The Sacred Guidance Token was a small oval jade pendant, its surface intricately carved with ancient runes that exuded an aura as archaic as the Sacred Tower itself.
Each disciple from the five major sects received one.
Suppressing an inexplicable unease she couldn’t quite define, Wen Shuangbai bid farewell to the visibly livid Elder Cao, fastened the Sacred Guidance Token alongside her Mystic Heaven Mirror, and stepped into the Sacred Tower with her teammates.
The token immediately emitted a faint glow, enveloping her in its luminescence before abruptly pulling her into another realm.
“The Star-Moon Valley Secret Realm?” Nearby, Lu Jiayao had already read aloud the three hastily scrawled characters on the stone marking the entrance. He pointed in shock, “Isn’t this the legendary—”
Disciples from the Violet Flame Realm, Heavenly Net Witchcraft Sect, Divine Evolution Temple, and Jade Rhinoceros Valley were all present. At Lu Jiayao’s words, their gazes turned toward the Qingling Mountain group.
Wen Shuangbai’s eyelids twitched.
Seriously, Lu Jiayao, if you know the answer, why blurt it out like that?!
She quickly interjected, “Lu Jiayao, watch your words!”
Shen Hefeng was even more direct—he simply clamped a hand over Lu Jiayao’s mouth. “Lu Jiayao, listen to your ‘Divine Fortune-Teller’ senior brother: words can bring disaster, and celestial secrets must not be revealed!”
Lu Jiayao struggled, his face turning beet red as he cast pleading looks at Yin Xuan and Li Zhuohua nearby.
But the two sword cultivators remained indifferent, showing no intention of drawing their blades to help.
Witnessing this, Di Qi chuckled lightly and openly explained to the crowd, “This is indeed the legendary Star-Moon Valley Secret Realm. The valley formed in ancient times and opened once every decade until five hundred years ago, when the Mystic Heaven Cataclysm occurred. Since then, the realm has never reappeared in the mortal world. Who would have thought it was hidden within the Sacred Tower?”
The elegant and noble young master gazed at the secret realm’s entrance. “Within the Star-Moon Valley lies the Star-Moon Divine Tree. The divine wood slips Brother Lu possesses were crafted from one of its branches. If we are fortunate enough to obtain even a single branch, this journey will be worth it. May all of you find what you seek. We shall take our leave first—farewell.”
With those words, Di Qi nodded courteously to the group and led the Violet Flame Realm disciples into the Star-Moon Valley.
Di Yanran shot a glance toward Qingling Mountain before hastily lifting her skirts and following.
Soon, the Violet Flame Realm group vanished from sight.
The Heavenly Net Witchcraft Sect disciples sneered and entered as well.
[Ahahaha, truly befitting the Violet Flame Realm! With their strength, they can afford to be bold!]
[That’s the confidence of Mystic Heaven’s top sect! Look at Qingling Mountain, hiding everything like misers, while Senior Brother Di Qi speaks openly without fear of others competing for the Star-Moon Divine Tree!]
[After all, this is Di Qi—a prodigy unseen in Mystic Heaven for ten thousand years!]
Wen Shuangbai averted her gaze from Di Qi and Di Yanran and turned to Lu Jiayao, who was glaring daggers at Shen Hefeng. “Is what the Violet Flame Realm said true?”
“It is,” Lu Jiayao replied.
“Then this is perfect.” Wen Shuangbai’s face lit up with joy. A tree like this sounded incredibly valuable—perfect for uprooting and planting in their Rainbow Fate Pavilion.
Given their tight budget during the startup phase, she hadn’t even been able to afford greenery to improve the pavilion’s ambiance.
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Wen Shuangbai urged her teammates, entering the Star-Moon Valley after the Divine Evolution Temple and Jade Rhinoceros Valley.
The five sects were dispersed to different locations within the secret realm. Wen Shuangbai’s group found themselves in a dense forest.
