Mother

Feng Qing's lips still held a smile, her tone casual and light. “It must have been a temporary oversight by my disciples, who forgot to pass on the word. How about this? I shall punish myself with a drink to apologize. Brother Yun, please do not be angry with me.”

As she spoke, a pageboy brought over a cup.

Frustration welled up in Ninth Elder's chest, and he took a deep breath.

He had known they would likely target them, but he hadn't expected them to be so blatant about it.

Separating everyone and reducing the number of cloud screens so they couldn't see the full situation inside the secret realm—didn't this make it much easier to make a move against the disciples of Nine Saints Hall?

Even if he had known beforehand, there was nothing he could have done.

Nine Saints Hall was, after all, the leader of the three major sects. Even if they didn't participate in this particular sect tournament, they would have to participate in future ones. They couldn't simply withdraw from the world like those minor sects.

With these people allied against them, they would have plenty of opportunities to strike.

He closed his eyes and said flatly, “No need.”

Now, his only hope was that those children wouldn't run into Ye Chang'an and would make it out safely.

As for contacting the Wen family to gather information...

He no longer held any hope for that.

“I knew Brother Yun wouldn't have the heart to blame me.”

Feng Qing took a sip of her wine, the smile never leaving her lips. The eastern pearls in her hair swayed gently with her movements.

She casually changed the subject. “The last time the Myriad Bones Forest realm opened, the most precious treasure found by the disciples was a Heaven-grade high-rank Lotus Crow-Sparrow Grass. I heard this spiritual grass only grows once every five years, and its growth location is highly unpredictable. I wonder whose hands this year's opportunity will fall into.”

As soon as she finished speaking, someone immediately chimed in, “With Young Master Ye entering the secret realm in person this year, is there even any suspense? This treasure is naturally already in Young Master Ye's pocket.”

Hearing this, Elder Huaisang, the Great Elder of Taiqing Pavilion, smiled gently and said unhurriedly, “That might not be the case. Didn't Beiyao Sect and Nine Saints Hall also send many young talents this time?”

Feng Qing laughed heartily. “Qingqiu is not participating, and our sect's disciples are still quite green. How can their skills compare to Young Master Ye? However, as the number one sword sect of the Tianshu Realm, Nine Saints Hall has a profound foundation and naturally cannot be underestimated. Wouldn't you say so, Brother Yun?”

Hearing the sarcasm in her words, Ninth Elder rubbed the rim of his cup with his fingertip. He merely took a quiet sip of his tea, remaining silent.

Elder Huaisang suddenly smiled.

He spoke slowly, “I heard that Nine Saints Hall sent a Heavenly Spiritual Root pill cultivator this time? Since the secret realm is so perilous, it's quite generous of Nine Saints Hall to let a pill cultivator enter. To be frank, I fear even a random minor spirit could take a pill cultivator's life, no?”

He added meaningfully, “If something really does happen, Brother Yun, please don't go blaming others blindly.”

A round of low chuckles rippled through the surroundings.

Ninth Elder's expression remained unchanged, though his grip on the jade cup tightened slightly.

One second, she was being shielded behind Chen He like a chick behind a mother hen; the next, she stepped into the secret realm to find herself completely alone. Towering ancient trees stretched toward the sky, with not a single soul in sight.

Song Yao blinked a couple of times, realization dawning on her.

It seemed that instead of everyone entering the secret realm together as Ninth Elder had described, they had all been scattered.

She looked up, spreading her divine sense, and narrowed her eyes.

Even the cloud screens used for monitoring and observation were pitifully few.

With such a setup, someone was most likely up to no good.

As for who it was, that was even more obvious.

She accepted this reality almost instantly. Caught between going to find the Wen family for information and searching for secret treasures, she decided to catch up on some sleep first.

She was so sleepy.

Sixteenth Elder had said that because her soul was incomplete, she had to get plenty of sleep to nurse her body back to health.

