Chapter 570: Enjoying Daoist Buyu's Treatment in Advance

"Back then, I had just arrived in the Demon Domain and was a complete stranger in a strange land. That Suanni thought I was an easy target and tried to take liberties with me. In a fit of rage, I cut him down. That Suanni was the pride of the Suanni clan, and since I killed him right in front of all the other young geniuses, they lost face completely. Naturally, the Suanni clan wouldn’t let it slide, so I ended up on the run for quite a while."

"What happened next?"

"Later, I asked First Senior Sister to help me strike back, and now the Suanni clan is much more behaved—at least on the surface," the Third Senior Sister smiled. Currently, quite a few people were hunting her down, and some of them might well be assassins covertly dispatched by the Suanni clan.

Lu Yang had heard that Third Senior Sister had entered the Demon Domain back when she was in the Soul Transformation Stage. To easily slay a genius of the demon race of the same tier and manage to evade the pursuit of the Suanni clan was truly no simple feat.

The trio stepped into the secret realm, where yellow sands blotted out the sky, and violent tornadoes carried massive boulders. Anyone swept into them would face certain death.

The wind was so fierce that Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were nearly blown away.

Furthermore, visibility within the sandstorm was incredibly low, and it was difficult to extend one's divine sense outward.

"These are Wind-Calming Beads; you two take them." Third Senior Sister handed each of them a green jade bead. Upon holding the beads, both felt their bodies lighten, as though the surrounding gales had vanished, allowing them to walk with ease.

"It's not that there's no wind around you, but rather that the Wind-Calming Beads release a counter-wind, neutralizing the surrounding gales through collision," the Immortal Fairy casually explained.

"The innate ability of the Suanni lies in wind and fog. These two Wind-Calming Beads were likely crafted from Suanni skulls."

"What a fine treasure."

"You two follow closely behind me, or you'll easily lose your way," Third Senior Sister called out in a loud warning.

"Third Senior Sister, can you see the path ahead?"

"I'm not looking; I can feel it. Ever since I arrived in the Demon Domain, I have blindfolded my eyes to train my other four senses, no longer relying on sight or divine sense."

As a cultivator's cultivation base increased, their five senses and divine sense would naturally become sharper. However, to advance even further, relying solely on the passive enhancements brought by breakthroughs was insufficient; deliberate training was required.

"Senior Sister, did you decide to train your four senses only after witnessing the fog between the Central Continent and the Demon Domain?" Meng Jingzhou thought back to the fog they had encountered before entering the domain.

"Yes, the fog served as a wake-up call for me."

"Then, Senior Sister, do you know why the Demon Domain stands upright against the Central Continent, and what the situation is at the northernmost edge of the Eastern Sea Buddhist Kingdom?"

"I knew you two would ask that. Time is tight right now; I’ll explain it to you slowly once we get out."

"Time is tight?"

"Mhm. If those old fogies find out I've shown my face here, they will definitely send people to kill me. We had better leave this secret realm before they arrive."

"Senior Sister, have you exposed your identity as a disciple of the Dao Seeking Sect?" As a cultivator holding the dual identities of a Dao Seeking Sect disciple and the eldest young master of the Meng clan, Meng Jingzhou was always mindful of his own safety, keeping the instructions of Elder Ba firmly in mind.

"Not at all. I am being hunted purely based on my own capabilities."

As Third Senior Sister spoke, she casually swung her ancient zither, batting away the incoming boulders with effortless ease.

"We've arrived."

The trio arrived before a stone chamber, around which an unknown formation had been laid, blocking out the sandstorm and tornadoes. It was as peaceful as a secluded, separate world.

Before the stone chamber crouched two stone-carved Suanni statues. Sensing the presence of strangers, the two statues assumed a defensive posture, preparing to launch an attack.

Without so much as a second glance, Third Senior Sister smashed both statues to pieces with two slaps. From the stone remnants, she retrieved two halves of a key, joined them together to form a complete key, and unlocked the stone chamber.

