Seeing this, the other three also curiously gathered around Wen Shuangbai.
Lu Jiayao had a soft heart. Watching the little wooden puppet hopping anxiously at Wen Shuangbai’s feet, he couldn’t bear it. He picked up Four Hundred Bucks and placed it on his shoulder before squeezing in for a closer look.
Four Hundred Bucks had a short neck, and even then, it couldn’t see clearly. So it simply leaped from Lu Jiayao’s shoulder to Yin Xuan’s, then finally onto Wen Shuangbai’s.
Whew~ It finally got a good look~
Four Hundred Bucks let out a relieved sigh.
The other three had been quietly observing, but when Lu Jiayao—who had craned his neck the longest—glanced over, he suddenly exclaimed, “‘Do not travel at night’? Does this mean the nights in Divine Ghost Valley are dangerous?”
Yin Xuan finished reading and withdrew his gaze, smiling faintly. “Most likely. So we should just rest well at night, no?”
But Wen Shuangbai disagreed. “Probably not. This is the second-to-last round. We’re just a step behind the Purple Flame Realm. At this critical moment, we have to push harder!”
If they could overtake the Purple Flame Realm this round, the final round would be much easier. But if they fell further behind now, the next round would be tough.
With the championship so close, they couldn’t afford to slack off.
“The last part of the journey is the hardest—Shuangbai is right!” Li Zhuohua wholeheartedly agreed, raising her sword. “There’s nothing to fear! If gods block our way, we slay gods; if buddhas stand in our path, we cut down buddhas!”
“……” Yin Xuan quietly retreated from the battlefield.
For him, if a god blocked his way, he’d turn around and leave. If a buddha stood in his path, he’d turn around and leave.
After all, nothing in the world was truly difficult—as long as you were willing to give up…
Li Zhuohua, having made up her mind, rushed off to pester Shen Hefeng about his divination.
Wen Shuangbai handed the note and Four Hundred Bucks to Lu Jiayao—who was the slowest reader—then walked over to Xie Ziyin, who was inspecting the Soul-Stabilizing Pills. “Well?”
Everything else was fine, but the second warning was a bit strange.
“If you don’t take the pill, you’ll go mad?”
The man’s slender fingers twirled the small pill thoughtfully as he replied, “Phoenix Fire Milk, Entwined Silk Lotus, Crimson Sun Sand…”
Wen Shuangbai frowned. These names sounded familiar—weren’t they the same ingredients she and Xie Ziyin had found in the village chief’s house back in Tian Family Village?
Back then, Senior Tian Sang had used these herbs to refine Soul-Stabilizing Pills to prevent spiritual erosion by ghosts.
Could it be…
Her eyes lit up. “So this place has ghosts roaming at night?”
“Most likely.” Xie Ziyin lowered his gaze, meeting the woman’s sparkling eyes. The words “Be careful” stuck in his throat because—“…You look excited?”
“Nonsense.” Wen Shuangbai denied it. “I’m still scared of these things.”
But having ghosts was better than nothing.
By now, she had figured out the pattern—in the Sacred Tower trials, the appearance of ghosts usually meant side quests would drop, similar to Sacred Stones.
Based on what she knew, the main quest here was gathering Divine Ghost Grass, while the side quests were likely hidden in the nighttime hauntings.
Well, whether main or side, Wen Shuangbai wanted them all.
“……” Xie Ziyin gave her a deadpan look. “You. Scared?”
“Yes.” Wen Shuangbai nodded shamelessly and held out her hand. “Come on, Xie-dog, hand over some fasting pills to calm my nerves.”
Xie Ziyin: “……”
A moment later, Wen Shuangbai hummed a cheerful tune, munching on the handful of fasting pills she’d extorted from Xie Ziyin, and happily skipped off to join Li Zhuohua in pestering Shen Hefeng.
Before the Mystic Heaven Mirror, the gathered cultivators watched as the five of them stood together on the desolate black dunes, snacking on fasting pills like sunflower seeds, watching Four Hundred Bucks roll happily in the sand, all while waiting for Shen Hefeng’s divination results.
[Wait, since when did they start treating fasting pills like snacks???]
[I was about to ask the same thing! I took a break from watching, and I remember they used to ration these things carefully…]
[Didn’t notice? They’ve been casually eating them since Star Moon Valley.]
[It’s normal. Whenever they pass by herbs for fasting pills, they just pluck them without a second thought—so fast you’d miss it if you blinked. And Xie Ziyin? He’s always refining pills, batch after batch, nonstop.]
---
When Wen Shuangbai saw the divination result Shen Hefeng produced, she laughed.
Pointing at the image of digging for gold beneath a cliff that appeared on the tortoise shell, she said, “Isn’t this ‘fortune favors the bold’?”
It aligned perfectly with her own thoughts.
Shen Hefeng, ever the contrarian, didn’t want his teammates to have it easy. Leading the way, he turned back and said smugly, “In this old man’s opinion, it’s more like ‘plummet to your deaths.’”
Wen Shuangbai replied earnestly, “Shen the Second, given our luck rankings, if anyone’s dying first, it’s you.”
Shen Hefeng was so angry he nearly choked. He pointed at Wen Shuangbai, ready to retort—but he couldn’t even argue!
After all, in the last round, he’d been the first one struck by heavenly lightning and eliminated.
Damn this biased Heaven—favoritism shoved right up a chicken’s rear!
