Chapter 18: Entering the Secret Realm
At dawn, the entrance to a valley in the back mountains of the Sword Sect, which is usually rarely visited, was bustling with activity.
A light white mist enveloped the valley like a veil, making the scenery inside appear and disappear, exuding a mysterious and alluring atmosphere.
Hundreds of outer and inner disciples in various attire gathered here, their faces filled with excitement, nervousness, and anticipation.
The sounds of conversation, the humming of magical instruments, and the rustling of equipment being organized blended together, creating a somewhat noisy atmosphere.
Fang Li and Xiao Tao stood together, with two male disciples from the outer sect beside them.
One was named Zhao Tie, a stocky man who wielded a thick-backed sword. The other was named Sun Yu, a slightly eccentric man who was skilled in several basic talismans.
This was a temporary team they had formed, since it was always safer to have more people than to fight alone in the secret realm.
"Wow, so many people!" Xiao Tao stood on tiptoe, peering around, both nervous and excited. "Senior Sister Fang, do you think it might be dangerous inside?"
"Be careful, stay close to the group, we should be fine." Fang Li's gaze swept across the crowd, and she saw many familiar faces.
Surrounded by several inner disciples, Su Wanqing chatted and laughed, her gaze occasionally sweeping over them with a hint of coldness.
In the distance, Ji Qianqiu stood with his arms crossed, looking impatiently at the elder in charge of maintaining order, seemingly just waiting for the entrance to open so he could rush in and fight the monsters.
Xie Chen was nowhere to be seen, while Shen Yunzhou, one of the disciples maintaining order, stood with an icy expression on his face on one side of the entrance, completely ignoring the surrounding noise.
"Look! The light gate is stable! We're about to enter!" someone shouted excitedly.
"Silence!" an elder said in a deep voice, his voice clearly reaching everyone's ears: "Cloud Mist Valley is about to open for three days. You must remember that although the secret realm has been cleared, risks still exist. Do not venture into unmarked areas. Help each other and do not fight among your fellow disciples! Now, enter in order with your tokens!"
The light curtain at the entrance rippled.
"Let's go, let's go!" Sun Yu was the first to shout.
Fang Li took a deep breath: "Let's go too."
The four of them followed the flow of people and stepped into the light curtain.
A slight dizziness came over me, and the scenery in front of me suddenly changed, as if I had stepped into a completely new world.
As far as the eye could see, there was a sky full of clouds and mist, with the white fog swirling among the trees, reducing visibility to less than ten feet.
The air was filled with rich spiritual energy; taking a deep breath made the spiritual power in my dantian leap with joy.
The ground beneath my feet was damp, soft soil, and the chirping of unknown birds filled the air, clear and melodious, yet carrying a sense of unknown tranquility.
"Wow, the spiritual energy here is so strong!" Xiao Tao exclaimed in surprise.
"Be careful," Zhao Tie gripped the hilt of his knife tightly, looking around warily. "The fog is too thick; things can easily hide in it."
Fang Li focused her mind and sensed, extending her divine sense through the mist, vaguely perceiving the surrounding terrain.
“Follow me,” Fang Li said, after she determined the direction.
Based on his hazy memories from his previous life and the terrain at the entrance, he said, "Let's follow this stream downstream. There are usually many spiritual plants near the water, but we also need to be careful of slippery surfaces and potential traps."
She naturally walked ahead. The other three members of the team exchanged glances. Although they had some doubts, Fang Li had just broken through and was the strongest in the team, so they followed her toward the stream.
The fog was thick, and the path beneath our feet was difficult to walk on.
The stream babbles, and the stones on the bank are slippery.
After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a seemingly flat sandy area appeared ahead, connecting to the opposite bank.
“Let’s go this way, it’s closer,” Sun Yu suggested.
"Wait a minute." Fang Li suddenly spoke up to stop them. She squatted down and carefully observed some subtle traces at the edge of the sandy area.
"What's wrong, Senior Sister Fang?" Xiao Tao asked curiously.
“There might be a problem with this sandy area,” Fang Li pointed to the marks. “There might be quicksand or a swamp underneath. It would be troublesome to step on it. Let’s go around and jump over those protruding rocks upstream. It will take more effort, but it’s safer.”
Zhao Tie and Sun Yu looked closely and indeed felt that the sandy ground was somewhat eerie, and couldn't help but feel a little scared: "Senior Sister Fang is still the most observant!"
The team took a detour and safely crossed the stream.
After walking a while longer, the fog thinned slightly, and Fang Li suddenly stopped, pointing to the foot of a shady stone wall: "Look there."
