Chapter 510 - 517: Seeing Mu Zixu Again

’But...’

Song Wanning’s brow furrowed. Though his face was nearly identical, this Mu Zixu before her was clearly much younger.

His eyes were full of life, not at all like the aged man she had seen back at the ruins of the Medicine King Sect in the Lower World.

’Is this a coincidence?’

’Or...’

Song Wanning’s heart began to race, beating faster and faster.

Because Mu Zixu was walking in her direction.

"Sister, he’s coming over! What do we do?"

’Mu Zixu is an Immortal! No matter how powerful our master is, she’s no match for him!’

’And Mu Zixu has been sending Medicine King Sect disciples to hunt her down. It’s clear how much he despises her. If he finds her, our master will be in mortal danger!’

’Stay calm.’

Song Wanning’s expression was serene. Since there was no way to hide, she decided she might as well stand her ground openly.

So, she started casually browsing the wares at a roadside stall, picking things up and examining them.

She watched Mu Zixu from the corner of her eye, not daring to be too obvious, catching only intermittent glimpses of him.

A bold theory was taking root in her mind, and she wanted to test it.

He drew closer.

Mu Zixu was chatting and laughing with Wang Yang as they walked, his gaze sweeping across the surrounding shops and pedestrians.

Then, he noticed a figure in black.

She was just standing there, and as a gentle breeze blew past, it lifted strands of her elegant hair, letting them flutter freely.

It was like a painting of a beautiful woman.

Mu Zixu spared her an indifferent glance before quickly looking away.

He had no interest in beautiful women, much less a mere Cultivator who hadn’t even achieved immortality.

If not for her face, he wouldn’t have noticed her at all.

Wang Yang, however, did look over, his gaze gentle and without a trace of malice.

As it happened, his eyes met Song Wanning’s squarely.

Seeing her eyes, which were serene yet held a trace of fearlessness, Wang Yang found himself smiling at her for some unknown reason.

Song Wanning was taken aback for a moment, then immediately offered a respectful nod.

The two then naturally broke their gaze.

Soon, Mu Zixu and Wang Yang turned and entered an inn.

As a weight was lifted from her chest, Song Wanning’s expression relaxed, and she casually moved on to the next stall.

She didn’t dare let her guard down. She had to commit to the act.

"Sister, Mu Zixu didn’t recognize you?" the Golden Small Sword asked in surprise from her Sea of Consciousness.

’Our master desecrated the Medicine King Sect’s ancestral tablets. How could someone as vengeful as Mu Zixu possibly ignore her?’

It couldn’t understand.

The other little ones didn’t know much about Mu Zixu, but they were all too aware of the constant pursuit by the Medicine King Sect and knew how despicable he was.

"Sister, we’ll all cultivate as hard as we can! Since that Mu Zixu dares to target you, we’ll kill him sooner or later!!!"

The words from the usually quiet Divine Nether Profound Fire were shocking. It cared for its sister more than anyone and couldn’t bear to see her suffer.

"That’s right! Sister Huo is right! Sister, we absolutely can’t spare him!!!"

The Dragon Spirit added, puffing with anger, its small face scrunched into a ball.

A cold glint flashed in Song Wanning’s eyes. ’Mu Zixu must die!’

’It’s just...’

"I suspect we haven’t arrived in the Immortal Realm."

"No, perhaps I should say, we’ve arrived in the Immortal Realm, but an Immortal Realm trapped within a fragment of spacetime..."

This was Song Wanning’s theory.

Mu Zixu looked much younger and didn’t even recognize her.

Considering she had grabbed a fragment of spacetime before, it was easy to arrive at this possibility.

Back when she had stumbled into that spatial tunnel, the fragment of spacetime she’d grabbed could have been from the Immortal Realm, or even another Great Thousand World!

"What? Sister, you mean we’re inside a fragment of spacetime?"

The nature of time remained an unsolvable mystery.

Even the Dragon Spirit only had a rudimentary understanding of it.

The laws of time that Cultivators were able to perceive were merely a minuscule fraction of the whole.

Perhaps they really had entered a fragment of the Immortal Realm’s timeline and met a version of Mu Zixu who had yet to meet Song Wanning.

"No wonder... No wonder Mu Zixu didn’t recognize you..." the Golden Small Sword muttered, finally understanding.

This explained everything.

"That’s good, then! You’re much safer now, Sister!"

The little ones all breathed a collective sigh of relief, their faces tinged with excitement.

"Sister, since we’re here, we should experience it to the fullest! Who knows, maybe we’ll break out of this spacetime fragment and return to the Netherworld or the Spirit Realm!!"

’With our master’s luck, there must be some incredible treasure here! Maybe it’s the key to advancing her Cultivation!!!’

"Yes, I was thinking the same thing. But first, we need to find a way to gather some information."

Song Wanning nodded. She decided to make the best of the situation. There was no need to rush to leave. Instead, she could use this as an opportunity to learn a thing or two about the Immortal Realm ahead of time, so she wouldn’t be completely in the dark when she truly ascended in the future.

She spent the rest of her time wandering among the stalls, listening in on various conversations to gather information.

She quickly learned that the city was packed to the gills, and she also overheard talk of various Cultivation ranks.

For example, "Earth Immortal," "Golden Immortal," and "Daluo Golden Immortal."

Song Wanning couldn’t yet determine the specific order of the ranks, but from the way people spoke, a Daluo Golden Immortal must be incredibly powerful.

The reason so many people had gathered here was because of a strange phenomenon that had recently appeared over the Wuyang Sea.

Although it had only lasted for a few seconds, it had still alarmed many Immortals. Everyone wanted to see if a rare treasure was about to manifest in the Wuyang Sea.

Unfortunately, the Wuyang Sea was currently cut off by a barrier, preventing the Immortals from getting close. They had no choice but to take up temporary residence in the nearest city.

As soon as the barrier disappeared, everyone planned to rush to the Wuyang Sea to investigate.

’Wuyang Sea...’

Song Wanning concealed the glint in her eyes. The strange phenomenon at the Wuyang Sea had thoroughly piqued her interest.

She wandered around the city for a while longer, gathering a few more bits and pieces of information before leaving.

The inns in the city were full to bursting, and since she had no Immortal Stones, her only option was to camp in the wilderness outside the city walls.

After choosing a remote location, just as Song Wanning was about to rest, she spotted a demon beast.

The demon beast’s Cultivation wasn’t high. With a flash in her eyes, she moved forward and ended its life.

’Let’s see how a demon beast raised on Immortal Qi tastes.’

She expertly skinned and bled the carcass, then seasoned and roasted the meat. She waited until the Demon Beast Meat exuded a rich, savory aroma before taking a small bite.

Instantly, a strange energy filled her mouth and surged rapidly through her body.

"Ngh..."

Song Wanning let out a muffled grunt. The demon beast was low-level, containing only a minuscule amount of Immortal Qi, yet it still made her meridians ache and swell.

Fortunately, the pain was bearable.

She couldn’t absorb such potent Immortal Qi, and the more Song Wanning thought about it, the more of a waste it seemed.

However, at that moment, she was surprised to find that the Immortal Qi, upon entering her body, obediently flowed into her Dantian and merged into the disc within.

The various energies gathered in the disc fused together in a strange yet perfect harmony.

It was just that the Immortal Qi was clearly far more arrogant; the moment it entered, the Yin Qi, Spiritual Energy, and Demonic Qi all meekly made way for it.