Chapter 22: Just Do It

"Who did we lose?"

Mu Qianqian was still feeling dizzy. She looked left and right, only to realize one of her junior sisters was missing.

Shuangyue said with a sobbing tone, "Senior Sister, Shuangxue is gone!"

"Qi Yan and Lin Shu are also missing," Yun Zhao said, looking utterly defeated. "The two of them have vanished as well."

Mu Qianqian pondered for a moment. "Let's move out first. The three of them might be together. Our final destination is the Cloud Shore Cliff anyway; we might run into them on the way."

There was no other choice. They rested for a moment before setting off toward their destination.

Mu Qianqian had guessed correctly.

In an obscure cave within the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm, Lin Shu and Shuangxue were staring at each other nervously.

"Shuangxue, this... what should we do?"

Shuangxue twitched her lips. "You're the alchemist. Why are you asking me? Feed him some medicine."

Lin Shu was distressed. "I'm an alchemist, not a physician. What if I give him the wrong medicine?"

The two stood in awkward silence. But looking at the frail and weak Qi Yan, Lin Shu gritted his teeth and pulled out a handful of pills that were at least guaranteed not to kill anyone.

He leaned in, just about to feed them to Qi Yan, when Qi Yan suddenly snapped his eyes open.

Lin Shu froze in the posture of feeding the medicine. Under Qi Yan's sharp, piercing gaze, he gave an awkward smile. "Uh, Junior Brother Qi, are you alright? You fainted earlier, and you still look quite weak, so I was just checking which medicine you could take."

Qi Yan glanced at him. "Thank you, but that won't be necessary. Where is this? Where is Yun Zhao?"

Lin Shu quickly replied, "We must have been separated by the vortex during the teleportation. Junior Sister Yun Zhao and the others are gone."

Qi Yan’s expression darkened. He squeezed his storage pouch. "Let's go. We need to leave this place."

"Why?" Shuangxue asked, puzzled. "It's almost dark. It took Senior Brother Lin and me so much effort to find this cave."

Lin Shu also agreed, "Junior Brother Qi, we don't need to be so anxious. Traveling at night is too dangerous."

Qi Yan chuckled lightly. "You two are quite lucky."

Lin Shu & Shuangxue: "?"

Qi Yan said concisely, "This is the territory of the Blood Shadow Wolf pack. If we don't leave now, we'll be sitting ducks. There must be wolf pups in this cave; they hid because they were afraid when you approached."

Just as he finished speaking, a shrill, juvenile wolf howl echoed from the depths of the cave.

Lin Shu’s hair stood on end, and he shuddered violently. "Then... then what are we waiting for? Let's get out of here immediately!"

If the adult wolves returned from their hunt, they would be done for! Especially in their current state: Shuangxue was weak, he was merely an alchemist with little combat ability, and Qi Yan was still severely incapacitated...

The three did not dare delay and hurried out of the cave.

"We encounter such powerful spirit beasts right from the start?"

Yun Zhao and her two companions joined forces to repel two eighth-level Foundation Establishment Green Wood Apes. Mu Qianqian wiped the sweat from her brow. "They aren't that powerful. Green Wood Apes are only mid-tier beasts in this secret realm. I heard the strongest ones are at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage. Zhaozhao, keep practicing. It's fortunate these apes weren't stronger, or we would have been in real trouble."

In the recent skirmish, Mu Qianqian and Shuangyue had done most of the work. Although Yun Zhao's cultivation wasn't weak, she lacked the combat experience of the others.

"Mm," Yun Zhao nodded. "Senior Sister, I will work hard."

She had only fought monsters in games before. This was her first time experiencing it in the flesh, and she was still adjusting. However, in the world of cultivation, the strong preyed on the weak. She didn't know how long she would have to live here, so she needed to adapt as quickly as possible.

Cloud Shore Cliff was the exit of the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm. From the teleportation point to the cliff, there were thousands of miles to cover, and all the disciples' training took place along this path.

For four or five days, Yun Zhao and her companions encountered spirit beasts and managed to find quite a few rare spiritual plants.

