Chapter 139 A Surprise from Langhuan Cave! A Long-held Wish Has Come True! ...
"I refuse to believe we can't grow them!" The girl jumped out of bed, grabbed the book in her hand, and ran to the field behind the thatched hut.
The girl seemed oblivious to Song Yin, lost in her own world.
"Sowing seeds, watering..." The girl planted vegetables diligently. After a long while, she straightened up, wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, and said, "Hmm! That's great! Once these vegetables grow, my parents won't have to work so hard outside anymore."
Song Yin hesitated, then stopped. "Little sister, what you're planting isn't vegetables, it's spirit herbs!" She wanted to remind her, but there was no way to do so, because the scene before her was an illusion.
Song Yin watched the girl turn the soil and sow seeds repeatedly, filled with joy and anticipation for the seeds to sprout. After many days and nights, the seeds did not sprout, and she became disappointed. Then she cheered up and repeated the previous steps.
"Luckily, my parents left us plenty of vegetable seeds, enough to replant them all." The girl kept working.
Seeing her watering the plants again, Song Yin couldn't bear it any longer. Even though she knew the woman couldn't hear her, she still spoke up to remind her, "These aren't vegetables, they're spirit herbs. Watering won't help; they need plenty of spiritual energy to sprout."
Girl: "There must not be enough water. I'll get some more."
Song Yin sighed, watching her do useless work.
Day after day, year after year, the young woman would take fasting pills every now and then and then continue farming.
Finally, she had only a small handful of seeds left, and the ten or so acres of land behind the thatched house were simply not enough to plant.
The girl counted the seeds in her hand. "This is the last chance. My parents said they would come back once they found fertile land where vegetables could grow, but so many years have passed and they haven't come back. They're liars."
The girl picked up the hoe and began sowing again.
After a while, the girl's eyes became numb. She squatted by the field, "I knew it wouldn't grow. If we can't grow vegetables, Mom won't be able to cook, and without food, we'll go hungry..." The girl touched herself, "There's not much food left of Mom's cooking, just a small bottle. What will I do after I finish it?"
The vegetables she grew were spiritual herbs, and the food she cooked was elixirs. Song Yin guessed that the girl's mother must be an alchemist.
Song Yin: "It's normal that the seeds can't grow. There's no spiritual energy here to support their germination."
The girl looked in the direction where Song Yin was, as if she could see Song Yin herself.
The girl said, "If all else fails, I'll just have to leave home and go find my parents elsewhere."
The moment the girl uttered those words, the surrounding scenery changed.
As the new environment came into view, Song Yin muttered to herself, "It's like a small town in a cultivation world."
"Go away, you poor country bumpkin! This is a spirit herb, not something you can just eat. Do you even know what a spirit herb is? You couldn't afford this one even if you had a hundred of you!" The richly dressed man shooed the girl away.
The girl didn't understand the outside world: "But it's just food."
Man: "You're crazy! Get out of here! What bad luck! Eighty-year-old mountain sprout grass worth a hundred mid-grade spirit stones is being called a vegetable from the ground. I'm so angry!"
Isn't Mountain Sprout Grass one of the cheapest spiritual herbs? This shop, which sells a mere eighty-year-old one for a hundred mid-grade spirit stones, is robbing spirit stones!
Song Yin gasped. Anyone who buys this thing for 100 mid-grade spirit stones is a sucker.
But later on, Song Yin changed her mind.
The girl asked many shops that sell medicinal herbs, and found that even ten-year-old medicinal herbs could fetch exorbitant prices.
Song Yin finally realized something was off. "The spiritual herbs seem to be very precious in the place where she lives."
That makes sense. A place with such scarce spiritual energy naturally has little chance of growing spiritual herbs. Since spiritual herbs are rare, it's normal for them to be more expensive.
"Young lady, I've been following you all this way, and I've noticed you always refer to spiritual herbs as 'vegetables.' Why is that?" a mature and dignified woman asked the girl.
