Aftermath of Survival

The Bodhi Sect stood nestled amidst the towering mountains of the East. With peaks piercing the clouds and violet mists swirling, the scene was reminiscent of an immortal's domain.

At the summit, Mei He clasped her hands behind her back, gazing down at the mundane world below. Her expression carried a hint of nostalgia, the weight of past memories surfacing.

Returning to her senses, she let out a long sigh.

At that moment, a crane emerged from the clouds, carrying a bamboo tube in its beak. It landed gracefully before Mei He.

Mei He chuckled softly, stroking the crane's head before retrieving the bamboo tube and unfurling the letter within.

The contents were mundane, mentioning trivial matters—such as young talents joining various sects or disciples from the Wan Jian Sect brewing wine from spring water.

However, the last line caused the smile on Mei He's face to fade significantly.

"During Elder Ye's lecture, Ji Rong mentioned the final technique of the Heavenly Demon Scroll, 'Fenchuan,' which she claimed to have learned from a Taoist named Wu Zhong. Upon investigation, no record of such a person exists within any sect."

Fenchuan?

Mei He's brows furrowed as she absentmindedly rubbed the prayer beads on her wrist. A thought seemed to occur to her, and she chuckled faintly, writing a few large characters in reply before placing the note back into the bamboo tube.

The crane took flight, disappearing into the verdant mountains.

Behind Mei He, Master Kongji clasped his hands in prayer. "Benefactor, yesterday's sutra chanting appeared to lighten the burden of your inner demons. Yet today, I observe that your entanglement with past obsessions has grown deeper. What troubles you?"

Mei He smiled faintly. "You jest, Master. Chanting sutras for a day cannot dissolve a century-old heart demon. It's only natural."

"Benefactor, one must remember: the past cannot be pursued."

"Yes, the past cannot be pursued," Mei He murmured, her gaze growing distant. She chuckled softly. "And that's precisely why I won't let it go."

Ji Rong stood face-to-face with the Crimson-Scaled Serpent, its obsidian-black scales gleaming faintly in the dim light. The serpent's massive body coiled at the cave's entrance, sealing off any chance of escape.

Its golden-brown eyes glimmered with intelligence, staring at her—not just at her, but at the blood coursing through her veins.

What luck, Ji Rong thought bitterly. Even the scent of blood can awaken a beast.

With a flick of its colossal tail, the serpent struck, forcing Ji Rong to dart to the side. She didn't need to look back to know that the ground where the tail had landed was now rubble.

Before she could regain her footing, the serpent's golden pupils loomed closer, narrowing dangerously.

A whip-like crack cut through the air as its forked tongue lashed out, wrapping around Ji Rong's entire body. The tongue constricted her like an unyielding iron chain, growing tighter with each passing moment.

Dangling mid-air, Ji Rong struggled as she met the serpent's piercing gaze. Its golden-brown eyes glowed with an eerie depth, akin to a vortex capable of consuming all.

Then, with a flash, a sword wreathed in black flames severed the serpent's tongue.

Blood spurted out in torrents as Ji Rong plummeted, landing in an embrace reeking of blood.

The overwhelming scent stifled her. She raised her head for air, only to see Gu Baiyi's jawline and the faintly red tint of her eyes as she looked down.

The serpent, enraged by the loss of its tongue, thrashed wildly. Its wedge-shaped head, as hard as iron, barreled toward them with reckless abandon.

Gu Baiyi leaped, holding Ji Rong close, evading the blow with nimble movements.

But the serpent's speed was unmatched. Its tail whipped through the air, striking Gu Baiyi's ankle. Despite her effort to suppress it, a muffled groan escaped her lips.

"Put me down," Ji Rong demanded, pushing herself free before Gu Baiyi could respond.

With their current cultivation levels, there was no way Gu Baiyi could defeat the serpent while carrying her.

Even in death, Ji Rong refused to be a burden.

Their desperate battle with the Crimson-Scaled Serpent pushed Ji Rong to her limits, but in a climactic moment, she executed a technique she had practiced countless times in her mind but never fully grasped: Thunderous Lightning, the thirteenth form of the Silent Mountains Sword Art.

Lightning split the heavens, descending with unparalleled precision to strike the serpent's eye. The beast recoiled in agony, roaring in fury.

It recognized something in the sword technique, a shadow of a person who had once sealed it centuries ago.

With a final, decisive blow from Gu Baiyi's magic-laden blade, the serpent met its end, its colossal form collapsing in a pool of blood.

The two women stood amidst the aftermath, their breaths heavy, the scent of blood thick in the air.

This battle would leave more than scars—it would leave questions, grudges, and secrets that neither was ready to confront.

The Crimson-Scaled Serpent let out a pained cry, its anguished wail echoing through the entire cave.

Ji Rong, her spiritual energy depleted, barely managed to sidestep the sweeping strike of the Crimson-Scaled Serpent's tail in its fury. However, the next swift blow was impossible to evade.

Seeing this, Gu Baiyi pulled her silver sword from the serpent's scales and leaped out of its mouth.

In a flash, she wrapped an arm around Ji Rong's waist, her nimble footwork gracefully shifting her position to dodge another powerful tail strike.

Rocks scattered in all directions as both of them reached their limits. Yet, the Crimson-Scaled Serpent's massive eyes locked onto them once more.

