The Voice-and-Visage Pill was gone.
The Voice-and-Visage Pill—gone!!
The fear Lou Yue had always held for snakes—the kind that made her hands go limp and her legs go weak—was utterly consumed by a soaring fury.
She tapped the tip of her foot against the ground and launched herself into the air. The Yanxiang Fang on her wrist transformed into a circular shield that enveloped her. A snake’s head slammed into the shield, which instantly morphed into a hammer and smashed down upon its body.
The six snake demons shrieked in pain and fury, their six tails sweeping toward her at once.
Lou Yue advanced instead of retreating. The moment she raised her hand, a blizzard of ice spikes appeared behind her. With a casual sweep of her wrist, the ice spikes rained down like a torrential downpour, piercing the snake demons with countless bloody holes and drawing shriek after shriek from them.
The shield formed by the Yanxiang Fang embedded itself into the cliff wall, and Lou Yue landed lightly upon it. Her hands moved rapidly through a series of incantations. In the next instant, cold air surged wildly across the ground and up the cliff face.
In the blink of an eye, frost crawled over the snakes’ bodies, freezing them into ice sculptures. One snake reacted quickly and tried to flee, but its tail brushed against the frost and, in the space of a breath, was wrapped in a lump of ice that came crashing down.
“Trying to run now? Too late.”
Lou Yue parted her red lips and uttered a single word.
“Explode.”
Bang!
The ice encasing the snake demons shattered on command, breaking into countless fragments.
Their dark-green blood had no time to splatter before it was frozen once more.
Still unsatisfied, Lou Yue clenched one hand. A massive ice blade, more than ten feet long, condensed beside her. As she swung her hand downward, the ice blade cleaved through the air and struck the protruding cliff, slicing it cleanly away.
Damn it!
How dare you pretend to be grass!
How dare you destroy my Voice-and-Visage Pill!!
Lou Yue exhaled a foul breath and, with a few swift leaps, reached the top of the cliff.
Standing there, she gazed across the vast, boundless mountains and precipices. For a moment, she felt an urge to level the entire place and bury it alongside the Voice-and-Visage Pill.
What was she supposed to do now?
Without the Voice-and-Visage Pill, she could expose her identity at any moment.
If she switched back to her male form now, she would have no strength left to compete for the inheritance fruit.
Lou Yue’s thoughts raced.
She could neither switch to her male form nor reveal her identity.
The Voice-and-Visage Pill she had taken earlier could last another day, while there were still four days remaining in the Realm of Illusion and Reality. She would find a place to cultivate first. Once those four days were up, she would charge through the final trial as quickly as possible and reach the mountain’s summit.
As soon as she obtained the inheritance fruit, she would immediately refine it and break through. Then she could use her male form to make her escape like a cicada shedding its shell, accomplishing two goals at once.
Having made up her mind, she immediately searched for a secluded place where no magical treasures would appear and no one was likely to come.
Two days later, her cultivation broke through to the late stage of the Mahayana realm, and she faintly touched the threshold of the Void-Refining stage.
It should have been good news, but the moment she broke through, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around her began to surge chaotically. She could no longer remain where she was.
Lou Yue put on a veil and immediately set off.
Yet she still encountered Cangya Xun.
Cangya Xun truly lived up to his reputation as a hound. His nose was frighteningly sharp.
“I knew it was you.”
His gaze swept over her from head to toe before finally settling on the thin veil covering her face.
“Did you injure your face?”
Lou Yue was disgusted by his familiar, intimate tone. She turned around and walked away.
Cangya Xun followed behind her, just as he had in the beginning, occasionally striking down a demon beast that came too close.
Lou Yue was irritated beyond measure. After what had happened when she jumped off the cliff, he guarded against her even more tightly, making it impossible for her to shake him off.
During a lull after killing a demon beast, he actually reached out as if to put an arm around her. Lou Yue finally lost her temper and cursed him on the spot.
“Are you ever going to stop bothering me?!”
Her voice was completely different from the ordinary one she had used before. It was clear and melodious, like shattered jade falling into a spring.
Cangya Xun narrowed his eyes.
“Why has your voice changed?”
In the next instant, he reached out to snatch the veil from Lou Yue’s face.
Lou Yue twisted aside and swiftly put distance between them.
But Cangya Xun had reached the Deity Transformation stage many years ago. If he exerted his full strength, pulling off a veil would be effortless.
Beneath it was a breathtakingly beautiful face.
Her beauty was strikingly aggressive, the kind that seized the heart and mind at first sight.
Her peach-blossom eyes gleamed with sharpness as they shifted, as if she had been born to stand at the highest place and receive the attention of all beneath heaven.
Cangya Xun had seen countless beauties, yet even his eyes flashed with astonishment.
Then, however, a sense of familiarity arose within him—especially when he saw the slanting lift at the corners of her eyes and the cold way she looked at him.
It matched a face and a voice buried in his memories.
“You are—Lou Yue.”
“You’re actually Lou Yue.” Cangya Xun’s tone suddenly darkened, and his eyes changed. “You’re a woman.”
