Chapter 8.20

With a stern face, Xiang Han was about to say something when he suddenly stared into the distance; he saw Lin Shuxue flying towards them on her sword.

He hurriedly pulled away his hand and signalled for Chen Shu Ze to calm down with his eyes.

Chen Shu Ze was a little disappointed. Looking at his suddenly empty hands, he abruptly leaned forward as if he didn’t see Xiang Han’s signal and almost plastered himself against Xiang Han.

Xiang Han cast a side-eye and was about to speak when Lin Shuxue was already in front of him. Thus, he quickly shut up.

Lin Shuxue’s eyes were filled with joy and she seemed to be in a good mood. Seeing that Xiang Han was already in the Nascent Soul stage, she first congratulated him, then broached the main topic. “Han Zhou, the secret realm has opened again. I just went out to check and confirmed that we are back in the lower realm.”

“Is that so?” Xiang Han feigned surprise, then gave a small smile. “I never expected to have left seclusion just in time. This is great.”

They all quickly packed up and intended to leave.

Chen Shu Ze couldn’t help asking, “Shizun, don’t you want to go to the upper realm to have a look? There’s a chance that we might reach the upper realm in the next 10 years.”

Xiang Han shook his head. “Your shijie is still outside.”

In the original novel, there was only so much written about the Yuan Kong Secret Realm. There wasn’t any information regarding where it would appear next.

“You wish to go to the upper realm?” Xiang Han asked.

There was a brief pause before Chen Shu Ze nodded. “I asked my parents previously and they told me that they picked me up from near Du’er Mountain. However, when I went to check several times, there was no result. Du’er Mountain is full of obstacles and the deeper I went, the easier it was to get lost. There were a few times where I seemed to encounter an invisible barrier. ”

“There is no one there and I know that no one lives there. Could it be that you suspect that you are not from the lower realm?” Xiang Han deliberately tried to sound him out.

“I heard from my father that I fell from the sky and into his arms…” Chen Shu Ze said hesitantly.

After Lin Shuxue understood what they were saying, she couldn’t help shaking her head and laughing. “I heard that only wandering immortals and cultivators in their tribulation period can pass through the realms. Martial nephew was only a child back then, so this is unlikely.”

Chen Shu Ze was a little disappointed when he heard these words. “I checked with all the people who passed by Du’er Mountain that year. There are no other clues.”

“Don’t worry, your Master will help you take a look once we’re out.” Xiang Han raised a hand and patted him on the head in comfort, but he fell silent after the pat.

Chen Shu Ze was often respectful to him, which was why Xiang Han never noticed until now that the other person was actually half a head taller than him. Damn it, no wonder Liu Han Zhou felt stifled.

Xiang Han silently retracted his hand and headed towards the secret realm’s exit.

In turn, Chen Shu Ze quickly hopped onto his sword to catch up with him. Seeing Xiang Han’s terrible expression, he felt uneasy and was afraid Xiang Han thought that he would forget about his master once he found his parents.

“Shizun, actually, I…. only want to know the truth about my birth. I don’t have any other motives. In my heart, you’ll always be the most important person. Even my biological parents cannot compare to you…”

In a rush to explain himself, he did not notice a red rope rush from the exit, brushing right across his shoulder.

Lu Ningyuan was originally hunting down her enemies and accidentally stumbled into the lower realm, and in the blink of an eye, three decades had passed in the realm. Her cultivation level was originally in the mid realm of the golden core stage and it was already difficult to make any breakthrough. Therefore in these 30 years, she hardly saw any improvements to her cultivation. Once she knew the Yuan Kong Secret Realm was opening once more in the lower realm, she rushed over like her pants were on fire.

When brushing shoulders with Chen Shu Ze, she coincidentally heard the words ‘Even my biological parents cannot compare to you’ and thought to herself: This person doesn’t have any conscience, not even remembering the grace of his parents.

She subconsciously turned back, wanting to see what the heartless lad looked like, but didn’t expect another person to be rushing forward on his sword, therefore colliding with her.

“Damn it! Which bastard’s sword has no eyes?” Lu Ningyuan had lived for three decades in the lower realm; she had a short temper and a nasty mouth.

The one who knocked into her was Chu Ming. Knowing that the secret realm had reopened, he immediately ran off to find Lin Shuxue to let her know of the news. He didn’t expect that Lin Shuxue knew of this earlier than him and left a step ahead without informing him.

