Chapter Twenty Six

Wang Lan Biyu watched through glazed eyes as the host spoke and gloated near the realm portal. The portal to the place she had run from. "..." Her hand on Minglan's arm shook faintly when they released the seal on the portal. Like gentle strands of water breaking free from a dam, blue entrails belonging to the prosperous ominous An Xing realm reveal themselves from the archway. Sending a chill down her spine the An Xing realm as if sensing one of it's own stretched its claws in her direction longingly. Come back. Come back here. You don't belong with these people. You belong with us. Sensing her unease Minglan pats her shoulder lowering his head to reassure her worriedly.

"If you still feel ill don't force yourself to move once we enter. Stay still and I will come to find you on my own." Lan Biyu pursed her lips and shook her head "I'm fine." This was rejecting his offer and telling him to worry about others first. However, who was Wang Minglan? He didn't say anything she could verbally reject again, and just quietly laid his warm palm on her head. Thus urging a stuffy feeling to coat her chest. Pursing her lips under his warm gaze Lan Biyu lowers her head obediently. Not embarrassed by his actions of treating her like a child nor having any intentions of ducking away from his hand.

Minglan was even more pleasantly surprised and felt his heartache. She was still just a child after all. Lan Biyu ignores the outstretched arms of the An Xing realm which cringed away and seemed to disdain the ones entering before them. "I'm sure I do not have to tell you all how important it is the regroup together before setting off on your own. Keep your amulets close and find a safe place to wait awhile before you use them. Even if you are close to one of your fellow disciple do not move around recklessly." "Understood sect master."

Everyone was nervous, however, if the glints in their eyes said anything they were also excited. The An Xing realm. Even if it was dangerous the reason so many cultivators risked it all to enter, was because of its abundance of raw materials. The demons who lived within were prosperous due to the incredible nurturing effect of their birthplace and their ability to adapt to the soil on that plane. But humans were different. "I'll find you, don't worry." Lan Biyu with the rest never turning to look at her fellow disciples or master stepped into the portal that embraced her like an obsessed and starving beast reunited with their favorite master.

 Beloved~Beloved mistress you've returned! The young mistress has returned~!! Gritting her teeth Lan Biyu ignored the call landing firmly on her own two feet as the hand holding onto her so carefully disappeared. The first thing to waft over her was the warm blast of wind and fresh pine as if entering a forest during summer. The brilliant sunlight above which was so perfectly tempered to her people blocked lightly by the tall pine above her. The earth beneath her feet was soft and rich unlike that of the tame and lifeless human cities. The young woman within the realm wearing robes of red that brought haunting memories back and further chilled her heart and swept the ground without soiling. Cool fine silk, so light it was as if she was wearing nothing.

Placing a hand over her cheek she could feel her skin rippling lightly as if ecstatic to have returned to her birthplace even though the person couldn't be more somber. "..Ha." Raising her seductive brilliantly silver eyes to the skies Lan Biyu ran a hand through her long black hair unperturbed by the change in forms so suddenly. As suddenly as she had appeared the creatures within the vicinity sensing her venomous spiritual energy had already long fled or hidden. Skin pale like snow but still far from completely mature like the false body she created last night she inspects the young body she had now. Entering the An Xing realm had immediate effects on her body which had been dormant living away from this place for so long. After some inspection, she had all her things with her.

Glancing at the scattered clothing and items she moved her gaze away heartlessly after picking up the things her master had given her. This body wasn't much better than before, but her limbs were indeed longer than she remembered. It was just aging a few more years. Perhaps in human terms, she was the same age as her cheap senior now? Looking up Lan Biyu's keen eyesight was greeted by the slightly obscured smoke signal of various clans flying above her not too far away and frowned to herself. Those humans are still as flamboyant as ever. 

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Ribbons of red flutter fluidly through the pines like a sewing needle through fabric neatly and smoothly. Her feet bare the young maiden left no print upon the soil as she traveled the somewhat unfamiliar terrain stretching her blemishless legs out. The figure dressed in red as if running on a flat surface scales an elderly pine that was one of the many who grew taller than the rest. Its large trunk tripled her size so to it the red-clad girl's was on the scale of a squirrel upon average pine tree. Without extending her hands to grip the branches she bent her knees upon landing on the first branch and leaped up to the top like an immortal taking flight. The young maiden in red peers out into the distance quietly searching for something specific.

Taking a deep breath Lan Biyu searched for any nearby kin, not that they would be able to sense her right away but she knew better than to think they would forget her. With the amount of noise the sects were making trotting through the woods there was no doubt that the beast clans would already be aware the humans had returned. Some would go into seclusion, some choosing to ignore the humans, and others choosing to fight back. But for the intelligent and brutal beasts like her old clan, they will choose to hunt. Lan Biyu caught a whiff of familiar mountainous frostiness on her tongue and licked her bottom lip a bit surprised to have found this person first. Although she was reluctant, for the safety of Master's heart she still followed the person's scent. 

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This wasn't the first time she was truly alone in this kind of place, however, it was the first time she knew that no one would be able to come to her rescue if something happened even if she sat and cried at the top of her lungs. Qing Mianyang shivers when she hears another unidentifiable creature cry out in the distance flinching further into her hiding spot. She wore a bitter expression refusing to acknowledge the fact that she had been frightened by a nondescriptive beast that was still a ways away. As spoiled as she was Qing Mianyang knew that she couldn't be the same here with no one to protect her. Missing Fuqing's chivalry and dependable self the girl felt a bit depressed. If only brother Fuqing won instead of Gao Chang. 

It was only when the woods had quieted down a bit did Qing Mianyang hesitantly pulled out the talisman she had been clutching tightly to her chest after entering the portal. She could only pray that her master or elder Shao Lin wasn't too far away and could pick her up first. Just as the whisp of Azure sect signal went out the snapping of a branch behind her frightened Qing Mianyang into pulling out her blade. Her lip trembled as the pine trees surrounding her revealed only more forest and fallen foliage. Trying the find the source of the noise the girl didn't call out or turn her back to the noise. 

She sent out her qi to try and identify the unseen creature with sweat dripping down her brows. Not noticing that all around her, the sounds of birds had quieted down, not even an insect dared chirp or buzz as she strained to listen. A shadow of a person appears behind the girl without warning. How did they get behind me?! Her heart leaped to her throat Qing Mianyang swung her blade at the ominous new arrival with her eyes shut instinctively. Her hands shook ten times more when her blade stopped mid-arc by a powerful force "Wuu~" 

However, her frightened cry was cut midway when a familiar indifferent and annoyed girl's voice spoke up. "Qing Mianyang, you shame Master's name with your flimsy skills." Stunned, her shivering cut short Qing Mianyang's eyes snapped open and she stared at the person she had just swung at with bafflement.