Chapter 92 The Genius Cultivator Used as Cannon Fodder (Part 21) A Small Secret Realm...
The entrance to the secret realm is a valley very close to Rain City. The valley is full of strange rocks, with no vegetation or signs of birds or beasts. It looks somewhat desolate, but the spiritual energy fluctuations are very strong.
When Ye Xinglan led the group there, quite a few people had already gathered in the valley.
Those closest to the entrance were disciples from the major sects, while those on the outermost perimeter were independent cultivators; their treatment was obvious.
The Ye family is considered a mid-tier family in the cultivation world, ranking in the middle. Perhaps it was time to keep a low profile, and Ye Zhen's protagonist aura was considerate enough that she didn't cause any trouble.
Of course, it's also possible that Ye Xinglan's Golden Core stage cultivation had a strong deterrent effect. Due to the limitations of the Rain City Small Secret Realm, even the leaders of the major sects were only at the late Foundation Establishment stage, which was comparable to Ye Xinghan's cultivation.
Even the most brainless cultivator wouldn't provoke a senior who is a whole realm higher than them for no reason.
Ye Xinglan no longer wore that dazzling dress, and even used magic to slightly alter her appearance. Cultivators don't have large social circles, and for the time being, no one knows that she is a forty-year-old Golden Core cultivator.
The only thing that surprised Lin You was Yun Jing, who was standing among a group of rogue cultivators, fawning over a female cultivator with a servile expression.
Yun Jing looks very different now compared to when they met before. If it weren't for the fact that his clothes and accessories were exactly the same as when they last met, Lin You would almost not have recognized him.
Because of the conspicuous bag on his shoulder, Yun Jing spotted Ye Zhen in the crowd at a glance. His eyes flickered, but he quickly composed himself and casually said some flattering and ingratiating words to amuse the female cultivator beside him.
No token is required to enter the small secret realm. Anyone with a cultivation level below the Golden Core stage and an age under fifty can enter, even a mortal.
Of course, there are also low-level ferocious beasts in the small secret realm. Ordinary people can easily be killed instantly if they enter.
The spiritual energy fluctuations at the entrance of the secret realm were getting stronger and stronger, which was a sign that the door was about to open. Ye Xinghan took out a rope-like magic artifact and tied it to Lin You and Ye Zhen's wrists respectively.
He held the rope tightly in his hand, so that the three of them wouldn't be separated once they went inside.
The other teams were also well prepared, each with their own team tools, all holding the same magical artifact. There were even two-person teams, holding hands directly.
Lin You shook the rope on her wrist, and it looked to her like a modern child safety rope.
Ye Zhen originally wanted to tie the wolf cub with a rope as well, but the little guy shook his head and refused, pawing at Ye Zhen's shoulder with his paws, indicating that he was fine as he was.
Unexpectedly, as they entered, the little wolf cub suddenly snorted angrily, jumped off Ye Zhen, and followed behind Ye Xinglan, as if waiting outside.
Ye Zhen only had time to shout, "Master, please keep an eye on my Ah Ye!" before she was pulled into another space by the rope.
What was originally a landscape of rocks has transformed into lush vegetation, babbling brooks, birdsong, and fragrant flowers, almost surpassing most modern tourist attractions.
Ye Xinghan usually seemed to look down on Lin You and Ye Zhen, but after entering the small secret realm, he naturally stood behind them to protect them.
"Ah Ye is getting more and more temperamental. She was the one who insisted on coming along, but now that we're at the door, she doesn't want to come in," Ye Zhen sighed helplessly, but wasn't too worried.
Ling Ye, who was blocked at the door, was so angry that he kept sharpening his claws on the ground. His cultivation level was now so low that he was not even as good as a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Why couldn't he be allowed to go in!
Ye Xinglan glanced at the pit he had dug and casually set up an array, which perfectly encircled the wolf cub in the pit. "Since you have nothing to do, you can follow me and cultivate properly for the next few days."
The demon race's cultivation methods are rather crude. They rely on their own racial talents and absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, as well as the essence of the sun and moon. Whether it's fighting or cultivating, they basically rely on observation.
In other words, it's free-range farming.
Demons like Ling Ye, who have read cultivator jade slips, improved upon them, and even know how to set up formations, are considered top-tier academic achievers in their community.
