Forcing the Aloof Master to Madness - Chapter 35

Shen Lezhi secretly communicated with the Five-Lustrous Gold Bamboo alone; only without others present could she speak to it, explaining the danger of the surrounding cliff face.

She spoke sincerely and possessed an aura that spiritual plants intensely favored. Without the Weeping Soul Tassel dragging its feet, the Five-Lustrous Gold Bamboo agreed to her request almost immediately.

In truth, after developing intelligence, the Five-Lustrous Gold Bamboo’s senses were comparable to the spiritual sense of a Golden Core cultivator, and it was already aware of the crisis hanging above its head.

It could also already distinguish between the malice and goodwill emanating from human cultivators.

However, last time it truly got into a fight with the Weeping Soul Tassel. Since Shen Lezhi did not bring the Weeping Soul Tassel this time, the Five-Lustrous Gold Bamboo was much quieter.

The Weeping Soul Tassel, however, expressed strong dissatisfaction that Shen Lezhi had left it alone in the cabin for the sake of that bamboo.

“Master probably doesn’t want me anymore.”

“That’s right, that stupid bamboo is so good-looking, all shiny and golden, unlike me, who is so ugly.”

“Everyone says I’m ugly, and Master dislikes me too, she doesn’t want to be close to me anymore, waaah, waaah, waaah.”

“…” Shen Lezhi had just returned from the Five-Lustrous Gold Bamboo. She pushed the door open and heard the Weeping Soul Tassel’s voice.

“Little crybaby, you are becoming truly ‘tea,'” Shen Lezhi closed her eyes, utterly speechless.

[“Tea”]$ is a term used on Chinese social media to describe a manipulative person who feigns innocence.$ “What is ‘tea’? Does it mean I’m smart?”

“…” Fine, it hasn’t learned the meaning of that word.

“Yes, it means you’re smart,” Shen Lezhi decided to placate it, as if it truly started crying, she would be the one suffering the consequences.

“I knew Master still likes me best!” The Weeping Soul Tassel immediately beamed happily.

Shen Lezhi nodded, sincerely expressing her agreement.

In the following days, apart from cultivating and practicing her sword, Shen Lezhi spent her time in the Spiritual Herb Hall with Senior Sister Xin Lan, looking after the recently transplanted Five-Lustrous Gold Bamboo.

Although the two spiritual plants, the Weeping Soul Tassel and the Five-Lustrous Gold Bamboo, still disliked each other and found each other an eyesore, the Five-Lustrous Gold Bamboo was still recovering and in poor condition after leaving its familiar environment, so it did not have the energy to argue with the Weeping Soul Tassel.

After a few more days passed in this manner, the time finally arrived to enter the small secret realm.

Unfortunately, Wang Xi did not return even when the small secret realm opened. However, Senior Sister Yun Sha and Hua Man would be entering the realm with her, so she was not completely lonely.

This small secret realm of Youfang Academy was said to have been left behind when a powerful figure perished. The sealing spells inside were extremely exquisite, so much so that even Feng Nianzhen of Xuan Yu Sect could not fully decipher them.

The small secret realm appeared at a fixed time every three years and only permitted cultivators below the Golden Core stage to enter.

When the realm opened, Shen Lezhi saw the sky above change color; the blue sky instantly became dim.

The sunlight was blocked by thick, dark clouds, with only faint golden light flickering within, unable to penetrate the clouds and shine through.

The cultivators gathered together, waiting for the entrance to the secret realm to open.

Within a moment, a spiral-shaped pattern appeared out of thin air in mid-air. Cold, faint green smoke constantly spread as the entrance opened, until it completely enveloped them.

Shen Lezhi felt this aura was extremely cold. The strong sense of oppression gave her a feeling of being restrained by Wang Xi.

However, it was also different from Wang Xi; this coldness was mixed with desolate lamentation. Standing within the green smoke, Shen Lezhi’s eyes and ears seemed to hear and see the world-destroying despair.

But this lasted for only a single breath.

Soon, the green smoke dissipated, and the entrance to the small secret realm revealed itself.

Shen Lezhi recovered, her face still pale from the suffering of being momentarily corroded by that despair.

“Lezhi, what’s wrong?” Senior Sister Yun Sha, who was beside her, noticed her pale face and turned to ask with concern.

“Senior Sister, you just didn’t…” Shen Lezhi instinctively started to ask, but when she noticed the excited looks of the people around her, eager to enter the secret realm, she knew the answer in her heart.

“Hmm?” Senior Sister Yun Sha listened as Shen Lezhi stopped mid-sentence and waited with a puzzled expression.

