

It was a city left behind after cultivators and demons fought, covering a vast area.

One had to look up to see the very top of its massive gate.

Ling Chenyan immediately called out: “Guyue, come out and work…”

Halfway through, she suddenly remembered that Guyue had left with Li Xiu.

He had left the Demon clan and she didn’t know where he had gone.

She let out a long sigh, feeling the heartbreak of seeing a best friend abandon her and be tricked by a scumbag’s honeyed words.

Shaking her head, Ling Chenyan was preparing to fly solo when Jinjin quietly poked his head out.

“Sister Yinye, I can help you!”

Jinjin had already become accustomed to calling her Sister Yinye.

Just as the Old Demon Emperor always called her Yinye, Ling Chenyan didn’t mind having another name and didn’t correct him.

Now, looking at Jinjin’s bright, dark eyes, she keenly noticed Guan Luowei’s gaze from the side.

For some reason, Ling Chenyan felt a bit guilty, as if she were leading a good child astray.

Especially under Guan Luowei’s gaze, she could interpret the meaning: “If we have a child in the future, we must not let her teach them.”

Wait, no—how could two women have a child?

But then again, this fantasy world had all sorts of elixirs; maybe it was actually possible.

Ling Chenyan’s thoughts began ​stolen content​to drift until Jinjin waved his five short fingers in front of her.

She snapped back to her senses and said solemnly:

“Ahem, children shouldn’t get involved in adult business. You’re still small.”

“If I let you help, it’s called illegal use of child labor, and I’ll be arrested, you know?”

“Sister Yinye, what is child labor?”

“It’s… anyway, kids don’t need to understand these things,” Ling Chenyan said confidently.

“You’ll understand naturally when you grow up.”

Jinjin blinked thoughtfully.

Ling Chenyan’s eyes darted as she quickly interrupted:

“By the way, Jinjin, can you sense where the Evil-Quelling Heavenly Book is?”

Jinjin shook his head: “No, but Brother Wenxin is right here with us.”

Hearing this, Ling Chenyan’s hair practically stood on end.

“Damn Wenxin, using that peeping trick again, are you?”

In mid-air, the figure of a youth slowly emerged.

Facing Guan Luowei’s unfriendly gaze, he gave a sheepish smile.

“What peeping? I was providing protection from the shadows.”

After saying that, he glared at Jinjin, meaning, “Who told you to talk so much?”

Jinjin hid in Ling Chenyan’s arms feeling wronged, and she immediately glared back at Wenxin.

“I saw that! You dare glare at Jinjin?”

Wenxin: “…”

Wenxin also felt wronged: “What’s going on? Can’t you be a bit gentler with me?”

“That kid and I are both artifacts, but your favoritism is far too much.”

Ling Chenyan didn’t want to say more to him and only said:

“Since you’re here, help out while you’re at it. Can you sense Xuan Ye’s presence?”

Wenxin’s look of grievance vanished, and his lip twitched as he said:

“I can’t sense him. Who knows how long that guy has been squatting here.”

“If he intends to hide, we definitely won’t find him.”

“Fine then,” Ling Chenyan said. “Highness, let’s go inside.”

Guan Luowei nodded and walked beside Ling Chenyan.

“Since Wenxin is here, I will go to a certain place first in a moment.”

“You all wait for me inside the ruins.”

Ling Chenyan knew she was going to claim her inheritance and nodded immediately.

“Okay, both Jinjin and Wenxin are here. You can go ahead with peace of mind, Highness.”

Guan Luowei let out an “Mm” from her throat and looked at Wenxin: “Protect her well.”

“I know,” Wenxin raised an eyebrow. “With me around, nothing will go wrong.”

Currently, time was of the essence.

With half of the demon elites in the realm, safety in the outside world was halved.

Therefore, Guan Luowei had to use her time well to increase her strength as quickly as possible.

After parting with Guan Luowei, Ling Chenyan transformed into her sword form.

