Chapter 118: Whose to Take — Truly Deserves It

In front of the Black Tortoise Mirror barrier, the remaining heat waves had cleared the area, and for the time being, no magical beasts dared to approach.

Lian Mu waited for a long time in front of the Black Tortoise Mirror. She saw the mirror light up, but that was all — no other reaction followed.

She had thought that once the Black Tortoise Mirror opened, the spirit jade token would notify all Returning Immortal Sect disciples, but apparently not; otherwise, the chief team should have shown some sign of movement, which didn’t add up.

Thinking for a moment, she kicked the Black Tortoise Mirror. The mirror’s surface shuddered twice, then the scene within began to distort.

Lian Mu: “…”

Did it really need brute force to activate?

She lifted her leg again, this time ready to give it a good kick, when a flash of white light passed by, and someone was transmitted out in front of the mirror.

Lian Mu didn’t have time to pull back her foot.

“Ow!” Xu Xianxing cried out in pain, stumbling as he emerged, having just been struck. “Why kick my backside?!”

Lian Mu stepped back two paces. The others were transmitted out one after another, staggering and battered, clearly worse for wear.

The only one who could still stand was Guan Huailin. “Junior Sister, are you alright?”

He glanced around and realized Lian Mu was alone; the guardian beast was nowhere in sight.

“Junior Sister, how did you open the Four Symbols Mirror?”

“And where are the sect mates who came with you?” He hadn’t received any word that any Returning Immortal Sect disciple had been eliminated.

Lian Mu said, “There was no one else. I couldn’t find them.”

Guan Huailin froze for a moment. “…You were alone?”

Before he could ask further, Wen Yun, who had been sprawled on the ground long enough, climbed up and immediately began complaining, “The Clear Thought Sect’s sect master clearly doesn’t plan on sparing us this time. The second realm is inhuman!”

Lian Mu saw that they were all injured: Guan Huailin seemed fine but spoke with an unsteady breath and a slight tremor in his hands; Wen Yun had large burns on his arm and blood at the corner of his lips; Ji Mingyue sat pale-faced by the Black Tortoise Bronze Platform; Xu Xianxing had broken a leg inside and, after being kicked out, was now clutching his backside, howling miserably.

Only Bai Li Que looked normal, but his face didn’t look good.

He usually wore a blank expression, but Lian Mu could tell the difference — today he looked cold, not expressionless.

It was her first time seeing him like this. She asked, “What’s wrong with him?”

Xu Xianxing finally stopped howling, his tone icy. “All because of his dear cousin. Who knows where he popped out from, but he insisted on butting into our business. He’s from the Clear Thought Sect after all — we told him to stay away, but he wouldn’t listen and ended up making a mess.”

He pointed at his leg. “We were ready to pull back from the beast horde, but thanks to Bai Li Yu stirring things up, I ended up crippled and Ji Mingyue nearly got killed.”

Lian Mu frowned slightly. “Probably the Clear Thought Sect’s chief team opened the White Tiger Mirror and sent Bai Li Yu in to scout, and he happened to run into you.”

No wonder Bai Li Que was angry — his cousin really knew how to cause trouble.

Wen Yun snorted, “Funny they didn’t send that fool Shen Wuxie. Since when did Tang Wuxun cherish him so much?”

Lian Mu said, “I already sent Shen Wuxie out. Of course he couldn’t go in. Their chief team’s bond is so fragile it cracks at a touch.”

As soon as she said this, everyone froze, not quite registering the meaning at first.

Guan Huailin finally spoke up, “You killed the guardian beast alone? Where’s the corpse?”

“I killed it,” Lian Mu said.

Everyone: “?”

She thought for a moment. “Sorry, I lost control for a bit and accidentally burned it down to nothing. There’s no corpse.”

She pulled out the only remaining inner pellet and crystal core, showing them. The bright red flame beast crystal core still radiated heat, slightly scalding to the touch.

Seeing the crystal core, Guan Huailin confirmed the guardian beast was indeed dead but was still a little dazed. “Burned… to nothing?”

