One of my fairy-like friends

“My father… was born unable to cultivate immortality. Perhaps that’s why my parents were able to come together. One was born unable to cultivate immortality, and the other lost all his cultivation halfway through and could no longer cultivate immortality…” Ning Feixuan said expressionlessly. “They placed high hopes on me, and my family also valued me highly at the time. However, I had a rival, and that was… Ning Zetian.”

"Actually, they came to kill me that day... but I hid and they couldn't find me. In a fit of rage, Ning Zetian killed my parents with his own hands."

“You really don’t want to talk about these things, do you?” Mingyan said.

“Actually, accepting these things isn’t as difficult as I imagined.” Ning Feixuan shook her head. “I sometimes think about this question: Ning Zetian is my cousin, and my parents are his father’s younger brother and sister-in-law. We are blood relatives. What kind of mentality did he have back then to torment my parents to death?”

"Just how cold does human blood have to be to do something like this?"

Ming Yan remained silent, and Ning Feixuan clearly didn't want him to answer the question.

She said, "I often think back to my parents' faces, to snuggling in my mother's arms, and to flying kites with my father."

"If I cannot place Ning Zetian's head in front of their graves as a sacrifice, how can I face them? So from the moment I was brought to the Huang family, I have been working hard to cultivate."

"In order to cultivate, I have given up a lot, and I must give up a lot."

“I dare not let my heart be distracted by other things. I dare not get too involved, for fear that it will make me lazy, for fear that it will make me waver, for fear that I will not be able to complete my revenge.”

Was she telling herself why she was resisting herself, why she was rejecting herself?

"I know my attitude towards you has never been good, even a bit cold, but you should understand my thoughts... I'm afraid, afraid of developing romantic feelings for you, so I want to keep my distance. I'm sorry," Ning Feixuan said softly, looking at Ming Yan.

"No need to apologize." Mingyan shook his head.

"I don't know what you were thinking when you said you wanted to be friends with me, but... Mingyan, can you promise me something?"

"...you say."

"Don't fall in love with me. Let's be friends, true friends. Friends who can trust each other, even entrust their backs to each other... just friends, okay? If you can do that, I promise you, I won't deliberately keep my distance from you anymore, I won't treat you with a cold attitude anymore, I will be my most authentic self with you. Are you... willing?"

“Of course you can.” Ming Yan smiled. Did he refuse this option? If he did, Ming Yan was certain that Ning Feixuan would truly and completely distance herself from him.

Why is he unwilling? He said he had already let go. If he is unwilling, doesn't that prove that he hasn't let go?

Since you've let go, you shouldn't refuse, right?

Ning Feixuan stared intently at Ming Yan, observing his expressions from the very beginning.

But now, the tense expression on her face relaxed, and gradually, a smile appeared. "Thank you."

Mingyan felt a pang of sadness, but he didn't show it on his face.

"Now, are we true friends?"

"I think so," Ning Feixuan said with a smile, slightly embarrassed. "However, I don't have many friends, and besides you, I don't have any male friends... Um... if I've offended you in any way, please give me a chance to explain..."

"..." Ming Yan was stunned for a moment. Ning Feixuan smiled shyly, a faint blush on her pretty face...

She has a beautiful smile, but Mingyan didn't dare to say it out loud.

He looked away. "Let's go, we need to deal with that beast."

Because they are friends.

Chapter 3 Ning Feixuan’s Taoist Weapon

"That's it." Mingyan looked at the cave in the distance, squinted, and smelled a strong, fishy stench.

The smell was a mixture of blood and stench, suggesting that it had likely brought some "food" back to the cave.

The two did not act rashly, but observed quietly.

What is certain now is that no matter how big this ferocious beast is, it is at most at the Divine Gate level. If it breaks through to the Taiyi realm, it will definitely not leave any excrement.

Despite knowing the opponent's strength and being confident in dealing with it, who knew what else might be in the cave besides that ferocious beast?

Mingyan had never encountered this kind of monitor lizard before, so he was not clear about its habits, and did not know whether they lived in groups or anything like that.

Ning Feixuan followed beside him. She was light and graceful, walking silently through the forest. The leaves did not stick to her, and she was indeed like a fairy. Ming Yan had to admit that Ning Feixuan was indeed ethereal.

But... this fairy-like woman carries a deep-seated hatred. Her appearance and temperament are indeed otherworldly, but her heart remains in the mortal realm.

Mingyan suddenly had a feeling that he could be friends with Ning Feixuan now, but after she avenged her great enemy... her heart might also be tainted with immortality... because she would no longer have any worldly desires or concerns.

