I haven’t interacted with many squirrels in my current life. Honestly, I haven’t interacted with many squirrels in my past life either. They were very reclusive creatures, and it was rumored that the White-furred Tyrant forbade them from leaving her territory. Of course, that also meant no one dared to enter squirrel territory. In that sense, they could be described as taking a neutral stance in the politics of the world.

The only squirrel that I’ve had close interaction with is standing right in front of me. She looks constipated, an expression I never thought I’d see on an immortal. The squirrel standing beside her was … pregnant? Actually, since there was a large hat covering the white-haired woman’s head, I couldn’t see if she had squirrel ears or human ears; for all I knew, she could be an unfortunate human being lugged around by Lucia. Lucia might’ve been incapable of forming thoughts and plans on her own, but with a capable sidekick, she still managed to survive in the world despite her deficiencies. In that case, should I attack the white-haired woman and make a run for it? Although attacking a pregnant woman is despicable, by entering the ancient ruin, she forfeited the societal protections placed on her.

Before Lucia can figure out whatever is plaguing her thoughts, I’ll take action. By crippling her right-hand woman, it’ll be similar to eliminating Principal Pentorn. As long as it’s just Lucia, I’ll be able to dance circles around her. Now’s the best time to strike. “Blazing Sun, rise!” I channeled all my qi to grasp at the spiritual energy around me. Despite the land being gray and desolate, spiritual energy was in abundance. A blazing circle appeared in the sky above me, and everything its rays of light touched burst into flames. Everything except Lucia and her sidekick. I understand why Lucia wasn’t burning because of the quality of her clothes, but why wasn’t her sidekick taking any damage? In fact, she’s staring at me with an amused expression on her face like an adult who was just punched by a friend’s toddler throwing a tantrum.

The Blazing Sun Technique might not have been an offensive skill, but it certainly wasn’t something an ordinary immortal could experience without some form of discomfort. In that case, the white-haired squirrel wasn’t a sidekick but a guardian, someone sent by the White-furred Tyrant to protect her disciple.

As expected, the white-haired woman smiled at me like an elder would to a child. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Other than her strength, there’s another thing that concerns me. Before we entered the ancient ruin, this woman had clearly called me Bloodmoon. She was able to see the true identity of my soul with a single glance. That, combined with her combat prowess, is enough to dictate how I should behave in this situation. I can’t let Lucia Soul Scour me, but I can’t act in an offensive manner either. “I apologize if my technique startled you. I was just concerned about my companions. They should’ve entered the ruins around the same time as me, and summoning a blazing sun was one of the methods we determined beforehand to locate each other.”

It’s dangerous. Ever since I started cultivating, I’ve experienced thousands of life-and-death situations. From those situations arose an instinct for detecting danger, and that instinct is shouting at me right now. If I make one wrong move in this situation, whether it be a slight movement of a toe or taking a step back to retreat, my future will end right here. Even detonating myself and forcefully possessing this body didn’t give me the same sense of imminent peril. It seems like the only thing I can do in this situation is hold my breath and wait.

The white-haired sidekick chuckled before crossing her arms. Her eyes shifted to the side to look at Lucia, but despite that visual clue, I knew she was still staring at me. It was as if behind the white-haired woman, there was the illusion of a massive squirrel staring down at me with pupils larger than my body. If only the inheritance I obtained weren’t so obscure! I could meditate on it and gradually gain the strength of a supreme immortal; I wouldn’t have to risk my life by exploring ancient ruins to obtain contribution points for cultivation resources.

The white-haired woman’s eyes landed back on me. She pointed up at the sun I had conjured. “Is it comfortable? It’s completely different from a summoned blood moon, isn’t it?”

It’s confirmed. This woman knows my identity as Bloodmoon, but she isn’t spreading it for some reason. In that case, does Lucia know as well? If she did, wouldn’t she ambush me, isolate me, and forcibly read my mind to confirm my identity? …Isn’t that the situation I’m in right now? She knocked me out and took my clothes away. She didn’t say it was her, but it was done under her orders. Maybe one of her weapon spirits did it; the wolf-headed man is particularly loyal to her after all.

“Not going to say anything?” the white-haired woman asked and let out a laugh. “In that case—”

“I got it!” Lucia said, her expression brightening up. She straightened her back, and a red hue formed a layer around her whole body, clothes and all. A second later, the red hue flickered, and red flames comparable to those of a vermillion bird’s burst into existence, forming a burning avatar around Lucia. It looked exactly like her but scaled up by half a head. The flames were so dense and saturated with redness that it was impossible to see Lucia’s original body underneath. “I hope you’re ready for my supreme technique, Vermillion Squirrel-Flame Armor!”

How long has it been since Lucia entered the mainland? It couldn’t have been that long considering it hasn’t even been a decade since I escaped from the Immortal Continent. A decade certainly isn’t enough time for an immortal to form a complete spiritual-energy armor, but Lucia’s already done it. Not only that, but she’s taken one step ahead and forged her armor into an avatar. Even with my identity as Bloodmoon, I had just taken the first steps to forming one. What in the world did Lucia experience to make her so damn strong? It’s not fair! I’m the one with a supreme immortal’s inheritance. I’m the holy child of one of the seven great sects! I should be the one who’s ahead!

“Vermillion Squirrel-Flame Armor … Punch!”