Chapter 45 045 Collecting the Treasure Grass
Song Chi followed Wen Xiujin's movements in the courtyard. To call it a dance was an understatement; it truly resembled a full-fledged dance. The steps were incredibly complex, incorporating many of the twists and turns typical of professional dancers, taking a full incense stick's time to complete. Wen Xiujin, however, moved with the fluidity and grace of someone who had performed the dance a thousand times before. Occasionally, her stiff waist would slow him down, and he would glare at her with an overly intense expression of disdain.
Oh yes, yes, yes! You're the best dancer. You're the best dancer in the whole world!
Wen Xiujin has some similar flaws to Ye Qingyu. If they were to spend more time together, Song Chi felt that they would fight five times in three days.
After the dance was finished, Wen Xiujin, with the grace of a crane, flew lightly from the center of the courtyard directly to the medicine garden.
Blocking the way was a sword formation.
This time, Wen Xiujin drew his Azure Gold Sword, his back ramrod straight, and his eyes gleamed with a cold light.
It was clear that even he was struggling with the sword formation ahead.
"Be smarter from now on!" he warned Song Chi.
Song Chi, who valued his life above all else, nodded vigorously. "I certainly wouldn't dare to burden Senior Brother Wen."
Wen Xiujin glanced at her, his eyes showing some hesitation, but finally gritted his teeth. "Begin!"
He suddenly spun around and entered the sword formation, immediately unleashing a series of sword strikes with his longsword. From the outside, the sword formation appeared to be a few feet across, but once inside, it stretched for tens of feet, with sword light whistling through it erratically. The ferocity of the sword energy was comparable to that of a Golden Core sword cultivator.
They are currently in the Foundation Establishment stage; if a sword pierces through them, they will die instantly.
No wonder the divination yielded a dark pentagram.
Wen Xiujin used a subtle gait to move back and forth, always taking seven steps forward, three or four steps back, and then shifting six or seven steps to the left or right, which made his progress very slow.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly at first, and we were almost through the sword formation. Suddenly, the sword in front of us seemed to have triggered some mechanism, and its speed abruptly changed.
Countless sword energies surged forth like a swarm of bees.
Song Chi noticed that Wen Xiujin's face had turned pale, and without thinking, she let go of his hand.
Just as Wen Xiujin was about to curse, she jumped into his arms and clung to his waist like an octopus.
She had already noticed that her unfamiliarity with the footwork posed a significant obstacle for Wen Xiujin. If she couldn't get him to fight the sword formation with all his might, they would both likely die. Or perhaps Wen Xiujin could manage to get through alone, but things would be difficult for her.
When Wen Xiujin saw her shamelessly throwing herself into his arms, he only felt a slight twitch of his face and didn't have time to think much about it. Now that she was no longer a burden, he immediately moved with exquisite skill, his longsword occasionally sparking and deflecting the sharpness of the sword energy.
Finally, just as the sword formation began its unleashing of ten thousand swords, swarming towards them, he, along with Song Chi, used a burst of spiritual energy to pass through the spiritual energy barrier in front of them.
With a soft pop, two people jumped out. Wen Xiujin's chest heaved violently, and his face turned pale. There was also a slight sword wound on his left cheek, from which fine beads of blood were seeping out.
However, it was only a minor injury.
Then he suddenly lowered his head and roared, "How long are you going to keep hugging me?!"
Song Chi: "..." She was still shaken too. Just now, they were almost riddled with holes by the sword formation. It was a complete escape from death. Her chest was heaving violently, filled with the tension of surviving a close call.
"It won't hurt you to give me a hug." Song Chi jumped off Wen Xiujin, sniffed, and said this before automatically turning to the herb garden on the left.
This herb garden is half the size of the one on the right. She's already benefited from Wen Xiujin's opportunity, so she's too embarrassed to ask for a larger herb garden.
Although her complaint was mild, it still drew Wen Xiujin's piercing gaze for a long time. He finally sniffed, seemingly unwilling to get angry with such a jerk, and turned to go to the herb garden on the right.
This herb garden is also protected by an array. We're not afraid of this; we have the divination skills of the immortal who escaped with his life to help us.
