I Reloaded the Save File! [Transmigration] - Chapter 15

The expected pain did not arrive. Just as the sword attack was about to strike Zuo Wuyi, the jade pendant hanging on her chest glowed faintly, quickly forming a defensive barrier around her. While repelling the attack from the second cultivator, it also bounced the man backward.

“A spiritual energy shield?” The first cultivator’s face darkened. He used his full strength to send a wave of sword qi toward the shield, and when he saw that the barrier was completely unmoved, his expression worsened.

“Cough, cough. This is bad.” The second cultivator scrambled up from the ground, wiping the blood overflowing from his mouth. “Senior Brother, we need to leave quickly. I’m worried this little girl’s fellow disciples are nearby.”

“I know,” the first cultivator said, but he wasn’t resigned to defeat and launched another sword strike, which still failed to inflict any damage on the protective shield.

“Go.” The first cultivator’s voice was filled with reluctance, but he had no alternative. The shield before them was not something they, as Foundation Establishment cultivators, could break. If they did not leave, they would be in trouble once the little girl’s fellow disciples arrived.

Just as the two cultivators were about to turn and run, another thick burst of mist emerged, followed by a thunderous crash. Many fragments of black dark iron flew out of the mist, one of which, by chance, struck the first cultivator, causing him to instantly spit out a mouthful of blood and fly backward several meters, collapsing onto the ground.

Mo Xiao had spent a long time studying the formation, and just as she was finally figuring out a few clues, she felt the defensive artifact she had given to Zuo Wuyi being triggered. She didn’t have time to think too much. In her panic, she immediately consumed a pill that temporarily boosted her power, then used her spiritual sense to lock onto the location of the defensive artifact.

Fortunately, the distance between them wasn’t far. Mo Xiao was able to use her rudimentary teleportation spell, simultaneously appearing near Zuo Wuyi as she violently shattered the dark iron gate.

“Wuyi?” Mo Xiao instantly located Zuo Wuyi. Seeing that the protective shield was still intact, she let out a sigh of relief. “Are you alright?”

Zuo Wuyi shook her head. “They hadn’t hit me yet when the shield appeared.”

“That’s good.” Mo Xiao waved her hand to dismiss the protective shield, then turned to face the two Foundation Establishment cultivators. “These two intended to harm you?”

“They probably saw my low cultivation and wanted to kill me for treasure,” Zuo Wuyi said, pausing for a moment before adding, “They know I am a disciple of the Wendao Sect.”

“My fault,” Mo Xiao said, tightening her grip on her sword and walking directly toward the two cultivators.

“Fellow Daoist, this is a misunderstanding! Fellow Daoist!” The second cultivator supported the first, a look of terror on his face. “We didn’t do anything to your Junior Sister! We just wanted to ask for directions! This is all a misunderstanding.”

Mo Xiao remained unmoved. She clearly understood why the protective shield had been triggered—these two had certainly harbored murderous intent. Since they had intended to kill, she would not show mercy. After all, while there was a rule preventing cultivators from actively attacking ordinary people, there was no rule prohibiting them from attacking other cultivators.

“You are cultivators of the Wendao Sect, aren’t you? Doesn’t the Wendao Sect make it its duty to eliminate evil and defend the righteous Way? How can you now point your sharp sword at us ordinary cultivators!” The second cultivator’s voice began to tremble as Mo Xiao got closer. “Doesn’t the Wendao Sect claim to be the leader of the Orthodox Factions? How can you attack cultivators like us, from the lower ranks!”

Mo Xiao had reached them by this time. She stopped, maintaining a distance of about one meter. “You are not wrong. The Wendao Sect is indeed an Orthodox Faction. I can choose not to kill you.”

“Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for sparing our lives!” The two cultivators were ecstatic, intending to flee immediately before Mo Xiao changed her mind.

“Wait.” Mo Xiao placed her sword against the neck of the second cultivator, blocking their path. “What I mean is, I can choose not to kill you, but I will give you the opportunity to end your own lives.”

The two cultivators froze. The second cultivator forced an extremely difficult smile. “Fellow Daoist, are you joking? Fellow Daoists of the Wendao Sect are always benevolent…”

“That’s right! We didn’t do anything to your Junior Sister! We are willing to give you all the valuables on our persons as compensation,” the first cultivator said, coughing twice and spitting up another mouthful of blood.

Mo Xiao did not speak, she simply moved the sword closer to the second cultivator’s neck, drawing a faint line of blood. “If you are unwilling to end your own lives, I can help you.”

“You are abusing your power! If you kill us, you will be giving the Wendao…” The second cultivator’s words were cut short as Mo Xiao’s sword moved.

Compared to the tough dark iron door, the two men’s necks were as fragile as tofu, severed almost instantaneously. As Mo Xiao struck, she threw an illusion spell over the two bodies, lest the bloody scene leave Zuo Wuyi with any trauma.

As for Mo Xiao herself, she had lived for so long in her previous life that while the number of people she had killed was not vast, it was certainly not zero. She had long since grown accustomed to such bloody scenes.

