What charged toward Du Xinghe was a mass of flesh-textured thorny vines, their branches orderly studded with conical bulges, tightly wrapped around Chen Xiaoman, a cultivator from the Nine Yang Sect whose face had turned deathly pale from terror.
Chen Xiaoman attempted to use talismans for protection, but the yellow paper burst into flames upon contact with the vines, reducing them to ashes. In the blink of an eye, however, the severed limbs regenerated, coiling around him even tighter.
Trapped and desperate, Chen Xiaoman pinned his hopes on his senior brother Wei Yi.
“Senior Brother, use the Demon-Warding Talisman to save me!”
The three of them had ventured into the secret realm, and they certainly carried life-saving talismans provided by their sect. Due to their rarity and value, such talismans were typically held by the disciple with the highest cultivation level, who decided when to use them.
Yet, despite Wei Yi and another sect member chasing after the threat, he hesitated to act.
He was actually reluctant to use the Demon-Warding Talisman!
Just as Chen Xiaoman was on the verge of despair, he spotted Du Xinghe downstream, holding her sword and watching him. Overjoyed, he recalled how Senior Sister had always been accommodating to their requests and would surely not stand by idly. He cried out loudly:
“Senior Sister, save me!”
The next moment, Du Xinghe moved.
With a light tap of her toes, her figure gracefully leaped from the turbulent river surface to the shore, where she stood with her hands behind her back.
The three from the Nine Yang Sect were stunned.
Wei Yi clearly hadn’t expected her to truly stand by and do nothing. Gritting his teeth, he finally threw the Demon-Warding Talisman, not forgetting to shout, “Evil creature, how dare you harm my junior brother!”
Infused with a trace of power from a Nine Yang Sect elder, the cinnabar-inscribed talisman erupted with a red light that shot skyward. Flames swept through the cavern, dyeing the underground river as if it were flowing magma.
The eerie Fleshthorn Vine was instantly incinerated, leaving only black smoke. Chen Xiaoman, who had fallen into the river, choked on two mouthfuls of water before scrambling ashore.
Wiping his face, he said with lingering fear, “Earlier, when Senior Brother Wei Yi said Senior Sister had changed, I didn’t believe it. I never thought it was true.”
“Never mind, as long as you’re safe,” Wei Yi helped him up, secretly relieved.
Fortunately, Du Xinghe’s appearance had diverted Chen Xiaoman’s attention, sparing him from having to explain why he hadn’t used the talisman immediately. He turned to her and said, “Don’t you have anything to say?”
“Huh? So there’s a commentary segment for me now?”
Named directly, Du Xinghe spoke with an air of magnanimity: “Well, all three of you are pretty useless, nearly killed by a lump of rags.”
Chen Xiaoman’s face, already pale from the cold river water, flushed bright red.
Wei Yi gritted his teeth:
“It seems Senior Sister not only stood by and watched but also kicked us when we were down, disregarding our past camaraderie.”
“First, I’ve left the sect. I’m no longer your senior sister from the Nine Yang Sect,” Du Xinghe’s gaze was indifferent as she took two steps and, with lightning speed, kicked Chen Xiaoman back into the river. “Second, this is what kicking someone when they’re down looks like.”
“You!”
Du Xinghe delivered a second kick: “You go down too.”
As the two struggled to surface from the water, a force pressed them back under.
The world of cultivation was one where a single higher realm could crush those beneath. There was little room for overcoming the strong with weak power—even if one charged forward shouting about friendship, bonds, or the future, they would only shatter against an insurmountable gap.
After reaching Foundation Establishment, Du Xinghe’s suppression over two Qi Refining Stage cultivators was absolute.
No further words were needed.
The remaining round-faced female cultivator, without waiting for instructions, voluntarily jumped into the river and clung to the bank, trembling.
“…”
Du Xinghe smiled faintly. “I didn’t tell you to go down. Come back up.”