Towering trees stretched endlessly toward the sky, their canopies blotting out the morning sun, casting the surroundings into dim twilight.
The air was eerily silent, save for the rustling of leaves in the wind and the distant roars of demonic beasts.
The six stood still, scanning their surroundings.
Suddenly, a serpent coiled around a tree lunged at them—only to recoil mid-strike, as if realizing its mistake. It slithered frantically into the depths of the forest, desperate to escape.
But in the Sacred Tower’s trials, slaying a demonic beast always yielded Sacred Stones.
To the six, this serpent was nothing less than unclaimed gold lying on the ground!
“After it!”
The outcome was hardly in doubt. Within fifteen minutes, the serpent was slain.
Spectators watching through the Mystic Heaven Mirror marveled as Xie Ziyin methodically extracted the beast core and skinned the serpent.
[The Qingling Mountain disciples have grown so much stronger!]
[I heard Qingling Mountain put them through two months in the Endless Chamber—that’s two years in there!]
[That insanely expensive Endless Chamber? Qingling Mountain really went all out this time. Let’s hope these six make them proud—if not first place, at least top three and a spot in the Sacred Tower’s final battle!]
[While they’re resting, let me ask—anyone want to group-buy with me?]
[?? Buy what?]
[These six started the Rainbow Fate Pavilion, right? But right now, they only accept orders from Imperial Capital City. Other regions need fifty orders for delivery—I’ve got forty-eight! Just two more! I really want that alchemy furnace, the same one Xie Ziyin uses! 1,500 spirit stones for a furnace that can resize and is super durable—any takers? I’m in Qingzhou City!]
[Wait, seriously? I’ve been in seclusion for two months, and they’ve already opened a business? Count me in! I’m in Qingzhou too!]
[Then let me ask—anyone want to split an order for… hair regrowth pills? Not for me! For my parents and aunt—they’re getting older, and their hair’s thinning. Other healers’ pills aren’t suited for ordinary folks, but I heard Rainbow Fate Pavilion adjusted the formula for civilians!]
[You’ve got me curious now, but I’m not in Qingzhou. Who do I contact if I want to buy?]
Rainbow Fate Pavilion: [Contact me! Talismans, pills, artifacts—we’ve got it all! Fair prices, reliable quality!]
……
Business was booming on the Mystic Heaven Mirror, and even while competing in the trials, the six hadn’t forgotten their venture.
During the Mystic Heaven Grand Competition, they were all in Imperial Capital City, where every blade of grass belonged to the Violet Flame Realm.
The Violet Flame Realm forbade unauthorized logging.
But in the Sacred Tower, the rule was simple: if you can take it, it’s yours.
While Shen Hefeng divined the Star-Moon Divine Tree’s location and Xie Ziyin processed the serpent, the others weren’t idle either.
The Rainbow Fate Pavilion had a back garden, but since the previous owner had used it to breed venomous insects, they’d cleared it out entirely. Now, it lacked both soil and greenery.
So, Lu Jiayao was busy digging up soil.
Wen Shuangbai browsed for desirable plants, calling Li Zhuohua over to uproot the ones she fancied.
She’d expanded their storage rings extensively beforehand—there was plenty of space!
Yin Xuan trailed behind them, chopping down the trees they passed over.
He’d split the kitchen budget evenly between hiring chefs and ingredients, leaving no funds for firewood…
No problem, he could work harder and chop it himself.
It was lunchtime outside.
At Caiyuan Tower, the employees took a break from their meals to watch the bosses compete.
But when they saw the scene, they were deeply moved.
So the bosses really meant it when they said they’d build them a beautiful back garden! And these were plants and trees from the Star-Moon Valley’s secret realm!
How could they possibly deserve such kindness? For the six of them to take time out of their precious competition to dig up trees for them!
Zhang Daqiang immediately put down his bowl, stood on a bench with his chopsticks in hand, and declared passionately, "Everyone! It’s our great fortune that these immortals care so much for us! We must work hard too—let’s make Caiyuan Tower flourish!"
