Neither a Loss nor a Gain!

Shi Jian was awakened by the pain.

It wasn't just one spot that hurt; it felt like every inch of my flesh and blood was falling apart.

The bones in his right palm were shattered into fragments, now barely held together by Qi and Blood. With the slightest movement, one could hear the sound of bone fragments rubbing together.

The piercing wound on his back had scabbed over, and fragments of the Thunder-Shrouding Mystic Armor were embedded at the edge of the wound, neither easy to remove nor easy to leave.

The limbs are still there and can move, but they are somewhat out of control.

Shi Jian lay on the ground and opened his eyes.

My vision blurred for a moment before gradually clearing...

What came into view was a barren valley.

The once lush and verdant Gloomy Cloud Valley now seems to have been drained of its vitality; the vegetation is withered and desolate, the rivers have dried up, and only grayish-white withered branches and leaves remain scattered everywhere.

The remains of that hundred-foot-tall Ganoderma lucidum were scattered around the deep pool, leaving the surrounding area in a mess.

"Woke up?"

Yun Che's voice came from the side, his tone still as cold as water.

Shi Jian didn't reply, but his nose twitched as he smelled the scent of the pill. It must have been Yun Che who fed it to him. He didn't take advantage of the situation, so he was still a gentleman.

Fortunately, he had concealed the Heaven and Earth Qi beforehand; otherwise, it would be hard to say whether he would have been able to wake up...

You were unconscious for four days.

Yun Che sat on a broken rock, his long sword resting across his lap, and said, "Sun Yao woke up half a day earlier than you and is currently meditating to recover."

Shi Jian turned his head and saw Sun Yao sitting cross-legged not far away.

He had changed out of his white Daoist robe into a clean one; his face was still somewhat pale, but his breathing had become nearly steady.

Shi Pan lay beside her, most of his wounds had healed, and he had recovered about 70-80% of his energy.

Sun Yao felt Shi Jian's gaze, opened her eyes, and whispered:

"Ancestor, are you alright?"

Shi Jian hummed in acknowledgment, which was considered a greeting.

He then looked around and saw the remains of the Wood Demon scattered all over the ground.

Fragments of the cap, remnants of mycelium, broken roots, and the essence of wood spirit that has settled from the deep pool...

It glowed with a faint, eerie green light.

At the center of the wreckage, a jade-green Demon Core lay quietly on the scorched earth, radiating a rich vitality!

The elixir was translucent, with faint wood grain patterns flowing within...

Its Spiritual Qi is contained within, Demon Core Demon Core, Wood Demon False Core Realm not far off from the original.

Shi Jian's pupils involuntarily contracted.

This item is worth at least tens of thousands of Spirit Stone outside, and it's practically priceless, given the scarcity of high-level Demon Beast in the inland areas, which naturally drives up the price of Demon Core...

Furthermore, the wood element of the Demon Core has a great auxiliary effect on alchemy, weapon crafting, formation, and even cultivators breaking through bottlenecks.

Shi Jian withdrew his gaze, remaining expressionless.

Yun Che had already stood up, walked to the wreckage, glanced around the valley, and said, "This Wood Demon's strength far surpasses that of an ordinary level 4."

He looked at Shi Jian, his tone unusually serious:

"Fellow Daoist Shi, with your Foundation Establishment Late Stage stage body, is able to kill False Core Realm demon."

"Truly remarkable!"

These words, uttered by a usually arrogant sword cultivator, carry considerable weight!

Shi Jian grunted, "It was just luck. Let's get down to business."

Upon hearing this, Yun Che disregarded the bear's attitude and said, "The Spirit Plant in the valley have had most of their life force drained by the Wood Demon. There aren't many left, but there are still quite a few."

"Adding the remains of the Wood Demon itself, it's worth quite a few Spirit Stone."

He paused, looked at Shi Jian, and continued:

"Fellow Daoist, in your opinion, how should this be divided?"

Seeing that the ball had been passed back to him, Shi Jian didn't rush to reply, but instead glanced at Sun Yao and gave her a meaningful look.

Just one glance.

Sun Yao understood immediately!

She stood up, quickly stepped between the two, and said calmly, "Senior Brother Yun Che, let me explain what happened first."

Then, Sun Yao began to recount what had happened.

The entire process, from entering Gloomy Cloud Valley to discovering the Wood Demon and the ensuing fierce battle, is presented clearly and in great detail.

Only one crucial piece of information is missing.