Mu Qianqian dug up a plant and tucked it into her storage pouch. "This two-hundred-year-old Jade Dew Flower is excellent. When we get back, I'll ask Senior Uncle Lu to refine it into a tranquilizing potion for us."

Yun Zhao looked at the remaining small seedlings and pulled out a small trowel. "Let's dig these small ones up with the soil. When I visited the Wood Peak last time, the Senior Uncle said the Jade Dew Flowers at the Wood Peak were trampled to death by spiritual beasts."

"Another type of plant died? The Wood Peak really is disaster-prone..."

"Senior Sister, watch out!"

Yun Zhao suddenly pushed Mu Qianqian toward Shuangyue. As she dodged backward, a splash of toxic venom landed where they had just been standing, instantly corroding the grass and flowers.

Mu Qianqian was still shaken. She looked to her left to see a Green Bamboo Python, at the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment stage, flicking its tongue and poised to strike.

Yun Zhao and Mu Qianqian exchanged a look. Both cast fireballs and ice blades simultaneously, though one was just a tiny flicker of flame and the other was as thin as a chopstick.

The Green Bamboo Python looked at them with disdain, not even bothering to dodge, and charged straight at them.

However, the tiny flame and ice blade did not hit the snake; they collided with each other and canceled each other out.

The Green Bamboo Python paused, then bared its fangs as if mocking them.

Shuangyue took the opportunity to throw something. A cloud of smoke instantly filled the air, and the three of them took to their heels!

The Green Bamboo Python’s sneer froze on its face. It remained stunned for a full five seconds, and by the time it realized what had happened, the three of them were already far away!

Having been played for fools, it flew into a rage, hissing as it gave chase.

Mu Qianqian grabbed a junior sister in each hand, running for their lives. No kidding—a beast on the verge of reaching the Golden Core stage was definitely not something they wanted to fight!

"Run, keep running!" Mu Qianqian muttered while sprinting. "Please don't let it catch up!"

To her disappointment, it did.

The Green Bamboo Python was incredibly fast and soon caught up to the three of them. It opened its mouth, spraying streams of venom toward them. They dodged with all their might, barely escaping.

Yun Zhao gritted her teeth. "Senior Sister, we can't outrun it anyway! Let's just fight!"

Mu Qianqian hesitated for a second, then stopped.

After the battles of the past few days, they had developed a sense of cooperation. Combining their efforts and utilizing the many defensive spirit artifacts they had brought, they managed to hold their own against the Green Bamboo Python for a time.

Shuangyue, having the lowest cultivation—only at the fourth level of Foundation Establishment—was the first to run out of spiritual energy. Just before the venom could hit her, Yun Zhao pulled her aside.

"Shuangyue," Yun Zhao panted, "hide here and recover your spiritual energy."

Without waiting for a reply, Yun Zhao rushed back to help Mu Qianqian take the pressure off.

As she dodged the python's attacks, Yun Zhao found a moment to speak to the silent system in her head.

"Host, look out—"

Barely dodging a tail strike from the python, Yun Zhao wiped away cold sweat and asked the system, "System, if we can't win, can you save all three of us?"

The system: "..."

It replied strictly, "I can only save you."

"But if you insist on dragging them along... the system can't exactly cut off your hands."

With that confirmation from the system, Yun Zhao became even bolder.

*Just treat it like a holographic game. Go for it! It's actually quite thrilling!*

With her adrenaline surging, Yun Zhao fought with increasing ferocity.

Mu Qianqian couldn't help but gasp. When they first entered the secret realm, Yun Zhao hadn't even dared to fight low-level spirit beasts, but now she was chasing the Green Bamboo Python, slashing at its tail.

*Zhaozhao is improving so fast!*

The Green Bamboo Python, looking slightly disheveled and unable to dodge the blade, began to lose ground as it had no pills to replenish its spiritual energy.

On the verge of being defeated by three tiny ants, the python's eyes turned blood-red, and it let out a heaven-shaking roar.

"Oh no!" Mu Qianqian's expression changed drastically. "It's evolving!"