Zhu Wu held over a hundred medium-grade spirit stones and beamed with joy.
"Look at you, acting like you've never seen money before," Zhou Rui teased.
"With this much, I really haven't. Not like your family, who practically live on a pile of spirit stones," Zhu Wu replied with a smile.
"Let's rest for a moment while I figure out what we should do next," said Zhu Wu.
"Alright, call me in a bit."
In the backyard of the City Lord's Mansion:
"Dad, I've broken through to the Late Stage!" Zhou Rui happily told the City Lord.
"A breakthrough is good, a breakthrough is good," the City Lord said with a smile. "Are you heading out again?"
"Mm-hmm, once he figures out what we're doing next."
"How are things progressing between the two of you?" the City Lord asked.
"Dad, what kind of progress are you talking about?" Zhou Rui asked, feigning ignorance.
"Didn't you two dual cultivate? Have you even thought about where you'll settle down in the future?" the City Lord asked with a smile.
"Dad, we didn't dual cultivate like that," Zhou Rui pouted.
"Alright, alright, Dad understands. Here, this is for you. And this one is for him... an extra mission reward." The City Lord produced two storage rings and handed them to his daughter.
"A mission reward? Why didn't you give it to him yourself?"
"Forgot just now. Besides, since you're tagging along with him anyway, you can just hand it over." With that, the City Lord stood up and left.
Zhu Wu accepted two more missions. One of them involved exploring a newly discovered ancient tomb.
Rumors had it that monsters haunted the tomb at night, while daytime revealed nothing at all.
No spatial entrance or gateway could be found; the tomb simply manifested out of nowhere in the most natural way.
The cultivators who encountered it were always found reduced to dried husks, yet their spirit stones and magical treasures remained completely untouched.
The other mission involved a secret realm that had appeared inside a maze, completely devoid of anything inside. Entering it would result in being randomly teleported to another location within the maze after a short while.
Zhu Wu decided to check out the ancient tomb first. Since there was still plenty of daylight left, Zhou Rui chose not to fly on her sword.
Zhu Wu didn't know how to fly by sword yet, which meant Zhou Rui would have to carry him, and if they did that...
"Come on, what on earth am I thinking..." Zhou Rui muttered to herself.
The two of them relied solely on footwork to make their way, arriving at the site of the ancient tomb half a day later.
Evening was drawing close.
The ancient tomb was surrounded by mountains on three sides, with a flowing stream to the south. The graveyard sloped downward like an overturned pot, covered by a single canopy.
A stone tablet stood tall, inscribed with ancient characters that had already blurred beyond recognition.
Beside it was a small opening, dug by later generations, leading straight into the tomb.
The slanting rays of the setting sun made the entire tomb look as though it were being baked in an oven.
The two of them entered the tomb, channeling true qi to their fingertips. Waves of ghostly yin qi rolled in continuously.
The inner chamber was crude, essentially a natural cave that had undergone very little carving.
It was roughly the size of a manor, spacious enough to hold dozens of people.
In the very center stood a stone platform. The stone sarcophagus possessed a natural, egg-like shape, with its middle hollowed out to hold a corpse.
The lid of the coffin had snapped into two pieces and lay discarded to the side.
A faint flow of Spirit Qi drifted within the cave, tainted by the stench of blood.
Originally, this must have been a cave brimming with Spirit Qi.
The closer they got to the sarcophagus, the heavier the stench of blood became.
There were no corpses to be found, but bloodstains covered everything.
Being young, the two of them had seen little of life and death, and now, standing in such a place, they couldn't help feeling a trace of fear.
After a brief sweep, nothing seemed particularly out of the ordinary.
As soon as the Hour of the Rat arrived, the yin qi grew noticeably denser.
"Zhu Wu, um... are you cold?" Zhou Rui wanted to say something to shake off the eerie atmosphere.
"A bit. Cold?" Zhu Wu suddenly thought of the environment required for his own breakthrough.
"Shouldn't I be able to break through here when yin and yang intersect?" Zhu Wu pondered, feeling the yin qi gradually turn biting cold.
"Be careful, it might appear soon," Zhu Wu said to Zhou Rui.
"Mm-hmm."
The two of them circulated a layer of true qi around themselves, standing back-to-back to remain on guard against their surroundings.
Space rippled inside the sarcophagus.
A figure in a black robe materialized, rising leisurely to his feet.
"Tsk tsk, I've hit the jackpot tonight!" A hoarse voice suddenly echoed through the cave.
The two of them shuddered instantly, threw up their true qi protective shields, and stared at the sarcophagus.
"No fluctuations of true qi?"
