Among the six grey pigeons, two were at the sixth level of Qi Refinement. Guo Hao used some tricks to lure both of these pigeons towards Xiao Jingting and Xiao Jinfeng.
Xiao Jingting summoned his Spirit Tower, trapping one of the sixth-level pigeons underneath it. Together with Xiao Jinfeng, they dealt with the other sixth-level pigeon.
With one sixth-level pigeon dead and another trapped, the remaining pigeons were no longer a concern.
Guo Hao couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed when he saw Xiao Jinfeng efficiently handling the battle on his side.
Guo Hao had initially thought that if both of the Xiao brothers and the pigeons suffered losses, he wouldn’t have to give face to the Xiao brothers, and wouldn’t need to share the dusk mist with them.
However, he didn’t expect Xiao Jingting’s Spirit Tower to be so powerful. It instantly trapped a sixth-level pigeon, showing Xiao Jingting’s wealth and strength. He used talismans as if they were free, smashing the pigeon to death in one go.
Guo Hao had heard about the Spirit Tower that Xiao Jingting bought at a high price. He had only heard that it was good for farming, but he didn’t expect it to be so effective in trapping demonic beasts.
“Both of you, Xiao brothers, are truly formidable!” Guo Hao calmly said, not feeling guilty about his earlier actions.
Xiao Jinfeng glanced coldly at Guo Hao and said, “According to the rules of the mercenary group, more work means more rewards. We’ll take two-thirds of the dusk mist.”
Guo Hao’s face darkened. “This doesn’t seem to follow the rules. We had an agreement before.”
“When we made the agreement earlier, we didn’t specify that all sixth-level pigeons would be our responsibility. If something were to happen to me and Second Brother, we probably wouldn’t get any share of this dusk mist.” Xiao Jingting said coldly.
“Xiao Third Young Master, you’re joking. I didn’t know that the pigeons would all go to you and Second Brother. It’s probably because of your charisma. Well, I’ll just take one-third then.” Guo Hao said.
Guo Hao and the cultivators at the fifth level of Qi Refinement took the medicinal herbs and left. Sun Miaomiao and a few others at the fourth level of Qi Refinement were left behind.
Xiao Jinfeng looked at the Spirit Tower and said, “Do you want to release that pigeon?”
The demonic beast trapped by Xiao Jingting was already close to the seventh level of Qi Refinement. If released, it would definitely lead to a major battle. Fortunately, Xiao Jingting reacted quickly earlier, or else the situation would have been difficult to control.
Xiao Jingting smiled and said, “No need.”
“Shrink.” Xiao Jingting commanded the Spirit Tower to shrink. The pigeon trapped inside the tower couldn’t shrink with it and was squeezed to death from the pressure.
Xiao Jinfeng was amazed to find that the pigeon’s aura had disappeared.
Xiao Jinfeng stared at Xiao Jingting in amazement and said, “Jingting, you really have foresight.”
Previously, Xiao Jinfeng actually thought that buying the Spirit Tower was not worth it. However, he didn’t expect Xiao Jingting’s Spirit Tower to not only help with cultivating spirit herbs but also have such miraculous effects. The Spirit Tower could trap demonic beasts that couldn’t shrink and then squeeze them to death when shrunk.
Except for some unique bloodline demonic beasts, most demonic beasts only gained the ability to change size at the Foundation Establishment stage.
Sun Miaomiao looked at Xiao Jingting’s Spirit Tower displaying its power, and her gaze suddenly became complex.
“Jinfeng, Jingting, you two are so powerful now!” Sun Miaomiao stepped forward to compliment.
Xiao Jinfeng smiled and said, “It’s nothing. Have you encountered any other members of the Xiao family?”
Sun Miaomiao shook her head and said, “No, after entering the secret realm, I was chased by someone. After escaping, I’ve been cautiously hiding. Later, I encountered Guo Hao and his group.”
“Guo Hao’s group said they could provide us with shelter, but we had to hand over identity tokens as a reward, so we complied.”
“Those guys speak nicely, saying they will protect us, but in reality, they just want to push us out to attract demonic beasts.” Sun Miaomiao said discontentedly.