Just like in modern times, a husky that can do addition and subtraction within ten would definitely be praised as extremely smart.
Ye Xinglan looked at the wolf cubs trying to break the formation and suddenly said, "Your formation skills are on par with Ye Zhen's. You are not an ordinary demon."
Ling Ye's claws, which were about to attack the core of the formation, froze. He was so frightened by her words that his fur stood on end, and his entire demonic body visibly grew larger.
Ye Xinglan, ………? ? ?
Have the demon race become so timid now?
The wolf cub casually withdrew its paws and even wagged its tail ingratiatingly at Ye Xinglan.
When it spoke again, it actually spoke in human language, though its voice was somewhat childish, "I have no ill intentions towards Zhenzhen."
Ye Xinglan nodded, recalling the location where he appeared, the identity of the demonic cultivator whom Ye Zhen had killed, and the way Ye Zhen addressed him, and asked again, "Are you Ling Ye, the young master of the demon race?"
Ling Ye shuddered again. Why had he been recognized again?!
Although Lin You didn't say it explicitly, her gaze towards him was very strange, indicating that she had definitely guessed his identity. Now, Ye Xinglan had also seen through it all in one sentence: Did his concealment really have so many flaws?!
Ling Ye didn't want to admit it, but Ye Xinglan's tone wasn't a question, but a statement. It hesitated for a while before hanging its head and responding.
If people find out that he, the young master of the demon race, is being raised as a cub here, his reputation will be completely ruined.
Then, Ling Ye was dragged to class by Ye Xinglan. Demonic cultivators are the common enemy of the demon race and the human race. Since he became her disciple's contract partner, he could be considered half a member of the Ye family.
Leaving aside Ling Ye's utter bewilderment at being forced to do the questions, Ye Xinghan in the secret realm was equally bewildered.
Just a moment ago, he had discovered a Dragon Spring Grass and was still remarking to his two junior disciples on their good fortune. This grass was a mid-grade spiritual herb, which was very difficult to find in such a small secret realm.
Just as Ye Xinghan carefully dug out the herbs and placed them in a box, Ye Zhen turned to Ye Zhen and pointed to a small hill not far away, asking in confusion, "Junior Uncle, are those all Dragon Spring Grass?"
Ye Xinghan, somewhat embarrassed, led the two of them to dig out all the herbs. After counting them, they found there were over a hundred of them.
This windfall came so unexpectedly that they almost ran out of boxes to store the herbs, and finally crammed five herbs into the last box.
Ye Xinghan secretly mixed the first Dragon Spring Grass in there, coughed lightly, and pretended that nothing had happened.
He led the two forward and they encountered their first ferocious beast by a stream—a dark green snake as thick as Lin You's waist.
“A low-grade ferocious beast, the Wind-Scaled Serpent. Judging from its size, its strength is probably at the late stage of Qi Refining. Its weaknesses are its tail and its seven-inch mark. You two go and practice your skills.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Zhen immediately drew her sword and charged forward. Her swordplay was crisp and clean, and her movements were fluid and graceful. She quickly engaged Feng Lin She in a fierce battle.
It took Lin You a while to react. She hurriedly drew her sword and stepped forward. After exchanging a few blows, she realized that she didn't seem to have much combat power to output, so she quietly retreated to the side.
She used hand seals to assist her ranged attacks with magic, stacking control skills such as immobilization, entanglement, and stun one after another. Soon, the Wind Scale Serpent's eyes went blank and it twisted itself into a pretzel.
Seeing that her opponent couldn't break free for the time being, Lin You took the opportunity to buff Ye Zhen with a speed boost and a defense buff, which made Ye Xinghan's eyes widen in astonishment.
This was the first time he had ever seen a fight played like this. Wasn't it just a matter of getting involved and that was it?
Also, why has he never seen that kind of magic before?
Taking advantage of the Wind Scale Serpent's inability to move, Ye Zhen nimbly leaped and severed its tail with a single sword strike. The Wind Scale Serpent writhed and twisted in pain.
As it rolled, its vital spot, which had been hidden beneath its body, was exposed. Ye Zhen decisively drew her sword and secured her first kill since entering the small secret realm.
"Junior Uncle, let's find a place to eat something. It's mentioned in the jade slip in the library that the Wind Scale Snake has delicious meat, and it's great for soup or barbecue."
