The competition in the secret realm of Taihua Mountain lasted half a month, during which disciples were forbidden from carrying any elixirs or food.
Cultivators on the Xuantian Continent relied on spirit-nourishing sustenance. While abstaining wouldn’t starve them to death, it would weaken their bodies to the point of being unable to wield any techniques, rendering them no different from ordinary mortals with no strength to even tie up a chicken.
Spirit food was divided into meat and vegetarian categories. Meat came from domesticated spirit birds and beasts, as well as certain edible demonic creatures. Vegetarian options included medicinal herbs, spirit vegetables, and other plant-based resources.
For convenience in carrying and preservation, medical cultivators processed spirit food into various flavored fasting pills.
"An army marches on its stomach."
Thus, upon entering the secret realm, every team’s first task after a brief rest was to gather materials for crafting fasting pills.
After Shen Hefeng divined the relevant locations, Wen Shuangbai and her four companions set out.
As one of the elders had mentioned earlier, the first day in the secret realm was designed to allow disciples an adjustment period. There were no immediate dangers, and the areas near their landing points were rich in spirit lands, guarded at most by low-tier seventh-grade demonic beasts.
For Wen Shuangbai’s group to encounter a high-tier seventh-grade beast right away was indeed a rare occurrence.
The location Shen Hefeng had pinpointed wasn’t far, and soon, the group arrived.
It was a shallow marsh at the junction of land and lake, its fertile mud densely overgrown with all manner of flowers and plants. The breeze from the lake rustled the vegetation, carrying waves of refreshing spiritual energy.
In the middle of the marsh was a sunken cave.
Wen Shuangbai’s sharp eyes noticed the numerous marks around the cave—all unmistakably left by a giant-toothed crocodile.
She approached, crouching halfway to cautiously peer inside. Within lay several intact dead fish, along with scattered remnants of half-eaten ones.
"This seems to be that giant-toothed crocodile’s den," Wen Shuangbai announced to the group.
Hearing this, Shen Hefeng also crouched down to inspect it, stroking his chin with a dark expression. "That crocodile must have been the guardian of this place. But for some reason, it left prematurely and ambushed us at our landing spot. How infuriating! Instead of staying put in its cave, it had to come looking for death!"
Lu Jiayao and Xie Ziyin had been examining the oddly shaped flora nearby but now wandered over curiously, crouching beside Wen Shuangbai as she used her Fire Feather Whip to fish out the intact dead fish.
Xie Ziyin ignored the eccentric bunch—some fishing, some spectating, some lazing about—and picked up a dry branch. With unhurried steps, he paced around the marsh, using the branch to circle five specific plants.
Finished, he walked to the cave entrance and tapped the ground with the branch, his voice cool. "Hey."
The three looked up at him.
Xie Ziyin pointed at the marked plants. "Don’t touch these five. They’re deadly—if you do, I’ll only be able to collect your corpses. The rest?"
His thin lips parted slightly. "Dig them all up."
Wen Shuangbai: "Got it."
She stood, dusting her hands off, and held up the bundle of dead fish. "Can we eat these?"
Xie Ziyin glanced at the fish, then at the scattered remnants in the cave, before replying, "Yes."
Wen Shuangbai’s face brightened into a smile. She tossed the Fire Feather Whip and the fish toward Yin Xuan, who was drowsing against a tree nearby. "Senior Brother, time to grill some fish!"
The group divided tasks efficiently.
Xie Ziyin first cleared out the giant-toothed crocodile’s cave, then found an open spot to set up his alchemy furnace and began preparing to refine fasting pills.
Yin Xuan, one arm laden with firewood and the other holding the cleaned fish, cheerfully started a fire for grilling.
Wen Shuangbai, Shen Hefeng, and Lu Jiayao swiftly dug up the spirit plants, piling them fresh from the earth near Xie Ziyin in no time.
While the five worked in high spirits, the elders watching through the illusion crystal spheres were of mixed emotions.
The elder overseeing the Taihua Mountain secret realm clutched his chest in distress, exclaiming, "How are they any different from bandits?!"
"Have these disciples gone eight lifetimes without a full meal? Why would they even take the uneaten food left by that crocodile?!"
"I would never stoop to fishing out such things. Those spirit plants alone are enough for fasting pills—why go this far? That girl… I don’t even know what to say about her. That’s a Fire Feather Whip, isn’t it? Using it to scoop up rotten dead fish—doesn’t she worry about dirtying her weapon?"
"Who is that girl, anyway? I’ve never heard of her before."
An informed voice spoke up. "Wen Shuangbai. Wen Feng’s daughter."
"...Ah. So it’s her."
"And who’s that medical cultivator? The girl is one thing—at least she took whole fish. But this guy is scooping up scraps from the cave and storing them in his spatial ring… What is he planning?" The elder was at a loss for words.
The elder from the Medical Pavilion hesitated before explaining, "That’s Xie Ziyin. He ranked third in our Medical Pavilion’s recent competition. His father was also an elder in our pavilion, though he died in a secret realm when Xie Ziyin was young."
The elder overseeing the Taihua Mountain secret realm felt his heart bleeding with pain as he shot a sidelong glance at the medical pavilion elder. "Other teams only pick usable herbs from the spiritual fields. But your third-ranked disciple from the medical pavilion? First, they marked out the unusable herbs, then dug up everything else—regardless of whether they were useful or not—as long as they weren’t poisonous or harmful, right?"
