Chapter 52: Labyrinth in the Mirror (Requesting Monthly Tickets!)

However, the matter of searching for the Shattered Moons would have to be discussed at a later time.

Shaoheng had already retrieved the disciple token of the Wenxing Sect from the storage bag; from the name inscribed upon it, she learned that this woman was named "Lu Yao."

She tidied up the useful items she had scavenged and stored them in her own storage ring.

Then, she took out a white porcelain bottle and dripped several drops of dark green liquid onto Lu Yao's corpse.

"Eh... you're quite ruthless."

Ao Chuan chattered incessantly in Shaoheng's mind through their blood pact.

Yet, her hand, dripping the bone-dissolving water, remained steady as a rock, without the slightest tremor.

"Sizzle." Only after nothing but an unrecognizable puddle remained on the ground did Shaoheng let out a cold snort.

"I've already killed her; am I supposed to dig a grave for her too? If her fellow disciples happen to stumble upon the body and realize from the wounds that they were caused by arrows and fire spells, and eventually trace it back to me, wouldn't I be looking for trouble?"

"Tch."

The little white dragon was merely talking; in its eyes, swallowing an opponent whole to refine them into essence for its own use was nothing out of the ordinary.

For instance, it had already swallowed the vine demon's core.

As for Shaoheng, her previous several bouts of combat with Lu Yao had aggravated her internal injuries; she was merely gritting her teeth and pushing herself to scavenge treasures and destroy the evidence by activating her [Azure Emperor] divine ability to heal her internal wounds.

Now that everything was done, her body felt limp. She tore a yellow talisman from her sleeve, applied a layer of golden protection to herself, and then consulted a fine silk map to roughly determine her position before heading north.

Shaoheng planned to find a suitable place to recuperate first, and once her injuries had healed, she would resume her plans regarding the Shattered Moons.

...

In the midst of the jungle, a group of three traveled in a hurry, choosing a quiet spot to rest.

The group consisted of two men and one woman. They looked young, perhaps in their twenties or thirties, yet they possessed the cultivation of the late stage of the First Realm.

The female cultivator among them was named Bai Hong. She was quite pretty, but her expression carried a hint of melancholy: "It has been four days since the secret realm opened, and we have been searching for so long, yet how have we not obtained even a single Shattered Moon?"

"It's all because of that Zhao Qingtu from the Wenxing Sect! We were clearly about to get that Shattered Moon, but he snatched it away!" a black-clad male cultivator with somewhat coarse features and robust muscles cursed aloud.

"Enough, Yu Wen. We were simply outmatched. That Zhao Qingtu is an elite inner disciple of the Wenxing Sect. It is said that he has already reached the perfection of the First Realm after only six years of cultivation; he truly lives up to his high-grade 'Big Dipper Seven Stars' aptitude. Fortunately, the Shattered Moons are not found in just one place. If we search patiently, this secret realm will be open for a full six months, so we will surely have some harvest."

The speaker was named Jiang Feng. He had a refined appearance and was clearly the leader of the three. After he spoke, both Bai Hong and Yu Wen fell silent.

Despite his calm words, Jiang Feng's fists were clenched tight, and his eyes still flickered with resentment and jealousy.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps approached. The three immediately looked toward the source, circulating their mana to be ready for combat at any moment.

"You cowardly rats, hiding in the shadows!"

Yu Wen's thick, dark brows furrowed, making his face look somewhat fierce as he shouted sternly.

"Senior brothers and sister, you misunderstand."

A young girl emerged from the bushes, dressed in green, looking about fifteen or sixteen years old.

"Hello, Senior Brothers and Sister. I am also a disciple of the Zhenyi Yuan Sect. I am here to collect Shattered Moons and am merely passing through; I mean no harm."

Jiang Feng sized up the female cultivator. His brows knit slightly before he suddenly smiled and said, "So it is a Junior Sister. You certainly have courage, Junior Sister, to dare to venture into the Profound Moon Secret Realm at only the middle stage of the First Realm."

"May I ask your name?"

Although inner disciples were the cream of the crop, the sect still selected ten from the outer sect every year, totaling a thousand over a century; thus, their numbers were not insignificant, and it was reasonable for them not to know one another.

The girl before them looked young, yet she possessed middle-stage cultivation, so Jiang Feng and the others assumed she must be an inner disciple.