Ye Zhen deftly sheathed her sword, naturally switching from heroic and valiant mode to foodie mode. She looked at the more than five-meter-long, incredibly elastic Wind Scale Serpent and even secretly swallowed her saliva.
Lin You's backpack was always full of various seasonings. With the addition of storage bags, she even brought pots, pans, tables, chairs, and benches, making an impromptu picnic a no-brainer.
"Huh? Oh... okay." The junior uncle hadn't recovered from the battle yet and casually replied. By the time he realized what was happening, he was already sitting down at the dining table.
Because there were plenty of ingredients, in addition to sprinkling cumin powder and chili powder, there was also a sizzling barbecue, stewed to a milky white color, and topped with chopped green onions and cilantro.
Lin You also improvised, making stir-fried snake meat with scallions, salt and pepper snake pieces, braised snake ribs, and even fried a bowl of snake meat balls.
Lin You's cooking skills were only average, but the natural freshness of the ingredients, combined with the flavor enhanced by the moonflower grass, made this whole snake feast exceptionally tempting.
"My dear sister, you're the perfect partner for home and travel!!" Ye Zhen gave Lin You a big hug and then picked up her chopsticks to start eating.
Don't let his usual aloof and god-like demeanor fool you, Junior Uncle is ruthless when it comes to grabbing food. Of course, you should take advantage of his dazed state to eat as much as possible.
As a hidden foodie, Ye Xinghan's mind hadn't even registered what was happening before his hand instinctively reached for the meat. By the time the fragrant roasted meat was in his mouth, the question he was about to ask had already vanished into thin air.
Fortunately, the ingredients this time all had spiritual energy, and even cultivators would feel full after eating too much, which made the two who were fighting over the food give up their plan to get another Wind Scale Serpent.
As for the inedible snake skin, bones, gallbladders, etc., they won't be wasted. Although they're not the best materials, they can still be used to train the two of them in weapon crafting skills.
After eating and drinking their fill, the three sat down on the ground. A breeze, seemingly from nowhere, gently blew across the grass in the secret realm. Lin You then realized that what was the same color as the Wind-Scaled Serpent in the grass was not grass, but a flower the size of a fingernail.
Seeing that the two girls were interested in the flowers, Ye Xinghan pointed to one of them and explained it to them:
"This is called the Windscale Flower. It is a companion plant of the Windscale Serpent. Its fruit is a top-grade material for refining weapons. It only bears fruit once every few hundred years. Each time it flowers and bears fruit, it only lasts for the time it takes to burn an incense stick. If it is not picked and preserved in time, the fruit will fall to the ground and quickly take root and sprout."
Seeing the expectant looks on his two junior disciples' faces, Ye Xinghan casually brushed aside a petal, "The Wind Scale Fruit is extremely rare, so don't even think about it. What are the chances of such a coincidence?"
Lin You glanced at Ye Zhen, then looked at the fruit that had suddenly appeared beside her, and suppressed a laugh as she asked, "Junior Martial Aunt, is the Wind Scale Fruit the size of a grape, silvery-white, with a dark green dot on it?"
“That’s right. If you happen to meet again in the future, I can help you find the Second Elder and make a high-grade spiritual artifact for each of you.”
As soon as Ye Xinghan finished speaking, Ye Zhen and Lin You grabbed the fruit next to them and stuffed it into his hands, saying in unison, "Thank you for your trouble, Junior Uncle!"
Ye Xinghan held the Wind Scale Fruit, watching helplessly as the petals he had just brushed aside withered away. In the blink of an eye, the fruit had become exactly the same shape as the one in his hand.
Lin You glanced at Ye Zhen again, trying hard not to laugh out loud. Her best friend had been keeping a low profile lately. Could it be that she had nowhere to use her overpowered aura and was instead grinding her skills on Ye Xinghan?
This familiar experience made Ye Xinghan cough awkwardly, but he quickly realized what was happening and jumped up. "You two hurry up and come pick the Windscale Fruit, put it in the wooden box to store it, and be careful not to drop it on the ground!"
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Author's Note: One of the essential skills for a protagonist who's destined for greatness: slapping faces.
Ye Xinghan remained completely bewildered...
The author is currently searching for words to write _(:з」∠)_
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