Bai Li Que: “You actually…”

The guardian beasts at the edge of the barrier were among the strongest first-tier beasts. Did Lian Mu’s current strength really allow her to slay one alone?

“How did you do it?” Xu Xianxing asked in a daze. “Could Wealth Bringer withstand the power of a high-tier beast?”

It had only been refined three times — could it already rival second-tier swords or higher? He had never heard of such a leap.

Xu Xianxing instinctively looked at the sword at Lian Mu’s waist — still a seventh-tier sword, no different from before entering the realm.

Lian Mu touched Wealth Bringer too. “It changed form.”

Just like when she’d been ambushed by Linghu Meng’s people — the sword had turned into flames, but afterward she could never recreate it. She hadn’t expected it to happen again today.

After the battle with the flame beast, she’d completely calmed down. Wealth Bringer hadn’t broken — once the blazing blade vanished, it reformed as it was before, whole and undamaged in its sheath.

Guan Huailin said, “Junior Sister, your progress is astonishing.”

Ji Mingyue immediately realized something. “Give me your hand.”

Lian Mu extended her hand. Ji Mingyue pressed her palm for a long time, then looked increasingly puzzled. “Strange, your spiritual energy hasn’t dried up… it’s perfectly normal?”

Lian Mu whispered, “Because I took spirit replenishing pills.”

Ji Mingyue asked, “How many?”

“I finished them all.”

Ji Mingyue: “?”

She fell silent, then her expression turned grave as she lowered her voice. “Something’s wrong with your body. This doesn’t add up… once we’re out of this realm, let me take a closer look.”

Wen Yun, knowing about Lian Mu’s spiritual root, quietly changed the subject. “This crystal core is impressive. Once a first-tier beast evolves, it reaches the supreme realm — it’s practically priceless.”

Lian Mu asked casually, “Does anyone want it?”

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

Guan Huailin said, “My sword’s already at its peak — I have no use for it.”

Bai Li Que spread his hands. “Not interested.”

Ji Mingyue: “Why look at me? I’m an alchemy cultivator — crystal cores are useless to me.”

Wen Yun shook his head. “I’m a water spiritual root — a flame beast crystal core clashes with my root. Can’t use it.”

Everyone turned to Xu Xianxing, only to find he wasn’t paying the crystal core any attention at all. He kept staring at Lian Mu’s sword, repeatedly trying to touch it, and when caught, sheepishly withdrew his hand.

Xu Xianxing said, “This crystal core is too rare. If you put it up for sale, no one could afford it, so it’s basically worthless. I’m not interested in anything I can’t sell for money.”

Bai Li Que: “…”

Truly deserving of his reputation.

As the team leader, Guan Huailin said directly, “Since you killed the guardian beast, the crystal core rightfully belongs to you.”

“Alright then, I’ll keep it.” Lian Mu had only asked out of courtesy anyway. Courtesy done, the crystal core stayed with her.

Ji Mingyue noticed the inner pellet still in her hand, a flicker of doubt crossing her face, but she didn’t ask in front of everyone.

Guan Huailin ordered everyone to rest on the spot. Bai Li Que set up a protective barrier to keep beasts away, but while doing so, he found no trace of beasts nearby — it seemed they were deliberately avoiding this area.

He assumed the Black Tortoise Mirror’s protection was at work and didn’t overthink it, hurrying to find an alchemy cultivator for treatment.

The second realm’s searing waves had dealt quite a blow to the Returning Immortal Sect’s chief team. They’d entered unprepared and had no choice but to tough it out. Fortunately, under the chief team’s protection, none of the other disciples sent into the second realm had been eliminated.

Ji Mingyue made a round, handing out freshly refined pills to another alchemy cultivator for distribution, then came back and sat down beside Lian Mu.

“What’s going on with your body?” Ji Mingyue lowered her voice so only the two of them could hear. “While I was away from Vermilion Bird South, what have you been up to? You went to Feihai Pavilion once—did that fix your dantian problem?”

Lian Mu replied, “No, it’s still missing. I just made some money and got my hands on some good pills. I just look fine on the surface.”

In truth, the spiritual energy in her body was still leaking away every day. Only the pills mixed with magical beast core kept her condition somewhat stable.

