Chapter 24 The Secret Realm of Xiashan. His smile was so beautiful.
When the lights came on, all around was a lush ancient forest, each tree ten feet tall, its dense foliage completely blocking out the sunlight, making it hard to breathe.
She moved a chair out, sat down on the spot, and quickly arranged the compass, array flags, and various defensive magical artifacts.
Besides the Heavenly-grade magic treasures, the most famous things about the Xiashan Secret Realm are all kinds of demonic beasts, including many Golden Core Peak and Nascent Soul stage cultivators. She didn't want to be teleported out so soon.
She also took out the sword that Shen Zhou had given her, and examined it in her hand.
The sect leader once told her that more than 20,000 years ago, the end of the Dharma era arrived, spiritual energy decreased sharply, talent dwindled, and most immortal artifacts were destroyed in that time.
Later generations tried their best but could not replicate the prosperity of that time. The top-grade magic treasures that were once everywhere can now only be obtained by fighting and scrambling for a single one.
The same applies to the Immortal Sword. Only ten first-grade Immortal Swords are still in existence today, and Pei Jianming has one of them.
As for Shen Zhou's move, although Hua Deng didn't understand the rating of magic items, his intuition was no less than Pei Jianming's or anyone else's.
If there were a total of twelve such swords in the daytime...
"No wonder he's broke, his kid is so ambitious," Hua Deng remarked.
The sword in his hand was overflowing with spiritual energy, as white as frost, but the hilt was bare, and there wasn't even a suitable scabbard.
Hua Deng took out a sword tassel from her Qiankun Ring, hung it on the hilt of her sword, and found that it matched perfectly.
The so-called sword tassel is a rabbit carved from azure jade, with a deep red tassel hanging down. The brocade at the top of the tassel is embroidered with camellia patterns, which are hard to notice unless you look closely.
The lanterns swayed, and the sword tassels were examined from all sides.
It seems...quite suitable.
She smiled wryly, put the sword tassel away again, and continued to wait listlessly.
On the other side, the Black Dragon's Frozen Pool.
Inside the dark cave, a tall man stood on the corpse of the black dragon, his sword tip pressed against the hard scales, casually poking it twice.
Low growls echoed from all around. He casually crushed the dragon pearl in his palm and swept his cold eyes around.
Three Nascent Souls and eight Golden Cores.
There's still half an incense stick left; that's enough.
He walked forward with his sword in hand, blood dripping from the tip and trailing behind him.
All the monsters emerged from the darkness, pawing at their limbs and roaring from their throats.
Shen Zhou did not stop walking. Sword light scattered and flew in all directions from him. Instantly, there were cries of pain and blood splattered all over the cold pool cave.
Sunlight streamed in slanted from the cave entrance. He stepped over the corpses scattered on the ground and into the light. The moment he looked up, a flash of white light appeared in his eyes.
Under the Heavenly Eye, the entire secret realm was laid bare before him. All cultivators and demonic beasts were transformed into black and white, clearly displayed before his eyes, leaving no secrets or concealments undiscovered.
In this black and white world, there was still a dazzling red light. His true energy was deep in the dense forest, trembling gently with his master's breath.
The red light remained there, because its master was obediently waiting for it and did not move.
Shen Zhou raised his immortal sword, stepped onto it, and sped away.
Not far away, a fierce battle had just ended, with Pei Jianming defeating the ferocious porcupine with a single sword strike, securing the final victory.
The underlings nearby seized the opportunity to flatter him: "Senior Brother Pei's swordsmanship is indeed superb, and his combat prowess is extraordinary. Even the porcupine was defeated by you. We are truly no match for your flattery!"
Pei Jianming revealed a smug smile, and the light emanating from his body grew even stronger. Just then, another group of porcupines, for some unknown reason, were startled and came screeching in droves.
Pei Jianming was shocked and, in his panic, lost his grip and was knocked to the ground by a porcupine that was rushing along. He clutched his buttocks in disbelief.
"Senior Brother Pei, let's run!" The younger brother was even more panicked than him. "There must be a powerful demon emerging from the mountain, that's why these porcupines are so afraid!"
"Run, of course I'll run!" Pei Jianming staggered to his feet and gritted his teeth, "But do you think I can even run?"
The younger brother suddenly realized what was happening and quickly helped him onto the immortal sword. The two of them then flew away on the sword.
Even faster than them, Shen Zhou rode his sword at breakneck speed, impatiently slaying countless demonic beasts.
