Chapter 26 026 Giving a Treasure
For the next few days, Song Chi stayed in his dormitory and did not go out. Every day, he burned incense and bathed, and the first thing he did was to divine the fortune of his trip to the secret realm.
The results were always excellent, and before each divination, she was always thinking about seizing Yin Qiang's opportunity, since it was the only real chance she could find in the book. For everything else, she really had to rely on her intuition and luck.
However, the book mentions that seven or eight out of ten casualties in this secret realm were killed or wounded. The original owner of this body emerged from the secret realm covered in injuries, and would have almost lost her life if not for the male protagonist, Su Yu, saving her.
Therefore, Yin Qiang really couldn't miss this opportunity.
And this divination always turned out to be very auspicious, with four small swords appearing in each divination. This signifies that someone will come to your aid.
The immortal who escaped was a sword cultivator, so whenever a small sword appeared, it was a sign of good fortune and the help of a friendly star.
However, Song Chi was determined to act alone in this matter. There was only one Ruyi Fruit; having another friend might not necessarily bring good fortune, but rather a dangerous, self-serving scheme.
As for Mo Feiyun and Ye Qingyu, who possess Heavenly Spiritual Roots, they don't need the Ruyi Precious Fruit. However, they will definitely represent their families in the battle to seize the Flying Immortal Token, which is crucial for ascending to immortality.
The book mentions that the Ascension Platform is only half-unlocked, and to ascend to immortality, one must obtain the Ascension Tokens scattered throughout these celestial realms by the Heavenly Dao. These tokens are essentially identity tokens; without them, ascension is impossible. Even reaching the Ascension Realm is insufficient; one will be struck dead by divine lightning during the ascension process.
This kind of secrecy is mostly unknown to ordinary cultivators. Small sects like the Azure Sword Sect, below the medium size, are definitely kept in the dark. Even within the Azure Sword Sect, it's estimated that only the big shots know about it.
After all, something so important means that if fewer people know about it, there's one less chance it will be stolen.
If Song Chi hadn't had that book to cheat with, he would have been completely clueless about everything in the cultivation world.
Anyway, I've gone off on a tangent. Since only disciples below the Foundation Establishment stage can enter this secret realm, talented disciples like Ye Qingyu must shoulder the responsibility of their families. Once inside, they must obtain the Ascension Token, even if it costs them their lives.
At this point, she offered what might be love as a token of her affection, asking them to help her obtain the auspicious fruit. Was it likely they would agree?
Absolutely impossible. Putting aside whether they even had the will, they would be powerless to resist the family's arrangements.
So where did these four little swords come from?
To be honest, aside from Qi Zhenmo, who could be considered a half-friend, she was used to being a lone wolf and didn't really have many friends. Her relationship with the other three in the dorm was also lukewarm.
Song Chi was completely baffled. But deep down, he was driven by the idea of taking the risk and robbing it.
Or rather, there's no need to rob at all; just secretly follow Yin Qiang. This is because after Yin Qiang entered the secret realm in the book, while the disciples of the various sects were reorganizing and establishing their rules...
This man then arranged to meet his sweetheart in a peach grove on one side.
As they rolled on the ground together, five whirlpools appeared from the ground, and he and his lover fell into them.
Below lay a vast peach orchard stretching for miles. Because it was quite safe, and with the aphrodisiac fragrance of the peach blossoms, Yin Qiang, being a lecherous man, ended up having sex with the girl in the peach orchard. After leaving the orchard, they saw the auspicious fruit.
This guy was truly no good. He slapped his girlfriend, who had previously called him "darling" so affectionately, so hard she was scared to death.
Then he picked the spiritual fruit and swallowed it, and then hid away to absorb the spiritual essence from the fruit.
In any case, there is a very obvious time difference in between.
If only I had a good invisibility item. That way, I could follow Yin Qiang down into the peach grove without being detected.
While the two were rolling around on the lawn, she could secretly pick a spirit fruit and run away. There was so much room for maneuver.
Even if Yin Qiang is only good for three minutes, those three minutes are enough for her to seize the initiative and quietly slip away.
Furthermore, the book mentions that Yin Qiang is very strong in this area, so he would need to roll around for at least ten minutes. That would give her even more time.
The problem is, she's penniless. These top-tier invisibility artifacts are very expensive, and activating them requires high-grade spirit stones. She could barely afford a hundred or so high-grade spirit stones for a storage ring; she simply couldn't afford the real treasure.