The girl replied, "My family used to grow this. My parents said it was a vegetable." She scratched her head sheepishly, "But after leaving home and coming here, I realized that I've been mistaken all along."
Where are your parents?
"We can't grow vegetables in our fields anymore, you know, the spiritual herbs. They said they were going to find a place where they could grow spiritual herbs, and then they never came back."
"Poor thing, I see you have some talent. Would you be willing to become my disciple?"
"Become an apprentice?" The girl pointed to herself. "What talents do I have?"
“Cultivation talent.”
"Well... alright, greetings, Master."
Song Yin couldn't understand the plot. She thought the girl would come out to find her parents, but it jumped directly to the story of her becoming an apprentice.
The environment changed along with the girl's experiences. When the girl joined a sect, the environment became the small sect she belonged to.
Why is it called a minor sect?
Because Song Yin had never heard of this sect before, and the sect was not large, with only a little over nine hundred people in total, including all the elders and disciples.
Within the small sect, the girl finally began to discover her extraordinary abilities, such as treating spiritual herbs as vegetables and elixirs as meals. Gradually, she learned more about the world and understood why she couldn't produce spiritual herbs.
The sect has a small spiritual vein, very small, but it can provide a place for disciples to cultivate and also allows her to grow spiritual herbs.
When the girl successfully cultivated the spiritual herb, her first reaction wasn't joy, but longing—longing for her parents who hadn't returned. She had also returned to the thatched hut, but there was no trace of their former life. After returning home many times, and as the years passed, the girl began to accept one thing: her parents had likely died while searching for a place imbued with spiritual energy.
The spiritual herbs that the girl planted in the sect grew tenaciously, and nine times out of ten she would squat beside them and sigh, "If only I could find a spiritual vein, a spiritual vein that belongs only to me. If I had a spiritual vein, my parents wouldn't leave, and I could continue to live at home."
Song Yin recalled that when she first came in, there were thousands and tens of thousands of years old spiritual herbs behind the thatched house. It must have been full of spiritual energy to grow like that!
Song Yin was dumbfounded: "Could it be that she really found a spiritual vein... My God, a spiritual vein that belongs exclusively to her..."
It truly lives up to its reputation as the Nine Heavens Secret Realm that everyone longs to visit; it even contains spiritual veins.
The subsequent scenes sped up, allowing Song Yin to see the girl's entire growth trajectory.
As the girl's cultivation level increased, she accepted the fact that her parents would not return. However, her obsession was to grow spiritual herbs in the field behind the thatched hut. This obsession became a demon in her heart.
The young master said to her disciple behind her, "Give up. How can an individual possess a spiritual vein? Even if one does, it's beyond the protection of a small sect like ours. Not to mention, in this world where spiritual energy is scarce, how will you find a new spiritual vein?"
The girl became much more composed: "Just because it doesn't exist in the cultivation world doesn't mean it doesn't exist in other worlds."
Young master: "You mean..."
The young girl bid farewell to her master: "This matter has become a demon in my heart. How can I ascend if I don't get rid of this demon? I have already found a way to go to other worlds and I am going to try my luck."
It's easy to guess what will happen next; the girl will definitely find the spiritual vein. Song Yin is so engrossed in watching the illusion that she's treating it like a movie.
The girl traveled to several small worlds, and finally found a spiritual vein in the last one.
The girl brought back the spiritual vein and buried it under the thatched hut. She also moved into the house and started tilling the land and planting new seeds.
In the lifeless land, one new bud after another broke through the soil.
"Father, Mother, I've wanted to grow spiritual herbs since I was little. Today, that wish has finally come true, but it took a long time. I'm already over a thousand years old..." The girl talked to the new sprout, laughing at some parts of the story. She looked at the thatched hut.
“Everything is fine at home, but I can’t wait for you to come home.” She took a deep breath and remained silent for a long time before continuing, “I’m leaving our home too, just like you… never to return.”
