After Constantly Courting Death, I Became the White Moonlight - Chapter 13

At the hour of Chen, the next day, the Little Zhong Mountain secret realm opened on schedule.

The disciples participating in the trial were randomly transported to various locations within the secret realm. Meanwhile, the elders accompanying them from each sect sat around several Mystic Mirrors, constantly monitoring the images within.

At this moment, the central mirror projected two opposing figures.

One held a sword in her left hand, dressed in a light yellow long gown. The cold wind stirred her cascading black hair, adding a desolate and resolute chill to her presence.

The other stood atop a massive boulder, his blue-and-white Daoist robe fluttering slightly as he idly toyed with a Heavenly Thunder Talisman.

“Fellow Daoist Su,”
The young talisman cultivator gave a bitter smile. “There’s no grudge between us. Why must we fight to the death in the secret realm? I still plan to go deeper into Little Zhong Mountain to search for the Moonlight Stone. How about we battle another day?”

Su Qinghan’s expression remained calm, and her voice was equally composed.
“This is the twelfth time you’ve told me ‘another day,’ Bai Ye.”

With that, a flash of sword light split the oncoming gust of wind. A dragon-like sword cry echoed sharply as waves of brilliant white sword shadows surged forward like a tide, striking straight at the talisman cultivator.

His helpless smile deepened as he chanted an incantation to activate his talisman. Thunder roared like a storm.

Sword light clashed with lightning. Outside the Mystic Mirror, someone laughed heartily:
“Su Qinghan truly lives up to her status as a disciple of Myriad Swords Sect—just as battle-crazy as her master!”

“Bai Ye isn’t weak either,”

A female cultivator in a red dress covered her lips and chuckled softly.
“He’s mastered the five-element incantations thoroughly. But now that he’s run into Qinghan, he’s finally met his match. Who knows how long they’ll be locked in battle?”

“They’re still fighting, while over here, Mingkong has already headed straight for the deepest part of Little Zhong Mountain,”

An elder from Luminous Mountain pondered aloud,
“He must be aiming to retrieve the Moonlight Stone. But the creature guarding it… won’t be easy to deal with.”

“The Moonlight Stone is a once-in-a-century treasure. Now that Little Zhong Mountain has reappeared, of course everyone’s fighting for it.”

Tian Xianzi leaned lazily against an ancient tree, nibbling on a small pastry.
“It’s not just Brahma Temple—Luminous Mountain, Snowstep Tower, Beastmaster Sect… which sect doesn’t want a try?”

He paused, seemingly in high spirits.
“How about we make a bet—whoever’s disciple wins the Moonlight Stone?”

“What’s wrong, Elder Tian Xianzi? Out of money again?”

The red-dressed female cultivator lifted her eyes and glanced sideways at him, her gaze full of mocking amusement.
“Ten thousand spirit stones on my Myriad Swords Sect.”

He Xiaochen sipped his tea.
“Then I’ll put up ten thousand too—for Luminous Mountain. Elder Tian, since I’m supporting your little business so generously, why don’t you spar with me afterward?”

Tian Xianzi, the unpaid laborer: “You got it!”

…

While the elders outside the secret realm chattered enthusiastically, Ning Ning inside the realm had fallen deep into thought.

The Little Zhong Mountain secret realm opened only once every few years, leaving behind very few human traces. It was filled with rare beasts and precious spiritual plants—an incredibly rich trove of resources.

But the abundance of resources had become a problem in itself.

Luminous Mountain had handed out maps to everyone, roughly marking the locations of commonly found spiritual herbs and minerals. In addition, it listed various treasures in Little Zhong Mountain that were said to appear only through fate.

Ning Ning, having read the original novel, knew the locations of certain opportunities and treasures. But taking them felt wrong—like stealing someone else’s destiny based on a script, which made her feel uncomfortable.

After thinking it over, she finally settled on a goal: Heavenheart Grass, a rumored medicinal plant capable of curing all ailments, which wasn’t mentioned in the novel.

Heavenheart Grass was extremely rare and not marked on the map. But the more pressing issue wasn’t how to find it—it was…

Ning Ning looked up at the jagged rocks and the bottomless cave around her, letting out a silent sigh.

She was lost in the cave.

The cavern was eerily strange, damp with moisture soaking the stone walls and sprouting layers of moss. Countless branching paths sprawled like wild vines, each one stretching into unseen depths.

Stalactites hung overhead, faintly glowing for some unknown reason. The dim greenish light pressed down heavily—while it helped with visibility, it gave the whole place a horror-movie filter that was downright creepy.

