My Five Bigshot Seniors: I am The Most Coddled Junior!-Chapter 117 - 69: Empathy [Second Update]

After resting for a night, Gu Qingqing and the others continued on their way. At this point, they were halfway up the mountain. They would still encounter attacks every hour, but now the demon beasts attacking them had gone from fourth-tier to fifth-tier, although their numbers were slightly less than before.

After killing the demon beasts for the third time, Gu Qingqing and the others rested in place, and Yun Ran couldn’t help but start complaining again.

"The aesthetic of this Secret Realm has issues. Can’t they find some better-looking demon beasts? Look at the ones attacking us; each one is uglier than the last!" She was so used to being attacked that she no longer wanted to complain about that, turning her discontent to something else instead.

As Zhuo Tingqiu was drinking water, he heard Yun Ran’s words and spat out the water from his mouth, earning a glare from Yun Ran.

"What do you mean by that? Do you have an opinion on what I said?" Yun Ran looked at Zhuo Tingqiu, her tone unfriendly as she asked.

"I was just thinking how those demon beasts would feel hearing your words. How could you be so critical of their looks?" Zhuo Tingqiu, not daring to offend Yun Ran, quickly explained.

"Why not? It’s because they look uglier than each other!" Yun Ran pouted and glanced at the demon beasts on the ground, showing her dissatisfaction.

Zhuo Tingqiu shrugged, unsure of how to respond, so he opted to stay silent.

Yun Ran was merely complaining a bit. Feeling her Spiritual Power had recovered significantly, she stood up and looked up.

Looking up from here, one could only see a corner of the palace, but it was much clearer than before, indicating that they were getting closer to the palace halfway up the mountain.

"Luckily, we’re closing the distance to the halfway point, otherwise with so many demon beast attacks, it would really be despairing!" She withdrew her gaze and said with emotion.

Zhuo Tingqiu nodded deeply in agreement from beside her. If it weren’t for Si Lin and their strong abilities and quick resolution of the demon beasts, he and Yun Ran would have probably collapsed by now!

"With this frequency of attacks, it looks like we won’t make it to the halfway point today." Rong Ye looked at the halfway point and then at the sky, expressing his dissatisfaction.

"No worries, at the latest, we’ll reach the halfway point by tomorrow and see what’s truly special about this Secret Realm, creating so much fuss!" Nan Hua twirled the fan in his hand, speaking with a playful smile.

"Be careful, after all, it’s an Immortal Secret Realm, we can’t let our guard down." The ever-calm Si Lin reminded Nan Hua and Rong Ye.

"Got it, boss, we’ll be careful." Rong Ye responded, not perfunctorily, but with a very serious attitude.

Jun Wu had been taking care of Gu Qingqing the whole time, handing her water to drink and helping her wipe off sweat. Hearing what Si Lin and the others said, he looked at the halfway point before turning back to help adjust the tassels for Gu Qingqing.

After resting, they continued up the mountain.

Half an hour later, the expected next attack showed no signs of happening. Si Lin and the others exchanged glances and continued forward, heightening their vigilance for any unexpected trouble.

At this point, they arrived at a lakeside. The lake looked as ordinary as those they had seen before, but paradoxically, they all sensed that the Spiritual Energy by the lake was exceptionally dense, nearly double that of where they had been before, indicating that this lake was not as simple as it appeared!

Just as Si Lin and the others were about to use their Divine Sense to explore the lake, there was movement on the lake’s surface.

A figure suddenly burst out from within the lake. The figure was about eight meters long, with the body of a fish but the wings of a bird, and its call was like that of a mandarin duck. As it broke through the water, it sent a splash toward Gu Qingqing and the others.

The Heavenly Awakening Record appeared above Rong Ye’s head, and a transparent shield immediately appeared above Gu Qingqing and the others, enveloping them and allowing the lake water to slowly cascade over the shield before falling away.

Once the lake water had completely receded, Rong Ye snapped his fingers, causing the shield to disappear, and the Heavenly Awakening Record vanished as well.

"It’s a Luoyu. It seems to be at the peak of eighth-tier cultivation. Qingqing, Tingqiu, Jun Wu, and Yun Ran, you retreat. Leave this Luoyu to us." Living encyclopaedia Yue Zhao responded promptly, instructing Gu Qingqing and the others.

Hearing this, Jun Wu immediately pulled Gu Qingqing back, and Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu also retreated simultaneously to make room for Si Lin and the others.

"Senior brother, I can sense the presence of runes!" Gu Qingqing shouted to Si Lin and the others as she retreated.

Upon hearing her words, Si Lin and the others’ eyes lit up. Their gazes locked, instantly grasping each other’s intentions—this Luoyu must be defeated!

As Gu Qingqing and the others retreated, the Luoyu flapped its wings, charging towards Si Lin and the others. It opened its mouth, releasing a powerful torrent of water aiming directly at them.

"Rong Ye!" Si Lin shouted, holding the Dragon Capturing Sword as his body ascended into the air.

