Chapter 206: Missed by a Hair

The night was deep and silent.

Little Wei Yuan slipped into the Cold Darkness Realm, yet still missed out on a drop of great fortune.

Little Wei Yuan was not afraid—he simply had no choice. After dinner, Ji Ji Liuli suddenly arrived, carefully examined him, and concluded that his Dao foundation was now unstable, cluttered with too many foreign elements, hindering his cultivation progress. Ji Ji Liuli sternly warned Little Wei Yuan to stop meddling in useless matters, or else he would have to purify his foundation again.

Little Wei Yuan could only promise wholeheartedly. Seeing him compliant, Ji Ji Liuli gave him a five-story miniature pagoda. It was the same one she had once taken from his consciousness—originally a crude three-story structure, now upgraded to five stories, complete with a roof, eaves, and windows, already possessing the faint power of suppression. According to Tai Chu Palace standards, this pagoda alone could qualify as a foundation-grade treasure.

With this model, Little Wei Yuan thereafter crafted only five-story Earth-Suppressing Pagodas, their power greatly enhanced.

Before leaving, Ji Ji Liuli finally produced the butterfly shortblade, saying the array had been engraved. But the blade's rank was too high—the array would not last long, only one hour.

There was nothing to be done. After seizing the blade, Little Wei Yuan dared not delay a moment, turning immediately into the Cold Darkness Realm.

Great fortune was desirable, but the butterfly shortblade, a treasure-grade weapon, was clearly far more valuable—there was no need for hesitation, especially with his senior sister watching him intently.

Yet choosing one over the other always left regret. As he entered the Cold Darkness Realm, Little Wei Yuan sighed inwardly: perhaps one day, when he grew older, he could have them all?

When Little Wei Yuan opened his eyes, darkness surrounded him—absolute, total darkness.

He had expected this; after all, this was a hundred zhang beneath the earth. Last time, before leaving, he had dug nearly a hundred zhang straight down, carved out a small space, and left a mark, then retraced his steps. He filled the tunnel as he went, sealing it completely until he returned to the surface, then set up a chain of traps.

If the witch tracked him down, she would likely trigger the traps, and the explosions would erase all traces. The mark now lay buried deep underground, nearly impossible to sense.

As for the mark the witch sensed, it was merely a fragment of the original's aura placed in an array, only two zhang beneath the surface.

This time, Little Wei Yuan's return encountered no interference. He changed direction, digging horizontally first, then upward. Half an hour later, he finally emerged onto the surface. He dug as he filled, sealing the tunnel to the surface behind him.

Stepping out, he looked around. Silence reigned—no movement at all. Nearby lay a forest, its trees twisted and withered, leafless. Yet every tree pulsed with life—he could not fathom how they survived in this world.

Little Wei Yuan entered the forest, tossed the butterfly shortblade onto the ground, then activated the Shadow-Dodging Concealment technique and vanished.

The shortblade twitched, twitched again, then, sensing no movement, suddenly leapt up, scanning its surroundings. But as it prepared to fly off, it abruptly turned and slammed into a massive tree, embedding itself.

The tree extended a long branch, coiled around the blade, yanked it free, and hurled it far beyond the forest.

The blade seemed to let out a whimper, rolled on the ground a few times, then flew upward—only to plunge straight down, burying itself deep in the soil. The ground suddenly bulged; a scaled beast emerged, turned, bit the blade lodged in its back, and spat it out with a torrent of saliva.

The blade leapt again—but this time, it dared not fly. It shook off the saliva, then began calling for its master.

Ji Ji Liuli had sealed its ability to traverse the realms and tampered with its flight function: whenever its speed exceeded a threshold, it would randomly change direction.

The blade was now frantic, gripped by primal fear from its spiritual instinct, calling out incessantly.

Moments later, the witch reappeared, standing at a distance, scanning the area. Leaving the blade lying there so openly was clearly a trap.

She stood for a while, then suddenly turned and walked away, vanishing dozens of zhang in an instant—no glance back. The blade on the ground jumped uselessly, calling out—but the witch did not turn. Then, at that very moment, a hand suddenly reached out from empty air and snatched the blade. The distant witch was still walking—when another witch appeared from the void! The distant one had been an illusion!

The witch instantly tucked the blade into her robes, then leapt upward toward a rift in the air. But as her head slipped through the rift, her body froze rigid, unable to move.

The twin blades now weighed like mountains; the one just reclaimed thrashed violently, carving multiple gashes across the witch's body in an instant.

A blade of white-gold flame emerged from within the shortblade, piercing straight through the witch's abdomen!

The witch screamed, her chest and belly garments exploding outward, flinging everything away—including the two restless blades.

Little Wei Yuan, wielding the immortal sword, emerged from the blade's hilt and swung it toward the witch's back wings—he had realized those wings were the key to her void-traveling ability.

The witch instantly weighed her options, fixed Little Wei Yuan with a piercing stare, flared all six wings, and vanished from the air as if erased—Little Wei Yuan's strike met only empty space.

Little Wei Yuan had not expected such a successful ambush to still fail to kill her. The witch's sorcery was bizarre and unpredictable, rendering her nearly invincible—killing her was exceedingly difficult.

But the mission's primary objective had already been accomplished.

Little Wei Yuan picked up the twin butterfly blades, preparing to store them in the Ten Thousand Rivers and Mountains—when sudden change struck: the bound blade suddenly erupted a blade-light! Little Wei Yuan barely shifted his body in time, barely avoiding vital points—his left leg was severed clean at the root!

The pain of losing a limb in Primordial Spirit form was incalculably greater than in the physical body. Little Wei Yuan's vision darkened from agony—but his will was unyielding. By instinct alone, he summoned a great bell to encase the blade, then sealed it within his Dao foundation.

Little Wei Yuan clutched his severed leg, trying to reattach it—but black spiritual flame continuously burned at the wound, preventing any reunion.

Far away, the witch materialized midair, then collapsed onto the ground. Nearby lay a camp; several witch-servants rushed over, stunned by the sight, and hurried to lift her up.

!.

The witch trembled violently, clutching her abdomen with both hands—white-gold flames oozed from between her fingers, so intense she could barely stand.

"Quickly, take me to the altar!"

The witch-servants carried her into the camp and laid her upon the altar. Instantly, a dark crimson blood-cloud formed above, raining down fragrant drops of blood that slowly extinguished the white-gold flames.

She lay supine on the altar, gasping for breath. After a long while, she touched her abdomen—smooth, flat, no wound remained—and rose from the altar. A witch handed her new robes to change into.

The witch gritted her teeth: "Tell Saint Heart that I've found the one who wounded his brother. You all come with me now—this time, he will not leave the Cold Darkness Realm alive!"

The witch-servants hurriedly replied: "Lady Hui Xin, you've just been wounded—shouldn't we wait for Saint Heart to arrive?"

"No time!"

The witch leapt into the air rift; the witch-servants followed, flying after her.

Little Wei Yuan hopped forward on one leg, clutching a long ding under his ribs. Each time he leapt, the ding's mouth spewed long flames, propelling him forward—each bound covered a hundred zhang. Repeating this, he had already distanced himself from the original site and landed atop a small hill, preparing to survey the terrain.

(End of Chapter)