Chapter 145: Chapter 144: You’re Lucky It Was Me You Met

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

For a moment, the region around Wushan echoed with constant rumbles, as if the sky were falling and the earth were caving in. The terrifying sound made all the disciples in the mountains tense up, their faces turning deathly pale.

"It should... it should be fine, right?"

"If something really happened, someone would have called for help..."

After the rumbling ceased and silence fell, a group of disciples from the Blood Slaughter Sect exchanged glances, reaching this conclusion to comfort themselves.

After all, what kind of being could kill nearly ten people in a single blow, leaving no survivors and not even giving them a chance to cry for help?

They refused to believe it.

Even if such a terrifying creature existed, it should be in the deeper regions of the secret realm, not here.

Despite these thoughts, they stopped slacking off and stood in the pool, looking around warily, afraid they wouldn’t be able to react if danger appeared.

And then, someone did indeed see something wrong.

An extremely fast shadow burst through the dense fog, rapidly approaching the cold pool where the group was gathered.

Before the figure even got close, a powerful gust of wind—so strong it was hard to keep one’s eyes open—smashed into them, leaving them with tight chests and struggling to breathe.

Before anyone could react, the gale, from about ten feet away, suddenly leaped over their heads.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"Run! We’ve been targeted!"

Finally, someone reacted, shouting in a panic as they tried to scramble toward the shore of the pool.

But their bodies, already frozen stiff, were nowhere near as fast as usual.

The bank was barely ten feet away, yet they failed to leap onto it in a single bound.

BOOM!—

After the ground-shaking impact, everything fell silent.

Water splashed outward before slowly trickling back from the bank to refill the pool.

Fish and shrimp flopped wildly on the ground, while stunned fish floated belly-up on the water’s surface.

HUFF! HUFF!

Only after everything had calmed down did Xue Hongling arrive, panting for breath.

By now, she had waded through more than a dozen frigid pools without rest. Her clothes were soaked, and her chest rose and fell heavily.

With every breath, the exposed skin on her neck, cheeks, and wrists seemed to grow more translucent and radiant.

It was as if she were undergoing a marrow cleansing, purging the impurities from her body.

She glanced at the sect members lying unconscious on the surrounding bank, then back at the bone-chilling pool.

Though the cold made her bones ache, she knew she couldn’t delay and vaulted over.

Following Wu Chen’s orders, Xue Hongling collected only the most valuable and largest fish, leaving all the others behind. This broke her heart, but she had no choice but to obey.

Just as she had before, she carefully tossed the small fish and shrimp back into the water before collecting all the large fish.

Then, dripping from head to toe, she miserably hurried after Wu Chen to leave the area.

...

CRACKLE! CRACKLE! CRACKLE! CRACKLE!

On a deserted hillside, a wood fire was lit, its flames leaping into the air.

Even after resting for the time it takes two incense sticks to burn, Xue Hongling was still so cold her teeth were chattering.

It seemed that repeatedly entering the frigid pools had chilled her to the bone.

HSSS—

Feeling the ache deep in her bones, even the perpetually stoic Xue Hongling couldn’t help but frown and suck in a sharp breath.

She hadn’t felt it while moving through the water, but now that she was sitting down, her entire body felt as heavy as lead.

Every part of her—skin, flesh, muscles, and bones—felt weak and numb. The five meridians within her body had contracted into a tight ball from the intense stimulation.

No matter how she tried to nourish them with her Qi and Blood, she couldn’t get them under control.

She said softly, slightly embarrassed, "I’m going to need a little more time before I can move."

Wu Chen, focused on tending to the roasting fish, chuckled. "No problem. The fish will be ready soon."

Seeing the young woman trying her best not to frown, Wu Chen felt a little helpless.

’I didn’t expect the pools to be so intense,’ he thought. ’They just felt a little cool to me.’

But as things stood, Wu Chen had no better way to help Xue Hongling warm herself up.

Outside of this secret realm, he might have been able to use the aura of his Organ Refining Realm to drive out the cold.

But here, with his aura suppressed, he was powerless to help.

However, as Wu Chen glanced up at Xue Hongling, he noticed her aura was becoming more ethereal, her body seemingly shrouded in a hazy, gentle light. This further convinced him that the cold pools possessed, at the very least, a marrow-cleansing effect.