The medical pavilion elder: "..."
The eldest senior brother’s cooking skills were exceptional—the fish skin was crispy on the outside while the flesh remained tender and juicy inside.
Though there were no seasonings, the fish was no ordinary catch, so the taste was still quite good.
Xie Ziyin needed time to refine the fasting pills.
After a satisfying meal, the group waited nearby, patiently watching him work.
The man sat cross-legged, eyes closed, as faint green spiritual energy rippled around him, converging toward the alchemy furnace floating before him.
Wen Shuangbai stared intently at Xie Ziyin for a long while, recalling the plot from the book. With a meaningful glance around, she deliberately chose a strategic position—one that allowed her to advance or retreat as needed—before sitting down to circulate the Yaoling Heart Technique while keeping vigilant watch over their surroundings.
Yin Xuan, drowsy after eating, lazily scanned between his junior sister and the fasting pill-wielding junior brother with half-lidded eyes before settling right between them, using his sword as a pillow.
Lu Jiayao was busy chatting with Shen Hefeng. "Brother Shen, I heard from the main hall that the most valuable treasure in this secret realm is the core of a fifth-grade Dragonflame Blazing-Eyed Serpent. Can you divine its location? Should we hunt it next?"
Wen Shuangbai, who had been listening attentively, twitched an eyelid.
Before the Taihua Mountain secret realm opened, the sect elders had entered to prepare, sealing away a number of dangerous high-level beasts while leaving behind the fifth-grade Dragonflame Blazing-Eyed Serpent along with sixth- and seventh-grade demonic creatures.
Seventh-grade beasts corresponded to the Spirit Initiation Realm, sixth-grade to the Enlightened Aperture Realm, and fifth-grade to the Void Piercing Realm.
Among the disciples, the strongest were Senior Sister Li Zhuohua, followed by the eldest senior brother, Bai Lijue, and Lu Ying.
These four, the most combat-capable, were all at the Enlightened Aperture Realm. Fighting a fifth-grade beast above their level would be no easy feat.
In the book, Li Zhuohua ultimately claimed the serpent’s core, which later became the catalyst for the deadly feud between her and Yu Xiaoxiao, leading to their life-and-death duel.
Wen Shuangbai had no intention of seeking out the fifth-grade serpent.
The most valuable treasure in Taihua Mountain wasn’t the serpent—they wouldn’t win first place by relying on it.
With this in mind, she cast another meaningful glance at Xie Ziyin.
Meanwhile, Shen Hefeng wasn’t interested in the serpent either. He knew Senior Sister Li Zhuohua was determined to claim it, and challenging her would be futile.
Since she was alone, even if she took the serpent’s core and secured first place in the second round, it wouldn’t affect his standing in the Tianwen Pavilion.
His goal was simply to surpass Lu Ying.
Shen Hefeng had his priorities clear, so he ignored Lu Jiayao’s chatter.
He was busy divining his fortune for the day, but the buzzing nuisance beside him grated on his nerves. "Shut up, stop bothering me!"
Lu Jiayao hastily covered his mouth. "Right, right."
Shen Hefeng resumed his divination. Moments later, he frowned at the turtle shell’s omen—a warning to beware of those around him, as someone might drag him down.
"Someone around me?" He slowly turned, narrowing his eyes with a dark tone. "Could it be you?"
Lu Jiayao: "Huh?"
Before long, a faint, refreshing fragrance wafted from the alchemy furnace—the sign of a successful refinement.
Xie Ziyin opened his eyes and lifted the furnace lid, revealing thirty-five flawless fasting pills gleaming under the afternoon sun.
The illusion crystal could only show images, not sound.
Since the group had been inactive, the elders shifted their attention to other teams.
The sword arts elder stroked his beard approvingly. "It’s only the first day, yet Zhuohua is already close to finding the Dragonflame Blazing-Eyed Serpent."
The Tianwen Pavilion elder added, "Lu Ying’s group isn’t far behind either."
Shentu Ming of the Qiji Pavilion glanced over. "Is that the Divine Wood Divination Rod in Lu Ying’s hand?"
The Tianwen Pavilion elder nodded. "A fortunate encounter from Ningyuan Mountain."
The medical pavilion elder, ever the instigator, remarked, "Zhuohua and Lu Ying might cross paths. I wonder who will come out on top. By the way, who’s that female sword cultivator in Lu Ying’s team? I don’t recall seeing her before."
The sword arts elder paused, his voice dropping as if wary. "That’s Dugu Hong’s disciple, Yu Xiaoxiao."
The moment "Dugu Hong" was mentioned, the hall fell into an uneasy silence.
Finally, an elder broke the tension. "Look! Xie Ziyin’s fasting pills are done!"
Though Li Zhuohua and Lu Ying's chase was intense and gripping, the elders couldn't help but let their eyes wander over, whispering among themselves.
"That Fasting Pill looks quite good."
"Good, yes, but... doesn’t it seem a bit small to you?"
"A bit small? It’s clearly less than half the size of a regular Fasting Pill!"
Yin Xuan caught the scent and stood up eagerly, but the moment he opened his eyes, his expression visibly dimmed. With utter despair, he asked, "...Why is it so tiny? Did you make a mistake, junior brother?"
A mistake?
Impossible.
This was Xie Ziyin’s meticulously calculated creation—not a grain more, not a grain less, designed to be just enough.
His tone was indifferent, unwavering as iron. "One pill a day is sufficient."