Song Chi immediately turned her back and began to perform divination while trying to unravel the formation. This formation was quite complex; she performed divination ten times before gently opening it, revealing the Purple Spirit Myriad-Herb behind it.
"Hiss! I didn't realize such a small herb garden had so many plants!"
Song Chi had initially thought there would only be three or five plants at most, but to her surprise, a large clump of herbs stood there. She counted them; there were eleven in total. She had assumed that if there were only three, she, Song Yun, and Xi Ya would each have one. There was nothing more she could do to help with the others.
With so many now, everyone from the group that guarded the spirit fruit before can get a Celestial Grade Purple Gold Pill. There are still four left over. Well, Ye Qingyu and the other three have already given her their treasures, so consider this a way of repaying them by giving them these spirit herbs.
She would definitely have no connection with them anymore. Once she left the secret realm, she could relax and enjoy her newfound freedom. Ye Qingyu and the other protagonists were busy striving for their future in the cultivation world, so she naturally wouldn't have much to do with them anymore.
There's nothing I can do to repay Master and Mo Shubai, but we'll talk about that later.
“The entire Purple Spirit Myriad Grass is used for medicine, so harvest it carefully.” Wen Xiujin kindly reminded, or rather warned, from the side, “If you break even a single leaf, you’ll regret it later.”
Song Chi knew this was very precious, so she carefully used her spiritual power to dig out all the grass roots and put them one by one into a treasure box. Her master had given her many high-quality jade boxes on this trip, so her spiritual power would not dissipate.
After she finished harvesting, she looked to her right. Good heavens, Wen Xiujin was still using the array flag to pry things up.
It looks like we've reached the final hurdle, but he's a bit unsure of what to do next.
Upon seeing her approach, his expression instantly turned ugly. This man still cared a lot about his image; his current look was just as dark as when Qi Zhenmo failed his final test.
The gazes directed at her were filled with condemnation and anger, as if she had somehow gained some secret technique to easily break the formation, while they had to painstakingly calculate its intricacies to do so.
Well, there's nothing we can do about it. She was just lucky to inherit the legacy of the Immortal of Escape.
Song Yu immediately turned her back and performed a divination. When she turned back around, Wen Xiujin was squatting to the side, staring at her with a sidelong glance.
"You'd better watch out. Otherwise, hmph!"
Qi Zhenmo had also warned her in the same way. If she hadn't known that Wen Xiujin was a decent person, she would never have dared to let him know about her divination skills.
Song Chi pointed to a location, and Wen Xiujin looked enlightened. Then, he quickly raised the array flag. With a splash, a small herb garden unfolded before their eyes.
"How could this be?" Song Chi was stunned when he saw the sparse spiritual herbs.
The herb garden on the right is clearly more than twice the size of the one on the left; she already has eleven plants there. She thought Wen Xiujin might be about to have a huge harvest, and then none of the top forces in the entire cultivation world would dare not offer him some good stuff in exchange for spiritual herbs and opportunities! He's going to make a super big profit.
But who knew that there were three plants lying inside?
What's even more infuriating is that two plants grow close together, while the other grows alone a foot away.
His appearance was exactly like Wen Xiujin's, and his impossible unrequited love.
This is simply unbelievable. Song Chi even had the feeling that the master of this immortal palace was also watching this love triangle drama unfold!
She actually had to bite her lip every time she glanced at the three herbs. She didn't smile at all; in fact, her lips quickly disappeared and her face became serious.
But he still encountered Wen Xiujin's trembling hand and angry eyes.
Song Chi quickly looked up at the sky and down at the ground, pretending he didn't exist. This celestial palace master really enjoys dancing on graves; look how angry he's made Wen Xiujin!
He clenched his teeth and his chest heaved for a moment. In the end, he carefully put all three plants away.
I wonder if he'll give the other two plants to that couple. He probably will; this girl, Yanran, was truly smitten with him in the early stages. Later, after being saved by the female lead several times and encountering the bewitching incense, the two spent a night together in an ambiguous relationship. Although nothing happened, Wen Xiujin gradually developed feelings for the female lead, Cui Xueruo. After that, he began to go to great lengths to protect and support her.
