Chapter 325: Instant Sword Drawing

“Jiang Huai, how did we get out?”

Ao Yao’s small face was extremely ugly.

She let out a deep breath, her chest heaving violently, hands supporting herself on the ground as she climbed to her feet.

She had gone back to the Dragon Race with Jiang Zhun and they had parted ways, but she hadn’t gone far.

If Jiang Huai needed her, he could “draw the sword” to summon her, and she would rush over quickly.

But she never expected that not long after saying goodbye, the world would suddenly spin, the sun and moon would invert, and her entire dragon form would feel a spatial discomfort.

That feeling was like being grabbed by an invisible giant hand and yanked downward. Her internal organs churned. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she was here.

“Cang Ling…”

Jiang Huai stared blankly at the crystal that had turned completely ink-black, muttering to himself.

He stood there, unmoving, like a stone statue.

The wind blew his clothes, making them flap loudly, but he didn’t feel it.

His gaze was locked tightly on that crystal, locked on that thick patch of black.

The crystal that wrapped Cang Ling had been completely soaked in ink-black, just like all those other crystals, no different, impossible to tell apart.

That crystal mixed in with the other pitch-black crystals, hanging under the roots of the strange tree, gleaming with a faint light in the dark purple sky.

None of them was special. None of them let anyone recognize who was once sealed inside.

This meant that Cang Ling had been completely tainted by the Extraterrestrial Demon.

Jiang Huai swallowed hard, clenched his fists, and stared fixedly at that crystal.

How could this happen?

Just a moment ago, he was learning about the world in the Illusion Realm, talking to those “natives,” watching the sunset, thinking about questions of reality and illusion.

This morning, he was still talking with Cang Ling, dressed in a bright yellow dress, smiling as she leaned in to speak.

Why did the Secret Realm suddenly shatter?

What exactly happened when he and Ao Yao left?

“Hmm? You came out?”

The strange tree let out a creepy sound, its tentacles like branches dancing incessantly, like countless joyful snakes twisting, coiling, and stretching in the air.

“Your expressions seem quite interesting.”

It moved closer, its countless tendrils probing from all directions.

It saw the crystal that had turned completely black, and its tentacles danced even more happily.

“Let me see… So she has already completely sunk in, mind and all.”

“Not bad.”

“It seems you didn’t gain anything either.”

Its tone carried an undisguised mockery, its voice harsh and grating.

It was laughing at Jiang Huai’s misfortune.

It was enjoying his failure.

Jiang Zhun coldly glanced at it.

“Are you happy?”

His voice was icy:

“Did you do all this?”

Could it be that the final control of this Secret Realm lay with this strange tree? Otherwise, why did Cang Ling disappear? Why did the Illusion Realm collapse as soon as he left? Why?

Hearing Jiang Zhun’s question, the strange tree laughed carelessly, its countless tendrils gently swaying like a leisurely old man fanning himself:

“No, I only led them into the Secret Realm and sank alongside them.”

“As for what happened in the Secret Realm… I have no way to interfere.”

“I don’t even know what happened inside, but I know the kind of thing that happened.”

It paused, its tone firm:

“No one will ever walk out of the Secret Realm.”

“That’s beyond doubt.”

Just as the words fell, Ao Yao, standing behind Jiang Huai, suddenly raised her hand.

“But I came out.”

The tree paused.

Those merrily dancing tentacles froze stiffly in midair.

Its gaze landed on a short sword at Jiang Huai’s waist, muttering:

“You’re the exception…”

“That sword… there’s something special about it.”

Indeed, there was something special about it.

It didn’t press further, resuming its mocking tone, the countless tentacles dancing again:

“What? Do you still want to continue?”

“It looks like the other Yellow Dragon hasn’t completely sunk yet.”

Jiang Huai lifted his head abruptly, following its gaze.

Cang Jing’s crystal.

That crystal still had a tiny bit of “territory” not eroded by the ink-black.

A very, very small patch, like the last star refusing to go out in the night, flickering faintly, as if it might extinguish at any moment.

Cang Ling and Cang Jing had come here intending to protect him.

It was he who suggested entering the Secret Realm, so they followed.

It was he who let his guard down, treating all this as a trip, as sightseeing, and thus neglected Cang Ling.

His hand trembled, a flash of white light.

A crystal coffin appeared before him.

Inside the coffin lay a young, tall, beautiful woman, her expression serene, lying quietly, radiating boundless might.

The might spread like ripples, and wherever it passed, even the rotten air in the vicinity thinned a bit.

The tree’s tendrils instinctively recoiled, the dancing branches freezing in midair.

“What are you doing?” the strange tree’s voice changed pitch. “Aren’t you going to save them?!”

Jiang Huai gave a cold laugh, bit his fingertip.

A drop of Essence Blood seeped from his fingertip, floating in the air. Jiang Huai waved his hand and sent it flying.

Ji Xi opened her eyes.

In her pupils, black and white slowly rotated, like a Taiji diagram turning.

Jiang Huai’s face grew pale for a moment. He controlled Ji Xi’s body and raised her hand.

Those slender hands gripped empty air, and a longsword condensed into form in her grasp.

The sword was black and white, its blade long, the edge flickering with uncertain light.

Then he slashed at the tree with all his might!

The sword light, a weave of black and white, transformed into a giant sword aura dozens of yards long, tearing through the air, tearing through Demonic Qi, tearing through everything in its path, and struck the tree’s body.

The tree let out a piercing howl, like thousands of birds shrieking at once, like countless strings snapping simultaneously.

Its tendrils convulsed wildly, branches snapped, bark split, and black fluid gushed from the wound, splattering on the ground with a corrosive hiss.

One slash.

Just one slash.

The strange tree now bore a clearly visible wound left by Jiang Huai.

“If I can’t save her…”

Jiang Huai’s voice carried a chilling resolve.

“Then I’ll kill you.”

He grabbed Ao Yao’s delicate little hand, and with his other hand, instantly drew the Azure Dragon Longsword at his waist!

squelch

The sound of the sword leaving its sheath was sluggish.

“Ah!”

Ao Yao let out a moan.

Her small face instantly flushed crimson, the blush spreading from her cheeks to her ears and neck.

Her legs wobbled, her slender calves trembling uncontrollably, her knees weak, almost unable to stand. She hugged Jiang Huai’s waist tightly!

Her small body pressed entirely against him, her face buried in Jiang Huai’s chest, her voice soft and trembling, as if she were about to cry:

“Why didn’t you say something?!”

“Why did you draw it so fast?!”

Her voice was muffled, with tears and embarrassment.

‘What’s going on?’

‘How is he drawing the sword so smoothly now?’

Last time, when he drew it, he was clearly struggling, having to pull it out inch by inch.

But this time, he did it almost instantly.

That sheath was…

Jiang Huai held Ao Yao close, his arm wrapped around her slender waist, pulling her into his embrace. He rubbed her head, a bit of comfort and apology in the gesture.

Then he swung his sword at Cang Jing’s crystal!

The green sword light soared into the sky, and space shattered inch by inch, revealing the deep Void behind it.

Jiang Huai didn’t hesitate.

Holding Ao Yao, he leaped into that Void.