After My Black Lotus Disciple Overheard My Inner Thoughts - Chapter 6

“Why don’t we… go inside the cave to take a look? We might be able to figure out the cause.” Lu Zhixue brushed the dust off her skirt and pulled Lu Zhihui toward the tree hollow.

“Be careful.”

The commotion from the battle outside had been so intense that everyone trapped within the vine cocoons who still retained vital signs had been jolted awake, including Geng Duan and his group, as well as Sui Yu.

As soon as the Lu siblings stepped inside, they heard the sound of Geng Duan and his followers grumbling angrily, which left them somewhat bewildered when they didn’t spot anyone immediately.

“Brother, are all the people trapped inside these spheres the ones captured by the tree demon?”

“It should be. Let’s save them first.”

Wielding their respective swords with a swirling, fierce momentum, the two quickly freed everyone, leaving the rescued cultivators to sit paralyzed on the ground, still gripped by lingering fear.

Sui Yu felt that the injuries on his body had already healed remarkably well. A faint, elusive hint of magnolia fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose. Looking around with suspicion, he scanned the entire area, yet failed to catch sight of that familiar white figure, causing his heart to skip a beat.

Where was Master?

That Hidden-Spirit Fox was gone!

Hiss— Sui Yu raised a hand to touch his left cheek. When had this place gotten injured too?

“Qianshan Sect, Lu Zhixue.”

“Qianshan Sect, Lu Zhihui. I wonder if you fellow Daoists are all doing well?”

“We’re fine, we’re fine. We are disciples of the Sound-Shattering Sect and the Joyful Sect. Many thanks for the rescue,” Geng Duan shot a vicious glare at Sui Yu not far away, then unhappily led his people away. “This place is not somewhere we should linger. Let’s move out first.”

Lu Zhixue looked toward Sui Yu with a slightly flushed face: “You… aren’t you leaving yet?”

“I still have injuries to tend to. Now that the tree demon is dead, this place is relatively safe for the time being,” Sui Yu coughed softly a few times. “Many thanks to the two of you just now.”

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome…” Lu Zhixue waved her hand, but she was already being pulled away by Lu Zhihui.

Lu Zhihui dragged her toward the cave entrance and whispered, “What on earth are you doing? Weren’t we supposed to investigate why the tree demon suddenly withered and died? What’s wrong with you why is your face so red?”

“Previously, I thought Brother was the best-looking person in the entire cultivation world, but today, I laid eyes on someone who surpasses you,” Lu Zhixue cradled her cheeks, unable to resist casting one last look back.

Lu Zhihui slapped the back of her head: “Stop acting crazy, the guy is still just a kid! We’re currently facing life-and-death uncertainties inside this secret realm, so don’t bring those outside bad habits in here. Come on, let’s go find that Wood Spirit Essence you mentioned!”

[Damn it, why won’t they leave yet? I can’t hold on much longer…]

Hearing Yun Mu’s inner voice, Sui Yu’s brows relaxed slightly. Master was still here.

Crouched behind a protruding tree root deep within the tree hollow, Yun Mu tightly curled his fluffy Hidden-Spirit Fox tail into a ball, leaving only a pair of amber eyes exposed as he surveyed the scene inside the cave.

Taking advantage of the tree demon’s fierce battle with the others when no one could spare attention for the interior of the hollow and relying on his current small and agile form, he had scouted around and indeed discovered a Wood Spirit Essence right at the apex of the deepest part of the tree hollow.

This Wood Spirit Essence was undoubtedly a top-tier treasure within the wood-attribute region, but his personal storage ring hadn’t come along with him into this form. How was he supposed to carry such a large pearl with just a pair of beast paws?

With a brain brilliantly clever to a fault, Yun Mu stuck out the tip of his pink, moistened fox tongue, took the Wood Spirit Essence straight into his mouth, and bit down on it. The cool, refreshing wood-type spiritual energy immediately slid down his throat into all four limbs, tasting sweet like fruit drops and making his entire body feel immensely comfortable.

Unfortunately, this sense of comfort didn’t last very long. The pearl was a bit too large, and holding it in his mouth for too long made his cheeks ache.

With the pearl still in his mouth, Yun Mu drifted lightly down to the ground, stepping with utmost caution as he made his way outward from the depths of the tree hollow.

Although the fighting outside had already ceased, and the tree demon had withered away completely after losing the maintenance of the Wood Spirit Essence, the commotion inside the tree hollow had not stopped. He even heard footsteps drawing closer to his hiding spot.

[What should I do? If this keeps up, I’m going to get found out for sure!]

