The next morning.
Dawn had barely broken, but the entrance to the secret realm was already buzzing with voices.
The major sects lined up according to status, with the four great sects naturally at the front, followed by smaller sects and rogue cultivators in groups of three or five.
Rumor had it that a Fusang flower would emerge in the secret realm this time. Fusang flowers were priceless and impossible to buy, an important medicinal catalyst in all sorts of divine-grade pill formulas.
When Xiao Linyu saw Tang Yao and the others arrive, he immediately remembered yesterday's humiliation. How utterly embarrassing!
If he had known his sister was coming too, why would he have gone to the Azure Cloud Sect for protection?
At that thought, he went straight over and stood behind the group Xiao Rong was leading.
Sensing movement behind her, Xiao Rong turned her head and saw Xiao Linyu. She sighed helplessly, then signaled Song Tinglan with her eyes.
Holding his sword in his arms, Song Tinglan gave a faint nod, then kicked Xiao Linyu straight back into the Azure Cloud Sect's ranks.
"Your sister wants you to undergo the trial yourself. Stop relying on her for everything!"
Xiao Linyu looked at Xiao Rong in shock. "..."
She really wasn't leaving him a shred of dignity!
The kick was so clean and decisive that the surrounding cultivators turned to look, their gazes settling on the sword-holding youth.
"...Is that the one from the Song Household with the innate sword bone?" someone whispered.
"Who else! But he insisted on fiddling around with alchemy. Instead of joining the Azure Cloud Sect with its bright prospects, he went to the Luo River Sect to be their junior brother..."
"Just think, the Eastern Continent has only produced two innate sword bones in nearly a hundred years. One ran off to refine pills, and the other was a wastrel whose whereabouts are still unknown. No one even knows whether he's alive or dead."
"Sword bones gathering dust..."
Those words drifted lightly through the air, yet pierced another person's ears like needles.
Mu Shixue stood among the Azure Cloud Sect disciples, her fingers unconsciously tightening around her sword sheath. Her gaze passed over the crowd and settled on Song Tinglan, a complicated look flashing in her eyes.
Why?!
Why did he treasure such a precious sword bone so little? If it were hers, she would certainly cultivate diligently and live up to it...
In the end, she said nothing, silently withdrawing her gaze and pressing those strange feelings deep into her heart.
The time had come.
At the secret realm's entrance, the air began to distort, revealing the sole passage inside.
Every sect went on full alert. The disciples of the four sects filed inside, while some rogue cultivators behind them exchanged glances. A few quick-witted ones immediately followed in the four sects' footsteps.
After all, the four sects' strength was plain for all to see. Following them would be far safer than fighting alone.
The vision was beautiful; reality was all bare bones.
The instant everyone stepped into the secret realm, an irresistible force of its laws completely scattered their formations.
Everyone was flung into different corners of the secret realm as the world spun around them.
Tang Yao pushed herself up and surveyed her surroundings warily.
This seemed to be the outskirts of a forest. Only a thin wisp of Spiritual Qi lingered in the air, and heavy fog limited visibility to a few steps.
She advanced slowly, looking every bit like a thief.
Crack-
With a crisp snap, Tang Yao stepped on a dead branch and broke it.
Almost at the same instant, a fierce bolt of violet lightning struck from the left!
Tang Yao nimbly twisted at the waist, then looked back at the now-scorched ground.
Wait.
Spiritual Qi taking tangible form at the Golden Core realm.
A Golden Core with a lightning spirit root-Chu Song?
Seeing another attack coming, Tang Yao immediately took out a Vajra Talisman to block it.
"Senior Sister! Stop fighting! I'm on your side!"
Worried that others might be nearby, Tang Yao cautiously called him "Senior Sister"!
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Chu Song immediately withdrew his spiritual power and flew to Tang Yao's side, playing along. "Junior Sister?"
He still wasn't quite used to calling each other senior and junior sisters. After all, he and Brother Tang were both men...
But out here, it was better to be cautious.
The strike blocked by the Vajra Talisman had ricocheted sideways into a thicket on the other side, scorching a patch of it.
Unexpectedly, a voice immediately came from the thicket. "Senior Sister! I'm on your side too!"
Xiao Linyu sprang out, clutching his smoking backside. When he had heard footsteps earlier, he had stayed put.
How he had hoped it would be Xiao Rong or someone from the Azure Cloud Sect. Why did it have to be those two from the Profound Heaven Sect?
Chu Song folded his arms, a little annoyed. "Who are you calling your senior-"
Chu Song: "..." Wait.
He actually was this kid's eldest senior brother.
Speechless, Chu Song shot Xiao Linyu a disdainful look. "What are you dawdling for? Keep up!"
Tang Yao watched with a smile. His mouth said no, but his body was honest.
"Your 'senior sister' has spoken. What are you standing there for?"
Xiao Linyu looked as though he had seen a ghost and froze on the spot.
These two were that kindhearted?
They weren't planning to seize a chance to screw him over later, were they?
But the other party was at least in the Golden Core realm, so following along would be safer.
And just like that, they became a strange little group-
Tang Yao and Chu Song walked at the front, while Xiao Linyu brought up the rear, full of suspicion.
Xiao Linyu trudged along resentfully. If he had known this would happen, what had been the point of spending all that money on the Azure Cloud Sect?
