During the days when the monkey was absent, Four Hundred seized the opportunity and transformed into Elder Qian’s favorite, working in the administrative hall drafting documents. Though Elder Qian was notoriously stingy, he never withheld what was due, so Four Hundred’s monthly salary was quite substantial, and its little treasury grew steadily richer.
Four Hundred: Hehehe, it loves its job so much! Money and a sense of accomplishment!
Meanwhile, Ninety Million became the unrivaled tyrant of Qingling Mountain. Disciples who crossed its path would flee in terror, afraid of being devoured, and none dared to challenge it.
Wen Shuangbai and Xie Ziyin had been trying to cure Ninety Million of its habit of swallowing cultivators, but their efforts only addressed the symptoms, not the root cause. The flower was thick-skinned—unfazed by scolding or punishment, stubbornly admitting its faults but never changing.
One night, as the two chatted before sleep, they stumbled upon a brilliant idea.
Since it loved to swallow, why not let it swallow to its heart’s content?
So the next day, after escorting Wen Shuangbai to the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion and dropping off Four Hundred at the administrative hall, Xie Ziyin delivered Ninety Million to the Young Pavilion Master of the Sword Pavilion.
Young Pavilion Master Yin Xuan had been exceptionally busy lately.
Recently, Qingling Mountain had recruited a large batch of new disciples, many of whom were sword cultivators. He had to arrange their curriculum and assign elders to teach them.
Coincidentally, the elder in charge of sword-flight training was still in seclusion, so Yin Xuan had to step in personally.
Perhaps influenced by his demeanor, he couldn’t help but feel that the new disciples were learning at a sluggish, lackadaisical pace.
When Xie Ziyin explained his plan, Yin Xuan glanced at the unsuspecting man-eating flower and smiled gently. "What a wonderful idea."
That same day, elders passing by the sword-flight class witnessed an unforgettable scene:
The Young Pavilion Master lounged comfortably on a rocking chair, nibbling on delicate pastries with a pleased smile.
Meanwhile, a group of terrified new disciples wobbled precariously on their swords, flailing through the sky in desperate flight.
Because behind them, a monstrous flower was in hot pursuit.
"Ahhh! Run, run! The man-eating flower is coming!"
"Wuwuwu, I can’t fly anymore… What happens if I get swallowed? The Young Pavilion Master wouldn’t let it actually kill me, right…?"
"The Young Pavilion Master said—if you’re swallowed a hundred times, you’ll be demoted to the outer sect! A thousand times, and you’re expelled from Qingling Mountain!"
"!!!"
Unlike the disciples’ misery, Ninety Million was overjoyed. For the first time in its life, it could devour people without getting scolded or beaten!
So it swallowed left, right, up, and down, having the time of its life.
At the end of the lesson, Ninety Million boldly stamped its mark on the employment contract Yin Xuan presented.
Man-Eating Flower’s First Day at Work: Hehehe, so happy, so happy! Finally got to swallow to my heart’s content today!
Second Day: So happy! Hurry up and let the sun rise!
Third Day: Not bad, not bad.
Fourth Day: Starting to feel a bit tired…
Fifth Day: Exhausted. Don’t wanna swallow, don’t wanna swallow…
On the sixth day, it begged Four Hundred to convey its plea.
Four Hundred picked up a brush and wrote:
[Shuangbai, Ziyin! Ninety Million is crying so pitifully! It says it doesn’t want to swallow people anymore, it’ll never do it again! Please don’t force it to go to the Sword Pavilion today!!! It’s really gonna thank you—the kind of “thank” where it withers away!!!]
Wen Shuangbai read it and scoffed. "Tch. Only lasted six days."
Xie Ziyin: "Overestimated it." He’d thought it would hold out for at least ten days to half a month.
Ninety Million: QAQ
Of course, Ninety Million still had to go.
It had signed a contract, after all.
But Yin Xuan, taking pity on its exhaustion, allowed it to work two days and rest one.
---
The weather grew warmer as summer arrived.
When the Spirit Realm finally opened, the three major sects—long delayed in receiving their spirit stones due to an excess of sacred stones—gathered at its entrance.
Elder Qian was reportedly too busy to attend, and Elder Cao Xing still had a month left of his leave, so the task fell to a particularly easygoing elder from the administrative hall.
"The spiritual energy in the Spirit Realm is too dense—prolonged exposure is dangerous. Your sects have allotted you ten days. After that, you must leave. Understood?"
Wen Shuangbai nodded, her smile unwavering. "Understood. Thank you, Elder!"
Beyond its abundant spirit veins, the Spirit Realm was a blessed land in its own right.
Being inside it felt no different from soaking in a spiritual spring.
Wen Shuangbai understood the intentions of the pavilion master and elders—they were using this opportunity to grant everyone some benefits.
Sure enough, the moment she stepped into the Spirit Realm, every cell in her body felt immersed in spiritual energy, as if floating in bliss.
The little fox happily wagged her newly grown, stubby spirit tail. "This place is amazing! I bet my tail will be fully grown in ten days!"
