Martial Cultivator

The two of them tacitly refrained from making another move and instead sat cross-legged almost simultaneously, beginning to circulate their qi to recover from their injuries.

But very quickly, the two exchanged a strange glance, and each saw a trace of astonishment in the other’s eyes.

Chen Chao took the initiative and said, “There’s something wrong with this place.”

When he tried circulating his qi, he already noticed that in this place, the flow of qi had become extremely sluggish. It was less than a tenth of the speed it would be outside.

In other words, trying to heal here would mean it would take ten days to achieve what would normally take one.

Autumn said coolly, “There’s a very faint aura all around us, permeating this place and hindering the flow of qi. The problem with this place is significant. It might be even more troublesome than you think.”

What Chen Chao had been thinking about was the slowed healing and qi circulation here. Autumn was thinking that over time, the aura outside might gradually erode the qi within their bodies.

Eventually, they would become ”ordinary people” with only cultivation realms but no qi.

Such a fate was utterly terrifying for a cultivator.

With a slight motion of her thoughts, a wisp of demonic qi bloomed from her fingertip and turned into a black butterfly, flapping its wings as it flew upward.

Chen Chao looked up at the butterfly but said nothing. He naturally understood that Autumn was testing whether they could return the way they came. But Chen Chao was pessimistic about it. After realizing the oddity of this place, he was nearly certain there was no way back.

Sure enough, after the butterfly ascended several dozen feet, it seemed to encounter an invisible barrier. But this barrier did not merely block the butterfly’s flight; it instantly tore the butterfly apart.

The black butterfly dissipated and vanished.

Autumn said, “The way back has been sealed.”

Though the butterfly was not a Nepenthe technique, Autumn was closely linked to that butterfly. From its destruction, she could tell that the power behind it was not something she could withstand.

Let alone in her current injured state, even at full strength, she would not stand a chance.

Chen Chao also extended his divine sense, but when it reached about several dozen feet above, it was likewise torn apart by a powerful aura.

”Cough...”

Chen Chao coughed up a mouthful of blood. His complexion turned extremely pale.

His injuries had worsened again.

Autumn let out a cold laugh, probably mocking this young martial artist for not trusting her earlier.

Chen Chao wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said with lingering fear, “It might be some kind of array formation at work, trapping us here. We have to find the formation’s core.”

If this place were artificially constructed, there must be a way to break it. The question was whether they could find the key.

If they could, they would naturally be able to escape. But if not, the outcome for both of them would be disastrous.

“You just had to come all the way out here to kill me, huh? Now look at us, there’s a good chance we’ll both die here. Is this the result you wanted?”

Chen Chao glanced at Autumn. When it came to this tigress, he truly did not know what to say.

Autumn showed no expression. She had no intention of responding to such pointless rubbish.

Chen Chao said, “I saw a white tower at the bottom of the lake just now.”

He looked around. The layout of this place was not complex; an icy lake with water all around. Aside from this narrow bit of shoreline, there were only the same black stone walls as before, walls that had already proven impervious. Neither he nor Autumn could break through them to make an exit.

“I saw it too.”

Autumn said indifferently, “It might be the only way out.”

The two had fallen into the lake almost at the same time, and both were careful people. Naturally, neither would overlook the white tower at the bottom.

Chen Chao said, “Let’s call a temporary truce until we get out of here.”

At this point, if they still insisted on a life-or-death battle, then even if one emerged victorious, that person likely would not be able to escape either.

To keep fighting now would be unwise.

Autumn gave a soft “Mm,” which counted as agreeing to Chen Chao’s proposal. Neither of them were fools, this was an easy decision to make.

Chen Chao took a deep breath and stopped talking. He focused on circulating his qi, slowly drawing the white mist from his meridians and guiding it to coat the surface of his wounds. The earlier battle had left his body covered in injuries.

Autumn was also silent. The wound on her back was gradually healing as well, preventing further blood loss.

Chen Chao glanced down at the wound on his chest. He could still faintly see the bone beneath it and could not help but sigh.

A moment later, he could not resist asking, “So the Demon Emperor’s race is the White Tiger lineage?”

Since Autumn’s true form was a white tiger, Chen Chao naturally assumed the Demon Emperor must also be one.

Autumn looked at Chen Chao expressionlessly and said flatly, “If you tell anyone what my true form is, I’ll kill you.”

The corners of Chen Chao’s mouth twitched, and he muttered, “As if you wouldn’t kill me anyway, even if I didn’t say anything.”

Autumn let out a cold snort.

“If you don’t promise me, I’ll fight you to the death right here.”

Chen Chao pulled a long face. “Can’t you think about our situation for a second? Doing that now is basically suicide.”

Autumn did not speak, only waiting for Chen Chao’s reply.

Chen Chao sighed helplessly. “Fine, I promise. But you have to answer my question too.”

