Chapter 76: Where The Next Soul Piece Is

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Where The Next Soul Piece Is

Mira’s entire face instantly turned red with embarrassment.

"You lied," he said.

"I didn’t!" Her denial came out so weakly that even she did not sound convincing.

She did not dare struggle too hard either. She was afraid that if she accidentally hurt her husband, she would only make the situation worse.

Xavier narrowed his eyes.

"You’re still lying to me," he said. "Mr. X already told me everything."

The moment she heard those words, Mira’s composure finally collapsed.

"I..." Her lips trembled. Then tears suddenly spilled from her eyes.

"Waaah," she wept, burying her face against Xavier’s chest.

There were some emotions people could hide from the entire world, but not from the person they trusted most.

Mira had been forcing herself to remain calm ever since she left Stormvale Martial Academy. She had tried not to think too much about what had happened.

She had even deliberately hidden the matter from Xavier because she did not want to drag him into another conflict with the Sinclair family.

But beneath all that restraint was a much deeper fear. Her mother. Her mother might still be alive. If she really was alive, then why had not she returned?

Why had not she contacted Mira even once? Had something happened to her? Those questions had followed Mira all the way home, and the longer she thought about them, the more frightened she became.

Now that Xavier had seen through her, there was no longer any reason to keep pretending she was fine.

"Honey, do you know what?" Mira’s voice shook as she clung to him. "My mother might still be alive. She was like my best person the whole world. And the only person who stood by my side asides you."

Xavier sighed softly and wrapped his arms around her. He gently stroked her back while allowing her to release everything she had been holding inside.

After a while, Mira’s sobs gradually became quieter.

"Don’t worry," Xavier said, continuing to rub her back.

"Since your mother managed to leave Mistfall Forest alive, I’m sure she has her own reasons for not returning yet. Maybe something happened that delayed her." He smiled reassuringly. "But she’ll come back."

Mira remained silent.

"And you’ve already asked Samuel to investigate," Xavier reminded her.

"You know how much authority the Extraordinary Division has. If anyone can find her, they can." He paused. "So let’s wait for their news. I’m sure we’ll hear something soon."

"I hope so," Mira said, nodding. She desperately wanted to believe him. She had already lost her mother once. She did not want to experience that pain again.

Just then, something strange happened. A faint fluctuation came from Mira’s body, and a moment later Lydia emerged.

After they had left the Hunting Ground, Lydia had entered a deep sleep to stabilize her damaged soul, and had remained unconscious ever since. Apparently, she had finally recovered enough to wake up.

The moment she appeared, her eyes immediately locked onto Xavier. She looked at him with an almost pitiful expression.

"Darling," she said.

"I’m hungry." She looked toward him innocently. "I need chaotic energy."

Mira’s expression immediately changed.

"How many times do I have to tell you? He’s my husband! Stop calling him that! I am the only one who has the right to call him that" she exclaimed, pointing accusingly at Lydia.

"You weren’t nearly this shameless when we were in the Hunting Ground. Why have you become even worse now?"

Lydia ignored her completely.

"Stop trying to separate us," she said, looking directly at Xavier. "Husband, give me chaotic energy."

Xavier watched the two women argue and could not help feeling helpless. He still could not tell whether Lydia was deliberately provoking Mira or simply behaving according to her own strange personality.

Either way, he was not particularly interested in getting involved in their argument.

However, he did not immediately give Lydia what she wanted.

"There is chaotic energy," Xavier said, looking at her.

"But before I give it to you, tell me where your next soul fragment is."

Lydia was still nothing more than a soul. At present, chaotic energy was the only thing that could directly nourish her.

Xavier wanted to help her restore a physical body as quickly as possible, but first he needed to find the other fragments of her soul.

Lydia fell silent. Mira also stopped arguing.

Although having a mysterious former empress living inside her body had brought her considerable benefits, Mira still desperately wanted Lydia to regain her physical form.

As long as Lydia remained inside her, there were simply too many inconveniences. She had practically no privacy anymore.

After thinking for a moment, Lydia tilted her head.

"My next soul," she murmured, frowning as though searching through a distant memory. "Let me think."

Several seconds passed. Then her eyes suddenly lit up.

"I remember!" she said. "It’s in the Sprout Realm!"

Xavier and Mira exchanged a glance. Both of them felt an inexplicable chill.

