Chapter 63: Kind People Are Always Deceived

She did not know what the Cave Heart Spirit Grass looked like, but it was definitely a plant, growing in the soil. Wang Zhi had taken the Night-luminescent Pearl, so there was no light source now, and Ruan Xing had never learned any Fire Technique, so she could only grope around on the ground bit by bit.

"Sword Lai, you help me look too."

The pure white youth manifested from the air, and the two of them searched the ground on the opposite bank of the river.

Ruan Xing did not know why, but she always felt something was wrong. Why would Wang Zhi let her do the dangerous part himself? Was he not afraid that she would take the Cave Heart Spirit Grass and run away through the underground river instead of helping him?

Furthermore, since he asked her to pick the grass, why not describe what the spirit herb looked like and leave the Night-luminescent Pearl with her? Searching aimlessly like this was such a waste of time.

This sliver of doubt flashed through her mind, but Ruan Xing had no time to think it over. The roaring sounds of fighting still came from the cave passage, shaking the entire cave as if it were about to collapse. She was truly afraid that the Monster Beast would cause the cave to collapse before she even found the Cave Heart Spirit Grass.

Ruan Xing lay on the ground, feeling around with her palms. Suddenly, Sword Lai called her over through their mental link. Ruan Xing stood up, ran quickly to Sword Lai's side, and crouched down to feel the empty ground next to him.

What she touched was a cold, hard object, but its shape was that of leaves and flowers.

Cave Heart Spirit Grass, was it this hard? Never mind, perhaps it was because there was no sunlight in the cave; in any case, the flora and fauna of the Cultivation world were never very scientific to begin with.

Ruan Xing reached out and felt for its roots, pulling with all her might, but it would not budge. She used all the strength she could muster, stepping on the ground to push forward while leaning her body back.

Suddenly, as if the Monster Beast had unleashed some powerful move, the entire cave shook, and Ruan Xing lost her footing and tipped to the side.

Unexpectedly, she did not let go when she fell, and the hard spirit herb shifted half a circle along with her movement.

What kind of decent spirit herb is twisted out instead of dug out? Are you a screw, kid? Finally understanding the method, Ruan Xing irritably twisted it three or four times in that direction, and the spirit herb was pulled out.

The moment she pulled it out, the earth shook and the mountains swayed, the water surged, and the stone walls and ceiling began to fall one after another.

Ruan Xing could only stand firm by stabbing her Sword into a crack in the ground. However, the ground beneath her feet also began to disintegrate, cracks splitting and breaking the ground apart, and she ran toward the surging underground river without looking back.

In such chaotic circumstances, she had no way to use the Sword Control Technique. She put the spirit herb into her Storage Bag and shouted urgently, "Sword Lai!"

Sword Lai understood her intent, scooped up Ruan Xing, and leaped back to the cave entrance on the opposite bank.

Although Sword Lai's Ghost Escape Technique could not carry people, he was very fast when not using the escape technique, and he was completely unaffected by space.

As they neared the cave entrance, Ruan Xing could still hear the high-pitched hissing of the Monster Beast, and the Monster Beast was still crazily slamming against the cave walls, struggling incessantly.

Ruan Xing knew that going through the cave was not a good path, but she had no other choice; the underground river side had already completely collapsed, like a torrent. She was only at the eighth level of Qi Refining and still a mortal body; jumping down would surely be a dead end.

It was better to return; perhaps there was still a chance of survival. Although Wang Zhi seemed to have set her up, the spirit herb was still on her. If she did not go out, Wang Zhi would not get any profit, so she felt Wang Zhi should still be waiting for her at the cave entrance to slay the Monster Beast together.

Letting Sword Lai return to his hidden state, Ruan Xing began to sprint toward the other end of the cave.

She had to run; the torrent of the underground river was about to surge up, and in about a quarter of an hour, it would fill the entire cave.

The stone walls around the cave were covered in traces of the Monster Beast's violent passage, and the white slime on the ground was in clumps, often leaving Ruan Xing with nowhere to step. She ran for a while before finally seeing the tail of that behemoth.

The jet-black Monster Beast was coiled in the center of the cave, its scales emitting a dark golden luster. The originally rugged and cramped cave had changed shape, and the surrounding rubble seemed to have been knocked down by it.

Compared to when Ruan Xing first saw the Monster Beast, it had a few more wounds on its body.

Seeming to smell Ruan Xing's scent, the Monster Beast raised its massive head and turned around. Its scarlet slit pupils looked at her, and the fishy, bloody stench unique to Monster Beasts rushed straight to her crown.

Ugh... damn it, did this Monster Beast apprentice under a weasel? They aren't even the same species.

Ruan Xing frowned, tore off a piece of her skirt to cover her face as a makeshift mask, and drew her Short Sword, the blade surging with Spiritual Power as she pointed it directly at the Monster Beast.

