Chapter 267: It’s Your Mom
It was a good thing she escaped so quickly.
Afterward, an enormous black python slithered out from the mine.
It raised its head, its slightly green eyes staring in the direction Song Jiulai had disappeared for two seconds.
As if uninterested in pursuit, it flicked its tongue before slowly winding its way across the ground and vanishing.
The back of Song Jiulai’s head went numb. "Holy shit, what was that all about?"
A Golden Core Stage Cultivator had been slaughtered. This was the first time Song Jiulai had come face-to-face with a crime scene.
The Golden Core Stage Cultivators at these mines were all registered. Now that one had been killed, the corresponding Sect would get the news soon.
Things at this mine were about to get lively.
System: "They even left the body. It looks intentional."
When Cultivators killed to silence someone, they usually used a Magic Treasure to blast them into little more than dust.
Some Cultivators with powerful physical bodies might not be so heavily damaged, but a method like this—slicing someone directly in two—looked like a deliberate display of power by the perpetrator, no matter how you looked at it.
Moreover, there were beast wounds on the disciple’s body.
It was either a demon beast or a Demon Cultivator.
’Could it be a Demon Cultivator?’
Song Jiulai recalled the incident with the defecting Demon Cultivators in Xuanwu City, and her teeth clenched.
’A Demon Cultivator did this, and they just so happened to target the Number One Mine?’
’Why is my luck so bad!’
She had taken her sweet time on the way out, but her return trip was a frantic rush.
She was still debating whether to report it. The main issue was that she had left a trail when she came from Xuanwu City.
If she didn’t report what she’d found right after arriving at the mine, then when the Sect inevitably investigated, this identity of hers might fall under suspicion.
She had used the identity of Li Daqiang to get to the Sea View Sect, and she wanted to hitch a ride on their Teleportation Array to get back. For now, she didn’t want any unnecessary trouble.
But Song Jiulai didn’t have to think for long. Just as she returned to the gates of Xuanwu City...
...she found that the place was already in chaos.
Many low-level cultivators from outside the city had rushed back. From their panicked tones, Song Jiulai gathered that it wasn’t just the Number One Mine that had a problem.
Disciples had been slaughtered at other mines as well.
The ones sent to guard the mines were typically Golden Core Stage disciples chosen by the Major Sects for the task, and they all had Magic Treasures for protection.
They shouldn’t have died so quickly.
But if a Cultivator at the Nascent Soul Stage or higher had made a move, there were methods in place near the mines to detect them. How could they have died so silently?
Disciples in white robes swarmed out from within Xuanwu City. Song Jiulai was now thinking, ’The mines are in trouble, but does it seem any safer to go somewhere else?’
She checked the map. The Number One Mine was the closest; other places were even farther away. With Demon Cultivators on a killing spree, going out now would be like serving herself up on a platter.
’What an unlucky year.’
’Of all the times for things to go wrong, it had to be when I’m trying to work!’
Even at a time like this, she had the presence of mind to think about the players. She couldn’t help but ask, "Are Mu Qiu and the others okay where they are?"
The system said, "They’re fine for now."
"Fine for now" only meant that the place where they were gathering spirit materials was still relatively safe.
For the moment, all the reports of trouble were coming from the mines.
Song Jiulai entered a restaurant, originally intending to eat something to calm her nerves.
But when the food arrived, the image of the disciple’s corpse, sliced in two, came to mind. She paused, suddenly finding she had no appetite.
This was different from how she’d felt when she killed that Cultivator back then. A Golden Core Stage disciple could have easily dealt with her.
And now one had died so horribly.
This was the Cultivation World, a place where danger lurked around every corner.
She stared at the map, contemplating the possibility of going to the next location.
Xuanwu City couldn’t possibly ignore this. There were so many people in the Dragon Frost Swamp; they had to find the culprit. Otherwise, how could so many people continue to work safely?
Just then, the system suddenly spoke: "Shuitan is inviting you to a small Secret Realm. In or out?"
Song Jiulai’s spirits lifted. "Shuitan?"
System: "Yes, he’s here in the Dragon Frost Swamp too. But he came on a mission from the Fifth Elder. This Secret Realm is an internal privilege; ordinary Loose Cultivators can’t get in."
Song Jiulai quickly asked, "What kind of Secret Realm?"
"Tang Valley," the system said. "I don’t have the specifics. Shuitan and the others are there. Only those at the Foundation Establishment Stage can enter. It’s said that those who go in are supposed to snatch something."
Song Jiulai asked, "Can we bring other players along?"
"This Secret Realm doesn’t use a key. Shuitan is right under someone’s nose with a fixed entrance. He can’t bring too many people. To prevent any accidents, it’s best if only you go," the system refused this time.
Song Jiulai nodded. "Alright, then I’ll go."
***
「At the same time.」 Shuitan stood on the bank of a magnificent, wide river.
The river’s surface was as calm as a blue mirror, blending seamlessly with the sky. It was breathtakingly beautiful.
Two women in black dresses stood nearby.
They watched Shuitan with a smile. "You only need to enter the lake to reach Tang Valley."
The entrance to the Secret Realm this time was at the bottom of the lake.
’A valley... at the bottom of a lake?’
But strange things were common in the Cultivation World, so Shuitan didn’t dwell on it. He just asked the system in his mind, "Did the Sect Master agree?"
System: "Yes."
’Only a bastard would pass up a freebie.’
Shuitan’s heart skipped a beat.
Just as he was about to enter the Secret Realm, it had occurred to him to ask if he could pull the Sect Master in with him.
He never expected the Sect Master to actually agree.
In the previous Moonlight Secret Realm, everyone had been scattered across different pocket worlds and couldn’t meet.
This time was different.
There was only a single realm inside, which meant he might have a chance to see the Sect Master’s true face.
But that was probably impossible. He knew the Sect Master wouldn’t use their real appearance while out and about. He just wondered if he would be able to recognize them when they met.
He had only seen the Sect Master when he first started the game.
But the players didn’t know much about the Sect Master. Although they could guess a few things from the system’s personality, it was no substitute for meeting them in person.
Filled with this curiosity, Shuitan maintained a calm expression and leaped into the lake.
SHH—
The moment he entered the water, the real sensation of drowning washed over him.
Cultivators weren’t afraid of drowning, but the lake bottom seemed to block this ability, preventing him from even forming the hand seal for a simple Water Technique.
But the feeling of suffocation only lasted a brief moment.
With a WHOOSH, Shuitan emerged from the surface of a lake to find himself in a completely different world.
It was a small lake connected to a low hillside, surrounded by trees with brilliant red flowers.
A strange floral scent wafted over, and a dim mist shrouded the area.
It made everything around him look blurry and indistinct.
Soaking wet, he wiped his face. Suddenly, there was a sound beside him.
A male Cultivator stood up, and the next second, he scrambled ashore, bent over, and "BLEGH," spat out a mouthful of lake water he had accidentally swallowed. After spitting, he added a "Ptooey."
Shuitan froze for a moment.
After spitting out the water, the other person turned his head to look at Shuitan.
The way his eyes darted around somehow gave off a shifty, rat-like impression.
The next second, he straightened up, adopting the air of a dashing young master as he looked at Shuitan.
"It’s me."
System: "It’s the Sect Master, you idiot."
Shuitan: "..."