Chu Ming was disappointed and distracted while flying on his sword. When Xiao Yue saw this, she couldn’t help but bicker with him until Chu Ming forgot to pay attention to the road and knocked into Lu Ningyuan.

Hearing Lu Ningyuan’s curse, he subconsciously frowned and thought to himself: This person yells at the littlest thing, how uncultured.

He immediately got up, patted his clothes and scoffed, “I wasn’t looking? I guess your honorable person also didn’t look…”

Before he could finish, he froze and stared dumbly at the red-robed beauty.

Lu Ningyuan’s clothes were fiery red with a light texture. When she raised a hand, it revealed a thin wrist; the neckline of her robes was also a little deep, something considered pretty bold in the cultivation world. At this moment, her face was filled with anger as she stared at Chu Ming.

Chu Ming’s heart suddenly missed a beat. After seeing the other party’s dress and several iconic accessories on his body, he couldn’t help but be even more surprised.

The fire-like figure, charming appearance, Fengming bracelets, robes like floating clouds, and the Nine Flame divine whip… This must be Chen Shu Ze’s younger sister, the enchanting wolf girl mentioned in the novel, right? The original novel mentioned that the wolf sister had indeed been in the lower realm for the past 30 years. There was nothing missing; he was absolutely right!

Chu Ming swallowed his saliva and thought to himself: The book was right! This wolf girl is really gorgeous. Her beauty cannot be described in words; she was even prettier than Xiao Yue and Lin Shuxue, but her temper was a tad bit explosive, and… when she started cursing, it didn’t feel like she was acting coquettish at all.

When Lu Ningyuan saw his blatantly wanton ogling and wretched eyes , she suddenly became furious. She took out the Nine Flame Divine Whip and slammed it angrily. “Shameless pervert, is this aunt someone you can dream of?”

The whip hit his face. If it wasn’t for Lu Ningyuan’s lack of intention and Chu Ming evading it in time as well as putting up his defense, his face might already have been destroyed.

Xiao Yue stood beside him. Until now, her expression had been ugly, but after seeing this scene, she suddenly felt great.

After Chu Ming was whipped, not only was he not angry, he even smiled and apologised, putting on a courteous appearance.

Xiao Yue’s face became increasingly ugly. After confirming their relationship, Chu Ming no longer cared about her like before. He would flirt with every female he met, especially in the middle realm. There were people who liked him everywhere and he seemed to love everyone, though not from the bottom of his heart.

Xiao Yue had been bearing it for a long time, but at this time, she gritted her teeth and thought angrily: If, if not… for being able to obtain resources by staying with him, I would definitely have already left.

In reply to Chu Ming’s ‘apology’, Lu Ningyuan whipped him again.

Xiang Han and the others turned back when they heard the commotion. Seeing that it was Chu Ming, Chen Shu Ze was the first one to turn around and leave, but Xiang Han had decided to stay upon recognising Lu Ningyuan.

When Chen Shu Ze saw that he didn’t move, he could only return with a frown. “What’s there to see?”

After Lu Ningyuan retracted her whip, she instinctively turned back upon hearing a voice. She saw Chen Shu Ze’s face and froze. This person looked a lot like her father.

It was unknown whether it was due to her line of thinking or some other reasoning, but she felt a sense of familiarity when she saw Chen Shu Ze and went forward. “May I inquire of this cultivator’s surname?”

Chen Shu Ze wrinkled his brows and threw out a single line. “You may not.”

Lu Ningyuan had never been rejected in this manner before and she was instantly enraged.

Seeing this, Chu Ming hurriedly told her, “He’s called Chen Shu Ze, my good friend.”

Lu Ningyuan was already on fire. Once she heard those words, she lashed her whip at him and asked angrily, “Did I ask you?”

Chu Ming was whipped three times in a row and his skin had been split open by the whip. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t bear it. “Why do you not know what’s good for you? Not only do you not appreciate my apology, you do not even know to show a single ounce of gratitude. You’ve even whipped me when I answered your question. Did you consume some sort of explosive?”

Hearing this, Lu Ningyuan sneered. “Do I need a reason to beat a pervert? Go away, don’t come over and dirty this aunt’s eyes…”

After speaking, she raised a hand, and with a palm, she threw Chu Ming out. She then clapped her hands and hummed, “It’s finally clean.”

