Chapter 146: Chapter 145: How Dare He

When Xue Hongling awoke, the sun was gentle overhead, the air was crisp and clear, and a light breeze drifted by.

Pressing a hand to her stiff, aching neck, she struggled to sit up, only to realize she was no longer on the mist-shrouded Wushan.

Instead, she was on an open patch of ground halfway up a mountain.

Looking into the distance, she could see a great chasm formed between two mountains about ten to fifteen miles away. It was hard to tell if the mountains had always been this way or if someone had cleaved them in two with a single slash.

It was the Flying Serpent Canyon.

"You’re awake?"

Wu Chen, who was poking at a cricket nearby, heard her stir and turned around.

He looked at Xue Hongling. Her eyes were still hazy as she was clearly trying to recall what had happened.

Fortunately, it only took a moment for Xue Hongling to recall a few fragmented images from before she lost consciousness. The memory made her wish she could bury her head under the bedding in front of her.

But she quickly composed herself, stood up, and fastened her shirt. She then folded the bedding neatly, walked over, and handed it back to Wu Chen.

But given her age, she still had trouble meeting Wu Chen’s eyes.

She asked, "How long was I out?"

Wu Chen stood up and said nonchalantly, "Three days."

"That long...!" Xue Hongling was annoyed. She couldn’t believe her gluttony had caused them to be delayed for so long.

’Otherwise, with Wu Chen’s strength, he’d probably have already passed through the Flying Serpent Canyon and gone to the next location in the secret realm!’

"Ahem, actually, it wouldn’t have taken you this long just to digest the Treasure Fish and wake up. Half a day should have been enough."

Wu Chen shrugged awkwardly. "The fact that you were out for three days... that’s probably because I used a little too much force."

Xue Hongling was speechless.

She rubbed her aching neck. Recalling the chop she’d received before passing out, she figured he was probably right.

But regardless, this whole thing was still her fault.

A wave of remorse washed over her as she thought about how many treasures Wu Chen must have missed by being delayed for three days in such a valuable place.

"What’s there to be upset about?"

Wu Chen handed Xue Hongling a waterskin, then looked toward the Flying Serpent Canyon and said,

"A three-day rest was actually perfect timing."

"Perfect timing?"

Xue Hongling took a sip from the waterskin. The cool spring water brought a healthy flush to her cheeks after sleeping for three days, and the fogginess in her mind began to clear.

Then she understood what Wu Chen meant.

"That’s right, it’s perfect!"

Her eyes suddenly lit up.

Counting the days, it had been nearly ten days since they entered the secret realm.

Many of the disciples who entered the Flying Serpent Canyon would have killed enough flying serpents by now. They’d be preparing to leave the secret realm for the first time to tally their Contribution Points.

So, if they went now, wouldn’t it be the perfect time to catch them?

A single thought appeared in Xue Hongling’s mind:

Robbery!

"Let’s go right now!"

Having already been delayed for three days, Xue Hongling knew they couldn’t waste any more time.

And without realizing it, she seemed to have been influenced by Wu Chen.

Now that she understood Wu Chen’s intentions, she grew impatient. She chugged a large gulp of water, wiped the droplets from her lips, and, with her long hair still a mess, raised her blade, ready to charge into the Flying Serpent Canyon.

"What’s the rush? Eat something first."

A little more time wouldn’t hurt. Wu Chen tossed her a cloth bag filled with jerky, motioning for her to eat first.

After all, even for someone in the Meridian Passage Realm, going three days without eating was bound to take a toll.

While Xue Hongling ate, Wu Chen took out his map and spread it open.

They had decided on three destinations, and the last one, the Flying Serpent Canyon, was now less than twenty miles ahead. But even from a distance, it was clear the canyon was enormous.

He needed to find out what the situation was like inside before making a move.

He showed the map to Xue Hongling. "This Flying Serpent Canyon looks pretty big on the map. What’s it like inside?"

"The map’s just a rough sketch. The inside is actually a crisscrossing maze of seventy to eighty different ravines and caves. It could hold over a thousand disciples."

Although Xue Hongling rarely spoke with others in the sect, as a Direct Disciple she had access to internal records and knew a great deal.

"But it’s simpler than it looks, even if it seems complicated and chaotic at first."

She swallowed the piece of jerky in her mouth and continued, "Broadly speaking, the most important parts of the Flying Serpent Canyon are the ’Six Valleys and Three Caves’."

"This refers to the six main ravines that cut through the area, as well as three major caves."

"That area is crawling with flying serpents, but it’s also full of precious herbs, so most people gather there. We can just go straight to those places and start robbing them!"

’A crisscrossing maze, you say?’

Wu Chen stroked his chin. From their vantage point on the mountainside, the canyon’s massive entrance was easy to spot in the distance.