Taking Wenxin with her, she didn’t pass up any treasure in the ruins.

Sometimes treasures were hidden in corners people wouldn’t imagine, yet she could still find them.

If not for the fact that a living sword stood before him, Wenxin would have suspected her true identity was a Treasure-Hunting Rat.

The two spent their time searching and stopping, eventually reaching a dilapidated, altar-like ancient structure.

Ling Chenyan was in front, with Wenxin following closely behind.

“I’m saying, does this broken place really have treasures?”

Wenxin looked around, unable to see how this pile of rubble could look like it held treasure.

Ling Chenyan ignored him; she sensed something incredibly precious here that made her heart race.

That thing held a fatal attraction for her, guiding her forward.

Or rather, it was anticipating her arrival.

This nervous and expectant feeling made Ling Chenyan’s heart pound, but she also felt a surge of alertness.

Just as they drew close to the object, a flash of light suddenly erupted from the center of the vast altar.

Immediately following, an aged voice rang in their ears:

“Junior, if you wish to take my things, you must accept my inheritance.”

“If you wish to gain my inheritance, you must pass my trial… Do you wish to try?”

The aged voice slowly drifted through the air.

Ling Chenyan looked at the old man who had suddenly appeared in the center of the altar and said warily, “Who are you?”

The old man slowly opened his eyes; his cloudy pupils shone with a piercing light.

He seemed to see through both of them in an instant. After a moment, he spoke in astonishment:

“Two artifact spirits? Wait a second…”

The old man’s eyes suddenly widened, and he nearly made close contact with Wenxin the next second.

Wenxin scrambled back and shouted angrily, “What are you doing, old man?”

The old man finally snapped back to his senses and said, “Wenxin Mirror, it’s actually you.”

Immediately, he turned his head to look at Ling Chenyan, stroked his beard, and said:

“A sword spirit?”

The old man clearly didn’t pay too much attention to Ling Chenyan and only looked at Wenxin.

“When I first saw you all those years ago, you hadn’t even gained sapience. To think you look like this now.”

Wenxin eyed him and raised an eyebrow: “Who are you?”

“Who I am is not important,” the old man stroked his beard and said, “but I have seen your master.”

Wenxin’s pupils shrank, and his gaze fixed on the old man’s face: “You saw her?”

A look of self-satisfaction appeared on the old man’s face as he smiled:

“I did. Not only that, but there is a secret between her and me that only the two of us know…”

“A secret only known to you and her?”

Wenxin gnashed his teeth and glared at him: “You old fogey, what is your relationship with her?”

“Young people don’t know the first thing about respecting elders,” the old man huffed.

He turned to look at Ling Chenyan and said with a warm smile: “The little girl is better; she looks polite.”

Wenxin: “…” Just wait until she digs up your grave, then you’ll know how ‘polite’ she is.

Ling Chenyan ignored Wenxin’s gaze, nodded obediently, and greeted him: “Hello, Senior.”

The old man replied with a smile: “It has been many years since someone spoke with me. Thinking back to those days…”

“Stop!” Wenxin stood in front of Ling Chenyan and interrupted:

“Old man, nobody wants to hear you reminiscing. You’d better tell us your relationship with her quickly.”

“And what exactly is that secret!”

The old man frowned at him and shook his head: ” read the original at bailiantales.com I won’t tell you. I want to tell this little girl.”

Wenxin: “You mother—”

Ling Chenyan pulled Wenxin back, gave him a look, then walked to the old man and smiled obediently:

“Senior, so what exactly was your relationship with her? And that secret—can you tell me?”

Looking at the furious Wenxin, the old man stroked his beard in high spirits.

He spoke in a low voice via transmission to Ling Chenyan:

“I won’t tell you about the relationship, but this secret is indeed only known to her and me.”

“Back then, the God-Demon Heaven Sword didn’t split into four pieces.”

“It split into five. In other words, there are actually five divine artifacts in this world…”