Lou Yue leapt from the cliff and glided toward the opposite precipice. Her toes touched the cliff face repeatedly as her figure shot away.
Cangya Xun remained where he was, a strange light igniting in his eyes.
The Lou clan had actually hidden a cauldron whose cultivation had reached the Void-Refining stage.
In just two years, she had crossed two major realms from the Foundation Establishment stage. Now she was about to cross a third. Even he, back then, had been inferior to her.
With such astonishing talent, the power of her cauldron physique would only be greater. Among the cauldrons the Lou clan had possessed over the past several centuries, perhaps none could compare to her.
No—she was probably a once-in-a-thousand-years rarity.
Legend had it that the first-generation cauldron of the Lou clan, thousands of years ago, had possessed the Zhuoxi Physique. Whoever dual-cultivated with her broke through a long-standing bottleneck overnight and attained a realm beyond Deity Transformation, creating the strongest cultivator the cultivation world had seen to this day.
He had to obtain her. He absolutely had to obtain her!
He had already been somewhat interested in her. Now that she was a woman comparable to the Zhuoxi Physique of old, he could no longer let her go.
Cangya Xun’s gaze sharpened. Without another moment’s hesitation, he leapt from the cliff and pursued Lou Yue.
At that moment, Xiao Rangchen was walking along a winding path that spiraled around the cliffs within the Realm of Illusion and Reality.
“There doesn’t seem to be an exit. Judging from the laws governing this place, it appears to be confined by a set of rules,” Yu Youchun mused in his ear. “Could it be that we will automatically be expelled once the time is up?”
Seeing his disciple deep in thought as well, he felt faintly gratified.
“What do you think? Have you discovered anything?”
“Mm.” Xiao Rangchen answered absently.
Yu Youchun waited for him to continue.
But after a long while, his disciple remained with his head lowered, still lost in thought.
Yu Youchun considered the matter. After all, Xiao Rangchen had yet to enter the Deity Transformation stage, so his comprehension of the laws of heaven and earth was still somewhat lacking. He was just wondering whether he should offer a hint when a black shadow suddenly swept across the sky.
A streak of gold and violet adorned the shadow.
Xiao Rangchen abruptly came to a halt.
His gaze fixed on the direction in which the gold and violet had vanished, and he was about to leap up when a familiar, fierce aura rapidly approached. He immediately concealed his presence and turned into a dark corner.
In the direction where Lou Yue had disappeared, Cangya Xun followed close behind.
Xiao Rangchen’s expression instantly darkened, and he followed without hesitation.
“What are you doing?! You’re no match for Cangya Xun right now. Obtaining the inheritance should be your priority,” Yu Youchun hurriedly tried to stop him.
“He’s pursuing Lou Yue.”
“Cangya Xun has no killing intent. Her life isn’t in danger. If you chase after them, the only one who might lose his life is you!”
Xiao Rangchen did not waver in the slightest.
“Master, I can’t gamble on that.”
Anything that might harm Lou Yue was something he was unwilling to gamble on.
“Calm down! If something happens to you now, not only will you lose your chance at the inheritance, you’ll also be unable to take revenge! She’ll be fine. With Cangya Xun’s cultivation, if he truly wanted to kill her, why would he need to follow her like this?”
Xiao Rangchen said nothing. His speed did not lessen in the slightest.
“Stubborn fool!! That Lou Yue is your nemesis! The moment you encounter her, you lose your head and throw away every bit of reason! If you continue like this, how will you ever hope to attain the Great Dao in the future?!”
Seeing Cangya Xun’s distance from Lou Yue rapidly close, Xiao Rangchen stopped concealing his presence. Spiritual energy burst forth from his entire body.
“You’re truly insane!!” Yu Youchun roared.
Cangya Xun immediately sensed that the person following him was Xiao Rangchen. He let out a cold laugh and glanced at the gold-and-violet figure ahead before coming to a halt.
Lou Yue could not escape.
It would be more convenient to kill Xiao Rangchen first.
Cangya Xun landed at the edge of the cliff. Moments later, Xiao Rangchen followed, touching down opposite him.
“Paradise lies before you, yet you refuse to take the road. The gates of hell stand open, and you insist on walking straight in.” Cangya Xun slowly drew his sword. “You’re courting death!”
His blade shot forward, wrapped in a formidable sword aura.
Xiao Rangchen raised his spear to block. With a shrill clang of metal, a violent shock wave swept outward.
In the next instant, the howling of spear and sword rang through heaven and earth.
Boom—
Bang—
One deafening crash followed another, making the mountains echo.
The cliff rocks collapsed, cracks spread in every direction, and the surrounding precipices began to sway precariously beneath the force of their battle.
Lou Yue stood far away, beyond their line of sight. The moment Xiao Rangchen’s aura erupted, she had sensed him.
Judging by the unending thunder of their clash, she could tell just how fierce the battle was.
Cangya Xun had already recognized her. Unlike Xiao Rangchen, who had assumed she was a woman disguised as a man, Cangya Xun was certain she was a woman. He must have known about the Lou clan’s cauldron; otherwise, he would not have pursued her even more relentlessly than before.
