Outside the Sacred Tower, it was an autumn afternoon.
The slanting sunlight was lazy, and a gentle breeze stirred the half-yellowed leaves on the branches. The faint, elusive fragrance of osmanthus hung in the air, subtle yet alluring.
Under Wen Shuangbai’s puzzled and slightly probing gaze, Xie Ziyin leisurely released his grip.
"Shuangbai!" Yu Xiaoli called out, lifting the hem of her skirt as she ran out from the Sacred Tower. "I heard from Fat Buddha Son that you two were the ones who eliminated Tianluo Wu. Thank you!"
The two turned in unison to look.
Approaching them were disciples from Jade Rhino Valley and the Divine Evolution Temple, walking side by side.
Lu Jiayao couldn’t resist asking, "How come you all came out together?"
"Amitabha." Fat Buddha Son clasped his hands together and cheerfully explained, "A few days after parting ways with you, this humble monk encountered some young friends from Jade Rhino Valley. We had such pleasant conversations that we decided to travel together."
Hearing this, Yu Xiaoli rubbed her slightly rounded belly through her clothes and sighed with mild distress. "Fat Buddha Son led us in performing so many rituals for the departed. I’ve even gained weight!"
The four from Qingling Mountain: "…"
Behind them, Yin Xuan murmured with genuine envy, "How nice."
As the three sects exchanged brief pleasantries at the Sacred Tower’s entrance, the people from Purple Flame Realm also emerged.
As they passed, Di Qi, leading the group, paused. Completely ignoring Jade Rhino Valley and the Divine Evolution Temple, his gaze swept over the five from Qingling Mountain before settling on Wen Shuangbai and Xie Ziyin. With a light chuckle, he said, "Congratulations on taking first place this round."
Xie Ziyin couldn’t be bothered to respond.
Wen Shuangbai offered a perfunctory smile. "Thanks, thanks. Same to you."
Di Qi laughed again but said nothing more, leading his group away.
Before leaving, Di Yanran cast a glance their way. Wen Shuangbai watched her, feeling an odd sense of familiarity in that look.
She nudged Xie Ziyin with her elbow. "What do you think that look from Di Yanran meant?"
Xie Ziyin tilted his head toward her. "What do you think this look means?"
Wen Shuangbai met his deep, starry eyes and pursed her lips. "How should I know? I’m not the worm in your stomach."
Xie Ziyin: "Exactly."
Wen Shuangbai: "…"
Noticing that Jade Rhino Valley and the Divine Evolution Temple had sent people to fetch their disciples, Lu Jiayao glanced around and asked, "Why hasn’t Old Cao come to pick us up?"
Wen Shuangbai immediately pulled out the Mystic Heaven Mirror, swiped through her messages, and tapped on Elder Cao’s name. "Old Cao says he’s busy and told us to head back on our own."
Then she checked the group chat, where Shen Hefeng had written:
"Even the turtles have crawled back by now. Why aren’t you here yet? Hurry up—Old Cao’s already at the Endless House with the prepared spirit stones. If you’re late, don’t blame me for keeping it all to myself. Heh heh heh."
What? So Elder Cao’s "busy" meant preparing their competition rewards?
Wen Shuangbai immediately declared, "Let’s go! Quick, back to claim our money!"
With that, the five of them rushed back to the Endless House at top speed.
---
Cao Xing had indeed been preparing spirit stones for these troublemaking disciples.
Thanks to that loudmouth Shen Hefeng, Cao Xing knew they’d earned a total of 77,000 sacred stones in this round of trials. The sacred stones dropped in Star Moon Valley weren’t as generous as those in Zhuoguang City last time, but 77,000 still converted to 77 million spirit stones—no small sum.
Fortunately, their disciples had performed well in the trials, and with Jade Rhino Valley’s help in business ventures, Qingling Mountain had been raking in profits these past few months. Half a month ago, Qian Lai had waved his hand and ordered a massive shipment of spirit stones delivered.
So, Cao Xing had immediately gone to retrieve the stones and prepare rewards for the six.
These disciples wouldn’t pester him outright for the money—they’d even say things like "no rush" with their words.
But they’d make sure to "coincidentally" cross paths with him, lingering just close enough to sigh dramatically about how tight their finances were lately.
Yeah, Cao Xing had their number.
"Not in a hurry"? Please.
They’d probably wanted the money the second they stepped out of the Sacred Tower.
Sure enough, the moment Cao Xing arrived at the Endless House with six storage rings full of spirit stones, those five showed up right on his heels.
Cao Xing: "…"
Li Zhuohua dashed in first, proudly announcing to the others, "I’m the fastest!" before snatching a storage ring from Cao Xing’s hand and patting his shoulder. "Old Cao, you’ve worked hard!"
Wen Shuangbai came in second, cheerfully selecting the highest-quality ring. "Old Cao, you truly worked hard."
Xie Ziyin kept it brief: "Hard work."
"You—you’re all so fast!" Lu Jiayao panted as he caught up. Spotting Cao Xing at the door, he immediately threw himself into a hug, wailing, "Old Cao! We missed you so much while we were in there!"