The Xiashan Secret Realm can only accommodate cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage. Hua Deng didn't want him to reveal his identity, so he couldn't use any of those shrinking-the-ground-to-an-inch or short-distance-to-a-thousand-mile spells.
He killed as he went, and gradually, no more monsters dared to stop him. The secret realm was in chaos, with many monsters fleeing in all directions, even abandoning the territory they had fought so hard to conquer.
The lights deep in the woods were also affected, and her defensive formation was attacked again and again. Fortunately, she had enough magical treasures and was completely unaffected, even having the leisure to drink a beverage.
Su Yiqing, sitting next to him, was not so relaxed.
She had just been chased by a monster when she unexpectedly encountered Hua Deng, and was immediately moved to tears, hiding in the defensive formation for refuge.
"What should we do? Can you hold on with so many demonic beasts?" Su Yi asked worriedly, looking at the demonic beasts eyeing them menacingly outside the formation.
"Don't worry, I still have hundreds of magical treasures I haven't used yet, and besides, Shen Ye will be here soon." Hua Deng handed her a handful of melon seeds. "Here, have something to eat."
"But isn't he only at the Golden Core stage?" Su Yiqing nervously cracked open some melon seeds.
Hua Deng calmly said, "He can also reach the Nascent Soul stage. In short, you don't need to be afraid."
Su Yiqing: "..." This works too?
The streetlights were counting the minutes; twenty minutes had already passed, so there were at most ten minutes left...
"Holy crap, is this your lover?" Su Yiqing's voice suddenly came, startling her so much that she dropped her melon seeds.
Hua Deng suddenly looked up and saw a white shadow rushing towards them from the horizon. Its oppressive aura spread out instantly, causing the demonic beasts outside the formation to roar in agitation.
Hua Deng's eyes lit up, and he jumped up, shouting, "They can all be killed!"
Shen Zhou nodded to her from afar, then raised his sword and brought it down, a dazzling silver light piercing through the forest.
Blood rained down, all the clamor subsided, the bright lights remained unharmed, and people stepped out of the defensive formation.
That sword strike was so cool! She waved excitedly, "Chen Ye, you're amazing! I want to be your Daoist partner for life!"
The man descended from mid-air, sword in hand, and walked towards her. Sunlight brushed against his forehead and eyelashes, and his sideburns were blown back by the wind. Upon hearing her words, he sheathed his sword and a slight smile played on his lips.
She smiled very lightly, very faintly, yet very genuinely.
Hua Deng's steps, which were running towards him, suddenly stopped, and his pupils froze.
That smile vanished in an instant, yet she saw it clearly, as if a movie were playing in slow motion.
There was no mockery, no indifference, just a pure smile. The curve of the lips, the gentleness in the eyes, were all revealed in that smile.
She used to think that Shen Zhou was not suited to smiling because his features were too sharp and piercing, making his smile seem out of place.
But now she knows how completely wrong she was.
There are people in this world who, when they don't smile, are like a cold wind chasing snow, but when they smile, it's like withered trees meeting the spring light, or the morning sun appearing in a winter night.
His smile was so beautiful that it made her heart skip a beat.
She walked slowly to Chen Zhou's side and whispered, "Smile again."
Shen Zhou tilted his head, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Did I laugh?"
"You smiled!" Hua Deng exclaimed anxiously, reaching out to press his cheek. "Hurry up, smile again! I haven't seen if you have dimples yet!"
Just as their fingertips were about to touch, Chen Zhou leaned back and easily missed her, grabbing her hand and saying, "No, you don't need to look."
Hua Deng grumbled in dissatisfaction, secretly vowing to find a chance to tickle his itch sooner or later.
She wanted to pull her hand back, but noticed a bloodstain on his cheek, so she reached out again: "You have blood on you."
Shen Zhou turned his head away, instinctively dodging.
The lanterns blinked, and Shen Zhou paused, then leaned down and brought his face close.
"I wasn't quite used to it just now... Please continue."
"Huh?...Oh."
What was originally an unintentional act, when he did it like this, felt a little strange.
Hua Deng deliberately avoided his gaze, focusing intently on wiping away the bloodstains with her sleeve. Once the bloodstains were completely removed, she breathed a slight sigh of relief, then stepped back and turned to ask, "Yi Qing, how are you?"
"I'm fine, don't worry about me, you guys continue," the other person hurriedly waved their hands. She squatted down under the tree roots like a mushroom, her hands tightly covering her ears, her head bowed low, as if she didn't care about anything.
Hua Deng coughed and said, "I mean, we can explore other places."
Su Yiqing slowly got up, consciously taking a few steps away from them, and smiled, "I'll just walk at the back. I'm very good at covering the rear."