This place was filled with abundant spiritual energy and fresh air, making it the perfect spot to recuperate.

It was a pity the vegetation was too dense and there were too many spirits, making it unsuitable for raising chickens, ducks, or farming. Otherwise, she wouldn't have minded settling down right here.

The crowd outside the cloud screens was eagerly waiting to watch the show of this little pill cultivator tearfully struggling through the secret realm.

In the next second, they watched as she leapt up, landed on a thick tree branch, pulled a small blanket out of her spatial pouch, tucked herself in comfortably, and then...

And then she lay down to sleep.

Feng Qing: “...”

Huai Sang: “...”

Ninth Elder: “...”

Wait.

How could she sleep in a place like this?

Was this girl crazy with exhaustion?

For a moment, no one on the Viewing Platform moved, nor did they try to look at the other cloud screens.

After all, the secret realm was full of demons and hidden dangers. A defenseless little pill cultivator lying there couldn't possibly actually be sleeping, right?

However...

Half an incense burner's time later.

The breathing of the figure on the branch gradually grew steady, her cheeks flushed with a healthy color. Not only was she truly asleep, but she was also sleeping exceptionally soundly.

The crowd suddenly felt a bit bewildered, even harboring a strange illusion that they were being played.

Wait.

Why weren't any spirits bothering her?

How could someone her age sleep so soundly at a time like this!

Ninth Elder's heart was pounding wildly, and he desperately wanted to rush in, drag her up, and tell her to be careful. On the outside, however, he remained utterly composed. “This child has a Heaven-grade wood spiritual root and is exceptionally gifted. Though she appears to be sleeping, she is actually absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.”

“...”

The crowd looked into the cloud screen with skepticism.

Absorbing spiritual energy?

Why did she look like she was in a deep sleep?

Feng Qing's brow twitched slightly. With a wave of her sleeve, she cut the screen. “Since that is the case, let the child continue her absorption. Let us look at the others.”

Song Yao woke up when she rolled over and tumbled right off the tree.

Estimating that she had slept for about an hour, she did indeed feel much more awake, and her body was no longer as sluggish.

She slowly pulled a bun out of her spatial pouch, eating it while studying the map.

Disciples from various sects who had participated in previous runs of the Myriad Bones Forest realm would draw maps upon their return for the next generation of disciples to use.

This was a customary tradition and wasn't considered cheating.

However, five years had passed, and the secret realm had shifted. The map was no longer very accurate and could only serve as a rough reference.

The most valuable thing inside was likely the Lotus Crow-Sparrow Grass, which was shown to be located somewhere in the center of the secret realm.

She had originally thought the disciples of Beiyao Sect and Taiqing Pavilion would take the initiative to seek her out and cause trouble, which was why she hadn't been in a hurry to move.

But now it seemed their tracking abilities were mediocre, and she would have to deliver herself to them.

However, Song Yao had also overestimated herself.

With the dense, interlocking branches completely blocking out the sky, she couldn't fly on her sword, and she couldn't even pin down her own location on the map.

After following a small forest path for a short while, she had to face reality.

She was lost.

But as the cloud screens grew scarcer and the light grew dimmer, heading deeper inside was bound to be the right direction.

Unhurried, she stuffed the map back inside and simply walked blindly.

After only a few steps.

The moment a dry branch snapped beneath her foot, two sinister, childish giggles suddenly rang in her ears.

Song Yao's gaze darkened.

A demon.

Its aura was close at hand, completely silent.

A demon capable of hiding from her senses would not be weak.

She turned her head slightly, catching sight of two child-like figures behind her out of the corner of her eye.

They were holding hands, their eerie steps perfectly synchronized, their two heads tilted and pressed close together as they walked toward her step by step.

Though their mouths did not move, a tender yet sticky childish voice whispered right against her ear, carrying a trace of eerie innocence: “Mother, we are hungry, hehe~”