With one of the five keys on her, she can freely enter the Cave of Inheritance. The only problem was, Xiu Xiang has only been to the West Peak once before and it was to sneak into Wei Xing's pavilion. Other than that, she didn't know her way around. Since she might run into people from North Peak, she decided to let Hua Jian mingle with the guests and keep them distracted while she searched out the entrance to the Cave of Inheritance.
Staying hidden within the shadows, she searched the grounds for any possible clues that might lead her to the Cave of Inheritance. She tried to remember what the author had written about the cave and a thought struck her. It was a chance she was going to have to take.
Xiu Xiang pulled out the white jade and released a small amount of energy into it. Almost immediately, it glowed gently. She turned in a particular direction and the glowing dimmed down. She made another turn and the jade suddenly glowed brighter. She had created a compass that will lead her directly to the Cave of Inheritance! How smart she was!
It was getting late and Wei Xing knew he needed to go out and greet the guests when he felt something warm pulse in his pouch. Frowning, he reached into his pouch and pulled out a piece of white jade, another one of the five keys that could open the Cave of Inheritance. He had placed a spell on it once to track the key that Xiu Xiang had stolen. Now that it was glowing, could it be that Xiu Xiang had entered West Peak?
He had forgotten all about his own wedding and stormed out of his pavilion, racing towards the entrance of the Cave of Inheritance.
Meanwhile...
"Ow..." Xiu Xiang rubbed her forehead softly as she stared at the transparent barrier before her. She was so excited when she saw how brightly lit her key had been and ran smacked dabbed into the barrier. Ignoring the throbbing pain on her head, she reached out a hand to touch the barrier. It rippled like the surface of a lake when she touched it, revealing just how large the barrier itself was. It stretched endlessly high up into the heavens. Beyond the barrier was a dense forest filled with a thick fog.
Xiu Xiang remembered that before she could even reach the cave, she needed to pass three trials. First, she needed to break the barrier surrounding the area where the cave lay hidden. Secondly, she needed to get past the forest lurking with demon beasts that had been locked inside over the years, and lastly, she needed the key which will open the stone door to the cave where a guardian demon beast sleep.
Breaking the barrier was a cinch and fighting against the demon beasts in the forest was breeze. Her real issue was the strange mist that lurked within the dense forest. It was an illusion inducing mist.
The mist was created by the first Sect Leader of Tian Ling Sect. Anyone who managed to get through the barrier will fall victim to the illusion created by the mist and most likely die from their own fears. Xiu Xiang frowned at the thought. Even if she didn't die from her own fears, she'll probably get killed by demon beasts before she could even break out of the illusion.
It wouldn't be long before everyone in Tian Ling Sect realized that she was trying to break into the cave. Just when she was debating on how to take on the trials, she heard a suspicious rustling noise behind her. She raised finger and aimed it at the rustling bush. A small fireball the size of a golf ball emitted from her fingertip and blared straight for the bush. It set the bush on fire almost immediately and a high pitch scream sounded.
A petite, thin figure dressed in yellow jumped out.
"Bai Qing?!"
What was she doing here? Wasn't she supposed to be getting married today?
Xiu Xiang quickly waved her sleeve at the fire she casted and it went out in smoke. She watched as Bai Qing dusted off the hem of her dress and picked up the satchel she had dropped. Was she running away from her own wedding?
When Bai Qing looked up and saw her, a bright smile flashed across her face.
"Xiu Xiang Jie Jie!" Bai Qing cried out excitedly.
"Ugh..." Xiu Xiang slapped a hand over her face.
It seems that Bai Qing's character may have veered a little off track as she no longer was in love with Wei Xing, but it would seem that her character to bring endless trouble to the Demoness had not change.
With the bride missing, the people in Tian Ling Sect were sure to go out looking for her. That meant that Xiu Xiang would have an even tougher time getting past the obstacle before her.
"What are you doing here?" Xiu Xiang asked.
"I should be asking you that. What are you doing here?" Bai Qing asked.
Xiu Xiang frowned.
Said the bride who ran away from her own wedding!
"Go back," Xiu Xiang ordered.
It was Bai Qing's turn to frown.