“I’m fine, Senior Sister,” but Shen Lezhi did not wish to elaborate. She shook her head and quickly found an excuse. “I was just wondering what important matter Master has, that she still hasn’t returned.”

“The Moonlight Immortal Master indeed has urgent matters to attend to. If she had the time, she would surely wish to be by Junior Sister Shen’s side,” Senior Sister Yun Sha reassured her.

Everyone in Xuan Yu Sect knew that the Moonlight Immortal Master doted on her disciple. Shen Lezhi also nodded in agreement with Senior Sister Yun Sha’s words.

After all, she had always firmly believed this herself.

“Then let’s go in,” Senior Sister Yun Sha reminded her.

Without saying anything further, the three of them leaped into the entrance of the small secret realm in mid-air.

Shen Lezhi only felt a flash of white before her eyes and instinctively closed them. When she opened them again, the scene before her had undergone a massive change.

The secret realm was covered in ice and snow, with countless withered trees standing tall on a boundless ice plain.

There was no one around Shen Lezhi. As far as her eyes could see, it was barren and uninhabited.

Senior Sister Yun Sha and Hua Man were not in this location either. Shen Lezhi sighed helplessly, not expecting to be separated from them right from the start.

Shen Lezhi looked up at the sky, where a strange sight made her pause.

The sun in the sky was much larger than in reality, seeming to press down on her head. But Shen Lezhi did not feel the heat; snow was currently falling all over the ice plain.

Senior Sister Xin Lan had told her that strange phenomena often appeared in the small secret realm, and they were utterly unpredictable.

Sometimes the sun seemed to stop directly overhead, and sometimes the moon suddenly descended to the ground.

Sometimes it was daytime one moment, and the next, night had fallen.

But these changes did not significantly affect the people within the small secret realm. In fact, just as Shen Lezhi felt at this moment, even though the sun hung right above her, she did not experience its scorching temperature.

It was as if everything were merely a mirage, which was why no one paid it any mind after so many years.

Shen Lezhi lowered her gaze and flew away on her sword in one direction.

Senior Sister Xin Lan had informed her beforehand that the small secret realm contained many geographical features, but none were very large, even at the speed of flying on a sword.

The ice plain where Shen Lezhi was located was relatively resource-scarce, and anyone teleported there would choose to leave by sword flight immediately.

The secret realm was Youfang Academy’s triennial small assessment location. Every person carried three talismans, which represented points.

The final ranking was determined by the number of talismans the student held at the end.

In other words, the small secret realm was essentially a proving ground where cultivators fought each other to seize talismans.

The format of the Youfang Academy small secret realm had evolved over many years, already forming conflicts between different factions.

Those led by the Sword Martial Faction would prioritize forming groups. Other factions, unable to defeat them, would either work for them to get a good ranking or be beaten by their combined teams, forced to hide, or even lose their lives.

However, since this was still the early stage of entering the secret realm and the Sword Martial Faction members had not fully grouped up, the smaller sects would take advantage of this time to collect some resources from the realm.

After all, treasures were everywhere in the small secret realm. If they managed to gather just a few, for cultivators who had not yet reached the Golden Core stage, even if they ran into the Sword Martial Faction members and were bullied, as long as they didn’t lose their lives, the academy would not allow students to fight privately after leaving the realm.

While flying on her sword, Shen Lezhi spotted such a small team.

Three female cultivators were standing in a sea of Butterfly Whisper Flowers, entangled with several of the plants.

Each Butterfly Whisper Flower here was fully three meters tall, and their stalks were thicker than the Butterfly Whisper Flowers outside, about the size of an adult female cultivator’s arm.

The petals of every Butterfly Whisper Flower had already bloomed. The petals, shaped like butterfly wings, were swept by the breeze, appearing like real butterflies fluttering their wings in this spot.

The three female cultivators were trapped in the Butterfly Whisper thicket. Shen Lezhi saw that they had already stripped off the petals of several plants, and she felt the hundreds and thousands of Butterfly Whisper Flowers radiating feelings of intense hatred.

Shen Lezhi lowered her eyes, hesitating whether she should interfere.

Although the pollen of the Butterfly Whisper Flower was non-toxic, if thousands of them scattered pollen, the strange scent would attract high-level demon beasts. At that point, the three female cultivators would either be strangled to death by the Butterfly Whisper Flowers or pursued and killed by the demon beasts.

Shen Lezhi took a deep breath, drew her small white sword, and executed the newly learned Xuan Yu Sword Technique in a fluid motion. These few sword strikes allowed her to gather spiritual power within her body until it reached a critical point, and then burst forth.