They could afford a mid-grade invisibility magic weapon. However, according to Cheng Yao and the others, this thing was just so-so, a counterfeit that even a Qi Refining disciple could detect. The main reason was that the weapon-refining sect lost its lineage during the Ascension War 100,000 years ago, and now magic weapons in the cultivation world are incredibly expensive, and their quality isn't even that good.
In any case, only a top-grade invisibility artifact can completely avoid the danger.
Otherwise, if Yin Qiang were to notice, given his terrifyingly fast-moving abilities, even if she were merely seen trying to steal the Ruyi Fruit, she would be utterly killed. After all, he was a ruthless person who called her "good sister" one moment and dared to kill her the next.
Who knows, before he dies, he might be...
Thinking of that man's dark gaze on the stage, and the way his eyes swept over her chest.
Song Chi twisted her face in disgust. Suddenly, she felt it was better to give up; she simply couldn't accept that kind of death.
Then, on that day, the sect disciples' competition ended. The final result was exactly 199 people winning six matches, and each receiving a token to enter the secret realm.
The last spot, of course, is reserved for that lucky koi.
Dai Jia and Cheng Yao both passed and returned home overjoyed.
However, when they saw Sia return with red eyes, they all fell silent.
Sia only won the last three matches. Despite losing seven, she persevered until the final competition. Her tenacity and stubbornness are truly admirable and worthy of both sighs and praise.
However, soon the disciples of the sect gathered at Qingxue Palace. Under the guidance of the sect leader, a treasure box shaped like a plum blossom and containing a five-colored spiritual fruit emerged from the Cauldron of Cause and Effect. It circled the disciples nine times and suddenly landed in the hands of Xi Ya, whose face was gloomy.
Song Chi was standing right next to Xi Ya at the time, watching as she went from disbelief to trembling all over, then held back her tears, letting only one drop fall. She was incredibly restrained.
That book was absolutely right!
Invisibility artifact, a top-grade invisibility artifact! Song Chi's mouth was dry at that moment, and his eyes darted around quickly, trying to find Mo Feiyun or... Ye Qingyu.
By now, she'd lost all sense of shame. She'd use the peach blossoms she couldn't sense, or even know if they existed, to ask one of the two men for an invisibility artifact. Given their backgrounds, they were surely wealthy and powerful; they should... be willing to give her an invisibility artifact, right?
However, neither of them actually showed up.
Even the talented disciples like Cui Xue Ruo didn't come.
Song Chi suddenly thought of a possibility. Could these people have already returned to their families? The book mentioned that the secret realm erupted within two months after the sect competition. Perhaps they had all gone back to regroup.
The thought of missing the opportunity filled Song Chi with heartache. She had considered this possibility before, but she had hesitated because she still wanted to save face.
Who knew... a golden opportunity would be missed.
Upon receiving the token to enter the secret realm, the sect leader dismissed everyone and returned to the foot of Flower Bud Mountain. Song Chi, disheartened, descended and began to climb upwards step by step.
As I walked, I slapped myself. What's the use of this face? It's completely unimportant, okay? Shamelessly asking for an invisibility artifact might only cause temporary embarrassment, but it would bring countless benefits for a lifetime.
"Now we can only take it one step at a time." At this point, she was still considering giving up on her plan to seize Yin Qiang.
Just as he was sighing, his wrist was suddenly grabbed.
Song Chi could actually tell who it was just by smelling their scent, and he was only startled for a second. He almost couldn't help but laugh out loud in the dark.
It's Ye Qingyu!
She recognized the scent of the incense on the boy; each of these genius disciples had a different incense, and they all smelled quite nice.
"What are you laughing at?" Ye Qingyu was in a relatively good mood tonight, and didn't start by mocking him. His tone was even unusually gentle.
"Why did you drag me here?" Song Chi asked.
Ye Qingyu stared at her for a couple of moments in the moonlight, then looked up at the distant treetops with his hands behind his back. “I have important business to attend to on this trip to the secret realm, so I won’t be able to look after you much. Follow the sect disciples, and whatever treasures you see, don’t try to snatch them. If you happen to encounter a Ruyi Fruit that can change your aptitude, that thing is in this shape…”
He then pulled out a jade mirror from his sleeve and handed it to Song Chi. Song Chi was genuinely curious about its shape; it turned out to be three white, jade-like fruits, resembling apricots, growing on a canopy similar to a camellia tree. However, a cool mist swirled around them, each wisp of mist appearing as auspicious clouds. It looked quite extraordinary.