Neither of them had sensed any true qi, which was why they hadn't noticed him at first.
"Who should I start with? Hmm... the little girl has delicate skin and tender flesh, she should be saved to enjoy at the very end."
No sooner had the voice finished than a blast of bloody qi shot straight toward Zhu Wu's face.
"Golden Bell Shield!"
Zhu Wu hurriedly circulated his qi.
It was a good thing his Golden Bell Shield had reached Great Accomplishment; otherwise, he probably would have been done for right there.
Zhu Wu broke out in a cold sweat.
"Oh? I didn't expect someone so young to have cultivated this technique to Great Accomplishment. It seems your taste must be exquisite..."
Three thicker surges of bloody qi lunged toward them once again.
"Ice Tomb!"
Zhou Rui channeled her true qi, creating a semi-circular wall of ice that enclosed them both.
The ice wall was somewhat transparent, allowing them to see the outside clearly, while anyone outside could see them as well.
"Flowing Light Sword!"
A beam of sword light pierced straight through the black robe.
"Startling Thunder!"
"Tsk tsk, it's been so long since I've had a scratch like this. Feels good."
"Don't rush, little girl, I'll let you enjoy yourself properly in a moment, heh heh."
The black robe looked at Zhu Wu, then turned his gaze toward Zhou Rui.
"What should we do? I can't sense any true qi circulation from him, it's like our attacks are useless," Zhou Rui whispered to Zhu Wu.
Whether dealing with spell techniques or sword arts, an effective attack required striking the opponent's true qi.
"Remember the Ninth Layer Tower? Our attacks probably aren't strong enough. Let's try our most powerful strikes." Zhu Wu said.
"Seven Absolute Swords!"
"Extinction Myriad Thunders!"
The black robe was knocked back into a corner, coughing a few times.
"It worked!" The two of them beamed with delight.
"I wouldn't have guessed someone so young could possess such cultivation. Much more impressive than the rogue cultivators from before."
"Still, you'd better be obedient and serve as this lord's dinner, lest you suffer later. And believe me, it hurts!"
The black robe looked injured, but not severely so.
"True qi in unison, hit him again!"
"Seven Absolute Swords!"
"Extinction Myriad Thunders!"
"Ah!"
The robe shredded away, revealing a skeleton glowing with a crimson light.
A dark red heart pulsed on its surface, bloody tendrils tethering and controlling every bone in its body.
Dripping spots of blood fell downward.
The blood tendrils shot out like a volley of ten thousand arrows, surging toward Zhu Wu and Zhou Rui.
The two exchanged a glance and immediately circulated their true qi once more.
"Seven Absolute Swords!"
"Extinction Myriad Thunders!"
"Ice Tomb!"
"Extinction Myriad Thunders!"
Zhu Wu was already panting, his true qi running dangerously low.
"I'll remember you two... just you wait..."
Red light flashed within the heart as it prepared to flee.
"Ice Tomb!"
This time, it formed only a tiny circle, encasing the heart itself.
The red light dimmed slightly.
"This won't hold it!" Zhou Rui said anxiously, her hand clasping Zhu Wu's left hand.
"I'll supply you with true qi, keep going!"
"Seven Absolute Swords!"
"Extinction Myriad Thunders!"
"Extinction Myriad Thunders!"
"I never... expected that I, your grandfather... would fall... today..." The hoarse voice faded into nothingness.
The heart shattered, and bloody qi permeated the entire cave.
The two of them collapsed onto the ground, their true qi practically exhausted.
"It shouldn't come back, right?" Zhou Rui asked with lingering anxiety.
"It shouldn't, at least for now," Zhu Wu admitted, unsure himself.
"Let's get out of here first."
Right outside the tomb, the two of them built a small bonfire, crossed their legs, and began to regulate their breathing. After all, wandering around in the middle of the night without any true qi was out of the question.
"What? You're saying Zhou Rui left?" Young Master Li roared in the main hall. "When did this happen? Where did she go?"
"Not talking, are you? Uncle Zhou."
A Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator who had accompanied Young Master Li flicked his finger.
A steward of the City Lord's Mansion collapsed instantly and died.
Everyone in the City Lord's Mansion burned with righteous indignation.
"Yesterday, for the capital," the City Lord said helplessly.
"Even if she flees to the capital, I'm going to drag her back! She has to become my woman!"
"Let's go, chase them down first!" Young Master Li barked, striding out the door.
The journey to the capital required passing through the Mobei Ruins. Even with a Golden Core Stage flying sword, it would take four or five days.
"City Lord..." a steward called out anxiously.
"Sigh, let's hope they manage to slip safely into the secret realm," the City Lord said.
