Chapter 30: Trials of the Split Path

There was no light at all inside the cave—so dark that one couldn’t even see their hand in front of their face.

The moment her body was fully swallowed by the cave, Yu Xiu keenly sensed a shift in the surrounding space.

This entrance to the secret realm was actually a teleportation array—it transported those who entered to different spatial zones.

Finally, a faint light appeared.

Yu Xiu quickly surveyed her surroundings and realized she had arrived in a dimly lit cave.

It was enormous, with a ceiling tens of meters above her head. The ground was mostly covered by a still, dark pool of water, with a few scattered patches of land floating across the surface. Yu Xiu stood on one of them.

Deeper within, the water gave way to solid ground that stretched into the distance. Bioluminescent plants emitting a blue-violet glow grew at random, creating a dreamlike, otherworldly landscape.

Yu Xiu glanced down at the water by her feet.

It was dark and perfectly still. She couldn’t discern its depth, nor guess what might be lurking beneath.

Huangfu Hanrui, He Xiuran, and Zuo Cheng were nowhere to be seen.

On the nearest patch of land, Zuo Chi stood poised and alert, his muscles tense as he quickly assessed the situation.

Yu Xiu and Zuo Chi were both experienced cultivators.

Even in the face of such an unexpected turn, neither panicked. They immediately began evaluating the situation.

“What kind of secret realm forcibly splits people up like this?” Zuo Chi frowned, his tone tinged with unease. He glanced at Yu Xiu and added, “And of all pairings, it had to be the two of us.”

Among the group of five, Yu Xiu and the Zuo brothers—Zuo Chi and Zuo Cheng—had the highest cultivation levels.

Zuo Cheng, a talisman cultivator, was weaker in direct combat, while Yu Xiu and Zuo Chi were the strongest fighters.

In a secret realm full of unknown dangers, combat strength was paramount. That this realm had grouped the two strongest together likely meant the other three—Hanrui, Xiuran, and Zuo Cheng—now faced much greater risk.

Yu Xiu took out the messaging talismans, trying to contact the others.

As expected, the spiritual flames on the talismans flickered for only a moment before extinguishing on their own.

She sighed. “Hopefully the three of them didn’t get separated.”

Among them, Zuo Cheng could probably manage. But if Hanrui and He Xiuran ended up alone… things could get difficult fast.

There was no point in worrying further.

Yu Xiu and Zuo Chi exchanged a glance, then tacitly lifted into the air on their swords, heading deeper into the cave.

Only by conquering this zone first could they begin to search for—and possibly aid—the others.

Just as their feet left the ground, the previously calm water beneath them suddenly rippled.

Several tentacle-like entities, each several meters long, surged out from beneath the surface, lashing toward them.

Zuo Chi let out a low shout, golden light erupting from his body to form a layer of protective armor.

He kicked his right foot, summoning his natal spirit sword into his hand. With a surge of spiritual energy, he rose into the air and began slashing at the tentacles.

Yu Xiu, however, didn’t draw her sword.

Steady atop her Silver Sand Sword, she calmly formed hand seals. Crimson-gold spiritual energy flared to life, transforming into sharp blades that cut through any tentacles that came near.

During brief pauses between her seals, she swiftly pulled several offensive talismans from a silver hairpin in her storage item, coordinating them seamlessly with her techniques to clear away the enemies.

Each of them had their own unique combat style.

The dark cave lit up again and again with brilliant flashes of golden and crimson-gold light.

Fighting as they advanced, Yu Xiu and Zuo Chi soon crossed the pool and landed on the solid ground at the back of the cave.

Most of the tentacles had been eliminated—only a few remained. When they realized they could no longer reach their targets, they slithered back into the dark depths of the water.

Glancing down at the pool, Yu Xiu thought to herself that they had safely passed the first trial.

Zuo Chi turned to her, eyes narrowing as he stared at her sword.

“…Why is your spirit sword broken?!”

Those tentacles weren’t particularly strong—on par with a late Foundation Establishment cultivator at most.

Aside from their size and number, they posed no real threat to cultivators of their level. It should have been no more difficult than slicing through vegetables.

They couldn’t possibly have damaged Yu Xiu’s sword.

Zuo Chi paused, then suddenly realized—Yu Xiu’s sword must have already been broken before entering the secret realm.

As he pieced it together, the Silver Sand Sword in Yu Xiu’s hand let out a faint, disdainful snort of laughter.

Zuo Chi visibly startled.