However, perhaps because Shen Zhou's destructive power was too swift, they did not encounter any more powerful demonic beasts until nightfall, only a few blind and lone wild monkeys.
After sunset, the three of them camped by a stream.
Hua Deng took out all the food prepared in his Qiankun Ring, but when he turned around, he saw Su Yiqing standing in the stream, looking down intently at something.
What are you doing?
"Catching fish!" Su Yiqing said, hands on her hips, panting heavily. "I'm making crucian carp soup tonight, my specialty!"
"I'll help too."
Hua Deng had never experienced catching fish with his own hands before. Upon hearing this, he rolled up his sleeves and enthusiastically stepped into the water.
"No magic allowed," Su Yiqing emphasized, "Otherwise, catching fish won't be fun."
"Don't worry, I don't need to use any magic." Hua Deng said confidently.
She imitated Su Yiqing, looking down and searching for the fish.
When Shen Zhou finished dealing with the nearby monsters and came over, this was the scene he saw.
Hua Deng rolled up his sleeves and stepped into the water, splashing the stream again and again, only to miss each time.
The girl said in frustration, "How is that possible? I can't catch a single fish? Keep going!"
Shen Zhou smiled faintly, inadvertently recalling the mountain spring in front of his childhood home.
A mountain spring connects to a small stream, whose water flows down from the mountaintop, cool yet gentle in summer. Surrounded by bamboo shadows that block out the sun, he loved to play here, sometimes spending an entire afternoon there.
His father and mother would sometimes call him home for dinner, but he mostly didn't want to go back. Instead, he would catch a few fish with his friends, build a fire, and grill them.
The grown-up dog would sneak over, wagging its tail and begging for food and drink. They would shake the bamboo skewers used for skewering fish up and down, making the dog jump and leap with envy, and then...
Then, he couldn't remember.
He can't remember his parents, family, friends, dog, or even himself.
Shen Zhou gazed at the lanterns reflected in the stream, the moonlight spreading across the surface, shattering and then coalescing again as she reached out to stir it. She cupped her hands in water and started a water fight with Su Yiqing, silvery droplets splashing across her cheeks as she laughed heartily, her eyes sparkling with tiny starlight.
After a long while, he lowered his eyes, turned away, and looked away from the gaze. The stinging pain in his mind grew more and more intense, suppressing the memories and reminding him how out of place he was in this situation.
He walked behind the tree, sat down with his back against the trunk, and closed his eyes to cultivate.
The spiritual energy enveloped him, forming an invisible barrier that isolated him from everything around him. He couldn't hear any sounds from outside, nor did he bother to sense any fluctuations.
Anyone who dares to come, just kill them.
To everyone's surprise, a surge of spiritual energy actually crossed his barrier and headed straight for him the next second.
Only his true energy could pass through his barrier, and only one person could do so. Shen Zhou opened his eyes but did not move.
Splash—
The icy stream water poured over him, soaking him completely.
Hua Deng's figure swayed out from behind the tree, bouncing around, her eyes and brows full of smug satisfaction at her successful prank. The colorful necklace on her chest swayed with her movements, shimmering with ripples more dazzling than moonlight, making it impossible for him to look away for a moment.
"Yi Qing, did you see that? I splashed it! I splashed it!"
Shen Zhou's eyes flickered slightly, his gaze shifting upwards to settle on her face.
The girl was overjoyed, her profile was fair, and she was gesturing something to Su Yiqing, who in turn gave her two thumbs up.
Shen Zhou raised his eyebrows slightly and leisurely brushed his wet hair aside.
After so many attempts at water-splashing and arson, I never expected it to succeed today. Hua Deng turned her head with a smile, eager to see Shen Zhou's furious expression.
But he remained expressionless, his indifference disappointing her.
Hua Deng: "...Sigh."
She had just finished sighing when a smile suddenly flashed across the cold face of the person in front of her. He rested his head on the tree trunk, slightly raised his eyes, and smiled at her.
Hua Deng: "Huh?"
Splashing water shouldn't drive someone crazy, right?
Then Shen Zhou stood up, revealing that carefree and unruly expression again, his eyes filled with disdain.
Before he could even see his movements, Hua Deng felt a chill run down his spine as the stream water surged high and crashed over him like a tsunami.
She, Su Yiqing, was thoroughly drenched in dog blood from beginning to end.
Hua Deng: "..."
Su Yiqing: "..."
Hua Deng: Did she really splash that much water? No, right? No, right? You dog of a man, you big jerk, go to hell!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com