Sigh, perhaps the senior brother really does have some luck on him. She reluctantly accepted the golden flower, thinking to herself that she would have to ask him for double the spirit stones when she got back, so as not to suffer a loss.

Thinking this, she walked over and affixed the jade token, securing the first sixth-grade spiritual herb.

Seeing that she had chosen another spiritual plant, Zhao Cai became anxious. After staring at it for most of the day, it hadn't chosen a single one for it!

The angry Zhao Cai left Shi Xuan's shoulder and flew forward ahead of her. It then landed directly in front of a grayish "big melon," blinking its little bean-like eyes innocently at Shi Xuan, expressing its desire.

Shi Xuan walked over helplessly, his gaze falling on the spiritual herb Zhao Cai had chosen. It was a large, grayish melon with rough, bristly skin, resembling the fruit of some giant plant.

The sign in front of the large melon read: Fallen Fruit, Uses Unknown. Shi Xuan had not read any records of this medicinal herb called Fallen Fruit in the ancient texts he had consulted, and naturally, he did not know its uses.

However, since Zhaocai likes it so much, let it have it.

Shi Xuan then followed its lead and affixed the jade tablet to the restriction in front of the fallen fruit.

Zhao Cai watched Shi Xuan's movements closely until a flash of light indicated a successful mark, then it flew back to Shi Xuan's shoulder with satisfaction.

Perhaps because it was in a good mood, it jumped from the shoulder to the top of the head a moment later, finding a comfortable place to stay on the hair bun, as if it had made a nest.

This is really taking advantage of my kindness. Shi Xuan shook her head slightly and decided... to find some hair ornaments with grooves to fix her hair when she got back, so that Zhao Cai could live in them.

With only one sixth-tier spot remaining, Shi Xuan looked through the remaining areas but found nothing that appealed to him.

There were no spiritual plants that she could currently use, nor were there any particularly rare or precious ones.

It is said that the Six Sects Alchemy Competition will be held at the Divine Cauldron Sect next year. She will definitely go and participate to see if there are any interesting things in the Divine Cauldron Sect's spiritual medicine storehouse. She will definitely only choose the expensive ones, not the right ones.

Shi Xuan browsed around again, about to randomly select one, when he suddenly noticed an inconspicuous corner.

Perhaps because the items placed there prefer darkness, that corner was very well hidden. If you didn't look carefully, you would just think that there was nothing there at all.

Shi Xuan walked closer to take a look, and there in the dim light was a small box of seeds. A sign in front of it read: Seeds of an unknown spiritual plant.

These are seeds that have been tested and found to contain sufficient spiritual energy fluctuations, but which cannot be cultivated.

Shi Xuan currently lacks the conditions to cultivate spiritual roots, but compared to other spiritual plants, she prefers things with an uncertain nature—who knows if there will be a surprise in the future?

Without hesitation, she put the jade pendant on and selected the box of seeds that she herself did not recognize.

All the medicinal herbs had been selected, and the jade tablet emitted a faint green halo that enveloped Shi Xuan. A moment later, Shi Xuan emerged from underground and stood at the entrance of the medicinal herb storehouse.

Outside the door, the disciples of the six sects who had not yet left gathered together to watch the excitement, eager to know what rare spiritual herbs the champion had selected from the spiritual herb storehouse.

Shi Xuan waited for a quarter of an hour before Elder Yu, accompanied by two junior disciples, brought out the spiritual medicine she had chosen.

Everything else was fine; they were small and easy to carry. But the fallen fruit that Zhao Cai chose was far too huge. A person could barely hold onto the bottom of it, and when walking over, their face wouldn't even be visible.

Elder Yu walked at the front, stopping in front of Shi Xuan. He announced to the disciples of the six sects, "The rewards for the Six Sects Alchemy Competition have been distributed. Shi Xuan, a disciple from the Lianfeng Sword Sect, has chosen the following spiritual herbs: one each of the fifth-grade spiritual herbs Xuanbing Grass, Dragon Spine Ginseng, Shouchun Vine, Moon Shadow Grass, Purple Lingxiang, and Jianxueming; one sixth-grade spiritual herb each of Shanjin Flower and Luoguo; and a box of spiritual plant seeds. I wish you all a smooth alchemy journey and great success in the next competition!"

Shi Xuan thanked them and put away everything that could fit into the storage bracelet. Seeds, fruits, and processed medicinal herbs could all be put directly into the storage space, but the Golden Flower, due to its specific environmental requirements, had to be placed outside with an array enchanted.

The disciples from the six sects who were watching looked at the spiritual herbs she had selected with some confusion. In their understanding, apart from the Xuanbing Grass, the other spiritual herbs were not commonly used varieties.

Especially that gray, spiky gourd at level six and that bunch of seeds whose nature was unknown—wasn't that a waste of a reward spot? A group of people felt heartbroken for her.

Thank you!

Shi Xuanchao cupped his hands in greeting to Elder Yu, and was about to leave with the disciples of the Lianfeng Sword Sect when he was unexpectedly stopped.

"Wait a minute!" It was Fan Mingzhu who spoke.

She was still dressed in that ethereal white robe, and the expression on her face as she stood there gave the impression that she had suffered greatly but remained strong.

“Fellow Daoist Shi Xuan,” she said in a soft, melodious voice, “since you have obtained so many spiritual herbs, could you please return the Fiery Red Star that my senior brother and I received? To you, it is just a fifth-grade spiritual herb, the lowest grade among the rewards you received this time, and it is dispensable, but to me, it is something I desperately need.”

In fact, Fan Mingzhu had gone back to ask Fan Hongde for help, but as the head of a sect, he couldn't bear to lose face by frequently getting involved in trivial matters concerning juniors.

After much deliberation, Fan Mingzhu decided to take matters into her own hands.

Three days have passed. If we don't get the elixir back now, it will be even more difficult to get it back once all the disciples of the six sects have returned to their sects.

"Explain yourself clearly," Shi Xuan rolled her eyes at her impatiently and tapped her with her chin. "Stop rambling on and saying things that could cause misunderstandings. Why did you say you wanted me to return the elixir to you? Did I steal it from you or rob you? Get to the point in front of so many people, stop talking nonsense."

The disciples of the six sects who had not yet left immediately perked up.

This Six Sects Grand Competition was truly worthwhile for them; they gained more knowledge than they would in their entire lives combined. They witnessed things like a virtuous person exchanging spiritual roots, the entire sect achieving a unified alchemy technique that tied for second place, and even saw a live demonstration of the Radiant Dao Seal! Even if they returned empty-handed without any results, the trip was still worthwhile.

When they saw that there was more to come, they all perked up their ears.

Fan Mingzhu was always good at speaking in a hesitant manner, revealing only half of what she meant. Now, after being confronted by Shi Xuan, she was at a loss for words.

"Hurry up, don't waste my time," Shi Xuan urged, still holding the pot of shimmering gold flowers in her hands. Even in broad daylight, the flowers made her face shine so brightly that it was hard to look directly at her.

Fan Mingzhu was taken aback by her tone, but she composed herself and said, "Three days ago, my senior brother and I went to the depths of the dense forest behind the mountain to search for the Fiery Red Star. It took us a long time to finally find it. We had already obtained the Fiery Red Star and were fighting with the guardian demon ape when you arrived with a group of people from the Lianfeng Sword Sect and took away my spiritual medicine."