Demon Beast Forest, a Bountiful Harvest

Along the way, Xue Fuyao kept tracking them through the traces they had left behind.

Whatever else might be said, no one could match her understanding of the Zhang Clan members. After all, she had remained unscathed despite the Zhang Family's pursuit, relying on her intuition about its members and her ability to sense danger before it arrived.

As she followed their trail, Xue Fuyao reached the edge of a forest.

She took out her map to check her current location and soon confirmed that she was in a place called the Demon Beast Forest.

Not only was the Demon Beast Forest vast, but it also housed countless powerful Monster Beasts. Many possessed ancient bloodlines, making them far stronger than other Monster Beasts of the same rank.

Besides Monster Beasts, it contained all sorts of spirit herbs, spirit medicines, and opportunities. Every time the Qingfeng Secret Realm opened, many people chose to enter the Demon Beast Forest to search for treasures.

When Gu Nian had spoken about the Demon Beast Forest, she had specifically warned Xue Fuyao not to venture too deep inside and to stay on its outskirts, because the Monster Beasts in its depths were simply beyond the ability of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators like them to handle.

Even so, every time the Qingfeng Secret Realm opened, there were still people who gambled with their lives, hoping luck would favor them as they ventured deep into the Demon Beast Forest to seek opportunities. Yet very few who did so were ever seen emerging safely.

Some even said that the Divine Spirit Fruit they had spent years searching for actually grew deep within the Demon Beast Forest, which was why they had never found it all these years.

After entering the Demon Beast Forest, Xue Fuyao lost the Zhang Family Triplets' trail, but she was certain they had entered the forest.

Xue Fuyao walked through the Demon Beast Forest, holding the enchanted weapon her master had given her in her right hand: a long sword that was silvery white from tip to hilt, which her master had supposedly used in her youth.

She looked around, taking in ancient trees of every shape and form, more than her eyes could keep up with.

As Xue Fuyao examined these ancient trees, she dug up and took away any that caught her fancy. By now, her Storage Bag held more than a dozen towering ancient trees.

Xue Fuyao was very satisfied with the traces she had left behind. Excellent, she would not have to worry about getting lost.

She had hunted several Monster Beasts soon after entering the Demon Beast Forest. Unfortunately, these creatures lived on the outskirts and had no ancient bloodlines; they were merely the most ordinary of Monster Beasts.

Undiscouraged, Xue Fuyao stored their carcasses in the Demon-Suppressing Bracelet.

After she had walked for another while, the sounds of fighting and the furious roars of a Monster Beast suddenly came from not far ahead.

Could it be...

Following the sounds, she arrived just in time to see a female cultivator in blue behead the Monster Beast she was fighting with a single stroke. Blood sprayed all over the ground, but the woman looked utterly unconcerned. After taking the spirit medicine the beast had guarded and its Monster Beast Inner Core, she turned and left without looking back.

Seeing that it was not anyone she was looking for, Xue Fuyao stayed hidden. Only after the woman had gone completely did she emerge from her hiding place and put away the dead Monster Beast's carcass.

That blue-robed cultivator was probably a disciple of the Kunlun Sect. Xue Fuyao had seen her among the sect's disciples before.

Just as she was about to turn and leave, the Heavenly Eye on her forehead suddenly stirred almost imperceptibly.

"There's something here!"

Xue Fuyao immediately grew alert. After checking the surroundings, she finally found some traces in a spot covered by grass.

"These are... eggs?"

Xue Fuyao examined what she had found. They were white and oval, like plump bird eggs, but unlike bird eggs, they grew out of the soil and were clearly plants.

Could these be...

As though something had occurred to her, Xue Fuyao's eyes suddenly widened, filling with excitement as she looked at the round, egglike things before her.

If she was not mistaken, these were Fenghua Mushrooms, a spirit medicine that had long since vanished from the Cultivation Realm.

Only one kind of pill could be refined using Fenghua Mushrooms: the Jade Beauty Pill.

The Jade Beauty Pill restored the user's appearance to its prime and fixed it there. No matter what happened afterward, it would never change again.

Fenghua Mushrooms were one of the main ingredients used to refine Jade Beauty Pills. Once they disappeared, no one could refine Jade Beauty Pills anymore, even with the pill formula.

Later, through research and experimentation, some Alchemists developed another pill called the Face-Preserving Pill.

The Face-Preserving Pill could freeze the user's appearance as it was when they took it. However, because all the required ingredients were extremely rare and the pill formula was kept secret, it was exceedingly expensive and could only be bought at specific places. Only two or three were available each year, nowhere near enough to meet demand.

Later, some Alchemists who could not stand this monopoly bought a Face-Preserving Pill at a high price, then analyzed, improved, and experimented with it. Thus, the Beauty Pill came into being.

If the Face-Preserving Pill was an inferior version of the Jade Beauty Pill, then the Beauty Pill was an inferior version of the Face-Preserving Pill.

Taking a Beauty Pill could keep someone looking young, but the effect was not permanent. They had to take another Beauty Pill at regular intervals.

Xue Fuyao gathered the three Fenghua Mushrooms from the ground and carefully placed them in a jade box.

With her spiritual root and constitution, growing Fenghua Mushrooms in large quantities would be no problem. Since others could monopolize Face-Preserving Pills, why couldn't she do the same?

It would be a mistake to think that only female cultivators wanted Face-Preserving Pills. Some male cultivators bought and took them too.

At that moment, Xue Fuyao seemed to see countless Spirit Stones flying toward her.

After putting away the Fenghua Mushrooms, she turned and left.

Gradually, Xue Fuyao reached the boundary between the Demon Beast Forest's outer and inner regions.

For her own safety, she used Broken Jade to conceal her aura completely.

This way, as long as she hid herself well, some Monster Beasts would not be able to discover or track her through any aura she accidentally let slip.

Xue Fuyao's gains along the way had been considerable: all sorts of spirit medicines and spirit fruits, and she had even discovered a Soul-Nourishing Wood tree.

Carrying a small piece of Soul-Nourishing Wood could not only nourish a cultivator's soul but also strengthen it. At the same time, enchanted weapons refined from Soul-Nourishing Wood could directly inflict fatal damage on invisible ghosts and monsters, making them divine tools for warding off evil.

Since she had come across it, Xue Fuyao certainly could not let it pass.

The Soul-Nourishing Wood was guarded by a Monster Beast at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm that possessed the bloodline of an ancient Monster Beast. She was certainly no match for it head-on, so she chose a sneak attack.