“Yuan He, how much time until the secret realm closes?” Lu Li looked at Yuan He. “Has it been over an hour?”
“Ah, ah, yes, over an hour.” Yuan He looked up at the sky in surprise. “But Layman Lu… I feel like you’ve suddenly changed as a person.”
“I have that feeling too.” Liu Qingyun squinted. “I’ve seen this in storybooks—maybe that bracelet on your hand has an Ancestor of the Yin Yang Sect inside.”
“That’s unlikely.” Lu Li looked at Zhou Xia, who was equally bewildered outside the light barrier. “But Ye Tingfeng, Meng Fang, you’ve both swallowed the pills, right?”
“Yes… but Sister Lu, are you alright?” Meng Fang looked at Lu Li with concern.
“I’m fine.” Lu Li flipped her hand, and a series of bottles appeared in her palm. Then, under everyone’s gaze, she poured them into the center of the lake. “Now, I hope you won’t think badly of me for what I’m about to do.”
“Bewitch Heart.”
Lu Li took a deep breath, and nine fox tails once again unfurled behind her.
“Oh, I didn’t expect that someone in the Yin Yang Sect of the Southern Region could master the Bewitch Heart technique to such a degree.” Zhou Xia immediately formed a formation with his group from a distance. “You might have figured out my plan, but you absolutely—”
“Your plan was to make us fight that Foundation Establishment Stage old turtle in the center of the lake, wasn’t it?” Lu Li smiled radiantly. “I knew that long ago, so I borrowed your plan.”
“Call Lightning, Summon Rain…” As she spoke, Lu Li silently recited the words in her heart.
‘I can’t let others know about my Divine Charm Spirit Root.’
In an instant, the previously calm sky darkened with dense clouds and continuous thunder.
The strong fluctuation of spiritual power caused the once mirror-smooth lake surface to churn with massive bubbles. Countless small turtles crawled out of the water and onto the shore.
“What exactly are you trying to do?!” Zhou Xia looked from the sky to Lu Li. “A Qi Refining cultivator can’t possibly do something like this… What was that medicine just now? A special liquid artifact? One from a Foundation Establishment or Golden Core cultivator?”
“It’s not that complicated.” Lu Li looked at the others, who raised their heads to stare at the sky. Fine rain was pouring down, washing over everyone equally. “It’s part of a laxative.”
At those words.
Even the thunder between heaven and earth fell silent for a moment.
No one could believe what the Saintess of the Yin Yang Sect had just said.
This young woman, who had previously shown clever strategy in front of everyone while sometimes being as delicate as the wind, could utter such a word.
Not to mention that Lu Li was now sitting by the lake, in the midst of the gale, wearing that brilliant smile, her skirt fluttering in the wind.
With a gentle release of her hand, the white porcelain bottle splashed water droplets that stained her wrist.
Like pearls, like a bracelet, it adorned her hand.
And as Lu Li gently brushed her slender fingers, letting the medicinal liquid spill.
It was as if a lotus fairy descending from the heavens had a sudden whim.
Just playing in the water.
“Impossible—I checked everything we ate along the way. Even the river where your two senior sisters bathed, we took water from the upstream.” Zhou Xia looked at Lu Li, his eyes involuntarily drawn to those pink irises, and he began to divulge his plan bit by bit. “We even inspected this lake many times.”
“Exactly, so I said I was following your plan.” Lu Li looked at the rain threads falling from the sky. “But what if the source of the water was also contaminated?”
“You!” For the first time, a look of terror appeared on Zhou Xia’s face, quickly replaced by pain.
The several hundred people scattered around the lake all showed pained expressions without exception. Their bodies trembled as they clutched their stomachs, stumbling toward sparsely populated areas.
“It’s just a laxative. With the amount you poured into the lake, we can easily—” Zhou Xia sat down cross-legged and began to circulate his Qi. But soon, the pain on his face became more pronounced. “Impossible… how is my True Qi…”
“I wasn’t finished, Daoist Zhou.” Lu Li reached out and touched the thick light barrier. “The laxative was only part of the plan.”