To prove he had too many Spirit Stones?!
While he was brooding, a thorny vine whipped out of the fog and swept across his face, leaving a faint bloody mark.
Again? Who was it this time?!
The youth silently cursed, leaping backward as he wiped the blood from his face.
Hearing the disturbance, Chu Song immediately turned and sent a blast of lightning spiritual power at it. The vine was instantly scorched and withdrew, trembling.
Seeing that tangible attack, Xiao Linyu gritted his teeth and threw caution to the wind. He immediately latched onto this thigh, unilaterally sweeping aside all his earlier unpleasantness with Chu Song.
"Senior Sister, please carry me!!"
Chu Song ignored him, looking instead toward where the vine had been. "My spiritual power seems to be draining away?"
Tang Yao examined herself carefully. She hadn't used any spiritual power, so she had only lost a little-too little to notice without checking closely.
"Using spiritual power probably speeds up the drain. Don't use yours for now..."
With that, she immediately took a stack of talismans and several bottles of pills from her space and stuffed them into her robe pockets. If her spiritual power ran out and she could no longer use her Storage Bag, she needed enough Spirit Restoration Pills in her pockets!
Of the two who witnessed this, Xiao Linyu barely reacted, but Chu Song rubbed his eyes, his mouth open wide enough to fit a duck egg!
They were both penniless-a sword cultivator and a beast cultivator. Where had she gotten so many talismans??
Hadn't they only bought pills at the Treasure Pavilion??
Those two bulging pockets were all, all full of talismans!
How many Spirit Stones must that have cost?
Brother, what have you been doing behind my back?!
Tang Yao grabbed a handful for Chu Song. "Stop using spiritual power. Use talismans. There's plenty!"
Feeling the warm talismans, Chu Song remained petrified.
Xiao Linyu couldn't stay calm after hearing that either. Plenty? What did that mean?
The Xiao Household was an alchemy aristocratic clan and had pills in abundance, but talismans had to be bought. And because of his previous "glorious" deeds, his allowance had already been slashed by more than half.
"Senior Sister! Please carry me!" Using the same line, Xiao Linyu slid to his knees again, begging to hug a thigh.
Tang Yao: "?" No, seriously, who are you?
"Use up the talismans in your Storage Bag first. Then I can consider selling you some cheaply, or trading them for your pills."
Tang Yao patted her bulging pockets and flashed a sly smile.
Trying to snare a white sheep empty-handed?
Not a chance!
Knowing he was in the wrong, Xiao Linyu couldn't argue. Those two belonged to the same sect. What the hell did he count for?
But seeing Tang Yao spend so lavishly, he decided to keep sticking to them. If they were safe, he would be safe too.
He had plenty of pills, but what use was that?
He would get beaten half to death, take a Blood Restoration and Flesh Regeneration Pill, revive at full health, and keep getting beaten. Once the beating was over, he would take another pill.
It wasn't as though he had never experienced that scene...
The thought made him shudder. Seeing Tang Yao and Chu Song getting farther away, he immediately followed like a lackey.
The three traveled from the forest's outskirts into its inner reaches, bombarding everything along the way with showers of talismans. The attacking vegetation was blasted away before it could strike. Though the talismans were all low-grade, there were simply too many of them!
Chu Song truly got his fill of throwing them this time. It had never felt this good before. In the past, he had been so stingy that he would hesitate forever before throwing even one talisman.
Now! He scattered them like a heavenly maiden strewing flowers!
All three reached a lake in the center of the forest completely unharmed, and Tang Yao's group stopped.
A small island lay in the middle of the lake. Suspended above its center, a blood-red flower was giving off a blue-green glow.
Could this be the Fusang flower?
Tang Yao stopped. Such a precious Fusang flower was growing so brazenly in the middle of the lake, without even a guardian spirit beast? This was going far too smoothly.
Before she could figure it out, another group entered the center of the forest.
It was several members of the Azure Cloud Sect.
Their once-spotless sect robes now had mud all over their hems, and every one of them was panting, looking utterly bedraggled.
The Azure Cloud Sect had also been very lucky: the three sword cultivators had happened to reunite and had bulldozed their way from the outskirts to the inner forest.
They practically wished they could split each pill into four pieces to take.
The disheveled Mu Shixue naturally noticed the immaculate trio. She couldn't help sighing. These talisman cultivators had blasted their way here with talismans!
Comparing yourself to others really could anger you to death.
"Oh, Azure Cloud Sect, how did you get yourselves into this state?" Xiao Linyu raised his eyebrows and deliberately asked. He had already found a new thigh to cling to.
Mu Shixue's gaze abruptly chilled as she swept a displeased look over the three, her hand unconsciously gripping the sword sheath at her waist.
Tang Yao: "..."
Copying Song Tinglan, Tang Yao suddenly kicked him aside, acting as though they barely knew each other. This brat had better not make enemies for her. She wanted to keep a low profile and pick up bargains!
Xiao Linyu: "?"
He looked back at Tang Yao in disbelief, then glanced at Mu Shixue ahead and immediately put on a smile.
"Just joking! Everyone's so tired. I was easing the pressure!"
With that, he obediently went off to squat at the side.
Behind the group, Chu Song nearly rolled his eyes into the heavens. What kind of idiotic junior brother was this...
Was this who Elder Xue had recruited this year???