An Encounter with the Tsundere Immortal Lady Chapter 28

When Lin Wuxi regained consciousness, Yu Huang was no longer by her side. She had no idea where she was. The vast expanse between heaven and earth was filled with surging spiritual energy, as if she were in an immortal realm.
“Where is this?” Her puzzled words echoed between heaven and earth, but no one answered.
Fresh flowers bloomed everywhere, and the sun shone brightly. It wasn’t at all oppressive and gloomy like the bottom of the sea. Such a secret realm, in the entire cultivation world, was probably second only to the Xuan Tian Realm.
Immortal herbs and spiritual fruits were scattered all around, but Lin Wuxi didn’t even spare them a glance. Instead, she woke the ever-slumbering Purple Lotus and asked, “Purple Lotus, is there a way to find Senior Sister?”
She had tried already; this secret realm couldn’t be searched with spiritual sense. The air around her seemed to contain some unknown obstruction, making it incredibly difficult for her spiritual sense to expand. It couldn’t even reach as far as her eyes could see.
To find Senior Sister, Lin Wuxi could only search with her naked eyes. But to cover even the visible area would take who knew how many days, let alone the parts of this secret realm she couldn’t see. Out of options, Lin Wuxi could only turn to the Purple Lotus for help.
She knew the Purple Lotus was sentient and had been helping her suppress her inner demon. Otherwise, why hadn’t the inner demon, which should have flared up long ago, acted up again? With no other choice, asking the Purple Lotus for help was the only method Lin Wuxi could think of.
In the air filled with spiritual energy, the Purple Lotus seemed very happy. Its petals unfurled completely. After hearing Lin Wuxi’s words, its delicate form swayed slightly, and the entire flower glowed with a faint purple halo, looking incredibly beautiful.
“West.” A faint voice in Lin Wuxi’s mind pointed her in the direction. She knew it was the Purple Lotus. Summoning her Qingyu Brush, she no longer hesitated and flew straight west.
Along the way, dense forests stretched endlessly, and demonic beasts roamed everywhere. Lin Wuxi repeatedly confirmed her direction with the Purple Lotus. Just as the directions from the Purple Lotus grew more precise, Lin Wuxi’s heart suddenly clenched. Her body involuntarily curled up, and she plummeted straight down.
Damn it! It was the inner demon again. The inner demon, suppressed by the Purple Lotus and dormant for so long, had flared up at such a critical moment—just when she was about to find Senior Sister!
This place was different from before. The forest below teemed with demonic beasts of immeasurable strength. Even when Lin Wuxi was lucid, a moment of carelessness could turn her into a demonic beast’s meal. If she fell in her current condition, she feared she wouldn’t be able to endure this onslaught of her inner demon.
But what good was her unwillingness? The intense pain made it impossible for her to cast spells or control her sword. Even though her mind remained clear, she could only watch helplessly as she fell.
A purple light flashed, and Lin Wuxi’s rapid descent slowed. She didn’t crash and end up covered in bruises like last time but landed gently on the ground. The purple protective shield around her stabilized, remaining firmly around Lin Wuxi, never fading.
“Is that the Purple Lotus?” Even in agony, Lin Wuxi felt a sliver of relief. Just as she was about to focus on resisting her inner demon, she heard rustling footsteps from the nearby bushes. Is it Senior Sister? Lin Wuxi gritted her teeth against the pain and looked towards the sound.
Dark boots appeared beside Lin Wuxi. It wasn’t Senior Sister; it was Yu Huang. But fighting her inner demon had already left Lin Wuxi exhausted, with no strength left for anything else. Her vision darkened, and she could no longer withstand the overwhelming pain, losing consciousness completely.
Yu Huang fell from the void. With a few leaps off nearby branches, she landed safely on the ground. Though she landed unharmed, the old voice’s words kept replaying in her mind—something about a predetermined destiny, a fated husband. As intelligent as she was, she couldn’t understand any of it. It was just that deep within her memories, something seemed to be coming loose.
She didn’t have time to dwell on it; a growing sense of danger forced her to focus. Upon arriving, she had noticed this place was unlike the cultivation world. The spiritual herbs and demonic beasts in the forest far surpassed those of the Lianhen Mountain Range. Even the spiritual energy in the air was denser than on her Sky Peak. It was worth noting that Sky Peak’s spiritual energy concentration was achieved by building a powerful spirit-gathering array on one of the best spiritual veins in the cultivation world. Here, however, Yu Huang sensed no formations, meaning the spiritual energy was entirely natural, not artificially enhanced.
Take the Winged Lion-Tiger approaching her, for example. It had miraculously reached the highest stage. Winged Lion-Tigers had one of the lowest survival rates among demonic beasts in the cultivation world; most died before reaching adulthood. Thus, even though they possessed formidable combat strength, they were considered a very weak species in the cultivation world.
But now? Here, she had casually encountered a highest-stage Winged Lion-Tiger, a creature unseen in the cultivation world for nearly ten thousand years. Either her luck was exceptionally good, or there was something truly special about this place.
Drawing her Qingluan sword, Yu Huang calmly gazed ahead. The Winged Lion-Tiger’s strength was close to the mid-Nascent Soul realm. Even in this secret realm teeming with high-stage demonic beasts, it could be considered a local overlord. Even Yu Huang at her peak would have had to face it cautiously.
However, Yu Huang was not without a chance of victory now. Her Qingluan sword was one of the world’s finest divine weapons. Even without spiritual energy to power it, it could still easily pierce the Winged Lion-Tiger’s defenses. Her greatest disadvantage against this creature was her inability to fly on her sword. But this Winged Lion-Tiger was inherently bloodthirsty and lacked long-range attacks. It would eventually lower its altitude. If she could seize the right moment, victory was not impossible for Yu Huang.
