Chapter Thirty-Four: The Kunlun Sect

Qian Qianxue’s gaze appeared somewhat vacant as she looked at the massive stone tablet, towering like a small mountain. Her face was blank and adorable.

What was that?

She glanced at Song Yue, who had already fainted and was leaning against her, feeling a bit panicked. In the heat of the moment, she hadn’t considered much, but now that things had calmed, her heart was pounding wildly.

She had never encountered a scene like this before!

Still, Qian Qianxue knew that at a time like this, she could only rely on herself. She had to swiftly tidy up the aftermath and get the two of them out of there.

This was a secret realm—no one could tell if those people had companions nearby. If someone followed their trail, trouble would surely follow!

At the same time, a huge question arose in her mind—was Song Yue a cultivator?

Otherwise, how could he possibly control such… a magical artifact?

That enormous stone tablet with glowing runes must count as a magical artifact, right?

The scene was a mess, and the air was thick with silence and death.

She carefully laid Song Yue flat on the ground and checked him over. He was merely exhausted and had fainted, which made her sigh in relief.

Next, she hurried to Miao Qiang’s side. She found that the elder’s injuries were quite serious—the gash on his forehead was frightening, blood flowing ceaselessly.

Qian Qianxue took out the healing pills her family had prepared for her, opened Miao Qiang’s mouth, and said, “Elder, please take a healing pill. I’ll bandage you up.”

Miao Qiang, barely conscious, opened his mouth and swallowed the pill, but remained in a coma.

Qian Qianxue began to bandage his wound with clumsy hands.

She had never done anything like this before. After treating his injury, her fair forehead was beaded with fine sweat.

Yet her expression was earnest, her movements gentle and meticulous.

Elder Miao was a good man!

Had it not been for him, she and Song Yue would never have escaped the pursuit of those three powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The experiences of these few days had exposed her, for the first time, to the brutal side of the cultivation world. In the past, she had naïvely believed that people could live in harmony.

The world was so vast—humanity had even begun to explore the stars—why did there have to be so much conflict?

It wasn’t until she entered the Kunlun secret realm.

When she saw a classmate collecting the Spirit Swallow’s Nest, she was tempted herself, thinking how wonderful it would be if she were the one to gather such treasures.

If greedy and capable people coveted the treasure, it was only natural.

Looking at the corpses on the ground, Qian Qianxue felt somewhat sad. She wasn’t overly compassionate, but thought these people had embodied the saying “people die for wealth” to the fullest.

Had they not been consumed by greed, they would still be admired immortals on earth, but now they were cold corpses.

After some thought, Qian Qianxue dug a large pit, forcing herself to overcome her discomfort, and buried them.

Even though she practiced both martial arts and magic, digging the pit and burying the bodies left her hair soaked with sweat.

Silence reigned all around. She suddenly felt a little fearful, glanced at the sleeping Song Yue, bit her lip, and almost wanted to cry. She thought he would wake soon.

What should she do now?

What ought she do?

Qian Qianxue suddenly felt lost.

At that moment, Song Yue slowly regained consciousness and saw Qian Qianxue sitting beside him, bewildered. He asked, “Where’s Elder Miao?”

“Oh, you’re awake!” Qian Qianxue’s face lit with joy. “He’s right over there. I gave him a healing pill, but his injury is quite serious and he’s still unconscious. He should be fine, though.”

She looked at Song Yue and asked, “How are you?”

“My head hurts,” Song Yue grimaced, glancing at the huge stone tablet. He tried to use his spiritual sense to retrieve it, only to be struck by a sharp pain in his empty sea of consciousness.

He couldn’t help but gasp, needing a while before the pain subsided.

Qian Qianxue took out a bottle of water from her backpack and handed it to him.

Song Yue drank several gulps, feeling his energy return somewhat. With Qian Qianxue’s help, he sat up. “Where are those people?”

“I buried them,” Qian Qianxue whispered.

“Nice!” Song Yue praised her, then asked, “Did you plant grass on top?”

“Plant grass?” Qian Qianxue’s beautiful eyes were full of confusion.

“To disguise it. If you plant grass, soon this place will be overgrown. Even if someone comes looking, it’ll be hard to find them,” Song Yue explained. “Also, did they have anything valuable on them?”

“Huh? I don’t know! They were dead, so I just…” Qian Qianxue looked blank, feeling it was somewhat improper to search the dead for valuables.

