Chapter 86: You’ve Been Deceived

Ning Xianyu pulled a giant leaf from her storage pouch to use as a boat, then dragged Xiao Huai to sit on it with her. The fearsome demon himself swam over and was scooped up onto the leaf as well.

Xiao Huai exclaimed in surprise, “That black cat can swim?”

Ning Xianyu thought to herself, Of course he can swim. There’s probably nothing in this world that he can’t do.

“Let’s worry about ourselves first. What should we do now, paddle over?” she asked.

At this point, they could already see a metallic island rising from the center of the sea. Atop the tall island stood a massive silver pillar, its surface inlaid with numerous stones.

The sight was truly unsettling, enough to make anyone avert their gaze even if they weren’t prone to trypophobia.

“The astrologer’s stone is on that pillar,” Xiao Huai said.

Ning Xianyu squinted at the dazzling array and asked, “They’re all astrologer’s stones?”

So many?

“No, only one of them is,” Xiao Huai corrected her. “We’ll have to tell which is which ourselves, and we can only take one.”

In other words, they only had one chance to pick the correct stone.

Well, this stone was growing more precious by the minute.

Ning Xianyu resolved to take the astrologer’s stone straight to Elder Bu Jiao and have the Third Elder divine her fate—after all this trouble, anything less would be an injustice.

She retrieved a giant armored beast leg from her pouch to use as a paddle, and together they began to row toward the island.

The restrictions here were even stricter; they couldn’t use any spiritual power, forced to rely on mere mortal strength.

Ning Xianyu was increasingly convinced that this stone was anything but ordinary.

The harder something is to obtain, the more valuable it must be. There must be some greater purpose for it beyond mere divination.

She asked the demon, but he only told her to row faster.

Left with no alternative, she rowed and rowed and rowed…

This time was even worse—they rowed for a full three days and still hadn’t reached the island.

It looked so close, yet no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t reach it.

By the time they finally neared the island, Ning Xianyu felt she was on the verge of madness.

“Ancestor, with all your might and magic, can’t you think of a way to save us?” she pleaded.

Xuan Yuan Tun Han turned away with disdain, “Figure it out yourself. Weren’t you the one who begged and cried to come here?”

Thinking back to her earlier desperation, Ning Xianyu was filled with regret.

“I was young and foolish then. I was wrong. Besides, when we entered the desert, I wanted to turn back but you kicked me in!” she complained.

The demon sent a cold, silent message to her mind: “So, you’re blaming me now?”

No! I wouldn’t dare!

Xiao Huai noticed that his senior sister was actually crying.

“Senior Sister, if you’re too tired, rest a bit. I’ll take over.”

Ning Xianyu flopped down on the leaf, utterly spent and refusing to go on. She had always been lazy and would have preferred to just lie there; it was a miracle she’d lasted this long.

From then on, Xiao Huai rowed the rest of the way by himself.

By the time they finally set foot on the island, Ning Xianyu’s legs were shaking uncontrollably.

Once they found the true astrologer’s stone, they could finally go home.

She swore she’d never go on another secret realm adventure in her life. If she did, she’d be a fool.

Xiao Huai helped her ashore, but as soon as Ning Xianyu sat down to rest, she realized the entire island was made of metal—slick and smooth, impossible to sit or stand on.

Worse, the island was rapidly heating up, her feet growing hotter by the second.

“Senior Sister, let’s hurry and grab the astrologer’s stone!” Xiao Huai called out.

Scooping up the demon, Ning Xianyu darted and skidded her way toward the pillar.

A glance back revealed that every patch of ground they’d stepped on was now ablaze.

“What kind of madness is this? It defies all logic of the five elements!” she muttered.

Whoever designed this restriction must have been a real villain, to come up with such a torment.

Xiao Huai hurried after her, supporting her as they ran.

“Senior Sister, you climb up and get the stone. I’ll catch you from below,” he said.

Ning Xianyu nodded. The pillar, at least, wasn’t hot, and the inlaid stones provided footholds for climbing.

Xiao Huai pushed her upward, helping her to climb while he himself danced on burning feet, refusing to let go.

“Which one is the astrologer’s stone?” Ning Xianyu shouted.

She’d never even seen the astrologer’s stone before—how was she supposed to find it?

“Just touch them and you’ll sense it, Senior Sister!” Xiao Huai replied. “Try them one by one!”

Touch them all? Did she really have to try every single one?

She called to Xuan Yuan Tun Han, “Ancestor, help me out here!”

“Just touch them and pick the one that feels right,” he said.

“What kind of advice is that? Are you trying to trick me?” she grumbled.

After all this effort, how could it just come down to picking whichever one “looked right”?

Xuan Yuan Tun Han fell silent, leaving her to figure it out.

Though the pillar had handholds, it was still difficult—slippery and exhausting to climb.

After a while, Ning Xianyu grew too tired and annoyed to care.

Fine, she’d just pick at random.

She decided to count to ten and grab whichever stone she touched at that moment.

When she reached ten, her hand landed on an especially ugly stone.

She stared at it in dismay. “You’re just too ugly. I don’t want you.”

She continued climbing, searching for a prettier one.

But at that moment, the ugly stone suddenly began to glow.

Suddenly, in her mind, she saw the little red stone figure—the one she’d seen in her dream, pulled there by Xuan Yuan Tun Han.

The figure waved its arms and shouted, “This is the one, this is the one!”

This one?

“But it’s really so ugly,” she protested.

“This is it, this is it!” the little figure insisted, bouncing around in her mind and making a racket.

Exasperated, Ning Xianyu gave in. “Fine, fine, stop yelling. I’ll take it.”

She pried the stone loose with a determined tug.

As soon as it came free, the tremors in the ground stopped.

Was it over? Was this truly the astrologer’s stone?

Below, Xiao Huai called up to her, “Senior Sister, toss the stone down first. I’ll hold onto it, and then you can jump—I’ll catch you!”

“Okay,” Ning Xianyu agreed.

Just as the demon was about to say something, she tossed the stone down without hesitation.

But as she prepared to jump, Xiao Huai grabbed the stone, ran straight to the leaf, and began to row away.

“Senior Sister, thank you for looking after me all this way. Farewell, until our next life!” he called, never pausing his frantic paddling.

As he sped off, the surface of the island became a sea of fire.

Clinging to the pillar, Ning Xianyu froze, stunned. “What’s happening?”

“What do you think? You’ve been tricked! Hurry and go after him!” the demon hissed, meowing in frustration as he stomped on her head to urge her on.

“But the whole place is on fire. I’m scared,” she whimpered.

The inferno below was terrifyingly hot; she could feel the heat even from her perch on the pillar.

“A bit of fire like this won’t kill you. Jump, now!” the demon barked, leaping up to stomp down hard on her head.

The force was immense, as if a thousand pounds had slammed into her. Ning Xianyu had no chance to resist.

With a scream, she toppled straight into the sea of flames, her hair and clothes instantly catching fire.

Demon, I’ll never forgive you.