"So, how about it? Let's work together, yeah? You'll get the benefits, and I'll get to… uh, I mean, we'll help each other out!" The girl quickly corrected herself, trying to persuade Xie Zhaolin.
Her gaze flickered as she stared at the girl for a moment. The way the girl talked was ridiculous, but her information about the cave abode might actually be worth something. That protective seal of hers was also a card that couldn't be ignored, even if Xie Zhaolin hated unpredictable factors.
The decision came in an instant.
The killing intent around her slowly receded, but her voice stayed sharp enough to pierce bone. "You can follow. But if you dare say half a useless word again, or try to treat me like your amusement…" She paused, her tone like ice cracking, "I won't mind wasting some time to see how long that seal of yours can hold."
That was as close to an agreement as it got, but it carried the weight of a warning, especially toward that nonsense "value" talk.
Hearing this, the girl's face bloomed with a bright smile, like the threats and cold appraisals had never happened. "Don't worry, don't worry! I know my limits! My name's Jiu Jiu. Benefactor, what should I call you?"
"Move." Xie Zhaolin couldn't be bothered to answer. She turned straight toward Silent Valley, leaving only her cold, rigid back in sight.
Jiu Jiu didn't mind at all. Grinning, she skipped forward to follow, mumbling in a voice so low it seemed like only she could hear, "Wow, even cold-faced she's so charming… this trip's already worth it, way more valuable than ten thousand…"
Her whisper was soft, but how could anything escape Xie Zhaolin's divine sense?
Her brows tightened slightly, annoyance at this strange girl growing again, though she didn't lash out. As long as the girl provided useful information, she could endure the noise for now.
"Shut up." Her voice carried backward, sharp and cold enough to freeze the air. "Keep up, or get lost."
Jiu Jiu instantly clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide and "obedient," though the curiosity and excitement sparkling inside them never dimmed.
The two moved on in silence, one behind the other, weaving deeper into the desolate valley. The closer they got to Silent Valley, the more chaotic the spiritual power in the air became. There was a faint rot and deathly stillness mixed in, and almost no sign of life. Even the plants looked sparse and withered.
"Benefactor?" Jiu Jiu finally broke the silence with a pout.
When no immediate attack came, she continued, "About three li ahead, there's a Mist Maze Miasma. It's the first natural barrier outside the cave abode. The miasma cuts off divine sense, twists perception, and slowly leads people astray until their spiritual power runs dry and they die."
Xie Zhaolin didn't slow, but her divine sense spread forward. Sure enough, she could feel the abnormal fluctuations in the spiritual power ahead, the faint tug of warped vision and perception.
"How do we pass?" she asked curtly.
She had her own methods, but why not use the resource standing in front of her?
"Easy~" Jiu Jiu said like it was nothing. "The miasma's vicious, but it follows a rhythm. It's affected by the faint pulses of the earth vein. Every stick of incense, there's a short tidal pause."
She pointed toward a gray-white rock wall to the left.
"See that honeycomb rock? When the miasma thickens to the point it almost turns liquid, that's the sign the tide's about to come.
At that moment, pour spiritual power into the largest hole in the honeycomb rock. The earth vein'll get jolted, and the miasma'll pull back to both sides, exposing a hidden stone path over an underground river. It lasts about ten breaths. We'll need to get to the rock before that, and cross the path within those ten breaths."
She pulled out a jade pendant from who-knew-where. "This Soul Stabilizing Pendant can steady our minds and fend off most illusions, but we've gotta move fast."
Xie Zhaolin glanced at the honeycomb rock and the pendant but didn't bother to question her.
Sure enough, three li later, the miasma blocked the way.
They stopped and waited.
About a stick of incense later, the miasma roiled violently, darkening into a sticky gray-black fog that carried waves of cold resentment. Even for someone steeped in demonic cultivation, it felt unsettling.
"Now!" Jiu Jiu shouted, sending a beam of light into the largest hole of the honeycomb rock.
Buzz…
The rock hummed, faint light flickering through its holes. The miasma split back with a roar, revealing a narrow stone path barely wide enough for one person. Below it, a freezing underground river flowed, bottomless and pitch-black.
"Go! Ten breaths!" Jiu Jiu rushed onto the path first.
Xie Zhaolin followed right after.
Even with the pendant's light protecting them, the stone path was drenched in twisted illusions and hateful whispers clawing at their minds. The path itself was slick and treacherous, and the river below pulled at them with eerie suction.
Both of them pushed their movement techniques to the limit, skimming along the wall like smoke.
On the tenth breath, the miasma closed in with a deafening crash, swallowing the path behind them. A glance back showed the passage already sealing shut.
"See? Simple~" Jiu Jiu clapped her hands, smug.
Xie Zhaolin didn't react, but inside, her guard tightened. This girl knew far too much about the cave abode's defenses, more than even the Tianxing Auction House had revealed. She didn't press, though. Whatever Jiu Jiu's aim was, she'd at least saved her unnecessary trouble for now.
Beyond the miasma, the scenery shifted again.
A dried riverbed stretched wide, its floor riddled with black, hive-like holes. The air reeked faintly of sulfur.
"This is the Darkfire Sand River," Jiu Jiu said, her tone finally serious. "Don't step into those holes. Beneath them's flowing fire sand and poisonous groundfire vapor. Even a Golden Core cultivator would struggle to escape.
See those flashing silver-white shards on the riverbed? Those are Coldflame Stone fragments. The only safe path is stepping on them. But the positions change at random, and they only stay lit for an instant. You'll need sharp eyes and fast reactions."
She looked at Xie Zhaolin. "I can't help you much here. This one's all on you. But I believe in you, benefactor~"
Her eyes swept over the riverbed, her divine sense locked tight.
The Coldflame shards flickered in and out, their locations shifting constantly.
But instead of stepping forward, she suddenly blurred and vanished.
The next instant, she was right behind Jiu Jiu.
Before the girl even realized what happened, Xie Zhaolin's hand had already clenched the back of her collar.