Twenty-four days (or two hundred and forty days inside the Endless House) later, the time array ceased operation due to insufficient spirit stones, and the flow of time returned to normal.
During this period, Xie Ziyin, Yin Xuan, Li Zhuohua, and Shen Hefeng awoke one after another, successfully breaking through their cultivation bottlenecks and advancing from the Void Piercing Realm to the Tribulation Crossing Realm.
Only Wen Shuangbai remained in deep meditation.
Though her realm had already broken through, she still hadn’t awakened. Everyone speculated it was due to the opportunity brought by the scroll, so no one disturbed her.
The spirit stones Qingling Mountain had brought to the Imperial Province were nearly depleted.
Before coming to participate in the Profound Heaven Grand Competition, Cao Xing and Elder Qian had meticulously calculated all expenses. They had believed the spirit stones they brought would last until the competition’s conclusion—perhaps even with some to spare.
But now? Well, the tournament hadn’t even reached its halfway point, and the stones were already gone?
They couldn’t even distribute the rewards for the second round!
Fortunately, all six disciples were still unconscious. The sect had spent over twenty days gathering more spirit stones and was rushing them over.
Though the Endless House had stopped functioning due to the lack of spirit stones, the five who had awakened couldn’t be bothered to relocate. They tidied up and simply stayed inside.
That day, Xie Ziyin was flipping through medical texts, searching for case studies.
Since breaking through to the Tribulation Crossing Realm, he had become acutely aware of the side effects brought by the Nine Infants Demonic Art he had previously cultivated.
The Nine Infants Demonic Art was left behind by the original body’s deceased father and had been buried underground by the original owner.
Before entering the Taihua Mountain Secret Realm, Xie Ziyin had chosen to open the ancient box containing the Nine Infants Demonic Art and inherited it.
Before transmigrating, he had heard from his subordinates about the original owner’s fate—after practicing the Nine Infants Demonic Art, he had succumbed to demonic cultivation and was eventually killed by the story’s protagonists.
After transmigrating and inheriting the original owner’s memories, Xie Ziyin realized that the original owner’s father had spent his life researching the dark arts of demonic cultivation.
The core of demonic cultivation, much like the thousand-year-old demon tree and ghostly beings in the Sacred Tower, revolved around fusion.
The Nine Infants Demonic Art was no exception.
However, the demonic entity sealed within the ancient box had been specially treated, its malevolence greatly suppressed.
Before using it, Xie Ziyin had even borrowed spirit stones to purchase medicinal ingredients, ensuring all remnants of the demonic entity’s consciousness were eradicated.
The results were evident—Xie Ziyin had never suffered any side effects from the Nine Infants Demonic Art.
But now, after his breakthrough, he had begun experiencing frequent nightmares.
What a pity.
Xie Ziyin sighed softly.
If he were still in the modern world, he could have applied for a research grant with this phenomenon and secured substantial funding.
But now, he couldn’t risk exposing this issue. If he wanted to study it, he’d have to pay out of his own pocket.
Tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap…
A little straw-woven goose was scribbling furiously beside him.
Xie Ziyin glanced over and saw an entire wall covered with the words "pony skin pony skin pony skin…" He turned to the woodpecker-possessed idiot and said, "You’re Wen Shuangbai’s brush, not mine."
Four Hundred Bucks: "But Wen Shuangbai hasn’t woken up yet. I’ve waited so long—I can’t wait anymore! Can’t you buy me a pony skin in her stead?"
Xie Ziyin: "No."
This brush had been pestering him for days.
He was starting to suspect his nightmares weren’t necessarily caused by the Nine Infants Demonic Art—maybe this stupid brush was the culprit.
Xie Ziyin: "Go bother Yin Xuan or Shen Hefeng. Anyone but me."
Four Hundred Bucks was principled: "No! I can only ask you or Wen Shuangbai!"
Xie Ziyin: "What does that have to do with me?"
Four Hundred Bucks earnestly wrote out its reasoning for its "second father": "Both you and Wen Shuangbai gave me life, so you’re both responsible for me. Wen Shuangbai already bought me a goose—why can’t you buy me a pony?"
"?" Xie Ziyin, "When did I give you life?"
Four Hundred Bucks: "When you sewed the pigskin for me."
Four Hundred Bucks: "As the ancients said, the body, hair, and skin are received from one’s parents."
"……" Xie Ziyin decided he must be insane to argue with a brush. He promptly dismissed it. "Get lost."
Four Hundred Bucks: "I can only hop, not roll."
Xie Ziyin set down the book, pinched the bridge of his nose, then stood up, grabbed the goose by its neck, opened the window, and tossed it out.
