“I have lived in the Starry Plains for hundreds of years and have not seen a single person. I was about to give up.”

"But a few days ago I suddenly sensed the presence of humans, which rekindled my hope, so I devised this plan."

"Thank goodness you showed up at this time."

Shen Sanruo was somewhat puzzled, "If it requires a human to activate the formation, with your strength, you could simply bind me and take me away. Why go through all this trouble?"

Her apparent cultivation level was only at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. At that time, the snake woman certainly did not know the strength of the Bamboo Fairy and the Dodder Flower Fairy within her.

"Or you could transform into human form and tell me directly that you've discovered the treasure and we can go together. That would be much simpler and easier."

In any case, it's much easier than the snake woman deliberately transforming into a little girl to put on such a grand show.

"Because I like it. It's too boring to just kidnap someone or be direct."

"You have no idea how boring my life has been for the past few hundred years. All I did every day was eat spicy snacks."

Shen Sangruo: ...

What a delicious spicy snack!

"And don't you think Xiao Shi is cute?" The snake woman's vertical pupils were filled with self-admiration.

She originally thought the snake woman had transformed into Xiao Shi simply to lower others' guard with an innocent appearance, but she never expected that Xiao Shi genuinely liked this form.

The form that I finally managed to cultivate should naturally be displayed properly.

The snake woman was very satisfied with her performance and enjoyed it immensely.

“I didn’t lie either. This treasure trove was originally guarded by a powerful serpentine beast, but it’s dead.”

"My purpose in coming here is to find its spirit core. With its spirit core, I can break through to the next stage."

"The next stage... that is the Nascent Soul stage?" Shen Sanruo asked with a slight surprise.

Her cultivation at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm was still insufficient. After the matter at Star Plains was resolved, she would focus on her cultivation.

"Oh, right." The snake woman leaned closer and breathed into her ear, "Thank you for the spirit core, sister~"

"Even if I can't find the guardian serpent's spirit core, I'll still be able to break through soon."

Shen Sangruo immediately got goosebumps and quickly took a few steps forward to distance herself from the snake woman.

Looking at the alluring snake woman, he hesitated to speak, his expression indescribable.

Finally, she spoke up, "Be normal, don't call me 'sister,' it's not appropriate."

Is it appropriate to call her "sister" with a face like that?

She couldn't help but think of Fang Yu, another woman who called her "sister," but Fang Yu's "Purple Tsk" wasn't as impactful as the Snake Woman's.

Shen Sangruo thought the snake woman would back down, but to her surprise, she transformed back into Xiaoshi's appearance.

"Is this alright?" The little girl looked at her with delight, her sweet voice like spitting out beans, "Sister, sister, sister, sister, sister..."

Finally, he added, "Hehe."

The little bitter gourd from before was just a disguise; this is Xiao Shi's true self.

Shen Sangruo: ...

This was already the umpteenth time she had fallen silent.

As expected of the snake woman's carefully cultivated second form, she ultimately held back when she saw Xiao Shi's soft and cute face.

At least it's better than calling her by the snake woman's face.

After all that commotion, the two of them had unknowingly reached the end of the cave.

She could see something glowing on the other side of the cave.

The closer you get to that light, the more concentrated the spiritual energy becomes.

Could it be...?

She suppressed her thoughts, forced herself to calm down, and steadily walked towards the light.

Soon, she and Xiaoshi reached the cave entrance.

After stepping out of the cave, the view suddenly opened up, and the space here was like an underground palace.

Her gaze fell on the massive spiritual vein emitting a faint spiritual light, and she seemed somewhat dazed.

"It really is a spiritual vein!"

A spiritual vein is an underground vein containing abundant spiritual energy, from which spiritual stones can be mined. These spiritual stones can then be used for cultivation and trading.

Simply put, it's a mineral.

Such a spiritual vein can be considered a large spiritual vein in the cultivation world.

She thought that the living tea tree was her best harvest in the Starry Plains, but she didn't expect there was another expert there!

The little koi in her mind's eye were happily blowing bubbles.

“I told you, those things up there weren’t anything special.” Xiao Shi jumped to the ground and began searching around the cave.

Shen Sanruo nodded. "No wonder the spiritual energy in the Starry Plains is so rich. Besides the barrier that isolates it, there is also such a spiritual vein."

"This spiritual vein must be the source of the spiritual energy in the Starry Plains."

She rubbed her hands together, her eyes shining. "If we can dig some of it back to Ninghua Sect, we won't have to worry about the sect's future expenses."

Moreover, spirit stones can also be used for cultivation by members of the Ninghua Sect.

Digging out a portion of it won't affect the spiritual energy here; the spiritual vein itself will slowly recover.

"I suggest you dig up more, sister." Xiao Shi over there had already found the spirit core she wanted.

This place wasn't suitable for a breakthrough, so she held it in her hand for the time being, like a large brick.

Shen Sanruo looked at her, "Why?"

“If you don’t dig it up, it will be destroyed if you leave it here. It may not be visible on the surface, but in reality, demonic energy has already spread secretly in the Star Plains,” Xiao Shi said seriously.

"It almost covered the entire Star Plain, deposited underground."

The demonic energy spread quite secretly; she only discovered it after living in the Starry Plains for hundreds of years.

"Demonic energy is spreading?" Shen Sangruo's expression turned serious.

The demonic energy in the cultivation world almost always exists in a designated area, and for many years, the two sides have agreed not to interfere with each other.

However, a large amount of demonic energy appeared within the Starry Plains, which is no small matter.

“The Starry Sky Plains has a barrier, so how could demonic energy invade?” she said, then suddenly stopped.

She narrowed her eyes and said in a deep voice, "The demonic energy is spreading from inside the Starry Plains?"

The sheer amount of demonic energy that could fill the entire Star Plains suggests either that there was a source of demonic energy within the Star Plains themselves, or that there was a powerful demon within the Star Plains.

“Yes,” Xiao Shi answered affirmatively, “Those demonic energies also seem to be searching for this treasure; their purpose is very clear.”

"And it has already spread to the area around this treasure and is continuing to gather."

"Perhaps soon, the demonic energy will break through the defenses surrounding the treasure."

Demonic energy and spiritual energy are mutually exclusive. If a spiritual vein and the spiritual spring on it are contaminated by demonic energy, then, as Xiao Shi said, they will be destroyed.

Xiao Shi continued, "Xiao Shi believes that the person who set up this formation back then knew that one day demonic energy would fill the Star Plain, so he set up the formation in advance to protect this place."

"The conditions for activating the formation are very simple; perhaps it's meant to be discovered so that this spiritual vein can be saved."

"Didn't you come here to find treasures, sister? It's better to be taken out by you than to be corrupted by demonic energy. It would also fulfill the wish of the person who set up the formation."

Shen Sanruo looked at the spiritual vein and pondered for a long time before taking action.