"There they are! No wonder we didn't see them on the road to the capital!" A sharp cry echoed from the distant sky.
The bonfire stood out starkly against the night sky.
Three figures instantly surrounded the pair.
"Young Master Li!" Zhou Rui cried out, pretending to be terrified.
"Yueying!"
"Full Moon! Full Moon! Full Moon!"
Zhu Wu grabbed Zhou Rui's hand and bolted.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Two sword beams swept across the sky like a sprawling net.
A 7th-tier Illusion Technique against Nascent Soul cultivators—even the 3rd tier of it was useless.
With one Nascent Soul Early Stage and one Nascent Soul Middle Stage opponent, there was no possibility of fighting back.
It seemed they had no intention of taking their lives outright.
"Perfect! Yueying!"
Thinking quickly, Zhu Wu sprinted desperately toward the location of the maze.
"After them!"
Young Master Li was only at the Golden Core Early Stage and couldn't move that fast.
To accommodate Young Master Li, the two Nascent Soul cultivators didn't unleash their full speed, keeping their eyes locked on the fleeing pair.
Taking advantage of their clasped hands, Zhou Rui immediately transferred a portion of her true qi to Zhu Wu.
"Our only chance of escaping them now is to enter the secret realm," Zhu Wu told Zhou Rui.
"But we don't know where the secret realm is right now."
The secret realm shifted continuously, having no fixed location.
"We'll just have to rely on luck!" Zhu Wu said helplessly. "Trust me, my luck is still pretty good."
"Stop them!" Uncle Zhou, the Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivator, shouted. "If they get into the secret realm, it'll just waste more of our time."
With that, sword qi rained down, showering toward Zhu Wu and Zhou Rui.
"Golden Bell Shield!"
True qi enveloped the two of them.
Since the Ice Tomb was fixed in place, Zhou Rui didn't cast it.
Uncle Zhou was holding back, afraid of accidentally injuring Zhou Rui.
The Golden Bell Shield managed to block the onslaught just in time.
In that exact split second, the two of them tumbled into the secret realm.
In life, strength isn't everything.
Having strength without luck is like a golden brick sinking into the deep sea, spurned even by fish and shrimp.
Luck accounted for sixty percent, strength for thirty, and everything else made up the remaining ten.
World-renowned Tribulation Passing Stage cultivators mostly perished during their tribulations simply due to bad luck.
Many people believed that their fate was in their own hands and not dictated by the heavens, simply because they were too weak for the Dao of Heaven to even notice them.
Zhu Wu had no orthodox master to guide him, and the only reason he had reached his current level—capable of fighting across realms—was sheer luck.
Otherwise, with those few mediocre tricks of his, any other rogue cultivator would have died eight hundred times over.
One could stay in this secret realm for roughly five hours.
The secret realm resembled a starry sky, and those who entered were scattered everywhere like stars.
The three pursuers plunged in right behind them, and the secret realm's geography shifted immediately.
Because Zhu Wu and Zhou Rui were holding hands, they weren't separated upon entry.
Young Master Li and the two Nascent Soul cultivators were transported to completely different regions.
"In a moment, if we run into Young Master Li first, kill him outright."
"If we encounter the Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator, we can team up and take him down."
"If we hit the Middle Stage one, we split up and run; he'll most likely chase you first," Zhu Wu laid out the plan.
"If you get caught, he'll come after me. If you manage it, use this first." With that, he handed Zhou Rui a packet of spirit hemp powder.
"Channel a tiny bit of true qi into it beforehand and wait for the right moment."
"You don't seem to have cultivated any footwork techniques, do you?" Zhu Wu asked.
"No, I've rarely gone out since I was a child, so there was never any need. Now that I'm at the Golden Core Stage, it's even less necessary," Zhou Rui replied.
"If we don't cross paths with any of them before we're forced out, our only option until we find the next secret realm is to run."
"Inside the maze, using footwork to stay close to the ground is the best strategy. Let me teach you a simple movement technique; you should at least have a small grasp of it before we get out," Zhu Wu said.
"Alright, that works."
There was no Spirit Qi in this secret realm, so attempting other forms of cultivation yielded zero results.
Zhu Wu taught a simplified version of Yueying to Zhou Rui.
The first to find Zhu Wu was the Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator.
Zhou Rui had only just begun practicing the footwork.
"Be a good girl and come with me," the Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator said coldly.
Zhu Wu stared at him without a word.
A packet of spirit hemp powder dropped quietly near Zhu Wu's feet.
"Heh, spirit hemp powder? I could eat this stuff like meals. You actually thought of using this against me?"
"Fiery Meteor!"
