"Heard it."
As soon as the words fell, a scream was heard from behind.
"Ah! Help! Save me—"
"It's Qiu Wei!" Yue Miaomiao immediately said.
As soon as she and Bai Shengyi turned their heads, they saw Qiu Wei being dragged into the woods by a brown tentacle. Behind Qiu Wei, Yang Hengce's hand, which had pushed him, had not yet retracted.
Seeing Bai Shengyi and Yue Miaomiao's gazes, Yang Hengce immediately retracted his hand and argued, "It wasn't me who pushed him, I was trying to save him just now!"
"Tsk." Bai Shengyi sneered. It was better not to explain; the explanation only made it worse.
However, she had no friendship with either of them, so she made no comment and did not have the kindness to save him.
Lan Xuerou, however, could not stand it. While protecting Yue Miaomiao, she said, "Fellow Daoist Yang, Qiu Wei is your fellow disciple. Instead of wasting time here, you should hurry and save him."
From "Junior Brother Yang" to "Fellow Daoist Yang," Lan Xuerou clearly did not believe Yang Hengce's explanation just now.
Her brows furrowed, and she felt increasingly uneasy. She quietly asked Bai Shengyi, "Martial Aunt, can you let Junior Sister stay by your side later?"
If something really happened, Miao Miao would have a better chance of survival.
"Senior Sister!" Yue Miaomiao did not understand Lan Xuerou's good intentions and only felt that her request was too difficult.
Originally, within the secret realm, everyone relied on their own abilities. She and Martial Aunt were not from the same sect. What if she became a burden later?
Lan Xuerou ignored Yue Miaomiao's little tantrum and said to Bai Shengyi, "We haven't encountered any major dangers since entering the secret realm. Logically speaking, I shouldn't be so cautious, but I always feel uneasy..."
"Your feeling uneasy is correct," Bai Shengyi lowered her voice and said, "Look at that tree..."
Lan Xuerou followed Bai Shengyi's gaze and saw the treetops swaying, the leaves rustling.
"There's no problem—" The rest of her words caught in her throat as she saw the branches moving, and then in the next instant, Lan Xuerou sharply warned Yang Hengce, "Fellow Daoist Yang, dodge quickly!"
Yang Hengce looked at the ominous and strange brown tentacles, hesitating whether to risk his life to save Qiu Wei or to lie down and let Lan Xuerou and the others mock him. When he heard Lan Xuerou's voice, his heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively rolled to the ground, only to hear a sharp whistling sound.
A few leaves fell.
Yang Hengce looked up, "Ahhh... What is this ghost!"
In his panic, he didn't even draw his sword to counterattack when the branch swung at him. Seeing the branch approaching, he even closed his eyes.
"Crack."
Bai Shengyi sliced the branch with her sword, saving him in the process, and said speechlessly, "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and help! Are you lying on the ground waiting to die?"
The word "die" jolted Yang Hengce. He scrambled to his feet.
However, after getting up, he did not go forward to help. Instead, he turned and ran, shamelessly declaring, "You guys hold on, I'm going to save Qiu Wei."
"Yang Hengce!"
Yue Miaomiao's little face turned red with anger. The sword in her hand swept wildly, wishing the trees in front of her were Yang Hengce himself.
"Shameless! Too much! Martial Aunt saved him, and instead of thanking her or helping, he ran away! How could there be such a person in Hua Ling Mountain! So shameless!"
"Junior Sister, be careful!" Lan Xuerou cut off a branch that was trying to sneak attack Yue Miaomiao, but almost tripped and fell to the ground herself.
It was Bai Shengyi who pulled her up, stabilizing her.
Lan Xuerou continued to deal with these suddenly "alive" branches and asked, "Martial Aunt, what do we do now?"
Although Bai Shengyi did not talk much, in the past three days, every decision Bai Shengyi made was correct. Although she did not do anything extra, her calm and steady demeanor was very convincing and trustworthy.
Unconsciously, Lan Xuerou and Yue Miaomiao began to follow her lead.
Bai Shengyi's divine sense spread out again.
She had done this many times in the past three days, so she quickly discovered that the range of her divine sense had not changed. It was as if as they moved towards the center, the barrier in the forest moved with them.
The sky was just about to break, and the approaching trees behind them could be seen clearly. They were dark, rich black maple trees. The branches of these maple trees, like the peach blossom demons she encountered in the Peach Blossom Secret Realm, came and went freely, attacking them in various unpredictable ways.
Behind these black maple trees, there were many red maple trees with red leaves that remained motionless. However, she clearly remembered that the brown tentacle that dragged Qiu Wei out had emerged from a red maple tree.
"Why don't we keep following the Nether Raven towards the center?" Yue Miaomiao said uneasily. The changes in the forest made her anxious as well.
Also, "That shameless Yang Hengce said he was going to save Qiu Wei, but I just saw him running in the direction the Nether Raven flew. Martial Aunt, didn't we guess before that there might be a treasure appearing at the center of the dense forest? If we don't hurry up and catch up, it would be too disgusting if Yang Hengce got the treasure."
Lan Xuerou listened to Yue Miaomiao's resentful words and said helplessly, "Junior Sister!"
"Although Fellow Daoist Yang's actions were quite unethical, treasures are something that one should approach with a calm mind. If Fellow Daoist Yang can obtain the treasure, it is Fellow Daoist Yang's ability, and there is no need to be upset about it."
Yue Miaomiao clearly did not accept Lan Xuerou's words, but with a formidable enemy at hand, she couldn't argue with her senior sister. She pouted unhappily, her cat pupils filled with gloom, making people feel soft-hearted at a glance.
"One must even compete for opportunities in the Great Dao. Treasures naturally go to the capable. However, do not let the desire for gain or loss obscure your original heart."
As Bai Shengyi spoke, she took out her Chunhong Sword and swept it horizontally, cleanly severing the branches of the black maple trees in front of her. At a glance, these trees were all halved.
"Martial Aunt is awesome!" Yue Miaomiao's eyes lit up, and she gave a thumbs up, saying cheerfully, "Senior Sister, did you hear that? I think what Martial Aunt said is correct."
Lan Xuerou said softly, "Yes, yes, Senior Sister has been taught."
She also knew that her personality was soft, so she was somewhat uncompetitive in everything she did. Her master had also told her this several times, but she just couldn't change it.
With Bai Shengyi's strong offense, although the attacks from these black maple trees were endless, they were still within control. However, continuing like this was not a solution.
Bai Shengyi said, "We won't go into the center of the dense forest. We'll go outwards."
She thought of the strange barrier and the dim sky, and had some other guesses in her mind.
"Then let's break through in that direction?" Yue Miaomiao and Lan Xuerou had no objections. Bai Shengyi's word was law. Yue Miaomiao pointed towards the red maple trees.
The red maple trees stood quietly, forming a stark contrast with the ominous black black maple trees, giving a sense of security at first glance.
Before Yue Miaomiao could finish speaking, she had already leaped over and gone in that direction, and Bai Shengyi couldn't stop her!
"Miaomiao! Come back first!"
However, it was too late!
"Plop!"
"Plop!"
It was that sound, like a heartbeat, again!
Bai Shengyi and Lan Xuerou both rushed forward, trying to pull Yue Miaomiao back, only to see a tentacle shoot out from behind the red maple tree, wrap around Yue Miaomiao, and drag her into the forest!
"Martial Aunt! Senior Sister..."
"Shua!"
In a flash, Bai Shengyi's Chunhong Sword flew out of her hand, cutting at the tentacle!