Chapter 90 : Deep in the Secret Realm
"Mu Mu, they're ghosts..."
Little Bai's face was pale, trembling slightly.
"So what if they're ghosts?" Mu Qinglan asked.
"Ghosts... anyway, just, oh..." Bai Yuyu stammered, not knowing what to say. Suddenly, she was slightly stunned: "You're not afraid?"
Mu Qinglan asked back: "Why should I be afraid?"
Hearing this, Bai Yuyu shrank her head, feeling that Mu Mu was really bold: "How about we run first and regroup with Sister Shadow One?"
Mu Qinglan smiled and pointed around.
"There are these little ghosts in all directions—how are you going to run?"
"But..." Bai Yuyu hesitated. Could she say she was a bit afraid of ghosts? But she had just boasted that she would protect Mu Mu!
Forget it, never mind. So what if they're ghosts!
Maybe they're not even as strong as Chief Constable Bai!
The little girl drew a short staff from behind her back. With a shake of her hand and a click, three short staffs instantly assembled into a staff about as tall as a person—silver-white shaft that looked quite extraordinary.
During their conversation, misty white figures slowly drifted closer.
Vast white fog surged out with them.
Getting closer, Bai Yuyu finally saw what these "ghosts" actually looked like.
Semi-transparent white humanoid shapes floating in the air, with indistinct features except for their eyes—large black hollow spaces that were quite terrifying.
Honestly, they were the kind that frightened Little Bai.
"Huff, huff!"
Bai Yuyu couldn't help breaking into a cold sweat, gripping her staff tightly until her knuckles turned white, watching the little ghosts approach closer, closer, closer...
Finally, the moment they stepped within ten paces.
Little Bai suddenly exploded into action.
Bang!
Staff fell, mist scattered!
These little ghosts weren't as scary as they looked—not one could withstand a single strike from Bai Yuyu's staff. With just a few bangs, the attacking ghosts were knocked into scattered white mist.
Crack—
Two pitch-black whip blades rose from the shadows, harvesting the little ghosts that continuously poured from the white mist.
[Experience +3]
[Experience +3+3...]
Mu Qinglan glanced sideways, calmly looking at the system screen only she could see.
The experience bar was slowly but steadily growing.
These little ghosts weren't particularly strong—just numerous and seemingly endless. Less than one-fifth had ninth-rank strength, and most didn't even have ranked strength.
Therefore, Mu Qinglan couldn't harvest any experience from most of them.
Only ninth-rank ghosts provided a measly three experience points.
So annoying! Such weak ghosts.
The sounds in the white mist lasted about five minutes. After the noise died down, the vast white mist around them cleared completely.
Mu Qinglan squinted slightly and did quick mental math: "21 experience points gained, so seven ninth-rank ghosts. Not many—much fewer than when playing the game, but that's normal..."
After all, reality couldn't be like games where you just pile on monsters endlessly when in doubt.
This battle ended quite quickly.
Without much effort either.
Seeing the surroundings clear, Bai Yuyu caught her breath, gradually calmed down, and was no longer afraid of ghosts. She said proudly:
"That's all ghosts amount to? When I get back, I'll have to tell my friends properly—I've fought ghosts too!"
How impressive that would sound.
"Just a bunch of little ghosts. Could it be that Chief Constable Bai can only bully small ghosts? Going to the center of the secret realm would make you a chief constable who's truly unafraid of ghosts." Mu Qinglan provoked.
"Eh, shouldn't we wait to regroup first?"
"What's the use of waiting here? This place is so big—who knows when we'd manage to regroup. Better to head toward the center. Shadow One will definitely tend toward going to the center to find us too." Mu Qinglan reasoned logically.
"Right!" Bai Yuyu was convinced.
Although this place was somewhat dangerous, she could still handle it! At most they were just ninth-ranks who couldn't even last two moves against her.
Even going toward the center, she could protect Mu Mu well.
Moreover...
Whether Mu Mu even needed her protection was questionable!
"Mu Mu, tell me honestly—what rank are you now?" Bai Yuyu looked suspicious, her mouth slightly pouting.
"Don't you already know?" Mu Qinglan said deliberately.
