That night passed peacefully.
The next morning, the first light of dawn filtered through the dense branches, scattering fragmented rays across the ground.
Wen Shuangbai had only rested near daybreak and was now curled up beneath a large tree, her dark hair and green robes spilling onto the fallen leaves, her fair and serene face half-visible in sleep.
Shen Hefeng had taken over the night watch.
Straightening his Taoist robes, he chose a spot with excellent feng shui, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began by solemnly cleansing himself with a purification technique. Then, he took out his tortoise shell to perform his usual three morning divinations.
The first divination was for the day’s fortune—the result read, "Wealth comes through danger."
The second divination asked when he would reach the Mingqiao realm—the result read, "All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, or shadows."
The third divination inquired whether Senior Sister Zhuohua had already obtained the fifth-grade demon core of the Dragonflame Burst-Eyed Serpent—the result read, "Indeed."
Shen Hefeng shot to his feet and immediately announced the news: "Everyone! The fifth-grade demon core already has an owner!"
His words startled countless birds from the trees.
Wen Shuangbai was roused from sleep, pushing herself up from the pile of fallen leaves with little reaction other than a long, lazy yawn.
As a transmigrator, she had already known.
Not far away, Yin Xuan continued to sleep soundly.
Xie Ziyin, leaning against a tree, merely flicked his eyelids slightly at the news.
He didn’t know the exact process by which the original protagonist had secured first place in the Taihua Mountain Secret Realm, but he knew the outcome.
The outcome was that the original protagonist hadn’t relied on that serpent core.
All three of them reacted indifferently, leaving only Lu Jiayao to respond with enthusiasm. "Really? So soon? It’s only the second day, and the demon core’s already been taken? Who took it?"
Shen Hefeng: "Senior Sister Zhuohua."
Lu Jiayao sighed in admiration. "As expected of Qingling Mountain’s head disciple! I’ve long heard that Senior Sister’s Flowing Rainbow Sword is unmatched—truly impressive!"
Wen Shuangbai cut in. "Have any of you considered what we should do next to secure first place, now that the Burst-Eyed Serpent’s core is gone?"
"???" Lu Jiayao blurted out in shock, "Wait, we’re aiming for first?!"
"..." Wen Shuangbai paused, visibly exasperated. "Obviously."
If they didn’t take first in the second round, the top spot in the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion would slip through her fingers—and that meant thirty thousand spirit stones! Thirty thousand!
Lu Jiayao meekly said, "Ah, Shuangbai, I actually think making the top ten is already quite... good..."
The last word, "enough," was swallowed under the threatening glares of the others.
Wait, so his dear teammates were all aiming for first place this time?!
He’d been perfectly content with just making the top ten!
Shen Hefeng said breezily, "I just need to rank higher than that bastard Lu Ying. With the Burst-Eyed Serpent core gone, if we hunt more sixth-grade demon beasts, we’ll be set."
Xie Ziyin glanced at him and scoffed. "Naïve."
Wen Shuangbai agreed. "Friend, you’re oversimplifying things. Have you ever wondered why, in the Sky-Questioning Pavilion, Lu Ying always takes first while you’re stuck in second?"
Shen Hefeng flew into a rage. "Oh, so you two are at it again, huh?! Did you two kiss again last night—"
Wen Shuangbai’s lips twitched. She shot to her feet, snarling, "Shen Hefeng! If you dare finish that sentence, I’ll rip out your tongue!"
Shen Hefeng: "What? The magistrates can set fires, but the commoners can’t even light a lamp? You can call me the eternal runner-up, but I can’t mention your little secret?"
Xie Ziyin, ever impartial, remarked, "She’s stating facts."
"AAAAAH—" Shen Hefeng hurled his Taoist hat to the ground. "Fine! Let’s settle this with a duel!!"
Yin Xuan, still half-asleep, flinched and scooted farther away.
Lu Jiayao stepped forward, on the verge of tears. "Stop fighting! Weren’t we supposed to discuss how to take first place?"
The word "first" had a calming effect. Shen Hefeng took a deep breath, picked up his hat, and grumbled, "Then tell us—what should we do?"
Wen Shuangbai brushed the fallen leaves from her robes, her eyes gleaming. "Guess—what’s the most valuable thing in the Taihua Mountain Secret Realm?"