If that's the case, completing her revenge might cause her to lose popularity...

If that's the case, perhaps after completing their revenge, the two will no longer even be friends, and the distance between them will only grow further.

Mingyan paused for a moment, then shook his head. Why would he suddenly have such a thought?

Having resolved her innermost concerns, Ning Feixuan should be paying more attention to the people around her. How could she lose popularity simply because there's nothing left for her to care about?

“There’s movement.” Ning Feixuan didn’t notice Ming Yan’s change in expression; she was focused intently on the cave entrance.

The cave entrance was enormous, with little vegetation around it, and a strong, nauseating stench emanated from it, but Ning Feixuan showed no reaction.

The cave was pitch black and exuded a chilling atmosphere. No one could see inside.

Hearing Ning Feixuan's voice, Ming Yan came back to his senses. He felt the tremor, and the ferocious beast must have been moving inside the cave. Its size was so large that even a slight movement could be felt outside the cave.

Mingyan stretched out his hand and placed it on the ground, carefully feeling the changes in vibration.

The vibration frequency was not high, not like a group of ferocious beasts were active.

"There's either only one ferocious beast in this cave, or the others are still asleep." Ming Yan thought for a moment. "How about this, I'll go in and check it out. If I'm sure there's only one, then we'll make our move..."

"Why should I ask you to investigate?" Ning Feixuan looked at Ming Yan. "I am at the initial stage of the Divine Palace Realm. If there is any situation, I am more confident than you."

Ming Yan opened his mouth. The two had never actually competed, so it was uncertain who was stronger. But even if Ming Yan was not as good as Ning Feixuan, he still had the "?" secret. Moreover, Ming Yan was not necessarily weaker than Ning Feixuan.

Of course, Ning Feixuan's strength must also be terrifying. She has the Western Spirit Body. Although this physique is very mysterious, the former Western Queen Mother had this physique and suppressed a generation of geniuses before finally proving herself as an emperor.

“...Then let’s go together,” Mingyan said.

Ning Feixuan smiled slightly and nodded. Ming Yan came to his senses upon seeing this. So she had planned to act together from the beginning?

Mingyan felt a little strange. Ning Feixuan did seem slightly different from before. However, this also made Mingyan realize that his previous worries were unfounded. How could someone like her lose her humanity and popularity?

Mingyan and Ning Feixuan emerged from the forest. Mingyan used the Wind Spirit Scripture to conceal their presence and gradually approached.

The Wind Spirit Scripture is extremely convenient. Apart from being slightly weaker in combat, it can always be of great help to Mingyan in other situations. Moreover, Mingyan also has the Moon Shadow Scripture and the Sun and Moon Scripture for combat.

During this period, Mingyan would occasionally study the "Moon Shadow Scripture"... To call it study was more like a test, as he carefully observed the changes that the "Moon Shadow Scripture" brought him.

Although his master guessed that cultivating the Moon Shadow Scripture would not have any effect on his physique, he still reminded Mingyan to be careful and to stop immediately if he found anything wrong.

But judging from the current situation, there are indeed no side effects, so perhaps we can start cultivating freely. The Moon Shadow Scripture has extremely powerful concealment and one-hit kill abilities.

The two entered the cave, and the nauseating stench made Mingyan frown. He looked at Ning Feixuan and found that Ning Feixuan's expression was calm. When she saw him looking at her, she even tilted her head, as if asking Mingyan why he had turned to look at her.

Seeing that she was not affected by the stench, Mingyan turned around, and the two quietly walked into the cave.

Mingyan controlled his aura with the Wind Spirit Scripture, and the power of Taiyin overflowed. Mingyan did not make any sound, while Ning Feixuan was light-footed, as if she had no weight. She seemed to be unable to control herself, but she floated in with Mingyan as lightly as a leaf.

Of course, she wasn't actually flying. Using spiritual energy inside the cave would easily alert the ferocious beasts there, so neither of them used their spiritual energy until they encountered the beast.

The cave was damp and cold, with water seeping from the rock walls. There were many skeletons on the ground, mostly animal skeletons, some of which Mingyan recognized and some he did not.

The two continued forward for a while, when suddenly a fork in the road appeared. Mingyan squatted down and examined the path. He found that the left path clearly showed signs of activity and had some broken bones around it, but the right path was empty and very damp, likely leading to some kind of underground river. Mingyan then decided to go to the left.

"Mingyan, wait." Ning Feixuan stopped and looked at the road on her right, her brows furrowing slightly. "Here..."

"What's wrong?" Mingyan asked.

