Chapter Eighty-Four: Moxie, I'm So Tired!

The next day, Muya left the two tribal captains she had brought with her at the foot of the mountain and took Yun Chuxue up the mountain herself.

The higher they climbed, the stronger the cold wind became. Snowflakes began to drift from the sky, landing on Yun Chuxue's flushed cheeks. After a while, they reached the mountainside, where the air was thick with the scent of winter and the landscape was blanketed in white.

"Can you hold on?" Muya asked.

"I... can."

"Alright, stay close to me. Let me know if you can't keep up."

After a few moments, Muya realized something was wrong. She turned around and saw that Yun Chuxue was no longer behind her. Retracing her steps, she found Yun Chuxue curled up behind a rock, hugging her knees and shivering, her knees red from the cold.

Muya smacked her forehead. "I can't believe I brought you up here. I forgot you don't have spiritual power."

Muya carried Yun Chuxue back down the mountain and placed her inside a tent. "I thought you could handle it, but the cold up there is extreme. You rest here; I'll be back soon."

With that, she left. Given her Ling Shen level ability to fly, she would reach the summit in no time. Yun Chuxue watched her leave and muttered, "If you can come here alone, why did you bring me, a burden?"

In a nearby forest, a few pairs of red eyes watched them. Soon, Yun Chuxue felt she could move freely again. Just as she was about to step outside for some fresh air, the two captains ran over in a panic.

"Yun Chuxue, run west now! There are two Ling Huang level snow wolves eyeing us. We'll hold them off, but you need to hide."

"Alright."

Yun Chuxue immediately headed east. The two snow wolves emerged and began chasing her. The captains shouted, "Beasts, prepare to die!" and each took on a wolf.

Yun Chuxue glanced back at them. Though she didn't want to leave, she had no combat ability now and had to run west, hoping for rescue.

She ran through dense woods, leaped over streams, and didn't know how long she had been running. Eventually, she reached a rocky riverbank and stopped.

Yun Chuxue was in a disheveled state, gasping for air. She cleared the twigs from her hair and sat on a rock to rest.

"When have I ever been this pathetic, running so far scared by two snow wolves?" she thought with a bitter smile.

Just then, she heard a noise from the forest. Startled, she stood up and started running along the mountain's base. She soon saw a cave ahead and ducked inside, finding it pitch black within. She decided to hide near the entrance and wait.

Yun Chuxue fell asleep while waiting and woke up to find it was already dusk.

"It's so late. I wonder if Muya will be able to find me."

At that moment, a faint glow emanated from deeper inside the cave. Curious, Yun Chuxue walked towards it. After about five hundred steps, she reached the source of the light.

As she got closer, the light grew brighter. When she finally saw it, she was overjoyed.

"It's a Sunflower! No wonder it doesn't glow during the day. I've heard that Sunflowers start to glow at dusk and have the ability to restore meridians. This might help me regain my strength. I can't feel any spiritual power now, but if I consume the Sunflower, it might restore some of my power. If Muya can lift the seal, I could return to my peak state. This is wonderful."

With that, Yun Chuxue ate the Sunflower. Immediately, she felt a burning sensation in her heart, as if her entire abdomen were on fire. She endured it, sweat pouring from her pores and soaking her entire body.

After a while, the burning sensation subsided, leaving Yun Chuxue surprised that she still couldn't feel even a trace of spiritual power.

"How is this possible? It can't be. Why? Could it be that after that battle, the excessive use of my spiritual power and the severe damage to my meridians are beyond even the Sunflower's healing?" Yun Chuxue thought with a bitter smile.

She walked out of the cave, her expression forlorn. The glimmer of hope she had was now shattered, leaving her with nothing but helplessness, despair, and hatred.

At the cave entrance, under the moonlight, she lifted her heavy left hand and looked at the ring on her index finger.

"Moxie, I'm so tired," she murmured.

Yun Chuxue collapsed to the ground, like a child who had lost their most cherished toy. But what she lost was not a toy; it was hope. She had believed the Sunflower could rebuild her meridians, but now that hope was gone. Even if Muya lifted her seal, she would still be useless.

Before long, Muya spotted Yun Chuxue from the sky and descended.

"Yun Chuxue, are you alright?"

Yun Chuxue wiped her tears and stood up. "I'm fine. Did you find the Thousand-Year Ice Snow Lotus?"

"Yes, I did. Let's go back."

"Alright."

Since it was nighttime, Muya didn't notice that Yun Chuxue had been crying. Muya surveyed the surroundings and, seeing nothing unusual, quickly led Yun Chuxue away from the area.

When they returned to the tent, they saw the two captains devouring meat, indicating they had dealt with the snow wolves.

"Let's go," Muya ordered.

"Yes, Chief," the captains replied.

Back in the tribe, at Muya's house, Yun Chuxue was cleaning while Muya sat in a chair, legs crossed, staring at her.

After finishing, Yun Chuxue, puzzled, asked, "Why are you staring at me?"

"I noticed something's off about you."

"What's off?"

"You're not as quick at cleaning as you used to be."

Muya was this observant? She had never mentioned it before.

While Yun Chuxue pondered this, Muya, seeing her silence, stood up and walked to the door. "I need to go into seclusion for a while. I've given you a token. This token allows you to go anywhere, but you can't leave the tribe. Don't even think about escaping; the guards outside are much stricter than those on your continent. It's impossible to get out."

"Is there any wine?" Yun Chuxue suddenly asked.

Muya couldn't help but laugh. "Oh? You drink?"

"A little," Yun Chuxue said modestly. If they drank together, Muya would see just how well she could hold her liquor.

"Alright, go out the door, turn left for fifty steps, then turn right. You'll see it. There are many guards there; show them my token, and they'll let you in."

"Okay."

After Muya left, Yun Chuxue sat there holding the token, lost in thought. She was very confused now, unable to think of any way to avenge herself. If she started cultivating again, it would take at least forty years to reach the Ling Shen realm. By then, the Tianling Continent would likely have been overrun by the cult. She couldn't think of any solution, not even one.

Looking back, she used to punish evil and promote good, free and carefree on the continent, doing whatever she wanted. When she was tired, she would return to Yunchu Palace to rest, or roam around Luoyang City. But now she was trapped in this cage. If it weren't for Shen Zixuan and Yu Zixi, she would have already tried to escape.

Tired. This was the only word that could describe her feelings. She was truly exhausted. Since her grandmother's death, except for the period when she lost her memory, she hadn't had a moment of carefree joy. Perhaps this was her fate.