The group finally met at the cave entrance.

Mendong rushed over and first looked Gu Baiying up and down, asking: “Martial Uncle, are you alright?”

Gu Baiying said nonchalantly: “What could be wrong?”

Only then did Mendong relax. He finally deigned to look at Zanxing: “You…” He hesitated, as if wanting to ask something but being somewhat reserved. After stammering for a while, he managed three words: “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Zanxing knew this child was quite awkward. She looked toward Tian Fangfang and the others: “Senior Brother, how are you all?” She noticed that Mu Cengxiao’s left arm seemed injured: “How did Senior Brother Mu get hurt?”

“Don’t even mention it,” Tian Fangfang looked dejected. “After you two fell, that beast kept chasing us relentlessly. Those bastards from Chihua Gate ran faster than anyone. We hid in a stone pool near the tiger’s den. We wanted to go back and find you, but the people from other sects refused, so we could only come back ourselves. On the way, we encountered that Golden Flower Tiger again.”

Several of them were covered in dust and looked somewhat tired. Even Meng Ying’s skirt hem was stained with mud—it hadn’t been easy for them.

“But Junior Sister, you’d never guess—our Brother Mu lives up to being the genius who tied for first place with you in the sect assessment. He used that broken-down blade of his to kill that Golden Flower Tiger!”

The Golden Flower Tiger’s cultivation wasn’t that high. The difficulty lay in its fire having spiritual intelligence, and its tiger bones being extremely hard, difficult to shatter. Therefore, when ordinary cultivators encountered a Golden Flower Tiger, they mostly hid rather than killed it.

“The Golden Flower Tiger bones that even Senior Sister Meng couldn’t cut through,” Tian Fangfang still seemed incredulous as he spoke, “this kid solved with one strike! Don’t you think that’s amazing?”

Zanxing thought to herself that it wasn’t a broken-down blade at all—that was the Mieshen Saber, which even immortals would fear upon seeing. It seemed that although Mu Cengxiao had unfortunately had the Xiaoyuan Pearl stolen by her and lost the inheritance too, the luck on him hadn’t changed. The Mieshen Saber hadn’t yet fully demonstrated its power, but presumably as time passed and Mu Cengxiao’s mastery of saber techniques became more refined, this blade’s might would become even more boundless.

“I’ve collected both the tiger bones and tiger hide. We’ll divide them after we return. Don’t fight me for that bit of Tiger Yang Fire—I practice fire-type magic arts, and it’s perfect for my Fire Wolf Fang.” His face was full of the joy of a good harvest, like a farmer returning with a full load.

“It’s all yours,” Zanxing said helplessly. “No one’s fighting you for it.”

Meng Ying on the side asked: “Junior Sister Yang, after Junior Brother Mu killed the Golden Flower Tiger, we went back into the tiger’s den. That deep chasm had disappeared, and we couldn’t find any trace of you. What exactly happened?”

Zanxing glanced at Gu Baiying. Gu Baiying’s eyes flickered slightly, but he didn’t speak.

This matter couldn’t be hidden forever anyway, so Zanxing said, “Actually, we found a painting.”

“A painting?” Mu Cengxiao’s expression stirred: “Could it be the painting that Yinli mentioned before?”

Zanxing nodded: “On that painting… a trace of Qinghua Xianzi’s spiritual consciousness remained.”

Everyone was stunned.

She then selected the key points and told everyone what had happened in the secret realm. Gu Baiying didn’t interject from beginning to end, walking aside to sit down as if it all had nothing to do with him.

When she finished, everyone was dazed for quite a while, seemingly digesting what she had just said. After a moment, Tian Fangfang sneakily glanced at Gu Baiying over there, then moved closer and whispered: “So you’re saying, Junior Sister, you now have Qinghua Xianzi’s inheritance?”

“Because it was spiritual consciousness, my cultivation and yuanli are the same as before. It’s just that my mind now has many more heart techniques.” Zanxing sighed: “But this isn’t something that can be mastered overnight. I’ll have to return to the sect and cultivate slowly.”

It was like someone had forcibly stuffed a pile of textbooks into her hands. They looked impressive, but she had to read through them first.

“But you’ve still made a huge profit!” Tian Fangfang was very excited: “Think about those heart techniques—each one is worth a thousand gold pieces and hard to come by. Qinghua Xianzi didn’t just give you martial arts—she gave you a pile of inheritance! Wait, that’s not right,” he came to his senses: “Why didn’t she leave it to her son, and instead give it to you? Just because you’re the destined person?”

Speaking of the “destined person,” the others all looked at Zanxing with somewhat strange expressions.

After all, Gu Baiying looked much more like that savior than she did.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Zanxing felt aggrieved. “I don’t want this either.”

