Unlike Shen Hefeng who had been tempted into forcibly breaking through his cultivation realm before, Wen Shuangbai didn't feel any discomfort at the moment. Instead, it felt like a natural progression.
Wen Shuangbai pondered—perhaps this place held dangers, but in this world, risks and opportunities always coexisted.
The dense spiritual energy combined with the physical labor of digging stones actually helped her become more adept at wielding spiritual techniques.
However, now wasn't the ideal time for a breakthrough. Suppressing the restless stirrings of her spiritual bones, she focused her mind and channeled her energy into the iron shovel, effortlessly prying loose a pile of heavy stones before storing them in her spatial ring.
Inside the cave, these stones shimmered like radiant gems, but once placed in the ring, they turned into ordinary rocks.
By now, Wen Shuangbai's spatial ring was nearly full, with only a sliver of space remaining.
At the same time, the entire Taihua Stone Cave had only one last area left to excavate.
The group exchanged glances, silently spreading out to surround the remaining spot from five different directions.
Wen Shuangbai, brimming with enthusiasm, her dark eyes gleaming, declared, "Friends, the last stretch is always the hardest. Whether we succeed or not depends on this final effort!"
With that, the five of them began digging.
But as the saying goes, momentum wanes after the first surge.
Half an hour passed, then one, then two—yet the last patch of ground remained stubbornly unexcavated. The deeper they dug, the more stones seemed to appear, revealing a pit beneath filled with even more!
Over there, Shen Hefeng cursed, "I'll dig up your ancestors eighteen generations back!"
Lu Jiayao sighed, "Brother Shen, save your breath for digging instead of cursing, won't you?"
Shen Hefeng snapped, "Shut up. You talk too much."
Not daring to provoke the madman further, Lu Jiayao turned to Wen Shuangbai. "Junior Sister, can we take a break?"
Wen Shuangbai, absorbed in both digging and sensing the faint stirrings of a potential breakthrough, didn't pause or look back. "The barrier will reopen at the hour of Yin tomorrow. If we don't find the Taihua Stone by then and Yu Xiaoxiao's group gets in, all our digging will be for nothing."
Lu Jiayao nearly wept—his arms ached so much he could barely lift the shovel. He considered slacking off quietly.
But Xie Ziyin intervened with just three words, instantly crushing Lu Jiayao's hopes: "Vitality Pill?"
"...No, no! I don't need it! I can keep digging!"
Tears in his eyes, Lu Jiayao forced himself to continue.
Too terrifying. He'd rather rely on sheer willpower than ever take another Vitality Pill in his life!
Yin Xuan, who had also been contemplating a break after seeing Lu Jiayao's attempt: "......"
Even their second senior sister didn't police their laziness—why was this junior brother so strict?
Sigh. Life was hard.
Nearby, the rhythmic sound of snoring came from the Monkey King, blissfully asleep after gorging on stones.
Neither Wen Shuangbai nor Xie Ziyin trusted it enough to let it near the real Taihua Stone, so they hadn't forced it into labor, keeping it at a distance instead.
Yin Xuan, his silver hair once again a tangled mess from neglect, shot the monkey an envious glance.
Eyes downcast, he weakly but precisely swung his shovel—accidentally (or not) sending a few stones flying. They landed with perfect accuracy, thudding against the monkey's head.
"Who—who hit me?!" The Monkey King jolted awake, golden eyes scanning the suspects.
The duo in green and white were too absorbed in digging—when they struck, it was always lethal, so unlikely.
The pink butterfly was too simple-minded for such tricks.
The bird's-nest-haired one looked too exhausted, yawning constantly—also unlikely.
Finally, it settled on Shen Hefeng as the prime culprit. "Definitely you, you damned Taoist! Sneak attacking this king?!"
"Who you calling 'damned,' you stupid monkey?" Shen Hefeng, quick to anger, brandished his shovel and stormed over. "Sneak attack? I don't need to sneak—I'll beat you to death right now!"
Yin Xuan remained silent.
Just as Shen Hefeng was about to pass him, he slowly raised a hand to block the way, softly reminding, "Junior Brother Shen, no slacking. Keep digging."
Shen Hefeng: "??"
Fearing Xie Ziyin might force another Toxic Spirit Pill down his throat, he grudgingly returned to work, muttering curses under his breath.