"If you encounter such a rare and precious fruit, you should grab it and run away even if it means getting a minor injury. You must consume it within fifteen minutes. If you cannot, store it in this treasure box. However, even though this treasure box can lock in the medicinal power, the effect will be greatly reduced if you consume it after an hour."
Ye Qingyu then handed over three small, heavy white jade boxes.
Song Chi: "..." She took it to look at it, then put it into her storage ring.
Perhaps the moonlight was dim then, and Ye Qingyu's usually sarcastic face seemed to show a hint of a smile.
However, he quickly put his hands behind his back and looked ahead. "But if there are powerful disciples also vying for this fruit, then you'd better run for your life, do you hear me?"
Did you hear that? It was very harsh, and the gaze coming down from above was also fierce.
Song Chi felt a warmth in her heart; she truly hadn't expected Ye Qingyu to be such a nice person.
"I know, don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who likes taking risks."
Ye Qingyu clearly disagreed with this statement and gave a cold snort.
"In short, take care of yourself. Don't be reckless; staying alive is the most important thing. Come back alive, or else!"
He snorted coldly and turned to leave.
Song Chi wasn't about to let him go. She reached out to grab his sleeve, but instead, her wrist was swiftly seized, and a white jade pendant fell into her hand.
Then the boy flew backward through the woods like a roc spreading its wings, carrying only one sentence with the wind.
"With this treasure for defense, even a blow from a Golden Core cultivator can save your life."
Song Chi chased after him. "Ye Qingyu!" she called out, but the boy was incredibly fast. And as if afraid she wouldn't accept the defensive jade pendant, he even vanished in the blink of an eye.
Holy crap! I need an invisibility artifact! Defensive artifacts are good too, but an invisibility artifact is the only one that can solve this urgent problem.
Hey kid, don't go anywhere!
Song Chi rushed after him, but his wrist was suddenly grabbed from behind and he was forced back.
Song Chi immediately stopped chasing, because she didn't even need to turn around; just by smelling the scent, she knew it was Mo Feiyun. He always had a very pleasant, cool plum blossom fragrance about him, faint yet subtly refreshing. It smelled really comforting in the middle of summer.
Mo Feiyun also came from a prominent cultivation family, and his status was in no way lower than Ye Qingyu's. Originally, the Ye and Mo families were among the eight great families in the cultivation world.
Mo Feiyun pulled her through several groves of trees, then seemed to activate a defensive barrier, and the surroundings became shrouded in mist.
Then he glanced at her slightly. "I thought you would land halfway down the mountain." Halfway down the mountain was near her dormitory.
If she hadn't been in a bad mood, she wouldn't have climbed the mountain alone through the forest paths.
However, what Mo Feiyun meant was that he was originally waiting for her halfway up the mountain, but she came from the foot of the mountain, and Ye Qingyu got there first.
Therefore, he felt quite regretful.
“I also have an important mission to undertake in this trip to the secret realm. I cannot protect you properly once I am there.” Mo Feiyun looked somewhat conflicted.
He seemed too lazy to shoulder any family responsibilities, but he still had to consider his mother's status and reputation within the clan. After all, his father had a favored concubine who had already given birth to an equally talented younger brother.
Therefore, the book mentions that Mo Feiyun deeply resented the constraints imposed by powerful cultivation clans. He faced a dilemma: did he want to protect his mother, or continue shouldering the responsibility of his family's quest for the Ascension Token? Of course, rescuing the female lead from the secret realm also became his life's mission.
"This is a powerful defensive treasure, capable of withstanding a blow from a Golden Core cultivator." Mo Feiyun handed over a jade pendant, this time made of black jade, with a plum blossom engraved on it. The Mo family uses the black plum blossom as their clan emblem.
Song Chi immediately said shamelessly, "I want an invisibility magic item, a high-grade one will do." She looked up at Mo Feiyun and smiled.
Under the moonlight, Mo Feiyun's face lost its usual coldness, revealing a gentle smile. He looked very happy, and a soft, pleasant "hmm" escaped his throat.
Then, with a flick of his finger, a dark gray tortoise shell appeared in his hand.