"The spiritual energy here is so dense, didn't you feel it?" Ning Feixuan asked Ming Yan.

Ming Yan paused for a moment upon hearing this, then closed his eyes again and circulated the Wind Spirit Scripture, but felt nothing. He shook his head, "I felt nothing except for the dampness."

"This place is...very strange. Let's come and investigate after we deal with that ferocious beast," Ning Feixuan said after a moment's thought, seeing that Ming Yan hadn't sensed anything.

Ming Yan nodded, feeling a little uneasy. He hadn't sensed it even using the Wind Spirit Scripture, but Ning Feixuan had.

Is it a place with very rich spiritual energy? Could it be because of the Western Spirit Body that I can sense it?

Mingyan thought for a moment, shook his head, and continued forward with Ning Feixuan.

The cave was quite spacious; otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to accommodate a giant beast.

After walking for a while, the two felt the tremor again, this time much stronger. Ming Yan frowned and exchanged a glance with Ning Feixuan. They both knew that they were now very close to the giant beast.

Mingyan's Qi Sea flashed, and the Tongyou Dragon Tendon Bow appeared in his hand. A verdant palace appeared above Ning Feixuan's head, emitting a faint light. Mingyan glanced at it and then looked away.

Besides the common weapons like swords, spears, clubs, bows, and arrows used by ordinary people, cultivators also use some strange and unusual things, such as bells, tripods, towers, paintings, and palaces like Ning Feixuan's. Of course, there are other strange weapons, such as the Eight Treasures Glazed Bottle, an imperial artifact of Yaochi, which is a bottle.

Feiyan's weapon is more normal; it's a feather sword. I haven't seen Senior Sister's weapon before...

However, it would be more accurate to call this a Dao artifact rather than a weapon.

Mingyan composed himself and quickly approached Ning Feixuan.

As the cave expanded, the stench grew stronger. Mingyan frowned as he noticed blood everywhere on the ground, along with rotting flesh covered in maggots.

Corpses were scattered everywhere, some even piled up into small mountains. The air inside seemed to be tinged with blood, and just smelling it made one feel dizzy.

A lotus flower bloomed between Ning Feixuan's brows, and the palace above her head emitted a faint light that enveloped her. Then, the light expanded and enveloped Mingyan as well. "These gases have become miasma. Do not breathe them into your body, as they will affect the flow of spiritual energy."

Mingyan nodded, looking down at the Tongyou Dragon Tendon Bow in his hand, the dragon tendons that had been made into the bowstring glowing faintly.

Chapter Four: Battle

The dragon tendons gleamed in the dark lair. Although it was completely dark, Ning Feixuan and Ming Yan could see clearly with their naked eyes. But with the light, the situation inside the cave was revealed to them more clearly.

Bones, their flesh and blood still clinging together, piled up into small mountains. Between these mountains, blood pooled together, thick and pungent with a strong stench. The scene seemed more like a scene from a legendary hell than anything seen on earth.

Most of the skeletons were animal remains, but some were clearly human...

Even if all the people in that attacked blessed land were killed, there wouldn't be this many human remains.

This suggests that before attacking that blessed land, the ferocious beast had attacked other humans.

"Hiss..." Ning Feixuan gasped, "Just how many lives did it kill..."

“The miasma here hasn’t dissipated. If this goes on for too long, it might really become a hellish place.” Ming Yan frowned. He squatted down to examine some of the skeletons. “These human skeletons clearly died the shortest time. They are very likely the most recent to die... Moreover, there is spiritual energy remaining on the bones. They were all cultivators before they died.”

"Is it targeting cultivators?"

“That’s right, and it only recently started attacking humans…” Mingyan inspected the area and found that human remains were generally piled up at the top of the bone mountain. “And it’s very likely that it’s now only targeting human cultivators…”

“For a ferocious beast to break through to the Taiyi realm, it needs to sense spiritual energy like we do.” Ning Feixuan gritted her teeth. “It attacks human cultivators probably because this method is beneficial to its breakthrough. This has happened before.”

“That means if we don’t deal with it, it will continue to attack human cultivators.” Ming Yan narrowed his eyes. “We must deal with it.”

“That’s right… there’s more than one way for a ferocious beast to break through. Breaking through to Taiyi and becoming a spirit beast in this way is not a good thing for humans, demons, or any other living beings.” Ning Feixuan’s eyes were cold, and the faint light from the emerald green miniature palace above her head shone down, enveloping her and Ming Yan within its aura. “I can sense a faint spiritual energy. This ferocious beast is probably close to breaking through.”