There was no sound, no trace of animal life. Her light footsteps echoed down the empty tunnel, even her breathing felt amplified—as though a cold hand were brushing against her eardrums.

Then suddenly—without warning—she heard fast, frantic footsteps rushing toward her.

Before she could even turn fully, she was slammed into by someone running headlong into her.

“Ah!”

The girl who appeared out of nowhere let out a frightened scream, almost in tears. When she saw Ning Ning, she grabbed her sleeve in a panic.
“Run! There’s a demon beast in the cave!”

Demon beast?

Those two words landed heavily in Ning Ning’s ears. She quickly calmed her expression and spoke gently, “Don’t be afraid. What does the beast look like? How strong is it?”

“It—it’s a giant venomous scorpion… with a woman’s face.”

The girl shuddered.
“I ran into it as soon as I arrived. It’s about the strength of a second-stage Golden Core cultivator. It didn’t kill me right away… it said it wanted to play hide-and-seek. If it finds me again, I’m dead—”

She was a healing cultivator from a small, obscure sect, brought here without even passing an internal selection trial.

She’d only wanted to gather some rare spiritual plants—but was thrown straight into a nightmare and encountered that monster lurking in the shadows.

Just as the girl finished speaking, a hoarse female voice echoed from deep within the cave.

The sound was eerie and unsettling, making Ning Ning think of fingernails scraping against a chalkboard.

That raspy yet sharp voice drifted through the dark green space, like venom dripping from a snake’s fangs, tinged with a hint of maniacal laughter:
“Where are you, where are you? Heehee, I’m about to find you~!”

The medical cultivator grew even paler, her voice trembling as she spoke:
“That’s the voice! It’s been following me—closer and closer… It’s going to kill us!”

As she spoke, the poison-laced voice rang out again, louder this time—it was definitely getting closer.

“Where are you? Where are you? You better hide well, I’m coming to find you~.”

This was honestly getting a bit too creepy.

Especially because that chilling, twisted voice lurked in the shadows, its true form still completely unknown.

However, Ning Ning wanted to find the Heaven-Heart Herb, and the owner of that voice could communicate with humans. Not only that, it had clearly lived in the Lesser Zhongshan Secret Realm for a long time, so it had to know the area around its nest like the back of its hand.

Ning Ning’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Miss this chance, and it’s gone forever. That thing playing hide and seek with them—was it really a monster? No—it was clearly her personal GPS!

It was practically offering itself to her—constantly making noise, revealing its location.

Wasn’t that basically saying: “I’m nearby—come get me!”

What a rare blessing!

“You should go on ahead.”

With that thought, Ning Ning gave the girl beside her a smile:
“I’m a sword cultivator. I’ll be fine staying here.”

Only then did the girl notice the sword hanging at Ning Ning’s waist. The cloud patterns on her white robes shimmered faintly with cranes—a uniform of the Xuanxu Sword Sect.

It was said that those entering Lesser Zhongshan from the great sects were mostly direct disciples or inner sect members. And this kind-looking, beautiful girl…

Was actually an elite disciple of the Xuanxu Sect.

The girl now had a rough idea of Ning Ning’s strength. After thanking her, she hurriedly left. Ning Ning lightly touched the cool sheath of the Star Mark Sword, just as that eerie voice called out again:

“Where are you, where are you?”

But Ning Ning’s lips curled into a smile.

Thanks to that human-faced scorpion’s generous spirit of continuously broadcasting its position, she could tell by the sound that it was very close now.

It brought this on itself. Don’t blame her.

=====

The Human-Faced Scorpion was extremely venomous and as hard as stone. Known for its cunning and twisted nature, it never directly attacked its prey. Instead, it delighted in the thrill of the hunt—letting its victims taste hope, only to shatter it into despair.

The one in the cave was no different.

It hadn’t seen humans in a long time, and this rare encounter made it especially excited.

Today, it was in a good mood, so it pretended to let that female cultivator escape—though it had already marked her. It only needed to follow her scent to hunt her down effortlessly.

However, halfway through its pursuit, as it turned a corner in the cave—

It unexpectedly caught sight of another figure.

Another young female cultivator, looking even younger and more delicious than the last one, stood motionless in the middle of the cave… as if waiting for it.

That calm and collected posture—was she waiting on purpose?

Impossible.

She looked so weak, she should be fleeing in terror just like the other. Why was she just standing there after seeing it?

Maybe she’d been scared stupid?

