A Big Pit

"Secret," Xian Wu replied slowly as he stood up to Nie Li's question.

He didn't want to reveal the "Demon Left Hand" just yet.

It's easy to draw a tiger's skin but hard to draw its bones; one can know a person's face but not their heart.

One must always have a backup plan; there's no such thing as a regret pill in this world.

Lu Piao was not satisfied with Xian Wu's answer: "We're all brothers, you're being too distant. Just tell us, and we guarantee we won't reveal your secret to anyone. We'll keep it buried, right, Du Ze?"

"Mhm, mhm." Seeing Lu Piao look at him, Du Ze nodded repeatedly. He was also very curious about how Xian Wu had instantly dealt with the corpses.

Xian Wu rolled his eyes: "A secret isn't a secret if you tell it. Everyone has secrets. Lu Piao, which girl did you peek at while she was bathing? If you tell me, I'll tell you."

"Slander, this is blatant slander! Don't listen to him, I've never peeked at a woman bathing!" Lu Piao quickly explained. "Forget it, forget it. If you don't want to say, I won't force you."

Nie Li rubbed his chin, silently observing Xian Wu. He was becoming increasingly interested in this young brother.

"However, I can open your eyes." As he spoke, Xian Wu half-crouched on the ground and slowly placed his hand on the earth.

"Secret Technique: Complete Disintegration!"

Before they could react, the ground beneath their feet vanished into thin air.

The four of them fell into the large pit like dumplings thrown into a hot wok, with a loud clatter.

"Holy crap, holy crap, what happened?" It was pitch black all around, and Lu Piao was flustered.

But... it was soft beneath his butt.

"Get up, hurry up, you're trying to crush me, damn it." Du Ze's voice came from beneath Lu Piao's butt.

Splash!

Xian Wu lit the Fire Starter he carried, gripping his right wrist with his left hand, afraid of accidentally hurting his brothers.

He was closest to the bottom of the pit, and the others all rolled down the slope to his feet.

Nie Li was relatively fine; he rolled twice and regained his balance, standing up by the pit wall.

Lu Piao and Du Ze weren't so lucky; they rolled directly to the bottom of the pit, like two mud monkeys.

In the dim light of Xian Wu's Fire Starter and the moonlight from above, Nie Li could barely make out the situation at the bottom of the pit.

He was deeply shocked.

Instantly creating such a large pit could be described as a miracle.

Seeing how effortlessly he did it, it was even more incredible than himself, a reborn individual.

Could Xian Wu be sent by God to help him defeat the Sacred Emperor? He was too powerful!

"This... this big pit, did you dig it? How did you do it?" Lu Piao stood up, his astonishment making him stutter.

Lu Piao moved his butt away, and Du Ze finally got a chance to breathe. Lu Piao had almost crushed him to death just now.

Grabbing Lu Piao's clothes, Du Ze managed to climb up.

"Follow me!" Before Du Ze could get a clear look at the situation, Xian Wu, in a very showy manner, told everyone to follow him.

None of them understood English and they all stared at him, completely bewildered.

With the "Demon Left Shovel" at work, Xian Wu carved an upward slope from the bottom of the pit to the surface.

The three of them followed the slope and returned to the ground.

Lu Piao lay by the edge of the pit and glanced down into the dark pit.

He turned back and gave Xian Wu a thumbs-up, praising: "No need for words, just one word: 'Awesome'."

"A piece of cake," Xian Wu waved his hand.

He turned to Nie Li and asked, "Are we still hunting Horned Sheep?"

"Continue, of course, why else would we be here in the Trial Grounds?" Nie Li gave a positive reply. "Xian Wu, your ability is excellent, perfect for setting traps."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get to it!" Xian Wu waved to Lu Piao and Du Ze, who were still peeking out from the edge of the pit.

After that, with the help of Xian Wu, who was like a "cheat," the four of them began to frantically hunt Horned Sheep in the Trial Grounds.

In one night, they hunted nearly three hundred Horned Sheep.

The horns were worth 5 Demon Spirit Coins, the fur was worth 3 Demon Spirit Coins, and the Demonic Crystals were worth 5 Demon Spirit Coins.

One Horned Sheep was worth a total of 13 Demon Spirit Coins. The more than three hundred Horned Sheep earned them nearly 4,000 Demon Spirit Coins.

Each person could roughly get 1,000 Demon Spirit Coins, which was equivalent to one-third of the tuition for a semester at Sacred Orchid Academy.

Dawn was breaking.

The group of four, carrying three large sacks, walked towards the exit of the Trial Grounds, beaming with joy.

The three of them didn't let Xian Wu carry a sack; without his traps, there was no way they could have achieved such high hunting efficiency.

They stood by the pit and shot crossbows at a dense crowd of Horned Sheep in the pit below; it was incredibly satisfying.

"Are we coming back tomorrow night?" Du Ze asked Nie Li, licking his lips, clearly having tasted the benefits.

"Yes!" Nie Li answered crisply. He raised his arm and shouted towards the beautiful sunrise: "Our goal is 10,000!"

"Thanks for your hard work last night, Xian Wu!" Nie Li patted Xian Wu's shoulder.

Xian Wu waved his hand, tightened the black mask on his face, and said, "It wasn't hard. You just need to teach me that Guidance Technique."

Although it would have been more convenient and faster to have Nie Li treat his bruises, certain private areas were still too awkward to trouble others with.

Even if he didn't find it disgusting, Nie Li would.

"No problem." Nie Li readily agreed.

"Right, what exactly is this Extreme Cold Syndrome I have? I've never heard of it before," Xian Wu asked curiously.

If he understood the cause of the illness, it would be easier for him to prevent it in the future.

Nie Li explained meticulously to the group, "The Extreme Cold Syndrome often occurs in Spirit Masters below the Bronze One Star level, which is our current stage."

"Because the Soul Force of Spirit Masters at this stage isn't strong enough to completely refine Moonlight Essence, it accumulates in the body, blocking the meridians, which then leads to bruising."

"Moonlight Essence?" Xian Wu repeated, "So, it means I got it from cultivating Soul Force at night."

Why was Xiao Ning'er fine then? She also cultivated Soul Force at night.

Nie Li nodded and continued his explanation, "Yours is just the early stage of the Extreme Cold Syndrome, not serious. Although you have many bruises, they are all very light. As long as you stop cultivating Soul Force at night, they will naturally disappear in a month or two."

"Some patients in the middle or late stages of the Extreme Cold Syndrome not only have burning hot feet, but every midnight, when the cold poison attacks, their entire body feels like it's falling into an ice cellar. It doesn't matter if they wear thick cotton clothes or huddle around a stove; it's extremely painful and agonizing."

"That's right, I felt like I was about to freeze into a popsicle back then. Even a bonfire ten feet high couldn't warm me up," Xian Wu chimed in.

Nie Li continued, "Fortunately, you haven't cultivated to Bronze One Star yet. If you were to cultivate to Bronze One Star while suffering from the Extreme Cold Syndrome, at best you'd fall seriously ill and your cultivation would be greatly reduced; at worst, your body would explode and you'd die."

Hearing Nie Li's words, Xian Wu frowned. He did feel like his body was about to explode back then.

He suddenly worried about the person in the Rocky Forest. Could Xiao Ning'er also have contracted the Extreme Cold Syndrome? No way?

Her Soul Force had already reached 78. If she really had it, then when she cultivated to Bronze One Star, it would be the day of her demise.

No, I need to find time to ask her.