Song Yin's heart skipped a beat. Was she going to die?
The idea had barely formed when the environment changed again, and a colorful glow guided the girl to ascend.
Song Yin: "I was startled. I thought the female lead was going to die."
The illusion ended when the girl ascended to heaven.
The familiar thatched cottage and fields full of magical herbs reappeared.
Realizing there was a spiritual vein underground, Song Yin felt a surge of excitement and immediately began to think of ways to find it.
After entering the gate, the illusion that Song Yin saw also played out in front of the others, who also saw the girl go from becoming a disciple to ascending to immortality.
Some people realized that there was a spiritual vein beneath their feet and began to try every means and use all their abilities to take away the unknown spiritual vein.
Shi Heming's first thought was to use formations. He set up different formations here, and if one formation didn't work, he would switch to another.
Xia Xining rummaged through her storage bag and pulled out various magical artifacts. "Things have come to this, it's up to you now!"
Shen Yuzhu cast a spell directly on the spirit herb field. He did not destroy the spirit herbs in the field, but instead picked them all and put them into his space.
As for Elder Fu, who came in later, knowing there was a spiritual vein beneath his feet, he first collected the spiritual herbs, then soared into the air and cast a spell on the spot, turning it into a giant pit. The spiritual vein definitely existed; it was just hidden. Digging three feet into the ground wouldn't be difficult to find.
Elder Pei paced anxiously outside, guarding Han Wuyue. "It's all over! Uncle Fu always says I'm impulsive and don't think things through, but I think he's the one who's wrong! A whole day and night has passed, and not a single person has come out!"
I'm glad I wasn't too greedy!
Elder Feng: "A day and a night have passed, which is truly worrying."
Elder Cang, returning from his sweep of searches, asked: "Aren't you looking for treasures?"
Elder Pei: "The central area has been searched several times already, what else can we find?"
Elder Cang: "It's alright." He only managed to find one inheritance.
That's right, he picked it up, and he picked it up by the roadside. Elder Cang made a fortune in silence.
Elder Cang: "Where is Elder Wen? Wasn't he waiting for Elder Fu and the others to come out?"
Elder Pei: "I went to pick up trash just like you."
"Oh." Elder Cang got tired of picking up trash and found a place to sit down on the ground.
Looking at the others by the lake, those who dared to enter the ten gates had basically all gone in; the rest were either overthinking it or too afraid to enter.
Mingzhu of the Wuji Sect was restless by the lake, ready to go in as soon as anyone came out safely.
"Song Yin was one of the first people to go in; it would be a shame if she didn't come out." A few people sat by the lake chatting.
"Yes, in all my years, this is the first time I've encountered such a genius. It's hard not to feel a little regretful to see such a genius fall."
"You're saying Song Yin has fallen before the secret realm is even closed? Are you trying to curse her?"
"You misunderstood, I just said it casually."
"Of all the people here, you singled out Song Yin. Who knows what you're really thinking?"
"Of all those people, she's the most famous, so of course I'd think of her first. A whole day and night has passed and no one has come out; I'm afraid they're in grave danger."
"Phew, luckily we were careful and didn't go in."
...
Although Song Yin felt a burning passion in her heart, she was sitting on the ground, resting her face on her hand, lost in thought.
Tsk, can't even find a spiritual vein.
Song Yin: "Why don't we take the spirit herb away and then start digging?"
"No, no, no, that won't do." The next second, Song Yin rejected her own idea.
The spiritual herbs in the ground are the result of a thousand years of painstaking cultivation by the predecessors in the illusion. If they are all dug up, wouldn't I be hunted down by them when I ascend to the Immortal Realm one day?
Knowing that the girl had ascended to immortality, he instinctively addressed her as "senior."
Song Yin was thinking a lot at this moment, even considering things after her ascension, but the most important reason was not that.
"From the illusion, I can tell that she cares a lot about her home. After a thousand years of cultivation, this place has not changed. If I were to destroy this place just to find a spiritual vein, that would be too much... Never mind, I should think of another way."