Perfect. Peace at last.
But before long, Four Hundred Bucks stubbornly wriggled its way back inside.
As the ancients said, "No matter how long the road, walking will take you there; no matter how difficult the task, perseverance will see it done!"
It, Four Hundred Bucks, was a brush that feared neither hardship nor exhaustion—unyielding in its pursuit!
And indeed, hard work paid off.
Fifteen minutes later, Xie Ziyin slammed his medical texts shut and left.
Half an hour later, Four Hundred Bucks got its wish—a brand-new straw-woven pony skin!
……
Three days later, Wen Shuangbai awoke beautifully, feeling the surging spiritual energy within her. She smiled faintly.
Rising from the medicinal bath, she caught sight of a straw-woven… pony? spinning and prancing on the floor, looking unbearably smug.
"Damn, who bought you a pony?" Wen Shuangbai guessed, "Elder Cao?"
Four Hundred Bucks: "No, Xie Ziyin did."
Four Hundred Bucks: "He took me to buy it—cost him thirty-three spirit stones!"
Xie Ziyin?
Remembering how he had treated everyone to rabbit legs before, Wen Shuangbai couldn’t help but think—when this man had money, he really was quite generous.
With that in mind, she turned and headed straight for Xie Ziyin’s room next door. Just as she was about to thank him, her gaze landed on the words "pony skin" scrawled across the wall. She fell silent.
Ah. So the stupid brush had begged for it.
Xie Ziyin looked at the visitor, his eyes sweeping over the increasingly radiant woman before him. "Awake?"
"Mm." Wen Shuangbai stepped inside. "Do I need to pay you back for the pony?"
"Rather than repayment," Xie Ziyin tapped the desk lightly, "I’d prefer if you crafted me a new alchemy furnace as soon as possible."
Recalling the alchemy furnace Xie Ziyin had sacrificed in Zhuoguang City, Wen Shuangbai immediately flashed an OK sign. "No problem."
Xie Ziyin’s lips curled slightly, but before he could speak, Wen Shuangbai suddenly leaned in close, flashing him a bright smile with pearly white teeth as she extended her hand.
"But you’ll need to pay me back eighteen spirit stones first, darling."
The debt from their leaf-card game in Zhuoguang City!
Xie Ziyin: "……"
After settling the debt, Xie Ziyin shooed both the woman and the brush out of his sight.
Wen Shuangbai then went around collecting debts from the rest of her teammates.
Through the deliberately open window, Xie Ziyin could hear Shen Hefeng’s exasperated voice in the distance:
"You just woke up and you’re already here to collect debts?! Are you so poor you can’t even afford to eat?!"
Wen Shuangbai shamelessly replied, "Yep, pretty much."
"……"
—
The six of them shared a meal together that evening.
During dinner, Li Zhuohua arrived late, her face flushed with anger. "That Yu Xiaoxiao swore she'd challenge me openly after leaving the Holy Tower! I waited and waited, but she never showed. Today, I went to the Ten Thousand Saints Palace to deliver a challenge, only to be told she'd quit and vanished without a trace!"
Lu Jiayao hesitated. "Senior Sister, I did warn you earlier..."
Li Zhuohua cut him off sharply. "Hearsay isn't proof. Should I just believe everything you say?"
Lu Jiayao immediately fell silent.
"She's gone?" Wen Shuangbai was busy sparring with chopsticks against Shen Hefeng, who had miraculously regrown his thick, luscious hair. After dozens of exchanges, Wen Shuangbai finally snatched the prized chicken drumstick. She took a bite, her eyes curving into crescents.
Truly, stolen food tasted better.
"Where did Yu Xiaoxiao go?" she asked through a mouthful.
"No idea." Li Zhuohua viciously bit into her rice, clearly fuming over the no-show. "She’s completely vanished!"
"What about Lu Ying?" Wen Shuangbai pressed.
Li Zhuohua shook her head—she had no clue. Her only concern was whether there’d be a fight.
Honestly, the Holy Tower had been glorious. Battling the Bone-Corroding Spiders, the Thousand-Year Demonic Tree Wraiths—the near-death thrill had left her exhilarated. For the past month, she’d longed to relive those glorious moments.
"I know!" Lu Jiayao raised his hand eagerly. "Lu Ying self-destructed and was severely injured. He’s recuperating at the Lu family estate. He has no idea where Yu Xiaoxiao went either—she left without a word. He’s even sent people to search for her!"
"I see..." With events now completely diverging from the original novel’s plot, Wen Shuangbai decided to stop overthinking it. Instead, she shared the method for crafting Spirit Mountain Silk and the story of Yaoling with the group.
