"Do you think the Profound Yin Body is a joke? If you hadn't run into me, chances are no one could resolve it." Spirit-Plume Wanderer snorted coldly.
Seeing the old granny get angry, Lana Situ quickly tugged Evan Yang's sleeve, signaling him not to say anything more. Evan glanced over and said to Lana, "Just go without worry."
"I don't know how many years it will be before I can return. If the Situ Clan ever runs into trouble, please help for my sake." Lana Situ knew Evan Yang wasn't as simple as he appeared—if he could go from no cultivation to Foundation-Building in a few years, he might reach even higher realms in just a few more.
As Evan Yang, he grinned and said, "Yeah, don't worry. Just go."
"Are you two done with your farewells?" Spirit-Plume Wanderer wasn't a rigid person; she only spoke after their conversation ended.
"Yeah." Lana Situ nodded.
"Then come with me. As for you, kid, stay here and toughen up for a while." With a single thought, Spirit-Plume Wanderer made Lana Situ vanish from Evan Yang's sight. Only after her image disappeared did Evan start cursing, "Hey, hey, take me with you!"
All Evan Yang could do was curse and curse, fuming, "Your temper is way too weird! I just contradicted you a few times and you dragged me up into the sky, then locked me up. Seriously, you piss me off. Don't let me see you again, or I'll strangle you!"
"Whoosh, whoosh~" Once Evan Yang calmed down, he realized he was alone again, and the sound of wind could still be heard around him.
"Sigh, it's rare to have a real friend by your side, and now I'm alone again." Evan Yang sighed helplessly, then stood up. Relying on his memory, he climbed the mountain, wanting to see what the legendary End of the Sky looked like beyond the peak.
Evan Yang had no idea chaos had erupted outside the space. Spirit-Plume Wanderer's projection naturally drew the attention of some experts, but Bluebrow Daoist and the others simply weren't strong enough to shake her.
The major clans were furious, sending messages back home that the Spirit-Plume Wanderer from the Northsource Region had invaded the Eastern Continent. The news spread instantly, prompting those clans to dispatch their own experts to see what this powerhouse was doing.
By the time those experts arrived, Spirit-Plume Wanderer had already left with her projection, leaving no trace. The newcomers could only stamp their feet in frustration.
Meanwhile, inside the space, Jax Jia encountered Tara Chu, though his appearance had changed a bit.
One day, after entering the space, Tara Chu lost contact with her clan's disciples and wandered blindly. She was attacked by wolf-like monsters, but lacking the strength to fight, she was rescued by a woman.
At the time, Tara Chu didn't notice anything unusual. She thanked the woman, saying, "Thank you for saving me."
"It's nothing. But Miss Chu, did you also lose your companions?" the woman replied with a smile.
Surprised by the woman's reply, Tara Chu asked, "How do you know me?"
"Of course I know you. We met not long ago, didn't we?" The woman chuckled, her smile reminding Tara Chu of someone. Tara hesitantly asked, "Are you...?"
"You're right, I'm the one who always stayed beside the little beggar." Jax Jia smiled. After entering the space, she realized her disguise art had vanished, forcing her to reveal her true form and use her original body.
Tara Chu still couldn't quite believe it and asked, "How did you become a woman?"
"I've always been a woman. It's just that your cultivation is lower, so you only saw my disguise." Jax Jia chuckled.
"Why did you do that?" Seeing that the woman was the little beggar's friend, Tara Chu calmed down and asked.
"I have my reasons. You'll understand someday. But I hope you won't tell anyone about my identity—not even the little beggar." Jax Jia replied after thinking for a moment.
Seeing that Jax Jia didn't want Evan Yang to know her identity, Tara Chu promised, and the two began chatting warmly. Usually, Jax Jia acted as a boy due to her background, but now, meeting Tara Chu, they quickly developed a sisterly bond.
"I think you look great as a woman. Why pretend to be a man?" Tara Chu found Jax Jia's female form very beautiful and couldn't help but ask.
"I told you, I have my reasons. Sigh." Jax Jia sighed.
"Alright, then how should I address you from now on?" Tara Chu saw Jax Jia didn't want to explain further and didn't press, feeling grateful for the rescue.
Jax Jia thought for a moment, awkwardly twirling her shoulder-length hair, and said, "How about this? Outside, in front of others, you can still call me Jax Jia. In private, you can call me Xiaoxin."
"Xiaoxin? That's a lovely name. Then you shouldn't call me Miss Chu anymore—just call me Tanlan." Tara Chu smiled.
"Mm." For the first time, Jax Jia, who usually hid her identity, was addressed like this by another girl and felt excited. She gradually started asking Tara Chu about various women's matters, making Tara laugh for a long time. It turned out Jax Jia really was a tomboy—female by identity, but still habitually acting like a boy.
Far away, Evan Yang had no idea that Jax Jia and Tara Chu had met, or that Jax Jia had this hidden identity.
