Something seemed to have appeared in this space.

As Chu Xinghui raised his sword, a strange white spiritual force silently reached out from the void and headed straight for him.

This spiritual force seemed harmless, its power weak and soft, even weaker than an attack from a novice cultivator.

Chu Xinghui held his sword horizontally in front of him, but a strange sense of crisis suddenly rose in his heart.

He made a quick decision not to take the attack head-on and swiftly dodged to the side.

The spiritual force struck the exact spot where Chu Xinghui had just stood, silently corroding a hole about one person wide on the floor.

Sure enough, beyond the hole was neither the lower floor of the wooden building nor the secret realm itself, but a chaotic void.

Chu Xinghui’s palm broke out in a cold sweat. He calmly observed his surroundings, trying to find a flaw in the environment to escape.

On the wall, a patch of white, identical to that spiritual force, had appeared without him noticing. The second attack came quickly.

Chu Xinghui could only continue to dodge.

The white on the wall spread larger and larger, and the attacks grew denser.

Chu Xinghui finally figured out part of its attack pattern.

Its target… seemed to be the jade box he was holding.

Thinking of what was inside the jade box, Chu Xinghui tightened his grip on it without hesitation.

He had no intention of giving up this item. Besides, even if he did, this thing probably wouldn’t let him go.

After a quarter of an hour, the walls around were almost completely covered by white, flowing like water and spreading to the floor, seemingly ready to swallow Chu Xinghui completely within this space.

Chu Xinghui dodged another attack and barely stood at the edge of the void.

He looked at the void nearby and suddenly had a new idea.

The void was the junction between spaces. Entering it meant no guarantee of survival, even if one survived, no one knew which space or time point they might be sent to.

But staying here was almost certain death.

Chu Xinghui quickly made up his mind, confirmed the jade box was still with him, and planned to jump into the void.

At the critical moment, a powerful spiritual force suddenly broke through the void, forcibly pulling him out of this strange space.

Chu Xinghui heard a tremendous roaring sound in his ears.

He looked back and saw the entire wooden building collapse into ruins.

A hand suddenly reached out, pulling Chu Xinghui into an embrace.

Chu Xinghui trembled instinctively and looked up to see a familiar face.

Xie Liufeng sighed, poked his head, and wrapped an arm around his waist, carrying him away from the ruins: “Why do you have to be such a handful?”

Chu Xinghui said nothing, gripping him tightly.

Once at a safe place, Xie Liufeng let go and instructed: “Wait for me here.”

Chu Xinghui nodded, his gaze fixed tightly on Xie Liufeng’s back.

Xie Liufeng stood on the ruins, spreading his divine sense to search around. After a moment, he found a faintly glowing pure white light orb in the air.

He grabbed the orb and crushed it with a pinch, it instantly turned to dust.

After finishing, he lowered his eyelids and slowly wiped his hands with a handkerchief.

Chu Xinghui stepped forward and asked: “What was that?”

Xie Liufeng answered: “It’s ‘Name.'”

Chu Xinghui looked up at him and asked again: “‘Name’… what is it?”

Xie Liufeng explained: “Just like people have names in life, gods in the upper realm have divine names, which represent the deity’s position recognized by the heavenly way. This is ‘Name.'”

If it’s a legitimate god who ascended through cultivation or great merit, the divine name won’t disappear immediately after death but will gradually fade over a long time.

However, this ‘Name’ was illegally created by special means and cannot dissipate naturally, it can only be slowly worn away by energy of the same level.

When he killed the owner of this thing years ago, he had smashed it casually. The fragments have been dispersed among his bones as seals all these years, and shouldn’t have appeared here or had their seals opened.

If Chu Xinghui hadn’t entered this wooden building this time, it might have been let through by whoever was behind the scenes.

Given the situation now, it’s hard not to suspect someone has made unauthorized moves again.

Xie Liufeng was thinking he should look for these unruly people once they got out when his thoughts suddenly paused.

Chu Xinghui reached out and touched his eyes.

Xie Liufeng immediately remembered what he had done this time and was about to lecture him with a senior tone, but was stunned by the emotions in Chu Xinghui’s eyes.

He softened his voice: “What’s wrong?”

Chu Xinghui didn’t reply, instead rushing into his arms and holding him tightly.

Seeing this, Xie Liufeng swallowed all his reprimands, softened his expression, hugged the boy closely, and gently comforted: “I’m here, it’s alright now.”