Song Yin got up, casually patted the dust off her backside, and walked towards the bamboo forest.
There should be a way to find the spiritual vein without changing the environment. If no new method can be found, then we can consider using the old method.
Stepping into the bamboo forest, Song Yin walked for quite a while without ever finding her way out.
"The bamboo forest doesn't look very big from the outside, so why does it seem like we can't reach the end once we're in?" Song Yin grabbed a bamboo stalk and shook it. "Could there be a formation in the bamboo forest?"
One second Song Yin was shaking the bamboo, and the next second the bamboo forest path in front of her, which seemed to have no end, changed instantly.
The surrounding bamboo was all moving, and many bamboo leaves were falling down.
"Wow, there really is a formation!" Song Yin flew straight into the sky.
If she couldn't get out from any direction, she would fly out from above.
But as Song Yin flew higher, the surrounding bamboo also grew wildly upwards.
With no other option, Song Yin landed back on the ground, set up a protective barrier for herself, affixed a defensive talisman, and drew her Qingyang Sword to protect herself.
The bamboo moved for about two or three minutes, and the path in the bamboo forest turned into a main road, leading to an unknown direction.
Song Yin stepped onto the main road and slowly walked forward.
"Langhuan Grotto Heaven?"
Walking to the end of the main road, a pavilion appeared, with the words "Langhuan Cave Heaven" inscribed on its plaque. Inside the pavilion, a blueprint floated in the air. Song Yin went in to look at it, and her pupils suddenly contracted.
The drawing depicts nothing other than a map showing the exact location of the spiritual veins in this area. However, only half of the map is visible; the other half is rolled up and cannot be seen.
Song Yin reached for the blueprints, but was blocked by an invisible force, and was thrown out of the pavilion.
At the same time, the pavilion began to move backward, away from Songyin.
Song Yin: "Seriously? You're coming again?"
Heaving heavy breathing came from behind her. Song Yin looked back and saw legs thicker than the pillars of the sect's main hall. Looking up, the crystal-armored giant elephant stared down at her.
The crystal-armored giant elephant swung its long trunk, revealing a pair of curved tusks, and flapped its enormous ears.
Song Yin's lips twitched. The good news was that they had found a map recording the exact location of the spiritual vein. The bad news was that the map itself flew away, and along the way, it gave her a Tribulation Transcending stage demonic beast with maxed-out defense.
The period of tribulation...
Haha, the tribulation stage...
Song Yin put on a mask of pain, "It's better to just turn over the soil!"
"roar--"
Song Yin temporarily shut down her hearing, turned around and ran away.
A wise person knows when to yield; for a Nascent Soul cultivator to fight a Tribulation Transcending stage demon beast is simply courting death!
Song Yin frantically fled for her life, looking back at the crystal-armored giant elephant relentlessly pursuing her.
"How could there be a crystal-armored giant elephant in the bamboo forest?! Who arranged this? This is outrageous!"
Wherever the Crystal Armored Giant Elephant passed, all the bamboo was broken. Its thick hide and strong defense made it impossible for the bamboo to even scratch the Crystal Armored Giant Elephant.
Just as the crystal-armored giant elephant was about to catch up, Song Yin stepped onto a bamboo pole, used the momentum to fly backward, leaped over the head of the crystal-armored giant elephant, and stood directly on its back.
The giant crystal elephant shook violently, attempting to throw the person on its back to the ground.
Song Yin's feet seemed to be glued to the back of the crystal-armored giant elephant.
While trying to avoid being thrown off, Song Yin thrust the Qingyang Sword into the back of the crystal-armored giant elephant with all her might, but the tip of the sword only managed to pierce a small wound.
Sensing the cultivator behind it attempting to harm it, the crystal-armored giant elephant swayed from side to side, leveling the surrounding bamboo forest.