The Heaven and Earth Qi!

In Sun Yao's narration, the Wood Demon was merely a False Core Realm demon lurking in the valley, about to break through to the Golden Core.

It absorbed the life force of the entire valley, attempting to forcibly Core Formation.

Shi Jian encountered her and, having no other choice, joined forces to kill her; that was all.

As for that New Wood Myriad Splendors Qi," it wasn't mentioned a single word from beginning to end, silently fading away...

Yun Che listened without asking any further questions.

He wasn't a talkative person, nor did he have the habit of prying into things.

Moreover, by the time he arrived, the battle was already over, and the valley was in a mess. The traces of the fight matched Sun Yao's description, so he didn't bother to investigate further.

"The Ancestor contributed the most, Demon Core belongs to the Ancestor."

Sun Yao set the tone, her voice leaving no room for argument. "Our ancestor single-handedly withstood the Wood Demon's frontal assault, suffering considerable losses in the process. This Demon Core rightfully belongs to our ancestor."

Yun Che had no objection.

He could tell that the bear demon had almost risked its life to kill the Wood Demon; half its life for a single Demon Core core—no one could say a word against it.

"Where are the remains of the Wood Demon?" Yun Che asked.

"I'll handle it."

Sun Yao continued, "I'll take all the mushroom cap fragments, mycelium remnants, and wood spirit essence with me. I'll give them to my clan for alchemy and weapon crafting."

Yun Che nodded, agreeing that the distribution was fair and reasonable.

These things weren't of much use to him, a sword cultivator, but giving back to the sect was a good thing.

Next, there are the remaining spiritual objects in the valley.

Although the Wood Demon had drained most of its life force, the deep pool at the bottom of the valley had not dried up, and several pieces of good quality Earth Spirit Jade Marrow had settled in the pool.

And two aquatic spiritual herbs rooted at the bottom of the pool, unaffected by the impact.

In addition, hidden in the crevices of the mountain wall were several fist-sized "Thick Earth Essence" and three "Spirit-Nurturing Stone". These items were not of top grade, but they were very practical.

Thick Earth Essence and Spirit-Nurturing Stone are excellent for cultivating Spirit Vein and nourishing spiritual fields.

A Thick Earth Essence buried at Spirit Vein node can increase the concentration of Spiritual Qi within a radius of 100 to 20%, with the effect lasting for decades.

Shi Jian stared at the few pieces of yellowish-brown ore, already calculating the costs in his mind.

The low grade of the Spirit Vein in the back mountain has always been a bottleneck restricting the development of the Sun Clan, and he will need a massive amount of Spiritual Qi to support his breakthrough to the Core Formation in the future.

With these few pieces of Thick Earth Essence, plus the assistance of the Spirit-Nurturing Stone, the quality of the Spirit Vein can be improved by at least half a grade. After nurturing it for another ten or twenty years, it should be able to advance to the middle grade of the second tier...

"Earth Spirit Jade Marrow, Thick Earth Essence, and Spirit-Nurturing Stone —I want them."

Shi Jian spoke, his tone calm, but leaving no room for negotiation.

Yun Che glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Sun Yao followed up, "The Water Spirit Grass and the Cold Jade Sand at the bottom of the pool are mine. Senior Brother Yun Che, all the remaining spirit medicine in the valley are yours, how about it?"

As she spoke, she took out a list from her Storage Bag, which listed more than a dozen kinds of remaining spiritual herbs and trees...

The grades range from first to second rank, and their total value is approximately one or two thousand Spirit Stone.

There were quite a few, but compared to Demon Core and Wood Demon remains, they were far fewer.

Yun Che glanced at the list and sheathed his sword.

"Can."

He didn't argue, not because he couldn't win, but because it wasn't worth it.

He was a sword cultivator, not a businessman, and besides, he hadn't contributed anything, so he was quite satisfied with what he received.

Moreover, the goal of this trip into the secret realm was never to plunder spiritual items.

What he seeks lies deeper within the secret realm!

The spoils have been divided.

Shi Jian swallowed the emerald green Demon Core core whole and began to refine it...

Once the Demon Core entered his stomach, a thick and long-lasting wood-elemental Spiritual Qi slowly dissipated, continuously repairing his physical body with boundless vitality, and even restoring some of his lifespan.

Although their attributes are different, Shi Jian's physical body is a bottomless pit; it can eat anything and refine anything...

It felt so good to have that Demon Core core inside me!