Chu Xinghui still said nothing and kept burrowing into his embrace.

Xie Liufeng patted his head gently and coaxed: “It’s not safe here, let’s leave first.”

*

By the time the two exited the secret realm, it was already dusk.

The secret realm behind them had completely collapsed, and the entrance had fully closed, leaving only a chaotic vortex.

The connection between the two spaces had fully severed, this vortex would dissipate on its own soon.

Leaving the chaotic environment, Xie Liufeng immediately caught a strong scent of blood.

He turned his head and saw an untreated wound on Chu Xinghui’s arm.

It was a cut from his own spiritual sword.

Xie Liufeng’s face tightened again. He grabbed Chu Xinghui’s arm, carefully treated the wound, and tidied his sleeve: “Alright, now it’s time to settle accounts.”

Chu Xinghui looked up at him obediently, standing quietly, waiting for him to speak.

Xie Liufeng reached out: “Give me what you found.”

Chu Xinghui handed over the jade box he had been protecting.

Xie Liufeng glanced inside, then threw the box back to him, asking coldly: “Is this thing worth you getting hurt over?”

Chu Xinghui nodded honestly: “It is.”

Xie Liufeng: …

He emphasized: “I’m teaching you now.”

Chu Xinghui stared at him, then replied with a simple “Oh.”

Xie Liufeng continued lecturing: “No matter whose bones these are, they’re just dead things, not worth risking yourself for. Even if someday I’m in danger, and I die, is it necessary to have you risk your life too?”

Though Chu Xinghui didn’t want to hear such a possibility, he still nodded after imagining it: “No.”

Xie Liufeng paused, clarifying: “I’m telling you, don’t act on emotions and recklessness. Always protect yourself first.”

“Understood,” Chu Xinghui nodded. But then he added: “I won’t change.”

He looked at Xie Liufeng seriously and said: “If you want me not to risk myself, then don’t get hurt yourself — past, present, or future.”

Xie Liufeng was stunned and couldn’t argue back for a moment, so he turned and started walking toward a nearby town.

Chu Xinghui hesitated for a moment before following.

Xie Liufeng glanced back at him.

Whether or not he was angry was one thing, but he couldn’t just leave his disciple behind.

Chu Xinghui’s eyes lit up and he quickly caught up.

They walked quietly, one ahead and one behind, for a while.

Suddenly, Chu Xinghui noticed something and tugged at Xie Liufeng’s sleeve: “Wait for me.”

Xie Liufeng, still annoyed at his reckless adventure, didn’t want to wait but stopped obediently.

Chu Xinghui saw an osmanthus tree in bloom.

Osmanthus trees grow in the south, and he hadn’t seen one in the northern lands during his mortal life.

But the cultivation world was rich in spiritual energy, so ordinary plants could grow almost anywhere.

Chu Xinghui stood beneath the tree, picked a branch with the best blooms, and brought it back.

He held out the flowers and said to Xie Liufeng: “For you.”

Xie Liufeng lowered his gaze to the branch in his hand and was silent for a moment: “I’m still mad at you, this makes things hard for me.”

Chu Xinghui looked up earnestly: “I promised you.”

“When did you promise…” Xie Liufeng was puzzled but could say nothing after meeting his gaze.

Finally, he gave in, ruffling Chu Xinghui’s hair with a sigh: “Fine, I accept it.”

He couldn’t stay mad at him for long.

Chu Xinghui grabbed his hand.

Holding the branch, Xie Liufeng suddenly said: “I just remembered an old thing. Many years ago, I really wished someone would bring me a flower.”

Back then, he couldn’t see or hear, but at least his sense of smell was intact, so he could still enjoy the scent.

Chu Xinghui looked up at him and said: “I know.”

Xie Liufeng tapped his head, laughing: “You weren’t even around then. How did you know?”

Chu Xinghui didn’t answer, pulling him to continue walking.

They were already close to the town.

Chu Xinghui touched the jade box hidden in his arms and finally asked the question he had wanted to ask all along: “What’s with these bones?”

Xie Liufeng had expected the question and said casually: “Just some bones taken out due to some incident back then.”

Chu Xinghui frowned and immediately tried to examine his body.

Xie Liufeng stopped his hand: “Enough. It’s not ordinary bones, they don’t affect my daily life.”

Chu Xinghui asked: “Does it hurt?”

Xie Liufeng chuckled lightly and shook his head: “It happened long ago. I’ve long forgotten.”

 

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