"Amitabha." Huaiming Buddha Son sensed the changes within himself and remarked, "Your sect leader’s kindness runs deep."
Shen Hefeng felt as though even his unlucky aura had vanished here. He grumbled, "If it’s this good, why only ten days? Sect Leader Li and Elder Qian are so stingy…"
Li Zhuohua scolded him, "Too much of a good thing can be overwhelming—stay any longer and I might burst!"
"Everyone, if you want to chat, do it outside. In my opinion, we should hurry and mine the spirit stones first. After that, we can focus on cultivation," Wen Shuangbai said, sensing a subtle loosening in her own cultivation realm.
For the first few days, they would mine spirit stones while absorbing the abundant spiritual energy of the place, using the labor itself as a form of cultivation. Later, they could fully dedicate themselves to breaking through their bottlenecks!
Nothing could be more perfect than this!
"Let’s go, mine those spirit stones!" Li Zhuohua whipped out the large spirit shovels Wen Shuangbai had prepared—one for each of them—and charged toward the spiritual mountain ahead.
"Let’s go, let’s go—" The others eagerly followed, brandishing their shovels with laughter. "Let’s see who digs the fastest!!!"
……
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
The group emerged from the spirit realm in high spirits, but before they could even exchange words, the stern atmosphere before them gave them pause.
Elder Qian, who was supposedly too busy to oversee them, stood at the center of the formation, flanked by rows of serious-faced senior disciples standing at strict attention.
Qian Lai swept his gaze over the disciples and chuckled. "Finished mining the spirit stones, have you? Hand them over—your seniors here will inspect them. Not that I don’t trust you, of course. I absolutely do. But duty calls, so cooperate nicely, alright?"
The group: "…………"
Wen Shuangbai had been puzzled earlier. Given Elder Qian’s temperament, why would he entrust such a task to the most lenient elder?
So this was his plan all along.
Exchanging meaningful glances with the others, Wen Shuangbai said nothing and obediently handed over the storage rings brimming with spirit stones.
Elder Qian, looking immensely pleased, strolled around with his hands clasped behind his back.
He didn’t miss the furtive glances and restless shuffling among the mischievous youngsters.
These disciples kept exchanging looks, their eyes darting about, their expressions guilty—clearly up to no good! They must have pocketed extra spirit stones!
Elder Qian was already calculating how to punish them.
For every extra stone taken, they’d forfeit a hundred and be sentenced to ten days of cleaning up beast dung!
Perfect. That settled it.
But to his shock, after an incense stick’s worth of time, a disciple from the duty hall rushed over and whispered, "Elder Qian, the count… it’s accurate…"
"What? Accurate?!" Elder Qian refused to believe it. He glared at the snickering youngsters, convinced there had to be a trick. "Impossible! Count again!"
Yet the recount yielded the same result.
Not a single disciple from any of the three major sects had taken even one extra stone.
The laughter grew louder. Elder Qian shot them a fierce look, and the disciples hastily covered their mouths—though their eyes still sparkled with mirth.
Elder Qian circled the group three times but found nothing amiss.
"Hmph!" With a flick of his sleeve, he stormed off indignantly.
"That old Qian," Shen Hefeng stuck out his tongue at the retreating figure. "As if we’d stoop to taking extra!"
"Amitabha," intoned Huaiming Buddha Son. "This humble monk would never dare commit such an act against Buddhist karma."
"Indeed," Wen Shuangbai sighed, watching the elder leave. "We are paragons of virtue. How could we possibly take more than our share?"
"Elder Qian truly underestimates the magnanimity of gentlemen," Xie Ziyin remarked coolly, taking her hand as they headed toward the teleportation array.
Yin Xuan trailed behind the group, silent, before leisurely pulling out a pouch of candied fruit and popping one into his mouth.
After a few steps, he noticed someone lagging further behind. He paused, tilting his head at the slow-moving little turtle. "Want some?"
"Thank you," the turtle hesitated before accepting, then produced an assortment of snacks from his own stash. "I have plenty too."
Seeing the little turtle walking at the back with Senior Brother Yin, the little fox, who had been about to call for him to hurry, held her tongue. She bounded ahead to catch up with the others. "Exactly! We’re not lacking in spirit stones—why would we take more?"
Shen Hefeng instantly teleported beside the little spirits, stretching out his hands. "This old man is lacking! I’ll never say no to extra stones. Hey, how about you hand yours over to me?"
Just as the little spirits seemed ready to oblige, Li Zhuohua swooped in and kicked her junior brother away. "Shameless!"
Lu Jiayao, who had been replying to a message on the Mystic Heaven Mirror, looked up and cheerfully announced, "Come on, everyone! Let’s all head to my place for dinner tonight! My mother said the village is already preparing the feast—we’ll arrive just in time!"
"Sounds great…"
Amid the vibrant heat of midsummer, cicadas buzzed relentlessly, and the world thrived in full fervor.
Arm in arm, the group dashed down the path, where waves of green foliage surged like an emerald tide.
Laughter rang out freely as they roughhoused, brimming with youthful exuberance.
They were young, and from this moment onward, the road ahead would gleam with endless promise.