High-quality spirit swords often develop a rudimentary consciousness over time, allowing them to convey basic emotions to their wielders. But for a sword to speak—to laugh—that required countless years of tempering, trials, and failures. Only swords of extraordinary age and heritage could attain that level.

Even Zuo Chi’s own natal spirit sword hadn’t reached such a stage.

Nor had Yu Xiu’s previous natal sword, Ling Ze. Yet now, the weapon in her hand had not only reacted—but scoffed aloud.

Yu Xiu offered a short explanation:

“This is a senior spirit sword I found solidified on the seventh floor of the Sword Pavilion.”

Zuo Chi’s eyes widened briefly, then nodded. “So that’s how it is…”

Her secondary sword had been taken from the upper levels of Cangling Peak’s Sword Pavilion. No matter how damaged it appeared on the surface, its true power clearly couldn’t be underestimated.

That was all Zuo Chi had needed to confirm.

Once he was assured there was no hidden issue with Yu Xiu’s weapon, he turned and began walking forward, spirit sword in hand.

Yu Xiu followed close behind, casually examining the bioluminescent flora glowing faintly in blue-violet hues on either side of the path. She saw nothing overtly suspicious.

The road beneath their feet wound left and right in irregular bends. For a while, the scenery remained unchanged—until they reached the sixth turn.

There, the plants suddenly surged in size—several times larger than before.

Zuo Chi reacted immediately.

He swung his sword in a clean arc, slicing down the nearest growths before they could move.

Yu Xiu remained calm and didn’t use her Silver Sand Sword.

Instead, she tossed out several explosive talismans, infusing them with her fire-element spiritual energy. The combined force ignited violently, turning the towering plants to charred stems and falling ash before they could even graze the edges of their robes.

Fire was devastatingly effective against plant-type creatures.

As the last tendrils curled into smoke, a hidden stone door revealed itself in the cliff wall ahead.

Zuo Chi didn’t rush to open it.

Instead, he turned to Yu Xiu and said, “Once we go through, it’ll likely teleport us again. I’ll enter first. Wait a few breaths, then follow.”

By staggering their entry times, there was a better chance they’d be sent to different spaces.

This might increase the odds that at least one of them could regroup with the others.

Yu Xiu nodded. “Alright.”

The discussion ended there. Zuo Chi stepped forward and pushed open the heavy stone door. He vanished inside.

Yu Xiu waited a few breaths. Then she followed.

As she crossed the threshold, the space around her warped again.

When her vision cleared, she found herself inside what looked like an underground wine cellar.

Wooden and stone barrels of varying sizes filled the space, stacked against the walls and in clustered piles. A strong, pungent aroma of wine drifted through the air.

No one else was in sight.

Compared to the previous cave, this place exuded a more subtle—but far more sinister—danger.

Yu Xiu’s expression remained steady.

She reached into her storage hairpin and retrieved a bronze wrist guard, strapping it onto her left wrist—a high-grade defensive artifact.

Then she released nine alert talismans, which floated around her in a loose protective formation. If anything attempted to attack, these talismans would warn her first.

She walked deeper into the cellar, sharp eyes scanning both for threats and signs of the others.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, she spotted a figure lying motionless in a corner—clad in unmistakable pink robes.

It was Huangfu Hanrui.

Yu Xiu immediately leapt over, arriving at her side in an instant.

She knelt down and confirmed that Hanrui was merely unconscious. Aside from her flushed cheeks and disheveled clothing, she seemed unharmed.

Yu Xiu breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

But the flush on Hanrui’s cheeks gave her pause.

She looked… drunk.

Yu Xiu frowned. Would Hanrui really have drunk something in a place like this?

No matter how impulsive she could be, even Hanrui wouldn’t consume unknown wine in a dangerous secret realm.

Still, the facts were right in front of her.

One thing was clear: Hanrui had ended up here alone.

She had either failed to advance further or had succumbed to the environment.

Yu Xiu had no way of knowing whether He Xiuran and Zuo Cheng had been separated or remained together.

In the best-case scenario, Zuo Chi had been sent to wherever Xiuran ended up.

Yu Xiu carefully lifted Hanrui into her arms and retrieved a white jade medicine bottle from her hairpin.

Opening it, she gently fed Hanrui a Mind-Clearing Pill to dispel any lingering effects.

Just then, several wooden barrels behind Yu Xiu began to stir.

She didn’t pause.

Ensuring Hanrui had swallowed the pill, Yu Xiu reached behind her with one hand.

Her crimson-gold spiritual energy unfurled into a tight, interwoven net, instantly sealing off the barrels as they began to twitch and shift.

Not a single one even had time to activate her floating talismans.