The moment of the eruption caused a violent tremor in her own spiritual energy and the surrounding air, thereby squeezing out the space for other spiritual energy in the air.

Within a ten-zhang radius centered on her, Water Spiritual Energy would be saturated.

Moist water vapor immediately filled the area. Before the three female cultivators even noticed, a continuous light rain began to fall from the sky.

Shen Lezhi intended to use the rainwater to wash away the large amount of pollen released by the Butterfly Whisper Flowers, ensuring that demon beasts would not be drawn by the scent.

This method caused a massive depletion of her spiritual power, but the Exquisite Heart within her body truly lived up to its name as a treasure of the world. By the time she stopped the sword moves, her depleted spiritual power had already begun to recover.

Shen Lezhi somewhat belatedly realized that as her strength increased, the Exquisite Heart seemed to integrate more closely with her.

When she had not yet established her foundation, she could barely feel the Exquisite Heart operating so autonomously and efficiently absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy.

Or was it because she had entered this small secret realm?

Shen Lezhi could not find the answer immediately, and besides, there were urgent matters at hand, so she temporarily suppressed the doubts in her heart.

Shen Lezhi leaped into the Butterfly Whisper Flower thicket, reaching out to touch the nearest flower, trying to communicate with them.

She inherently carried an aura that spiritual plants greatly favored; even if humans could not sense it, spiritual plants were keenly aware of it.

The Butterfly Whisper Flowers could not speak like the little crybaby or the Five-Lustrous Gold Bamboo, but the spiritual power Shen Lezhi released could still establish a connection with them.

Although Shen Lezhi was unsure of the reason, every single Butterfly Whisper Flower was expressing its rage toward her.

It was as if they were accusing the thieves who had broken in and harmed them.

They also wanted those people to pay the price.

The anger of one Butterfly Whisper Flower was not too overwhelming, but the resentment gathered from hundreds and thousands of them caused Shen Lezhi an intense headache.

She closed her eyes, finding the surge of emotion difficult to bear. However, she saw that the Butterfly Whisper Flowers beside the three female cultivators had already intertwined with one another, using their own bodies to construct a beautiful cage.

An ordinary person would marvel at this beauty. The Butterfly Whisper Flowers were naturally beautiful, and at this moment, their vibrating petals were like countless butterflies dancing in the thicket. The massive sun overhead was like a giant fiery disc, reflecting the miracle of this patch of Butterfly Whisper.

But Shen Lezhi frowned deeply now, not only because the Butterfly Whisper Flowers were savagely killing her own kind, but also because their intertwined stalks were oozing thick white sap due to the excessive twisting.

That was the blood of the Butterfly Whisper Flowers.

Their stalks began to crack, and the frantically vibrating butterfly petals became even more vibrant.

This extreme beauty came at the cost of their lives. The anger behind this beauty could not be extinguished even by the light rain Shen Lezhi had conjured.

Shen Lezhi covered her ears, unable to bear it, and crouched down in pain.

They did not speak, so Shen Lezhi should not have heard them, but countless sounds seemed to echo in her ears.

Their intensely gathered emotions seemed to be saying: Kill them.

Shen Lezhi knew she could not stop it; she had known this the moment she stepped into the Butterfly Whisper Flower thicket.

And what caused her even greater pain was this:

Amidst the towering rage, there were also the crisp sounds of the Butterfly Whisper stalks snapping and their heartbreaking cries of agony.

The continuous rain suddenly became torrential.

It was Shen Lezhi’s agitated heart rising and falling.

She somewhat fearfully dared not look at the scene of the three female cultivators being strangled by the Butterfly Whisper Flowers. The flowers’ mournful, self-sacrificing cries mingled with the fearful gasps of the three female cultivators.

“H-help…”

“Save us.”

Shen Lezhi heard their cries for help.

Because she was never attacked by the Butterfly Whisper Flowers, the three assumed her strength was so formidable that the flowers did not even dare to approach her.

They let out sharp cries for help. Shen Lezhi gripped her small white sword and looked toward them with a pale face.

She could save no one.

Neither these three female cultivators nor the breaking stalks of the Butterfly Whisper Flowers.

Even her own heart was fluttering, unsure whether she should try to save them.

“Master…” The Weeping Soul Tassel wanted to comfort her, calling out softly, but Shen Lezhi could not hear it at this moment.

Shen Lezhi could not respond to the three people, nor could she bear the astonishing grief and anger of the Butterfly Whisper Flowers.

