Feng Qingran took a step back, and the clear, bright day reappeared before her eyes.
This was a strange phenomenon, somewhat similar to the Sword Mound. A single layer separated two vastly different worlds.
Feng Qingran raised her hand and reached forward. As her hand passed through a certain point, she felt a ripple, like water.
Was it an illusion created by a barrier?
Feng Qingran walked a few steps to the side and faintly heard the sound of something shifting.
Her almond-shaped eyes narrowed. Well, well… they’d laid out the net, just waiting for her to enter and be caught…
Hah!
She just wouldn’t go in!
On the other side of the barrier, in the land of eternal night, countless pairs of green eyes stared intently at Feng Qingran. They saw her turn and start to leave.
A hauntingly cold voice sounded, “Stop her, quickly! She’s leaving!”
The voice was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.
“We can’t! The area ahead is someone else’s territory. We can’t interfere with her actions there,” another chilling voice replied.
“We must find a way to lure her in!” The ghostly voice now held a trace of anger. “How can we let such a delicious soul slip away?”
“Guimei, I’ve heard that cultivators are greedy and love all kinds of treasures. Why don’t we use treasures to tempt her inside?” a fiend suggested.
“Good idea! Quick, throw something out!”
“But… we’re ghosts. We haven’t stored anything away.”
“What do you mean nothing? Throw the Starry Mirror to her.”
A fiend said reluctantly, “If we throw that to her, our home will become daytime, and we’ll all have to hide underground!”
The sun in the Tenfold Domain was different from the outside world; it specifically suppressed dark, evil creatures like them.
Without the eternal night created by the Starry Mirror, they wouldn’t dare show their faces during the day.
“Then is there anything else? If we don’t throw something soon, that little girl will be gone!” Guimei’s voice was urgent.
“These are the trinkets I collected in my previous life… they’re all in this storage ring…”
Before the sentence was finished, Guimei snatched the storage ring from its hand and threw it out.
Feng Qingran’s steps halted as she watched a storage ring fall in front of her.
A cunning glint flashed in Feng Qingran’s almond eyes. She acted as if she hadn’t seen it, stepped around it, and continued walking.
The fiends inside, seeing that Feng Qingran was unmoved by the temptation, grew even more anxious. They grabbed more valuable items and hurled them all toward Feng Qingran.
Conflicting thoughts warred in Feng Qingran’s eyes. While these items were indeed treasures, they were saturated with an overly thick aura of dark evil, making them utterly unsuitable for her. Still, these fiends were rather… interesting.
Thud!—
A mirror landed in front of Feng Qingran.
This time, Feng Qingran stopped. She bent down and picked up the Starry Mirror.
One half of the mirror’s back depicted the sun, the other the moon. The frame was exquisitely carved.
Feng Qingran gripped the mirror’s handle and pressed a gem on it. Instantly, the bright day turned into night.
The fiends hiding underground sensed the arrival of night and immediately emerged.
However, right at that moment—
Feng Qingran pressed the gem again. Night turned back into day.
Squeak!—
Aah!—
Screams erupted from the fiends as they scrambled headlong back underground.
Those who were a step too slow evaporated into wisps of smoke.
A deep light flashed in Feng Qingran’s eyes. So, this was the group of fiends that had wanted to hunt her?
They seemed terribly afraid of the sun.
And the Starry Mirror in her hand could conveniently create daylight—the perfect counter to these fiends.
A smile curled at the corner of Feng Qingran’s lips. Since these fiends had actively handed their weakness to her, how could she disappoint them?
Clutching the Starry Mirror, Feng Qingran stepped into the withered forest. A flicker of joy crossed her eyes; she was one step closer to the paradise.
——————
Up in the sky, the two wyverns watched Feng Qingran’s movements.
The black wyvern spoke, “Old Huang, you don’t think she’s looking for Qi, do you?”
Old Huang swallowed hard, a bit nervous. “She can’t be, right? That’s like a lamb entering the tiger’s den! Didn’t Mo Jinghong tell her the truth?”
The black wyvern was puzzled. “He should have. The first few who entered knew perfectly well and stayed far away from Qi from the start.”
Old Huang: “This little girl is bizarre. In less than a day since entering, she not only tricked Taotie but also swindled the fiends’ treasure right out of them.”
Black Wyvern: “That’s because she hasn’t encountered the truly powerful ones yet. The Four Fiendish Beasts are fierce, but they use all their cunning fighting each other. And the fiends are just a bunch of fools…”
Old Huang shook his head at the black wyvern, a trace of fear in his eyes. “No, I have a feeling she really is going to find Qi. Should we stop following her?”
——————
Meanwhile.
In the withered forest, Feng Qingran used a tree branch to carefully probe the path ahead.
In marshlands, once you sink in, all the clever strategies in the world are useless.
Moreover, she remembered ancient texts mentioning that Shadow Drakes particularly liked living in swamps.
Although Shadow Drakes were extremely inconspicuous among fiendish beasts, and almost no one remembered them, the mere fact that they were fiendish beasts meant they couldn’t be underestimated.
Gurgle!—
Feng Qingran suddenly felt the ground soften beneath her feet. The dead leaves gave way, and her feet sank into black mud.
Both feet were stuck.
A cold light gleamed in her beautiful eyes. She had probed the area with the branch, yet she still fell for it?
It seemed there was something formidable residing in this swamp.
In the blink of an eye, the black mud had already reached her ankles.
Feng Qingran’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. Her beautiful eyes scanned the surroundings warily. Everything else seemed normal, except for a faint, subtle sound coming from within the swamp.
Feng Qingran tensed, not daring to move, thinking of a way to save herself.
Swoosh!—
After a rustling sound.
A colossal creature burst forth from the swamp.
Instantly, black mud splattered everywhere.
Then, a round object hurtled directly toward Feng Qingran.
Feng Qingran raised her hands, intending to block the thing flying toward her face.