Xie Ziyin took sides blatantly, telling the fuming Taoist, “Don’t worry. We won’t collect your corpse.”
Li Zhuohua, at the front, turned and brandished her sword. “But I, Li Zhuohua, will avenge you, Shen Hefeng!”
Lu Jiayao immediately raised his hand. “Then I… I’ll ask my mom to burn some offerings for you during Qingming Festival, along with my grandma!”
Yin Xuan gave Lu Jiayao a surprised look.
Third Earth had really learned from this bunch, huh? Bad company corrupts good morals…
“……” Shen Hefeng. “Do I even get to thank you heartless brats?”
All five answered in unison: “You’re welcome.”
Shen Hefeng: “??”
Wen Shuangbai added, “But skip the verbal thanks. Just leave me your tortoise shell when you die, okay?”
After being struck by lightning, the shell looked even more extraordinary. Once it awakened spiritual awareness, it’d be priceless.
Shen Hefeng immediately stuffed the shell into his robes and warned, “Over my dead body. Even if I die, this shell goes with me. Don’t even think about it.”
Wen Shuangbai: “Tsk. Stingy.”
“Oh, you’re generous? Then give me your Fire Plume Whip and Four Hundred Bucks!” Shen Hefeng sneered.
Wen Shuangbai’s smile vanished. She kicked at him. “Keep dreaming.”
Bantering and bickering, the group hurried onward at top speed.
Divine Ghost Valley was a desert, where every direction looked the same—like walking in circles. It was easy to get lost.
Following Shen Hefeng’s directions, they pressed on until the sun dipped westward.
“It’s almost dark.” Shen Hefeng halted atop a dune, studying the sky. “The nearest patch of Divine Ghost Grass is an hour away. If you don’t want to die, be careful.”
When he’d entered the Nether Path earlier to scout, this endless black desert—stretching thousands of miles—had no living souls besides their group of six.
Stepping into it, they were immediately enveloped by a sinister, swirling black energy.
For one, this meant the disciples of other sects were far from them.
For another, it sent an eerie chill down Shen Hefeng’s spine.
He didn’t dare linger in the Nether Path for long. After hastily locating the Ghostly Herb’s hiding spot, he withdrew his consciousness at once, fearing he might lose himself in that shadowy realm.
Though the Nether Path was faster and more precise for navigation than the tortoise shell method, Shen Hefeng decided he’d stick to the latter from now on. The Nether Path of the Ghostly Vale was a place he wouldn’t venture into again—lest he never return.
“Understood,” the group acknowledged. They hadn’t walked far before the sun dipped below the horizon, plunging the entire Ghostly Vale into an abyss of darkness.
Here, nights were moonless, starless, devoid of even the faintest glimmer of light—only an endless, consuming black.
Normally, cultivators of their level saw no difference between night and day. But in the Ghostly Vale’s darkness, they were as blind as men groping at an elephant, unable to take a single step forward.
The same went for the spectators watching through the Mystic Heaven Mirror.
[Heavens, why can’t I see anything?]
[Same here! I thought my Mystic Heaven Mirror was malfunctioning!]
[This is bad—are the Qingling Mountain disciples doomed? Every other sect has wisely found shelter to wait out the night, yet these six are recklessly pressing on. What are they thinking?]
[Honestly, I think it’s smart to push forward while others rest. Star Moon Valley’s reputation speaks for itself, but the other three sects’ disciples are no slackers either. It’s all about who lasts till the end.]
[Exactly! The Purple Flame Realm is still in the lead. They’ve got to seize the chance to overtake while their rivals let their guard down!]
[But how can they even move in this darkness?]
Just as the crowd fretted, the Mystic Heaven Mirror’s display brightened slightly.
Everyone leaned in, squinting—only to see Xie Ziyin calmly pull out his Star Lantern.
Though its glow seemed faint, it pierced the surrounding blackness, illuminating a radius of several hundred paces.
Wen Shuangbai shot it an envious glance. “That lamp of yours is handy.”
Before nightfall, Four Hundred—having already reattached itself to Wen Shuangbai’s Fire Plume Whip—silently turned its wooden face into the weapon’s strands at those words.
Wah… What can I do? I’m just a pen that can write but can’t glow.
Mid-sulk, Four Hundred suddenly noticed its surroundings brightening.
The little wooden figure tilted its head to “look” and found its dear friend, the Star Lantern, now hung beside it on its master’s Fire Plume Whip.
Wen Shuangbai blinked in surprise, eyeing Xie Ziyin, who stood uncomfortably close. “Hey, why’d you tie this to me?”
Xie Ziyin, having secured the starstone tightly to avoid dropping it, replied simply, “For you.”
“…” Her heart skipped a beat for no reason, and she averted her gaze. “What’s yours stays yours.”
Yin Xuan and Lu Jiayao overtook the pair. As they passed, Yin Xuan tossed out a breezy remark: “Junior Sister, unsolicited kindness—either a scheme or a confession.”
Xie Ziyin: “…”
He adjusted his grip and offered a more acceptable excuse. “It’s cumbersome to carry. You hold it for now.”
Wen Shuangbai: “…Fine.”
With the starstone’s light guiding them, the group reached their destination without a hitch—even arriving a full incense stick’s time earlier than expected.
In the gloom, a massive wind-carved rock formation loomed over the dunes, its silhouette flickering in and out of view under the dim starlight, both mysterious and foreboding.
Up close, a cluster of Ghostly Herbs grew sheltered in the rocks’ leeward crevices.