Bai Yuyu acted cute: "Just tell me!"
What if you, this bad guy, lied to me! You hid your identity before, and if I hadn't been clever enough to recognize you, I'd probably still be kept in the dark!
"I entered eighth-rank last month." Mu Qinglan smiled.
"Hmph!" Bai Yuyu was secretly angry.
Big liar.
You clearly broke through from the Human Gate to eighth-rank the month before last! Yet you say last month! Hmph, but this news is indeed shocking, so I won't pursue your responsibility for lying to me!
Bai Yuyu first sulked, then suddenly became very happy and hummed twice, leaving Mu Qinglan stunned.
'Never heard she had multiple personality disorder…'
Mu Qinglan thought seriously.
Seeing her spacing out, Bai Yuyu hummed and didn't say anything, just ran behind her and pushed Mu Qinglan forward like a little pig nudging cabbage.
"Let's go, let's go! Still spacing out! Find Sister Shadow One early, see if we can get the item, and hurry home!"
9
"..."
Deep in the secret realm, in a place wreathed with clouds and mist.
Three white spirits with hollow faces floated in the air, surrounded by several toppled stone pillars. Below them were ordinary ghosts prostrated on the ground, swaying their heads.
"Sis~ ter~"
Eerie laughter rose and fell, but with a strange rhythm.
As if chanting something in unison.
At a certain moment.
The three spirits simultaneously stopped moving, all looking eastward with perfectly synchronized movements—extremely eerie.
The ritual site instantly became quiet, completely silent.
After a long while, the three spirits withdrew their gaze, made a few "sister" calls, then resumed that strange rhythm.
Only in the distance did a group of ghosts silently retreat.
○
Secret realm, on a hillside.
The martial artists who had entered earlier had already gathered in small groups of twos and threes.
After all, these martial artists generally only had ninth-rank cultivation, with the stronger ones at eighth-rank. If they didn't stick together, a single ghost charge might wipe them out completely.
Among them, the largest small group was clearly the Green Snake Martial Hall batch.
A group with a seventh-rank leader undoubtedly provided unparalleled security, continuously attracting wandering individuals.
"Senior Sister Lu."
The young man crushed a small ghost and slowly finished his stance.
Lu Xi glanced at him with a grave expression and quickly asked: "What is it?"
"Look over there."
Hearing her junior brother's words, Lu Xi was somewhat puzzled but still looked in the direction he pointed. She was immediately slightly shocked and unconsciously said: "That is..."
"Something must have happened." The young man looked serious.
"The white mist is retreating—is someone clearing the spirits, or... is this some inherent danger in the secret realm?" Lu Xi pondered.
This secret realm was truly perilous, completely different from how it appeared outside.
Looking at the phenomena, she had thought her seventh-rank strength would be more than sufficient, but unexpectedly, this secret realm contained so many ninth-rank spirits!
Her seventh-rank strength was indeed enough to move freely, but what about her junior brothers and sisters! Wouldn't she have to be distracted protecting them?
"Let's avoid that area." Lu Xi said helplessly.
"Senior Sister, I'm afraid that won't work," the young man stared at that area for a while and said: "That region is continuously moving toward the light pillar in the center of the secret realm. In a while, we'll probably collide with it."
Moving toward the center? Lu Xi was alarmed.
Then there was no way to avoid it.
As everyone knew, the most mysterious place in a secret realm was generally at the center. To obtain the rare treasure, they could only go there. Lu Xi had no intention of giving up on that treasure either.
She hesitated, looking at the large group behind her.
She made up her mind.
They had numbers—if they encountered it, so be it. Who knew who should be worried!
○
On the other side.
Shadow One stood on a treetop, gazing at the white light pillar in the distant sky with an ugly expression.
'Damn it, can't get through. This secret realm is targeting me! Because I'm sixth-rank?'
She had tried earlier to leave this nearby mysterious area, but every time she hadn't walked far, after a bout of dizziness, she was moved back again.
'The farther I go, the weaker the secret realm's suppression becomes.'
'But there's not enough time!'
Shadow One angrily punched the tree trunk, extremely worried.
"Damn it!"
'You must wait for me, Young Miss.'