Thinking about the spirit herbs Xiao Jingting harvested, Sun Miaomiao couldn’t help but feel envious. Dusk mist could be exchanged for spirit pills, which were very valuable! Unfortunately, after Xiao Jingting and Xiao Jinfeng collected the spirit herbs, there was no sign of sharing with them.
Sun Miaomiao sighed inwardly. After entering the secret realm, she was initially chased, and later when she encountered Guo Hao and his group, they helped by acting as minions. However, when it came time to share the rewards, she and others at the fourth level of Qi Refinement could only watch.
” Sister-in-law, do you have any plans for what to do next?” Xiao Jinfeng asked.
“I’ll follow you guys.” Sun Miaomiao replied without hesitation.
Sun Miaomiao had been pampered in the Sun family and didn’t suffer much after entering the Xiao family. However, this time in the competition, she deeply felt the cruelty of this world. Those people didn’t care about her at all. Several times, she teetered on the brink of life and death, and her pride had long been worn away.
“I and Second Brother are going deep into the jungle to seek opportunities. It’s inconvenient to take you with us.” Xiao Jingting said coldly.
Sun Miaomiao looked at Xiao Jingting with some resentment, but Xiao Jingting remained unmoved. He and Sun Miaomiao didn’t have any gratitude or affection towards each other. Xiao Jingting had already done his utmost by saving Sun Miaomiao’s life once. He didn’t want to carry a burden like her in such a dangerous forest.
Feeling the coldness in Xiao Jingting’s expression, Sun Miaomiao couldn’t help but feel anxious. “Jingting, you’re ignoring me.”
Xiao Jingting shook his head and said, “There’s nothing I can do. Sister-in-law, there are many dangers deep in the forest. You won’t benefit from going there, and Second Brother and I may not be able to take care of you.”
As far as Xiao Jingting knew, this Azure Moon Forest was a blessed place. There were caves where cultivators could meditate, and he had many secrets on him. Being with Xiao Jinfeng was already at the limit. Xiao Jingting didn’t want Sun Miaomiao to follow and hinder them in the forest.
Considering the slight kinship between the Sun and Xiao families, Xiao Jingting and Xiao Jinfeng took Sun Miaomiao to a secluded place and then left.
After getting rid of Sun Miaomiao, Xiao Jingting and Xiao Jinfeng wandered around the forest for a few more days but still didn’t find anything.
Seven days later.
“Moonflower has ripened.”
“Half-ripe Three-Colored Butterfly Orchid.”
“Half-ripe Fairy Iris.”
“Half-ripe Seven-Leaf Auspicious Grass.”
…
A series of alerts rang in Xiao Jingting’s ears, making him somewhat puzzled. Spirit herbs usually repel each other; precious spirit herbs typically don’t grow together. But now, the jade pendant suddenly emitted alerts for over a dozen different kinds of spirit herbs. It was likely they had stumbled upon a medicinal garden.
Xiao Jingting couldn’t help but feel excited. A medicinal garden! Encountering one was a tremendous opportunity!
Following the instructions from the jade pendant, Xiao Jingting arrived at a mountain. With a little effort, he dispelled the formation concealing the outside of the mountain and entered a cave with Xiao Jinfeng. When Xiao Jingting acted, he left a subtle mark, only slightly damaging the formation, and later, he disguised it to avoid others finding their way there.
“Jingting, how did you know there was an illusion formation outside?” Xiao Jinfeng asked curiously.
“I have a wood attribute, and I noticed the dense wood spiritual energy here. There should be high-grade spirit herbs, but I didn’t see any, so I decided to try.” Xiao Jingting said, half-truthfully.
“This place is so well-hidden. It’s a stroke of great luck that we found it.” Xiao Jinfeng said excitedly.
Xiao Jingting and Xiao Jinfeng entered the cave and found that it had been converted into a cave mansion.
Inside, there was a cultivation room, a medicinal garden, a scripture room, and a practitioner who had died sitting in the cultivation room. Xiao Jinfeng judged that the practitioner had been dead for about a hundred years.
Next to the deceased practitioner lay a jade slip. Xiao Jingting learned that the deceased practitioner was named Wang Huacheng, a wood attribute cultivator who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage. However, he was ambushed during this period, which greatly reduced his cultivation level and shortened his lifespan.