After hearing it, Li Zhuohua sighed in admiration. "Senior Yaoling was on another level! I need to learn from her!"
Meanwhile, Lu Jiayao zeroed in on a subtle detail from Wen Shuangbai’s summary. "So Patriarch Hanshan and Senior Yaoling were in love back then?"
Shen Hefeng’s mood darkened. The first drumstick he’d eyed was snatched by Yin Xuan, the second by Wen Shuangbai, and the third by Xie Ziyin.
He glared at Xie Ziyin, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Well, well, look who graced us with his presence. I hadn’t seen you at meals lately—thought you’d died in your room with weeds growing over your grave. Surprised you’re still breathing."
"As long as you’re alive, I’ll be around," Xie Ziyin retorted, ignoring the lunatic. He turned to Wen Shuangbai, changing the subject. "What do you plan to do with the Spirit Mountain Silk method?"
"Still undecided," Wen Shuangbai mused. "That’s why I’m asking for opinions."
As the sect leader’s daughter, Li Zhuohua declared, "Hand it over to the sect!"
"Sell it!" Shen Hefeng couldn’t care less about the sect’s finances—he just wanted to get rich. "Auction it to the highest bidder. We’ll make a fortune!"
Lu Jiayao glanced left and right, indecisive. "I’m fine with whatever."
Yin Xuan smiled gently. "I’ll follow my junior sister’s lead."
Xie Ziyin scoffed.
"Thanks, Eldest Brother." Wen Shuangbai piled food into his bowl. "I’m leaning toward a win-win solution, but I haven’t worked out the details yet. I’ll ask for your thoughts once I have a plan."
No one objected.
After dinner, Yin Xuan returned to his room to meditate and refine his sword techniques in his sleep. Li Zhuohua headed to the back mountain to practice her swordsmanship. Shen Hefeng glued on a fake beard and went out to swindle people as a wandering mystic.
Lu Jiayao, meanwhile, went to schmooze with the elders—he was determined to uncover what cultivation method Elder Cao Xing practiced!
Wen Shuangbai gathered materials to forge a cauldron for Xie Ziyin.
As she worked, she checked the Profound Heaven Mirror.
In the Holy Tower competition, the Purple Flame Realm had been the first to complete their mission.
Qingling Mountain came in second, followed by the Jade Rhino Valley as an unexpected third.
The Heavenly Net Witch Sect and Divine Evolution Temple were still competing in Zhuoguang City.
Wen Shuangbai specifically reviewed the Purple Flame Realm’s recording crystal from the City Lord’s residence.
By piecing together perspectives from the Purple Flame Realm, Heavenly Net Witch Sect, and Divine Evolution Temple, along with her own experiences in the Qi family and insights from the Profound Heaven Mirror, she deduced the competition’s rules.
It had been a multi-dungeon challenge with no interference between teams.
Four dungeons in total: the City Lord’s residence, the Qi family, and two others.
Disciples only needed to clear one dungeon to end the competition. Otherwise, they’d remain trapped indefinitely—like the Heavenly Net Witch Sect and Divine Evolution Temple.
Wen Shuangbai frowned as she studied the recording crystal.
During the Purple Flame Realm’s battle against the City Lord’s final boss, Di Qi had vanished for a while.
Had he entered some hidden space?
She also wondered what treasures the Purple Flame Realm had obtained from the City Lord’s residence.
……
After reaching the Tribulation Crossing Realm, Wen Shuangbai realized she barely needed sleep anymore.
It was as if she’d evolved past it!
How wonderful.
Delighted, she worked through the night to finish the cauldron. By dawn, she handed it to Xie Ziyin, feeling refreshed.
Xie Ziyin hadn’t slept either.
First, as a modern-day doctor, all-night shifts were routine.
Second, nightmares plagued him whenever he slept. He’d given up on rest—why bother when Tribulation Crossing cultivators didn’t need it to survive?
"Thanks," he said, accepting the cauldron.
"No problem." Wen Shuangbai turned to leave but paused at the door, remembering his generosity with the four hundred spirit stones. "Want to grab breakfast?"
"Busy." Xie Ziyin had some alchemical ideas to test, but seeing her radiant like the morning sun, he added, "Bring me something."
"Sure." She left, promptly kicking open Shen Hefeng’s door nearby. "Shen the Second! Breakfast?"
"......"
Xie Ziyin pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaled, and examined the cauldron.
His gaze froze.
Tucked in a corner was an inscription:
[Property of Wen Shuangbai, Four Hundred Stones, and Xie Ziyin]
Xie Ziyin: "......Classy."