“Ah… never mind,” Song Yue shook his head. If she hadn’t taken anything, so be it. If Qian Qianxue could calmly search the enemy’s corpse for spoils, it would be too much to ask. She had already done so much—quite impressive for a girl unversed in the ways of the world.

After resting a while, Song Yue’s headache eased. He shrank the stone tablet and put it away.

Throughout the process, Qian Qianxue watched quietly, curiosity in her eyes, but since he didn’t speak, she didn’t ask.

“This stone tablet is a treasure,” Song Yue said as he cleaned the bloodstains from the shrunk tablet. “It contains a vast space, not only for smashing enemies but for storing things.”

“It can be used like a storage ring? Then we can collect more medicinal herbs later and put them inside!” Qian Qianxue’s eyes brightened. She tried not to think about the bloodstains on the tablet’s base; earlier, when she buried the bodies, she couldn’t move the tablet and only managed to bury the lower half.

When Song Yue put away the tablet, he saw that one of the twins’ upper body had been utterly smashed to pulp.

She didn’t dare imagine the scene—she’d likely lose her appetite for days.

Song Yue then got up and covered the bloody area, transplanting grass and scattering seeds.

After everything was done, Song Yue looked at the still unconscious Miao Qiang, thought for a moment, and said, “Let’s head toward the altar, but we must be careful. We can’t go straight back—those Foundation Establishment cultivators from the secret realm may have companions there.”

Qian Qianxue nodded. She watched Song Yue carefully carry Miao Qiang, and the three made their way toward the altar.

Along the way, Song Yue chose paths that concealed their tracks, less likely to be discovered.

Gradually, Song Yue’s stamina returned, but Elder Miao remained unconscious—his injuries were too severe!

When Song Yue, carrying Miao Qiang and accompanied by Qian Qianxue, crossed the last mountain, they saw a large crowd gathered near the altar.

The time was almost up. Regardless of their gains, nearly everyone had returned to the altar, waiting for the secret realm’s gate to open so they could leave happily.

Song Yue took out his phone, turned on the camera, zoomed in, and carefully observed the altar. Soon, his expression changed, and he gave Qian Qianxue, who was also watching, a wry smile. “Qian, we might end up stranded here.”

Qian Qianxue fell silent. On the zoomed-in screen, a group of cold-faced secret realm people were interrogating everyone in turn.

They saw the Foundation Establishment cultivator representing the official Huaxia side, Li Changwen, negotiating with them, though the secret realm people clearly weren’t buying it. The atmosphere was tense, almost hostile.

Song Yue’s suspicions were correct.

In fact, the death of the wild woman had already alerted her faction.

Their ancestors had once explored the underground palace and gained a secret technique: a cultivator could infuse a sliver of spiritual sense into a jade talisman carved with a special rune array. If the cultivator suffered mishap, the talisman would shatter.

That way, their people would know at once.

When the wild woman’s talisman shattered, the entire Kunlun Sect erupted!

Not only was she favored by the twins and the sword-browed youth, but in the whole sect she was treated like a princess.

Her talisman shattered—how could they let that go?

Many immediately set out to search.

Then came more bad news—the three who had been with the wild woman had all perished!

This was a disaster!

The Kunlun secret realm contained many lethal zones.

Those places belonged to demon beasts or held unknown dangers.

Even secret realm people wouldn’t tread lightly.

Over the years, many had wandered in and never returned.

But the wild woman’s group of four were all experienced, powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators. First, they wouldn’t enter dangerous zones recklessly. Second, even if they encountered danger, they wouldn’t let the wild woman die first!

Even if they died themselves, they’d ensure her survival!

Clearly something had happened!

Most likely, they’d clashed with outsiders.

Soon, the Kunlun Sect’s people used magical artifacts to rush to the altar. After a round of questioning, they found nothing.

The cultivation academy students were all tight-lipped, claiming ignorance.

But Kunlun Sect was very forceful, compelling Li Changwen and the other cultivators to count their numbers!

Many had died on this journey in the secret realm.

Previously, in the conflict between East and West and the aliens, many perished.

So Li Changwen and his group were unhappy with Kunlun Sect’s unreasonable demands.

What Song Yue had just seen on his phone was the scene of Li Changwen and Kunlun Sect arguing their case.

At the altar.