......
Another day passed. As the hour of Yin approached and the barrier prepared to reopen, their task neared completion.
With Wen Shuangbai's final shovel strike, the entire Taihua Stone Cave was emptied—not a single pebble remained. Yet there was still no sign of the Taihua Stone. The silence was deafening.
The group's expressions darkened as they searched frantically.
Lu Jiayao, shaking his head, suddenly noticed something and exclaimed joyfully, "I feel my cultivation realm loosening! Do you guys feel it too?"
The others gave him deadpan stares.
Shen Hefeng: "No kidding. I felt it three days ago."
Ever the optimist, Lu Jiayao beamed. "Then our digging wasn't in vain! This alone makes it worth it—breaking through is rare enough! Forget the Taihua Stone, this reward surpasses anything the sect could give—"
Wen Shuangbai cut him off. "Why choose one when we can have both?"
Xie Ziyin glanced at her. "Greedy."
Despite his words, he was already tapping the cave walls with his alchemy furnace, testing whether they could be broken.
Alas, the walls weren't physical—just part of the formation barrier, impossible to take.
Noticing this, Wen Shuangbai withdrew her foot from the wall she'd been kicking and smirked at him. "Says you. If you're not greedy, will you give me all the spirit stones you've earned in this realm after we leave?"
Xie Ziyin: "?"
Tsk. The audacity of her dreams.
He shook his head lightly. "I never said greed was bad."
Meanwhile, Lu Jiayao, too excited to care, dashed from one end of the cave to the other, eager to share his joy with the Monkey King—who, having recently learned human speech, was still in the phase of earnestly listening to everything.
In his exhilaration, he zigzagged in an S-shaped path.
But as all things reach their extremes and reverse, Lu Jiayao tripped over something unseen and went flying.
His jubilant expression froze mid-air as he screamed, "Aaaaaah—!"
In his plummeting vision, he saw Wen Shuangbai and Xie Ziyin rushing toward him from opposite directions.
Touched, he thought—despite their usual indifference, they'd still rush to save a comrade in need!
Yet the next moment, Lu Jiayao watched in disbelief as green and white robes flashed past him without stopping.
With a loud THUD, he face-planted into the ground, leaving a perfect human-shaped imprint.
The Monkey King scratched his head as he looked down at the pink-robed youth prostrating before him, then his eyes suddenly lit up. With exaggerated solemnity, he waved his hand and declared, "No need for such grand gestures in my presence—rise!"
Lu Jiayao: "…………"
...
The Taihua Mountain cave dwelling had already been stripped bare by them, leaving the ground completely empty—not even a single weed remained. So what could have possibly tripped Lu Jiayao?
The answer was obvious. Wen Shuangbai was the first to react, lunging forward and crouching where Lu Jiayao had just stumbled. She stretched out her hand, searching the air.
Xie Ziyin hesitated when he saw her reaching out, wary that she might later feign disgust after deliberately brushing her fingers against his palm. So he stayed still.
The woman before him wore a green robe that pooled on the ground, cinched at the waist by a fiery-red whip adorned with phoenix feathers. Her dark hair, still unsettled from her haste, floated lightly in the air.
Her slender, jade-like fingers trembled slightly as they grazed something unseen, her excitement palpable.
Xie Ziyin’s lashes flickered, and he averted his gaze before asking, "Well?"
Wen Shuangbai looked up at the white-robed man and couldn’t help but laugh, her grip tightening around the invisible yet smooth, jade-like stone in her hand, refusing to let it escape. "I think," she said, her voice bright with triumph, "this is the Taihua Stone!"
Transparent, capable of darting around the cave—no wonder it had been so hard to find!
As the Taihua Stone struggled, trying to slip from her grasp, Wen Shuangbai clasped it with both hands, attempting to pull it free. But to her frustration, the stone seemed rooted in the ground, immovable.
Without hesitation, her phoenix-feather whip unwound from her waist and lashed around the invisible stone, binding it tightly.
At the same time, the slippery Taihua Stone wriggled free from between her fingers, dragging the whip behind it as it fled through the cave.
The four of them immediately gave chase.
Lu Jiayao, having just crawled out of the pit where he’d fallen, wasted no time joining the pursuit.
