Maybe It's This

Not far away, Ye Chang'an stood with his arms crossed, watching with great interest, a mischievous and harsh sneer playing at the corners of his lips.

He turned his head and teased Wen Wushuang in a low voice, “These Nine Saints Hall disciples look so noble and otherworldly, yet they sure are experts at infighting.”

Wen Wushuang didn't respond. Her gaze suddenly shifted, landing on the crumbling cave entrance, her brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

She instinctively opened her mouth. “Watch out—”

Before she could finish, a deafening crash resounded.

The sealed rock wall suddenly cracked open with a hideous gap, and rubble exploded outward amid a cloud of dust.

Several snake demons shot out from within like streaks of dark lightning.

Their scales were stained with dark red blood, and their slit pupils burned crimson. Their piercing shrieks shattered the silence of the Miasma Forest as they lunged straight for Ye Chang'an, who was still standing by with his arms crossed, watching the show.

The mischievous smile on Ye Chang'an's face instantly froze. His pupils shrank, and the mutton-fat jade pendant he had been playing with clattered to the ground.

He had not expected the snake demons to burst out at all, and he staggered backward in a panic.

The hem of his brocade robe caught on a sharp rock, tearing a long slit in it, and he narrowly missed being struck in the neck by the whipping tail of a snake demon.

A foul, stench-filled gust of wind brushed past his face, scaring him out of his wits. He was even half a beat too slow in drawing his sword.

Fortunately, Wen Wushuang and Wen Wumian reacted incredibly fast, quickly leaping forward to engage and clash with the snake demons.

The entire perimeter instantly fell into chaos as disciples from various sects scattered in panic.

Chen He hurriedly shielded the others as they retreated while fending off the snake demons, crying out in alarm, “Weren't the snake demons supposed to be unable to leave the Twin Insect Cave?!”

Cheng Yue furrowed her brow. Without a second thought, she slipped out from behind him and rushed toward the crack where the snake demons had emerged. “I'm going to find Lin Mu.”

Chen He was startled, unable to stop her in time. “Come back! It's too dangerous!”

Cheng Yue didn't stop. She dashed straight to the crack, but just as she bent down to slip inside, two dark shadows suddenly lunged from the gap, a foul wind laced with saliva rushing straight at her face.

Her heart tightened. Just as she gathered spiritual energy in her fingertips to defend herself—

—a faintly familiar, sweet, and fresh fragrance suddenly drifted into her nose.

A hand firmly clasped her waist, spinning her backward in a smooth motion. It narrowly avoided the snake demon's fangs and brought her safely to a secure spot.

She looked up abruptly, locking eyes with a pair of smiling eyes.

The girl's cloak hung loosely over her shoulders, her fair face smudged with soot and blood. Cradling her sword in her arms, she said in a crisp voice, “I'm still alive. Pretty impressive, right?”

Cheng Yue froze for a moment, letting out a massive sigh of relief. “It's good that you're okay.”

As they spoke, the thrashing snake demons behind them seemed to face some invisible intimidation. Their shrieks stopped abruptly, and they actually turned around in unison, slithering back into the Twin Insect Cave through the cracked stone wall, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Having escaped danger, the crowd still held their swords, warily scanning their surroundings, terrified that something else might launch a sudden attack.

When Chen He and the others spotted Song Yao, their hearts finally settled. They hurried over. “Seventh Senior Sister, how are you? Are you hurt? Did any rocks hit you?”

Song Yao shook her head. “I'm fine.”

“It's great that you're fine.”

Jiang Jin took a few quick steps to catch up, his shoulders relaxing. “You are a pill cultivator, after all. You shouldn't go into such dangerous places next time. It makes everyone worry.”

At this moment, none of them wanted to pay attention to him, turning their heads away as if they hadn't heard a word.

Song Yao, however, didn't feel much of anything.

Whether Jiang Jin had saved her earlier was a favor; not saving her was within his rights. There was no reason to hold a grudge.

Everyone weighed the pros and cons in their hearts. It was only natural.

Seeing her so indifferent, Jiang Jin felt a bit uncomfortable. “Seventh Junior Sister, I... I didn't mean that I didn't want to save you earlier. I just thought it would be safer to wait for Junior Sister Ming to bring reinforcements.”

Song Yao hummed in response. “I know. It's fine.”

Jiang Jin: “...”

He still felt something was off.

Her complete lack of emotion somehow gave him a strange sense of disappointment.

It felt as if he could no longer get close to her.

He opened his mouth, but for a moment, he didn't know what else to say.

On the other side, Ye Chang'an finally recovered. He raised a hand to smooth out his rumpled brocade robe. As his lingering panic faded, his gaze toward Song Yao became laced with a hint of suspicion. “You came out of the Twin Insect Cave alone?”

Cheng Yue retorted quickly, “Cut the nonsense. Who else would it be, half a person?”

Song Yao couldn't help but chuckle.

This girl was either completely silent or blunt to a fault.

Ye Chang'an ignored her and took a step forward, narrowing his long, thin eyes in an obvious interrogative posture. “A mere little pill cultivator like you—how did you escape from so many snake demons?”

At his words, the members of several nearby sects couldn't help but look over as well.

Indeed.

They had all experienced firsthand how powerful those snake demons were. Just one was difficult to handle, let alone more than a dozen lurking inside.

Combined with the collapse of the cave, it should have been a certain-death situation.

None of them would have had the confidence to make it out alive.

A pill cultivator would have been even more of a goner.

Ye Chang'an stepped a few paces closer and pressed further, “Furthermore, why did those snake demons flee the moment you came out?”

Chen He frowned and stepped forward to shield Song Yao. “Young Master Ye, it is already a miracle that my Seventh Senior Sister survived. Why must you be so aggressive?”

Song Yao poked her head out from behind him and opened her palm, saying nonchalantly, “Oh, maybe it's because of this.”

Everyone's eyes locked onto her palm in unison.

—A translucent, lustrous herb lay quietly in her hand, its leaves enveloped in a faint green spiritual energy. It emitted a refreshing fragrance that pushed back the murky miasma around them.

Ye Chang'an's pupils shrank abruptly. The suspicion on his face was instantly replaced by immense shock and greed, his voice cracking. “The Lotus Crow-Sparrow Grass?!”

He had clearly searched the entire Twin Insect Cave with his men and hadn't found so much as a single leaf.

He had only wanted them to go in and deal with the snake demons so he could reap the rewards as a bystander.

Not only had the Twin Insect Cave collapsed, but the Lotus Crow-Sparrow Grass had actually ended up in her hands?!

He asked in disbelief, “H-How did you get it?”

Song Yao pouted. “I don't know. It just appeared when the cave collapsed. Once I held this, the snake demons stopped attacking me.”

She arched her brows and smiled. “Maybe it's just good luck.”

Ye Chang'an was thoroughly provoked, his mouth twisting in rage.

It appeared just as the cave collapsed?! How was that any different from picking it up off the ground for free?!

If he had known, he wouldn't have let them go in!

But there were only a few kids from the Nine Saints Hall here. If he were to snatch it by force, he might actually succeed...

His eyes darted around, but just as he was about to speak, the entire secret realm shook violently.

Ming Ran rushed over, her eyes lighting up when she saw Song Yao. “Little Master, you're alright?! That's wonderful!”

Song Yao nodded to her.

Chen He hastily asked, “What's that noise?”

“The exit of the secret realm has been forced open! The Ninth Elder, Sect Master Feng, and the others said that the demons in the Myriad Bones Forest secret realm are far more powerful than expected. Plus, the cloud screen doesn't cover this area, so they're worried something might happen. They want everyone to head out first and end the trial early!”