Lu Yang's eyes narrowed. Those two Suanni statues were by no means simple; at full power, they could briefly unleash a combat strength comparable to the early Soul Transformation Stage. Had it been only him and Meng Jingzhou coming to this secret realm, these two statues alone would have left them utterly overwhelmed.

"As expected, this really is a place meant for us to enter only when we reach the Nascent Soul Stage."

With a resounding rumble, the heavy doors of the stone chamber swung open, revealing a modest pile of spirit stones and several manuals on dual cultivation.

The Suanni clan was a branch of the Dragon clan, inheriting the inherently lustful nature of dragons and possessing an addiction to dual cultivation. This was precisely the reason why that Suanni had provoked Third Senior Sister in the first place.

Aside from these, there was a dazzling array of various heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

Meng Jingzhou picked up a bronze-colored fruit. Upon touching it, it felt like cold jade, and he could distinctively feel the vitality contained within.

"Is this the Wood-White Gold-Jade?"

The Wood-White Gold-Jade was a rare heavenly material that had existed since ancient times. Its conditions for growth were extremely harsh, requiring a sentient spiritual plant to absorb the Qi of Wujin through its roots to bear fruit. It was of immense help to Metal-attribute cultivators, enhancing their vitality and their control over the element of metal.

To Meng Jingzhou's knowledge, currently only the Five Elements Sect possessed such fruits, harvested from spiritual plants growing upon metal veins, and the yield was exceedingly low.

"Could it be that this Suanni killed a disciple of the Five Elements Sect to plunder his goods..."

"I don't think so," Lu Yang remarked from the side.

"Why?"

Lu Yang picked up a piece of parchment nearby and shook it. "This is a purchase receipt issued by the Five Elements Sect. It even says it can be returned if there is a quality issue."

Meng Jingzhou: "..."

How does the Five Elements Sect manage to conduct business even more formally than our Meng family?

Lu Yang picked up another sheet of paper. "This is an IOU written by the Suanni. He borrowed quite a bit of money from a merchant coalition just to buy this Wood-White Gold-Jade. I reckon it's become a bad debt by now."

That Suanni did not possess the capabilities of Qin Haoran; the debt would not magically transfer to whoever picked up the item.

He was merely one of the many young geniuses of the Suanni clan. Competition within the clan was fierce, and there were things they had to earn, snatch, or borrow by themselves!

"That works out perfectly. This fruit is yours; it can enhance your sword qi." Meng Jingzhou tossed the fruit to Lu Yang.

"Alright, hurry up and use your identity jade plaques to sweep everything away. We can pick through them slowly once we are out." Third Senior Sister had extensive experience being hunted. Estimating that time was running short, she knew they would not make it if they did not leave immediately.

Hearing this, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou activated their identity jade plaques, vacuuming up the entirety of the Suanni's inheritance.

"Let's go."

Third Senior Sister produced a piece of beast hide for the two of them to sit on, then charged directly through the sandstorm out of the secret realm.

Boom!

The moment the three rushed out of the secret realm, they were met with a ferocious assault. The beast hide trembled violently, nearly falling from the sky.

"Demonic Music Heavenly Maiden, let's see where you can run today!"

"Hand over your life!"

"You have committed endless atrocities; today shall be your downfall!"

Several cultivators of the Body Integration Stage had blockaded the exit of the secret realm. Their accumulated, full-strength strikes slammed heavily against the beast hide, sending a jolt of sheer terror through Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

They were merely in the Golden Core Stage; how were they already receiving the kind of treatment usually reserved for Daoist Buyu?

The onslaught continued, riddling the beast hide with holes, while the three figures atop it gradually grew translucent.

"Oh no, this is an illusion created by a Mirage Bead!"

"And you lot actually thought you could catch me?"

As the illusion shattered, Third Senior Sister let out a cold laugh, transforming into a streak of light to break through the encirclement.

Amidst this scene, she recalled the very first lesson Daoist Buyu had taught her.

"Xiao Gan, as my third disciple, the first thing you must learn is how to run away."

The teachings of Daoist Buyu had aided her narrow escapes from death time and again, playing a truly vital role.