The group looked in the direction she pointed and saw several pale blue grasses growing in the cracks of the stone wall, emitting faint fluctuations of spiritual energy.
"It's Star Grass! Although it's only first-tier, it can be used to refine many basic pills!" Xiao Tao recognized this spiritual herb.
"And next to it, under that rock, the color is a bit dark, could it be black iron ore?" Zhao Tie also found something.
The group cautiously approached and successfully collected seven or eight Star Grasses of decent quality. They also dug out several fist-sized pieces of black iron ore from under the rocks. Although they weren't worth much money, they could be exchanged for some spirit stones as basic materials for refining weapons.
"Senior Sister Fang, you have such sharp eyes! You even found this hidden place!" Sun Yu exclaimed while mining.
Fang Li simply smiled faintly: "Just lucky."
The team followed her deeper and deeper, and thanks to her sometimes good and sometimes bad luck and her meticulous observation skills, they successively found several resource points that were quite well hidden.
A cluster of fluorescent mushrooms hidden in a tree hole, a few pieces of dew-covered moss attached to dead wood, and even two low-grade spirit stones containing earth spirit energy were dug up under an inconspicuous earthen slope.
Although the results weren't earth-shattering, it was a great start for their team, far exceeding their expectations.
The team members were all beaming with joy, admiring Fang Li's good fortune, and the team's cohesion was unconsciously enhanced.
"roar!"
Suddenly, a deep roar came from the bushes to the side, accompanied by a foul stench.
"Be on guard!" Zhao Tie shouted, brandishing his sword.
A large, muscular wild boar with protruding tusks and mud-covered fur charged out, its eyes red.
"It's a Tier 1 monster, the Swamp Boar! It's tough and thick-skinned, be careful of its charge!" Fang Li quickly warned.
"I'll trap it! Earth Binding Talisman!" Sun Yu reacted the fastest, raising his hand to throw out an earth-yellow talisman.
The talisman sank into the ground, and the soil around the boar instantly became sticky, slowing it down.
Zhao Tie roared and rushed forward, his thick-backed knife whistling as it slashed fiercely at the boar's side neck, but it only penetrated an inch before being stuck by the tough fur and muscle.
The boar, gripped by pain, went berserk and violently shook its head, knocking Zhao Tie and his knife several steps back.
"Ice Spike Spell!" Xiao Tao shouted, and several ice spikes shot towards the boar's eyes.
The boar immediately closed its eyes and turned its head away. Most of the ice picks hit its hard head, leaving only a few white marks.
Just then, Fang Li moved, nimbly circling around to the side and rear of the boar.
There was a wound there that Zhao Tie had previously inflicted.
Seizing the opportunity, he precisely pierced the wound with his longsword and then twisted it fiercely!
"Awooo—!" The boar let out a shrill scream, its massive body convulsed violently a few times, and then it collapsed to the ground with a thud, blood gushing out.
The battle is over.
They were all panting heavily. Sun Yu wiped his sweat and said, "This beast is really tough!"
Zhao Tie rubbed his chest, which was sore from the impact, and said, "Thanks to Senior Sister Fang's final sword strike."
"Everyone cooperated well." Fang Li sheathed her longsword and quickly processed the valuable materials from the boar.
After this cooperative battle against the enemy, the initial awkwardness among the team members completely disappeared, replaced by a greater sense of understanding and trust.
After a short rest, the team continued their exploration.
While relying on her memory to find the next resource point, Fang Li kept an eye on her surroundings.
Suddenly, her gaze was drawn to a pale purple hue at the foot of a cliff not far away.
A dense vine covered almost half of the stone wall.
Deep within the gaps in the vines, a small grass with leaves bearing fine purple veins was faintly visible in the mist.
A thought struck her.
This seemingly ordinary herb is actually an auxiliary ingredient in the refining of "Qingxin Dan" (a traditional Chinese medicine).
The Mind-Clearing Pill can stabilize one's mind during cultivation. Although it is not a high-grade pill, the Purple-Patterned Grass has harsh growing conditions and is rarely seen in ordinary places. In my previous life, at this time, the Purple-Patterned Grass in Cloud Mist Valley was not discovered until the middle stage of the secret realm. At present, no one is picking it.
Fang Li stepped forward, looked at the purple-veined grass, and her fingertips twitched slightly.
This thing may seem insignificant, but it can fetch a good price, or you can keep it for your own use.
More importantly, this stone wall... she remembered that it was not far from here, and it was the shortcut to Moonlit Pool.
She stopped in her tracks, her gaze fixed on that pale purple hue.
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