Chapter 500: I Can Pass a Message for You

The smile Xie Ningyuan was about to return froze on his face.

Silence descended upon the mountaintop.

Luo Linlang, however, seemed oblivious to his frustration. She giggled and said, “I came to tell you that I’m preparing to enter seclusion to attempt my Ascension. We probably won’t see each other again after this.”

“So… Mr. Xie, is there anything you want to say to my Little Junior Sister? I can pass on a message for you!”

For a moment, Xie Ningyuan couldn’t hold back his resentment. “…Are you sure you’re being kind and not just showing off?”

Luo Linlang couldn’t hold it in any longer, her smile growing even brighter. “Hehe, how did you know I’m about to see Little Junior Sister?”

Xie Ningyuan: “…”

Resisting the urge to tell her to get lost, Xie Ningyuan ultimately succumbed to reality… he really did need her to pass on a message.

Taking a deep breath, Xie Ningyuan said, “Just tell her… not to force anything. I’m afraid I can’t suppress my cultivation for much longer. I might ascend at any moment.”

“If she doesn’t have the strength when the time comes, she shouldn’t show herself. I can handle it on my own.”

He paused, then added, “And if I can’t handle it, she can still avenge me. In short… don’t make a pointless sacrifice.”

Luo Linlang listened earnestly, then replied sincerely, “I don’t think Little Junior Sister will listen to you, even if I pass it on.”

‘Given Little Junior Sister’s personality, if she were the type to listen to that kind of advice, she wouldn’t have been so headstrong and left on her own back then.’

‘At first, I always thought Little Junior Sister was cute and adorable, delicate and frail, someone we all needed to protect.’

‘But later I realized that no matter how delicate and frail she might seem, inside lived a strong and dependable soul.’

‘She would always use her own slender frame to walk at the very front, holding up the sky for everyone she cared about.’

How could Xie Ningyuan not understand something even Luo Linlang knew?

But even knowing she would most likely ignore him, he still had to cling to that one-in-ten-thousand chance, hoping she would remain safe and sound.

So… whether she listened was her business, but saying it was his.

He just shook his head and said, “Just relay my message exactly as I said it. Please.”

He paused again before adding, “Also, although Ji Li’s control over the Spirit Void Realm is minuscule now, it’s likely just enough for him to keep an eye on me.”

“But you still need to be careful. Even if he won’t go out of his way to find you, he definitely won’t show any mercy if he runs into you.”

“So after you ascend, remember to keep a low profile until you find Little Jiu.”

Luo Linlang nodded in understanding. “Don’t worry, I get it!”

After speaking, she glanced at Xie Ningyuan again. “And? Is there nothing else you want me to say?”

Xie Ningyuan shot her a sidelong glance, his face expressionless. “Any other messages wouldn’t be appropriate for you to pass along.”

Luo Linlang: “…”

‘She suspected this guy was being a creep about her Little Junior Sister in his head. Ptooey!’

Harboring disdain for him, Luo Linlang stood up. “Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going!”

“Wait.”

Xie Ningyuan stopped her, then took something that looked like a piece of refined iron from his storage ring and handed it to her.

“This is some Refining Materials I found earlier. I heard the Six-sided Exquisite Dice that Little Jiu left you is about to level up. Have the Gold and Silver Gate forge this into it, and it should be enough to reach the level of an Immortal Artifact.”

Before her Ascension, Lu Sangjiu had given the Six-sided Exquisite Dice to Luo Linlang.

After all, Lu Sangjiu’s own luck had always been average. The Six-sided Exquisite Dice couldn’t display its greatest value without being used in conjunction with Luo Linlang’s Word Spirit Technique.

Besides, Lu Sangjiu was already powerful enough on her own, so an offensive Magic Treasure like this wasn’t as important to her. Giving it to Luo Linlang was the most suitable choice.

As it turned out, the Six-sided Exquisite Dice and Luo Linlang were indeed a perfect match. In the time she had been nurturing it, it was already showing faint signs of advancing to the next level.

The item Xie Ningyuan gave her now was exactly what Luo Linlang wanted most.

She didn’t stand on ceremony with Xie Ningyuan. She accepted it and clasped her fist. “Thanks! I’ll take good care of Little Junior Sister before you ascend.”

“Mr. Xie, see you in the Immortal Spirit Realm!”

A few days passed, and the day finally came for the Fan Family’s Secret Realm to open.

Lu Sangjiu stood in the crowd with Yan Xue by her side.

Because this Secret Realm was newly discovered and hadn’t been explored yet, no one knew what it was like inside.

Lu Sangjiu and Yan Xue had already agreed that if they were separated after entering, they would both head toward the area with the densest Demonic Qi. They were bound to meet up there.

Soon, the entrance to the Secret Realm opened completely, and everyone entered one by one.

Like most Secret Realms, this one also had random teleportation.

After entering, Lu Sangjiu found herself alone in a barren wasteland.

To call it a wasteland wasn’t entirely accurate, because there were still some Magic Plants growing on the ground here and there.

It was just that some of these Magic Plants were naturally aggressive, so they wouldn’t tolerate any other animals or plants within a large radius.

With many such Magic Plants around, didn’t that make the place look barren, just like a wasteland?

The reason she knew this was because she had been attacked by a Magic Plant from behind the moment she found her footing.

Luckily, her reactions were fast. She immediately summoned the Domination Map Blade and cut it down.

After encountering several more such Magic Plants, Lu Sangjiu gradually figured out the pattern: the more barren an area looked, the more dangerous it was to enter.

Because she was entering this Secret Realm, Lu Sangjiu had spent some time cramming knowledge about valuable Magic Plants.

So when she encountered some medicinal ones along the way, she still spent some effort to collect them, planning to exchange them for Demon Essence Stones after she got out.

Because some items had no Immortal Demon Attribute and could be used by both sides, Demon Cultivators and Immortal Cultivators still occasionally traded with each other.

For this reason, there were dedicated places to exchange Demon Essence Stones and Spirit Stones.

In other words, it didn’t matter if Lu Sangjiu earned more Demon Essence Stones than she could use, as she could exchange them for Spirit Stones. Naturally, she couldn’t pass up any opportunity to make money.

However, such happy days were always short-lived. Soon, she ran into other Cultivators.

Since this Secret Realm belonged to the Fan Family and the outside Cultivators were also hired by them, there was no real distinction between friend and foe inside.

It had been agreed before entering that all outside Cultivators were to follow and protect any member of the Fan Family they encountered.

If outside Cultivators ran into each other, however, there was no mandatory requirement to form a team.

After all, although they were all hired, the things they obtained could be exchanged for Demon Essence Stones. To put it bluntly, the outside Cultivators were all in competition with each other.

It would be fine if you met someone kind-hearted, but if you ran into someone more malicious, it was possible that incidents like robbing and killing for treasures would occur among the outside Cultivators.

As long as it was done secretly, no one would investigate.

The first person Lu Sangjiu ran into was another hired Demon Cultivator.