Chapter 8 "Master, what are you secretly rejoicing about?"...

A gentle breeze caressed Si Yao's face.

Finally, she slowly opened her eyes.

At this moment, Si Yao felt much easier to breathe.

Feeling the wind behind the stone wall, she realized that her ability to regain consciousness was thanks to the open air.

"Xiao Yezi..."

Si Yao found herself lying on Xiao Yezi's lap, so she propped herself up and sat up.

Her gaze fell on the stone monster that had been killed not far away, and then returned to Xiao Yezi. "It's good that you're alright."

Xiao Yezi's eyes glazed over slightly before he asked, "Master, how are you feeling?"

Facing the breeze behind the stone wall, Si Yao took several deep breaths of fresh air. "I feel better."

She glanced sideways in the direction the wind was blowing, "Let's go take a look, maybe the exit is just ahead."

After saying that, Si Yao stood up, swaying slightly, and Xiao Yezi helped her up.

She smiled and shook her head, saying, "It's alright, let's go. Be careful."

Xiao Yezi let go of Si Yao's hand and followed beside her.

As you walk forward in the direction the breeze is blowing, the light in the cave grows brighter and brighter.

Si Yao's tense expression has gradually eased considerably.

When the two arrived at the cave's exit, the bright sunlight revealed that outside the cave was a cliff, and on the other side of the cliff were steep mountain peaks.

Between the cliff and the opposite mountain peak lies a bottomless abyss.

The wind howled past the mountain pass. Si Yao looked across at the other side and thought, "This shouldn't be a dead end."

After saying that, he grabbed Xiao Yezi's wrist and said, "I will take you flying there."

She had already reached the Golden Core stage, so she felt that taking a disciple to fly to the opposite mountain was not a difficult task.

However, when Si Yao leaped forward with Xiao Yezi, she was bounced back by a force.

There seems to be a barrier in this invisible space, preventing cultivators from using sword control techniques.

Si Yao frowned slightly. If she couldn't use the sword control technique, how could she cross this chasm to the other side?

Xiao Yezi, standing beside him, gazed into the distance. Amidst the swirling clouds and mist, two floating rocks suddenly appeared between the cliff and the opposite mountain peak.

"Master, look, what's that?"

The two floating rocks were only a foot away from the edge of the cliff, as if signaling to Si Yao and Xiao Yezi that they could step onto them.

Si Yao turned to look at Xiao Yezi, "Disciple, this stone might help us reach the other side, but this is just my guess."

Her eyes held a hint of testing. "If this stone weren't a bridge, we might fall into the abyss if we stepped on it. But with your current shallow cultivation, do you have the courage to step on it?"

Without saying a word, Xiao Yezi took a step and stepped onto a stone.

The moment he stepped on it, the stone began to sink into the abyss.

Si Yao's expression changed, and in her haste, she stepped on another stone.

As the stone beneath her feet slowly sank, Xiao Yezi's stone floated up. The two stones, one above the other, eventually maintained their balance and remained on the same horizontal line.

Si Yao steadied herself and looked up to find Xiao Yezi calm and composed, his expression unchanged.

She exclaimed "Eh!" and then praised, "Commendable courage, you truly are my good apprentice."

Xiao Yezi's eyebrows twitched. He stood on the rock, the wind from the abyss howling past, ruffling his hair and white hair.

He still looked spirited and energetic.

Looking at her disciple, Si Yao found him more and more pleasing to the eye, and couldn't help but say, "After this mission is over, I will definitely teach you the techniques properly."

This time, Si Yao seemed to have made up her mind; she was determined not to let those elders in the sect have their way.

Instead, she wants to train Xiao Yezi into an outstanding disciple of the Hehuan Sect, and then slap them in the face!

"Master, what are you secretly rejoicing about?"

Xiao Yezi's voice came, pulling Si Yao back to reality, and she coughed a few times.

Instead of directly answering Xiao Yezi's question, she said, "Disciple, many people in the sect say that the Nebula Plain mission is just for show, not only is it time-consuming, but no one has found anything good in all these years. But this time is different. I have a feeling that the treasure is just ahead."

Xiao Yezi said, "So that's what Master is happy about."

Si Yao nodded and chuckled twice, "For you, treasure hunting is also a kind of trial."

Xiao Yezi remained silent. A foot away from his feet, two more stones of the same size appeared.

“Master, look, new stones have appeared again.” A glint flashed in his eyes. “If I’m not mistaken, more stones will appear one after another, which we can use to cross over.”

Si Yao clapped her hands, "That's great, Xiao Yezi, you step on it first."

As soon as Xiao Yezi stepped onto the second stone, Si Yao followed closely behind, and the two of them maintained their balance like the two ends of a scale.

And so, as new stones appeared, the two of them worked together and completed half the journey.

Unexpectedly, when they reached the very center, the stones beneath Si Yao and Xiao Yezi's feet began to undulate violently.

A strong gust of wind followed, nearly sweeping the two of them into the abyss.

Fortunately, Si Yao grabbed Xiao Yezi's hand in time. Before she could even speak, countless fireballs attacked from all directions.

Si Yao quickly waved her hand, and several magic seals blocked all the fireball attacks.

But this did not mean the end; a new wave of fireballs came from nearby.

As they were attacked by fireballs, new rocks appeared in front of them.