Gu Baiyi glanced at the debris flying toward them from every direction. Unable to dodge in time, she turned her back and shielded Ji Rong in her arms.

A massive rock smashed into her spine, and the taste of blood rose to her throat. Swallowing it back down, Gu Baiyi's eyes turned crimson, her expression eerily calm.

For a moment, she thought that dying here with Ji Rong didn't seem like such a bad thing.

Unaware of Gu Baiyi's thoughts, Ji Rong pulled a talisman from her sleeve, summoning the last dregs of her strength to form seals and chant a spell.

As the Crimson-Scaled Serpent's bloodied maw closed in, the talisman emitted a dazzling light before quickly dimming.

Gu Baiyi couldn't help but laugh bitterly. The Forbidden Ground was protected by Moon Qianqiu's array. A mid-tier teleportation talisman like this would have no effect on cultivators within the array. It couldn't possibly send them out.

However, Ji Rong gazed at the light reigniting in the talisman and smiled faintly.

Gu Baiyi froze.

Something wasn't right.

The light changed direction and surged into the Crimson-Scaled Serpent's body. Ji Rong's target for teleportation wasn't them but… the serpent.

The Crimson-Scaled Serpent roared in fury, its massive form vanishing in an instant. It reappeared by the Frozen Pool, its coiled body now entwined around the icy pillars that surrounded the cave.

"We have but a moment to escape. Go," Ji Rong commanded.

Gu Baiyi understood. She activated her lightfoot technique, ignoring the enraged serpent chasing them, and raced toward the cave's exit.

Just as the serpent's shadow was about to engulf them, Gu Baiyi held Ji Rong close, leaping through withered vines and tumbling across the damp, uneven rocks.

The Crimson-Scaled Serpent was repelled by the array, its furious roars reverberating through the Forbidden Ground, filled with rage and frustration.

Pain radiated from her spine as Gu Baiyi propped herself up with an elbow. She looked at the woman in her arms, who remained expressionless and said flatly, "Get up."

The redness in Gu Baiyi's eyes gradually faded, and for once, a genuine smile graced her lips.

They had survived.

Gu Baiyi stood up without protest.

Ji Rong frowned as she glanced at her mud- and blood-covered self.

Luckily, it should be broad daylight outside, and the patrols were likely gone. Otherwise, this would be a social death.

While Ji Rong was calculating her odds, Gu Baiyi's soft voice broke her thoughts: "Senior Sister, do you have nothing to ask Baiyi?"

Ji Rong replied, "No."

Gu Baiyi: "..."

Ji Rong let out a cold laugh.

What could she ask? Should she inquire if Gu Baiyi had been possessed?

Yu Fei was different from The Heavenly Demon Scroll. At least Fenchuan had been seen during the War of Exorcism.

But Yu Fei was a top-secret demonic sect technique. Even setting aside how Gu Baiyi knew about it, recognizing it would make Ji Rong equally suspicious.

Moreover, she couldn't provide direct evidence to accuse Gu Baiyi of dual cultivation with the demonic path. After all, an ordinary cultivator going berserk would also look as deranged and shrouded in dark energy as Gu Baiyi had.

Ji Rong glanced at Gu Baiyi with feigned nonchalance and said, "Everyone has their secrets. I'm not interested."

Gu Baiyi hesitated before giving her usual gentle smile. "Baiyi understands."

Ji Rong stared at the protagonist's sugary yet sly demeanor and thought bitterly, You clearly don't understand the game mechanics. Damn it, you could kill me, but I could never kill you.

How tragic.

Sorrow welled up in Ji Rong's heart as she recalled their confrontation earlier. Driven by a sense of gratitude, she stiffly said to Gu Baiyi, "Thank you."

Then, she turned and left, unwilling to see the protagonist's alluring, delicate demeanor any longer.

Gu Baiyi watched Ji Rong's swiftly retreating figure and swallowed the words "It is I who should thank you, Senior Sister." Shaking her head, she let out a soft laugh.

Ji Rong didn't realize that the question Gu Baiyi referred to wasn't about her loss of composure by the Frozen Pool. Compared to the sword strike she delivered to the Crimson-Scaled Serpent, those incidents were trivial.

At its peak, the Crimson-Scaled Serpent was at the pinnacle of the Chasing the Clouds realm. Even after being gravely wounded by Moon Qianqiu, it still retained the strength of a Stepping on the Moon realm expert.

Earlier, when the serpent had swallowed Gu Baiyi, her escape was due to a strike delivered with nine-tenths of her power, severing the serpent's vital meridians.

Unfortunately, the strike wasn't at its seven-inch weak spot. It wasn't enough to cause severe damage, only barely allowing her to escape.

At that moment, Ji Rong had been fully focused on executing her Thunderstrike Sword. She hadn't paid attention to the finer details of her technique.

Otherwise, she would have noticed that, despite her limited cultivation, the sword intent was near perfect.

The sword momentum had spread like a wildfire, engulfing the serpent's scales. Wherever the flames passed, flesh turned to ash.

A cultivator at the Heart-Seeking Initial Stage couldn't possibly penetrate the serpent's armor unless…

Gu Baiyi smiled and sighed. "Senior Sister, didn't you realize? That sword strike was called—"

Fenchuan.