Ch 61: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

Mu Xing ignored him as usual.

He looked around, found a particularly beautiful tree, cleared away the fallen leaves beneath it, and with a wave of his hand pulled out from his storage ring—

A house.

The house wasn’t large, but it was exquisitely crafted, complete with a courtyard. At a glance it was obvious much care had gone into it.

Ying Shu: ?

He stared in disbelief: “What in the world do you even keep in that storage ring of yours?”

Mu Xing gave him a look and asked in surprise: “It’s my storage ring. I’ll put whatever I like in it. What’s it got to do with you?”

After saying this, he clasped his hands politely toward Ying Shu: “Daoist Friend Ying, it’s getting late. I’ll go rest first. You do as you please.”

Ying Shu could only watch as Mu Xing, without the slightest thought of inviting him in, slipped lightly into the house.

He even remembered to close the courtyard gate behind him.

Ying Shu took a deep breath, snorted, silently recited the Heart-Clearing Mantra a few times, then turned to sit under another tree, beginning to meditate cross-legged.

Not even half an hour later, a faint fragrance of food wafted out from the house.

Ying Shu: “……”

He shut his eyes, pretending he hadn’t smelled it.

But the scent was richer and stronger than he had imagined. It turned out Mu Xing had first simmered a pot of fresh chicken soup, then set up a grill in the courtyard, seasoning meat and roasting it.

Pitiful Ying Shu—raised as a child of an immortal sect.

Before he had even reached Foundation Establishment and still needed food, he’d been given only spirit grains and immortal dew—clean, ethereal, almost free of impurities, practically living on wind and dew.

After reaching Foundation Establishment, in order to reduce impurities in the body and not affect cultivation, he had never touched such mundane food again.

When had he ever faced such an overwhelming assault of spice and smoke?

And worse, he couldn’t afford to shut off his senses in this unfamiliar secret realm—who knew what might happen in the next moment?

In great discomfort, he glanced toward the house, then closed his eyes again to continue his cultivation.

Mu Xing, on the other hand, was thoroughly content. After eating, he even enjoyed a refreshing bath, then lay down in soft bedding.

He slept dreamlessly through the night.

The next morning, refreshed, he stepped out and saw Ying Shu still meditating under the tree. He blinked: “You’re still here?”

Ying Shu puffed his cheeks: “Why can’t I be here?”

Mu Xing didn’t say more. He put away the house and continued strolling forward.

Ying Shu hesitated a moment, then silently followed behind him.

After half a day, they finally emerged from the dense forest, before them a vast silver river like a drawn ribbon. On either bank stretched endless peach blossom groves, petals falling in showers, veiled in clouds and tinted light, a beauty beyond the mortal world.

Mu Xing sensed something was off.

Touching his chin, he wondered: Is this secret realm just here for me to admire the scenery?

Ying Shu too felt uneasy, though his impatience was stronger: he hadn’t come to admire flowers—he had come to seek opportunities.

As they drew closer, faint music of zithers and flutes drifted from within the peach groves.

Ying Shu’s spirit jolted: Here it is!

A mysterious peach blossom grove, music within—wasn’t this the classic sign of a trap?

He instinctively looked toward Mu Xing.

The handsome youth had stopped, closed his eyes, listened for a while, then praised: “It’s like celestial music, clearing the ears and mind!”

Ying Shu: “……” Was that the point?

The two of them entered the grove, petals drifting down to cover their shoulders.

Passing layer after layer of peach trees, they finally saw people.

Eighteen men and women of unearthly beauty, clad in rainbow-feathered robes, playing zithers, flutes, and lutes, immersed in their music.

Seeing intruders, the leading woman in colorful robes paused her fingers on the strings, surprised: “So, even here, guests may arrive?”

She looked closely at Mu Xing, then after a moment, her beautiful eyes curved in a smile: “So that’s how it is.”

But when her gaze shifted to Ying Shu at his side, her expression turned instantly cold: “You fool. This is no place for you!”

Ying Shu: ??

Before he could respond, the woman snapped coldly: “Go back to where you belong!”

At once, a fierce wind swept him up. The world spun, and when he regained his senses, he was back in the same forest where he’d met Mu Xing yesterday.

Beside him came the sound of heavy breathing. Feeling uneasy, he quickly looked up—

The same white ape that had chased him for hundreds of miles yesterday was now glaring at him balefully.

Ying Shu: !

—

Leaving Ying Shu aside, on Mu Xing’s side—

He was warmly invited to enjoy the music and dance. The woman in colorful robes clapped her hands, and several young maidens entered gracefully, quickly setting up an elegant tea table among the blossoms, laying out fine wine and exquisite dishes.

Mu Xing couldn’t quite discern what game they were playing and hesitated.

The woman in colorful robes said: “Honored guest, you may test it yourself—we mean no harm.”

The other seventeen all smiled brightly and said together: “We mean no harm! We’ve simply been too lonely in this secret realm for too long!”

Mu Xing did not hide his caution, openly inspecting the food. Finding nothing wrong, he relaxed and ate.

The taste was superb.

These eighteen beauties were clearly the hosts here, treating Mu Xing with great warmth—not only serving him food and drink and performing celestial music and dance, but also eagerly inviting him to stay a few days.

The woman in colorful robes even said directly: “If there is a beauty here you favor, I can gift them to you.”

