An Encounter with the Tsundere Immortal Lady Chapter 6

When everyone opened their eyes again, the sky was no longer an intoxicating purple, but a vast and oppressive gray. Before them were no longer the elders who had accompanied and protected them on their journey. There was only an endless stone plain, stretching until it merged with the equally gray sky, the two indistinguishable.
The cold wind in the air was mixed with sand and stones. Its extreme speed gave the ordinary-looking grit strong destructive power. Fortunately, everyone was prepared; their robes all shimmered with a faint glow. The fierce wind and grit were blocked by barriers two meters away from them, not even a speck touching the hems of their clothes.
The three sects each had their own routes, and the time allotted to them was not particularly ample. So, without further ado, the young leaders of each sect led their teams of a hundred disciples towards their first objective.
Yu Huang was naturally the young leader of the Wan Hen Sect. She waved a fair hand, and her white robe immediately flashed with a dazzling light. Her cold and indifferent voice sounded in everyone’s ears: “Follow me.” After speaking, she took the lead, riding her sword, and flew towards the predetermined route.
Yu Huang’s status in the Wan Hen Sect was naturally extraordinary. When she spoke, everyone immediately mounted their flying swords and followed Yu Huang to the first destination.
Their first target was the Cloud-Splitting Valley, a thousand li away. The valley was full of fresh flowers, and a strange fragrance filled the air. Among them was a flower called Yun Shang. It was small, with delicate colors, and had miraculous effects for healing wounds and stopping bleeding. This flower grew in patches in the Xuantian Secret Realm, and its quantity was not small. But like other plants in the secret realm, it could not be cultivated outside. Therefore, it was often everyone’s first target each time they entered the secret realm.
A journey of a thousand li was not considered very far for cultivators. Within an hour, they could smell bursts of fragrance in the air. They dismounted their flying swords and stepped into the huge valley that lay before them. The fierce wind immediately weakened a lot, perhaps blocked by the cliffs on either side. Before them was no longer the endless stone plain, but various unfamiliar fresh flowers. They spread along both sides of the valley. Even in the windy Xuantian Secret Realm, they were completely undamaged, swaying and unreservedly displaying their stunning beauty even against the gloomy, dark sky.
But this was not yet the sea of Yun Shang flowers. Everyone flew further into the valley. Before long, they saw a sea of delicate and pure Yun Shang flowers. Nearly a hundred ethereal cultivators riding their flying swords slowed down and slowly descended from the air into this sea of flowers.
The white Yun Shang flowers did not have vibrant colors, but their light and distant fragrance made them no less inferior to any other flower here. The waist-high flower bushes blurred the figures of the cultivators. For a moment, they felt dazed, wondering if they were in a dream.
For cultivators, picking fresh flowers was not troublesome. Before long, the Yun Shang flowers in front of Yu Huang were piled up like a small mountain. Those who had finished collecting the sect’s designated quota did not dally; they continued to pick their own share.
Yun Shang flowers had remarkable healing effects. Even if not for personal use, the resources one could exchange for them at the sect were quite considerable. Moreover, healing medicine was a scarce resource for every cultivator.
Lin Wuxi pondered for a moment and then also stepped forward to join the group picking Yun Shang flowers. Although what she needed most now was to rest and recuperate, a disciple with no background disdaining the resources Yun Shang could be exchanged for would be a bit too conspicuous.
Her fair, slender fingers plucked a small flower. The delicate flower disappeared, and only the green stem and leaves remained, swaying in the wind.
A woman in white strolled through the flower bushes. She stood before the young woman in green and asked, “What exactly do you want from the Xuantian Secret Realm?”
“What?” The woman in green looked up slightly, her eyes filled with confusion, and asked.
The woman in white walked past her. Her ethereal voice entered Lin Wuxi’s ears: “No matter what you want, I will stop you.”
Lin Wuxi lowered her eyes and smiled bitterly. When has what I want ever been up to me?
The woman in white had already drifted away, leaving only a faint, lingering fragrance in the air. Lin Wuxi also lowered her head and continued picking, as if nothing had happened.
They didn’t stay in the valley for too long. They still had many materials to collect one by one, so Yu Huang and her group did not delay much time. The cultivators all mounted their swords and set off towards the next objective.
The Xuantian Secret Realm had no night; dark clouds always covered the sky, and the wind raged. In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. Along the way, everyone had collected the required materials. But this was only the beginning of their journey in the Xuantian Secret Realm. Exploring the areas not yet discovered by the cultivation world was the main point of this trip.