Furthermore, upon secretly observing her mana aura, it was the *Qi-Nurturing Essence Sutra*.

In the inner sect, aside from those taken as true disciples by elders or those who had encountered great opportunities, most disciples still followed this low-grade technique passed down from the outer sect.

Jiang Feng thought to himself: *Those with middle or high-grade aptitudes who enter the inner sect are eighty to ninety percent likely to be taken as true disciples by elders. It seems this female cultivator, like us, has a low-grade aptitude and was promoted to the inner sect through the disciple competition.*

The three of them had been promoted to the inner sect in the same batch, which was thirty or forty years ago, though they maintained their youthful appearance through cultivation techniques.

With this thought, Jiang Feng felt a sense of kinship toward this Junior Sister.

Bai Hong and Yu Wen felt the same, their gazes losing some of their wariness.

The girl replied, "I am flattered by your praise, Senior Brother. My name is Shaoheng. I have practiced for over ten years after entering the inner sect before barely reaching the middle stage. I truly came to this secret realm to take a chance and fight for my future."

Shaoheng lowered her eyes, appearing somewhat shy.

Bai Hong raised her brows and smiled, "Why be so modest, Junior Sister Shaoheng? To have reached the middle stage of the First Realm at such an age is already quite extraordinary. My name is Bai Hong; you may call me Senior Sister Bai."

She was tall, a head taller than Shaoheng, and stepped forward to pat Shaoheng's left shoulder affectionately.

Yu Wen, however, gave a huff and turned his head away, muttering under his breath, "A fool who doesn't know the heights of the heavens or the depths of the earth... she probably won't live many more days..."

Hearing this, Bai Hong glared at him, stopping herself from saying even harsher words.

Jiang Feng asked in a low voice, "I am Jiang Feng. Junior Sister Shaoheng, how did you end up here?"

Having been stung by Yu Wen's cold words, Shaoheng's face showed a hint of embarrassment. After a moment, she replied, "To answer Senior Brother Jiang, I had finally managed to obtain a map recording the gathering sites of the Shattered Moons. Unfortunately, I encountered a Moon-Shadow Vine Demon on the way. I barely managed to escape, but I lost the storage ring containing the map. Now, I don't even know where I am."

She braced herself and asked with courage, "I wonder if Senior Brothers and Sister could help guide me? Once I leave the secret realm and return to the sect, I will surely repay you handsomely."

For ordinary cultivators, unless one reached the perfection of the First Realm to enhance their spiritual sense to a certain level, they could not achieve photographic memory. Therefore, Jiang Feng showed no suspicion, but Bai Hong sighed with regret, "Junior Sister Shaoheng, you must not have performed many sect missions in the past. You should know that things like maps should be memorized first to ensure safety."

"To think it was actually a map recording the gathering sites of the Shattered Moons... what a pity."

Her eyes darkened; they had not managed to obtain such a treasure themselves.

Shaoheng looked at her gratefully and replied, "Thank you, Senior Sister. I have learned my lesson."

"Enough with the dawdling. We came from the north and encountered no danger on the way. If you want to go, head in that direction. Just don't become a burden to us," Yu Wen said, waving his hand to dismiss her.

Jiang Feng gave him a disapproving look and then said gently, "Junior Sister Shaoheng, since you do not know which way to go, why not travel with us for a while?"

"We are heading to a Shattered Moon gathering site called the Flying Moon Mirror. It contains a natural labyrinth where the Shattered Moons are hidden."

"We distribute spoils based on contribution. If you join us, we will divide the Shattered Moons according to our merits."

Upon hearing this, Bai Hong looked at Shaoheng with complete approval, while Yu Wen turned his head away with a cold snort, though he said nothing more in opposition.

Shaoheng pursed her lips as if hesitating, before finally replying, "Thank you, Senior Brothers and Sister, for not looking down on me. Then I shall travel with you. I will certainly do my utmost not to hold you back."

Bai Hong immediately moved closer to Shaoheng, her expression becoming even more intimate as she smiled, "Don't worry, Junior Sister. I am, after all, a late-stage cultivator with nearly eight hundred cauldrons of mana. If we encounter danger, I will certainly save you."

"Besides, although that labyrinth is mysterious and difficult to navigate, there are no life-threatening crises. Compared to other perilous places, it is much safer."