Chapter Forty-One: The Peril of the Anaconda Approaches

Once they had completely escaped from the sightlines of Bai Mu and Ling Yan, the person who had so suddenly rescued Xiu Ji swiftly darted into the unknown depths of the mountains behind them to hide. He then carelessly tossed the wounded Xiu Ji aside and began catching his breath.

Thanks to the period of rest during their flight, Xiu Ji's waist had regained most of its mobility, and since Bai Mu had not struck with excessive force, his injuries had already recovered by more than seventy percent.

Now, seated on the ground and taking a closer look, Xiu Ji realized that his rescuer was a young man dressed in a scarlet robe. He appeared to be in his early twenties, a few years younger than Xiu Ji himself. There was something oddly familiar about his features, though Xiu Ji could not determine whether it was a sense of déjà vu or simply an immediate affinity.

The young man in the red robe had also recovered from their frantic escape. After taking a long breath, he turned and fixed his gaze on Xiu Ji, who sat cross-legged before him. With concern, he asked, “Senior Brother Xiu Ji, are your wounds still troubling you?”

“You know me?” Xiu Ji asked in astonishment, his eyes wide as he watched the young man, searching for clues.

“Of course I do!” The young man’s brow creased slightly as he reminded urgently, “My name is Shen Tu De. I am a disciple of the Sword Immortal Xuan Yuan. We met yesterday, not far from Dayong Market. You even told my master about Bai Mu ambushing your Senior Brother Wushang. Have you forgotten so soon?”

Ah, I see now... Xiu Ji nodded in sudden realization. “So you’re the young apprentice who accompanied Senior Xuan Yuan. No wonder you looked familiar to me. I was so lost in grief over my brother’s misfortune yesterday that I didn’t take a good look at you. Please accept my apologies!”

He made to rise and bow in thanks for his rescue, but Shen Tu De quickly pressed a hand to his shoulder and gently stopped him. “Senior Brother Xiu Ji, you’re still injured—there’s no need for such formalities. I just happened to be passing through Mengying Mountain when I heard sounds of battle and managed to save you purely by chance. Think nothing of it.”

“Well then, since your master Xuan Yuan and my own master are peers, I see no need to stand on ceremony...” Xiu Ji suddenly paused, glancing around warily before asking in surprise, “Brother Shen, why isn’t your master, the Sword Immortal Xuan Yuan, here with you?”

Alas... At the question, Shen Tu De bowed his head, his face full of sorrowful resentment. “My master... I don’t even know if he’s dead or alive.”

“What happened?”

Alarmed, Xiu Ji struggled to his feet, a chill of dread gripping his heart as he pressed for answers. In his view, Sword Immortal Xuan Yuan’s cultivation surpassed even that of his own master, and among the second-generation disciples of the Void Sanctuary, he ranked among the most powerful. For Xiu Ji, to hear that Xuan Yuan’s fate was uncertain was a profound shock.

Yet no matter how shocking, the truth needed to be uncovered. After a brief silence, Xiu Ji forced himself to ask, “Brother Shen, didn’t your master set out to avenge my senior brother against Bai Mu yesterday? How could he now be missing, his fate unknown? Did he fall into Bai Mu’s trap as well?”

That’s right! Shen Tu De wiped away the tears welling at the corners of his eyes, his face contorted with grief as he accused, “It was Bai Mu—him! I saw with my own eyes as he beat my master until he was covered in wounds. If not for my master sending me away in his dying moments, I doubt I would have escaped death myself.”

Damn him! Xiu Ji slammed his palm upon the ground and cursed furiously. “Bai Mu is set on becoming the nemesis of the entire Barbaric Realm! So he was also behind the burning of Dayong and the massacre of its people?”

“Yes, it was him,” Shen Tu De replied indignantly. “I saw Bai Mu killing throughout the town with my own eyes. I tried to stop him, but he wounded me gravely and I barely escaped. Later, my master and I went to confront him, but we fell into his trap once more...”

Shen Tu De’s emotions seemed to reach a breaking point; he could not utter another word. His face twisted with anger and regret, clearly overwhelmed by grief.

Seeing this, Xiu Ji could only offer what comfort he could. “Brother Shen, don’t be too despondent. The Sword Immortal Xuan Yuan was always on good terms with my master and often visited the Void Sanctuary. Come back with me to the Sanctuary—once we call upon the four Holy Sons, surely we can deal with the likes of Bai Mu and that demoness Ling Yan!”

“But your injury...?” Shen Tu De glanced uncertainly at Xiu Ji’s waist, silently inquiring about his condition.

Xiu Ji burst out laughing. “This minor wound is nothing. I recovered while you were carrying me away—I'm already able to walk freely. Let’s set off immediately!”

Having made their decision, Xiu Ji led Shen Tu De along a shortcut back to the Void Sanctuary. Since he often traveled the path from Floating Jade Mountain to Dayong Market, he knew the terrain intimately—he could have walked it with his eyes closed.

Meanwhile, Bai Mu and his companions had taken the official road, so the two groups did not cross paths again.

Xiu Ji and Shen Tu De arrived at the eerie Misty Forest just before sunset, made their way through three barriers, and entered the Void Sanctuary without incident.

Bai Mu and Ling Yan, after resting a night outside the Misty Forest, awoke at dawn the following morning. Surveying the forest before them, they found it just as the tales described—blanketed in thick, white fog, making it nearly impossible to see with the naked eye.

Fortunately, both were outstanding among the offspring of the divine; such a paltry mist would not hinder their way in the least. After a brief discussion at the forest’s edge, they strode into the woods side by side.

“Ling Yan, do you know where all this fog comes from?” Bai Mu asked. “Why does it smell so foul, like the musk of a giant serpent?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Ling Yan replied softly, shaking her head in the midst of the haze. “I’ve only ever heard mention of this Misty Forest, never its true nature. But I can feel a strange aura throughout these woods—let’s be cautious as we proceed.”

Bai Mu nodded understandingly, drawing his Azure Dragon Sword in preparation for any unforeseen danger.