To evade his enemies and recover his cultivation, Wang Huacheng established a cave mansion in the Azure Moon Mountain, where he cultivated spirit herbs while waiting for them to mature. Unfortunately, he didn’t live to see the herbs mature. After Wang Huacheng’s death, the spirit herbs he planted began to mature one after another.
Wang Huacheng had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, so naturally, his chosen cave mansion was extraordinary. Xiao Jingting discovered that it was built on top of a spiritual vein.
The spiritual energy inside the cave mansion was extremely rich, and there was also a stone pool inside that accumulated a lot of spirit milk.
Xiao Jingting and Xiao Jinfeng simply repaired the illusion formation at the entrance of the cave and made some disguises before starting to cultivate inside.
The spiritual energy inside the cave mansion was abundant, and with the spirit milk to expand their meridians and regulate their bodies, coupled with some elixirs they found on Wang Huacheng’s body, the two of them made rapid progress in their cultivation, reaching the seventh level of Qi Refinement.
…
Xiao Jingting divided the mature spirit herbs in the medicinal garden with Xiao Jinfeng and secretly transplanted some seedlings into the space of the jade pendant.
Xiao Jingting discovered that while the jade pendant space could ripen spirit herbs, doing so would cause a decrease in the spiritual energy within the space. Therefore, throwing too many spirit herbs into the jade pendant space wasn’t necessarily beneficial. Jade and spirit stones could enhance the richness of the spiritual energy within the jade pendant space. If he wanted to ripen more spirit herbs, he would need to earn more spirit stones to balance out the spiritual energy provided by the stones with the spirit herbs thrown into it.
Xiao Jingting found quite a few low-grade elixirs on Wang Huacheng’s body, but not many spirit stones. He guessed that Wang Huacheng had already used up all the spirit stones, while the elixirs, being of low grade, were spared. After all, Wang Huacheng had once been a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and even after his cultivation declined, he wouldn’t be too weak.
More than a month passed in the blink of an eye, and it was almost time for the secret realm to close. After continuous cultivation, Xiao Jingting and Xiao Jinfeng smoothly advanced to the seventh level of Qi Refinement.
“We should leave quickly,” Xiao Jinfeng said.
Xiao Jingting nodded. “Alright.”
Once the time was up, the Azure Moon Forest would be closed, and it wouldn’t reopen for over a decade.
Although the Azure Moon Forest was rich in resources, some people were willing to stay. However, before the forest closed, the Marquis’s Mansion would send Foundation Establishment cultivators to clear out anyone who hadn’t left yet. If anyone was found lingering, all their gains would be confiscated. Those who had problems leaving or deliberately stayed behind would be punished.
Initially, thousands of cultivators entered the secret realm, but only a small fraction—about one-tenth—came out. Many looked disheveled and weary, but quite a few had obtained opportunities in the forest and soared to new heights.
Xiao Jinfeng handed over his gains to Xiao Jingting. He ranked in the top ten, and each person in the top ten received a Heart Frost Pill. Xiao Jingting and Xiao Jinfeng had spent the remaining time cultivating, unlike those who readily produced many identity tokens. Fortunately, they obtained numerous spirit herbs in the medicinal garden, which could be exchanged for a considerable number of points.
Xiao Jingting kept backups of at least one portion of the spirit herbs obtained in the secret realm in the jade pendant space, while he exchanged the rest for points to obtain elixirs.
After submitting his gains, Xiao Jingting ranked eighth and exchanged for some useful elixirs.
Xiao Qingyan’s luck was neither too bad nor too good. He formed a group with members of the Bifeng Academy to hunt together. However, due to unequal distribution of spoils midway, they split up. Although Xiao Qingyan used special means to advance to the sixth level of Qi Refinement, in the end, he didn’t gain much. When leaving the secret realm, he encountered a team led by a cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refinement, specifically blocking those trying to leave the forest. Xiao Qingyan had no choice but to use everything he had to save his life, resulting in him gaining nothing from this competition, but at least he managed to survive.
Quite a few people from the Xiao family died during this trip, and Xiao Muhong was nowhere to be found. Sun Miaomiao, on the other hand, survived but didn’t gain much.
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