I Ruined the Long Ao Tian Script

A Sudden Turn of Events

On the thirty-fifth day within the minor secret realm, an unexpected change occurred.

Xu Shulou stretched lazily as she awoke from her slumber, greeted by the sight of a clear blue sky. She briefly mourned the ruined roof that now lay in shambles before realizing that the followers she had taken in days ago had all vanished.

Had they seized the chance to flee?

Gripping her sword, Xu Shulou prepared to teach them a lesson about the harsh realities of the world after desertion. But as she flew a short distance, she spotted one of her followers standing rigidly atop a hill, his back turned to her, utterly motionless.

Sensing something amiss, Xu Shulou softened her steps and approached cautiously from behind. Yet the moment she stepped within a few feet of him, the man suddenly whipped his head around—literally. His body remained frozen in place, but his neck twisted a full circle, his face now staring directly at her with hollow eyes and a grotesque grin stretching across his lips.

Xu Shulou’s gaze dropped to his shadow, where a figure identical to him was trapped, thrashing and screaming in terror. The shadowed figure seemed desperate to break free, mouthing silent pleas. She barely made out the shape of the words "Help me!"

A flicker of surprise crossed her face. Had the shadow taken the place of the living man, while the real person was imprisoned within the darkness?

The grin on the twisted face before her widened unnaturally, stretching nearly to the ears and revealing a pitch-black void within its mouth. Xu Shulou swung her sword without hesitation. "Stop grinning. Your aura reeks of doom—allow me to grant you salvation."

The creature recoiled with eerie agility, its chest caving inward to evade the blade. Its arms then elongated unnaturally, stretching several feet before lashing out at her from impossible angles.

Xu Shulou had never encountered such a fighting style before, but as she often said, it didn’t matter. If it bore malice, she’d cut it down regardless. With a swift feint, she aimed for its joints with her right hand, only to switch her sword to her left mid-motion and slash at its other arm.

The shadow creature failed to dodge in time. Its severed limb fell onto the grass, dissipating into wisps of darkness. Seeing no regeneration, Xu Shulou exhaled in relief—her attacks were effective.

Enraged, the creature bared its blackened teeth and lunged, but Xu Shulou’s swordplay was unpredictable. Her strikes landed one after another, carving through its form until it dissolved entirely. For good measure, she conjured flames to incinerate the scattered remnants of shadow.

A shrill screech echoed as the trapped man clawed his way out of the shadow, collapsing onto the ground and retching up globs of inky darkness, which Xu Shulou promptly burned away.

Once he recovered, the man knelt before her, still trembling. "At dawn, all the monsters grew stronger. The others are in danger—please, save them!"

Xu Shulou arched a brow. These bandits, who once sought to rob her, now displayed unexpected loyalty. The shadow creature resembled those she’d encountered upon entering the secret realm, but they had been far weaker then. Was this sudden surge in strength part of the trial?

She nodded. "Stay close and keep up."

The man brightened. "Yes!"

As they flew onward, Xu Shulou’s sharp eyes caught something on the ground. She descended swiftly, her follower trailing behind in confusion. "What did you see?"

His stomach churned at the sight of a severed leg, its ragged flesh suggesting it had been torn off by some beast. But his horror doubled when Xu Shulou picked it up and stored it in her Qiankun Bracelet. "What are you doing?! Even if we’re low on supplies, we can’t eat our fellow disciples!"

Xu Shulou met his appalled stare. "What nonsense are you spouting? If the owner’s still alive, I’m saving the leg so it can be reattached."

"…Right. Forgot about that in the panic," he mumbled sheepishly.

Irritation flared in Xu Shulou. Here she was, an innocent maiden wrongfully accused by a former bandit! But there was no time to argue. "Stay sharp. We’re not done searching."

"Yes!"

Along the way, she rescued several other near-death disciples. The same followers who once schemed to escape now clung to her legs, wailing in gratitude—only to be kicked aside one by one.

She ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‍quickly realized that all the monsters had indeed been enhanced. Even the once-adorable little deer now spat deadly beams of light from their mouths. Xu Shulou dodged swiftly, barely avoiding a blast that nearly obliterated a small hill behind her.

