Chapter Eighty-One: Liu Xiaoxiao

After passing through the stone gate, Long Yun immediately activated the Demon-Repelling Pearl, shrouding himself in demonic energy. Although he took on the form of a demon, he still dared not walk out openly. Who knew if the three great demon lords had hidden spies around? With a flicker of his form, he leapt several times and landed deep within the forest.

Using the dense woods as cover, Long Yun moved swiftly toward the barrier he had previously encountered. With the Demon-Repelling Pearl and the power of Reincarnation at his disposal, he could now break through the barrier and leave this cursed land.

After about half an hour, the barrier grew ever closer. Long Yun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The Demon-Repelling Pearl was truly effective—without it, he would never have made it this far with such ease.

Suddenly, the sound of battle reached his ears. Could there be others who had been transported here? That would be bad! Long Yun’s expression changed. If he could be sent here, it must have been the work of the elders of Azure Sect. Given the deep hatred between the Hua Ying Sect and the Jade Sword Sect, if there were others here, they would surely be disciples of the Jade Sword Sect as well.

With this thought, he dared not linger another moment. His movement technique unfurled, leaving a trail of afterimages as he sped toward the direction of the fighting.

Near the barrier separating the deadland from the outside world, a young girl dressed in black stood with a longsword in hand. Her slender figure was delicate, and her beautiful face was pale. Her chest heaved with each breath, blood trickling down her arm in crimson drops. Around her, more than twenty shadowy demons had her completely surrounded.

"Liu Xiaoxiao!" Long Yun stopped, not rushing forward. He knew Liu Xiaoxiao hid as many secrets as he did. Under such pressure, he could observe some of her hidden cards, so he stayed put, watching silently. At the same time, his palm gripped the Sword of Verdant Grain, ready to strike should Liu Xiaoxiao be in mortal danger.

The twenty or so demon shadows were all at the Return to Origin Realm. With Long Yun’s current strength, he might have found them manageable, but that was only because of the divine aura within him. If he were an ordinary disciple of the Jade Sword Sect, he would never last long.

Liu Xiaoxiao let out a crisp shout. Her sword danced, sending forth brilliant sword light—the signature sword energy of her school. With one "Three Pure Sword," she sealed off the attacks of the three strongest demons. At the same time, her slender waist twisted, and with a movement technique unknown to Long Yun, she slipped skillfully past the encircling demons, narrowly escaping their coordinated assault.

Long Yun frowned. Although Liu Xiaoxiao always fought with sword energy, he could sense a cold, sinister aura interwoven within her strikes. This aura was faintly reminiscent of demonic energy, yet seemed even higher in quality. The demons themselves appeared wary of it.

As they were forced back by her sword, the demons howled in fear, retreating in confusion.

"What a pure, sinister aura—what can its nature be? No wonder she could trigger a strange phenomenon from the Sky Pillar; so this is what she harbors within," Long Yun thought to himself, eyes narrowing. No wonder she had lasted so long. Like him, she possessed a special kind of true energy. He could feel that, matched against his own divine aura, her sinister force was in no way inferior.

This showed just how extraordinary the energy within Liu Xiaoxiao truly was. Otherwise, with her cultivation at the Rebirth Realm, she could never have held out so long against more than twenty Return to Origin masters.

It seemed that if she hadn't tried to break through the barrier and alerted the demons, her unique true energy could have kept her hidden indefinitely. The demons would never have discovered her.

A sharp clang rang out—one of the demons was split apart by Liu Xiaoxiao’s sword. Yet she paid a price for this, her arm struck by the demon’s force, sending waves of numbness through her.

"This isn’t good. At this rate, I’ll never escape. These mindless brutes have no sense—otherwise, how would they dare attack me?" Liu Xiaoxiao cursed inwardly, gritting her teeth.

Like Long Yun, she realized not long after arriving that she had likely fallen victim to the Azure Sect’s schemes. She had kept her energy suppressed, searching for a way out of the deadland. When she reached the barrier, she scouted the area, realizing that only by breaking through it could she escape. She risked an attempt, but failed to breach the barrier and instead attracted a patrol of demons. Relying on her nimble footwork, she fought and fled, killing more than a dozen along the way. Yet she had suffered wounds herself, and the relentless attacks gave her no chance to recover.

Her injuries mounted, and her heart grew ever more anxious. If this continued, she would surely be worn down and perish. Did she really need to reveal her hidden secret? She struggled with the thought. Here, she sensed many powerful presences; once she revealed her secret, she could draw their attention.

Unless it was absolutely necessary, she dared not try, for the secret within her was enough to drive any intelligent demon to madness. If those fearsome beings tried to seize it, she would have no means to escape.

And so Liu Xiaoxiao fought on with caution. Under the siege of more than twenty demons, her wounds worsened, though she managed to slay four more in the process.

"I can't wait any longer!" Hiding nearby, Long Yun’s heart sank—for he could see that Liu Xiaoxiao was at the end of her strength. If he didn’t act now, she would not survive more than a few more exchanges.

With this in mind, he drew the Sword of Verdant Grain. Boundless sword intent surged into the blade, which burst forth with a dazzling brilliance.

A sharp clang erupted, like a dragon's roar echoing for scores of yards. In that instant, Long Yun leapt into action, unleashing the Great Compassion Sword Art. The sword art, rooted in compassion and fundamentally opposed to demonic energy, was the perfect choice to hide his own secret.

Long Yun’s sword energy was vast and overwhelming, carrying a wave of compassion that rose like a stormy sea, enveloping the remaining twenty or so demons. With a twist of the blade, he caught two demons in a moment of distraction. His sword energy tore through their bodies without mercy. Empowered by his hidden divine aura, the sword energy exploded within them, shattering the demons into pieces.

"Xiaoxiao, come to me!" Long Yun shouted, carving a path of sword energy straight to Liu Xiaoxiao.

Her eyes brightened. The sword energy swept the demons aside, and she seized the chance to leap to Long Yun’s side.

"Senior Brother Long Yun, how did you end up here too?" Liu Xiaoxiao stood back to back with Long Yun, both releasing their energy as the mindless demons pressed on with endless attacks.

While parrying their assaults with the Great Compassion Sword Art, Long Yun said in a low voice, "We were betrayed by those old men of Azure Sect. Xiaoxiao, apart from you, were any other brothers transported here?"

With Long Yun’s support, Liu Xiaoxiao felt the pressure ease. Breathing heavily, she replied, "No, I’ve searched the entire area and saw no one else. I thought I was doomed—luckily, Senior Brother Long Yun, you’ve come!"

"Don’t jinx it!" Long Yun scolded lightly, then asked, "How are your injuries? Can you keep going?"

Liu Xiaoxiao nodded, "I can hold on a while longer, but with these creatures attacking like mad, it doesn’t look good. Senior Brother Long Yun, maybe you should just leave me behind."

At her words, Long Yun snapped, "Shut up! Focus on fighting—I won’t let anything happen to you!"

A strange light flickered in Liu Xiaoxiao’s beautiful eyes as she murmured, "Senior Brother Long Yun, you’re quite charming at a time like this."