Ten days later.
"Xu Yi, where have you been these past few days? I looked everywhere for you."
Outside the Wanfo Sect's mountain gate, Xiong Zhuangzhuang saw Xu Yi and Lu Zaiye approaching and immediately grinned, walking up to greet them.
"I was afraid you'd catch up, so I hid and went into secluded cultivation."
Xu Yi narrowed her eyes, grinning playfully at Xiong Zhuangzhuang. The usually quiet mountain gate square instantly became livelier.
The sound of their laughter quickly drew others nearby.
When Bei Xinghan and Feng Qingyang arrived at the mountain gate square, they saw Xu Yi, surrounded by a crowd as if she were the center of attention.
Seeing her playful expression, a hint of annoyance flashed in Bei Xinghan's eyes.
"Fellow Daoist Bei has fully recovered!"
Someone suddenly noticed Bei Xinghan and exclaimed with joy. Instantly, all eyes focused on him.
Due to not being fully recovered, Bei Xinghan's complexion was still a little pale, but this did not mar his good looks; instead, it accentuated his ethereal demeanor.
Bei Xinghan's gaze met Xu Yi's unexpectedly. He subconsciously looked away.
Wait, why was he hiding!
By the time he realized, Bei Xinghan was ready to glare back fiercely, only to find that Xu Yi had already shifted her gaze. A breath of air was suddenly caught in his chest, causing him great discomfort.
Xu Yi, however, paid no mind to Bei Xinghan's current expression. She was looking at the people in the square. Apart from Hongjing, all the top ten participants of this competition had arrived.
She figured that once Hongjing arrived, they would be ready to depart.
Half an incense stick later, Hongjing descended the heavenly stairs barefoot.
"Please excuse my tardiness, everyone."
"Not at all, not at all. But, Venerable Hongjing, why are you alone?"
Xiong Zhuangzhuang waved his hand while curiously looking behind Hongjing.
Were they not even going to assign a leading elder to accompany them to the secret realm?
"Fellow Daoists, there's no need to look. I am the only one," Hongjing said calmly and softly. "Ping'an City is not far from Wanfo Sect. I am willing to be your guide, leading you there on foot, which can also be considered a form of cultivation."
"On foot?"
Everyone exchanged glances.
They had expected that even without an elder leading them, they would at least be given a flying magical artifact to speed up their journey. They hadn't anticipated that Wanfo Sect would provide nothing at all.
"Then we'll trouble Hongjing to lead the way."
Seeing that no one else spoke, Xu Yi broke the silence.
After a moment of surprise, Xu Yi quickly accepted the proposal.
In fact, it wasn't a matter of acceptance or refusal. Only Hongjing knew the location of Wanfo Sect's secret realm. If they wanted to go to the secret realm, they had to obey his instructions.
The others soon came to their senses and nodded in agreement. Hongjing's smile became even more amiable.
...
The five great sects of the Jiuzhou Continent were distributed in a cross-like pattern. Xuanji Gate was in the center, Wanfo Sect to the west, Yushou Sect to the east, Xuanqing Sect to the north, and Daqi Sect to the south.
This distribution, though seemingly random, held deep significance.
Taking Wanfo Sect as an example, the continent of Shizhou, which belonged to Wanfo Sect, was associated with metal, perfectly complementing Wanfo Sect's cultivation methods. Furthermore, Zhuzhou, to the north of Shizhou, was the birthplace of demons. By establishing themselves here, Wanfo Sect could effectively restrain the demons.
The first lesson at Wanfo Sect was to teach disciples about the responsibilities of Buddhist cultivators:
To save sentient beings, to save demons, and to save oneself.
However, with demons now confined within Zhuzhou, they rarely appeared, and saving demons had gradually become a legend.
As Xu Yi followed Hongjing towards Ping'an City, she recalled information about Wanfo Sect, maintaining a rare silence.
This made Lu Zaiye, who was beside her, feel unaccustomed to it. He would occasionally glance at her, his eyes also holding a thoughtful expression.