Autumn thought for a moment, then said calmly, “The demon race has countless bloodlines, and there’s a distinction between purebloods and mixed. My clan doesn’t only intermarry within the same tribe. My royal father isn’t a white tiger. As for me, I carry the bloodline of an ancestor, which is why I am pureblood.”

Chen Chao understood. He had some understanding about demon races and knew that certain noble bloodlines disdained intermarriage with other races, believing it would taint their lineage. Evidently, the Demon Emperor’s lineage was not considered a particularly exalted tribe in the past. Otherwise, they would not have chosen to intermarry other races.

Of course, there were exceptions. Maybe the Demon Emperor’s bloodline had once been very strong, and they had sought an equally powerful race to strengthen their offspring’s bloodline by combining both.

Regardless, by now, the Demon Emperor’s lineage was undoubtedly one of the strongest races in the demon realm.

Chen Chao let out a soft “Oh,” having learned something not too big but not insignificant either.

Autumn said nothing more, falling silent.

For a moment, the air here grew oppressively quiet.

Chen Chao took a deep breath and focused completely on circulating the white mist in his body to heal his injuries.

After about half a day, the wound on his chest finally closed up completely, though it left behind a scar, clearly the mark of a wild beast’s claw.

Chen Chao did not really mind. His body was already covered in countless scars, densely packed, it was not anything new.

One more scar was just that, one more. As long as there were no scars on his face, it did not really matter.

But just as he was withdrawing his qi, he noticed that Autumn was already standing at the lakeshore, examining the water.

Chen Chao cursed inwardly. Damn it, this tigress’ body was really too great.

He slowly stood, sheathed his saber, and walked over to stand not far from Autumn. She glanced at him but did not say anything.

However, Chen Chao could see a faintly discernible trace of mockery in her eyes.

“There’s something wrong with the lake too.”

Chen Chao crouched, cupped some water in his hands, and felt the chill. Previously, it had just felt cold. Now, it even felt slightly painful.

Autumn said calmly, “There’s nothing here that isn’t wrong.”

Chen Chao let the water fall and sighed. “If it were other cultivators here, even if they were also at the Nepenthe Realm, they’d probably be doomed the moment they entered this water.”

This world was too vast and full of wonders. Many things born of heaven and earth were not something the average cultivator could withstand. But Chen Chao preferred to believe this lake was man-made.

“Consider yourself lucky.”

Autumn gave Chen Chao a glance. If it had been someone else, she probably would not have even needed to lift a finger, they would have died here on their own.

Chen Chao could not be bothered to argue with this tigress. “Shall we go in together?”

Autumn gave a soft “Mm,” but then added, “Put on some clothes.”

Only then did Chen Chao remember that he was still bare-chested. He glanced at Autumn, pulled out a fresh black robe, and started dressing while muttering, “You have no idea what kind of blessing it is. Do you think anyone can get to see my nearly perfect upper body?”

Autumn said nothing. She simply raised her hand, and the slender flying sword resting by the shore flew into her grasp. She said calmly, “It’s too big.”

The slender sword trembled slightly, then rapidly shrank until it was the size of a hairpin. Autumn casually twisted up her hair and stuck it in.

Chen Chao looked frustrated. Even now, he still did not understand, this woman was just a demon cultivator, so how could she command that flying sword so easily?

If that flying sword could talk, Chen Chao would definitely ask: What’s wrong with you? How can you be this spineless?!

“When we’re in the water, if anything happens to you, I won’t help.”

Autumn said this in advance.

Chen Chao quickly said, “Don’t be like that. We’re in the same boat, how can you not help a teammate in trouble?”

Who knew what strange things lay in this lake? There might even be some great demon who had been cultivating here for many years. Even if they did not bother Autumn for being a demon, there was no guarantee they wouldd be so kind to a living, breathing human like him.

Autumn snorted coldly but did not say more.

She stepped slowly into the lake, and Chen Chao followed.

The two of them once again entered the lake, descending steadily. Before long, they saw that white tower at the bottom once more.

The two tacitly moved toward it, though not quickly. This place was strange, riddled with hidden dangers. To rush forward recklessly now would be unwise. Who knew what might happen?

Chen Chao had no intention or desire to become doomed lovers with Autumn down here.

It took them some time to reach the top of the white tower, then slowly descend further.

But then both of them were surprised, because this white tower was simply too tall. It took them quite a while just to reach the bottom.

Even Chen Chao, who had seen the famed Three Thousand Storeys of the Myriad Heaven Palace, thought that even if this white tower might be a little shorter, it was not far off.

Which also spoke to just how deep this lake was.

They stood in front of the building, looking at the tightly shut door, which had not opened even after who knows how long.

The door was the same height as an ordinary pavilion’s, with nothing unusual about it.

Chen Chao lifted his head and looked at the plaque above the tower.

There were three characters written on it.

Chen Chao opened his mouth to speak, then fell silent.

Autumn looked at him.

Chen Chao said irritably, ”Don’t know how to read them, alright?!”