The footsteps grew steadily closer. Yun Mu’s heart tightened involuntarily as he held his breath, curling himself up as tightly as possible, terrified of being discovered.

Fortunately, the person who walked in was Sui Yu.

Following the sporadic inner voice popping up in his mind, Sui Yu searched all around the cave until he spotted Yun Mu hiding behind the tree root, causing him to release a subtle, unnoticeable sigh of relief.

“Why are you running around blindly, you little creature?” Sui Yu hurried forward, only to immediately notice Yun Mu’s strange state. “What’s wrong with you? You look thoroughly uncomfortable.”

[Oh! The little disciple arrived right on time. Hand, reach out your hand quickly, I can’t hold on much longer.]

Yun Mu swayed his head and nuzzled against Sui Yu, signaling him to open his palm so he could rest his chin upon it.

Pushing the pearl forward with the tip of his tongue, he spat it right out onto Sui Yu’s hand, wrapped within a layer of shimmering green radiance and a suspicious trace of moisture.

Sui Yu froze in place, staring at that pearl with complete shock, the expression on his face cracking into pieces.

A wood-type spiritual essence… covered in drool?!

His fingertips curled slightly and then relaxed. His Adam’s apple bobbed with a difficult swallow, making him feel as though this hand was probably unsalvageable now.

Yun Mu remained completely oblivious to any of this, feeling immensely proud in his heart: [How’s that? Dumbfounded, aren’t you! The little disciple is still too green. The moment your master makes a move, the Wood Spirit Essence is captured instantly—I am just too awesome! Is this kid foolish with joy? Why is he still standing there stunned? Hurry up and put it away, we need to get out of here!]

Sui Yu finally snapped back to his senses, retrieved a handkerchief to wipe the Wood Spirit Essence clean, and stowed it carefully inside his storage pouch. Only then did he pick Yun Mu up from the ground and stride toward the outside with an unkind expression.

The system’s doubtful voice suddenly rang out in his sea of consciousness: [Mu’Mu, a good item like this could be useful for you too. Why did you just give it away to Sui Yu?]

[It was meant for him in the first place. The Wood Spirit Essence is a top-tier healing treasure, and his injuries aren’t fully healed yet. Besides, the little disciple possesses a wood-type spiritual root, so this will be immensely beneficial to his cultivation.]

System: [You really are the Model Master of the cultivation world! But Mu’Mu, let me warn you beforehand: while we can exploit bugs while inside the secret realm, once we get outside, you can never pull a stunt like this again. If you’re not careful, it will trigger an OOC violation and bring down divine lightning punishments! Once the plot trajectory gets derailed because of that, we might never escape this world.]

[I know, I know.]

The arms holding Yun Mu tightened abruptly. Sui Yu’s brow twitched upward, a bizarre and unreadable trace of playfulness dancing at the corners of his lips.

He hadn’t expected that upon living his life anew, his master’s core had been completely swapped out. In that case, who was he supposed to exact his past life’s vengeance upon?

Moreover, within this person’s sea of consciousness, there seemed to be yet another divine consciousness whose spoken words were equally bizarre and completely incomprehensible.

A thin mist rose within the forest, and moonlight filtered down through the gaps in the trees like shattered silver foil.

Just as they approached the exit of the tree hollow, they suddenly heard a dull thud of a heavy object crashing onto the ground ahead, followed by the crisp ringing of swords clashing.

Peering out from behind a tree, the two of them saw Geng Duan standing in the center with a blood-stained sword in hand, surrounded by the carcasses of several beasts lying at his feet.

His subordinates and the two bootlicking lackeys from the Joyful Sect were currently raising their magical artifacts to confront the final three-tailed spotted leopard. The leopard’s dark-blue eyes flickered with a faint bloody glow, its claws gouging deep trenches into the earth as it bared its teeth and roared furiously, clearly driven completely mad by these people.

“Young Master, this beast’s hide is way too tough!” One disciple’s blade struck the leopard’s back, generating only a few sparks.

Geng Duan cursed foully, brandishing his Ink Bell Sword. Accompanied by rolling waves of bell chimes, he swept out fierce, sharp ripples of energy. The rest coordinated rapidly, unleashing various talismans and spells to pin the leopard down firmly.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Geng Duan decapitated the three-tailed spotted leopard with a single sword strike. Blood splattered across the greater half of his face, yet he grinned broadly, casually wiped his face with his sleeve, and turned to leave after harvesting the leopard’s inner core.

However, after taking merely two steps forward, he suddenly froze dead in his tracks.

His gaze swept across the tree trunk not far away, crashing straight into Sui Yu’s icy, frigid gaze as the young lad stood clutching the Hidden-Spirit Fox and watching the show from the sidelines.