Xie Ziyin’s brows lifted slightly as he glanced at her.
Her confident expression suggested she already knew the answer.
How strange. Ever since entering the secret realm, her words and actions had completely diverged from the original villainess’s character.
Xie Ziyin pondered this silently.
Shen Hefeng frowned, racking his brain. The most valuable fifth-grade demon core had already been taken by Senior Sister Zhuohua—what else was left?
Lu Jiayao gave up after three seconds of thought. The world of first place was too mentally taxing for someone who’d been happy with tenth.
"The most valuable thing in the Taihua Mountain Secret Realm is, of course..." Yin Xuan propped himself up drowsily in the distance, his voice soft, "...the Taihua Stone."
Wen Shuangbai smiled. "Exactly."
Shen Hefeng’s eyes lit up. "Brilliant!"
The Taihua Mountain Secret Realm was filled with countless treasures, but all of them existed because of the Taihua Stone at the heart of the formation.
The Taihua Stone was one of the sect’s most prized artifacts—its value was beyond measure. How could a mere serpent core compare?
Shen Hefeng immediately declared, "I’ll divine the path."
Given the stakes, he brought out his Spirit-Devouring Banner for the first time in front of the group.
Before starting, he turned to Xie Ziyin and asked for the spiritual herbs that hadn’t yet been refined into pills.
Wen Shuangbai and Yin Xuan both tensed, eyeing him warily.
Even though Xie Ziyin held the supplies, these were communal resources—individuals shouldn’t just help themselves!
Xie Ziyin: "Explain why."
He’d decide whether to hand them over.
Shen Hefeng hesitated, then stroked his banner lovingly and sighed like an old man. "Do you know why it’s called the Spirit-Devouring Banner? It devours spirit stones, herbs, and pills—only then can this banner serve me."
Wen Shuangbai: "?"
What kind of trash banner demanded such high-quality offerings?
Xie Ziyin thought for a moment, then pulled out the leftover scraps from the giant-toothed crocodile’s meal.
"Try this first," he said.
Shen Hefeng: "?"
He defended his treasure. "You expect it to eat this? That’s hardly appropriate."
Wen Shuangbai: "What’s inappropriate about it? Be grateful it’s getting anything at all. Hurry up—once we have the direction, we can set off."
Yin Xuan tilted his head in agreement. "Indeed. It shouldn’t eat better than me."
Shen Hefeng: "..."
Earlier, his divination had said he was in a period of good fortune, or a period when he was likely to encounter helpful people.
What noble luck? More like bully luck—surrounded by a pack of tyrants!
Grudgingly, Shen Hefeng relented. "Fine, I’ll try."
He planted the Spirit-Devouring Banner firmly into the ground and arranged the fish scraps before it.
Kneeling before the banner, he closed his eyes, his spiritual energy surging as he chanted in a low voice:
"My body upholds righteousness untainted,
Now with spirit fish, I offer to the myriad spirits,
Seek the path to the Taihua Stone—
East, west, south, north, or center,
I beg the spirits to guide us!"
A frigid gust of wind swept through, sending leaves swirling violently, nearly knocking everyone off their feet.
The fish remains were sucked into the banner and vanished. The snow-white banner cloth flapped wildly like a ship’s sail in a storm.
Suddenly, the banner tore free from the ground and shot toward the southeast.
The group exchanged glances.
Wen Shuangbai was the first to sprint forward, her fighting spirit high and her skirt fluttering briskly in the wind. "Let's go!"
Before the Illusory Crystal Sphere, a Sky-Questioning Pavilion elder let out a surprised sound. "Hefeng, this kid—when did he learn the Spirit Sacrifice Art?"
Elder Shentu frowned. "Using the Spirit Sacrifice Art requires a Soul-Devouring Banner, and the wood for the banner's handle must be from an extremely sinister century-old ghost tree. Those with weak wills are easily corrupted by the banner. Didn’t your Sky-Questioning Pavilion advise disciples against learning it?"
The Sky-Questioning Pavilion elder replied, "We never taught him."
These disciples had minds of their own. Whatever the elders forbade, they insisted on doing. What could they do?