However, Song Chi definitely won't be seeing these scenes again. She's going to be laid off soon.
When they were about to cross the second sword formation, Song Chi used the same trick again at the last moment, jumping in front of Wen Xiujin and entangled him like an octopus.
Originally, she wanted to jump on his back, thinking that carrying him on her back would be less ambiguous than hugging him from the front.
She's so petty; what if Wen Xiujin hasn't even mastered the sword technique to the back yet? She's fought her way up this far; she doesn't want to die.
Wen Xiujin seemed to be used to it by now, his chest heaving slightly. He then swiftly dodged the final surge of sword energy, and the two of them leaped out of the spiritual energy barrier.
Before the two could even land, the back hall suddenly inhaled and dragged them away without warning.
Unfortunately, he landed in front of the group of disciples.
The familiar long corridor and lotus pond were there again, but this time Song Chi and Wen Xiujin landed directly on the right side of the corridor fork, and then seemed to be sealed by spiritual power.
So much so that Ye Qingyu, with red eyes, rushed to the fork in the corridor, only to be completely blocked from seeing the murderous look on her right.
"How long are you going to keep carrying me? Get down now!"
Ye Qingyu's roar startled two fish in the lotus pond, causing them to jump out.
When Song Chi jumped down, he saw Wen Xiujin with a stern face and a slight twitch of his nose. Without a doubt, the kid was secretly laughing.
He didn't miss a single moment of the opportunity to laugh at her. Can't people who are heartbroken be serious for once and stop reading this gossip?
Song Chi turned around and saw a group of main characters and geniuses gathered at the other end of the corridor. This time, it included the chief disciples and leaders of the seven major forces, as well as Cui Xue Ruo, Su Yu, and other main characters.
There were none of the other disciples. Except for Qi Zhenmo!
Song Chi breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this. She couldn't possibly hope that Song Yun and the others would follow them into the main hall, which was basically a hall where only the main characters had a chance of survival. The rest of them would likely enter but never leave alive.
As for Qi Zhenmo... although there is no disciple like him jumping around in the book, the problem is that it's about time for Xi Caiyu, the heir of the hidden family of Tianji Sect, to start appearing by the female lead's side.
She suspected that Qi Zhenmo was Xi Caiyu, she was certain. Xi Caiyu was practically the only one who focused solely on her career, striving to break the seal on the Flying Immortal Platform, without a single romantic subplot. He was the only one who helped the female lead several times without developing feelings for her.
The rest of them, including the chief disciples and disciples of the four major immortal sects, except for Hua Shalan who died early due to health reasons, all eventually fell in love with the female lead.
Ye Qingyu and the others were no exception.
Qi Zhenmo then walked to the right side of the corridor and showed her the jade mirror for taking pictures.
Then Song Chi's face darkened. It turned out there was a screen wall this time too, unlike last time when she and Qi Zhenmo were just spectators. This time, however, the screen wall appeared in the main hall. So this group of people became the spectators.
Moreover, their gazes undoubtedly swept over her and Wen Xiujin's storage rings. Even someone as pure-hearted as Cui Xueruo looked somewhat envious.
It's over. They've got their eyes on those Purple Spirit Myriad-Herbs! Every single one of them wants a righteous immortal-grade golden elixir.
However, Song Chi quickly glanced at the jade mirror. Qi Zhenmo probably knew what he was checking, and smiled, mouthing, "Don't worry."
Strangely enough, the jade mirror only showed her crouching figure, but no pentagram of spiritual light appeared.
Song Chi was immediately filled with emotion. The divination skills of the escaped immortal were truly amazing.
As for those immortal herbs! As long as she avoids these people and leaves the Immortal Palace safely, she doesn't believe they can still forcibly steal them if she jumps in front of her master as soon as she leaves.
"Senior Brother Wen, let's go."
Song Chi immediately turned to the right, ignoring Ye Qingyu's angry, teeth-gritting snort.
Wen Xiujin glanced at Ye Qingyu and the others, especially making eye contact with Ye Qingyu, before turning away expressionlessly and chasing after Song Chi ahead.
