[Immortal Realm, Ember Dune Desert – Inner Zone, Forgotten Domain]
"Xiao Yueyue, what are you spacing out for?" Xiong Zi Ying’s teasing voice snapped Shenlian Yingyue from her thoughts.
She blinked, focusing. "Master, I was just worried about their safety." She glanced at him. "Do you have a plan?"
Before he could respond, her sharp senses flared. A ripple in the spiritual air, others were approaching. With a subtle flick of her fingers, she signaled the group to suppress their auras. Xiao Yun, Bing Xue, and Bu Si Shu exchanged knowing looks. Shenlian Yingyue always thought three steps ahead, even now, she worried about her uncle’s happiness and his future bride.
Xiong Zi Ying shook his head gently. "I’m not here to explore. I’ll stay with you."
"Master, are you sure?" she asked, frowning slightly. "You shouldn’t waste your opportunity on my account."
"I have my own reasons." A faint smile tugged at his lips. If A’Fen were here, I’d follow him to the ends of the realms. But since he’s not, I’ll keep watch over you.
With that, Shenlian Yingyue, Xiao Yun, Bing Xue, Xiong Zi Ying, and Bu Si Shu advanced deeper into the heart of the Forgotten Domain.
[Ember Dune Desert – Inner Zone, Eastern Ridge]
"CRACK!"
A blinding arc of lightning split the air. Shenlian Yingyue was forced back, her boots skidding across the scorched sand. She raised her hand swiftly. A lotus, woven from pure spiritual light, blossod before her, absorbing the impact.
"Hand over the Omnicure Blossom, or die!"
A squad of immortal disciples descended from the sky, clad in deep orange robes. Their weapons shimred with lethal energy, their eyes sharp with greed.
The Omnicure Blossom, a mythical herb said to grant perfect health for a thousand years and immunity to all illness. A flower that blood only once every billion years. The last had vanished in the Divine War, until now.
Shenlian Yingyue had been monts from securing it when the intruders arrived.
"We were here first," she said coolly, her tone calm but firm.
The lead disciple snorted. "Power decides everything. You’re five against fifty. Forty-nine of us are early-stage Golden Immortals. One is already in the late-stage."
He smirked, sizing her up. "And you? A mid-stage True Immortal?"
The group burst into laughter.
What they didn’t know was that Shenlian Yingyue’s cultivation was deliberately hidden, suppressed by a purple bracelet, an enchanted gift from Xiao Yun. Likewise, her companions’ strengths were cloaked. To outsiders, they looked like a band of nobodies.
"Oh, so bullying others with numbers is considered just?" Xiong Zi Ying’s voice was lazy, but his eyes darkened, like a predator watching prey.
"Just? When you’re dead, your belongings naturally belong to the living." Another disciple grinned, unrepentant.
"Where did these filthy hyenas co from?" Bu Si Shu hovered lazily in midair, arms folded.
"Hyenas?" one disciple sneered. "We are from the Eclipse Devouring Sect in the Seasonal Domain. You bumpkins from the Forgotten Domain wouldn’t understand what true power ans. Any one of our branches could flatten your kind."
Shenlian Yingyue studied them calmly. Disciples from the Seasonal Domain indeed possessed real strength, even outer sect mbers had formidable cultivation. But their personalities reeked of arrogance and entitlent.
"Unlucky for you, you ran into us today," Bing Xue said with a smirk, his tone ice-cold.
"Hmph, just a bunch of low-blooded trash. You think you can talk big?"
Shenlian Yingyue tilted her head and asked seriously, "Do you really think sneering like that makes you look impressive?"
"What did you say?" They frowned.
"She ans you look like a pack of performing monkeys," Xiong Zi Ying said with a dazzling smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes.
Xiao Yun covered his mouth playfully, his fox-like eyes twinkling. "Such greedy faces ruin even the most cultivated features. It’s quite tragic, really."
"You bastards!" The entire group flared up, fury radiating from them.
In this cultivation world, immortals naturally beca more beautiful as their power grew. But no amount of beauty could hide the ugliness of greed and contempt.
"Good, very good!" A crisp clap echoed across the battlefield.
A new group arrived, descending from the cliffs above. They wore deep green robes, their presence exuding the scent of rare herbs and refined elixirs.
"Who the hell are you lot from Pill God Valley?" one Eclipse Devouring disciple growled. "Shouldn’t you be hiding in your alchemy rooms brewing pills instead of ddling in fights?"
"Weaklings? Mind your words." The lead immortal disciple narrowed his eyes.
"The pills you bought ca from us."
"Your lives were saved by our brews."
"So tell us, are we weak, or are you simply incompetent?" one after another, the Pill God Valley’s immortal disciples fired back calmly but sharply.
The Eclipse Devouring disciples fell silent, their expressions sour. The Pill God Valley’s influence was no joke. They were the top alchemists in the Seasonal Domain, courted by all factions for their miracle pills. Even the Eclipse Devouring Sect tread carefully around them.
"It was all a misunderstanding, fellow immortals," the orange-robed leader finally said with a forced smile, motioning for his people to quiet down.
"In that case, you should leave," the dark green-robed immortal disciple replied coldly.
"But we arrived first! We need the Omnicure Blossom!" the leader protested.
Shenlian Yingyue suddenly asked, "How old are you?"
"What does that matter to you, weakling?" the orange-robed woman chid in, narrowing her eyes.
"It matters because I have a good mory. And from what I recall, we arrived first." Her tone was polite, but her words struck like a whip. "Are your brains functioning correctly, or did your cultivation affect your mory?"
"YOU!!!" Their faces darkened in unison.
The lips of the others twitched. This girl, sharp-tongued with hidden blades behind her words, was impossible to hate, even if she insulted you.
"You, you what?" Bing Xue sneered, pinching his nose dramatically. "If you want to fight, then fight. Stop wasting your breath, it stinks. Just seeing you weirdos is making us sick."
"Pfft!!" Xiao Yun, Xiong Zi Ying, and Bu Si Shu burst into loud laughter.
Even the immortal disciples from Pill God Valley, usually reserved, couldn’t hide their amusent. Though they didn’t laugh out loud, the redness in their faces betrayed their struggle to keep straight faces.
The Eclipse Devouring Sect disciples, "....."
"I’ll say this clearly," Shenlian Yingyue’s voice rang out with quiet authority. "The Omnicure Blossom belongs to us now. It’s already in my hand."
She lifted her slender palm.
There it was, a radiant bloom, suspended just above her fingertips, glowing with soft, iridescent light. The petals shimred through hues of gold, violet, and jade, like stardust caught in a breeze. It was breathtaking.
Even the disciples from Pill God Valley involuntarily held their breath, eyes widening in awe.
Shenlian Yingyue watched them carefully.
Not a flicker of greed, only wonder and pure astonishnt. Their expressions were filled with respect, not envy. A stark contrast to the Eclipse Devouring Sect disciples, whose eyes monts earlier had been full of ravenous, shaless desire.
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