The Nascent Soul cultivator's true qi surged toward Zhu Wu.
The two of them instantly retreated.
"Azure Underworld Sword!"
The Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator struck again.
The two retreated once more.
"One hundred steps... fifty steps... thirty steps... ten steps..." Zhu Wu calculated the distance from moments ago.
"Full Moon!"
Zhu Wu unleashed his illusion technique while simultaneously bursting the packet of spirit hemp powder open.
"If you had tried this illusion technique on me a hundred years ago, I might have been wary. What a pity."
"Azure Underworld Sword!"
The two retreated again.
There was still plenty of time before they would be ejected from the secret realm, so the Nascent Soul cultivator wasn't in a rush, slowly closing in.
Half an incense stick of time passed.
Zhu Wu squeezed Zhou Rui's hand.
"Fiery Meteor! Azure Underworld Sword!"
"Yueying!"
"Full Moon! Full Moon! Full Moon!"
"Seven Absolute Swords!"
"Extinction Myriad Thunders!"
"Ice Tomb!"
The three of them attacked almost simultaneously.
"Extinction Myriad Thunders!"
"Seven Absolute Swords!"
The Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator hadn't expected to actually get hit and froze for a split second. Taking advantage of that exact hesitation, the next wave of attacks arrived.
"We're running out of time! Golden Bell Shield!"
The Nascent Soul cultivator knew the technique too and hurriedly mobilized his true qi.
"Explode!"
Zhu Wu triggered his true qi, and the spirit hemp powder the Nascent Soul cultivator had inhaled burst instantly from within.
His true qi faltered, the Golden Bell Shield failed to form, and Extinction Myriad Thunders alongside the Seven Absolute Swords pierced straight through his body.
"Ah!..."
The Nascent Soul cultivator let out a miserable scream as blood splattered everywhere.
"Seven Absolute Swords!"
"Extinction Myriad Thunders!"
A Nascent Soul wasn't so easily killed, so the two of them pressed the attack with their strongest moves.
His physical body shattered, and his nascent soul burst forth.
"Ice Tomb!"
"Startling Thunder!"
"Little brother, Miss Zhou, can we please stop?" The nascent soul begged for mercy.
"Startling Thunder!" "Ice Tomb!" "Startling Thunder!" "Ice Tomb!" "Startling Thunder!" "Ice Tomb!" "Startling Thunder!"
One strike to attack, one strike to trap.
The nascent soul gradually faded as it tried to flee, until it vanished entirely.
The two of them panted heavily and quickly crossed their legs to regulate their breathing.
"From here on out, as long as we don't run into the Nascent Soul Middle Stage guy, we'll be fine."
Sure enough, just as Zhou Rui achieved small success in Yueying, Young Master Li appeared.
"How can such a fine flower be plugged into cow dung? You are my woman!" Young Master Li stared at Zhou Rui, his eyes burning red.
"Fiery Meteor!"
Without another word, he charged straight at Zhu Wu.
"Ice Tomb!"
"You mere Golden Core Early Stage brat, relying on a Nascent Soul protector—now that they're not here, you dare act this arrogant!"
"Seven Absolute Swords!"
Zhou Rui was no delicate lotus; the mere sight of Young Master Li made her feel as though she were looking at a cockroach. If they hadn't wanted to keep up appearances earlier, she would have sent Young Master Li packing long ago.
"You... you..."
His jade pendant shattered, and white light flared brightly.
"Ice Tomb!"
"Startling Thunder!"
"Ah..." The white light dissipated.
"If a fine flower doesn't go in cow dung, what, is it supposed to go in dog shit?" Zhu Wu scoffed.
Though Young Master Li possessed an extra life, fortunately, both Zhu Wu and Zhou Rui were well aware of it and gave him no further chance.
"Dealing with that Nascent Soul Early Stage guy was already this exhausting. If we run into the Middle Stage one later, we'd better run. The spirit hemp powder won't work on him either," Zhou Rui worriedly told Zhu Wu.
"Mm... true. The gap between Early and Middle Stage Nascent Soul isn't as small as in the Golden Core Stage; that old man can't be handled the same way," Zhu Wu pondered.
"Let's head toward the capital later. Sometimes law enforcement patrols through there, and even a Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivator wouldn't dare throw his weight around casually," Zhou Rui suggested.
"The capital? Won't that take over ten days of running?" Zhu Wu asked.
"I'll carry you flying, it'll only take three days," Zhou Rui said.
"But those Nascent Soul guys are faster, that won't work. Besides, I still need to go back to your place to collect my reward," Zhu Wu said with a smile.
"Oh... right, the reward. Here is the payment for the two missions."