The human-faced scorpion gave a sinister grin. Its eerie woman-like face was pale as death, and as it smiled, its skin wrinkled and rippled like seaweed. It let out a devilish, rasping whisper:

“Foooound you~.”

But to its surprise, the girl across from it didn’t show a trace of fear.

Instead, she nodded—agreeing quite naturally:
“Mhm. I’ve finally found you too. It was really hard following your voice all this way.”

Human-faced Scorpion: ?

Wait—what did she just say? She followed it?

That thought had barely formed in its mind—

When it felt a wave of chilling sword intent pierce through its body.

A flash of white light exploded. Sword qi surged like a dragon.

Ning Ning’s movements were so fast they were barely visible. The Star Mark Sword lashed out like a swimming dragon, slicing through layers of still air, letting out a resonant hum.

Pearls embedded in the blade formed glowing lines, leaving behind a cold, residual shadow. The sword wind gathered like a battle array, piercing straight toward the human-faced scorpion.

She didn’t even use a killing move—nor did she strike with full strength. But the layered waves of sword energy still sent the creature flying back, letting out a piercing scream.

A sword cultivator in the Golden Core stage!

Among all cultivators, sword cultivators were the most aggressive.

A single sword could break countless techniques. Even with equal cultivation, the scorpion would have little chance of winning—let alone now, when her sword qi clearly placed her a few small realms above it.

——It had spent all its time chasing that medical cultivator, never expecting a mantis stalked the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

All its creepy threats had become nothing more than breadcrumbs, helping her pinpoint its exact location, just waiting to ambush it.

The human-faced scorpion was so enraged it nearly coughed up blood.

But there was nothing it could do. No matter how much it wanted to tear her to shreds, all it could do was grit its teeth and flee in fury.

It knew this cave like the back of its claw, and with its swift movements, it soon left Ning Ning far behind.

The sword cultivator didn’t seem in a rush to pursue, and her spiritual aura quickly faded out of range.

The scorpion finally let out a breath of relief—

Only for its pounding heart to suddenly jolt again.

In the narrow, empty cave, a woman’s voice suddenly echoed.

That voice carried a hint of laughter—calm and unhurried—as it sounded right by its ear, like thunder exploding in its head, shaking it to its core.

The moment the Man-faced Scorpion heard her voice, eerily swirling around the stone walls like a ghost, it nearly dropped dead on the spot:

“Where are you? Where are you? Where are you?”

Man-faced Scorpion: What the!

What the hell?! Why?!

Are you insane?! That’s MY line! You think this is funny?! Huh?! You think this is FUNNY, you damned sword cultivator?!

The eerie, ghost-like voice grew closer and closer, like needles stabbing its eardrums. Echoing through the cave, it sounded even more terrifying and bone-chilling.

The Man-faced Scorpion was on the verge of losing it.

So small, so pitiful, so helpless—what sin had it committed to deserve such cruel torment from fate?

Knowing that running blindly would only make it easier to be found, it chose to hide behind a boulder, staying as quiet as a mouse while that woman continued to gleefully chant “Where are you, where are you, where are you?”—now with added rhythm and pitch changes like she was singing.

That sword cultivator had no heart.

And just as the Man-faced Scorpion was stunned by her bizarre antics, the never-ending voice suddenly stopped.

In the silence of the dark cave, everything felt especially eerie and unsettling, making it shiver involuntarily.

Then, in what should have been a still and lifeless tunnel, a sudden cold breeze swept by.

And without warning, it felt a faint warmth brush against its ear.

Then came a whisper, so close it was nearly spoken straight into its ear—a devil’s murmur, like the call of Cthulhu:

“Found… you.”

In its exact tone of voice. Like an evil twin.

Was there anything more terrifying than this?

Expressionless, the Man-faced Scorpion turned its head—only to be met with a smiling face.

That smile nearly sent it straight to the afterlife.

“Pardon the intrusion,” Ning Ning said gently, standing just inches away. Her brows were slightly arched, almond-shaped eyes sparkling with laughter, her voice soft and bright. “I won’t kill you. I just want to know where the Tianxin Grass is.”

Tch.

This damn sword cultivator—tricky, ruthless, and cunning! Even if it died, even if it had to jump off a cliff, it would never reveal anything to her!

The Man-faced Scorpion was just about to refuse, when she added sweetly:

“Can you tell me? Pretty please, big sister~”

Man-faced Scorpion: …

D-damn it!

Fine… just because you’re so sweet-tongued…!