She reached out and plucked the round-faced female cultivator from the water, setting her aside to dry while sending a thought: “System, I pushed two eunuchs into the water and forced a noble to jump into the river under my coercion.”
After a moment, the system hesitantly confirmed:
[Detected that the two men in the water are not castrated. Is the host certain they are eunuchs?]
“You haven’t read enough palace dramas. Fake eunuch protagonists are as common as carp in a river, each more impressive than the emperor.”
Du Xinghe retorted.
If this couldn’t convince the system, she might have to consider leaving behind some organs from the two men.
After a moment, the system yielded:
[Host caused three people to fall into the water, harming imperial consorts. Reward: +300 points!]
Having gained three hundred points from them, Du Xinghe was delighted: “The restraint will naturally lift in two hours.”
With that, she turned and left.
This time, none of the three dared to stop her.
Even Wei Yi had to wait until her aura completely vanished before he dared to angrily say, “Du Xinghe’s amiable demeanor in the sect was all an act. It was only because of her mediocre talent that she tried to please everyone, hoping to gain Yuanming Zunzhe’s favor. Unfortunately, her feigned kindness couldn’t deceive the discerning eyes of the venerable one. It was inevitable that she would be expelled from the Nine Yang Sect.”
The two men felt as if a mountain were pressing down on their heads, with the rushing, icy river water occasionally submerging their mouths.
“But… has she successfully reached Foundation Establishment?” Chen Xiaoman hesitated.
Hearing this, Wei Yi’s expression darkened further as he vaguely replied, “I didn’t pay attention earlier. I don’t know.”
Both unconsciously recalled the Du Xinghe they had just seen. The golden hook in her eyes, which they had noticed when they met on the Flying Ship, had completely vanished, indicating she had advanced from the peak of Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, achieving a state of internalized divine brilliance. Neither was willing to admit it, so they changed the subject.
“Never mind, we shouldn’t have expected an outsider to rescue us anyway,” Wei Yi said resentfully. “Gathering more Mind-Clarifying Grass is what really matters. Don’t forget we accepted a mission before leaving the sect. If we fail, we’ll have to compensate them, and the steward will penalize our merit points.”
On the Scarlet Wheel Plaza of the Nine Yang Sect, there was an area dedicated to posting missions.
Disciples could assess their own abilities, complete tasks, and receive rewards.
The mission the three had accepted was to gather fifty stalks of Mind-Clarifying Grass, a specialty of the Luminous-grade Secret Realm. It was the main Spiritual Plant in the cave system, and even if they could only explore the first two levels, they could still collect fifty stalks.
The gathering risk was low, but the rewards were relatively generous, which was why the three had dared to make this trip.
“Damn, it’s so cold…”
“Quick, circulate your energy to protect your body and drive out the chill,” Wei Yi reminded.
Soaking in the underground river for two hours wouldn’t harm a cultivator’s foundation, but the two still felt unlucky.
Two hours later, the restraint lifted.
Shaking off the water, the round-faced female cultivator helped them up, and they went together to search for the Mind-Clarifying Grass, only to find the previously abundant area now completely bare, not even a root remaining.
“Could other cultivators have been here? Let’s hurry forward,” Wei Yi wondered, quickening his pace for fear of being beaten to the punch.
But the further they went, the more their hearts sank.
“Nothing, how can there be nothing?”
“What about the other Spirit Herbs?”
Just as Wei Yi was about to break into a run, the round-faced female cultivator reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. He whirled around with a furious glare, only to see her hesitantly murmur, “Senior Brother, if we go any further, we’ll be outside the sect’s guided area. It’s too dangerous…”
His footsteps halted abruptly, and he jolted back to awareness.
Turning to look ahead, he saw four pitch-black branching paths.
Earlier, their attempt to explore deeper had disturbed the Fleshthorn Vines lurking in the cave, nearly costing Chen Xiaoman his life. Clenching his fists, Wei Yi’s eyes reddened: “If we can’t gather enough Brightheart Grass, we’ll have to pay compensation! And the sect’s merit points… damn it!”