This place both tries to stop Si Yao and Xiao Yezi from moving forward, but also creates new stones for them to fight over.

Si Yao twirled her cloud-patterned fan, shielding herself and Xiao Yezi from the fireballs while pulling Xiao Yezi forward.

The number of fireballs multiplied. Si Yao gathered her spiritual energy, and the Yan Yun fan formed an arc in the air. The magic weapon gathered spiritual energy and condensed into countless water columns, all of which attacked the fireballs.

Si Yao's water-based technique, using water to counter fire, quickly extinguished the fireball.

"boom--"

Suddenly, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and a fierce storm raged.

The fireball attacks have stopped, but they've been replaced by sudden lightning and torrential rain.

Si Yao gasped, "Okay, so the intensity is going up, huh?"

She lowered her eyes with concern, "Little Yezi, you must hold your teacher's hand tightly!"

After saying that, Si Yao felt a slight heat in her palms, which was the temperature from Xiao Yezi.

He replied softly, "Okay, Master, please be careful."

Si Yao nodded emphatically. She waved her Yan Yun fan, and a barrier was formed that covered her and Xiao Yezi.

They continued stepping on new stones, maintaining their balance, and continued forward.

"Boom boom boom—"

Another deafening clap of thunder rang out, and lightning seemed to tear the void apart, causing the air to tremble.

With a loud "bang," the protective barrier surrounding Si Yao and Xiao Yezi shattered, and the stones beneath their feet also broke.

Due to the energy fluctuations from the impact, Si Yao was forced to let go of her hand.

In an instant, the master and apprentice lost their balance and plummeted towards the bottom of the abyss.

It's only a few feet away from the opposite hilltop; you just need to step over two more sets of rocks to reach it.

If we fall like this now, wouldn't all our efforts be in vain?

Si Yao was unwilling to give up and shouted "Xiao Yezi".

Amidst the wind and rain, she rushed towards her apprentice, whose body was plummeting towards the bottom of the abyss, and then forcefully grabbed his hand.

Just then, a bolt of lightning struck Si Yao's right shoulder, and bright red blood seeped through her light purple clothes.

Xiao Yezi's pupils constricted, and he exclaimed in shock, "Master! You're injured!"

Si Yao: "It's nothing!"

After saying that, she grabbed Xiao Yezi and, against the wind and rain, soared into the sky.

She wanted to take Xiao Yezi back to those floating rocks.

The wind and rain were heavy, and the lightning continued to strike.

Even though Si Yao gathered her spiritual energy and tried her best to block these attacks, she was still powerless, and some of the lightning bolts still managed to slip through and strike her.

One lightning strike after another, it hurt so much when it hit my body.

If it were in the past, she would have given up long ago.

She used to be idle and unambitious. Perhaps she would have ended this ridiculous Nebula Plain exploration mission when she was surrounded by darkness in the stone cave, and she would never have been able to persevere until now.

Thinking of all this, her gaze returned to Xiao Yezi.

She smiled. Indeed, things were different now.

She has already taken on a disciple, and now she is the master of a young boy.

As the master, Si Yao knew she should shoulder the corresponding responsibilities.

Therefore, these winds, rains, thunder, and lightning can come even more fiercely!

If they think they can use these obstacles to discourage people, Si Yao really wants to shout: Absolutely not!

Si Yao held her breath and gathered the last of her spiritual energy, making her movements even more agile.

In the midst of the raging storm, she finally pulled Xiao Yezi back to the symmetrically suspended rocks.

They maintained a balanced relationship once again, taking steps toward the newly appeared stones.

The lightning had not yet stopped, and Xiao Yezi was standing alone on the rocks. Si Yao was very worried about this. "Disciple, even if you find that lightning is attacking you, don't panic. With your master here, the lightning won't hurt you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Yezi's eyes flickered slightly. He hesitated, then took a deep breath and continued walking.

With the combined efforts of the master and apprentice, they finally made it through the last set of rocks and reached the opposite hilltop.

The wind stopped, the rain stopped, and the thunder and lightning ceased abruptly.

But the next moment, on the ground where Si Yao and Xiao Yezi were standing, countless vines rose up from the ground.

Unexpectedly, the danger factors have not been completely eliminated.

Seeing this, Si Yao grabbed Xiao Yezi and jumped into the air.

The cloud-patterned fan shimmered with light, turning stone into gold. Three golden lights flashed, and golden rays poured down, transforming into several golden blades that cleaved through the vines.

Soon, the sound of vines snapping was heard repeatedly, and they turned into dust and dissipated into the air.

"The cave is filled with earth, and when crossing the rocks, there's fire, wind, thunder, and water... plus the wood from before, so all the obstacles that need to be overcome should be there by now."

Si Yao muttered to herself as she returned to the ground with Xiao Yezi. She glanced at him and said, "Xiao Yezi, let me test you. Did you understand the key points of some of the spells I just used?"

Xiao Yezi: "I see these two points: water overcomes fire, and metal overcomes wood."

Si Yao was unaware that Xiao Yezi had a foundation in cultivation, and immediately expressed her surprise, "My disciple is indeed a rough gem. With that in mind, I will no longer let those three elders take you away."

Xiao Yezi: "..."

As soon as Si Yao finished speaking, she fell backward and collapsed to the ground.