Xiang Han was delighted by this outcome and couldn’t help but smile at her.

Chen Shu Ze happened to see this and his heart began to feel uncomfortable again. He hurriedly held Xiang Han’s hand and said, “Shizun, let’s go.”

After he finished speaking, he gave Lu Ningyuan a vigilant glare, as if declaring his sovereignty.

Lu Ningyuan instantly guessed their relationship and couldn’t help but be amused. Seeing Chen Shu Ze ignoring her, she changed her mind and suddenly threw herself towards Xiang Han. Her tone changed from one filled with arrogance to a soft and sticky one. “Senior, my heart suddenly started pounding after meeting you. Are you missing a Daoist companion?”

Chen Shu Ze’s face instantly turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. He directly pulled out the sword from beneath his feet and pointed it at Lu Ningyuan coldly, “Let’s duel.”

Unfortunately, he forgot that he was riding the sword. After he drew his sword, he fell down before he could finish saying ‘let’s duel’.

Xiang Han held his forehead, unable to look directly at him. Lin Shuxue also turned her head and laughed while Lu Ningyuan was dumbfounded. She could not see through Chen Shu Ze’s cultivation level and thought he was a master who was concealing his cultivation level, but this…

This guy couldn’t have just started Qi training, right? Lu Ningyuan pondered in her heart.

Just when they were distracted, a group of cultivators suddenly entered the secret realm. When one of the cultivators saw them, they excitedly shouted, “Shizun?”

Xiang Han looked back in surprise and saw Liu Meng’er. He couldn’t help smiling, “Meng’er.”

Lu Ningyuan followed his line of sight, and after seeing Liu Meng’er, her eyes lit up, thinking to herself: What a handsome man, but unfortunately… a woman disguised as a man.

Liu Meng’er immediately flew over, her eyes flushed with excitement as she choked, “Shizun, I knew you were still alive, I knew it…”

The two sect leaders of the Qing Xuan Sect also came forward to greet him and after discovering that Xiang Han was already a Nascent Soul cultivator, their gazes subtly turned to awe.

“Master, you don’t know about this but after you were trapped in the secret realm, the sect leader and elder Gu re-appointed a new peak master. Now, the Qingjing Peak is full of Elder Gu’s people. Even your cave has been taken over.” Liu Meng’er complained.

“It’s okay, your Shizun is back.” Xiang Han comforted her, then looked up at the two elders and raised his eyebrows. “What’s going on?”

The two elders suddenly had a guilty conscience. They hesitantly said, “This… is all Elder Gu’s directive. I was actually very opposed to it, I just, just…”

Lin Shuxue couldn’t stay long, so she hurriedly bid them farewell and left. Hearing this, Lu Ningyuan couldn’t help but be filled with contempt. “Oh, it’s only been a few decades since the person disappeared, but they already started robbing others and plundering. If this secret realm remained shut for another hundred years, I guess you wouldn’t even have any clothes left.”

The two elders blushed when these words entered their ears. They immediately scolded, “Who are you? This is about our sect’s business. Why are you interrupting about as an outsider?”

Hearing this, Lu Ningyuan grabbed Xiang Han’s arm and raised her eyebrows, “Who said I was an outsider?”

Everyone was instantly shocked. Xiang Han also looked at her in surprise and forgot to pull his arm back.

Liu Meng’er looked back and forth between them several times and finally couldn’t help but ask, “Shizun, did you find a Shiniang for us?”

Xiang Han froze and was about to withdraw his hand, but someone was one step ahead of him. Chen Shu Ze finally regained his IQ at this time and rushed up to separate the two. He gripped Xiang Han’s hand tightly and snarled at Lu Ningyuan, “Shizun already has a Daoist companion, you can stop being delusional.”

Lu Ningyuan let out an ‘oh’. Seeing that he finally started to pay attention to her, she couldn’t help but want to continue teasing him. But once she saw the face that looked like her own father, she abruptly paused and asked with utmost seriousness, “Your surname is Chen?”

“What does it have to do with you?” Chen Shu Ze snorted coldly, then turned to Xiang Han and said, “Shizun, let’s go.”

He stared at Xiang Han fixatedly, his tone leaving no room for rebuttal.