She knew Feng Qiwu was a deeply principled person. They had never expected to hide the truth from her forever. Being open with her now was good too.
Besides, Jiang Chan and Mo Yu’s identities were already known to the Sword Sect’s senior members. They all knew the two were spirit beasts. Still, the elders found the idea of a spirit beast devoted to alchemy rather amusing.
The Sword Sect disciples had been reluctant to see Jiang Chan and Mo Yu leave on their travels. With Jiang Chan gone, their pill supply could not keep up. Fortunately, she had trained several outstanding disciples over the past ten-odd years. Otherwise, the sect really would have run out of pills.
“Who would have thought there’d be an undiscovered secret realm in this desolate northwestern region? Let’s get ready over the next few days. I think it’ll open soon, and then we can be the first inside.”
Mo Yu shook her head excitedly. Traveling with Jiang Chan was not without its rewards. Jiang Chan generally shared half the treasures she found with her. By now, Mo Yu had fallen in love with following her on treasure hunts.
Holding her sword, Feng Qiwu said, “I think so too. This place is so remote that even when the secret realm appears, there probably won’t be many people coming.”
Mo Yu swished her tail. “Isn’t that perfect? We’ll be the first to visit, and any treasures will be ours for the taking!”
Seeing her expectant expression, Feng Qiwu parted her thin lips. “Elder Mo, you’re nothing like a Shadow Leopard. You’re more like one of the legendary dragons, unable to look away whenever you see something valuable.”
Mo Yu grumbled, “You should say that to this one. Jiang Chan, are you really a Treasure-Hunting Mouse? I think you’re more like a dragon. Whenever you see something valuable, you want to grab it all for yourself.”
Jiang Chan raised her head and grabbed a pawful of Mo Yu’s fur. “Then don’t take any treasures when we enter the secret realm. Just watch me keep everything for myself.”
She was talking about Jiang Chan right in front of her. Mo Yu was getting bolder by the day. At Jiang Chan’s threat, she immediately lost her bravado. She rolled over, moving far away from Jiang Chan, clearly sulking.
Jiang Chan leaped onto Mo Yu’s head and unceremoniously patted it with her little paw. “Now you’re throwing a tantrum?”
Mo Yu huffed. “A great cat like me won’t hold a little mouse’s faults against her. I won’t stoop to your level.”
Listening to their banter, Feng Qiwu smiled faintly too. Traveling with Jiang Chan and Mo Yu really did make the journey more enjoyable.
Neither Jiang Chan nor Mo Yu was inclined to fuss over her. Whenever Feng Qiwu encountered danger along the way, Mo Yu stayed out of it unless her life was at risk. Keeping her alive was enough.
As a result, Feng Qiwu’s actual combat experience grew rapidly throughout the journey. After entering Golden Core, her cultivation progress had inevitably slowed.
Of course, slower progress had its advantages too. With steady effort, step by step, accumulated changes would eventually produce a fundamental transformation. Jiang Chan and Mo Yu’s cultivation was steadily improving as well. Jiang Chan was now at the limit of the Nascent Soul stage, though she did not know when she would break through to Soul Departure.
She had long since made thorough preparations for that. Wasn’t it just being struck by lightning? A few more strikes would only make her healthier!
Three days later, Feng Qiwu and Mo Yu entered the secret realm together. Jiang Chan had already transformed into a tiny golden mouse and perched on Mo Yu’s shoulder.
The secret realm appeared without a sound, and only the three of them entered. The moment she stepped inside, Feng Qiwu raised her eyebrows. She sensed sword intent.
Had this secret realm been left behind by a sword cultivator? Mo Yu frequently sparred with the Sword Sect elders, so she sensed it too.
She nudged Feng Qiwu. “This is good. That sword intent seems to belong to a school of swordsmanship separate from your Sword Sect’s. You could study it and incorporate it into your own understanding.”
“Go on. Xiao Chan and I will explore over here.”
Feng Qiwu wasted no time following the sword intent to its source. Guided by Jiang Chan, Mo Yu passed through restrictions and formations, heading toward the treasure chamber.
In fact, the secret realm was small, and Jiang Chan and Mo Yu soon finished exploring it. Apart from a few spirit swords, there was nothing. Apparently, this had been a place where the realm’s former master cultivated.
Sword cultivators really did lead austere lives. Jiang Chan sighed. Now she could only hope Feng Qiwu would gain something. If her swordsmanship could advance another level, exploring this secret realm would have been well worth it.
Did Feng Qiwu gain anything? Of course she did. In fact, Feng Qiwu’s fortune was quite strong. It was simply that in her previous life, the extraordinarily fortunate Gu Miao’er had overshadowed her, making her less conspicuous.
But now that Gu Miao’er’s progress had stalled, the fortune once poured into her was gradually dissipating. Feng Qiwu, already fortunate in her own right, had become Heaven’s favorite.
Fortune truly was elusive. It was not fixed and unchanging. Look at Gu Miao’er. Despite her tremendous fortune, hadn’t she become just another ordinary cultivator under Jiang Chan’s interference?
Anything could be changed. Ultimately, it depended on whether you were strong enough.
This was indeed a secret realm belonging to a sword cultivator. Its former master had been a sword cultivator who ascended. Before ascending, he had left behind all the insights from a lifetime of cultivation and swordsmanship for someone destined to receive them.
By chance, Feng Qiwu had become that person. This was an ancient school of swordsmanship, entirely separate from all those of the Sword Sect. She benefited enormously. The insights of a sword cultivator who had ascended were profound indeed.
Feng Qiwu cultivated in the secret realm for three years before she finally managed to integrate this school of swordsmanship with her own, though only just. By then, six years had passed since they left the Sword Sect.
Before Feng Qiwu fully mastered her swordsmanship, Jiang Chan’s Soul Departure lightning tribulation arrived first. Jiang Chan had no inner demons. She was open and upright, living by the principle of repaying grievances and settling scores.
Besides, over all these years, she had not really made enemies, so her lightning tribulation went especially smoothly. Of course, the lightning still gave her a terrible battering. She needed a full half year of recuperation before she recovered.
Mo Yu was furious. She was clearly stronger in combat, yet Jiang Chan had reached Soul Departure before her. Only after another three years of arduous cultivation did Mo Yu enter the Soul Departure stage herself.
Feng Qiwu’s progress was also striking. After integrating the former master’s insights into her swordsmanship, she naturally advanced to the late Golden Core stage.
She had deliberately slowed her progress to reach this level. If she had not kept suppressing her cultivation, Feng Qiwu could have formed her core long ago. She was not yet forty.
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