Moments later, her companion gaped at the deer lying unconscious on the ground, recalling the shadow creatures she had earlier sliced apart and burned to ashes. He clicked his tongue in disbelief. "You really pick and choose who to go easy on, huh?"

"Obviously," Xu Shulou retorted without hesitation.

"No wonder you treated my junior sister so kindly when we were both captives, while bossing me around like a servant," the man muttered, rubbing his face. "Guess it’s because I wasn’t born with a pretty face."

Seeing Xu Shulou reunite with several of his brothers, the man relaxed slightly.

"Don’t let your guard down," Xu Shulou warned. "Keep searching and calling out. Anyone who hears us might come join our group."

The men nodded and began shouting with their hoarse voices. Xu Shulou, unable to use a soundproof barrier while searching, silently hoped the next person they rescued would have a more pleasant voice to replace these noisy companions.

Soon, she encountered another fellow student—a female cultivator who wordlessly joined their group, keeping her head low and trailing behind Xu Shulou as if deeply shaken.

Just as the others moved to comfort her, Xu Shulou stopped them. She stepped forward and lifted the woman’s chin with the tip of her sword.

The woman looked up at her with pitiful, pleading eyes, but Xu Shulou only smirked coldly. "You seem to have an ominous aura about you."

The man, now hypersensitive to such signs, scrutinized the woman. "Wait, is she another one of those shadow monsters?!"

Before he could finish, Xu Shulou swung her blade. The woman’s mouth suddenly stretched wide, revealing a pitch-black tongue that lashed toward Xu Shulou’s wrist.

Xu Shulou seized the tongue with her left hand and yanked hard, then severed it with a swift strike of her sword. The onlookers winced and averted their eyes—it was brutal.

As Xu Shulou reduced the woman to scattered fragments of shadow, the man dropped to the ground, searching frantically. "If this was another shadow creature, there should be someone trapped underneath!"

Xu Shulou tapped the ground, and only then did the man see the faint outline of a human face beneath the darkness—only the mouth and nose were still visible. Any later, and the person would have been completely consumed.

Grimacing, the group sliced through a translucent membrane with their weapons and pulled out a barely recognizable female cultivator. Her features were distorted, her fingertips melted away, and her pallid face was barely breathing, her life hanging by a thread.

Horrified and heartsick at the sight, the others stammered, "C-can she even be saved?"

Xu Shulou slipped a life-preserving pill into the woman’s mouth and shook her head. "I don’t know. We’ll carry her with us for now. Is there a healer in the group? Tend to her."

"Understood."

"We can’t stay here," Xu Shulou tightened her grip on her sword. "We have to get everyone out."

"Shouldn’t we leave now and ask Teacher Li for help?" someone suggested.

Xu Shulou hesitated. She had considered this when she first saw the severed leg. But… "This trial has gone far beyond what the academy would allow. If the teachers haven’t intervened yet, they’re likely preoccupied with something else."

"What?!"

"I can’t say for sure," Xu Shulou admitted. "Those who trust me can follow me as we sweep through the rest of the secret realm to find the others. Anyone who wants to leave now is free to try."

After a tense pause, most chose to stay—having been saved by Xu Shulou, they felt safer with her.

Xu Shulou led the group forward, urgency gnawing at her. She had no idea if her junior brothers and sisters were still in the realm.

Soon, they encountered another student—a male cultivator who, by sheer luck, had yet to face any monsters that morning. Skeptical, he eyed them warily. "Are you just trying to trick me into leaving so you can take the top spots?"

"Knock him out. We’re taking him," Xu Shulou ordered, unwilling to waste time. Her authority was absolute now, and several rushed forward to subdue the bewildered man before hauling him over a shoulder.

Xu Shulou scoured every corner of the realm, rushing to every cry for help, but some gaps were inevitable. Hours later, their group had swelled to forty or fifty—roughly the number she estimated remained. Among them were three junior brothers from Bright Moon Peak.

Xu Shulou turned to the sixth brother, Ji Ci. "Have you seen the others?"

"Only the second brother, Feng Yi," Ji Ci replied. "He rescued a student with a broken leg who was being chased by monsters and took him out for treatment."

"No sign of the third brother or junior sister?"