The Monkey King watched curiously as Wen Shuangbai took the lead, gripping the whip while the others piled on behind her.
After a brief huddle and some whispered strategizing, Wen Shuangbai planted her feet firmly, lowered her stance, and shouted, "One, two, three—PULL!"
With a synchronized heave, the cave trembled violently.
Encouraged, Wen Shuangbai grinned. "Again! One, two, three!"
"One, two, three!"
"... "
Pull after pull, the scene struck the Monkey King as oddly familiar.
Ah, yes—it reminded him of that rabbit yanking at a stubborn carrot!
No matter how hard they tugged, it just wouldn’t budge.
They were so close, yet not quite there.
Wen Shuangbai exhaled sharply, then suddenly had an idea. Her gaze lifted, meeting the Monkey King’s wide, blinking eyes.
A mischievous smile curled her lips as she beckoned warmly, "Little monkey, come here—we need your help."
The Monkey King: "..."
Not daring to refuse, the Monkey King scurried over to assist in their carrot-pulling endeavor.
---
Outside the Taihua Stone cave, within the secret realm.
A spirit rabbit clutched a freshly uprooted carrot, blowing off the dirt before opening its mouth for a bite—only for its ears to prick up in alarm.
It immediately flung the carrot aside and bolted.
That group was after it again!
Wuwuwu, it absolutely refused to lead them back to the cave! The monkey was there—no way, too scary!
"Damn it, it got away again!" Lu Ying snarled.
Seven days. They had chased this rabbit for seven whole days.
With the inner realm on the verge of reopening, they still hadn’t caught it.
The group gave chase, but suddenly, the entire Taihua Mountain secret realm shuddered violently. Before they could react, the tremors came again—one after another, so intense they could barely keep their footing.
Bai Lijue steadied Yu Xiaoxiao beside him. "What’s happening?"
Lu Ying glared toward the valley, teeth clenched. "Someone’s tampered with the Taihua Stone."
The Taihua Stone was the core of the entire secret realm’s formation—disturb it, and everything would be affected.
After a moment, the tremors ceased, and the realm stabilized.
"Hurry, if we catch that rabbit now, we might still make it—" Before Lu Ying could finish, the realm convulsed once more. A blinding white light flashed, and they were forcibly ejected from the secret realm, tumbling out of the bronze teleportation disc onto the grand hall of Qingling Mountain.
A cacophony of thuds and yelps filled the hall as disciples rained down in disarray.
"Ow ow ow—!"
"What’s going on? I was fighting a demon beast—where’d it go?!"
"What happened? I didn’t crush my exit token—why am I out already? The trial was supposed to last two more days!"
"Did I miscalculate?"
"No, there were definitely two days left. Something must’ve gone wrong!"
"... "
Before the illusion crystal sphere, Elder Qian shot to his feet, his teacup shattering on the ground with a sharp clink.
Another elder glanced at him, smirking. "Seems Wen Shuangbai and her group got their hands on the Taihua Stone. Elder Qian, what do you plan to do about it?"
Some elders, aligned with the Lu and Bai families, began exchanging pointed remarks.
"Can the Taihua Stone even count toward the disciples’ scores?"
"Of course not! And because of them, the other disciples had their trial cut short. If anything, they should be punished!"
"The rules never said it couldn’t count, so it should! They earned it fair and square—why shouldn’t it?"
Elder Shentu interjected, "What, afraid Wen Shuangbai’s team will take first place and ruin your precious disciples’ chances at ranking high?"
"Shentu Ming, don’t you dare twist my words! Wen Shuangbai is—" Remembering Shentu Ming’s past enmity with Wen Feng, the elder bit back his retort. "She’s your Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion disciple. Don’t pretend you’re not biased!"
"I treat all disciples equally," Shentu Ming stated coolly. "The trial rules are clear—we follow them as written."
"Enough bickering! Shouldn’t we be figuring out how to handle this? The trial ended early—how do we score the other disciples?"
The elders dissolved into chaos, each shouting over the other.
Elder Qian was about to seek the Sect Leader’s guidance when a voice resonated in his ear—the Sect Leader’s spiritual transmission.
"Qian Lai, retrieve the Taihua Stone from those disciples first. Restart the secret realm and allow the ejected disciples to complete the remaining two days of their trial..."
