Song Wanníng laughed even more wildly, as if the few people before her were already doomed to a dead end.
"What did you say?"
"You killed Sister Song?"
"And more than ten disciples from Canglan Sect as well?"
"Li Meng, are you crazy?"
The group was stunned by Song Wanníng's words. They knew Li Meng's strength well—there was no way he could be a match for Sister Song. Besides, there were more than ten people present.
"Li Meng, you must be hallucinating. With your strength, you're not even worthy to carry Sister Song's shoes, yet you dare to think of killing her?"
"This is ridiculous. I think Li Meng really has lost his mind."
The others snapped out of their shock and looked at Li Meng with utter mockery.
Their anger from before had vanished. Now, there was only absurd ridicule and scorn.
Suddenly, someone sensed something was wrong.
"Wait, you're not Li Meng at all!"
"I remember Li Meng's voice, and it doesn't sound like this!"
Although they were not close to Li Meng, they had some encounters before. The voice sounded increasingly off, clearly a forced imitation.
"Who exactly are you?"
Their expressions hardened instantly, killing intent thick in the air.
"Hiss, so you figured it out. You're smarter than Song Lantian!"
Song Wanníng sneered without further words and resumed fighting the group.
To avoid revealing her identity, she pretended to suffer from an internal injury. Her expression flickered with fear for a moment before she fled like a flash.
The group gave chase but failed to catch her. They were shocked but unwilling to give up with so many spiritual marrow behind them. They had no choice but to retreat.
After collecting all the spiritual marrow, they sent a message to Song Lantian via the sect's communication jade slips.
But no matter how long they waited, the message fell into silence.
The group exchanged fearful glances.
Could everything the stranger said really be true?
…
"Sister, why don't you reveal yourself as Xiao Heyun? What if they don't connect you with Xiao Heyun?"
Long Ling frowned, her chubby little face full of confusion.
If the plan failed, wouldn't all her sister's efforts be wasted?
Song Wanníng raised her hand and patted her head, rubbing it vigorously before smiling and explaining, "If we make it too obvious, it only raises suspicion. Instead, subtle smoke screens like this will lead them to make assumptions.
Everyone knows Xiao Heyun snuck into the secret realm. Coupled with this incident, Canglan Sect will definitely investigate.
They will find out their disciple has long been dead and that Xiao Heyun took his place. The deaths of Song Lantian and the others will be pinned on him.
Canglan Sect not only lost disciples but allowed him to sneak into the secret realm. Their reputation is ruined. They will stop at nothing to hunt him down!
More importantly..."
Song Wanníng's smile turned a bit cruel.
"Jiang Cen's own father will hold Xiao Heyun responsible. When that happens..."
Two invaders facing off is going to be very interesting.
"Tch, just hearing this is exciting. Scheming against them is far more satisfying than beating them up!"
These actions would slowly drain their Luck. In the end, their fate would match that of Ye Chuxue.
Just the thought made Long Ling feel thrilled—this was too entertaining!
"Alright, the secret realm will close soon. Once Strange Fire levels up, we can go explore again."
She glanced down at her rosy palm.
All around was dust left from the flame stones, nearly piled into a small mound.
This time, she had absorbed all the flame stones in the Flame Mountain, and her cultivation had naturally advanced to late Void Refinement.
Two consecutive advancements happened in a short time, but Song Wanníng felt no discomfort. If conditions had allowed, she would have stayed in Flame Mountain to cultivate—it was definitely faster than outside.
But unfortunately...
She smiled and reminded herself not to be greedy.
Haste makes waste. She needed to spend time refining pills to stabilize her cultivation and improve her alchemy skills.
Since inheriting the Alchemy Dao, she seemed busy every day.
As for her clone, it would stay outside to search for treasures. When the secret realm closed, they would reunite.
…
Time passed slowly.
The Shenyou Mystic Flame suddenly rose from the bottom, the flames on her body nearly vanishing in heat.
Although it was an strange fire, Shenyou Mystic Flame's rank was not high, so against some high-level cultivators, it was somewhat useless.
Now, after absorbing the fire spirit, its aura shifted sharply, becoming even more unfathomable.
More importantly, Shenyou Mystic Flame could finally speak.
"Sister!!!"
It excitedly leapt into Song Wanníng's arms, rubbing affectionately.
It had always envied how the brother and younger brother could speak. Now it could finally speak human words and communicate with her directly.
"Yi'er!"
Song Wanníng looked at it with joy, a satisfied glint in her eyes.
"Well done! I knew you could succeed!"
She showered Shenyou Mystic Flame with praise.
Yi'er quickly blushed, blinking its bright eyes, heart full of happiness.
Long Ling also came over, shouting exaggeratedly.
"Sister, you're amazing! From now on, you and brother must protect me!"
Being the weakest in combat power, it had to rely on her siblings for protection.
"Alright, I will definitely protect you."
Shenyou Mystic Flame nodded gently, face growing redder.
Song Wanníng smiled and interrupted them, "Since you're ready, let's go."
She led them back the way they came to the cave where it all began.
Some days ago, Zhang Shuning had awakened. Song Wanníng fed her pills and she was now waiting inside the cave.
When Zhang Shuning saw Song Wanníng, her eyes lit up and her cheeks flushed slightly.
"Sister Song, you've advanced?"
Song Wanníng had told her she needed to cultivate in the lava fire pool, so Zhang Shuning did not rush to leave.
She was healing and guarding Song Wanníng to prevent outside interference.
Whenever she thought about Song Wanníng rescuing her, her heart filled with gratitude.
Song Wanníng had been so domineering then.
She felt a sense of security she had only ever felt from their master. Though she called her Sister Song, her eyes were full of respect and thankfulness.
"Yes. There were many flame stones here, so I advanced by chance."
Song Wanníng smiled and turned to look at the fire pool.
Long ago, Jiang Cen disappeared from inside.
Even though Xiao Jin always watched here, she still vanished.
It seemed Jiang Cen's Luck remained as good as ever.
But once outside, luck might not stay so kind.
Song Wanníng smiled faintly, leading Zhang Shuning out.
===
In here originally Wanníng call Yi'er with strange fire (异火, yì huǒ). And just like before I pick nickname for it: Yi'er (异儿)
Btw, Wanníng really collect 'all' female cultivators huh, (¬‿¬ )