After all, there were no laws or regulations against killing here, and no cultivator would dare claim that they had never killed a person.

“Alright, let’s go.” Mo Xiao’s sword had not been stained with any blood, yet she fastidiously took out a clean handkerchief and wiped it several times before unhurriedly returning the sword to its sheath.

Zuo Wuyi glanced at the sword in Mo Xiao’s hand, then looked up at her face. “Mo Xiao, you seem to have changed a little.”

“Mhm.” Mo Xiao nodded. “If a person lives without ever changing, it would be too dull.”

“True.” Zuo Wuyi’s lips slowly curved upward. She then opened her arms. “I was frightened just now. Carry me.”

Mo Xiao raised an eyebrow. She put her sword away into her storage space, then effortlessly picked up Zuo Wuyi with one arm.

“Which direction did you come from earlier?” Mo Xiao asked.

“From here, and then walking this way,” Zuo Wuyi pointed out the direction with her finger. “I walked for about an hour. It was all flowers, grass, and trees along the way. I didn’t find anything special.”

“Good.” Mo Xiao nodded, continuing along the direction Zuo Wuyi had pointed out. If this was a realm within a realm, its size should be limited.

Mo Xiao and Zuo Wuyi’s luck was not too bad. As the sky began to darken, a stone gate appeared in their line of sight. Its material and height were the same as the one they had entered through, and it was surrounded by vision-blocking mist.

“If we walk through this, will we leave this mystic realm, or will we enter a realm-within-a-realm-within-a-realm?” Zuo Wuyi asked, feeling as though she was confusing herself.

Mo Xiao did not answer Zuo Wuyi’s question. Instead, she stopped in front of the stone gate, crouched down, and set her down. “You stand here and don’t move. I’ll check the situation first.”

Having learned her lesson once, Mo Xiao became much more cautious. She first tentatively sent two waves of sword qi into the stone gate. When there was no reaction, she stepped directly into the middle of the door, letting half of her body pass through the stone gate to ascertain the situation on the other side.

“The spiritual energy concentration outside is a little lower than here, about the same as when we first entered. It should be the exit,” Mo Xiao concluded after sensing the spiritual energy levels on both sides.

And so, in the first two days inside the mystic realm, Mo Xiao’s gain was one Golden Core Stage demonic beast inner core, and her loss was losing Yun He, whose whereabouts were temporarily unknown.

Fortunately, Yun He was also a Golden Core Stage Sword Cultivator. She might not be able to defeat anyone below the Nascent Soul Stage, but she could definitely escape. Therefore, Mo Xiao was not overly worried. The worst-case scenario was that they would simply reunite eight days later when they left the mystic realm.

Passing through the stone gate, the two indeed returned to the original mystic realm. However, the surrounding environment was different. It was all exposed, barren mountainous terrain that looked desolate, with no suitable place to spend the night.

To allow Zuo Wuyi to rest, Mo Xiao used the timber and demonic beast fur from her storage space to construct a simple tent.

“Mo Xiao, aren’t you going to sleep?” Zuo Wuyi lay down obediently on the simple wooden bed.

“No. I can cultivate here,” Mo Xiao found a flat spot on the ground and skillfully sat cross-legged in meditation.

Zuo Wuyi squeezed her pillow. “Mo Xiao, I’m a little cold.”

“Cold?” Mo Xiao turned her head. After thinking for a moment, she placed a spiritual energy barrier over Zuo Wuyi’s tent. “This should block the wind. If you are still cold, I can add a campfire.”

“…” Zuo Wuyi fell silent for a moment, then translated her meaning more directly. “Mo Xiao, I’m used to hugging something when I sleep. I can’t fall asleep by myself.”

“You want me to sleep with you?” Mo Xiao tilted her head slightly.

“Yes!” Zuo Wuyi replied righteously.

Mo Xiao didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she rose from the ground and spent some time setting up simple warning devices in the vicinity before walking toward Zuo Wuyi.

“Do you want to sleep on the inside?” Mo Xiao squatted down to ask.

“No, I want to sleep on the outside,” Zuo Wuyi replied. If she slept on the inside, she might not know if Mo Xiao left.

“Alright.” Mo Xiao nodded. She took off her shoes and socks by the bed, then untied her belt and removed her outer robe, placing it aside. Seeing Zuo Wuyi shift over, she lay down on the inner side.

Zuo Wuyi instinctively reached out to hug Mo Xiao’s waist, but as her hand rested on her, she realized her short little arms couldn’t fully wrap around Mo Xiao; they could only rest on her waist.

Before Zuo Wuyi could withdraw her hand and change her position, Mo Xiao’s arm was already wrapped around her waist. “Go to sleep, don’t move around.”

Zuo Wuyi blinked in the dark. After hesitating for less than a second, she immediately rolled into Mo Xiao’s embrace, maintaining the posture.

Ah, that long-lost sense of security, and that relaxing and familiar scent!

What a shame. She was still a child right now. Otherwise, with such a good atmosphere, something more interesting should be happening.