Rationally, she should take advantage of their entanglement and flee at once.
But her feet refused to move.
Xiao Rangchen clearly knew that he was no match for Cangya Xun.
Why had he shown himself?
A voice whispered in her heart: Because he wants to save you.
Another voice desperately denied it. No, he simply doesn’t want Cangya Xun to get his way. It has nothing to do with you.
The thunderous noises in the distance grew louder and louder, and the ground beneath her feet began to tremble.
If she didn’t leave now, the battle would soon spread to her, and by then she wouldn’t be able to escape even if she wanted to.
Don’t be foolish. Even if she went back, she couldn’t help much. She would only fall into Cangya Xun’s hands for nothing.
Cangya Xun knew she was a cauldron. Who knew what he might do? She absolutely could not allow herself to fall into such a predicament.
But what if something happened to Xiao Rangchen...?
Could she really gamble on his protagonist’s luck? From what she had seen when choosing a route in the inner region, his “overpowered protagonist” buff did not work all the time. What if it failed him this time...?
Then he would truly die.
*
Elsewhere, the battle had reached its climax.
Every one of Cangya Xun’s attacks aimed directly at a vital point. He had not expected Xiao Rangchen, despite being only at the Void Passage stage, to hold out against him for so long. His strikes grew increasingly ruthless.
[Find a way to escape. Even if you have to suffer a serious injury, you still have a chance of getting away.]
Yu Youchun had no idea what to do with his disciple. All he could do was search for a sliver of hope.
[Wait a little longer.]
When Cangya Xun’s blade once again sliced through Xiao Rangchen’s chest, Yu Youchun was so furious his teeth ached.
[Wait any longer and you’ll be dead!]
How could he not know that the boy was deliberately buying time, hoping to give Lou Yue enough time to get farther away?
But what did Xiao Rangchen take his own life for? He was risking everything!
“Pfft—”
Cangya Xun drove his sword viciously into Xiao Rangchen’s abdomen.
Blood instantly soaked through Xiao Rangchen’s robes. He retreated rapidly and steadied himself at the edge of the cliff.
Yu Youchun was nearly frantic.
[Get out of here! That was the perfect opportunity just now!]
Xiao Rangchen pressed lightly against his abdomen, using his technique to forcibly seal the wound. Then he raised his spear once more and pointed it straight at Cangya Xun.
[You really don’t care if you live or die!]
Cangya Xun’s sword contained the sword aura and spiritual power of the Deity Transformation stage. Sealing the wound could only keep Xiao Rangchen moving for a short while. After that, his injuries would worsen even more.
Spear and sword continued to collide.
The mountain peak collapsed. Broken stones rained down, and smoke and dust filled the air.
Just as Cangya Xun’s longsword tore through the air and shot toward the vital point over Xiao Rangchen’s heart—
A pitch-black chain shot out, wrapped around Xiao Rangchen’s waist, and violently dragged him over the edge of the cliff!
The instant Xiao Rangchen saw the chain, he realized what was happening. He immediately poured all his spiritual power into a sweeping strike with his spear, forcing Cangya Xun back.
Cangya Xun retreated two steps, then immediately gave chase. But at that moment, more than a hundred flying demon beasts suddenly surged up from the bottom of the cliff. Their enormous bodies and the gale they stirred up made it difficult for him to advance any farther.
“Looking for death!”
He raised his hand and brought his sword down.
In an instant, every demon beast that had charged upward was cleaved into pieces.
Cangya Xun lowered his eyes and scanned the depths of the cliff. Xiao Rangchen was nowhere to be seen. He leaped down to the bottom and searched the surrounding area, but still found nothing.
Cangya Xun let out a cold snort. “You won’t escape the palm of my hand.”
On the snow-covered plain within the third stage of the trial, two figures appeared amid the dim light.
The magical treasure in Lou Yue’s hand instantly shattered into ashes.
It had been the highest-grade treasure in her storage ring. It could ignore attacks and was unaffected by the terrain’s barriers, allowing its user to instantly escape to any location within ten thousand li.
But it could only be used once.
Originally, she had been saving it for the moment Xiao Rangchen truly tried to kill her, so she could use it to save her own life.
Now it was gone.
With an expressionless face, she draped Xiao Rangchen’s arm over her shoulder and half-carried, half-supported him across the vast snowy plain, searching for somewhere they could shelter from the wind and snow.
She knew Xiao Rangchen was staring intently at her face.
She couldn’t be bothered to hide it, much less pay him any mind.
“Why didn’t you leave?” he asked in a low voice.
Lou Yue said nothing and simply continued walking.
“Why did you turn back?” he asked again.
Lou Yue stopped and turned her head slightly, her tone cold and sharp.
“If you have enough strength to ask so many questions, then walk by yourself!”
Seeing him press his lips together and fall silent, Lou Yue turned back and continued forward.
She had taken only two steps when the weight on her shoulder suddenly increased. Someone collapsed straight into the ice and snow and fainted.
“...”