Those men and women under her gaze were unashamed, each one looking at Mu Xing with anticipation.

Mu Xing: “……”

He felt a little awkward inside and waved his hand, declining such kindness.

Seeing the friendliness in everyone’s attitude toward him, he asked: “This place is a secret realm. Are you the native inhabitants of it?”

The woman in colorful robes smiled: “Indeed.”

Mu Xing asked again: “Then why did you drive away the fellow cultivator who entered with me just now?”

The woman answered every question: “Because this is not a place he should come.”

“Is there some deeper reason behind that?”

The woman only replied: “Everyone has their own destined place to go. Naturally, each is different.”

Her eyes lingered on Mu Xing with a smiling gaze: “As for this place, besides you, Young Master Mu, there will never be a second person in the world who could enter.”

Realizing she didn’t wish to say more, Mu Xing stopped asking.

At her earnest invitation, he stayed in the peach grove for another day, then took his leave the next morning.

The woman was reluctant but didn’t try to detain him. Instead, she had a maid bring him an item:

“According to the rules, anyone who enters this secret realm and passes a trial is entitled to a treasure. But your cultivation path is vast and boundless; ordinary objects would be useless to you.”

“This treasure mirror will allow you to travel unhindered in the secret realm, reaching any place you wish to go.”

Mu Xing was surprised. There was far too much hidden in those words.

If he wanted any treasure, couldn’t he simply go and take it directly?

Hearing him say this, the woman only pursed her lips in a meaningful smile: “When you entered the secret realm, you had companions by your side, did you not? Their journeys, it seems, have not been so smooth.”

Mu Xing: ?

He accepted the treasure mirror. Its design was ancient and plain, the back made of stone, and its surface unlike an ordinary mirror—it did not reflect one’s image, only a blank swirl of mist.

Remembering her words, suspicion stirred in his heart. With a thought, he saw the mist gradually part, revealing several figures.

One of them was someone he knew well: Meng Ge.

His long sword was drawn, gripped in hand, as he fought a fierce beast. Yet it was clear he had the upper hand; in another instant, the beast would fall.

The next moment, Mu Xing felt the mirror’s white mist surge toward him. When he turned again, a beast’s roar rang in his ears.

Meng Ge’s sword cleaved the beast’s head clean off. Then, surprised to see Mu Xing, he asked: “Where did you come from?”

He was certain that just moments ago, there had been no fluctuation of aura near him at all.

Mu Xing watched as he calmly extracted a beast core from the corpse, then used a cleansing spell to remove the blood from his body.

Throughout the entire process, he was perfectly composed, even faintly enjoying it.

Truly worthy of someone who cultivated the Path of Slaughter.

Mu Xing simply recounted his experience to him, then showed him the treasure mirror.

Meng Ge found it strange as well, examined the mirror for a while, but could see nothing unusual about it.

He handed the mirror back to Mu Xing, warning: “It’s fine to tell me about the mirror’s origin and function, but at least within this Dongling Secret Realm, don’t mention it to a third person.”

Mu Xing understood his meaning—one must always guard against others. He asked: “Not even the Xu siblings?”

Meng Ge shook his head: “No.”

“I understand.”

Then Mu Xing recalled something and told Meng Ge what the woman in colorful robes had said: “I can’t help but feel she wasn’t speaking without reason.”

Meng Ge frowned, pondering for a while before saying: “Now that you mention it, shortly after I entered the secret realm, I did notice a few indistinct auras trailing far behind me.”

He had assumed they were other cultivators who entered, and since the presence faded after half a day, he hadn’t paid it any mind.

Mu Xing exchanged a glance with him. A flash lit in his eyes: the Xu siblings!

With that thought, the mirror in his hands showed another scene.

It was indeed the Xu siblings, surrounded by several cultivators. Their robes were stained with blood; they were clearly wounded.

Seeing his expression, Meng Ge asked: “What did you see?”

As it turned out, only Mu Xing could see the mirror’s visions.

Mu Xing explained what he had seen, then after thinking a moment, said: “I’ll go help them.”

Meng Ge: “Wait!”

Mu Xing looked at him in confusion. He explained: “I don’t know where that place is. I can’t report it to you.”

Meng Ge only asked: “Can you protect yourself?”

Mu Xing froze.

Meng Ge said: “Master told me to look after you.”

He had to make sure Mu Xing was safe.

As for the Xu siblings, though they had some connection, they were clearly not as important as Mu Xing, whom his master had personally instructed him to protect.

Mu Xing understood his meaning and smiled: “Don’t worry. When it comes to protecting myself, I’m the most confident.”

Once he spoke, Meng Ge saw thick clouds surge from the mirror, enveloping Mu Xing.

In the blink of an eye, the mist, Mu Xing, and the treasure mirror all disappeared without a trace.

—

“Brother… Who are these people? So powerful, yet I’ve never heard of them.” Xu Jiao and Xu Ce stood back to back, staring at the seven silent cultivators surrounding them.

The siblings’ minds flashed through countless records, yet none matched.

They should be rogue cultivators.

But rogues usually had weaker techniques than great sect disciples, and far inferior artifacts. How could these ones be so terrifying in battle?

Just earlier, Xu Jiao had even offered her storage ring in exchange for mercy, but these people ignored her.

They truly wanted their lives.

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