“I initially stood at the highest point of this secret realm, the Snow Mountain, and then I came up with a plan.” Lu Li looked at the people struggling on the riverbank. “A simple laxative would be detected, and within seven days, they would surely find a way to purge it.”
“So, I considered a new method with my two junior sisters.” As she spoke, Shen Zhaoxue and Jiang Yuebai, with helpless smiles, used their swords to clean up the cultivators who were struggling with stomach pain one by one. “In our Yin Yang Sect, there is a unique secret medicine.”
“This medicine, if used alone, has no toxicity. On the contrary, it makes people feel refreshed.” Lu Li watched as the cultivators turned into white light and disappeared one after another. “But when combined with the medicine I just poured in, it triggers diarrhea, full-body numbness, and the inability to use True Qi.”
“Although I don’t particularly like the original use of this medicine, considering we’re in the secret realm, it was necessary.” Lu Li felt a little embarrassed thinking about the medicine’s original purpose.
It was developed by a woman from the Yin Yang Sect in history to keep her husband by her side.
Later, a detailed Poison Scripture was compiled, but because the poisons were too bizarre and grotesque, they were temporarily sealed away by the sect.
These harmless formulas that only caused temporary pain were taught to the disciples.
“But how did you know I kidnapped your senior sisters? I listened in on all the information you exchanged via the Mystic Token… I reviewed it countless times.” Zhou Xia clutched his stomach, struggling to lift his head and look at Lu Li, who was strolling in the rain. “I reviewed it countless times.”
“As for that…” Lu Li gave Zhou Xia a brilliant smile. “Let’s leave it as a mystery.”
A flash of sword light—Shen Zhaoxue’s long sword sliced through Zhou Xia’s waist token, making him disappear from the secret realm.
“Senior Sister Lu.” Jiang Yuebai leaned against the light barrier. “Our True Yuan is still sealed. We can’t help you defeat this giant beast for now.”
“It’s fine. Just trust me.” Lu Li watched the bubbles rising from the lake. “Daoist Liu, Daoist Yuan He, are you two ready?”
“Ah… ah, we’re ready.” Liu Qingyun’s gaze toward Lu Li had also changed slightly. “Saintess Lu truly is a heroine. To have set your plan in motion so early… If we hadn’t cooperated, I reckon I’d be one of the people rolling on the ground right now.”
“As expected, my master was right—women are terrifying.” Yuan He muttered under his breath.
“Yuan He, I heard that?!” Lu Li tilted her head with a smile, looking at Yuan He and blinking.
“I meant that Layman Lu is beautiful and kind-hearted, with extraordinary means.”
“That’s not quite it.” Lu Li now understood why the Yin Yang Sect subconsciously made disciples keep the matter of gender transformation a secret.
It was for moments like this.
When they were alone and no one was watching, Jiang Yuebai and Shen Zhaoxue would occasionally call her Lu Li or Senior Brother Lu.
Even when she was in female form.
But if they suddenly changed their address, it meant they had encountered a sudden situation on their end.
It was a buffer time for the disciples to assess the situation.
“Sister Lu is so amazing!” Meng Fang’s eyes were sparkling. “To think that far ahead.”
“Meng Fang, don’t disturb them now.” Ye Tingfeng grabbed Meng Fang’s arm and pulled her away from the lakeside. “What follows is going to be a tough battle… Although Daoist Liu and Saintess Lu barely have the ability to fight against Foundation Establishment, the turtle in the lake was affected by the medicine and isn’t good at attacking, but in the end, it is still Foundation Establishment.”
“I actually have a question, Layman Lu.” Yuan He raised his hand, and a golden shield enveloped the three of them. “Facing this situation, have you come up with a strategy?”
“I trust Saintess Lu.” Liu Qingyun raised his long sword.
“I thought of it long ago.” Lu Li took a deep breath and stood up.
Her long hair danced, and the nine fox tails behind her began to sway gently.
“Boom!”
The lake surface burst open in an instant. Huge waves surged, drenching
a massive turtle about ten meters long as it emerged on the water’s surface.
That oppressive pressure also slowly released, enveloping the three in front.