"The records say it only grows where fire poison and yin baleful energy converge. I didn't expect to find it here!"
"Its sap is one of the main ingredients for refining a special detoxification pill!"
Zhao Linger pointed at a vine that wound like a snake with dark purple leaves, speaking excitedly to Wang Zhaojun.
Wang Zhaojun crouched down, carefully digging with a specially made jade trowel, her clear eyes full of focus:
"Senior Sister Linger, be careful of its root system; it's poisonous."
The soil it grows in also seems a bit special; I want to study it properly!"
One was responsible for identification and harvesting, while the other was responsible for studying the environment and companion species; they coordinated flawlessly.
It was as if they hadn't come for an adventure, but to participate in a spiritual plant field study.
Meanwhile, on yet another side, Xiao Ya's situation was rather "lively."
She landed in an area where the terrain was relatively open and the ground was covered in strange cracks.
From these cracks, turbulent Spiritual Qi erupted from time to time, forming small spiritual energy currents.
"Interesting..."
"The spatial structure here seems somewhat unstable, and the direction of the cracks seems to be the veins of some damaged Formation..."
Xiao Ya ignored the danger, pulling out her thousand mechanisms plate and a recording Jade Slip, and began recording while crouching on the ground.
A group of rank one Yao Beasts called "Earth-Rending Lizards," which looked like lizards but had bone spikes on their backs, tried to attack.
They were made so dizzy by the simple illusion and trapping Formations she casually set up that they were completely unable to get close.
At the same time.
In a valley filled with a faint gray mist and surrounded by jagged, strange rocks.
Gu Luoli scanned the surroundings warily.
This valley was eerily silent, and the gray mist seemed able to block spiritual sense, causing both her vision and perception to be somewhat limited.
Just as she was preparing to search for a way out, the gray mist ahead fluctuated, and several figures walked out cautiously.
The leader was a young woman with a clear and pretty face, wearing the attire of a Azure Cloud Holy Land Core Disciple.
It was precisely the current Saintess of the Azure Cloud Holy Land—Su Waner.
Behind her followed four Disciples of the Azure Cloud Holy Land, all with cultivation at the late-stage Foundation Establishment.
When the two sides met, both were stunned.
Su Waner's gaze instantly locked onto Gu Luoli, especially her Double Pupils and the Profound Rank top grade longsword in her arms.
Extremely complex emotions flashed through her eyes:
Shock, wariness, a trace of hard-to-detect jealousy, and... deep concern.
Back when Gu Luoli was in the Holy Land, she had been suppressed by her at every turn; though there was no old grudge, they could be considered acquaintances.
"Senior... Senior Sister Gu?"
Su Waner's voice carried a hint of trepidation.
Gu Luoli's expression was calm as she nodded:
"Junior Sister Su, I trust you have been well."
"Senior Sister Gu's elegance is even greater than in the past. It seems your cultivation in the Jade Pool Immortal Palace is going smoothly; it is truly worth celebrating."
Su Waner steadied her mind and exchanged pleasantries.
However, her eyes couldn't help but glance toward the longyuan sword in Gu Luoli's arms; that faint Profound Rank top grade fluctuation made her secretly alarmed.
"Thank you."
Gu Luoli remained concise.
She saw Su Waner's nervousness and that hidden sliver of fear, and she understood.
Toward this Junior Sister who had replaced her position, she felt no resentment; she had never held a grudge over the Holy Land's choice back then.
Now that her path had begun anew, she would not dwell on the past.
Seeing Gu Luoli's cold attitude, Su Waner's trepidation grew even stronger.
Biting her lip, she ultimately couldn't hold back and spoke tentatively, her voice becoming even softer:
"Senior Sister Gu... after this Secret Realm, I wonder what your plans are?"
"I heard... I heard the Holy Lord... has always felt quite guilty about what happened to Senior Sister back then..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear:
The Holy Lord might intend to have you return; what do you think?
Hearing this, many memories of the past flashed through Gu Luoli's Double Pupils, but they quickly vanished.
She looked at Su Waner and slowly shook her head, her voice clear and firm,
"Junior Sister Su, go back and tell the Holy Lord, or tell anyone else who still has such thoughts."
"The Gu Luoli of the past is already dead. The one standing here now is the Jade Pool Immortal Palace Disciple, Gu Luoli."
"My Dao is in Yaochi, at my Master's feet; there is no need for the Azure Cloud Holy Land to concern itself."
Her words were clean and decisive, completely severing the slight hope of Su Waner's tentative probe and clearly drawing a line.
Su Waner's body trembled slightly, and the smile on her face finally couldn't be maintained, as a flash of panic and the embarrassment of being seen through crossed her eyes.
"Senior... Senior Sister Gu..."
Su Waner wanted to say more.
Gu Luoli had already turned around, her gaze cast toward the depths of the gray mist:
"This place is somewhat strange; it would be best for Junior Sister Su to take your people and leave as soon as possible. Farewell."
Having said that, she stayed no longer; with a flash of her figure, she plunged into the gray mist and vanished.
Leaving Su Waner and the others standing there, their expressions shifting uncertainly.
"Saintess, she..."
A Disciple spoke in a low voice.
Su Waner waved her hand, stopping the words that were to follow.
She gazed in the direction Gu Luoli had disappeared, her eyes complex and hard to read, eventually turning into a deep look of solemnity and relief.
------------------------
I've posted 40+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"