A supporting character without the protagonist’s halo being forced to take the lead as this “destined person”—the result was that even the protagonist’s spiritual treasure, the Xiaoyuan Pearl, had now become an evil object. She didn’t know if the original story would continue digging pits for her, but the four words “save all living beings” sounded very difficult just by hearing them.

Meng Ying said, “Since Qinghua Xianzi chose you and personally passed the heart technique inheritance to you, it shows you must have destined luck and opportunities. Junior Sister, don’t belittle yourself. When we return to Gufeng Mountain, I’ll explain this matter to Master. Even if it takes the entire sect’s resources, we must ensure you successfully master the Qing E Nian Hua Gun heart technique.”

Zanxing felt alarmed hearing this.

“This matter is best discussed later,” Mu Cengxiao interrupted her. “The person behind Yinli ordered him to enter the secret realm to search for this painting. Since Qinghua Xianzi now suspects it’s a demon race conspiracy, we should quickly return to the sect and inform all the elder martial uncles about this matter.”

“Yes,” Mendong said with a drooping face, speaking worriedly: “According to the results of Qinghua Xianzi’s divination, isn’t it next year? After this year ends, if the demon race makes a comeback… Now that Qinghua Xianzi is gone, the major sects have looked manageable these years, but in reality, they can’t even find a decent person… Even someone like Tan Tianxin can represent a sect in entering the secret realm. If we face the demon race, we might as well wait for death.”

“Junior Brother,” Meng Ying shook her head disapprovingly: “How can you harbor defeatist thoughts before even fighting?”

Mendong muttered quietly: “I’m just telling the truth.”

“Are you done talking?” Gu Baiying over there glanced at them, seeming impatient with waiting: “If you’re done, then hurry down the mountain.”

Coming to the secret realm was originally to seek opportunities. Now that several of them had obtained Qinghua Xianzi’s inheritance and harvested a Golden Flower Tiger, and Mu Cengxiao’s Mieshen Saber had unlocked its first restriction, for Taiyan Sect, this was already a surprise beyond expectations.

Moreover, calculating the time, their days in the secret realm were about up; returning now was just right.

“Let’s go the same way we came,” Mu Cengxiao said. “First, down the mountain, past Lanjing Lake, and enter the transmission array near the shrubs.”

No one objected.

The path down the mountain was much easier than going up, but the group’s pace wasn’t fast. From the earlier battle with the Golden Flower Tiger, Tian Fangfang’s group had all suffered some injuries, not as spirited as when they came. Zanxing had been severely beaten by Qinghua Xianzi several times in the painted realm. Though it hadn’t injured her bones and tendons, the physical pain was real, making her walk with a slight limp. However, Gu Baiying also walked slowly despite not being particularly injured. Zanxing guessed this young man might still be depressed about Qinghua Xianzi’s matter, thinking that when they returned to Gufeng Mountain, she’d find another opportunity to counsel him properly.

Taking someone’s benefits meant owing them. Since she had received Qinghua Xianzi’s inheritance, she was half a disciple of Qinghua Xianzi and should properly care for and look after her teacher’s son. But thinking about it this way, her generational relationship with Gu Baiying was really quite messy.

Lost in such random thoughts, they walked to the foot of Wudong Mountain. Lanjing Lake was still as it had been when they came—like a hidden piece of beautiful jade among the mountains, crystalline and serene.

A bird chirped, leaving a smoke-like, faint trace in the blue sky. Its wings spread, reminding Zanxing of that fire-colored bird ready to fly from the branches of the giant tree in the wilderness.

She lowered her head and continued walking forward, hearing Tian Fangfang’s complaining voice ahead: “Don’t you think those sects are pretty disgusting? Earlier at the Star Platform in Li’er Kingdom, if it weren’t for Junior Sister Zanxing and Seventh Martial Uncle, they’d all be finished. At least we saved their lives, right? And what happened? Just encountering one Golden Flower Tiger, they ran faster than rabbits! I think Chihua Gate has fallen so far, they’ll be finished sooner or later.”

Mendong chimed in from the side: “That Yinfeng Sect isn’t any good either! They spoke politely on the surface, but they’re opportunistic. I think they’d be delighted if something went wrong with our sect, so Yinfeng Sect could replace us!”

“Exactly, exactly. I also can’t stand their Senior Brother Nie,” Tian Fangfang, rare to have someone share his opinion, said, “Always showing off. Is being rich so great? That Xiangling Sect was pretty decent, though—they even spoke up for us earlier. If it weren’t for the Yinfeng Sect people interrupting, I think they wanted to stay and help.”

“Could it be that Xiangling Sect’s Master Rongshuang Xianzi still has lingering feelings for our Master?” Mendong asked puzzledly, then sighed with an old man’s weariness: “Master being so promiscuous everywhere really isn’t the way of a gentleman.”

Zanxing: “……”

She was listening to Mendong and Tian Fangfang’s nonsense when she saw Gu Baiying suddenly stop walking ahead.