“Why did you use a magical beast core? That stuff isn’t exactly clean.” Ji Mingyue asked.

She knew Lian Mu could refine artifacts, but ordinary artifact refiners never used magical beast cores—those were only useful inside the beast; once the beast died, it was nothing but a hard, rotten bead.

Lian Mu found it hard to explain. She figured Ji Mingyue probably wouldn’t believe that a beast core could be used for pill refining. “That flame beast only had these two leftovers. I just picked them up. It’s not convenient to talk here—I’ll explain after we leave the illusion realm.”

Ji Mingyue frowned. She couldn’t pinpoint it, but something felt off.

After a moment, she said, “Fine. When we’re back, you’d better tell me everything. Your body already has flaws—if you mess around carelessly, it’s very easy to get yourself killed.”

Lian Mu felt vaguely guilty. “It’s fine. It’s really not that big a deal.”

As they spoke, the alchemy cultivator Ji Mingyue had sent out earlier returned. “Chief Ji, the medicine isn’t enough—we’re still short on some.”

Lian Mu remembered she still had an unused batch. “I have some. Which kind do you need?”

She pulled out her spatial pouch. The moment she did, everyone’s attention locked onto it.

Ji Mingyue was taken aback. “Where did you get so many ready-made pills?”

She checked—they were all high-grade, clearly refined by a Heavenly Spiritual Root alchemy cultivator.

Lian Mu admitted honestly, “I snatched them from Fengyun Yi. Not just pills—their chief artifact refiner also handed over some good materials and promised we’d get half of whatever spiritual plants or materials they find next.”

Ji Mingyue froze. She understood every word but couldn’t make sense of it as a whole.

Xu Xianxing saw the pouch in her hand. He’d seen it before—it belonged to Yuan Huai.

He too was momentarily speechless. “You… you got that from the Azure Profound Sect’s chief team?”

Guan Huailin had just finished treating his wound and was about to take a pill to ease the pain. Water was still in his mouth when he heard this—he choked violently, coughing hard. “Cough, cough—rob… robbed what?”

Lian Mu said, “It was an accident…”

She gave a quick rundown. As she spoke, the expressions on everyone’s faces changed again and again.

“But I made a contract with them. They agreed to share half of the spiritual plants and materials they get next time, so I didn’t kill them.”

Bai Li Que felt like he was dreaming. Who would have thought that one day the Azure Profound Sect’s chief team would fall into the hands of the Returning Immortal Sect?

Just hearing it felt so… satisfying.

Bai Li Que said, “Honestly, even with a contract, so what? You can’t kill them, but it doesn’t mean you can’t capture them and torture them.”

Xu Xianxing thought Bai Li Que would be speechless, but unexpectedly, his suggestion was even more ruthless than his own thoughts. Xu Xianxing had been thinking the same: if they couldn’t eliminate them outright, they could drag them back to work as beasts of burden.

Wen Yun added, “I’d love to know how their leader feels right now. If I remember right, Fengyun Yi and Yuan Huai were carrying the best supplies the entire chief team had.”

Ji Mingyue calmly said, “Don’t get too happy yet. Fengyun Yi knows Lian Mu—he’ll definitely tell Ying You about this. Old grudges and new will pile up together. The Azure Profound Sect’s chief team will definitely come looking for us.”

Lian Mu handed out the pills and nodded. “They’re probably already on the way. The Black Tortoise Mirror just opened not long ago. They can easily guess we’re here.”

Guan Huailin immediately stood up. “This place isn’t safe. We need to leave now. Everyone, stay close and don’t get separated.”

Ji Mingyue said, “We’d better not stay together.”

Guan Huailin asked, “Why?”

“The Azure Profound Sect’s chief team is powerful. Our people are injured—running into them would be a problem. If we stick together and things go wrong, it’s too easy to get wiped out in one go,” Ji Mingyue explained. “Better to split up—divide into a few groups.”

Lian Mu said, “I’ll divide these supplies equally. Use whatever you can as soon as possible—don’t let the Azure Profound Sect snatch them back.”

