Making Mischief

"I told you this kind of tree isn't anything special. Even the hardest tree is still just a tree; it can't be used as iron. Besides, iron isn't an expensive commodity. You can't exactly forge a few wooden swords and knives to chop things up!"

"This is an ironwood tree. This tree isn't used to make weapons, but rather for armor. The large shields and full-body armor made from it are both lightweight and sturdy, and can even be inscribed with magic arrays to add to its usefulness!"

Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun looked at the tree.

The tree is a good tree; its only drawback is that it's very difficult to bring one back to the Great Han Dynasty.

Leaving aside how to transport it back, even if they managed to pull it out and send it out of the secret realm, it would still be a difficult task.

The fact that it was explored in advance and then left to future generations is not without reason.

While the abbot's spring water can be carried away, this ironwood tree is clearly difficult to utilize. The best use for it is to dry it and make simple boat planks for them.

But when Li Shaojun mentioned that the ironwood planks were thick and its only drawback was that it easily absorbed water, this kind of tree became unreliable.

"Let's use our treasure-hunting skills to look for spirit jade along the way!" Zhang Xuezhou suggested. "We've been running around for a day or two; we need to rest and recuperate!"

"I have boundless energy, I just need a couple of sips of water... My heart is a little sore, you go look for it first, I'll go back and get some water!"

Having made a wasted trip, Li Shaojun looked pained.

Hearing that Li Shaojun was making excuses to shirk his duties, Zhang Xuezhou could only go along with it.

"Don't forget to check where the exit of this secret realm is while you're flying!"

Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand, and Li Shaojun, who was using the Tengyun technique, waved his hand back to indicate that he understood.

"Alright, not only can we not take this tree with us, but we also can't use it to make boat planks. You're lucky, eat as much as you want!"

Li Shaojun drifted away unsteadily through the air.

Zhang Xuezhou wasn't in a hurry to immediately use his treasure-hunting technique to find the spirit jade. Instead, he released a sleep bug and let it gnaw on the wood until it was full.

The time spent waiting for Gongsun Hong's injuries to heal was used to find the exit of the secret realm and to use the treasure-hunting technique to search for spirit jade.

The possibility of finding spirit jade in a secret realm is relatively high, but if someone else has already entered this secret realm, it becomes much more difficult to find anything.

"You might be the only insect in this secret realm. In fact, you're the only insect there. Li Shaojun and Mr. Gongsun will probably only have plenty of water to drink these next few days!"

Zhang Xuezhou recited a sentence, and then, with his body full of energy, he practiced the Grain Avoidance Technique for a while.

Since his numerous acupoints were forcibly opened by the Spiritual Qi energy storm, and Zhang Xuezhou reached the level of a half-step immortal in the Grain Avoidance Technique, he rarely practiced the Grain Avoidance Technique.

Thinking of his own experience when he entered the Divine Ability Realm in reality, he couldn't help but try his best to promote this technique.

His body appears to have mastered many techniques, but the most profound one is undoubtedly the Grain Avoidance Technique.

If he were to reach the Divine Ability Realm in the future, Zhang Xuezhou felt that there was a high probability that he would focus his Divine Ability on the Grain Avoidance Technique.

For some, this meant their Divine Ability abilities were wasted, but Zhang Xuezhou felt he could accept it.

If he could take another step forward in the half-step immortal state of the Grain Avoidance Technique, he would also figure out how far he could go in his cultivation of the Grain Avoidance Technique.

After all, this is not a technique that can be perfected simply by diligently cultivating. Even cultivators at the True Self Realm have their limits, and few can cultivate to the theoretical 108,000 acupoints.

Once one of the 108,000 acupoints is opened, cultivating other avoidance techniques will become much easier, and the subsequent benefits of cultivation are difficult to estimate.

Zhang Xuezhou was quite satisfied with this choice.

Having already considered the option of using the Poison Avoidance Divine Ability, he still held some anticipation for it.

"I wonder if my cheap uncle Jin Chang has found the secret location of the Yin-Yang School!"

After Zhang Xuezhou circulated the Grain Avoidance for a while, he opened his eyes again to find the sky filled with stars, and he felt sleepy again, clearly because he had eaten too much.

"Drink a few more sips of water and practice some more!"

Jin Chang's guarantee of the Yin-Yang Secret Land was based on luck, so Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to make preparations in advance.

It's always better to be prepared than not!

He was still optimistic about his future, and Zhang Xuezhou did not become discouraged by the stagnation.

With a light leap, his feet barely touching the ground, Zhang Xuezhou used his cloud-riding technique to rush towards the abbot's spring.

"You can fall asleep even with spring water to drink?"

When Zhang Xuezhou flew to the spring, he found it deserted, and the gourd was nowhere to be seen.

He called out twice, but no one responded.

"A water-filled gourd isn't anything special. If this gourd isn't filled with spiritual spring water for a few days, it won't be enough in the future."

Zhang Xuezhou gulped down a mouthful of drink, feeling that Li Shaojun and the others were being dishonest.

This made him shout several times.

It's understandable that Gongsun Hong needs rest due to his serious injuries, but Zhang Xuezhou felt that Li Shaojun was in good health. He had survived several brushes with death without much impact, so he shouldn't be so weak that he couldn't even wake up when calling for help.

"Could it be that you've actually discovered some kind of magical jade?"

The secret realm isn't large, only a few dozen miles in circumference, but searching back and forth for people hiding in the woods is still very difficult.

Unable to find anyone and with no other options, Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to wait at the abbot's spring.

No matter where the two ran off to, Zhang Xuezhou was certain they would eventually come back for a drink of water.

Full of energy, once his body was fully replenished by the spring water, Zhang Xuezhou once again advanced his Technique Method practice.

As a faint sense of drowsiness washed over him, Zhang Xuezhou felt a rare moment of sleepiness when a beautiful woman suddenly appeared before him. With a charming smile, she undressed and led him away.

"This is so direct, it's getting a little exciting!"

His drowsiness vanished instantly.

This secret place is devoid of even insects, so naturally there couldn't be any women here.

Although Zhang Xuezhou's character was mediocre, he was not the kind of womanizer who would go to great lengths to seduce anyone.

In the instant he realized it, Zhang Xuezhou had already found his true foothold.

As my fingers twitched slightly, a bright moon flashed through my mind, and I instantly snapped back to reality.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zhang Xuezhou noticed that several tree roots had become wrapped around his body.

These tree roots sprouted from the ground, making it difficult for him to identify what kind of demon they were.

"No wonder there wasn't a single insect in this secret place. It seems you've done something terrible to it. I wonder if Gongsun Hong and Li Shaojun managed to avoid it?"

They operate silently during the day, making their nighttime attacks all the more unexpected and catching everyone off guard.

Areas like the Abbot's Spring are bound to be important gathering places for explorers, and a night raid in such an area would undoubtedly be difficult to defend against.

Zhang Xuezhou was already awake, but he didn't rush to dodge. Instead, he wanted to see what kind of monster was behind the trouble.

Tree roots wrapped around his body, dragging Zhang Xuezhou slowly forward. After being dragged for more than ten meters to a large tree, the exposed roots of the tree were separated, revealing a dark hole.

"So this is it!"

Zhang Xuezhou rolled over and got up. Before the tree roots could pull him again, he shrank back and pulled away from the entangled roots.

As Zhang Xuezhou glanced around, he noticed that there were no stones on either side, so he quickly chanted an incantation and pointed at the base of the tree.

The thick layer of soil instantly turned into stone, firmly fixing the hole exposed by the wriggling roots of the large tree.