Another secret realm?

The last time Lydia had mentioned one of her soul fragments, she had said it was inside the Hunting Ground.

The very next day, the Hunting Ground had appeared near Valemont. Now she was telling them that another fragment was inside the Sprout Realm. Could another secret realm be about to descend?

Fortunately, Mira quickly remembered something.

"The Sprout Realm?" she asked, frowning. "Does that place have a lot of tree spirits?"

"Yes!" Lydia nodded enthusiastically. "Lots and lots of tree spirits!"

Mira’s expression changed.

"I think I know where it is," she said.

Xavier looked at her curiously.

"So do I," Mira said slowly.

"Or at least, I know which place she’s talking about." She gathered her thoughts before explaining.

"Eight years ago, a secret realm called the Sprout Realm appeared in the western region of the country. The descent was disastrous. Hundreds of martial artists died trying to explore it, and in the end, nobody managed to clear the realm. Afterward, the tree demons inside escaped into the outside world." Her expression became serious.

"There were simply too many of them, and many were extremely powerful. Over time, that entire region became a forbidden zone. The tree spirits have basically turned it into a no man’s land."

According to the textbooks, even Spirit Platform martial artists could only barely protect themselves around the outer edges of the region.

As for someone at Mira’s current level, entering such a place would be little different from seeking death. She could not possibly explore the Sprout Realm right now.

Xavier’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. There was at least one piece of good news.

The Sprout Realm had already appeared eight years ago, which meant there was no need to worry about it suddenly descending on them the way the Hunting Ground had.

The problem was that the Sprout Realm had effectively become a forbidden territory, and Mira was nowhere near strong enough to enter it.

Xavier, however, was not as intimidated. With his current strength, he might be able to make an attempt.

But after thinking about it more carefully, he decided there was no reason to rush.

Lydia was still residing inside Mira. Even if he went alone, he would not be able to resolve the problem of safely extracting Lydia’s soul fragment.

"For now, we’ll leave it alone," Xavier said, looking toward Lydia. "Besides the Sprout Realm, do you remember where your other soul fragments are?"

Lydia shook her head.

"No," she said, thinking for a moment before continuing.

"But I have a feeling that once I merge with the fragment inside the Sprout Realm and recover more of my memories, I’ll remember where the others are."

Xavier nodded.

"Then that’s enough for now," he said, smiling helplessly. "Go back to sleep."

Lydia opened her mouth to protest. Before she could say anything, Xavier produced a wisp of chaotic energy and pushed it straight into her mouth. Lydia immediately swallowed it.

For the moment, the mystery surrounding her other soul fragments would have to wait. There was still plenty of time to uncover the truth.

Xavier had actually been looking forward to that evening.

Mira had finally recovered, and after everything they had been through, he had expected the two of them to spend some quiet time together as husband and wife.

Unfortunately, he had immediately canceled them because Mira didn’t look like she was in the mood.

Seeing the tears in her eyes, Xavier could not bring himself to think about anything else.

He stayed beside her, comforted her, and eventually persuaded her to get some rest.

There was no need to rush anything between them. They were already married, so there would always be another opportunity. For now, finding her mother was more important.

That night passed quietly. The following morning, after breakfast, Mira returned to Arcadia Academy for class while Xavier left the academy grounds.

He had originally requested a week of leave because of the Hunting Ground incident. Although the secret realm crisis had been resolved on the very first day, he had no intention of returning early. He had other matters to handle.

When Xavier reached the Longshore Building, someone was already waiting for him downstairs, his mask on his face. He had come here as Mr X.

Xavier had used his influence as Mr X and had asked him to collect the information before going to bed the previous night.

"Mr. X, I’ve brought everything you asked for," Solomon Hart said, handing him a thick stack of documents.

"These contain all the information I could gather about the Bloodshadow Cult."

Xavier accepted the files.

"Thank you," he said.

Solomon nodded before leaving.

The reason for his investigation on this cult was simple.

The Bloodshadow Cult had already sent an assassin after Mira once. Shadow had entered the Hunting Ground with the specific purpose of killing her.

Although Xavier had eliminated him, there was no guarantee that the Cult would simply give up.

An assassin organization that had already marked someone as a target could send another killer at any time, and Xavier was not willing to spend the rest of his life waiting for the next attack.