Chapter 136: Anomalies in the Secret Realm

"Youwei is already married; she wed Ning Mofei, a disciple of the Xianchen Sect," Lady Yu the Fourth said with a peculiar expression.

What is worse than swallowing a dead fly? It is swallowing it, discovering it is still alive, and accidentally crushing it between your teeth. Patriarch Ling swallowed a mouthful of rising blood, struggling to keep it down.

Patriarch Ying laughed boisterously, showing no regard for his counterpart's dignity. "Haha, Brother Ling, having too many sons isn't all it's cracked up to be. Finding a wife—especially one who is truly to one's liking—is far too difficult!"

"That is still better than your Ying family line dying out!" Patriarch Ling retorted, breathless with frustration.

This served as a reminder to Patriarch Ying, who immediately turned his ire toward the Sect Leader. "You, boy! Now that you have forged your Sword Heart, step down at once and marry ten wives to expand our lineage! If you haven't sired a dozen or twenty sons by this time next year, see how I deal with you!"

The Sect Leader, bewildered as to how this fire had scorched him, stammered, "Let us discuss that later. The *Old General's Journey* has yet to be completed; I wish to go to the Yu family in person to find the Founder's collection of poetry."

At the mention of the Founder's poetry, both Patriarchs grew invigorated. After pressing for details and exchanging a glance, they spoke in unison: "Then be off with you!"

"Father, what about Shuang'er?" Lady Yu the Fourth asked, her voice trembling. She had wanted to ask the moment she entered the hall and had been holding it in with great difficulty.

"Let her wake on her own; no one is to disturb her," Patriarch Ling interjected preemptively.

Understanding the implication, Lady Yu the Fourth felt a measure of relief, yet she persisted, "When will she wake?"

"That depends on her fortune."

"Might she never wake up?"

"It is possible." Having spoken the blunt truth, Patriarch Ling ignored Lady Yu the Fourth’s pale expression and warned, "The Sword Sect has finally produced such a promising talent; all of you, stay far away. I shall guard her myself. No one is to attempt to wake her by force."

Patriarch Ying, knowing this was directed at him, frowned. "If ten or fifteen days pass and she still hasn't awakened, it would be best to wake her by force. Even if her cultivation base suffers, her potential has already been largely tapped."

"Bullshit! If you dare to wake her by force, do not blame me for being heartless!" Patriarch Ling declared with stern, sharp intensity.

Patriarch Ying fell silent.

The Sect Leader and his daughter, though deeply worried, dared not raise further objections.

The main hall was sealed, and that same day, the Sect Leader set off with his daughter for the Yu family.

The autumn waters flowed leisurely, and the sky was as clear as if washed clean. Yu Youwei had already returned to the mortal realm via the teleportation array. By the time the Sect Leader and his daughter reached the mortal world, she had arrived at the Cloud Desolation Marsh. Standing at the edge of a forest divided by a formation, she watched in silence as a bloated corpse drifted among the foam of the river emerging from the woods.

Here, the river plunged into an underground channel, and the corpse was caught against black rocks protruding from the water, its features eroded beyond recognition by the current. Yet, Yu Youwei knew at a glance that it was Ning Jinwen, the man taken away by Butcher Xiang.

There was no doubt Butcher Xiang had been here. Had he killed this man, or had someone else? Yu Youwei pondered, feeling deeply uneasy. She did not care for Ning Jinwen’s death; she was only concerned for the safety of the other Yu family disciples who had been taken by the Butcher.

Searching for Butcher Xiang in this vast, dense forest was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Though anxious, Yu Youwei did not intend to enter the woods to search; she waited patiently outside. She was not waiting for the Butcher, but for the little white bear.

Through the power of their contract, as long as it had not left the Cloud Desolation Marsh, it could sense her presence. This connection was mystical; though the bear had never told her, she simply knew.

Pale blue mist drifted through the branches of the oaks at the forest's edge, winding in threads around leaves freshly washed by rain. From time to time, birds beat their wings, bursting from the foliage and darting away into the distance.

Before long, a patch of tall ferns was parted, and the little white bear tumbled out like a round ball. "Master Bear thought you had perished in the cultivation world!" it shrieked the moment it saw her.

"How did he die?" Uninterested in bickering, Yu Youwei pointed to the bloated corpse in the river, her tone cold.

"How would Master Bear know how he died?" the bear retorted.

Suddenly feeling irritable, Yu Youwei snapped, "Have you not seen an old man with his eyes gouged out? He was leading several Yu family disciples—have you seen none of them?"

"Why should Master Bear have to see them?" Sensing her rising temper, the bear prudently changed its tune. "That old man? I saw him. He was chased off by a herd of Red Cloud Deer. I didn't see him with anyone else."

A nameless fire rising in her chest, Yu Youwei glared at the bear and suppressed her rage. "Take me to Yu Yan and the others."

The little white bear spun around and vanished behind the ferns in a flash of white light. Had Yu Youwei been facing it, she would have seen it muttering soundlessly, "Women and small men are the hardest to deal with!" It was a strange phenomenon: usually, the thoughts of a spirit beast were synchronized with its master, unless the master chose not to hear them. Yet, as it cursed her in its heart, she remained completely unaware.

The mist in the forest grew thicker, the trees taller. Grass and vines choked every gap in the woodland. Yu Youwei could not see the bear, yet she followed closely, racing deeper into the woods. She stopped abruptly only when the scenery before her shifted. As the mist dispersed, sunlight tore through the clouds above, casting a veil-like heavenly ladder over a valley that wound in from the horizon.

Without the bear needing to speak, Yu Youwei understood that this was a space partitioned by a formation.

The gleaming river acted like a mirror, reflecting the sunlight, and the grey ferns growing in the crevices of the rocks by the riverbank shimmered as well. Her gaze fell upon that cluster of ferns, and a sense of unreality washed over her.

Suddenly forgetting what she had intended to do, Yu Youwei stood motionless, struggling to focus her gaze on the ferns, but the sunlight breaking through the clouds kept dazzling her eyes.

Amidst the shimmering of the ferns, many similar images and silhouettes overlapped repeatedly. As the sunlight shifted, fragments of various patterns flickered before her, drawing her into a trance.

The little white bear emerged from the ferns ahead, shaking its head and mumbling, "To enter an epiphany like this... the heavens are still quite fond of her. Perhaps Master Bear still has something to look forward to."

Yu Youwei’s mind was immersed in those images, two flame-like glimmers dancing in her deep pupils. The fragments of patterns before her spun rapidly, and, summoned by an unseen force, she reached out to grasp the flickering shapes.

Incredibly, the shifting images stabilized, slowly coalescing into a vast, slightly blurry picture filled with grainy spots. The sunlight streaming from the sky illuminated a section of the scene; the edges looked like a ring of leaf-like ornaments. It appeared to be a path through the forest, undulating with slopes. In the middle of the path stood a black silhouette, seemingly walking—the pattern was too blurry to tell if the figure was moving forward or departing.

What was this? A flash of doubt crossed Yu Youwei’s mind, but her feet had already begun to move, carrying her forward automatically, following the direction of the path in the woods.