When Golden Finger Meets Salted Fish

After taking the medicinal pill, the wound on Qingyu's arm healed quickly, and the poison was soon neutralized.

Before Zhu Baiyi could rejoice over this, she discovered that Qingyu's legs remained immobile. Upon examination, it was clear that demonic elements had seized the opportunity to infiltrate her meridians after the injury, causing Zhu Baiyi to be filled with immediate self-reproach and regret.

However, that healing pill had been her last remaining supply, and her own condition wasn't particularly good either. Wanting to do more but lacking the ability, she could only say to Qingyu: "Please wait a while. Once my injuries improve, I'll help heal yours."

Qingyu wasn't anxious; from the moment she saw Zhu Baiyi awaken, her heart had settled: "It's fine. We've left the underground, and there are no demonic elements here. You can take your time."

While underground, demonic elements had constantly eroded their bodies and souls. To counter this, they had been forced to channel spiritual energy for defense and suppression. But with only demonic elements and no spiritual energy underground, even the most powerful cultivators couldn't withstand the continuous outflow without replenishment, forcing them to burn through spirit stones every moment. This was what had led to their current state of destitution.

Now, freed from that burden, Qingyu truly felt relieved both physically and mentally. Moreover, having watched over Zhu Baiyi for three days with barely any rest, how could she endure without spiritual energy to sustain her?

Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, Zhu Baiyi felt a weight on her body. Looking back, she saw Qingyu had fallen asleep leaning against her.

The substantial weight seemed to press not only on her body but also on her heart. Zhu Baiyi gazed at Qingyu for a long time, the various emotions in her heart ultimately transforming into a touch of sweetness. She could sense Qingyu's joy at her awakening and hadn't seen her so dependent in a long time. With a slight thought, she turned and moved closer, placing a gentle kiss on her beloved's forehead.

Qingyu seemed to notice, yet also seemed not to, as her dense eyelashes trembled slightly, but she never opened her eyes.

Zhu Baiyi no longer cared about such details; she simply felt pure joy. Carefully, she wrapped her tails around Qingyu—numerous fluffy, voluminous tails made the perfect blanket, while also holding her protectively close.

Having done this, Zhu Baiyi disturbed Qingyu no further and finally closed her eyes to cultivate.

༻༺❀༻✧⋆｡°✩☽༓☾✩°｡⋆✧༺❀༻༺

Zhu Baiyi's injuries weren't extremely severe, but they certainly weren't easy to recover from either. During the battle with the Third Elder, her cultivation level had far exceeded her opponent's, so she had barely been injured. Her wounds came from when she had carried Qingyu out of the underground. Though appearing mostly as flesh wounds, these few injuries were tainted with spatial and rule-based powers that could only be eliminated through refinement, not simple healing.

With Zhu Baiyi's current cultivation, she had barely touched upon the rules, but attempting to refine these rule-based powers wasn't something that could be accomplished quickly. In other words, her injuries also required time to heal, not something that could be recovered from overnight.

Now they were two injured patients together, only able to encourage each other and do their best.

On this day, when Zhu Baiyi opened her eyes after meditation, she suddenly felt a stirring in her heart.

Even the subtle change in expression on the enormous fox's face didn't escape Qingyu's eyes. She asked with slight concern: "What's wrong? Has something gone awry with your healing?" She feared Zhu Baiyi might be too anxious, seeking quick results at the expense of proper healing.

Zhu Baiyi certainly understood this concern and shook her head, saying: "No, my injuries are already recovering." After a pause, she continued: "Just now, I felt a sudden impulse, as if something was pulling me..."

As she spoke, she turned her head toward a specific direction, her fox eyes narrowing slightly, though unfortunately, there was no change in the landscape at the limit of her vision.

Hearing this, Qingyu followed her gaze, but saw the same sky and ground as before, with no change whatsoever. However, a cultivator's intuition was never baseless, especially for someone like Zhu Baiyi who had reached the Grand Achievement realm—her instincts wouldn't be wrong. So after some thought, Qingyu asked: "What's over there? Or do you sense if it's auspicious or ominous?"

Zhu Baiyi also pondered this, then shook her head: "I don't know, but I feel we should go there."

If that was her feeling, then they should go—a Grand Achievement cultivator's intuition wouldn't deceive.

Qingyu generously made this decision, not concerned about an extra day or two—she still didn't know where they were, and neither did Zhu Baiyi. The conditions of this place didn't match anything they knew. Zhu Baiyi thus speculated it might be a small secret realm, but after so many days, they hadn't seen a single person pass by, so they weren't certain whether this secret realm was currently open or closed.

If the secret realm was open, that would be fine—open realms eventually close, and when the time comes for a secret realm to seal, all people within are teleported out. Then the secret realm enters a dormant period, waiting quietly for the next opportunity to open.

