I woke up to find myself as the villain's older sister.

After leaving the Ice Goddess's underground palace, Yun Qingyi returned to the Blazing Fire Land.

Looking behind him, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Yun Yu'er and the others hadn't caught up yet.

It wasn't that I was worried about losing, but since I already had the Ice Soul Divine Sword, there was no need to deal with the two of them anymore.

He couldn't help but recall the Ice Soul Goddess's words, and after clicking his tongue twice, he mentally commented: treacherous.

After pondering for a moment, he found a relatively secluded spot, took out the jade tablet, and checked the current situation outside, wondering what was going on outside.

As Yun Qingyi pondered this, she looked at the jade pendant in her hand.

[Shen Yue of Qingyue Sect: People from Zixiao Sect are passing through the Falling Star Forest. Everyone be careful.]

[Anonymous cultivator: Heavens! It's them again! Last time in the Illusionary Sand Forest, they even stole the spiritual herbs I painstakingly found!]

[Lu Yi of the Wunian Sect: What? This is too outrageous!]

[Don't step on the wildflowers by the roadside: Exactly! After what happened last time, they not only didn't learn their lesson, but they've become even more outrageous. It's outrageous!]

[Little Wildflower: What can we do? They're a major sect. If we can't afford to offend them, can't we at least avoid them? There's still a year left, let's all be patient a little longer.]

[Sunny days and rainy days are not as good as rest days: Agreed. After all, the Purple Cloud Sect's strength is undeniable. Although they are a bit arrogant, let's just bear with it.]

[Baihuagu Qiyue: Speaking of which, why don't you guys use nicknames and don't even bother to verify your identities?]

[Anonymous monk: Recognized.]

【Hundred Flowers Valley Joy: ?】

[Little Wildflower: Don't you know you can switch between them at will?]

[Qi Yue from Baihua Valley: "You can do that???"]

[Anonymous Cultivator: What else? So you've only been using the jade pendant as a decorative item for chatting all year?]

[Qi Yue from Baihua Valley: ...Isn't that right?]

Anonymous cultivator: ...

……

"So only a year has passed outside." Yun Qingyi raised an eyebrow as she scrolled through their chat history.

This period of time is neither too long nor too short. She can search for treasures in this secret realm for another year. However, what happened to the Zixiao Sect?

Yun Qingyi tried to scroll up the message list, but there were too many messages and she couldn't find it in a short time, so she had to give up with regret.

"Let's see." Maybe we'll find out later. Yun Qingyi put away the jade token. Since she was in the Blazing Land now, she might as well try her luck with the essence of swordsmanship.

"I don't know where that fiery pool is." Yun Qingyi thought for a moment, "Never mind, let's find it first."

Following their memories, they arrived at the three intersections they had previously encountered. The people of Xianyue Valley had even argued about these three intersections before.

After thinking for a moment, she randomly chose the left one to go in. She wondered if the people from Haunted Moon Valley had left after so long. Yun Qingyi walked in while thinking about this.

The road on the left wasn't particularly winding, but it was frequented by many small monsters. Flashes of lightning lit up the ground, leaving behind numerous monster corpses.

Perhaps seeing their companion was no match, the other demonic beasts did not dare to attack Yun Qingyi again, but many of them revealed greedy eyes.

In this ancient secret realm, these demonic beasts have more or less developed some intelligence due to time and environment. Seeing Yun Qingyi's pure spiritual energy fluctuations, some of the demonic beasts were afraid.

However, some monsters can ignore fear and want to devour this power.

Noticing the cold, greedy gazes from all directions, Yun Qingyi walked in without making a sound, deliberately heading towards those areas.

Finally, a demonic beast smelled the pure spiritual energy and could no longer restrain itself. It bared its fangs and pounced, moving swiftly.

But just a few steps away from Yun Qingyi, a bolt of lightning flashed, and the demonic beast in front of her instantly turned into a bloody mist.

In that instant, Yun Qingyi clearly noticed that those gazes had vanished without a trace. She curled her lips and continued walking inside.

……

The fiery pool.

"Kid, turn right!"

"left!"

"Ahead! Ahead! Back up!"

"Tsk!" Xie Xiyan clicked his tongue lightly, quickly found nearby cover, leaned against a rock, and swiftly tore off the tattered clothes and rags that had been burned to shreds.

While keeping a watchful eye on her surroundings, she took out ice silk from her storage ring and wrapped it around the areas that were already scalded red.

"Hey kid, hurry up! They're here again!"

Seeing the giant shadow moving downstream in the molten abyss, Xie Xiyan cursed under his breath and quickly held his breath, flashing to the other side of the fiery pool.

"This guardian beast is really keeping a close watch." Ling Xuzi's illusory soul followed Xie Xiyan and couldn't help but sigh, "It's been a year, and that giant molten abyss python hasn't let its guard down at all. This guardian beast is exceptionally dutiful."

Xie Xiyan: "..." In just a short while, he was accidentally caught in the flames, and the icy silk on his body instantly burned to ashes, his back scorched red by the heat.

"Master, please stop making sarcastic remarks. What other methods do you have? I feel like I can't break through. This giant abyss python seems to be oblivious to everything. It's as if it's injured as if it's not, and it doesn't feel any pain at all."

Finding cover, Xie Xiyan quickly took out the Ice Silk and wrapped it around his body, saying in a tone that was somewhat unwilling and frustrated.