The two soon arrived at another black palace. Song Chi guessed that there were probably four more challenges before they could leave.
As for the main characters, they will be taken to the final Flying Immortal Palace to continue their sound cultivation assessment!
Song Chi felt a headache coming on when she thought about how she had been taken to the Flying Immortal Palace last time. Would she be taken to that final main hall again? She wasn't too worried about the sound cultivation assessment; she wasn't a member of the main group, that was Cui Xueruo and the others' problem. Her main concern was her immortal herb. Would these shameless geniuses just force her to give it to them?
Wen Xiujin, however, guessed her thoughts. "Don't worry, those people still have some sense of shame. Even if they covet the immortal herbs, they will exchange them for spiritual treasures or scrolls."
He said this.
Remembering how Xi Ya had previously refined a high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, those immortal sects and families had spared no expense, all for a single pill. In truth, even if they had forcibly taken it, Xi Ya wouldn't have dared refuse; the combined power of the Azure Sword Sect couldn't stop these forces. But they still chose a more civilized method.
That's because the resources were just evenly distributed among the major powers, so everyone sat down and talked things over. Right now, there are only eleven Purple Spirit Myriad Grasses, which is hardly enough to go around.
I anticipate some trouble in the future.
But I don't want to think about that for now. The main hall mentioned in the book has five levels. If Ye Qingyu and the others had passed the first level of the mechanism, someone should have obtained a Flying Immortal Token, and a few others should have received the inheritance of cultivation techniques.
Next, one or two Ascension Tokens would appear in each of the four main halls, and ultimately all seven tokens would be seized by the seven major powers, achieving a perfect balance. As for the inheritance, the Immortal Palace Master was very generous to these geniuses in the main group, and almost everyone received an inheritance in that main hall.
Moreover, they are all the most auspicious golden scrolls of inheritance, which can directly lead to the realm of immortality.
No wonder Qi Zhenmo was so reckless as to try and seize the opportunities in the main hall. He's a slippery fellow; he wouldn't take any risks unless absolutely necessary.
Song Chi, however, wasn't coveting these opportunities at all. What use would she, someone whose future seemed destined for a life of leisurely cultivation and complacency, have for such golden scrolls and inheritances? Was she already tired enough? Or did she feel her responsibilities weren't heavy enough? Absolutely not. She had no ambition whatsoever. A peaceful, uneventful life was her life's goal.
Therefore, for the next four palaces, either give her some spiritual herbs and medicines, or even poisonous herbs, anything will do. She can use them to refine pills, or resell them to make a fortune. After all, cultivation is quite expensive.
As a disciple of the Venerable One, she must attain the Nascent Soul stage through proper cultivation to be worthy of her master's nurturing.
So, all you magical herbs and medicines, don't hesitate to come into my embrace!
If she could get another twenty Purple Spirit Myriad-Herbs, that would be even better. They could perfectly handle the genius disciples of the seven major powers, making her even more comfortable.
With such a wonderful feeling, Song Chi stepped into the second hall.
Seeing the layout of the palace, Song Chi's good mood immediately soured. There was no way she could have a medicinal herb garden inside the palace.
This time, she and Wen Xiujin were separated and faced different magic arrays.
As the two stepped into the hall, two red-lacquered offering tables appeared in the back hall, on which hung the rewards for this event, namely two scrolls, one black and one silver.
The black one is on Wen Xiujin's side, and the silver scroll is in front of Song Chi.
Within this celestial palace, the highest-ranking cultivation technique is the golden celestial scroll bestowed by the main hall—a true celestial scroll. The silver scrolls are naturally second-best, only allowing breakthroughs to the Nascent Soul stage. After that, one must find their own way. The most advanced cultivation techniques in the cultivation world are only at the level of silver scrolls, hence almost all the powerful figures in the cultivation world stop at the late-stage, Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage. In the past fifty thousand years, only Immortal Lord Qingxiao has dared to call himself an Immortal Lord, and only he has truly broken through to the Ascending Immortal stage.
Even so, there is no path beyond the Ascension Realm.