But if the secret realm was closed, that would be troublesome, because who knew how long it would take for an unknown secret realm to cycle through once? What if they encountered a secret realm that only opened once every thousand years? Wouldn't they have to wait a millennium? Without lightning tribulation in the secret realm, unable to advance in cultivation, no one could withstand such waste and consumption... Yet the current situation made the two suspect this secret realm might truly be in its closed period.

Under such circumstances, Zhu Baiyi's intuition became even more crucial.

༻༺❀༻✧⋆｡°✩☽༓☾✩°｡⋆✧༺❀༻༺

At the same moment Zhu Baiyi felt that subtle stirring in her heart, seemingly drawn by something unknown, the Little Swan Goose a thousand miles away also had a reaction.

At that time, the Little Swan Goose, tired of spiritual herbs and plants, had just received a bottle of medicinal pills from Jiang Mo to eat like candy. Suddenly, as if sensing something, she turned her head toward the direction where Zhu Baiyi and Qingyu were located.

Jiang Mo, who constantly observed her Senior Sister's every move, immediately noticed and asked: "Senior Sister, what's wrong?"

The Little Swan Goose tilted her head, unable to articulate exactly what was wrong. She just felt that for a moment, her heart seemed pulled by something. But she was still small and couldn't express herself clearly, let alone explain through gestures.

Jiang Mo had developed a certain understanding with the Little Swan Goose. Normally, when the Little Swan Goose chirped, she could guess most of what she wanted to express—things like "this grass is delicious," "this fruit doesn't taste good," or "this stone is disappointing." Or just everyday matters that she could guess with about eighty to ninety percent accuracy.

But today, with the Little Swan Goose herself seeming unable to express clearly, Jiang Mo couldn't decipher her meaning. So she tentatively asked: "Does Senior Sister mean we should head in that direction next?"

Hearing this, the Little Swan Goose blinked, uncertainty flashing in her Phoenix eyes. But on second thought, they were currently wandering aimlessly anyway, so the direction didn't really matter. Plus, her earlier mental stirring hadn't detected any danger, so following that direction seemed reasonable. Thus, she nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Jiang Mo naturally had no hesitation. She picked up the Little Swan Goose, made a turn, and headed in the direction the Little Swan Goose had sensed.

As they walked, Jiang Mo commented: "Either way, we can't find a method to leave. Senior Sister has good luck; perhaps this way we'll find an exit." Then, jokingly added: "Your food reserves are running low anyway. If we don't get out soon, you'll have to gnaw on rocks."

This was clearly a joke. Since raising the Little Swan Goose, Jiang Mo had constantly hovered on the edge of bankruptcy, but being a divine beast, she was highly efficient at finding treasures. Currently, Jiang Mo's space still contained over a hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones, enough to feed the Little Swan Goose for at least ten to fifteen more days. Failing that, this secret realm was somewhat bizarre, and she wouldn't rashly feed her Senior Sister the minerals they had collected.

But the Little Swan Goose evidently took her seriously. Upon hearing these words, her feathers stood on end, and her small wings flapped up and down several times. Her demeanor seemed to urge: Hurry up, hurry up, I can't go without food!

Seeing this, Jiang Mo quickly suppressed the laughter welling in her eyes, responding while quickening her pace. In her heart, she couldn't help but fantasize—what had her Senior Sister looked like as a child? Had she been this adorable? Or had she learned to be a little ice mountain from her master? Regardless, she must have been a beautiful little girl!

Thinking this, Jiang Mo gently poked the Little Swan Goose a couple of times with her finger, asking: "Senior Sister, when will you be able to transform? Golden Peng said you could recover in as little as three to five years, or as long as a decade or so..."

The Little Swan Goose impatiently pushed her away with a flap of her wing. Seeing that Jiang Mo seemed persistent, she simply flapped her wings and took flight.

After being reborn as a Little Swan Goose, her Senior Sister had quickly learned to fly, but she also seemed to have become lazier—the Little Swan Goose flapped her wings, escaping from Jiang Mo's embrace, but only circled in midair briefly before landing on Jiang Mo's head.

Yes, Jiang Mo's thick black hair had become the Little Swan Goose's new nest. At least from here, it wouldn't be so convenient for Jiang Mo to touch her, and the elevated perspective wasn't bad either.

Previously, it had always been Senior Sister indulging the little tiger; now with roles reversed, Jiang Mo was willing to indulge her, even handing up a bag of spirit stones as snacks. The person and bird traveled while eating and drinking, appearing somewhat relaxed and content. Apart from the abnormal surroundings requiring constant vigilance, everything was fine.

Until, as they walked, they directly encountered a familiar figure...