Elder Qian listened carefully before bowing. "Understood, Sect Leader. May I ask—should the Taihua Stone be counted toward their trial results? And if so, how?"
The Sect Leader replied calmly, "The four Pavilion Masters and I will discuss this shortly. You will have your answer then."
---
Wen Shuangbai and her group had barely landed when several disciplinary elders escorted them away.
She handed the Taihua Stone to Elder Qian, who had rushed over in a fluster.
Everything from the Taihua Mountain secret realm—including the spirit monkeys—was now contained within the stone.
This artifact was a sect treasure, meant for trials, not personal possession. Wen Shuangbai understood this well and surrendered it without protest.
Elder Qian had expected to need a lengthy lecture before they would hand it over, but to his surprise, it was given so easily. Unintentionally, his dissatisfaction with the group lessened slightly. He turned to the subordinate elder in charge of discipline and said, "Keep a close eye on them these next two days."
With those words, he hurriedly left to reopen the secret realm of Mount Taihua.
"You may only leave after the competition concludes. Follow me," the disciplinary elder said, leading the group toward the guest hall of the Enforcement Hall.
Wen Shuangbai watched Elder Qian's retreating figure, lost in thought.
In the book, after Yu Xiaoxiao and the others took the Taihua Stone, they were also first brought to the Enforcement Hall for surveillance.
Within the sect, the elders were divided over whether the Taihua Stone could count as competition results. They argued for a long time until the Sect Leader and Pavilion Masters deliberated and settled the matter.
In the end, of course, it was allowed.
But now that they were the ones who had obtained the Taihua Stone, would the outcome remain the same?
At any rate, she had done all she could—now it was up to fate. The most important thing at the moment was to break through to the next realm.
At the entrance of the guest hall, Wen Shuangbai turned to the elder in charge and asked respectfully, "Elder, will you personally oversee us for the next two days?"
The disciplinary elder had witnessed these youngsters' unorthodox methods through the illusion crystal and, wary of further mischief, nodded firmly. "Yes, I will personally supervise."
On the Xuantian Continent, ascending to a higher realm didn’t involve heavenly tribulations, but it was still perilous. Having someone of higher cultivation guard the process was ideal—they could intervene if anything went wrong.
Wen Shuangbai relaxed. "That’s good. We’ll trouble you greatly, Elder. Please watch over us carefully."
With that, she stepped into the guest hall with a breezy smile.
The elder: "?"
Xie Ziyin followed behind and gave him a slight nod. "We appreciate your efforts."
The elder: "??"
Shen Hefeng, having pieced together everything about the Taihua Mountain cave dwelling, found it aligned perfectly with his divination—a season of labor, busy yet bountiful!
He rushed in like a gust of wind, laughing. "Hahaha, so that’s how it is! Marvelous! Truly marvelous! Enlightened Aperture Realm, here I come!"
The elder frowned at the eccentric disciple, only for his hands to be suddenly seized by a youth in pink robes, who gazed at him gratefully. "Elder, thank you! We’ll be relying on you these next few days!"
The elder: "???"
Finally, he turned to the slow-moving swordsman at the back, his heart already numb.
Go on, he thought. Let’s see what this Yin Xuan has to say.
Yin Xuan stopped, studied the elder for a long moment, then tilted his head and asked softly, "These two days… will meals be provided?"
The elder: "…………"
……
Half an hour later, after partaking in the spiritual cuisine delivered by the Enforcement Hall, the five found their own spots, sat cross-legged, and began their attempts to break through to the Enlightened Aperture Realm.
Yin Xuan, already in the Enlightened Aperture Realm, for once didn’t collapse into sleep immediately. Instead, he took a deep breath, wore a pained expression, and pushed toward the peak of the realm.
The sooner he finished, the sooner he could sleep.
He listlessly mused.
The disciplinary elder, finally realizing what was happening: "…"
So this was their plan all along?
But he had to admit—given the circumstances, he truly had no choice but to guard them personally.
If the Sect Leader and Pavilion Masters ruled that the Taihua Stone counted, these disciples would be the competition’s winners.
And that meant… they might very well represent the future of Qingling Mountain.
He couldn’t afford to let anything happen to them.
Feeling thoroughly taken advantage of, the disciplinary elder sighed and took a seat nearby.
