The golden rope bound Jiang Mengxin and dragged her into the air, pulling her further and further away.
At the other end of the rope, a tall woman stood on a flying sword, rushing toward the secret realm tunnel in a hurry.
Su Mumu was terrified. She stumbled forward, trying to squeeze through the crowd to give chase, but the throng of people blocked her path and wasted precious time.
At the same time, on the other side.
Old Wu narrowed his eyes. His voice was soft, yet it resonated across the open fields. “Where do you think you’re escaping to?”
In an instant, thunder danced across the sky, and a terrifying sword intent began to permeate the air.
“Wu Tongtian, do you dare draw your sword?” The tall woman yanked the rope in her hand. “If you have the guts, then strike this girl down along with me!”
Old Wu’s expression turned grim. He hesitated for a fleeting moment.
The tall woman’s speed became incredibly fast, almost like she was teleporting.
“Not good! Hippo, stop her!” Old Wu shouted immediately.
Hippo roared, “I don’t need you to tell me! I’m on it!”
She turned into a whirlwind and gave chase.
However, she simply could not catch up to the opponent; she couldn’t even touch the corner of Jiang Mengxin’s clothes.
The distance between them grew.
“Damn it, a Shrink-to-inch talisman!?” Hippo cursed under her breath. “To use a perfect immortal talisman in a place like this — “
“Farewell! To hell with this Changsheng immortal sect, I’m taking these secrets with me!” the tall woman laughed maniacally.
In the final moment, her arrogant laughter vanished into the tunnel.
Jiang Mengxin vanished along with her, disappearing into the tunnel.
They had left this world.
“Tsk.” Hippo stopped in front of the tunnel, her face full of regret.
“All students, go home!” Old Wu shouted.
Only then did the surrounding crowd react. Like startled birds, they scattered and fled from the scene.
It was like the ebbing tide of the sea.
Once the waters receded, only a rotten shell remained on the beach.
Su Mumu was that rotten shell.
She looked completely lost, standing petrified as she gazed at the secret realm tunnel.
“Su Mumu.” Old Wu walked over with a complicated expression. “You should go back, too.”
“Why…?” Su Mumu’s lips trembled.
“I’m sorry.” There was a whirlwind of emotions in Old Wu’s eyes. “No one could have imagined that the mole was actually a special recruit brought in by the Principal…”
“I don’t understand.” Su Mumu’s voice was hoarse, and her eyes stung because she hadn’t closed them for so long.
“The Xuantie sword that went missing a few days ago turned out to be a decoy she planted — ” Old Wu was filled with self-reproach. “It was my failure to handle it properly.”
“What’s the point… in saying all this!?” Su Mumu screamed at the top of her lungs.
Her emotions had completely spiraled out of control.
“Su Mumu…?” Old Wu was stunned.
“Then why didn’t you post an announcement! Why didn’t you say something beforehand!?” Su Mumu’s eyes were bloodshot as her anger surged.
She shoved Old Wu, forcing him back several steps until he nearly fell, but he didn’t say a word.
“You used the students as bait!?”
“Go save Xin Xin! Go save her right now! Don’t just stand there!” Su Mumu was on the verge of a breakdown.
Old Wu lowered his head slightly. “Only those with a cultivation level below the 2nd Heaven Realm can enter the trial secret realm.”
“We… we can’t go in. We didn’t use you as bait; we were simply outmaneuvered by that mole.”
Su Mumu looked around.
At that moment, the teachers who had been lying in ambush in the woods and various corners of the teaching building finally revealed themselves. It turned out they had already staked out every position.
“Fine.” Su Mumu wiped away her tears and took a large stride forward.
However, her wrist was suddenly grabbed.
“It’s too dangerous,” Old Wu said, stopping her.
“Old Man, if you do this, I will hate you.” Su Mumu shot Old Wu a cold look.
“There are many students from the elite class inside.” Old Wu’s voice was raspy. “They… they can save Jiang Mengxin.”
Su Mumu whispered, “Let go.”
Old Wu opened his mouth but found no words. The guilt on his face was almost overflowing as his aged hand slowly loosened its grip.
