Bai Zhiqiu, gazing at the mausoleum encircled by plum trees and green pines, gently tugged at Yan Qingzhu’s skirt.
“Weren’t we supposed to go to the Mystical Gate? How did we end up at Plum Blossom Mausoleum?”
Even during the meeting, she had been puzzled by this, wondering why two squads were specifically assigned to guard this location.
“Because this is the entrance to the Mystical Gate, you little dummy!”
Having said this, Yan Qingzhu reached out, intending to playfully pinch Bai Zhiqiu’s cheek.
“Be serious! Don’t touch my face!”
Bai Zhiqiu swatted away Yan Qingzhu’s hand, then turned a thoughtful gaze towards Plum Blossom Mausoleum.
Although the area had been pre-secured and closed to the public today due to operational needs, it was typically bustling with people.
“I truly can’t understand why the entrance to the Mystical Gate is located here!”
“Aren’t they afraid of exposure with people constantly coming and going?”
Bai Zhiqiu voiced her questions like an inquisitive child.
“The location of the Mystical Gate’s entrance is not something we can decide…”
As she finished speaking, a shadow fell over Yan Qingzhu’s eyes.
Bai Zhiqiu even sensed a faint sorrow lingering around Yan Qingzhu.
It seemed that behind the Mystical Gate lay yet another tragic tale.
“Time is short; let’s hurry inside!”
Rosemary had already finished opening the Mystical Gate’s entrance.
Jasmine, taking the lead, stepped through the gateway.
“Let’s go! We shouldn’t fall behind either!”
With that, Yan Qingzhu led Bai Zhiqiu into the magic array.
A milky-white aura then enveloped their entire bodies, and Bai Zhiqiu felt a comforting warmth spread through her.
Approximately three or four minutes later, the warmth gradually subsided, and only then did Bai Zhiqiu truly step into the Mystical Gate.
“Is this…?”
Bai Zhiqiu gazed at the antique-style room before her, momentarily surprised, as she had expected to appear directly on the city wall.
“What are you spacing out for? Hurry and help!” Yan Qingzhu’s voice resonated in her ear.
Just then, a colossal roar echoed from afar, causing the entire building to tremble slightly.
Upon hearing the strange roar, Yan Qingzhu’s expression turned grim.
“How could such a being appear so quickly…”
Hearing Yan Qingzhu’s murmur, Bai Zhiqiu felt a surge of doubt.
“Such a being? Do you mean…?”
“I’ll explain on the way! Now, move as fast as you can and follow me to the city wall!”
“Ah!…Alright!”
Prompted by Yan Qingzhu, Bai Zhiqiu did not hesitate, immediately manifesting her Wings of Blood and flying alongside Yan Qingzhu.
“Why don’t you need wings to fly? Is it a special skill?”
Bai Zhiqiu looked at Yan Qingzhu, her eyes brimming with curiosity.
“Once you reach the Radiant Moon level, you can fly freely through the air using magic.”
Yan Qingzhu glanced at Bai Zhiqiu, finding it quite curious how this ‘little one’ managed to reach the Half-Step Radiant Moon level without knowing such basic information.
Noticing Yan Qingzhu’s exasperated look, Bai Zhiqiu felt somewhat bewildered.
“But you still haven’t told me what that thing is!”
“A Cloud Whale… a magical beast that has reached the Sunflare level, possessing enough power to overturn an entire nation!”
“S-Sunflare level!”
Hearing Yan Qingzhu’s words, Bai Zhiqiu’s face turned pale with fright.
She knew how difficult it was for her to fight against Yan Qingzhu, who was at the Radiant Moon level, let alone confronting an even stronger Sunflare-level being.
The name “Cloud Whale” immediately conjured an image in Bai Zhiqiu’s mind: a colossal creature carrying a palace on its back!
Its sky-darkening silhouette was utterly despair-inducing.
Seemingly noticing Bai Zhiqiu’s slightly altered expression, Yan Qingzhu offered reassurance.
“Don’t worry, someone will handle the Cloud Whale!”
“We only need to focus on the remaining magical beasts.”
“Oh, and make sure to protect yourself! Try not to act alone, and absolutely do not expose yourself to *that* Witch.”
“Otherwise, it will be extremely dangerous!”
At the mention of ‘that Witch,’ Bai Zhiqiu nodded, understanding.
After all, she herself was a Witch, and *that* Witch was the leader of all Witches.
If *that* Witch caught her, a Witch, aiding the Magical Girls, her fate would likely be miserable.
Bai Zhiqiu hadn’t forgotten what her master had said about the consequences of being captured by a Witch.
“I’ll definitely be careful!” Bai Zhiqiu nodded.
Seeing that Bai Zhiqiu had taken her words to heart, Yan Qingzhu said nothing more, simply nodding back at her.
Soon, the two approached the Mystical Gate’s city walls, faintly discerning the sounds of magic bombardment and roars from not far away.
For some inexplicable reason, the closer they got, the stranger Bai Zhiqiu felt, as if something was calling to her.
A persistent urge to fly towards that place tugged at her.
“Stay alert! Do not go there!” Yin’s voice suddenly rang out.
“What exactly is that place? Why do I feel this way?”
“That palace! The things hidden within that palace! They are forbidden objects that must not be touched!”
Listening to Yin’s enigmatic words, Bai Zhiqiu’s curiosity intensified.
“What exactly is inside there?”
“A key.”
“A key?”
Upon hearing Yin’s words, Bai Zhiqiu paused, slightly stunned.
For some reason, her thoughts kept drifting to her master’s key.
Her master had also left behind a key… she wondered if there was any connection between the two.
“In any case, stop asking for now!”
“Such things can wait until you’ve fully integrated my demon core and broken through to the Radiant Moon level!”
“Our immediate priority now is to quickly follow me to retrieve *that* item.”
“That item?”
“You’ll know when we get there!”
‘Ugh! How annoying! It’s always the same answer!’
However, for Bai Zhiqiu, the immediate priority wasn’t to retrieve some mysterious item with Yin, but to find her master.
Above the Mystical Gate, some of the magical beasts’ vanguard forces had already breached the city walls.
“Swish!”
A colossal mantis swung its scythe-like blades, cleaving through the air with a whistling sound.
On the city wall, the body of a guard was sliced in two.
The magical beast was then swiftly targeted by the Magical Girls fighting nearby, and under a barrage of attacks, it disintegrated into fragments.
Such scenes were unfolding in every corner of the battlefield.
Boom! Boom!
Accompanied by two enormous explosions, a hundred-zhang-tall monster appeared not far away.
With every step, the monster left a massive crater in the ground.
“That’s… the Twilight Giant!”
On the city wall, a seasoned veteran, watching the colossal figure emerge in the distance, cried out.
Hearing the veteran’s shout, those nearby gasped sharply.
The Twilight Giant, a creature almost exclusively found in legends, rarely appeared even once in several years of past battles.
Yet, this time, the monstrous being had emerged right at the outset.
Not far away, within the palace on the Cloud Whale’s back, a figure cloaked in black robes conversed with a black-haired girl, his voice as grating as a night owl’s screech.
The constant flicking of a forked tongue from his mouth was utterly nauseating.
“Lady Poppy! Have you still not found your target? Hiss~ Why not heed our advice and directly invade Nandou? Search to your heart’s content, are you afraid you won’t find them?”
The black-haired girl cast a frigid glance at the cloaked figure.
With that single look, an invisible pressure diffused, making the black-robed individual feel as though he had plunged into an ice cellar, terrifying him into hastily kneeling.