Chapter 379: Mysterious Woman

It's no use for them to keep going around in circles here!

It would be great if Master Yuan Yan were here.

"How about we go outside to take a look?" Mu Yuanzhi suddenly suggested.

Cao Cixiu nodded indifferently.

Who would have thought that as soon as Mu Yuanzhi stepped forward with her front foot, she turned back and Cao Cixiu was gone!

Not only was Cao Cixiu missing, but even the palace behind her had vanished!

Another illusion formation?

"Young Master Cao?!"

Mu Yuanzhi shouted several times, but no one answered.

Now only she remained; unable to return to the palace, she also lost contact with Rongjin and the others……

Mu Yuanzhi looked around and saw a canyon, with endless mountain peaks, no buildings at all, and the scenery was completely different from when she arrived.

When she came, she only brought some first-aid supplies, nothing else.

Besides, she didn't know what was going on here.

Just standing there dazed wouldn't help, so Mu Yuanzhi walked around looking for a way out.

Suddenly, she saw a small stream ahead, with a woman washing something with her back to her.

How could there be anyone else here? Is it an illusion, or is this woman the master of this place?

"Who are you?!"

Mu Yuanzhi asked loudly.

The woman stopped what she was doing, slowly rose to her feet, and turned to look at Mu Yuanzhi.

It was a very beautiful face, but one could tell she was not young; the charm of a mature woman remained.

The woman smiled at Mu Yuanzhi, but the smile was not friendly, making Mu Yuanzhi even more wary.

"I told you not to come in." The woman's smile was sinister.

Her voice sounded much older than her appearance, exactly the same as the voice Mu Yuanzhi had heard outside, an aged voice whose gender was indistinguishable.

It seems this woman is behind it.

"I came in to look for someone." Mu Yuanzhi said.

"I warned the person you're looking for too, but they insisted on coming in." The woman walked over with exaggerated, affected steps, stopping when she was close to Mu Yuanzhi, scanning her up and down with an uncomfortable smile.

"We need to find the source of the miasma, or else the whole Juechen Valley will suffer." Mu Yuanzhi said truthfully.

The woman chuckled: "Let it suffer, what's so good about Juechen Valley? You guys insisting on staying here must have something wrong with your brains."

Mu Yuanzhi ignored her sarcasm, inside and out, and asked: "Do you know the cause?"

"I don't know; I've been in the Back Mountain for so long, who knows what happened?" The woman said this, her eyes full of roundness.

Mu Yuanzhi: "Who exactly are you, and why are you in the Back Mountain?"

Upon hearing this, the woman covered her mouth and laughed, saying, "My name is Ruo Hua, 'Ruo' meaning hesitant, 'lost' as in..., 'Hua' as in the flower of mirror-flower, water-moon."

In a self-pitying tone, she added: "Ruo Hua is me."

"Are you imprisoned here?" Mu Yuanzhi asked pointedly.

"Imprisoned? Exactly." Ruo Hua sneered, "My master exiled and suppressed me in the swamp depths; it's been... three hundred years, right?"

As she spoke, her whole face twisted, her body exuding malice and thick miasma!

The sudden thick miasma caught her off guard, making it slightly hard for Mu Yuanzhi to breathe.

She quickly held her breath to avoid inhaling more miasma.

Three hundred years—no matter how long-lived a person is, it's impossible to live that long; even if the world is full of wonders, this woman doesn't look like a normal human.

Either it's an illusion, or this person has undergone some mutation.

But does anyone in this world really live that long just because they've mutated? Mu Yuanzhi isn't very convinced.

The woman before her seemed a bit dazed, and she instinctively stepped back a few paces to distance herself.

Who is this master she speaks of? Is it the founding ancestor who issued the ban? However, the ban on the Back Mountain has been in place for far longer than three hundred years.

Mu Yuanzhi wasn't sure whether the woman named Ruo Hua was actually a member of their sect; her knowledge of Juechen Valley came only from a few words from her master, who seemed not to need her to know so much, often telling her she didn't have to bear the sect's mission, for with the Qilin present, he could lead the sect forward.

In fact, the Qilin has done well, allowing Juechen Valley to regain its former glory.

But if the miasma problem isn't solved, it will ultimately remain a hidden danger.

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!"

Ruo Hua's ferocious laugh echoed through the valley, making Mu Yuanzhi feel the noise, the scene before her blurry, only her ears ringing with a headache!

She felt as if she had fallen into a vortex, unable to extricate herself, sinking further, swallowed by chaos……

Cao Cixiu didn't know how many times he had stepped out of the gate; each time the outside scenery was different, but each time he hadn't seen Mu Yuanzhi, calling her a few times with no response, also calling their valley master and Rongjin a few times, likewise with no answer.

He never fully walked out, because he vaguely knew that if he crossed this door, he might not be able to return to this palace, and for now he didn't want to change maps to go exploring.

Cao Cixiu repeated the walk a few more times; when he reached the first floor again, he saw no reply from Rongjin and the others, he left another message, but still got no answer.

What is certain is that they didn't step out; instead, while carving characters, something suddenly happened, so they only managed to carve a single horizontal stroke.

Cao Cixiu crouched to study those characters, then suddenly drew his waist sword, without blinking, slashed his arm, blood instantly welled up, and he dropped two drops of blood onto it.

No reaction, so he used a candle to heat the blood that had dripped down, and the entire stone wall began to move!

Sure enough, it was a mechanism!

The inside of this stone wall had been coated with raw wax; they carved characters here, peeling off the raw wax, which would ignite entirely upon encountering high heat!

The whole stone slab quickly, unable to withstand the rapidly spreading fire, was forced to trigger the mechanism, opening an entrance!

It seems Rongjin and the others unintentionally discovered this mechanism, which is why they carved a little and then went straight in; either they were being chased, or they didn't react in time and fell in, not having a chance to tell Mu Yuanzhi about it.

Cao Cixiu hesitated not at all and stepped inside.

At that moment, the stone wall shut!

He curled his lips and smiled.

The person who made the mechanism had considered things very thoroughly; even if one accidentally triggered it and entered, there would be absolutely no way to get out!

Cao Cixiu entered and immediately smelled a strong swamp odor, along with miasma.

It's pitch black here; his candle fell outside, and the only thing that can provide light is a match.

Cao Cixiu split his mouth in a smile.

If he lit the match, this place would probably explode with a bang and be blown to smithereens.

Although that wouldn't be bad either, he currently has no such intention.

Cao Cixiu's night vision is still good; even without light, he can see the road clearly.

At the same time, Gu Rongjin turned back, frowning at what was behind her.