"Got it!" Rong Ye immediately understood Si Lin’s intention, responding while summoning the Heavenly Awakening Record.

From the Heavenly Awakening Record flew tens of thousands of blank talismans, meeting the water torrent. In no time, the water vanished, while blue runes appeared on the once-blank talismans. A flash of light later, they disappeared, returning to the Heavenly Awakening Record at Rong Ye’s command.

Simultaneously, the other four made their move.

The Dragon Capturing Sword transformed into a giant sword above Si Lin’s head, and with his movement, it slashed fiercely towards Luoyu from mid-air.

This time, Yue Zhao did not play a melody but chose to pluck the strings, and the seemingly inconspicuous Sound Blade closed in on Luoyu with destructive power.

The Glazed Frost Flower Fan turned into a sword, and with a flick of Nan Hua’s hand, it transformed into hundreds of swords, all stabbing towards Luoyu.

Mu Chen swung the Red Flame Spear, and a ring of fire sea instantly surrounded Luoyu, immobilizing it.

Four different yet equally dangerous attacks simultaneously landed on Luoyu, and before it could react, it was surrounded by these assaults. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Once the multicolored lights faded, Luoyu appeared before everyone, barely alive, its body falling toward the lake.

"Geng Geng!" Si Lin called out, and Gu Qingqing immediately stepped forward.

Gu Qingqing timely advanced, delivering the final blow to Luoyu with the Mixed Immortal Silk. In an instant, Luoyu’s falling corpse disappeared, replaced by a series of rune chains, which were drawn into the center of Gu Qingqing’s brow.

The seal inside Gu Qingqing had already been broken, allowing her to absorb the rune chains. After she absorbed these, the tightness she previously felt in her throat vanished.

"How do you feel, Geng Geng?" Si Lin looked at Gu Qingqing and asked.

"Senior Brother, I can now speak freely," Gu Qingqing said with a smile to Si Lin.

A rare smile appeared on Si Lin’s face, clearly delighted.

"That’s wonderful, Geng Geng, you can finally speak properly now." Yun Ran rushed over and hugged Gu Qingqing, nearly crying with joy.

"Yes, Sister Ran." Gu Qingqing nodded, and rather than pulling away from Yun Ran’s embrace, she responded in kind.

Then, Gu Qingqing called each person by name, and everyone was very happy.

Previously, although Gu Qingqing could speak, she couldn’t say much and could only say a few words. Now, she could talk freely, which made everyone happy for her.

What made them even happier was that after dealing with Luoyu, they encountered no further attacks as they journeyed to the mountainside.

Seeing the palace up close, one could feel its splendor. Standing in front of it made a person feel very small. The palace bore the marks of time, evoking a sense of desolation.

Gu Qingqing gazed at the palace ahead and suddenly felt a moment of disorientation.

The scene before her unexpectedly changed; Si Lin and the others disappeared from view, and she felt as if she was in another person’s body, only able to see but not move.

She saw the construction of the palace, watching it grow from nothing. Then she felt herself enter the palace, and unlike the grand exterior, the interior decorations were extremely luxurious, with precious materials everywhere: the Mountain and River Map on the walls, the Star Sky Stones on the ceilings, the Ten Thousand Year Warm Jade on the floors, various Energy Gemstones on the columns, and Immortal Artifact decorations on display shelves.

The carpets were made from the fur of eighth-rank demon beasts, making them very soft with no sound when stepped upon.

She continued forward until she came to a room resembling a sleeping chamber, clearly belonging to a woman, with a dressing table adorned with colorful gemstones and exquisite hair accessories. The curtains in the room were made of Ten Thousand Year Jue Sha, very light and beautiful.

Gazing at all this, Gu Qingqing was secretly amazed.

Soon after, she saw a woman, and with just one look, Gu Qingqing was captivated.

She finally understood the meaning of phrases like ’devastatingly beautiful,’ ’moon hiding in shame,’ and ’drowning fish and falling geese.’ The woman’s beauty was so overwhelming that language failed, leaving one wanting only to be lost in her allure forever, never to wake again.

The woman smiled gently, and Gu Qingqing felt herself becoming intoxicated.

Then she heard the woman call a name with her sweet voice, "Ah Xian."

Gu Qingqing felt a swirl of emotions, and in a moment of disorientation, she blinked to find herself back before the palace, surrounded by the worried faces of Jun Wu and the others.

"Geng Geng, what happened to you just now? I called you for a long time and you didn’t respond," Jun Wu asked with concern, noticing her clear eyes and quickly inquired.

"I just saw the construction process of this palace, and I seemed to embody someone else, witnessing inside the palace a very beautiful woman who called me ’Ah Xian,’ and then I was back here," Gu Qingqing recounted her experience to the others, receiving looks of astonishment from her companions.

"What you experienced should be what is called empathy. This should be the palace of the Secret Realm’s owner, and maybe some lingering thoughts remain that you sensed," Yue Zhao, ever the living encyclopedia, explained to Gu Qingqing.