Looking at the map, they were now at the edge of the explored area. Flying further would lead them into uncharted territory. Unlike the explored areas, in the uncharted territory, they could no longer consciously avoid dangerous zones. It was very possible to carelessly stumble into a dangerous place. Inside, there might be incredibly powerful formations or dangerous beasts. The slightest carelessness could lead to serious injury or even death.
But this did not make the Wan Hen Sect disciples retreat. Disciples who could remain in the Wan Hen Sect would neither be reckless and ignorant nor timid and cowardly.
At this time, everyone put away their flying swords and switched to moving quickly on the ground. This was firstly to better understand the terrain, and secondly to deal with possible dangers. Compared to flying on swords, their speed was naturally much slower. But it was precisely because of the tireless exploration of their predecessors that their journey through the known parts could be so smooth. Now, it was their turn to repay that hard work.
The ground was still an endless expanse of gray rock, but this did not allow everyone to relax their guard in the slightest. There were always some special places in the Xuantian Secret Realm, appearing at unknown times and for unknown reasons.
Everyone skillfully and quickly formed into search formations and spread out. There were already specialists recording the surrounding terrain, preparing for later data compilation.
This was the tenth day of searching, with five days left before leaving the Xuantian Secret Realm. Their progress had been relatively smooth. The materials the sect needed to collect were basically complete, and the explored area had also reached the sect’s minimum requirement. But no one felt relaxed. Yesterday, a small team had discovered a huge cave. The spiritual energy fluctuations inside were quite abnormal. As a team tasked with exploring the Xuantian Secret Realm, Yu Huang and the others had no reason to ignore it.
After resting well last night and composing themselves, Yu Huang and the others set out. This trip would not be easy. The cave was unfathomably deep. In the Xuantian Secret Realm where danger and opportunity coexisted, they didn’t know what they would encounter inside.
The cave entrance was tens of meters wide. Completely different from the gray, hazy exterior, colorful mineral stones made the entire cave a wonderfully fantastical world. Lin Wuxi and the others, who had seen almost a whole month of a gray world, almost found it hard to breathe.
Water flowed gently inside the cave. Every so often, stalactites of various sizes hung down, adding another layer of mystery and allure to the cave.
The further they went, the wider the space became. The cultivators also noticed that the surrounding water flow decreased, and the temperature rose. Eventually, no trace of water could be seen in the cave, only dry, hard rock.
Even knowing that such a scene was not normal, everyone could only continue forward. Before determining if it was dangerous inside, their duty was to scout the path; there was no reason to retreat.
After walking for a short time, the temperature inside the cave had risen to a frightening level. Following the path ahead, they rounded a bend. What appeared before them now was actually a lake-sized pool of lava!
In the middle of the lava, there was a single flower. It had five crimson petals, a pure white stamen, and was as crystal clear as snow. Even the air was filled with its refreshing fragrance.
It was a Crimson Heart Lotus! It blooms once every five hundred years and bears fruit after another five hundred years. It only grows in extremely hot places. It can eradicate inner demons and stabilize one’s Dao heart! It was something countless cultivators dreamed of but could never obtain!
But now, not a single cultivator dared to go pick it. Because the lava was boiling; it was about to erupt! And they were currently a full kilometer away from the Crimson Heart Lotus. At their speed, they had no confidence they could escape!
Without almost any hesitation, Yu Huang immediately ordered, “Run!” At the same time, she instantly put up a protective barrier and stood at the rear to organize the retreat of all Wan Hen Sect disciples.
Even at this moment, the Wan Hen Sect disciples did not panic. Instead, they retreated in an orderly and swift manner according to their positions. Except for one person.
This is it! Lin Wuxi did not flee the cave like the other disciples. Instead, she mounted her flying sword and flew towards the center of the boiling lava. The lava was already splashing up several meters high and would soon surge out, flooding the cave. At Lin Wuxi’s speed, she fundamentally couldn’t escape!
Does she want to die? Yu Huang’s mind flashed back to Lin Wuxi’s words from that night, “If we can never meet again…” And the inexplicable, deep sadness on her face then. Is it because of this?
Before she could fully understand, a white silk ribbon shot out from Yu Huang’s sleeve. It wrapped around Lin Wuxi’s waist. Lin Wuxi, at the late stage of Enlightenment, found she couldn’t struggle at all. She could only be dragged flying backwards by Yu Huang’s silk ribbon, watching helplessly as the lava submerged the Crimson Heart Lotus and surged out, filling the cave in front of them.
Lin Wuxi wanted to say something, but then she remembered that the escape talisman she had drawn could only last for ten breaths at most. Even if nothing went wrong, it was highly unlikely she could escape here safely. In the end, she said nothing more.
After escaping the cave, Yu Huang continued to fly. Only after covering a considerable distance did she finally release the silk ribbon around Lin Wuxi’s waist. She asked sharply in a low voice, “Were you trying to die?”