The Crystal Armored Giant Elephant was tough and impervious to impacts, but Song Yin, on its back, fared much worse. Bamboo stalks kept lashing at Song Yin, but thanks to the defensive talismans on her body, they were all blocked.
"I refuse to believe I can't hurt you!" With a determined look in her heart, Song Yin unleashed a barrage of attacks on the crystal-armored giant elephant.
"Roar—!"
The crystal-armored giant elephant was suddenly covered with a protective layer of crystals, making it impervious to blades and spears.
The Crystal Armored Giant Elephant's strength lies not in its attack power, but in its defense. It can wear down enemies or other monsters until they are exhausted, at which point it uses its sheer weight and strength to knock them away or crush them to death.
Song Yin controlled her flying sword to attack the eyes of the crystal-armored giant elephant. At the same time, talismans flew out from her sleeves and stuck to the crystal-armored giant elephant's body. The next moment, they burst out with enormous energy.
As bamboo stalks in the bamboo forest broke one after another, Song Yin, who was high in the sky, happened to see the core of the formation and was immediately overjoyed.
Once the array's core is destroyed, the array will become ineffective, and she won't have to remain trapped within it, entangled with the crystal-armored giant elephant.
At this moment, light gathered between the tusks of the crystal-armored giant elephant. Song Yin knew something was wrong. She recalled the Qingyang Sword and rushed towards the array's core. At the same time, the light gathered by the crystal-armored giant elephant flew towards Song Yin.
With a few sword strikes, the array's core was destroyed, the surrounding bamboo disappeared, and the thatched hut came into view. At the same time, she had no time to dodge the attack from the crystal-armored giant elephant.
Just as Song Yin was preparing to withstand the attack, the Crystal Armored Giant Elephant rushed out and blocked her attack head-on.
Used to defend against the intruders' attacks, the crystal-armored giant elephant took them all on its own, letting out a huge roar, and cracks appeared in the crystals covering its body.
Song Yin: ?
What's going on? Why is the Crystal Armored Giant protecting itself instead?
The giant crystal elephant blocked its own attack head-on, then looked back at Song Yin, its eyes even revealing lingering fear.
Does it reveal lingering fear?
Looking at the thatched hut and the field of spiritual herbs behind her, Song Yin had a bold idea.
Perhaps the crystal-armored giant elephant wasn't blocking the attack for itself, but rather for the thatched hut and the spirit herb field. If she hadn't been able to withstand the attack, it would have definitely destroyed the thatched hut and the spirit herb field behind her.
Song Yin immediately flew to the front of the thatched hut, keeping a close watch on the crystal-armored giant elephant for even a moment.
Surprisingly, the crystal-armored giant elephant stopped attacking and instead lay down on the spot, flapping its ears repeatedly.
"We're safe for now."
The formation was destroyed, the bamboo forest disappeared, and the pavilion in the bamboo forest also disappeared.
Song Yin extended her divine sense to search for the map showing the exact location of the spiritual vein.
"Found it!" Song Yin used her spiritual energy to lift up the record map.
The Crystal Armored Giant wanted to intercept them, but dared not make any rash moves, and could only watch as Song Yin obtained the record map.
This time, when Song Yin reached out to take it, there was no longer any invisible energy blocking her way.
Song Yin unrolled the scroll and stood reading in front of the thatched hut, not going anywhere else. The rolled-up section contained very few illustrations, mostly text. "Langhuan Grotto-Heaven, refining it allows for soul binding, and the cultivation of living things..."
Langhuan Grotto Heaven? Soul Binding?
Song Yin was shocked. "Could Langhuan Cave Heaven be this very space?"
Langhuan Cave Heaven is indeed this space, and it is an opportunity left to its descendants by the ascended senior in the illusion. It also possesses a spiritual vein, a medium-sized one at that. Refining the blueprint will bind Langhuan Cave Heaven to one's soul, provided the thatched hut and the spiritual herb field remain intact. If they are damaged, the blueprint cannot be refined to bind to Langhuan Cave Heaven, and the soul will be rejected by it.