Guan Huailin agreed. “Alright. We’ll split up. I’ll arrange the teams. Pack up quickly—we move out immediately.”

Lian Mu didn’t need anything else. She just stood there, waiting for the order to disperse.

Wen Yun finished applying medicine; the burn on his arm was nearly healed. With a first-grade pill, the effect was remarkable—in less than a quarter of an hour, only a faint scar remained.

He whispered, “Lian Mu, I’ll go with you later.”

“Alright, but I have a few places to check—they might be a bit remote,” Lian Mu said. “…Are you sure?”

Wen Yun’s fingertips brushed over the others as he said, “Honestly, I just want to go with you. Where to? It’s been ages since we fought beasts together—maybe this time…”

He left it hanging, but Lian Mu understood. “Fine.”

Guan Huailin came back after dividing the teams. Just as they were about to set out, everyone’s spirit jade tokens vibrated with updates:

“The Azure Profound Sect’s grand formation team: twenty alchemy cultivators eliminated—about to be ejected from the illusion realm…”

“The Azure Profound Sect’s grand formation team: ten sword cultivators and thirty artifact refiners eliminated—about to be ejected…”

“The Azure Profound Sect’s second-seat talisman cultivator eliminated—about to be ejected…”

Guan Huailin: “?”

Guan Huailin: “What’s going on with the Azure Profound Sect?”

So many people eliminated all at once… that didn’t make sense.

Xu Xianxing frowned. “No news about the chief team—could these be decoys the chief team threw out?”

Bai Li Que also found it strange but disagreed. “Impossible. The Azure Profound Sect always protects its own. Even if everyone follows Ying You’s orders, Ying You would never step on them to get ahead. Their sect has rules—they wouldn’t do that.”

“Then it’s weird.” Xu Xianxing was completely puzzled by the situation. His spirit jade token kept flashing more Azure Profound Sect eliminations. “Did they run into a beast tide too?”

Neatly and consistently—it was all formation team disciples, and each time over a dozen at once.

In just a few sentences, over a hundred of the Azure Profound Sect’s formation team members had been eliminated.

Wen Yun said, “Doesn’t look like a beast tide. That elimination order is deliberate—targeting alchemy cultivators first. Looks like the Clear Thought Sect’s grand formation team’s style. They love poking holes in the dark. Last time they screwed the Returning Immortal Sect’s formation team just like this.”

“The same pattern over and over—too coincidental. A beast tide doesn’t pick its targets.”

“With just their formation team disciples, the Clear Thought Sect couldn’t face the Azure Profound Sect head-on. For so many to die so fast, there’s only one explanation: the Clear Thought Sect’s chief team stepped in personally and crushed them with their Heavenly Spiritual Root advantage.”

Ji Mingyue muttered, “What’s gotten into the Clear Thought Sect’s chief team? Tang Wuxun actually dared to provoke the Azure Profound Sect on purpose? Did Shen Wuxie’s madness infect him too…”

Lian Mu stood silently on the side.

She more or less guessed the reason.

Shen Wuxie had actually believed her nonsense earlier—and told the whole chief team. Tang Wuxun probably really thought the Azure Profound Sect was hunting them down.

“Forget them,” Lian Mu said. “How do we move?”

Guan Huailin cleared his throat. “Three groups. Each will head in a different direction. Right now, preserving everyone’s life comes first. The Fire Core Flower isn’t urgent—still no news anyway.”

“I’ll go west with Lian Mu,” Wen Yun volunteered immediately.

Ji Mingyue quickly added, “I’m going with them too—it’s more convenient that way.”

Xu Xianxing and Bai Li Que, who were just about to call dibs: “…”

The two of them could no longer join in, so they pulled Guan Shize along to form a team and headed south.

Guan Huailin led the remaining team alone along the eastern route. As for which team would run into the Azure Profound Sect, it was still unknown.

But now the arrow was nocked and had to be released. If they won…

Guan Huailin silently tightened his grip on his sword, his heart filled with anxious unease: win or lose, they had to win. The Returning Immortal Sect could not afford another loss today—this cycle of defeat had to end here.