She could only stand rooted to the spot, watching everything unfold before her, watching them unleash cruel slaughter upon each other.

Although the three female cultivators were terrified, they were not defenseless. Driven to a dead end, their survival instincts pushed them to explode with their ultimate potential.

Massive spiritual energy collided violently in the air. Killing spells and techniques rained down upon the bodies of the Butterfly Whisper Flowers.

And the Butterfly Whisper Flowers used their own petals, their own roots, and their own bodies to tighten the meticulously woven cage inch by inch until all the enemies inside were strangled, until human blood was splattered across the beautiful thicket.

A sudden downpour fell abruptly.

A torrential rain descended, centered on Shen Lezhi.

This was not caused by her excessive emotional turmoil, but because she wanted to use the rain to wash away the blood mist that filled the sky and the broken branches of the Butterfly Whisper Flowers scattered everywhere.

The rain washed away the bloodstains. Shen Lezhi clenched her fists, pressing them against her heart in pain. The throbbing pain radiating from her chest made her extremely uncomfortable.

At that moment, a Butterfly Whisper Flower lowered its petals. Its butterfly-wing-like petals lightly brushed against her cheek, affectionately nudging her.

Shen Lezhi felt the other party’s emotion.

This Butterfly Whisper Flower was comforting her pain.

A more intense stinging pain suddenly arose in Shen Lezhi’s heart, and chills surged from her limbs.

She could do nothing, yet she still needed comfort from a spiritual plant.

This was the first time—the very first time—Shen Lezhi felt this power to sense the spiritual plants caused her such agony.

The heavy rain was slowly stopping. Transparent raindrops hung on the petals of the Butterfly Whisper Flowers. The crystal-clear water droplets brought with them a sense of cleansing, as if newly born.

The clear breeze swept past, purifying the dewdrops.

The air no longer carried the stench of blood, leaving only the unique sweet fragrance of the Butterfly Whisper Flower thicket.

“It’s time to leave,” Shen Lezhi murmured, speaking to herself and yet bidding farewell to the Butterfly Whisper Flowers.

She walked to the spot where the three female cultivators had been killed. All that remained on the ground were their tattered clothes.

Shen Lezhi silently picked up the three women’s clothes. The lingering faint scent of blood reminded Shen Lezhi of the scene that had just unfolded, which she could not avoid recalling.

She became even more silent. The Butterfly Whisper Flowers did not prevent her actions; the spiritual plants’ goodwill and closeness toward her exceeded the comprehension of many wood-spirit-root cultivators.

Shen Lezhi was naturally aware of this point.

Carrying the three women’s clothes, she flew on her sword to a location far away from the Butterfly Whisper Flower thicket, dug a pit, and buried the three people in the soil.

And all of this was projected by the water mirror of Youfang Academy.

The water mirror placed in the central pavilion of Youfang Academy could completely project the scenes within the small secret realm.

However, it was not used normally. It was only activated by the Elder specifically in charge of the water mirror when academy cultivators entered the small secret realm every three years.

Although fighting among cultivators was allowed within the secret realm, this group of low-level cultivators was the future of the academy. Since a mass death incident occurred once, everything within the small secret realm has been monitored by dedicated Elders through the water mirror.

However, only when a large number of cultivators were tragically killed in the small secret realm would the academy Elders intervene.

Later, it evolved into the current situation, where Elders and powerful figures from various factions could come to observe, check the aptitude of their disciples, and sometimes even engage in a bit of rivalry.

This was one of the reasons why the faction-based grouping within the small secret realm became overly severe.

However, none of the Elders of Youfang Academy dared to speak too arrogantly today, including the always-arrogant Elder of the Sword Martial Faction.

Because the Moonlight Immortal Master was present.

And on the water mirror was her only disciple.

Everything that just happened was completely displayed on the water mirror. Although Shen Lezhi was only at the Foundation Establishment cultivation level, the massive downpour she summoned was something that even a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator could not achieve.

Furthermore, in such a situation, the Butterfly Whisper Flowers not only did not harm her but even allowed her to safely take away the remains of the three female cultivators.

This could not help but astound the present wood-element cultivators.

Although the Butterfly Whisper Flower was not considered an aggressively attacking spiritual plant, once harmed, its strangulation of humans was almost merciless.

When Shen Lezhi was situated within the Butterfly Whisper thicket, logically speaking, in that situation, the Butterfly Whisper Flowers would definitely regard her as an enemy and kill her on the spot, just like the three female cultivators.

When Shen Lezhi interfered and rushed into the Butterfly Whisper Flower thicket, many of the Elders present held their breath, fearing that if the Moonlight Immortal Master’s disciple died directly in the small secret realm, the Immortal Master might simply flatten Youfang Academy.