"This treasure is so powerful that even a Foundation Establishment disciple cannot detect its invisibility." He looked somewhat embarrassed. "I originally had an even better one, but I accidentally lost my storage ring. When we gather at the secret realm, I will give you an even better magic weapon."
The tortoise shell in his hand is a top-grade invisibility magic item; with that, what more could you ask for?
Song Chi immediately beamed. "This is more than enough for me," she said, taking it from her.
She unceremoniously put it into her storage ring, then looked up with a smile. "Thank you, this is really important to me." She would definitely repay him in the future. Since Mo Feiyun always gets injured while rescuing the female lead, she'd better go rescue him a few more times according to the plot.
"Hmm." Mo Feiyun seemed to be in a really good mood today; he smiled broadly, clearly pleased.
He then looked south and sighed softly. He leaped into the air, but halfway there, he suddenly rushed back, grabbed her hand, and stuffed the ink plum blossom defensive jade pendant into her hand.
Then, with a faint smile, Fei Zong vanished in the blink of an eye.
Song Chi was starting to realize something. Could these two defensive jade pendants mean something?
To be honest, the jade pendant Ye Qingyu gave him did indeed have "Plum Blossom Spring Reflecting the Moon" on it, which was also the Ye family's clan emblem.
It couldn't be a jade pendant for an engagement, could it? Otherwise, why did they both look so furtive when they handed it to them, dropping it off and running away so fast?
If that's the case... Song Chi rubbed his face in the night.
Let's pretend we know nothing for now. Defense is also important; the next secret realm is extremely dangerous. Even if we have a script, it's basically written based on the male and female leads, and it's full of traps and battles.
She doesn't follow the main couple's storyline. In fact, she avoids it like the plague, because being around these genius disciples is like having your head on your belt, always in danger of losing your life.
Her sole purpose in this journey was to obtain the Auspicious Fruit and improve her spiritual root aptitude. She then divined a safe place to hide until the secret realm ended. She greatly admired the escapee immortal's strategy of seeking refuge in the hidden path.
Song Chi obtained the magical treasure he desired and was truly satisfied.
Humming a little tune, she returned to her dormitory. Before she even reached the door, a young man in white suddenly flew past her, then placed a magical artifact in her hand—a conch-shaped one. It was Xue Qingyan; the artifact he gave her was also a defensive one, and it looked to be a high-grade one.
However, Xue Qingyan's family background was only slightly better than the Song family's. Song Chi felt a little guilty and kept chasing after her to return the money.
Xue Qingyan stopped, turned around, and smiled faintly. "It's alright. I had a fortuitous encounter when I was young. I also have a defensive magic weapon to protect myself. Junior Sister Song, please take care."
Then he vanished in an instant.
Song Chi stood there for a moment before walking back into the house under the moonlight. Good heavens, Cheng Yao and Dai Jia were both leaning against the door watching the show, and they even held up the number three.
Clearly, they all saw her when Ye Qingyu and the other two blocked her way. Otherwise, Ye Qingyu and Mo Feiyun wouldn't have activated their defenses to prevent people from spying on them.
Song Chi just smiled and ignored it.
As she entered the room, Xi Ya smiled at her. Having secured the last spot, she could finally smile with ease.
The four then returned to their room. The competition among the inner disciples had come to an end, and everyone planned to take a good rest.
But before the four could even relax, a muffled thud suddenly came from the southwest.
Then a fierce wind swept through, and surging spiritual energy, like mist, passed through the sect's defenses in the blink of an eye, enveloping everything in a milky white fog.
Soon, another loud, muffled thud followed. This time, it seemed to come from the earth itself; a booming sound, like spring thunder, approached from afar and then howled away.
The third sound wasn't a muffled thud, but a direct explosion high in the sky. The spiritual mist was completely shattered, and countless points of light streaked across the sky like a meteor shower, creating dazzling trails of color.
"Could it be that the secret realm has erupted in that direction?!"
One of the disciples jumped up and shouted in disbelief.
Then, the emergency bell rang loudly at Seigaku Palace.
"All disciples who have been granted permission to enter the secret realm, assemble at Qingxue Palace immediately!"
"We will depart in half a quarter of an hour. Anyone who is delayed will lose the qualification to go to the secret realm."
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Author's Note: [Cat emoji][Cat emoji] Updates will be on Friday, August 1st at 11 PM, because I need to put on a clip. I'll probably do a big update of 20,000 words then~
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