"You’re absolutely right!"
The crowd cheered in agreement, "Yes, let’s make Caiyuan Tower flourish!"
...
After using a scalpel to skin the snake, Xie Ziyin carefully plucked out its fangs with tweezers.
He examined the fangs for a moment, thinking they could be processed and given to Wen Shuangbai for crafting hidden weapons.
Once the fangs were properly stored, he took out a vial and meticulously extracted every last drop of venom from the snake’s glands.
A devotee of the Five Great Sects, who loved hopping between Mystic Heaven Mirrors, gasped upon entering, "Did I come to the wrong place? What are they doing? This is nothing like the other sects!"
A cultivator who had been observing Qingling Mountain for a while replied nonchalantly, "They’re waiting for Shen the Madman to finish his divination."
"And while they wait, they’re just grabbing extra stuff from the Holy Tower. What’s wrong with that?"
The newcomer: "..."
But when compared to the other sects, who only took demon cores and discarded everything else, Qingling Mountain’s frugality stood out starkly.
They didn’t even spare the flowers and grass by the roadside!
...
"How could this be…" Shen Hefeng muttered, shaking his head in disbelief as he stared at the turtle-shell divination.
Hearing this, Wen Shuangbai walked over. "What’s wrong?"
"The divination shows that the Star-Moon Divine Tree lies to the northwest," Shen Hefeng said, his hair practically falling out from the strain of calculation. His youthful face scrunched up in frustration. "But the path there is fraught with obstacles, and—"
He pointed at the symbols of a bamboo basket and a small stream, "There’s a high chance we’ll end up with nothing."
Wen Shuangbai hummed in acknowledgment and crouched down to examine the symbols. Sure enough, there was a bamboo basket and a stream.
She tapped the turtle shell. "Or it could mean we’ll have a bountiful harvest."
Lu Jiayao, ever the curious one, also crouched down and added enthusiastically, "The bamboo basket might be for catching fish! The stream has fish, and fish symbolize abundance!"
Wen Shuangbai grinned at him. "Great minds think alike."
"Oh, spare me, you two geniuses," Shen Hefeng grumbled. "This time, my gut feeling is really bad."
After a pause, he added, "Let me divine our luck for this trip."
Wen Shuangbai and Lu Jiayao stayed put, waiting for the results.
The divination revealed they would face betrayal by petty individuals.
Recalling the newly announced rule—that if their entire team was eliminated, their Holy Stones would reset to zero—Wen Shuangbai cautioned, "Be wary of disciples from other sects."
Lu Jiayao quickly added, "The little spirits from Jade Rhinoceros Valley don’t count. They’re demons, not humans." So the "petty individuals" didn’t include them.
"Don’t be so sure," Shen Hefeng retorted, taking delight in riling up Lu Jiayao. "Even brothers settle accounts clearly. They’ve made it to the third round—why wouldn’t Jade Rhinoceros Valley want a higher ranking?"
Lu Jiayao countered with one sentence: "They don’t need the money. Jade Rhinoceros Valley gives them a million in allowance every month."
Wen Shuangbai, Shen Hefeng, and the three others who had been eavesdropping: "………………"
"Let’s not talk about them," Wen Shuangbai said, standing up. "In that case, let’s pack up and head northwest immediately!"
Shen Hefeng grumbled under his breath as he got to his feet, casually casting another divination for himself.
The result? He was going to suffer a bloody disaster?!
Him—a benevolent, heaven-listening diviner—was going to face a bloody disaster?!
Was this the downfall of the heavenly way or the demise of the turtle shell’s spiritual power?!
Pretending to stroke a nonexistent long beard, Shen Hefeng decided to prioritize self-preservation and sought refuge under Yin Xuan’s protection.
From now on, if the team was in danger, he wouldn’t be the one stepping forward.