This action seemed to be taken as a provocation by the Monster Beast. It had been staying perfectly fine in the underground river when two little things suddenly popped up to steal things from its home. As the owner, it wanted to drive away the thieves, but it didn't expect the other party to be so arrogant, directly slapping it in the face with a Three-Grade Talisman—it really didn't take the snake seriously. It angrily flicked its tongue and hissed at Ruan Xing, opening its blood-red maw to rush forward, wanting to swallow this little thing into its belly.

However, although the cave passage had been widened by the Monster Beast's tossing and turning, it still couldn't withstand its large movements, making it appear even more sluggish and clumsy. Ruan Xing easily dodged the attack by shifting her body backward.

But she could not retreat any further; the water had gradually risen, soaking her shoes.

Taking a deep breath, Ruan Xing shouted, "Daoist Wang, are you still over there!?"

The snake's body blocked the passage, obstructing Ruan Xing's line of sight; she could not see the situation behind the Monster Beast.

Fortunately, the next moment, Wang Zhi's somewhat worried voice came from the opposite side, "I am here. Daoist Ruan, are you unhurt?"

"I am not. Shall we join forces to take down this Monster Beast?"

"Of course, we must be quick. My array can no longer control this Monster Beast. Once it breaks free, this cave will completely collapse. Daoist, you have already obtained the Cave Heart Spirit Grass, right?"

"I have. Why didn't you say the Cave Heart Spirit Grass looked like this? It's like gold and iron, not like a plant but a mechanism." Ruan Xing said with a frown, the water level now reaching her calves.

There was no light source in the cave, and Ruan Xing relied entirely on the faint light of the Night-luminescent Pearl leaking through the gap on the opposite side. Although she could not see the situation behind her, the water flow told her that the underground river behind her had likely been completely blocked by the collapsed mountain rocks. She was truly caught between a rock and a hard place now.

However, she heard Wang Zhi let out a slightly relaxed laugh from the opposite side, "I am relieved that you have obtained it."

Immediately after, Ruan Xing glimpsed from the gap that the faint light source was gradually moving away.

Ruan Xing was shocked, "Daoist Wang, do you not want the Cave Heart Spirit Grass anymore?"

Wang Zhi's voice, drifting further away, carried a hint of mockery, "It's yours, Daoist. You can play with it to pass the time if you get bored on the Yellow Springs Road."

Damn it! She had indeed been tricked by this scoundrel. Ruan Xing, a small fry at the eighth level of Qi Refining, naturally had no chance of winning against a Foundation Establishment Monster Beast. Even if the opponent was already injured, she could not find the slightest possibility of turning the tables. If she didn't do something, the result would be either drowning in the torrent rushing up from behind or being swallowed in one gulp by the Monster Beast.

Thus, Ruan Xing no longer hesitated and took out the preparation she had made for coming to the Secret Realm from her Storage Bag: a Three-Grade Talisman.

Unlike Wang Zhi's Three-Grade Thunder Fire Talisman, Ruan Xing's first consideration was her own safety. Her funds were limited, so she prioritized preparing things for escape and self-preservation. A Three-Grade Earth Escape Talisman was her trump card.

It was just that this Black Water Lake was particularly strange; Divine Sense could not be deployed, and the geology seemed to have been imbued with some special quality, making the effect of the Earth Escape Talisman not very high.

If she were on the ground, Ruan Xing's Earth Escape Talisman could at least travel seven or eight miles in a single breath, but in this cave, she not only moved only a few dozen zhang, but she also popped out after staying underground for less than a second.

She had escaped underground, yet it was as if she hadn't.

Because her current position was exactly between the Monster Beast and Wang Zhi.

A look of surprise flashed across Wang Zhi's eyes, "I underestimated you."

Ruan Xing felt some regret; this simulation was destined to end in failure. She hadn't even used half of the one-day time she had purchased with one point, but she had to obtain as much information as possible within the limited time.

She took out the Cave Heart Spirit Grass and threw it on the ground, saying coldly, "This isn't the Cave Heart Spirit Grass you spoke of at all, is it? You tricked me into coming over to pull it out, and then you wanted to kill me to silence me. What exactly is your goal?"

This Hanshan Secret Realm was clearly a harvesting ground for low-level Cultivators; how did it get mixed up with such strange matters when it came to her?

She had clearly only come to see a Monster Beast and earn some Spirit Stones along the way.

Wang Zhi wore a look of regret and apology, "I am very sorry. You are still so young; I actually didn't want to choose you, but I waited for many days and there was truly no suitable candidate to help me take the fall. If the cultivation level is too low, no one will believe it."

He snapped his fingers, seemingly deactivating the array that had trapped the Monster Beast. The Monster Beast behind Ruan Xing hissed and rolled in pain, but it was no longer trapped in place; instead, it rushed rapidly toward the entrance, and accompanying it was the high-pitched, jubilant torrent.

"You may go in peace," Wang Zhi said with pity.

"Are you sick in the head!?" Ruan Xing raged. She took a step forward, intending to fight Wang Zhi to the death, when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck her mind, and she looked at her feet.