At that moment, he was cursing at the sky: "What is this mountain made of—why can't I reach the top?"
Ever since Evan Yang started climbing, he'd walked for half a day without seeing the peak. He began to feel confused by the mountain, so he stopped to observe and realized he seemed to be walking in place.
Finally, he helplessly summoned the Jade Rabbit, who complained, "Big brother, this seems to be a formation—we can't get out."
"What?" Evan Yang was shocked; he hadn't expected there to be a formation inside the space.
"Big brother, how did you get in here?" the Jade Rabbit asked curiously.
Evan Yang's face was extremely ugly. How did he get in? He just wanted to see what was behind the mountain, but ended up stumbling into an illusion formation. He couldn't understand who would bother setting up such a formation inside the mountain.
Seeing Evan Yang's expression, the Jade Rabbit could only say, "Big brother, I'm afraid I can't help you this time."
"Then you rest for now," Evan Yang said helplessly, putting the Jade Rabbit back in his pocket. He looked around—still mountains and trees, nothing had changed. No matter how he walked, he was still in the same place.
After a long while, Evan Yang found a rock to sit on and cursed, "I'm so pissed off! That old granny could've just taken me away, but instead I ended up in this illusion formation."
That wasn't the worst of it—Evan Yang was even more worried that he might trigger other killing or trapping formations inside the illusion. If that happened, he wouldn't even have a chance to curse, so he just sat there, scanning his surroundings.
"In the end, it's just lack of strength. Sigh, if I could make a projection someday, I wouldn't have to suffer like this in the space." Evan Yang grumbled.
Just then, a little pig covered in white hair—more precisely, covered in bristles—appeared. Its hairs stood upright. Evan Yang, who had been complaining, quickly jumped up and stared at it, asking, "What kind of monster are you?"
The Jade Rabbit poked its head out curiously. The little pig, which had been glaring fiercely at Evan Yang, relaxed its bristles when it saw the Jade Rabbit, becoming just like an ordinary pig.
"It can smooth its bristles on its own?" Evan Yang muttered, surprised by the oddity.
"Big brother, it says you gave it a lot of pressure, so that's why it acted fierce toward you," the Jade Rabbit explained.
"You can understand it?" Evan Yang asked in surprise.
"Of course! I'm a spirit beast, and so is it. We have our own beast language—you wouldn't understand," the Jade Rabbit said proudly.
"Really?" Evan Yang was shocked to learn the Jade Rabbit could understand spirit beast language.
"Of course it's true. It also said this area is very dangerous," the Jade Rabbit translated the pig's words for Evan Yang.
Evan Yang was surprised at first, then suddenly had an idea. He said to the Jade Rabbit, "Jade Rabbit, ask it to lead us out of here—what do you think?"
The Jade Rabbit thought for a moment and replied, "I'll try."
Evan Yang watched as the Jade Rabbit and the piglet whispered to each other, but he couldn't understand their language. He saw the Jade Rabbit hopping in front of the piglet, while the piglet gestured with its hooves, saying something unknown.
"What kind of language is beast-speak anyway? All chirps and chatters," Evan Yang thought, watching their every move. When the Jade Rabbit hopped back, Evan lifted her and asked, "How did it go?"
"I talked with him. He said he can lead us out," the Jade Rabbit replied.
"He can lead us out? Really?" Evan Yang said, overjoyed.
The Jade Rabbit nodded her head and replied, "Yes, but he said you shouldn't break any rules—stick close to him."
"Do I really look like a bad guy?" Evan Yang thought of how the pig had acted aggressive toward him and answered gloomily.
"I don't know, that's just what he said. So be careful—if you step on anything wrong, I'm not responsible," the Jade Rabbit warned.
"Alright, alright, I'll listen. What choice do I have—it's someone else's territory," Evan Yang said gloomily to the Jade Rabbit. Then, guided by the Jade Rabbit's conversation with the piglet, the group began walking through the mountain.
The piglet walked with a steady rhythm, as if it was very familiar with the terrain.
"This piglet can even recognize the path?" Evan Yang wondered to himself.
The piglet had no idea what Evan Yang was thinking—otherwise it would probably have booted him out.
Time passed bit by bit, and Evan Yang gradually felt himself rising. "Am I climbing the mountain?" That was his first thought.
"Gulu gulu." The piglet suddenly stopped and chattered to Evan Yang and the Jade Rabbit.
"What did it say?" Evan Yang asked the Jade Rabbit curiously.
The Jade Rabbit was surprised at first, then explained, "He said that ahead is their living area. Only by passing through their living area can we leave—otherwise, we can't get out."
"Their area? Are there a lot of pigs like this here?" Evan Yang asked in surprise.
The Jade Rabbit gave Evan Yang a human-like glare and replied, "He just said this is their living area, and the place we're heading is pretty dark. You'd better be ready, and don't make any noise—he said the spirit beasts there don't like humans much."