He asked again, "So you’re saying the canyon is easily accessible from all sides, with lots of entrances and exits?"

"Not exactly."

Xue Hongling shook her head. "There’s only one entrance and exit—that fissure we can see from here."

"Oh?"

Wu Chen’s brows shot up. "Only one way in and out?!"

"Just one."

Xue Hongling nodded. "As for the people inside trying to get out some other way, it’s not impossible, but they’d have to climb the canyon’s cliffs."

"But never mind how steep the cliffs are, the crevices are teeming with poisonous snakes, insects, and scorpions. Even if someone at the Jade Bone Realm were to get bitten..."

As Xue Hongling spoke, she seemed to realize something. Recalling how Wu Chen had just emphasized that the Flying Serpent Canyon had ’only one way in and out,’ her voice rose a few notches.

"You’re not planning for the two of us to block the canyon entrance, are you?"

After she spoke, Xue Hongling fell silent.

Her initial thought had been simple: raid the ’Six Valleys and Three Caves’ in the Flying Serpent Canyon with Wu Chen, then slip away before the Blood Slaughter Sect could surround them.

After all, with only one exit, it would be incredibly difficult to escape if they got cornered.

But she never imagined that Wu Chen’s plan was even more terrifying than her own: to rob everyone inside the entire canyon!

And now, seeing the way Wu Chen’s eyes were fixed on that entrance, his expression one of pure excitement...

She knew she had guessed right.

"No, absolutely not! You can’t go!"

Her pretty eyes went wide with alarm. Forgetting all about eating, she hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

"There are at least seven or eight hundred Meridian Passage Realm disciples in that canyon! It’s nothing like the two or three hundred on Wushan, and they weren’t scattered all over the place!"

"Besides, this is exactly when everyone in the canyon will be leaving! How can you possibly fight seven or eight hundred people pouring out at the same time?!"

"And do you really think you’re the only one with this idea?"

"The Blood Slaughter Sect’s own members will surely have four or five experts at the Perfection stage of the Jade Bone Realm with the exact same idea, blocking the canyon entrance to charge their fellow disciples a toll!"

"Even Perfection-stage Jade Bone Realm experts have to band together to do something like this. How could you possibly stop so many disciples by yourself?!"

She was clearly frantic, the words tumbling out of her in a rush as she tried to talk Wu Chen out of this death-seeking plan.

But who could have guessed that as she spoke, Wu Chen’s eyes only grew brighter.

’All the disciples gathering to leave means I won’t have to chase them all over!’

’Plus, there will be Perfection-stage Jade Bone Realm experts to kill for Contribution Points!’

Wu Chen couldn’t help but exclaim, "That’s absolutely perfect!"

Xue Hongling was speechless.

’Great,’ she thought. ’That was a complete waste of breath.’

Xue Hongling was truly at a loss for words. What part of this situation was "perfect"?

’Eight hundred people! Even if only three hundred of them are elites in the Meridian Passage Realm.’

’If a group like that appeared anywhere in the outside world, the Demon Suppression Bureau would have to be mobilized.’

’And not just a Tiger Head Captain, either. A Golden Eagle Captain would have to lead the team!’

’Either that or a military commander would have to bring his elite troops to surround and annihilate them with tactical formations.’

’How can he dare to do this alone?!’

Xue Hongling shot a resentful glare at Wu Chen, who was now standing up to get a better look at the Flying Serpent Canyon... and his eager expression.

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

Xue Hongling didn’t much care for her own life, because she was weak.

But she couldn’t understand why this man, who was clearly so powerful, was so intent on seeking death.

’Shouldn’t he be the one to cherish his life more?’

Although she didn’t know exactly what Wu Chen planned to do, Xue Hongling didn’t ask. She knew she couldn’t talk him out of it. After she’d eaten and drunk her fill, she simply followed behind him as he headed toward the distant entrance of the Flying Serpent Canyon.

"Aren’t you scared?"

Wu Chen glanced back at the girl who was glaring daggers at him. She was obviously still sulking. He chuckled and asked,

"I am," Xue Hongling answered honestly.

How could she not be, when they were about to face eight hundred cultivators of the same realm?

"You are?"

Wu Chen laughed. "If you’re scared, then why are you still following me?"

Xue Hongling snapped, "So that when you get torn to pieces, I can hurry up and grab a few scraps of your clothes to make you a cenotaph."

"Hahaha."

Wu Chen couldn’t help but laugh out loud. "That’s one thing you definitely won’t be seeing."

He could tell Xue Hongling was furious about what she saw as his suicide mission; even her words were sharp.

But the fact that she was still willing to follow him, even though she clearly had no faith in his plan, sent a trace of warmth through Wu Chen’s heart.

After all, when the nest falls, no egg remains unbroken. If the coming battle was really as brutal as she feared, there was no way Xue Hongling would be able to escape with her life.

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