The Qingluan sword in her hand let out an excited hum. Though it lacked its usual dazzling brilliance, its sharp edge and gracefully curved body spoke of its extraordinary nature.
In the sky, the brown lion-tiger roared at Yu Huang, then, with a beat of its wings, dived straight at her. Its sharp teeth glinted dazzlingly in the sunlight, its piercing eyes fixed on Yu Huang as if ready to devour her whole!
Good timing, Yu Huang praised inwardly. She sidestepped, calmly evading the Winged Lion-Tiger’s claws. Simultaneously, her Qingluan sword swept up diagonally from her lower right. The Winged Lion-Tiger shrieked; Yu Huang had struck its right wing, making it clumsy as it tried to pull up.
A threatening growl rumbled from its throat. The Winged Lion-Tiger had completely folded its wings, its bloodshot eyes staring at Yu Huang as if she were already dead.
The Winged Lion-Tiger was one of the most vengeful demonic beasts in the cultivation world. Yu Huang had injured its wing; there was no way it would let the matter rest.
The Winged Lion-Tiger’s eyes and claws had turned blood-red—a sign it was entering a berserk state. This meant its goal was no longer to hunt, but to seek revenge.
Crouching low, the Winged Lion-Tiger stalked towards Yu Huang. Yu Huang tightened her grip on the Qingluan sword, her gaze fixed on the beast. Without spiritual energy, she couldn’t cast spells or use her spiritual sense. Yu Huang could only rely on her eyes and her battle-honed instincts. Facing the now utterly ferocious Winged Lion-Tiger, she couldn’t afford the slightest mistake.
With a roar, the Winged Lion-Tiger was upon Yu Huang in an instant. It opened its gaping maw and lunged for Yu Huang’s neck. Its sharp teeth, glinting with a bloody light, were like powerful magic artifacts when infused with spiritual energy; if they touched Yu Huang, she would be torn apart.
The Qingluan sword flashed horizontally, barely intercepting the Winged Lion-Tiger’s jaws. At the same time, Yu Huang kicked its belly hard with her left foot. Roaring, the Winged Lion-Tiger released the Qingluan sword, changed direction, and rammed its sharp head towards Yu Huang’s abdomen.
Yu Huang did a backflip, narrowly dodging the attack. But the Winged Lion-Tiger showed no sign of stopping. It pursued her, raising a massive, sharp paw to slam down on her.
Yu Huang blocked with her sword, parrying the blow. But her situation was far from ideal. She was now on the ground, struggling to withstand the Winged Lion-Tiger’s immense strength. If her strength gave out, she would be struck and gravely injured.
Gritting her teeth, Yu Huang struggled to hold on. But without her cultivation, in terms of raw strength, she was no match for the demonic Winged Lion-Tiger. The Qingluan sword was visibly being forced down, bit by bit. Yu Huang was about to be overwhelmed!
An ordinary person might have died on the spot. But Yu Huang was different. Even if she couldn’t physically overpower the berserk Winged Lion-Tiger, she still had magic treasures. With these, she had once held her own against the Aperture Opening stage cultivator Chen Yuan for a considerable time. Even if she hadn’t needed to use them all then, it didn’t mean she couldn’t use them now.
A puff of purple smoke struck the Winged Lion-Tiger’s eyes. The poisonous gas within quickly corroded them. With a roar, the spiritual light around the beast flared, and it began to madly attack its surroundings. With it at the center, trees snapped and dust billowed wherever it thrashed.
Yu Huang had already darted away before the Winged Lion-Tiger went berserk. She had used a poison called ‘Purple Feather’ on it. This poison could blind a cultivator’s eyes, causing them to lose their sanity and become frenzied. She had acquired it by chance and only had two doses, never intending to use them. But in her desperation, she had grabbed it randomly from her storage bag, not expecting it to be this one.
Seeing the Winged Lion-Tiger’s state, Yu Huang felt a pang of pity. She hadn’t intended to torment it like this. Now, the kindest thing would be to end its life and its suffering.
Against an ordinary demonic beast, she might not have resorted to a killing blow. But Winged Lion-Tigers were extremely vengeful. Having provoked it, if she didn’t kill it, it would never stop harassing her until one of them was dead.
Therefore, Yu Huang didn’t want to constantly be on guard against the Winged Lion-Tiger’s ambushes in this perilous secret realm. It was best to kill it for good. Besides, the cultivation world was fundamentally a place where the strong preyed on the weak. This place was fraught with danger, and she had no surplus of compassion to waste on a demonic beast that only saw her as food.
Walking up to the somewhat exhausted Winged Lion-Tiger, Yu Huang raised her Qingluan sword, about to deliver the killing blow, when she felt her heart suddenly pound. Her entire body tensed up.
A sense of unease gnawed at her. She couldn’t care about the Winged Lion-Tiger anymore. Yu Huang turned and sprinted in a specific direction without hesitation.
The unease grew stronger. The urgency in Yu Huang’s heart was unbearable. She could only run at her top speed through the forest. Whizzing branches tore her exquisite and expensive brocade robes and tangled her smooth, dark hair. Usually so meticulous about her appearance and conduct, she couldn’t care less now. The thought that this foreboding feeling might concern Lin Wuxi made her feel like she was going mad. For the first time, she hated her inexplicably vanished spiritual energy. If she had her spiritual energy, she could fly on her sword, reach there faster, and protect her Junior Sister. But now? She had the title of the supposed number one genius in the cultivation world, a Golden Core cultivation base, and the world’s praise, but what good were they? None of it could protect her, the one who was so special to her.
“Junior Sister!”