Somersault Cloud

Coming back to her senses, Luo Qingyu's gaze fell upon Ye Qinghan, and she sized him up thoroughly for a few seconds.

Her gaze was so direct and intense that it made Ye Qinghan feel inexplicably uneasy. Discomfort washed over him, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on his long sword.

Luo Qingyu slowly curled her lips into a smile and said, “Sure, I can save you. But now, your Wenjian Sect owes me a favor.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Luo Qingyu untied a warm white jade pendant from her waist. With a thought, the jade pendant flashed with white light, transforming into a fluffy, soft cloud.

Staring at the pristine, fluffy cloud before her, Luo Qingyu's eyes instantly lit up.

Ever since she was a child, she had been curious if the Somersault Cloud beneath Sun Wukong's feet was real, and she had always wanted to experience it. Now, her wish was finally coming true.

Even though this Somersault Cloud was just an imitation, it didn't dampen her excitement in the slightest.

Standing to the side, Chu Xingzhi was completely dumbfounded. He stood frozen on the spot, his lips trembling as he stammered, “S-Senior Brother, is this magical artifact... normal?”

Hearing this, Luo Qingyu was instantly displeased. She pursed her lips and retorted, “Who cares if it's normal or not? As long as it works!”

With that, she leaped forward onto the Somersault Cloud, steered the cloud toward Zhu You, who was on the verge of collapsing, and stretched out her hand, calling out, “Quick, give me your hand! I'll pull you up!”

Seeing her reach out, Zhu You didn't hesitate for a second. She immediately grabbed Luo Qingyu's hand tightly and used the leverage to jump onto the cloud.

Steering the cloud, Luo Qingyu pulled Ye Qinghan, Chu Xingzhi, and the others onto the cloud one by one.

Once the five of them were settled, Luo Qingyu casually pulled several exploding talismans from her storage bag and threw them backward into the dense bushes behind them.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The bushes were instantly blown to pieces.

Chu Xingzhi was utterly bewildered by this and couldn't help but demand, “Why did you suddenly throw talismans?”

Ye Qinghan stared somberly at the blasted bushes, his cold voice slowly revealing the truth. “There was a Golden Core Realm demon beast hiding inside. It was waiting for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack on us just now.”

Hearing Ye Qinghan's words, Luo Qingyu secretly marveled, Oho, as expected of a power-fantasy protagonist. He actually noticed it.

Zhu You let out a long sigh of relief, feeling a wave of lingering fear.

If this young lad hadn't come to their rescue, and that demon beast had launched a sneak attack, they would have likely been doomed, given how severely depleted their spiritual energy was.

Now that his own Senior Brother had explained, Chu Xingzhi's face flushed with shame. He lowered his head, not daring to utter another word of doubt.

...

Along the way, Luo Qingyu spread her divine sense to scout the path ahead while casting occasional glances at Ye Qinghan, who sat beside her with his eyes closed to heal his wounds.

This did not escape Zhu You's notice, and a trace of suspicion began to brew in her heart.

Amused by this absurd thought, she quietly nudged Xia Qing, who was sitting next to her, and whispered in a low voice, “Look at that young lad. His eyes keep drifting toward Senior Brother. Do you think... he has feelings for our Senior Brother?”

Zuo Yi, who was sitting right next to Xia Qing, overheard this. His eyes widened in utter shock. “Huh? But Senior Brother is a man!”

Xia Qing quickly tugged at Zhu You's sleeve and warned in a low voice, “Junior Sister, stop letting your imagination run wild. If Senior Brother hears this, we'll definitely be punished.”

Zhu You quickly covered her mouth and cast a subconscious glance at Ye Qinghan, who was meditating with his eyes closed, terrified that he might have overheard their whispering.

Riding the Somersault Cloud, the group soon arrived at a clear riverbank.

Luo Qingyu flipped down from the Somersault Cloud, turned around, and said to them, “We've arrived. This area is very safe, so you don't have to worry about any more sneak attacks from demon beasts.”

Ye Qinghan did not doubt her words at all. He knew that the divine sense of an artifact cultivator was generally far broader than that of a sword cultivator.

Since his group now owed her a favor, there was absolutely no reason for Luo Qingyu to deceive them.

At this moment, Ye Qinghan took the initiative to express his gratitude. “Thank you.”