They were all praying in their hearts that this reckless young female cultivator would hurry up and leave and not bother with such trivial matters.

“The Immortal Master has truly taught her to be naive and innocent,” the Elder from the Sword Martial Faction abruptly spoke at this moment.

The water mirror had just shown the scene of a Sword Martial Faction cultivator. Someone had already snatched talismans from another faction, and their ranking was already first.

When Shen Lezhi was cleaning up the remains of the three female cultivators just now, she had clearly seen the nine talismans they dropped, but she completely ignored them, burying them along with their clothes in the soil.

It was as if she didn’t care about the so-called ranking at all.

Although Shen Lezhi was not a student of Youfang Academy, she carried the title of the Moonlight Immortal Master’s disciple. If her ranking were too low, it might cause the Moonlight Immortal Master to lose face.

Moreover, Xuan Yu Sect had three people enter this time; even for the sake of their sect’s reputation, they could not fall too far behind.

This was the thought of almost all the cultivators present. Even those with low magical power who could not compete would never miss an opportunity to take a discarded talisman.

No one would be like Shen Lezhi, burying the talismans in the dirt, completely uncaring.

The Sword Martial Faction Elder’s comment that she was “naive and innocent” was not meant as praise for her purity, but rather a jab that she was too useless and did not understand the rule of the jungle.

It was also a veiled mockery of Wang Xi for having taught her disciple in such a manner.

Upon hearing this, Wang Xi shifted her gaze away from Shen Lezhi in the water mirror, slowly turning it to the Sword Martial Faction Elder.

She rarely interacted with people from Youfang Academy and had no impression of this woman’s appearance.

But the other party had spoken words that offended her. Everyone held their breath, waiting for her reaction.

In her previous life, Wang Xi likely would not have bothered with such things, but in this life, her temper had long gone.

The icy aura, which had never been restrained in this life except in front of Shen Lezhi, was only amplified now.

The temperature of the entire pavilion became even colder than before. The cultivators present were not juniors; they should have been able to mobilize their spiritual energy to resist Wang Xi’s aura.

But at this moment, it suddenly had no effect.

Frost began to form on the surrounding walls. The immense spiritual pressure, powerful enough to be suffocating, weighed down on everyone.

The Sword Martial Faction Elder, as the most severely affected person, felt her back slowly arching, unable to stand up straight.

This made her suddenly recall the Sect Competition at Xuan Yu Sect long ago, where the Moonlight Immortal Master on the high platform looked down at the chaos, like a solitary snow lotus on a snow mountain.

Her desolate and cold eyes swept over the crowd, making it impossible for people to meet her gaze. The snowflakes that fell from the sky that day were all testament to this Immortal Master’s unmatched power.

And Shen Lezhi in the water mirror, the Moonlight Immortal Master’s only successor, stepping alone into the raging Butterfly Whisper Flower thicket amidst the continuous drizzle, washing away the blood mist with a torrential rain—was she not the very image of the Immortal Master at that time?

The Sword Martial Faction Elder was on the verge of being crushed to her knees. Fear gripped her heart. Where did she suddenly find the courage, in a moment of madness, to mock this Venerable One’s disciple as “naive and innocent” right in front of her?

“Immortal Master… please calm your anger,” she managed to speak with difficulty. A layer of ice had already frozen her feet to the floor of the pavilion.

Even though she frantically circulated her spiritual energy, she could not dissipate this bone-chilling coldness.

Wang Xi paid her no further attention, turning her gaze back to Shen Lezhi in the water mirror.

In her memory, Shen Lezhi usually wore a smile; this was partly because she was naturally sweet-looking, with bright eyes and a naturally upturned lip corner, and also because she always deliberately put on a well-behaved facade.

But at this moment, her face was devoid of expression, and the pain and compassion in her eyes had not faded.

Wang Xi suddenly wanted to ask herself: When did she teach Shen Lezhi to be this way?

A disciple whose weapon refused to harm people, who grieved for the suffering of others or of spiritual plants.

Just as when she was punished on Linglong Peak, even while enduring the wind and rain, she insisted on protecting a fragile, worthless, and precarious flower.

When had she ever taught Shen Lezhi this?

To make Shen Lezhi develop such a compassionate heart.

Wang Xi stared at the person in the water mirror. That slender figure could no longer overlap with the person in her memory.

Wang Xi suddenly felt an extreme sense of strangeness toward the current Shen Lezhi.

A bizarre question arose in her heart.

Who is she?