Lin Wuxi, riding her flying sword, seemed somewhat dejected. “I just wanted…”
“Wanted what?” Yu Huang wanted to press further, but the Wan Hen Sect disciples had already gathered around Yu Huang, awaiting her instructions. Yu Huang couldn’t say more. She led everyone away from this area.
Cultivators were naturally very fast. Flying at full speed, it didn’t take long for them to get far away from the range of the lava eruption. It seemed that what everyone had encountered just now was an erupting volcano; their luck was truly bad. It was just a pity about that Crimson Heart Lotus. It would wither within ten years, and the Xuantian Secret Realm would only open again after fifty years. It seemed the Wan Hen Sect had no fate with this item.
This incident didn’t delay everyone’s journey. The search continued, and nothing particularly special happened during that time. Five days later, everyone activated the return formation and successfully returned to the cultivation world.
The martial uncles of the Wan Hen Sect were already waiting by the formation. Seeing Yu Huang and the others return safely, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief. After counting everyone, they had Yu Huang and the others return to the palace they had stayed in upon arrival. After resting for a night, they were to return to the Wan Hen Sect to report the situation to the Sect Master.
That night, the cold moonlight spilled down. White sleeves moved through the courtyard and across the corridor, stopping before a door. A fair hand lifted and landed on the door panel. There was no expected knock, only a creak as the door opened. The cold moonlight illuminated the pitch-black room. Apart from this sliver of moonlight, there was no other light in the dark room.
Sleeping so early? the arriving woman thought with confusion. She asked in a low voice, but no one in the room answered. Sensing something was wrong, she quickly stepped inside. She saw the woman in green robes curled up on the cold floor. Her hair and clothes were soaked through. Looking at the corners of her eyes, there were even undried tear stains.
How could this be! The woman quickly scanned with her spiritual sense. She saw that Lin Wuxi had no abnormalities, just that she was exceptionally weak, which was somewhat reassuring.
Lowering her eyes, she pondered for a moment. The woman’s expression gradually became grave and serious. But she said nothing more. She only carried the person back to the bed, used a spell to clean Lin Wuxi’s body, and after tucking her in, she left.
Only an almost inaudible sigh remained in the air.
The next morning, Lin Wuxi woke up from her stupor, only to find she was no longer lying on the cold floor as usual, but in a warm bed. Lin Wuxi, ignoring her groggy head, sat up with a start. Who was it? Who entered her room!
No matter how much Lin Wuxi’s mind reeled, she still couldn’t figure out who had entered her room. Two hours later, the Wan Hen Sect was due to depart. Lin Wuxi could only drag her tired body to wash up and get ready. Perhaps, after experiencing more, she would get used to it.
Having packed their belongings, the Wan Hen Sect disciples, returning with a full harvest, were all in high spirits—except for Lin Wuxi. No matter how she tried to hide it, the exhaustion on her face was obvious at a glance.
Qi Chun looked at Lin Wuxi’s face with worry and asked, “Senior Sister, what’s wrong? You were fine yesterday, why do you look so unwell today?”
Lin Wuxi forced a smile. “Junior Sister, don’t worry, I’m fine.”
Qi Chun wanted to say more, but in the end, she didn’t ask.
Over there, people had already begun to ride their swords onto the back of the Azure Luan. Lin Wuxi and the others didn’t dally any longer. They all summoned their flying swords and stepped onto them to fly.
The Azure Luan’s body was nearly a hundred meters long. Even for ordinary cultivators, flying up to it was as easy as flipping a hand. But Lin Wuxi’s spiritual energy was severely depleted, and she hadn’t recovered yet. If she rode her sword, she would likely fall straight off. To avoid arousing suspicion, Lin Wuxi had to force herself, slowing down and carefully flying onto the Azure Luan’s back. Suddenly, she felt a wave of dizziness. She fought hard to keep herself from falling, sat down on the ground pretending to rest as much as possible, only then daring to close her eyes. In a half-conscious state, she regulated her breathing, trying her best not to collapse.
After a while, her mind finally cleared. She opened her eyes and met a pair of lazy, deep eyes. Lin Wuxi was startled. When did Senior Sister Yu Huang sit down next to me?
“Senior Sister? Why are you here?”
The woman withdrew her lazy gaze, straightened up, and her thin lips parted slightly: “I’m sitting here. What, is it not allowed?”
“…”
“Junior Sister, are you alright?”
“Of course, I’m fine, but…” She paused. Yu Huang didn’t say anything more. She just turned and walked away, leaving only a cold, distant figure.
Lin Wuxi stared blankly, stunned. What did she know?