Hadn't she... applied a Water Avoidance Talisman? Why was the black water still soaking her shoes, socks, and skirt?

She looked at Wang Zhi again, but the other party's hem was perfectly clean.

"Only realizing it now is a bit too late." Wang Zhi shook his head with some regret and turned to leave. Watching the opening left behind Wang Zhi's back, Ruan Xing felt Spiritual Power surging within her Short Sword; she channeled her Sword Formula and flew up to strike him, yet her water-soaked robes were too heavy, and she didn't even fly out a distance of one meter.

The water reached her waistline, and the Monster Beast snake's blood-red maw was close at hand. The torrent surged violently, and Ruan Xing slammed into the stone wall, the Short Sword in her hand slipping away. In an instant, she felt only Black Water drilling into her mouth and nose. After struggling in pain for less than a moment, her vision went black, and she entered the belly of the Monster Beast snake.

【Simulation ended】

Ruan Xing opened her eyes abruptly, gasping for air in large, violent gulps. Her senses seemed to still linger on that suffocation and the pain of being crushed by immense force; she couldn't even grip her Sword Formula properly and nearly fell off her Flying Sword.

The memories gained after a Real-scene Simulation and a Text Simulation are indeed different; the pain of death in the former feels much more real than in the latter.

A moment later, Ruan Xing regained her composure and looked around; she was still on the Flying Sword heading to the Cold Mountain Secret Realm.

Standing on the Flying Sword, Ruan Xing couldn't help but get angrier the more she thought about it.

Are they insane? The booklet the Xuanbing Sect gave her said the survival rate of the Cold Mountain Secret Realm was ninety-nine percent, and the only person out of a hundred to die was someone who had suffered a Qi deviation while cultivating inside. What could there possibly be to scheme for in this public Secret Realm that the Xuanbing Sect has scoured hundreds of times over thousands of years, a Secret Realm that can only be used to harvest leeks? Is she really that unlucky, that she ran into something with such a low probability?

But it is true, picking Spirit Herbs in the Cold Mountain Secret Realm is equivalent to working on an assembly line in modern times; only those at the Qi Refining Third, Fourth, or Fifth Layer would come to earn these dozen or so Low-grade Spirit Stones. Her being at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer is indeed a bit conspicuous here.

But what can she do, blame her for having high cultivation? She is the only one in the world of Cultivation who has reached the Qi Refining Eighth Layer without ever having seen a Monster Beast or entered a Secret Realm, yet she is still just a six-year-old baby who has only been practicing Cultivation for three days since starting as a mortal.

But... that Black Water Lake and that Foundation Establishment Monster Beast snake are not things a low-level Qi Refining Cultivator can handle...

That Wang Zhi, what exactly is his background? And why does the Xuanbing Sect let the Black Water Lake and the Monster Beast snake be, instead shaping the Secret Realm into a paradise for low-level Qi Refining Cultivators? But these aren't actually things Ruan Xing wants to know; she just wants to rush in front of Wang Zhi and beat the hell out of him right now.

However, Ruan Xing has no experience fighting against a Cultivator, and Wang Zhi's cultivation is even higher than hers. Aside from knowing the other party knows formations and has a Thunder Fire Talisman in his hand, Ruan Xing knows almost nothing.

She doesn't even know how Qi Refining Cultivators fight; should she go find someone to spar with first?

Catching her breath, Ruan Xing chose to start the Real-scene Simulation again.

This time, she spent an hour traveling to the Cold Mountain Secret Realm just the same, but she didn't waste time at the stalls. She saw Wang Zhi in the crowd, seemingly picking out goods but actually observing other Cultivators. She didn't pay him much mind, and before the other party could notice her, she walked quickly to the Secret Realm's portal, handed fifty Low-grade Spirit Stones to the Xuanbing Sect disciple, and received a booklet.

She crossed the Light Gate alone, but this time she was transported to a patch of grass, and there were other Cultivators not far away.

Ruan Xing used her Divine Sense to probe slightly; it was a female Cultivator at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, and she was squatting on the ground, earnestly tinkering with something.

Ruan Xing walked over and felt a bit bewildered for a moment.

The female Cultivator was holding a hoe, digging up the topsoil to reveal a piece of damp black mud, on which red ring-shaped creatures were wriggling; the female Cultivator skillfully picked them up with tweezers and placed them into a wooden box.

I know low-level Cultivators are down-to-earth... but this is too down-to-earth...

Ruan Xing asked hesitantly: "Fellow Daoist, are you... digging for earthworms?"

"What are earthworms? I'm digging for Red Thread Worms." The female Cultivator said somewhat strangely. She used the tweezers in her hand to stir the tangled red creatures in the wooden box, "Look, the quality this time is quite good. Once they're dried, the shells will definitely sell for a good price!"

Thanks to book friend 20190210134618809 for the tip~ Thanks to Tianchangdijiu2100 for the tip~ Thanks to Li Li Li liliyr for the monthly ticket~ Thanks to Tianchangdijiu2100 for the monthly ticket~(End of this chapter)