Normally, divination and pathfinding didn’t require the Spirit Sacrifice Art. Elder Qian, watching the scene of those eager, ravenous ghosts hurrying along, felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding. He snorted coldly. "Such disobedient disciples ought to be expelled from the sect."
The Sky-Questioning Pavilion elder shot him a glance. Elder Qian, who managed all finances on Qingling Mountain, was notoriously stingy with resources for the other pavilions, earning him no favors among the elders. He retorted, "Our pavilion master... also knows this technique. Does Elder Qian intend to expel our pavilion master as well?"
Elder Qian flicked his sleeve. "Hmph! A crooked stick will have a crooked shadow!"
...
The journey was far from smooth. Likely because they had reached the core of the secret realm, Wen Shuangbai and her group frequently encountered demonic beasts blocking their path.
Wen Shuangbai suspected that the rabbit from the book would still seek out Yu Xiaoxiao, and the protagonist’s group would still head for the Taihua Stone.
They had to arrive before them.
With this in mind, Wen Shuangbai glared at the pack of sixth-tier Split-Beak Wolves before her, her patience wearing thin.
Her team had been locked in a stalemate with the wolves for an hour.
Taking a deep breath, the fire-feathered whip in her hand suddenly erupted like fireworks, scattering countless leaf-shaped needles in all directions toward the surrounding wolves.
Her aim was impeccable—one needle, one wolf. The pack collapsed one after another.
For the few needles that missed, Yin Xuan and Shen Hefeng stepped in to finish the job.
Soon, the wolves were dealt with.
Wen Shuangbai’s team successfully harvested 24 sixth-tier demon cores and 24 wolf carcasses.
One elder gasped in shock. "That girl’s fire-feathered whip was hiding so many leaf-shaped blades!"
Elder Shentu thought to himself, Of course it was. The list of materials she’d submitted that day had filled seven whole pages! Half the stock of leaf-blade materials in the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion’s storeroom had been emptied just for her!
Another elder wondered, "If she had these blades all along, why didn’t she use them earlier? Why now?"
Inside the secret realm, Xie Ziyin asked Wen Shuangbai the same question. "Why didn’t you use them before?"
Wen Shuangbai was currently nursing a financial heartache—this single attack had consumed a third of her leaf-shaped blades. She shot him a sharp glare. "Do you think these blades grow on trees? Are you going to pay for them?"
Once embedded, the blades melted into flesh and blood, making them single-use.
Each blade cost at least fifty spirit stones. The thought pained her deeply.
Xie Ziyin: "..."
He lowered his gaze, not daring to say another word.
He processed the wolf carcasses and tossed them to Shen Hefeng to feed the Soul-Devouring Banner, ensuring it could continue guiding them.
Initially, they had only fed it non-venomous demonic beast carcasses.
But most of the beasts they killed were poisonous, so they tried feeding it one—only for the banner to spin wildly like a top for over an hour.
Later, Xie Ziyin used his medical skills to detoxify the carcasses. After a series of experiments that left Shen Hefeng utterly distressed, he concluded that reducing the toxicity by 40% was the maximum the banner could tolerate.
And so, with frequent stops and starts, the team’s storage rings gradually filled.
Five days later, Wen Shuangbai sat atop her senior brother’s sword, taking inventory of their spoils:
Senior brother had 37 sixth-tier demon cores and 128 seventh-tier demon cores;
She had a pile of claws, fangs, and pelts for crafting, occupying over half her storage ring;
Shen Hefeng had 117 demon beast carcasses;
Xie Ziyin had 23 sixth-tier spirit herbs, 96 seventh-tier spirit herbs, and a bunch of oddities Wen Shuangbai couldn’t fathom why he’d collected.
Not long after she finished tallying, they crossed the endless mountain range and arrived at a valley.
The valley was alive with birdsong and fragrant blossoms, a winding stream cutting through the lush landscape, thick with spiritual energy.
The Soul-Devouring Banner, having dutifully led them all this way, dropped to the ground and refused to move another inch.
The overworked sword cultivator Yin Xuan collapsed beside it, sprawled atop the banner, unwilling to budge.
Soul-Devouring Banner: "..."
Shen Hefeng hurried over to retrieve his banner, fiddled with it for a moment, and announced, "We’re here. The Taihua Stone is nearby."
