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To their surprise, when they entered the Forest, they saw no miasma blotting out the sky and no fierce Demon Beasts standing guard. Spirit Herbs and Spirit Flowers covered the ground, glowing in a riot of colors through the thin mist—a sight that made their eyes light up.

Ye Qingyao spotted a Fire Spirit Grass as red as flame and eagerly reached to pick it, only to draw her hand back.

"Strange. I can't sense any spiritual energy. These Spirit Plants don't seem real." As a Spirit Herb herself, she quickly sensed something wrong with them.

[That's right. They're vines in an illusion, not Spirit Plants.]

[Don't touch them, anyone. Just fly over on your swords.]

They flew above the illusion on their swords. The higher they rose, the clearer the view became, and they discovered that everyone who had entered before them was trapped inside.

The tempting Spirit Plants that seemed theirs for the taking were actually vines with countless tendrils in disguise. Anyone who gave in and reached out to pick one was seized so tightly they could not break free. Some had their hands and feet bound; others were wrapped up like dumplings. Still others hacked away with their swords, but they could not cut down the endless stream of tendrils.

"So that's why you wanted to drink milk at the entrance and stall for time?" Ye Qingchuan asked Ye Zhenzhen, suddenly seeing through her, a half smile on his face.

[Don't be silly. I just wanted my milk.]

Little Glutinous Rice Ball solemnly stuck her thumb in her mouth and sucked on it with relish. Some things were best left unspoken, even when everyone knew.

"Pfft." At the sight of her adorable little pink face, they all burst out laughing.

The four flew easily over the Spirit Plant Illusion Zone and soon reached the True Spirit Plant Zone. Dense spiritual energy washed over them, leaving them refreshed and invigorated.

Treasures lay everywhere. Spirit Herbs and Spirit Flowers grew wild and rampant.

Red Fire Spirit Grass gave off a dazzling, flame-like glow. It was the most sought-after material for Fire-Controlling Talismans, and a single stalk could sell for several hundred Superior Spirit Stones;

a vast patch of Moonlight Flowers released a delicate fragrance. Their blossoms were as lustrous and white as the moon, and could not only neutralize poison but also heal and purify the soul;

Earth Ganoderma were everywhere, umbrella-shaped and grayish brown, brimming with vitality and mysterious energy. They could help cultivators gather true energy, cleanse their meridians and marrow, and break through to the next realm. Among them were several Millennium Earth Ganoderma, so rare in the entire Cultivation World that they could be counted on one hand. No one could find one for sale, even with hundreds of thousands of Superior Spirit Stones.

Ye Qinghui took a few of each, put them in his Heaven-and-Earth Bag, and prepared to leave.

Ye Qingyao loved the fragrant, romantic Moonlight Flowers best. She picked a large bunch and kept smelling and admiring them, unable to put them down.

Ye Qingchuan promptly began picking all kinds of Spirit Plants, especially Earth Ganoderma. Only after bagging several thousand-year-old ones and more than a dozen century-old ones did he stop.

Ye Zhenzhen: ???

That was it?

[There are so many Spirit Plants left. Are we really leaving them?]

[No! Absolutely not! I want to take them all! Not a single stalk left!]

"Zhenzhen, desire breeds greed, and greed harms the one who harbors it. We've taken more than enough," Ye Qinghui advised firmly. One had to learn contentment, not be swept away by greed. That was especially true for Ye Zhenzhen, a baby only recently born. She must not develop greed so early and disturb her Dao Heart as she cultivated.

"Exactly. We've already taken plenty of Spirit Plants. Let's leave some for the people behind us." Ye Qingyao swayed her Moonlight Flowers, smiling with a girl's contentment.

Where did these two sweet, naive fools come from? They wouldn't even pick up a meat pie if it fell from the sky!

I don't know them! Aaaah!

If Ye Zhenzhen had been able to jump, she would already have been bouncing with rage in Ye Qinghui's arms. She forced down the

primordial

power surging inside her, waving her little hands without pause and kicking her little feet like a beast of burden.

Ye Qingchuan said nothing. He simply picked a few more Spirit Herbs and packed his Heaven-and-Earth Bag to the brim.

[I don't want First Senior Brother to hold me anymore. I want Third Senior Brother.]

"All right." Helpless, Ye Qinghui passed her to Ye Qingchuan. What was he to do with this willful Junior Sister?

Ye Qingchuan carefully took his Junior Sister. The snow-white, rosy Little Glutinous Rice Ball seemed a little heavier than before. She even winked at him.

He understood at once and winked back, the corners of his lovely peach-blossom eyes lifting.

Before long, Ye Qingchuan made an excuse about needing to relieve himself and took Ye Zhenzhen back to the Spirit Plant Zone. The dazzling array of Spirit Plants made her eyes sparkle.

[Senior Brother, Senior Brother, there's a string of superior Heaven-and-Earth Pearls around my neck. They can absorb whole pieces of land. Hurry and help me take in all these Spirit Plants.]

She had a treasure like that?

Ye Qingchuan took off the string of pearls without hesitation. After working out how to use it, he quickly absorbed the Spirit Plants before him, roots and soil included, into one of the Heaven and Earth Pearls.

Ye Zhenzhen was beside herself with joy. Her little hands clapped and clapped.

[Third Senior Brother is the best! I knew we were cut from the same cloth.]

[Good thing I snatched this string of pearls from Immortal Venerable Shen at my one-month celebration. Now it's come in handy. Otherwise, all these Spirit Plants would have gone to other people for nothing.]

Ye Qingchuan's lips curved upward, and his hands moved as swiftly as the wind. The two swept through like a plague of locusts, leaving not a blade of grass wherever they went.

By the time the others finally broke free of the vines and arrived, the entire Spirit Plant Zone had become a wasteland. Only sand blowing through the air and a few mounds of yellow earth remained.

Shen Xingyan: ?

He was the first to break through the illusion. He had thought he could gather the most Spirit Herbs, secure a Millennium Earth Ganoderma, and even pluck a few pretty Moonlight Flowers to charm some girls. Instead, he did not see so much as half a Spirit Plant.

"Why isn't there a single Spirit Plant here?"

"What happened to the Earth Ganoderma? Did someone pick them before us?"

"Surely not. This Secret Realm hasn't opened in a thousand years, and we were the first group in."

Disciples from the various sects walked on, chattering among themselves, wholly unaware that someone had stripped away all those Spirit Flowers and Spirit Herbs, roots, soil, and all.