Chapter 4: Conflict ArisesAfter stepping out of the Azure Sky Sect’s mountain gate, Xiao Jinqi casually found an inn at the foot of the mountain to stay in, and he ended up staying for four days straight. He was well aware that trying to travel from the Azure Sky Sect to the Hehuan Sect in a short time was nothing short of a fantasy.Inside the inn, Xiao Jinqi sat cross-legged on the bed, rummaging through his Storage Pouch. Since he had already decided to go to the Secret Realm, he needed to prepare the tools for survival in advance.The things in this cultivation world were truly mysterious, completely unexplainable by science. Take this palm-sized Storage Pouch, for example—how on earth could it hold so many things? How did those cultivators with Spatial Spirit Roots and the masters who specialized in formations cultivate? Xiao Jinqi scratched his head, unable to figure it out, and simply gave up thinking about it. After all, he would have plenty of time to ponder it later.Inside the Storage Pouch were two black iron swords, several basic cultivation techniques suitable for his Fire Spiritual Root, such as the "Chaos Blazing Flame Art," "Searing Sun Brahma Technique," and "Five Thousand Flame Art"; a few bottles of pills for restoring spiritual energy and healing injuries; a stack of Teleportation Talismans and Blast Talismans; several hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones; and then some worthless daily necessities like clothes.Xiao Jinqi couldn’t help but complain. It seemed the original owner’s father was truly determined to teach him a lesson this time. Most of the resources had been taken away, leaving only these few items. According to the original owner’s memories, he used to happily give away a few Mid-grade Spirit Stones to his followers when he was in a good mood, never having lived such a frugal life before.As for things like alchemy, artifact forging, talismans, and formations, the original owner had never learned any of them. His original mindset was that as long as he had money, he could buy these things, so there was no need to waste his time learning them. Hah, that sounded somewhat reasonable but not entirely.Xiao Jinqi couldn’t help but sigh. There was no other way—he would have to go to the market to see if there was any chance to find a bargain.He remembered that in the novel, the female lead had picked up a Spirit Beast Egg containing Ancient Black Tortoise Bloodline at a certain stall. He wondered if the timeline would align.The market was bustling with people coming and going, all seemingly gathered for the Secret Realm opening in five days.The merchants were quite shrewd, each loudly hawking their treasures. With so many people gathered for the Secret Realm, everyone wanted to seize the opportunity to make some money."Come, come, come! Ancient ruins fragments! Only 200 Mid-grade Spirit Stones!""Goodness, are these fragments genuine?""Rest assured, esteemed customer, they are absolutely authentic!""Then why don’t you go yourself?""You may not know this, esteemed customer, but these fragments require collecting 20 pieces to break the seal. This humble old man only managed to obtain one of them by chance.""What the—you dare trick me! Do you know who I am?" Xiao Jinqi almost fell for the scam and clenched his fist, wanting to intimidate the stall owner."This humble old man was wrong, I won’t dare do it again…" The owner hurriedly pleaded for mercy."Stop!" A sharp gust of wind swept past Xiao Jinqi’s face, seemingly intending to harm him but holding back its force, only grazing past him as a warning."Senior Brother Xiao, you’re bullying people again!"Although Xiao Jinqi’s cultivation was far inferior to what it used to be, he was still the descendant of an elder, so most sect disciples gave him some face and addressed him as "Senior Brother." Chu Jiaojiao was no exception."Which eye of yours saw me bullying him? Come on, boss, tell her."The shopkeeper, not wanting to escalate the situation, quickly tried to smooth things over. "It's all a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding. It's my fault for not explaining clearly. Please don't blame this immortal gentleman and immortal lady.""You! Hmph!" Chu Jiaojiao's face flushed red with anger, but knowing she had no evidence, she could only let it go."Ding! Slapping the protagonist in public once—Counterattack Points increased by one. System has automatically converted it into one point!""Oh, so this earns points too?""Host, please note: repeated actions will not earn points.""Fine," Xiao Jinqi swallowed the sarcastic remarks he was about to continue with.Xiao Jinqi began to wonder about the female lead's intelligence in this book.The original story was a pampering novel where the female lead grew up in a small world. The story began with her family, who had eight sons before finally giving birth to a daughter. Though life was hard, the entire family was willing to dote on this only girl. The female lead was naturally blessed with incredible luck—she could find thousand-year-old lingzhi mushrooms while gathering wild mushrooms in the mountains, and dig up hundred-year-old ginseng while foraging for wild vegetables. Her family moved from the village to the town, then to the county…When the female lead was eight years old, immortals came to their area to recruit disciples. Once again, through sheer luck, she was tested to have a Wood Spirit Root and was taken to the Azure Sky Sect, where she became the sect leader's disciple—his final disciple and the only female one—continuing her life as the center of adoration. At the same time, she gradually revealed a talent for alchemy, becoming a Fourth-Rank Alchemist at a young age.Xiao Jinqi couldn't be bothered to explain further. These people's prejudices ran deep; even if he changed, they would still suspect him of having ulterior motives. Besides, he was meant to be the villain—their opinions were irrelevant to him.After wandering around the market for a while without finding any opportunities, Xiao Jinqi headed back to his lodgings.For the next few days, he stayed at the inn to consolidate his cultivation, starting from the most basic meditation and drawing qi into his body.On the fifth day, the Lingyuan Secret Realm opened. Xiao Jinqi followed the crowd to the square.Entry into this Secret Realm was limited, reserved only for the elite disciples of major sects. Moreover, the realm only allowed cultivators at or below the Golden Core stage to enter.From a distance, Xiao Jinqi spotted the elegant, pine-like figure of the eldest senior brother standing at the front of the Azure Sky Sect's team. The female lead, Chu Jiaojiao, was also in the group, chatting and laughing with her friends.Xiao Jinqi had no intention of joining their team. Instead, he blended into the crowd alone.After entering the Secret Realm, Xiao Jinqi planned to start by finding a few small demon beasts to practice on and test his current abilities. He remembered that the female lead only found her opportunity on the last day, so he wasn't in a hurry.

Trapped in the Secret Realm, I Had Seven Children with the Male Lead