Yu Xiaoyu stood on Xu Yi's other side, and for some unknown happy reason, she bit her lip and secretly smiled.
"What are you laughing about?"
The thunderous voice beside her made Yu Xiaoyu's eyelids tremble.
She turned her head in surprise and met Xiong Zhuangzhuang's curious gaze.
"I, I wasn't laughing about anything."
Yu Xiaoyu's smile vanished instantly. She lowered her head, daring not to look at Xiong Zhuangzhuang.
Xiong Zhuangzhuang's tall stature exerted immense pressure on her.
Furthermore, during the sect competition, she had clashed with Xiong Zhuangzhuang and been thoroughly defeated. Her respect for him was even greater.
Xiong Zhuangzhuang scratched his head. Why did he feel like Yu Xiaoyu was afraid of him? He hadn't done anything, had he?
Perhaps his punch during the competition had been too fierce, frightening Yu Xiaoyu. Should he apologize to her?
Xiong Zhuangzhuang lowered his head to look down at Yu Xiaoyu, trying to discern her expression.
Under Xiong Zhuangzhuang's intense gaze, Yu Xiaoyu felt her legs tremble, her eyelashes twitching incessantly. Her face looked as though she was about to cry.
As if trying to grab a floating reed, she suddenly reached out and tightly clutched Xu Yi's sleeve.
Yu Xiaoyu possessed natural strength. In her panic, she didn't restrain her power at all. The unprepared Xu Yi was almost pulled to the ground.
"I, I'm sorry."
Seeing that Xu Yi had almost been pulled down by her, Yu Xiaoyu's expression became even more flustered.
Xu Yi, having recovered, waved her hand dismissively. She kindly asked, "Xiaoyu, I'm fine. Is there something you want to tell me?"
Xu Yi was quite fond of Yu Xiaoyu's performance in the competition. Coupled with the friendship they had already established, they had naturally become friends.
The moment Xu Yi saw her expression, she knew that Yu Xiaoyu must be facing a problem she couldn't handle. She immediately spoke up to ease the situation.
"I'm fine too."
Yu Xiaoyu timidly glanced at Xiong Zhuangzhuang. Upon realizing he was still looking at her, she recoiled as if shocked by electricity, quickly averting her gaze and sticking close to Xu Yi.
"Xiong Zhuangzhuang!"
Xu Yi frowned and looked at Xiong Zhuangzhuang.
Xiong Zhuangzhuang immediately raised his hands, looking innocent. "I didn't do anything."
He himself was still confused.
"Go over to Lu Zaiye's side. Don't eavesdrop on our conversation."
"Fine, I'll go."
Seeing that Xu Yi had managed to send Xiong Zhuangzhuang away with just a few words, Yu Xiaoyu's admiration for her deepened. Her eyes were reluctant to move away from Xu Yi.
"Xiaoyu, you're so cute."
Yu Xiaoyu had a slender figure, but her cheeks were plump, adding a touch of cuteness to her.
Now, with her eyes fixed on Xu Yi without blinking, that cuteness was amplified.
Xu Yi couldn't resist and reached out to gently pinch the soft flesh of her cheeks.
"Hehe."
The texture felt so good.
Xu Yi let out two strange chuckles, her gaze growing even more peculiar.
Bei Xinghan, with his sharp hearing, heard Xu Yi's laughter and trembled all over. Memories he had deliberately tried to forget suddenly surged back.
He bit the tip of his tongue hard, forcing himself not to pay attention to Xu Yi.
Although she had taken advantage of him, she had also helped him to some extent, so he shouldn't hold it against her.
He wanted to forget this laughter, but it was like a demonic sound echoing in his ears, lingering in his mind for a long time.
"Heh heh."
The sound of hard objects rubbing against each other reached Feng Qingyang's ears.
He turned his head and was shocked to discover that the sound was actually coming from Bei Xinghan.
What was Senior Brother Bei thinking about that made him grind his teeth in anger?
He had better not go and disturb him.
Feng Qingyang shrugged his shoulders, pretending he hadn't heard, and didn't break this fragile peace.