Luo Qingyu waved her hand dismissively, smiling breezily. “No big deal, no big deal. After all, you still owe me a huge favor.”

Hearing her cheeky tone, a vein throbbed on Ye Qinghan's temple, and his habitually cold face instantly darkened.

Pretending not to notice his sour expression, Luo Qingyu continued, “Since you've landed safely, I'll take my leave now. We'll meet again if fate allows. See you next time, Ice Face.”

Hearing the nickname “Ice Face,” Ye Qinghan's face turned completely black, and the chilly aura surrounding him grew even heavier.

As soon as she said this, the hot-tempered Chu Xingzhi instantly blew his top and retorted loudly, “Who wants to meet you again!”

Luo Qingyu merely gave a light chuckle, completely untroubled by his attitude. She turned around, leaped onto the Somersault Cloud, and departed, leaving behind only a fading silhouette.

Standing behind Ye Qinghan, Zhu You and the others watched her receding figure and began to chat in low voices.

Zuo Yi quietly nudged Xia Qing's sleeve and murmured, “Hey, to be honest, that nickname actually suits Senior Brother quite well.”

Chu Xingzhi pursed his lips and reluctantly edged closer to Ye Qinghan. “Senior Brother, look at that guy. He's way too much, giving you random nicknames like that...”

Ye Qinghan swept a cool glance over him and said in a detached tone, “Shut up. There are still two days left before the secret realm closes. Rest well and continue your trials.”

Seeing that his Senior Brother had spoken, Chu Xingzhi immediately shut his mouth and sat down to focus on adjusting his breathing.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side, Mu Zhongxi was currently in deep water. He could never have imagined that he would be this unlucky.

The moment he entered the secret realm, he had been teleported straight into a demon beast nest. To make matters worse, he had stumbled upon two demon beasts in the middle of mating, abruptly interrupting their business.

Moreover, one of the demon beasts was at the late stage of the Golden Core Realm, and he stood absolutely no chance against it. It had been relentlessly pursuing him, leaving him with no choice but to flee for his life with everything he had.

In the end, he finally managed to catch up with the main group, but when he looked up, he saw that the faces of Ming Xuan and the others were incredibly grim.

Filled with confusion, Mu Zhongxi looked at the expressionless Zhou Xingyun. “Senior Brother, what's wrong with you guys? Why do you look so miserable?”

Ming Xuan couldn't help but clench his fists, speaking up with indignation. “It's all because of Song Hansheng from the Yueqing Sect! Xue Yu and I had finally found a stalk of Heart Clearing Grass after waiting for so long. Just as Senior Brother finished killing the guardian demon beast, Song Hansheng sneaked in and snatched it when we weren't looking. To top it off, he intentionally drew a massive horde of demon beasts over, forcing us to run for our lives the entire way.”

Hearing about Ming Xuan and the others' ordeal, Mu Zhongxi instantly felt a sense of shared misery.

He subconsciously scanned the area behind them, looking back and forth, but he couldn't find Luo Qingyu anywhere. He quickly turned to Xue Yu.

“Third Senior Brother, where is Fourth Senior Brother? I didn't see him at all on my way here. Do you know where he went?”

Xue Yu shook his head gently. “I don't know. We've been in the secret realm for a day now, and we haven't run into Fourth Junior Brother at all.”

Mu Zhongxi's heart tightened, his brow furrowing with anxiety. “Then what should we do? Fourth Senior Brother is an artifact cultivator. If he runs into a demon beast, wouldn't he be doomed?”

Ming Xuan chimed in to comfort him. “Don't worry, Junior Brother. Even if the rest of us get into trouble, your Fourth Senior Brother will be perfectly fine. Besides, he has so many magical artifacts on him. Even if he does encounter demon beasts, he could easily wear down an entire horde to death using just his artifacts. So, you'd better worry about yourself first.” After saying this, Ming Xuan patted Mu Zhongxi's shoulder.

Looking at the dazed Mu Zhongxi, Xue Yu spoke in a gentle voice, “Let's go, Junior Brother. We should find a safe place to rest first. The exit of the secret realm won't open for another two days. Let's take our time; we're bound to cross paths with Fourth Junior Brother sooner or later.”

After hearing Xue Yu's words, the anxiety in Mu Zhongxi's heart gradually subsided. He could only nod gently and follow the three of them to search for a place to rest.