Without hesitation, Bai Shuo pointed in the exact direction Hua Hong had fled. “A hundred miles southeast, there’s a peach grove with a stash of her wine.”
“Great! You’re a real pal!” Mu Jiu clapped Bai Shuo on the shoulder, then shoved a handful of first-grade spiritual herbs into her hands. “Take these as thanks. See you!”
Before he even finished, the red fox whipped up a gust of wind and shot off southeast.
With the two troublemakers gone, peace settled outside the hall. Bai Shuo looked around the now-empty main hall, recalling Hua Hong’s words. Suddenly, the spiritual herbs in her hands didn’t seem as valuable. She stuffed them into her spatial pouch, clambered up to the rooftop, plucked a leaf to block out the sun, and lazed around in imitation of Hua Hong.
The extreme north was harsh, and even with the sun hanging in the sky, it was still quiet and cold, just like this hall hidden in the northernmost region of the three realms.
Bai Shuo never expected that the most mysterious place in the three realms, Hao Yue Hall, would be so peaceful. Even a small sect like her ethereal sect had both inner and outer disciples and an entire squad guarding the island. But here in Hao Yue Hall, aside from a blacksmith who basked in the sun all day, a silent mountain man, a noisy fat pig, and a few bashful maids, there were hardly any living souls.
Oh, right, there was also a demigod who would glare at her, full of sarcasm, day and night.
“Ah, Mumu is better… cute and innocent…”
Though she muttered this aloud, Bai Shuo’s increasingly rosy face betrayed her words. She looked down, running her fingers over the lustrous tiles on the rooftop.
“Not bad here… a place fit for the rich.”
Life in Nan Hai City was good, but so miserably poor. Every day, she had to worry about making ends meet, and even eating a single chicken had to be done in secret—how pitiful. But here in Hao Yue Hall, there was treasure everywhere, and an endless supply of spiritual materials…
Wait, it’s only been a year, and she’s already stripped the western mountain of spiritual herbs down to the roots. She’d better check the eastern hill tomorrow… Bai Shuo was calculating her plans, then suddenly realized it had already been so long since she’d joined Hao Yue Hall.
The much-anticipated tournament of the three realms, the ill-fated Phoenix Tournament, had already taken place a year ago.
The three realms had subtly shifted in balance since the Phoenix Tournament.
During the tournament, the leaders of Hao Yue Hall and Cold Spring Palace had shamed the Celestial Clan, and in response, Jin Yao personally placed a divine seal in the Southern Sea, designating all the precious lands on the border as part of the Celestial Realm. He divided these lands among the four celestial mansions of the sect leaders injured by Zhen Yu. This decision, however, reignited a dispute between the two realms after a century of peace.
Zhen Yu, accusing the Celestial Realm of violating the pact and seizing the hundred-mile territory, launched three attacks into the Southern Sea, determined to reclaim it. Leading the Cold Spring Palace forces was none other than Chong Zhao, who had risen to fame in the Demon Realm over the past year, notorious for his ferocity.
A year prior, Chong Zhao had been left on the brink of death with shattered bones and severed spiritual veins on Phoenix Island. Yet in the three battles of the Southern Sea, he reemerged at the pinnacle of power, slaying over a hundred disciples from the four great sects. His ruthlessness and overwhelming demonic power left the three realms stunned.
The three realms had never seen such a terrifyingly gifted demon in a millennium. Though Chong Zhao was infamous among the Celestials, he became highly respected and admired among the demons, gaining a reputation that even rivaled that of Hua Hong, Cang Shan, and Fu Ling.
As the sun began to set, night came early in the extreme north. Bai Shuo removed the leaf, sighing.
On the day Chong Zhao’s bones and spiritual veins were shattered, she knew that she would never be able to protect the boy she grew up with.
In the vastness of the three realms, she was like a small drifting weed. All she could do was make pills in Hao Yue Hall, exchange quips, and bask in the sun with the blacksmith.
It wasn’t so bad, really. Bai Shuo even thought that if life continued like this, it would be pretty nice.
But just now, the blacksmith said… that first-grade spiritual pills are useless for him?
Big Demon was already a demigod, and his search for the Bodhi Tree must be to undergo his divine tribulation soon. But throughout history, how many have truly succeeded? If he failed the tribulation...
Bai Shuo suddenly sat up, jumping down from the rooftop and heading straight for a particular place.
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