Cao Xing pushed him away expressionlessly, then turned to Yin Xuan, who was strolling in last.
Yin Xuan tilted her head and gave him a soft smile, just about to speak—
"I didn’t bring food," Cao Xing cut in. Then, after a pause, added, "Head to the dining hall at mealtime. There’s good food tonight."
Yin Xuan accepted her storage ring and smiled. "Understood. Thank you."
Cao Xing followed them into the Endless House, shutting the door firmly behind him to block out any eavesdropping. He turned to Wen Shuangbai and Xie Ziyin, who were already busy counting their money.
"Those puzzle pieces and starstone you brought back from Star Moon Valley—any idea what secrets they hold?"
Without looking up, Wen Shuangbai tossed the 2,000 paper fragments at Cao Xing. "Perfect timing, Old Cao. You piece them together."
On the way back, Xie Ziyin had also examined the starstone but found nothing remarkable, so he tossed it to Cao Xing as well.
Cao Xing caught it, studying the stone.
Once in his hand, the starstone shrank to the size of a small dish. It glowed—not harshly, but brightly enough to overpower the Endless House’s luminous stones and banish the surrounding shadows.
Yet even Cao Xing couldn’t discern its secrets. He even summoned Pavilion Master Xu Jingshu for help, but she too came up empty-handed.
Xu Jingshu handed the puzzle and starstone back to Wen Shuangbai and Xie Ziyin. "Since you two retrieved these, they must be your destined fortune. Their mysteries may only reveal themselves to you. Others can’t help much."
"Generally, items brought out from the Sacred Tower will aid you in the next trial. In the coming days, focus on studying them carefully."
With those words, Pavilion Master Xu and Cao Xing departed.
The moment they left, Li Zhuohua—who had zero interest in puzzles or starstones—blurted, "I’m going to patrol Caiyuan Tower!" and bolted, terrified of being roped into assembly duty.
Her mind was on the guards she’d trained—had they kept up with their sword practice while she was away? Time for an inspection!
Lu Jiayao called after her, "Zhuohua, wait for me! I’m coming too!"
He had to go see his friends at Caiyuan Tower! And while he was at it, he’d bring along the flowers and herbs they’d dug up in the Star Moon Valley’s secret realm.
From a distance, Li Zhuohua’s voice rang out: "Not waiting! You’re too slow!"
Watching Lu Jiayao desperately chase after them, Yin Xuan lazily got up and drawled, "Well, I’m off to eat~"
"Got it." Wen Shuangbai didn’t even look up as she cleared a large space and laid out two thousand paper scraps, stubbornly preparing for an all-night battle. "Senior Brother, can you bring me back a meal?"
Yin Xuan readily agreed. "Sure."
Xie Ziyin chimed in, "Make that two."
"?" Yin Xuan glanced at Xie Ziyin.
Xie Ziyin met his gaze and repeated, "One more portion, thanks."
Shen Hefeng added, "Senior Brother Yin, this old man would like one as well, thank you."
Yin Xuan: "…Fine."
What could he do? He was in charge of the dining hall.
In an instant, the Endless House was left with only the ruthless trio.
"A bunch of useless fools, struggling in the secret realm for so long and still couldn’t piece it together. Let this old man show you how it’s done." Shen Hefeng shamelessly volunteered, confidently declaring to Wen Shuangbai, "Just watch—I’ll have it done in no time."
"Shen the Second, don’t go bragging now." Wen Shuangbai chuckled, not buying it for a second—and even considered swindling some money out of him. "Tell you what: if you can piece it together, I’ll give you ten thousand. If you can’t, you give me ten thousand. Deal?"
Xie Ziyin fanned the flames from the sidelines. "Sounds fair. I’ll match that bet."
Shen Hefeng: "???"
The little Taoist’s face twisted in outrage as he jabbed a finger at them. "You poisonous couple! I may be mad, but I’m not stupid! Trying to con me out of money? Not a chance!"
After some intense haggling, Wen Shuangbai lowered the stakes to a hundred spirit stones, and only then did Shen Hefeng agree.
By dawn, the high-stakes gamble ended with a sleep-deprived Shen Hefeng furiously tossing a hundred spirit stones at each of them.
Wen Shuangbai picked up the stones that had rolled off her, wiped them on her sleeve, blew on them, and tucked them neatly into her robe. She turned to Xie Ziyin and grumbled, "Shen the Second’s such a sore loser. Terrible gambling etiquette."
Xie Ziyin gathered his hundred spirit stones and held them out to her, saying, "That’s just how he is."
Wen Shuangbai was baffled, but since he was handing her money, she instinctively cupped her hands to receive it.
Clutching the stones to keep them from spilling, she frowned. "What’s this for?"
Xie Ziyin replied, "For you."
"???" Wen Shuangbai was utterly bewildered. "For me? Why?"
Xie Ziyin, having spent the night studying the star stones, stood up to freshen up.
At her question, he simply said, "Felt like giving it to you. Does there need to be a reason?"
It was just a hundred spirit stones.