Su Mumu rubbed her wrist before walking toward the tunnel at the school gate one step at a time.
As she walked, the eyes of every teacher hidden in the corners were fixed on her.
Once Su Mumu reached the front of the tunnel.
She gave a cold side-eye to Hippo, who was standing beside her.
Hippo avoided her gaze in fear, looking like a child who had done something wrong, and remained silent.
As Su Mumu took another step forward.
“Wait,” Hippo said suddenly.
Su Mumu glanced over slightly.
“Take this.” Hippo pulled out a talisman. It looked as though it were carved from fine white jade, glowing with golden script. “It’s a High-level stealth talisman. Take it.”
Su Mumu stared at Hippo’s face for several seconds.
“You two must come back safely,” Hippo said.
Su Mumu was slightly taken aback. She nodded and took the talisman.
Then, she stepped into the tunnel.
She vanished from this world.
A deathly silence fell over the area.
The teachers gathered together, all of them looking as though they had swallowed something foul.
Among them, Old Wu looked the worst. Anger, regret, and devastation were written all over his face, his aged features twisted into a mess.
“Old Wu, this matter… went beyond our expectations,” Hippo said.
“Yes, that mole was too cunning. To think she stayed hidden for nearly 20 years… No one could have predicted the yao race would play such a long game,” another teacher added.
Old Wu did not respond.
They stood there in place.
The atmosphere was incredibly heavy.
About a few minutes later, a white-haired man in a brown Taoist robe arrived from the sky, treading upon a sword.
“Principal Qiao Chu,” the teachers greeted him one after another.
Principal Qiao Chu was full of regret. “I have already seen what happened through the heaven-piercing eye at the Xianzong’s inner manor. All of you should head back. I will find a way to deal with the rest.”
“Alright.” The teachers departed.
Even Hippo hesitated before eventually leaving as well.
Before long, only Old Wu and Principal Qiao Chu remained.
“Brother Wu, this matter is not what you think.” Principal Qiao Chu was the first to break the heavy silence.
“I naturally trust you, Brother Qiao Chu. If anyone dared to harbor a ghost within the Xianzong, I would be the first to object.” Old Wu’s gaze was cold.
“She was an orphan I picked up.” Principal Qiao Chu’s face was filled with sorrow. “If I hadn’t saved her, she would have frozen to death.”
Old Wu’s voice was devoid of emotion. “You and I both know the methods of the yao race. If you hadn’t saved her back then, there would have been another frozen ghost waiting for us to rescue them.”
“Brother Wu, please don’t comfort me like that.” Principal Qiao Chu became even more dejected.
“Heh.” Old Wu shook his head. “How is the Sect Leader doing?”
“He has always been grateful to you,” Principal Qiao Chu said. “The debt of gratitude for what happened back then is hard to repay.”
“Then why doesn’t he come to see me?” Old Wu’s tone suddenly turned cold.
“Brother Wu, do not be angry.”
“My student was kidnapped! How can I not be angry?” Old Wu’s face was as cold as frost from 3 feet below ground, and a murderous intent gathered in his eyes.
“If anything happens to them, I think this Outer realm world should just be blown to bits. We haven’t found anything here for so many years; it’s useless!”
Principal Qiao Chu looked troubled. “The Sect Leader might not be willing.”
“Then tell him to retire early!” Old Wu snapped.
“This…” Principal Qiao Chu was left speechless.
***
Darkness, dizziness, and a long sensation of suffocation.
After experiencing a bout of world-spinning disorientation.
Su Mumu opened her eyes in a daze.
Specifically, she was woken up by the cold.
‘So cold, so cold, so cold, so cold…’
Su Mumu struggled to stand up from the snow, exhausted, as she brushed the frost off her clothes.
‘Have I already entered the secret realm?’
In front of her was a lush, green forest that stretched endlessly, almost reaching the Xiayang on the horizon.
Just looking at this scene was enough to make one feel despair.
However, immediately after, Su Mumu discovered something even more despairing —
She had turned back into a fox girl!