’At this rate, Xue Hongling should have no problem breaking through to the Jade Bone Realm by the end of this trip,’ he thought.

’The others could probably break through a minor realm or two as well.’

This strengthened Wu Chen’s earlier suspicion: this secret realm was once home to a Sect.

These mountains, forests, and various other regions were the training grounds where its disciples tempered their physiques.

He just didn’t know what calamity had befallen it, causing it to become this secret realm and fall into such ruin.

’Why am I even thinking about this?’

Wu Chen shook his head, pushing the thoughts aside. He had no intention of delving into the history of this place.

As he zoned out, the aroma of the roasting fish began to fill the air. The rich scent was so intoxicating it seemed to seep into his very bones, jolting his body and mind.

Without hesitation, Wu Chen took the two largest Yellow-Scaled Fish—the kind that could be refined into Qi Condensing Pills—and gave one to Xue Hongling, keeping the other for himself.

"This... is for me?" Xue Hongling looked at the seven or eight Yellow-Scaled Fish of various sizes roasting over the fire, surprised that Wu Chen would give her one of the biggest.

"Huh?"

Wu Chen glanced left and right with a look of feigned alarm. "Is there someone else here?"

"Pfft!"

Amused by his antics, Xue Hongling laughed. She then extended a still-trembling arm, graciously accepted the roasted fish, and said,

"Thank you."

Seeing that she wasn’t standing on ceremony this time, Wu Chen watched her take small bites of the fish, her red lips glistening with oil.

The corners of Wu Chen’s mouth curled into a slight smile.

After all, when you see a pretty girl, something is bound to perk up.

Wu Chen began to dig in as well, though he felt a slight sense of dissatisfaction.

’Twenty cold pools, and only two adult Yellow-Scaled Fish?’

’Maybe there’s an underground river?’

Wu Chen figured the possibility was high. An underground river connecting these pools would surely be teeming with them.

’Too bad that’s not my objective for this trip.’

’Otherwise, I’d track down that river no matter what, catch four or five hundred of these, and grill up a platter every day once I’m out of here.’

Wu Chen’s reason for eating the Yellow-Scaled Fish was simple: to satisfy his craving.

But he had to admit, for a fish worth around fifty Contribution Points, the meat was incredibly tender, boneless, and delicious.

The moment it hit his stomach, it transformed into a stream of pure energy, leaving him feeling wonderfully replenished.

If it were refined into a pill, it certainly wouldn’t have tasted this good.

After savoring the last bite, Wu Chen looked over at Xue Hongling to check on her.

He immediately wished he hadn’t. Her face was flushed, and her hazy, drunken-looking eyes were fixed on him.

"Wu Chen... I’m so hot... What did you put in the fish...?"

Wu Chen’s eyebrow twitched. "..."

’What the hell did I put in it?! I’ll sue you for slander!’

He was utterly speechless.

’This is a classic case of a weak constitution being overwhelmed by a potent tonic, so how is this my fault!’

After all, no matter what rules the secret realm imposed or how much it suppressed him, Wu Chen’s body was still that of an Organ Refining Realm expert.

For him, eating a single adult Yellow-Scaled Fish was barely an appetizer.

But Xue Hongling was different. She was only a Mid Stage Meridian Passage Realm cultivator, a Martial Artist at the third major stage of Martial Arts.

By suddenly eating a Treasure Fish, she was naturally unable to process its pure energy. As a result, her physique was overwhelmed, her Blood Qi surged violently, and her mind grew muddled.

’The effects were supposed to be greatly diminished in here, so how could it still affect her like this!’

Wu Chen grumbled to himself as he watched Xue Hongling. Dizzy from her surging Qi and Blood, she was so hot that steam was literally rising from her head and body.

At some point, she had already untied her outer robe, shrugged off one side of her plain white inner shirt, and was now starting to unfasten her undergarments.

"You’re lucky you ran into me,"

Wu Chen said through gritted teeth. "If it were anyone else, they might have really taken advantage of the situation!"

"Now, I’m afraid I’ll have to give you a taste of it myself!"

With that, he shot to his feet.

Before Xue Hongling could make another move, he brought the side of his hand down in a swift chop to her neck.

Xue Hongling’s body went limp, and she finally fell completely silent.

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