178: Have you been acting?

Seeing Long Yuan's expression, Yun Yi smiled and said, "You haven't been to the wilderness yet, have you? There are plenty of terrains deeper and higher than this, and some places are far beyond your imagination!"

"Today has certainly been an eye-opener! Just looking at a map really isn't enough..." Long Yuan chuckled. This was indeed his first time in the wilderness of this Otherworld Ming Dynasty, and it felt much more real than what he had seen through his Divine Sense.

Yun Yi nodded and said, "That's for sure. Why else would the school have combat classes? Before the Academy Exams, students are always arranged to visit the wilderness..."

"Hehe, then following Teacher today, I can be considered to have experienced the wilderness in advance!" Long Yuan said excitedly.

"Indeed, that's one of the reasons I brought you out! Eh? Why is there a woman here?!" Yun Yi suddenly "stiffened," and his speed slowed down... Following the direction Yun Yi pointed, Long Yuan discovered there was indeed a woman in colorful clothes, standing on a tree branch, looking in a certain direction... "That place is..."

"Correct. The direction she's looking is exactly where that mystic essence fruit tree is located!" Yun Yi said with a slightly grave expression.

At this moment, the two of them seemed to have been noticed by the woman as well. She turned her head and saw them approaching. Her brow seemed to furrow slightly, but she made no move... After the two approached the tree where the woman was, Long Yuan saw that the direction she had been observing was a mountain hollow. It was a spot shaded from the sun but facing it. On the sun-facing branches, twelve red fruits were indeed hanging. Although not yet fully ripe, they had begun to glow with red light, looking like twelve shimmering red pearls, displaying their beauty to the world... Clearly, she had also discovered this mystic essence fruit tree and had been waiting here early for the xuan yuan fruits to ripen for harvesting.

"Cold Moon, the Sub-hall Master of the Nanming Branch of Shadow Moon Hall, Middle Stage Martial Ancestor, reeking of a fox's scent..." Long Yuan thought to himself. He possessed the Divine-Grade Qi-Observation Technique, and almost no one on the Blue Star could escape his observation. Moreover, he actually knew long ago that Cold Moon was waiting for them here... Cold Moon looked to be in her thirties, with a pretty face and a graceful figure, carrying a natural fox-like charm. Seeing the two approach, she let out a charming laugh and said, "Are you two also here to pick the xuan yuan fruits?"

Yun Yi's expression soured slightly as he said, "We knew about the existence of this mystic essence fruit tree beforehand. We calculated that today should be the day the xuan yuan fruits ripen, so we came over..."

"Giggle, you certainly have a lot of nerve. A Late-stage Martial Master and an Early-stage Martial Artist daring to come here to pick xuan yuan fruits. Don't you know they're guarded by a Rank Three exotic beast?" Cold Moon said with a smile as bright as a flower.

"We're just here to try our luck!"

"Oh? Is this the kind of thing where you can just try your luck? Since you dare to come for the xuan yuan fruits, I assume you have the strength to defeat a Rank Three exotic beast. It seems I underestimated you! Fine, let's share. How about the three of us work together to kill that Rank Three exotic beast and then split the xuan yuan fruits equally?" Cold Moon snorted.

"This..." Yun Yi was slightly stunned and looked at Long Yuan. Understanding the situation, Long Yuan said, "I'm fine with it! The xuan yuan fruits are useless to me."

Yun Yi nodded and gritted his teeth as he said to the woman, "Fine! We'll do as you suggest!"

"That's more like it! The time is almost right. We'll kill the guardian beast first, then wait for the xuan yuan fruits to ripen! Get ready, I'll use some methods to lure out that Teng Snake..."

Yun Yi nodded and signaled Long Yuan to step back a bit while he took a step forward... The woman pulled a finger-thick incense stick from her bosom and lit it with a Fire starter. In an instant, wisps of light smoke wafted out. With a soft cry, she threw the incense stick, and it landed directly on a patch of ground some distance away from the mystic essence fruit tree!

As the smoke wafted, the fragrance spread. After a short while, there was finally movement in the mountain hollow. The ground broke open, and a massive snake head emerged. Its eyes were blood-red, and its tongue flicked incessantly as it slowly slithered toward the incense... "Now!" the woman shouted.

"Mystic Wood Palm!!!" Yun Yi also let out a loud shout. His figure lunged forward, but he struck backward with his palm. A flash of green light shot out, hitting exactly where Long Yuan had been standing!

"Eh?!" Yun Yi's face changed. He looked at the empty space behind him, feeling a bit dazed... He quickly looked around and found that Long Yuan, who had been standing behind him, had already shifted to the other side of the large tree, quietly watching him... Yun Yi's expression shifted several times before he finally said in a heavy voice, "When did you find out?"

"After you contacted this Cold Moon..." Long Yuan said calmly.

"What?! You know about her? When did you see me contact her?!" Yun Yi said in shock.

"I saw you together at the Qin Family Grand Hotel last night..."

"This..."

A trace of helplessness flashed across Yun Yi's face. He hadn't expected such a meticulously planned scheme to be exposed because of such a small detail. However, this only served as a lesson to him, because there was no way he would let Long Yuan return to Fengyang City alive today... "Haha, very good! Very good indeed! Truly worthy of being my student... You clearly knew we were acting, yet you still handed the Martial Skill manual to me just now. Could it be that you've been acting all along as well? Do you really have the confidence to escape our encirclement?" Yun Yi laughed in extreme anger.

"Since Teacher loves acting so much, it's only right that I, your student, cooperate a little, isn't it?" Long Yuan teased.

Cold Moon watched the teacher and student face off with a beaming smile, interjecting at this point, "So, do you really have the confidence to escape this place?"

"Escape? Why would I escape?" Long Yuan said with a smile.

"Oh? How interesting. A student who isn't afraid of his teacher? Then, are you not afraid of me either? Oh, right, you must be unable to see my cultivation Realm, aren't you?" the woman laughed.

"Your cultivation? Just a Middle Stage Martial Ancestor..."

"What? You can see it? And you're still not afraid?!" The woman was stunned, starting to feel a bit uneasy.

"Why should I be afraid? Your Middle Stage Martial Ancestor cultivation is quite hollow. I'm afraid your cultivation was all obtained through 'Absorbing Yang to supplement Yin,' wasn't it?" Long Yuan snorted.

"You?! Fine, it seems Big Sister will have to make an exception today and lay hands on a mere young boy..."

"Big Sister? More like Auntie, right? Auntie, you should spend more time in bed with Teacher Yun; he's quite greedy for you!"

"Long Yuan... you've successfully angered Big Sister. Today, Big Sister will definitely make sure you get a good taste of what an 'older sister' is like..."

"You go deal with that Teng Snake; I'll handle this kid!" Yun Yi said from the side.

"Oh, can you handle it?" Cold Moon said in a sweet, almost sickeningly sugary voice... Yun Yi's face turned red with anger as he snorted, "I just didn't realize the kid was prepared earlier, that's all..."

Having said that, his figure moved, pouncing toward where Long Yuan was. With a wave of his right hand, a thick wooden vine coiled fiercely toward Long Yuan!

...