This is probably why Qi Zhenmo insisted on going to the main hall to seek his fortune.
As for the black scroll, it represents a special inheritance. Only those with exceptional talent can cultivate this inheritance, and even after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, one must find their own way to achieve it.
Therefore, Wen Xiujin and she were both abandoned in the side hall by the master of the Immortal Palace.
Of course, these cultivation scrolls only provide inheritors with a unique approach. To reach the righteous Nascent Soul stage, every cultivator must forge their own unique path to immortality. This hurdle, however, absolutely depends on comprehension.
Song Chi wasn't particularly interested in the cultivation technique scroll. If it weren't for the fact that she had to pass through the inner palace's magic array to leave, she wouldn't have bothered taking the risk.
But we still have to get through this.
Because of the screen wall that allowed the group of genius disciples to spy on him, Song Chi had no choice but to squat in a corner to perform divination.
The immortal who escaped was truly formidable; she managed to break the formation through divination in over a dozen steps. Reaching the offering table, she obtained a scroll of the Golden Spirit Root Sound Cultivation Method. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
All she wanted to do next was be a good disciple of her master and obediently follow the righteous path with either a metal or water spiritual root.
Therefore, the Golden Spirit Root Immortal Technique was delivered to her heart and soul.
Wen Xiujin's side was delayed for a while before he broke the formation and obtained his cultivation technique. Moreover, a large piece of his sleeve was cut off by the formation.
The second palace also contained scroll-based cultivation techniques. This time, Song Chi used divination and magic to pave the way, and obtained the Water Spirit Root Sound Cultivation Technique.
She inwardly exclaimed that the master of the celestial palace understood her. Wen Xiujin still received the black scroll this time, and his other intact sleeve was now tattered.
However, upon reaching the third courtyard, Song Chi received a Wood Spirit Root Immortal Technique… and it seemed significantly heavier than the previous two scrolls. It appeared to be more powerful? But she didn't unfold it to examine it, given the surrounding screen wall and the potential for onlookers. Since it was her own immortal technique, she had her own selfish reasons for not wanting others to see it. After all, she wouldn't show other people's immortal techniques to her.
Wen Xiujin still ended up with a black scroll. He was in a sorry state this time, with several tears in the front of his clothes, but thankfully he wasn't bleeding. His hair was also quite disheveled, with stray strands hanging down his temples, but this only added to his slightly sinister expression, making him even more inexplicably attractive.
Of course, his expression was really sour. Especially seeing her leisurely waiting for him with her legs crossed, his face instantly turned extremely sour.
Song Chi chuckled inwardly. This must be jealousy! But jealousy was useless; who told him he couldn't encounter such a kind immortal as the Immortal Who Escapes for His Life?
Upon reaching the fourth courtyard, just as Song Chi had hoped, there was a medicinal garden shrouded in an array.
However, most of the herbs inside were ordinary herbs used to refine the Purple Gold Pill, but their age was astonishing, all being 50,000 years old. Moreover, in the last corner, a small herb garden was isolated by an array, with about twenty Purple Spirit Myriad-Flower Grass plants huddled together. Song Chi was overjoyed at that moment. Now the resources of immortal herbs for the celestial Purple Gold Pill could be balanced among the various forces, avoiding a conflict and disaster.
She was free of even her last worries. So she comfortably squatted down to carefully pick the fruit!
Speaking of the immortal who orchestrated all of this, Song Chi felt it was a benevolent and compassionate person. Only when resources are obtained in a roughly equal manner by each faction, without disrupting the balance, can the entire cultivation world avoid bloodshed and carnage caused by fighting to the death for resources and immortal opportunities.
How wonderful is this peaceful cultivation world; it's perfect for someone like her who's about to retire.
After she finished picking the spiritual herbs, Wen Xiujin obtained a dark blue-black greatsword, which he cherished and guessed was a fine sword.
Before the two left the rear hall of the fourth courtyard.
"Whatever you do, don't go to the Flying Immortal Palace!" Song Chi was now eager to return home and couldn't wait to escape the secret realm.
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Author's Note: [Cat emoji][Cat emoji] Second update delivered~
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