Li Changwen, unaware of the situation, frowned at Kunlun Sect’s demand but spoke calmly, “Many have died this time. If our people say they haven’t seen those individuals, then they haven’t. Even if we count numbers for you, what’s the point?”

The Huaxia officials had traded with Kunlun Sect before, but the dealings were never pleasant.

The sect’s people were often domineering, unreasonable, and frequently reneged on agreements or raised prices at the last minute.

Thus, the Huaxia side was reluctant to deal with them.

Kunlun Sect was an ancient sect in the Kunlun secret realm, with a long history. Though the whole sect numbered only a few hundred—barely the size of a small martial arts school—their overall combat strength was formidable.

They had many Foundation Establishment cultivators—in the secret realm, they were a major sect.

So unless necessary, even Li Changwen, representing the Huaxia government, avoided conflict with them.

Kunlun Sect had sent a vice sect master—a youth of thirty-seven or thirty-eight with long hair, cold expression, and icy gaze.

The deaths of four Foundation Establishment disciples put him in a foul mood.

These people already looked down on outsiders, even Huaxia officials had no relation to them. Their attitude had never been friendly, always using tricks to gain advantage during trades.

Now, the situation had only worsened.

Beside the Kunlun Sect vice master stood a woman in her early thirties, tear-streaked. She was closest to the wild woman, and upon learning of her death, had broken down in tears, crying all the way here. Her mood was at its worst.

She looked at Li Changwen coldly and said, “If we tell you to count, then do it. Why so much talk?”

A cultivator from the alien faction spoke to Li Changwen, “Just count. Their people suffered misfortune, it’s reasonable they’re upset. We’ve always been good neighbors with the secret realm people; we should cooperate.”

Li Changwen glanced at him. Clearly, this was someone who spoke without real understanding.

In truth, he’d noticed something—a girl from the Qian family was missing from the academy, and the young martial artist who left the underground palace last was absent too!

But he didn’t believe those two could take down four Foundation Establishment cultivators of Kunlun Sect.

Even his own group would pay a price to do so—how could two youths manage it?

So he thought it unlikely those two were involved.

In the end, Li Changwen ordered the count and gave Kunlun Sect the list of the dead and the missing.

Kunlun Sect reviewed it and found it odd.

Besides clearly dead outsiders, only a few young people hadn’t returned.

They were all so young—surely they couldn’t have killed four Foundation Establishment cultivators.

At that moment, from the Western faction, a blonde girl boldly stepped up to Kunlun Sect and said, “I have some information!”

The cultivation academy crowd all gritted their teeth in anger—they could guess part of the truth.

Most likely, Elder Miao had helped. When they left, they’d heard fighting from the underground palace.

But now, they had to feign ignorance, or they’d arouse suspicion.

The tearful Kunlun Sect woman looked at the blonde girl with disdain. “What information?”

“There’s a martial artist called Song Yue from the academy. When the underground palace opened, he never came out, and now he and an academy girl haven’t returned…” the blonde began.

Kunlun Sect’s woman interrupted, “I know. It’s on the list.”

“No, what I mean is, they were accompanied by a powerful martial grandmaster—also one of your secret realm people! He previously clashed with your people for protecting Song Yue!” the blonde insisted. “I don’t know if your people met them, but I suspect—”

“Enough, I get it,” the Kunlun Sect woman waved her off, refusing to let her continue.

A martial grandmaster?

Could a martial grandmaster and two young people kill four Foundation Establishment cultivators?

Ridiculous!

The blonde retreated, frustrated.

She really knew nothing, but wanted to cause trouble for Song Yue and his companions.

Best if the secret realm people killed them right in front of her!

The scene became deadlocked.

Finally, the Kunlun Sect vice master said coolly, “We’ll wait here. Whoever killed our disciples will still have their dying aura on them—it’ll be clear at a glance.”

On the mountain.

Qian Qianxue whispered to Song Yue, “That person said, whoever killed them will still have the victims’ dying aura…”

Song Yue paused. “You read lips?”

Qian Qianxue nodded slightly.

Song Yue took a deep breath, realizing things had gotten difficult.

Elder Miao was still unconscious—even if they didn’t have the dying aura of the wild woman and the others, passing inspection would be hard.

How could a martial grandmaster be so badly injured?

He thought for a moment and said to Qian Qianxue, “Let’s go, leave here now! We have two days. Wait for Teacher Miao to wake, then decide what to do!”

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