“There’s nothing we can do. It’s only been a short time. You’ve been suppressing your cultivation, and you only have a single metal spiritual root. This fire-attribute Lava Abyss Python is naturally designed to counter you. You can only slowly wear it down. Don’t worry, I’ve calculated it. If you keep going, you’ll be able to defeat it in eleven months at the latest.” Ling Xuzi, always eager for a good show, said with a straight face and a chuckle.

"..."

"?"

"Eleven months??"

"Does that mean I've spent all my time in this secret realm on this giant lava serpent?"

Ling Xuzi: "There's nothing we can do about it. Besides, this essence of swordsmanship is already one of the most worthwhile treasures here, so we're not at a loss."

"One of them?" Xie Xiyan keenly grasped the key word. "What else is in this secret realm?"

Ling Xuzi raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and didn't hide anything: "There is also an Ice Soul Divine Sword in this secret realm, but don't even think about it. This sword is not meant for you. If you want this sword, you not only need a token, but you also need to find the Ice Soul Goddess Palace."

Everything else is secondary; the important thing is that only those with an ice-elemental root can use it. Even if you get it, it won't help you.

Xie Xiyan nodded, no longer dwelling on the matter, and flashed to another cover. Through the rocks that served as cover, he observed the giant serpent of the lava abyss below. "Master, I can't wait any longer. Is there any way to get there faster?"

“Yes, it is.” Ling Xuzi stroked his beard, subconsciously continuing Xie Xiyan’s words, “The Abyss Python has no eyes, so it can only rely on hearing to determine its position, and its most vulnerable point is the small hole on the left side of its head used to receive sound. As long as…”

After saying most of what he had said, Ling Xuzi suddenly realized, "Wait! What are you going to do!"

"You brat, there are poison glands there, you idiot! Are you out of your mind???"

"Stop it!"

As a qualified disciple, Xie Xiyan naturally had to analyze his master's words on his own. Although Ling Xuzi hadn't finished speaking, Xie Xiyan already knew exactly what to do.

"You brat! Why are you in such a hurry!"

"Wouldn't it be better if we played it safe?"

"Do you have masochistic tendencies?"

Xie Xiyan deliberately revealed his location, his eyes gleaming with a pale gold light, and said calmly, "I don't want to wait."

Ling Xuzi was furious: "Do you think you're so tough?!"

As they spoke, the giant serpent swam rapidly toward Xie Xiyan.

Because he had activated his Aurora Eyes, Xie Xiyan could clearly see the giant python's movements.

The giant serpent's dark red scales seeped golden fire essence from beneath the molten abyss. These liquid flames trailed long, thin threads of fire as it swam. What Xie Xiyan was looking for was the small, round hole on the left side of its head.

The beast's head was triangular, covered with uneven lava keratin. Normally, the small hole would be hard to find, but in the past year, its Aurora Eyes had been fully developed, allowing it to easily find the small circular hole hidden by the three rings of bone spurs around its neck.

"So that's where it was." As the giant python rapidly approached, a golden light flashed in Xie Xiyan's hand. Holding the divine sword, he unhesitatingly gathered his power and stabbed it into the small hole.

With its vital point injured, the Lava Serpent twisted its body wildly, its swollen, hammer-shaped tail, covered with honeycomb-like holes, violently pounding the lava.

Magma erupted from the hole, forming high-pressure magma.

Xie Xiyan nimbly dodged, continuously gathering power to attack the fatal small hole on the left side of the Lava Abyss Python. His moves were ruthless and decisive.

Ling Xuzi watched in terror.

"Kid, get out of the way!"

"Over here, over here, lava is coming!"

"It's starting to secrete venom!" Ling Xuzi's voice suddenly rose several decibels as he said this.

"Alright, Master." Having dodged another deadly attack from the abyss serpent, Xie Xiyan, panting heavily, said to Ling Xuzi, "Master, can you please stop talking?"

"A bit noisy."

"Hey! You ungrateful brat, I was worried you'd get hurt!" Ling Xuzi said irritably, but didn't say anything more.

After dozens of rounds, the so-called pool of fire was completely unrecognizable, almost turning into a real pool with nowhere to stand.

Helpless, Xie Xiyan could only hide on the rocks in the wall, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

After dozens of rounds of attacks, the Lava Python was showing signs of turning belly up.

Ling Xuzi was thrilled. "That's wonderful, disciple! That Lava Abyss Python is about to die! I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"

Xie Xiyan's handsome profile was scorched red by the flames as he stared intently at the giant molten abyss python that was wary of him not far away, not daring to relax his guard in the slightest.

After a period of stalemate, the Lava Abyss Serpent began to falter and revealed a slight opening.

"Now!" In an instant, a golden light flashed, and the divine sword unleashed its powerful force, accurately piercing the small hole on the left side of the Lava Abyss Python's skull.

"Oh no! Kid! Get out of the way!"

The giant serpent struggled desperately, making its final stand before death, spewing out highly concentrated venom from its small opening.

Xie Xiyan, who had been on guard, quickly dodged and almost got sprayed.

Seeing Xie Xiyan barely dodge the venom, Ling Xuzi breathed a sigh of relief. "Luckily you dodged it. Do you know how poisonous this venom is? One drop and you're dead."

"You're really lucky, kid." Ling Xuzi rolled his eyes angrily, still a little annoyed that his son was disobedient and insisted on confronting him head-on.

Looking at the corpse of the giant molten abyss python floating on the lava, Xie Xiyan did not respond to Ling Xuzi's words. He stepped into the air and landed on a rock that had not yet been shattered by the giant molten abyss python. He sat down and tried to meditate, but before he could sit down, everything went black and he lost consciousness.