"None. But don’t worry too much, Senior Sister. They might have already left."

Xu Shulou nodded. "Alright. Let’s head out and see."

The forty or fifty people all followed her command and exited the small secret realm together, only to be greeted by the empty grounds of Xuan Cang Academy. Even the teachers who were supposed to take turns guarding the secret realm to prevent mishaps were nowhere to be seen. In the distance, the sounds of a skirmish echoed. If she had been alone, Xu Shulou might have gone to investigate, but with her fellow students by her side, caution took precedence.

A small spirit monkey peeked out from a potted plant, and Xu Shulou immediately recognized it as one of the spirit pets belonging to her third junior brother, Feng Yi. She strode forward, and the monkey obediently leaped into her palm, cleverly gesturing for silence to the group before pointing in a direction with its tiny paw.

"Let's go!" Xu Shulou led the way, following the monkey’s guidance through winding mountain paths until they arrived at a place none of them had ever seen before.

"There’s an underground tunnel in Xuan Cang Academy?" The group couldn’t help but express their surprise.

Someone explained, "It’s a common practice in the cultivation world. I read about it in historical texts—most sects build escape routes or tunnels when establishing their schools."

Entering the tunnel, they were met with the sight of an unconscious Teacher Li and about a hundred students, their faces filled with unease. Xu Shulou spotted Bai Roushuang, Feng Yi, and Song Ping among them and felt slightly relieved. Bai Roushuang rushed over and hugged her. "Senior Sister!"

The little spirit monkey bounded off to find Feng Yi, who whispered something in its ear, prompting it to leave the tunnel again.

"I sent it to keep watch outside the secret realm, in case anyone comes out and can’t find us," Feng Yi explained. "Did you run into any attackers on your way here? The academy’s puppet guardians seem to be fighting them."

"No," Xu Shulou shook her head. "What’s going on here? Where are the other teachers? And what’s the deal with the monster in the secret realm?"

"Today is the grand ceremony for Immortal Venerable Jiuyou of Qingcheng Sect to formalize his union with his Dao companion—a major event. The other teachers, and even some students, left early to attend the celebration," Feng Yi said with a bitter smile. "Only Teacher Li remained to guard the secret realm. But he was ambushed and severely injured. He managed to wound his attacker before directing the students to a hiding place, then collapsed from exhaustion. Everyone carried him here for safety."

Considering the students' safety, the strength of the monster in the secret realm was usually suppressed by the teachers taking turns. While troublesome to contain from within, suppressing it from the outside was relatively simple, so the teachers rotated the task. With Teacher Li unconscious today, the monster’s power surged abruptly.

Immortal Venerable Jiuyou? Xu Shulou smiled wryly. The immortal’s tumultuous love story with his Dao companion had likely become legendary across the three realms. After centuries of drama, they had finally formalized their union. It was hard to say whether the teachers had gone to congratulate them out of respect for Qingcheng Sect or simply to witness the spectacle.

If Xu Shulou hadn’t been trapped in the secret realm, she might have gone to join the excitement herself. But who would seize this opportunity to attack an academy?

Her mind raced, instantly considering numerous possibilities. The others brainstormed as well, even speculating about a demonic invasion aiming to destroy the future of the cultivation world.

"What about the other students?" Xu Shulou quickly counted heads. "Did they all run off to Qingcheng Sect for the spectacle?"

"Not all of them. Some took advantage of the free time to go out and explore," Song Ping frowned. "That’s what worries me. With attackers still searching outside, I fear they might run into them when they return."

Hearing this, Xu Shulou stood, sword in hand. "Stay hidden. I’ll go check."

"Senior Sister!" Ji Ci tried to stop her, but Xu Shulou turned back and smiled at her juniors. The look in her eyes told them it was futile.

Everyone watched her in awe, their gazes filled with reverence, as she walked away against the light. Her figure seemed to grow taller, radiant with an almost divine glow.

"Oh, one more thing," the hero suddenly turned back, pulling a severed leg from her Qiankun Bracelet and handing it to the group. She pointed at an unconscious male cultivator missing a limb in the corner. "Found this in the secret realm. Return it to him."

"..." The group stared at the mangled limb, too stunned to reach for it. The solemn atmosphere shattered instantly.