(Northern Region- The Gobrean Jungle)
(Secret Underground Space)
Xu Lu cautiously stretched out her hands and tried to sense if there was anything different or changed about her body.
She lifted up the mask that covered her face and gently touched the flesh that lay beneath the metallic surface.
No… she could still feel rough patches of skin and horrific scar tissue. Xu Lu placed the mask back on her face and let out a small sigh.
Fuse?
But she felt no different.
Maybe fusion only worked for spiritual creatures?
In that case did she make a mistake? Maybe it was a better option to just pick a random cultivation technique and hope for the best.
Xu Lu stood up and winced as she felt a sharp stabbing pain in her lower back. She may be able to regenerate but she had just been crushed by a rock pile.
It would take some time to fully recover.
The saintess sat back down and reached into her storage bag for a small pill-shaped medicine.
She popped the pill in her mouth and felt a healing warmth travel through her stomach and towards the rest of her body.
The aptly named 'Healing Pills' were created by alchemists working for the Holy Sword Sect. They were a necessity for disciples travelling in the outside world.
Xu Lu popped another one in her mouth and the warm current flowing through her body got even stronger.
Actually… it got really stronger.
Xu Lu doubled over and vomited out a foul blackish substance.
She could sense something wriggling around inside her body and melting together with her organs and bones.
It was an incredibly uncomfortable sensation.
The only way she could describe it was like if an army of insects were biting your insides with sharp pincers.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the pain ended, and Xu Lu stood up from the ground with graceful movements.
Outwardly she appeared to be the same but when she closed her eyes and looked into her dantian, there was a four legged creature galloping merrily around in her qi core.
The creature's body was pure white, and it resembled a horse. A single white horn jutted out from the middle of its forehead.
A unicorn? Wait… those were real?
"Um… are you okay in there?" Xu Lu asked curiously.
She did not receive a response. She actually wasn't sure if the mysterious creature was able to hear her talking from the outside.
Strange….
Xu Lu opened her mouth to try again when the entire underground began to tremble violently.
The saintess quickly ran for cover out of the way of a large group of rocks that were rolling towards her location.
Crack!
Her vision turned dark and then the world seemed to invert upside down. When Xu Lu opened her eyes she was standing in the middle of the 'Dead Man Zone'.
The sand entity was nowhere in sight and if it weren't for the blood and dirt on her robes, Xu Lu would have thought that it was all a really bad dream.
She closed her eyes and checked her dantian but now… the unicorn was gone as well.
A puzzled expression flashed across Xu Lu's face before she just shrugged her shoulders.
She could still vaguely sense the creature inside her body so there was no use worrying or trying to figure out this bizarre arrangement.
Squeak! Squeak!
A furry white head popped out of Xu Lu's robe, her little mouse pet was surprisingly unharmed by the rocks that had fallen down on the two of them.
Xu Lu assumed that it was because her body had absorbed the brunt of the blows but it was still strange that not a single wound was present on her furry companion's body.
"Alright… let's go back to the city," Xu Lu smiled warmly and she lightly touched the top of the mouse's head.
She looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was now beginning to disappear. Stars were already twinkling brightly in the sky.
It was now late in the evening and not far away from the appointment time with the rest of the group.
Now what should she tell them?
Xu Lu clicked her tongue as she walked towards the opposite end of the plain. She didn't plan to say anything about the secret underground space.
If the Holy Sword Sect were going to be her enemies in the future then it did not make sense to give them another asset to use.
Now how to explain Shen Guo's death…
Xu Lu entered the lush green forest and pushed aside the vines and tree branches that blocked her path.
She spread out her spiritual senses and was pleasantly surprised to discover that her range was much larger than before.
The jungle was buzzing with life.
Xu Lu had to step carefully around a large ant nest where thousands of workers carried sliced leaves into the colony.
Birds chirped merrily in the treetops and Xu Lu heard a dangerous hissing noise coming from the bushes to her left.
She hoped that the pheromone that Shen Guo had stained her clothes with was now fully gone.
She really wasn't in the mood to deal with any hostile monsters especially the monkey-like one that flung shit at her.
That was just… really gross.
Xu Lu shuddered as she recalled just how close that messy brown sludge came to hitting her right in the face.
The saintess cautiously moved through the jungle with quiet steps. She kept an eye on her surroundings for any suspicious movements.
Fortunately luck seemed to be on her side as she made her way through the tropical forest without any incidents.
Xu Lu saw the large grey walls in the distance and felt a surge of relief in her heart. She hastened her movements until she was now running.
She could see the soldiers walking up and down the top of the walls. They were a well-trained team of patrolmen.
A few adventurer and mercenary teams were also making their way back to the city.
Some teams carried injured members on their backs while others dragged the corpses of monster or their companions back to the city.
It was yet another reminder of the brutal reality of this world where death was commonplace.
Xu Lu whispered a soft cleaning spell under her breath and a strand of qi entered her robe. The dirt, blood and other grime fell off immediately and landed on the ground.
Now she just needed to fix her hair and she would look the same as before.
The saintess took a moment of adjust her appearance and then strode confidently towards the main gate.
When Xu Lu got a few hundred metres away she could see her three other companions waiting patiently.
Now she needed to act to prevent suspicion from falling on her.
She would be criticized for allowing Shen Guo to die but the tag of incompetence was better than treachery.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l