Remembering suddenly, Zhou Rui hurriedly produced two identical-looking storage rings. Inspecting them briefly, she slipped one onto Zhu Wu's finger and put the other on her own.
"No need to go back, we won't get any more missions with a payout this high anyway. Come with me to the capital," Zhou Rui said with a hint of anticipation.
"Well, this... you guys planned this ahead of time!" Zhu Wu looked at the ring and said, "Still, the crucial thing right now is figuring out how to escape."
"Let's split up and run. He'll definitely prioritize chasing me, and we'll meet in the capital," Zhou Rui thought for a moment and proposed.
"But you're not faster than him."
"It doesn't matter. Even if I get caught, he won't take my life. You're different; he might actually kill you," Zhou Rui said with concern.
"No, let me think. Young Master Li is dead, they might not spare your life after all." Zhu Wu worried for Zhou Rui as well.
There was a good chance they would resort to cult methods to force her into dual cultivation, leaving Zhou Rui with an even worse fate.
There was probably half an incense stick of time left before they were forced out of the secret realm.
The two of them hadn't come up with a good plan yet.
"Look at me, acting like such a hopeless blockhead..." Zhu Wu self-deprecatingly muttered.
"Hm, a blockhead?" Zhu Wu suddenly recalled that past a certain small city on one side of Mobei City, there seemed to be something else...
"I remember Xie Li went to another small city first, then turned back, and then..." Zhu Wu mentally retraced every single move Xie Li had made back then.
"That's right! We can use a blinding technique—we'll pretend to flee toward the capital, but actually run back the other way," Zhu Wu said excitedly.
"How do you use a blinding technique?" Zhou Rui asked hastily.
"Uh... haven't figured that part out yet..." Zhu Wu deflated.
Xie Li had said those people were neither enemies nor friends.
"Right, once we get out, there should be plenty of rogue cultivators around. We can hire someone to help," Zhu Wu said.
"As soon as we're out, he probably won't know Young Master Li is dead yet. As long as we don't run into him directly, we just find some rogue cultivators, disguise them to look like us, and have them sprint toward the capital."
"Mm. That method works. If only there were more rogue cultivators showing up today," Zhou Rui said, taking Zhu Wu's hand.
After a while, the secret realm shifted.
The two of them materialized in a corner of the maze, while the Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivator stood in another.
Releasing his true qi outward, the Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivator quickly spotted Zhou Rui and Zhu Wu.
In a flash, an extra figure resembling Zhu Wu dashed away in the direction of the capital.
Almost immediately, another figure resembling Zhou Rui appeared, flying on a sword toward the capital.
"Hm?" The Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivator paused for a moment, then took to the air in pursuit.
"Huh?" Several more figures popped up, sprinting in every direction.
"Brat, playing tricks on me, are you?" The Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivator sensed carefully, attempting to distinguish the real ones from the fakes.
In the capital, inside the Li Family main hall:
"Master, this is terrible! Eighth Young Master's soul tablet just shattered!" a steward reported in a panic.
"How could that happen? Where are Zhou Wu and Zheng Yi?" an elderly man seated before a desk demanded.
"Zheng Yi's tablet shattered too, but Zhou Wu's is still intact," the steward answered.
"Could City Lord Zhou have decided to fight to the death? Send a message to Zhou Wu, and send men to investigate immediately!" the elderly man ordered.
True qi fluctuated around the jade pendant at Zhou Wu's waist.
"Oh no! Something's happened to Young Master Li! No wonder I didn't notice it earlier!" Zhou Wu broke out in a cold sweat.
He had lost the young master under his protection; he wouldn't have any good days left either.
Zhou Wu turned back to look at the maze, sweeping his true qi across the area.
"Zheng Yi is gone too?" Zhou Wu felt a jolt of shock. "A Nascent Soul cultivator killed by two kids—if word of this gets out, people will die of laughter."
Zhou Wu glanced at the dozen or so figures fleeing into the distance and muttered to himself, "Since the Patriarch won't spare me anyway, why bother wasting my energy..."
Zhu Wu and Zhou Rui had managed to find over a dozen rogue cultivators, coating them with their true qi and sending them running in all directions.
"Sigh, I finally managed to lay eyes on a few dozen medium-grade spirit stones, and now they're all gone," Zhu Wu sighed mournfully, feeling as though the money had just jogged in only to fly right back out.
Two figures bolted through the barren desert.
"Aren't we heading back to the city?" Zhou Rui asked, looking at the road in confusion.
"They'll definitely assume we either went to the capital or headed back to Mobei. We need to make sure they can't guess our moves," Zhu Wu said.