In major sects, outer disciples must labor to earn merit points.
Outer disciples typically take on roles like planting, breeding, and mining—after all, the crops are Spiritual Plants, and even the aphids in the fields are no ordinary insects, making these tasks unsuitable for mortals. The merit points disciples accumulate are partly submitted to the sect, with the remainder kept for themselves to exchange for cultivation resources.
Wei Yi had been working himself to the bone, hoping to save enough merit points for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
“Who in the world came to the cave to harvest Brightheart Grass?”
“And it’s Du Xinghe’s fault too, delaying our gathering time!”
Wei Yi harbored intense resentment toward both the imagined grass-hunting fiend and Du Xinghe.
Meanwhile…
Du Xinghe: “Stop drooling over the cultivator’s skeleton. Eat more grass—green vegetables are good for your health. Be good.”
Seated atop the Qilin, she resembled a shepherd.
After consuming large quantities of Brightheart Grass, Ning Lin’s ferocity had diminished significantly, leaving only the sound of relentless chewing in the cave. Over five days, she had led the Qilin around the cave, devouring almost everything. Only after nearly clearing out the cave did the Qilin’s evolution value barely reach ten thousand, allowing its first evolution.
Due to their Spirit Contract, Du Xinghe could sense the changes in its body.
Its bones and muscles bulged violently, spiritual energy overflowed, and waves of heat surged through its form.
Du Xinghe sat down beside it and began her cultivation practice.
[Is Mother guarding us?]
It was deeply moved.
Du Xinghe: “Exactly.”Mainly, she was taking advantage of her own offspring’s spiritual energy to cultivate—keeping the benefits in the family.”
An hour later, the Qilin had transformed.
It grew from two meters to three meters in height, its scales shifting from a mesmerizing light blue to a deep, ink-like intensity, gleaming with a sharp, dark light in the cave. It now more closely resembled the description in the “Rui Ying Tu”: “sheep’s head, wolf’s hooves, rounded crown, body adorned with five colors.”
It let out a joyful roar, thunderous in volume.
[Mother, I’ve learned something new!]
The next moment, the Qilin that had been in front of her vanished.
Sensing something, she rolled up her sleeve to find a fierce Qilin cloud pattern now adorning her previously flawless, snow-white right arm.
As Du Xinghe looked down, she heard Ye Qi’s gentle voice: [Outside the cave, the spiritual energy is thin. My sister and I would struggle to maintain our true forms. It’s better to attach ourselves to you, conserving our strength. Wake us if you’re in danger.]
Du Xinghe quickly understood: “Perfect.”
Spirit Beasts and their masters complement each other.
While a Spirit Pet’s own power is key, the master can also channel energy to it. But in Du Xinghe’s current state, she could only rely on the Qilin’s support. Keeping it in its true form constantly would only drain resources and attract unnecessary envy.
“The five-day deadline is approaching, it’s time to leave the secret realm.”
Du Xinghe walked back along the path she came from, no longer encountering any disciples of the Nine Yang Sect. Instead, she met another group of people who, seeing her empty-handed, struck up a conversation: “This trip has been strange everywhere. The cave seemed to have been completely looted, unlike what our senior brother described as rich in resources.”
“Maybe it’s just a coincidence that many cultivators have come here recently!”
One of the female cultivators asked Du Xinghe: “Fellow Daoist, do you have any clues?”
Du Xinghe pondered: “When I arrived, I encountered cultivators from the Nine Yang Sect. They seemed to be here to gather Mind-Clearing Grass.”
Hearing that they were disciples of the Nine Yang Sect, one of the three great sects, everyone couldn’t help but show understanding expressions.
Another person said indignantly:
“Although it’s said that whatever resources you can obtain in the secret realm are yours to keep, but so much… can they carry it all, can they use it all? What a waste!”
And Du Xinghe could only pretend to be looking at the scenery in the distance.