"Tsk tsk tsk, thank goodness I didn't pick any of the spiritual herbs from the ground."
Song Yin sat cross-legged at the entrance of the thatched hut and immediately began refining the blueprints, lest things get complicated.
The others, who had separated, tried every possible method but still couldn't find the spiritual vein. They even suspected that there was no spiritual vein in the area, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to find it even after digging three feet into the ground in such a small place.
The group was rejected by the Langhuan Cave Heaven. All the thatched huts and spiritual herb fields disappeared, and they appeared in a magnificent, beautiful, and exquisite interior.
This place is similar to the layout of a sect's treasure pavilion, but it is larger, with a teleportation array in the center.
"Elder Fu! What brings you here?" Shen Yuzhu was the first to see Elder Fu.
When Shi Heming came out, he saw two familiar faces.
Then Xia Xining appeared. After recognizing the person in front of her, she turned to look for Song Yin. "Everyone's here, where's Song Yin?"
"Wow!" Another person appeared, a female cultivator I didn't recognize.
The group recognized her as a member of the Immortal Alliance based on her attire.
The female cultivator from the Immortal Alliance steadied herself and asked the group, "Fellow Daoists, do you know where we are? What's the situation?"
Elder Fu stepped forward and asked, "Where did you teleport from, fellow Daoist?"
The female cultivator from the Immortal Alliance said, "I was teleported here from an illusion, but I wasn't fooled by it." She checked her storage bag and said, "All the spiritual herbs I picked are gone. It really was an illusion."
Shen Yuzhu also checked his storage bag and said to Shi Heming and the others, "The spiritual herbs I picked in the spiritual herb field are all gone."
Elder Fu: "It seems everything inside is fake." All those spiritual veins and herbs are fake.
Shen Yuzhu: "What a pity, I originally intended to pick it for my junior sister, but it turns out it's fake."
The female cultivator from the Immortal Alliance chatted briefly with the group before deciding to continue her exploration. She then stepped onto the central teleportation array and left.
Elder Fu: "It seems that the teleportation array is the only way out. Let's go to the teleportation array."
Shi Heming tried to contact Song Yin using the communication stone, but received no response. He then said to the others, "I plan to wait another incense stick's time. You can leave now."
Elder Fu: "Perhaps Song Yin will leave even earlier than us."
Xia Xining: "I'll wait a little longer too. Elder Fu, you can go up to the teleportation array first. We entered at the same time, so we should come out at the same time. Right now, Song Yin either hasn't come out yet, or she came out and teleported away a long time ago. Waiting for an incense stick's time isn't long. If we don't see her, we'll leave."
Shen Yuzhu: "Me too."
Elder Fu asked the three of them, "Are you sure?" He needed to continue looking for opportunities and didn't have time to waste waiting for others.
"Sure."
Elder Fu stepped directly onto the teleportation array and disappeared in the next instant.
After Song Yin finished refining the blueprints, her soul bound to the Langhuan Cave Heaven, and she completely mastered this space, able to appear anywhere within it with a single thought.
The crystal-armored giant elephant rose, slowly walked towards Song Yin, and then lay down again. Whoever is the master of Langhuan Cave Heaven, the crystal-armored giant elephant will recognize that as its master; its duty is to protect Langhuan Cave Heaven.
Song Yin touched the trunk of the crystal-armored giant elephant, "I didn't expect that binding with Langhuan Cave Heaven would also come with a Tribulation Transcending stage demon beast."
Langhuan Cave is a unique space.
The space I once longed for to grow living things has now been fulfilled; it would be a lie to say I'm not happy. The first thing I'll do upon returning to the Immortal Cloud Sect in a while is to plant the Brahma Thorn in the Langhuan Grotto!
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Author's Note: Nine Heavens Secret Realm: Lots of treasures, none of them were free! [Sunglasses]
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[Empty bowl]
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