"I don't want to! I don't want to get married to that uptight Wei Xing! I won't! Jie Jie, you have to help me escape!" Bai Qing pleaded.
There was no helping it, Xiu Xiang thought. She was about to knock Bai Qing out when she remembered that Bai Qing was a master at illusions. In the novel, when Wei Xing had fallen under one of Xiu Xiang's illusions, it was Bai Qing who had broken it and freed him from his fears. Because of that, Xiu Xiang was seriously injured when Wei Xing came out of the illusion.
It's time for Bai Qing to pay back the Demoness for all the troubles she had caused before.
"Alright, I'll help you but before that, you must help me get through this forest first. It's filled with a strange mist that causes illusions. How about it?" Xiu Xiang suggested.
The naïve girl's eyes lit up like fireworks as she nodded her head furiously.
Now she has gotten her agreement, Xiu Xiang turned back toward the barrier and placed her hand on the barrier again. With the key in hand, it was easy to dissipate it without using too much energy. The barrier slowly dissolved before their eyes and almost immediately the thick fog swirled toward them, beckoning them inside.
"Let's go," Xiu Xiang called out to Bai Qing.
The two women stepped into the dense fog and their figures disappeared almost immediately.
By the time Wei Xing arrived at the place where the barrier had once been, his brows furrowed deeply. Lifting the key up, he knew that Xiu Xiang had gone into the illusion mist.
"Xiu Xiang..." Wei Xing breathed. Fear etched on his face as he stared into the dense forest. With no hesitation for his safety, he rushed straight in without another thought.
At the same time, the elders who held the other keys were also alarmed when their own keys started to burn. Even after a thousand years, not once as the key gave off such an alarming light.
"Someone must've infiltrated the West Peak and broken through the first barrier to the Cave of Inheritance!" Elder Mui exclaimed.
Sect Leader Jiang frowned as he held onto his own key. It was glowing and giving off a dangerous heat. This was indeed a bad omen. He looked off in the direction of where the Cave of Inheritance lay.
There were rumors going on about how someone had risen to power within the Demon Realm and taken over as the new Demon King. Could the infiltrator be that person? What of the half soul that disappeared from the Cliff of Abyss?
He feared the worst-case scenario.
Bai Qing had formed a seal with her hands erecting a thin barrier around the two of them so that the mist couldn't get near. The forest really was huge. It seemed like hours since the two of them had entered. The deeper they went, the stronger the demon beasts were and Xiu Xiang realized why. The further they went into the forest, the more Xiu Xiang sensed a surge of spiritual energy. Was it the Cave of Inheritance? Was that the reason why the demon beasts refuses to leave even after the barrier to the forest was destroyed?
"This might be tougher than I thought..." Xiu Xiang murmured as she killed off the twenty some demon beast.
"Xiu Xiang Jie Jie... just where exactly are we going...?" Bai Qing asked.
"The Cave of Inheritance," Xiu Xiang replied dully.
"...!" Bai Qing came to a stop as she whipped around to face her. "Jie Jie! That place is off limits! Why are you going there?!"
"That is none of your concern. Do you want to go back and marry Wei Xing?" Xiu Xiang asked sharply. She really wasn't one who liked to use people but Bai Qing was one of the few characters she disliked in the novel, so she didn't feel to bad about using her.
"I... this isn't right," Bai Qing said glumly.
There she goes again, causing endless trouble. Xiu Xiang suddenly wondered if this wasn't such a good idea when a loud scream echoed within the forest.
"...that voice! It couldn't be!" Xiu Xiang thought as she whipped around in the direction where it had come from.
Suddenly forgetting that she needed to be within Bai Qing's barrier to avoid the illusion mist, her feet moved of its own accord and she dashed off in a certain direction, ignoring Bai Qing's protest. She didn't know why but after hearing that painful scream, she just had to go help.
Xiu Xiang arrived just in time to see a demon beast towering over a figure dressed in red, who was down on his knees with his face buried in his hands. She swung her palm forward and the demon beast erupted into flames and quickly burned down to the bones until there was nothing left.
"Wei Xing!" Xiu Xiang cried out as she dropped down to check on him. Almost immediately, Wei Xing flung his arms open and wrapped it tightly around her.
"Don't leave me!"