Having learned from past mistakes, Qiu Xiu didn't come looking for trouble again in the following days.
Tian Ning was a homebody, and Shi Qinxin occasionally took her to the nearby street to buy interesting trinkets and food. The two waited like this until the day the Secret Realm opened.
The Sect gave them jade tokens to enter the Secret Realm. The time limit was about seven days. If they encountered danger, they could crush the jade token to leave the Secret Realm.
Because it was a new, unknown Secret Realm, each of the Six Great Sects sent an Elder to prevent accidents.
"Little Junior Sister, hold my hand when we enter the Secret Realm later," Shi Qinxin instructed.
If they didn't hold on tight, the tearing space when entering the Secret Realm would separate them.
Tian Ning obediently grabbed her Third Senior Sister's hand, full of curiosity about the Secret Realm they were about to enter.
According to the Celestial Mechanism Pavilion's calculations commissioned by the Elders of the Six Great Sects, spirit beasts were scarce in this Secret Realm, and there were no opportunities left by Great Powers, only abundant spirit plants. It seemed not dangerous, and it was the most suitable Secret Realm for Pill Cultivators.
This time, besides the Dan Ding Sect disciples, most of the disciples from various sects who lacked Spirit Stones came to dig for spirit plants. If they found high-grade spirit plants and sold them, becoming rich overnight wasn't a dream!
Tian Ning followed Shi Qinxin to present their jade tokens and lined up to enter the Secret Realm.
When it was their turn, Tian Ning only felt the scene in front of her begin to flip, and in a short moment it transformed into the vibrant scene within the Secret Realm.
As expected, upon entering the Secret Realm, the ground was lush and green, covered with second-order spirit plants like weeds.
Some people were already eagerly digging. Such a large area of Linmucao was worth at least several pieces of Low-Grade Spirit Stones!
A Dan Ding Sect disciple muttered, "Unsophisticated."
Linmucao, this second-order spirit plant, wasn't considered anything in the Secret Realm. The real good things were further inside; they wouldn't waste their time here.
Shi Qinxin saw some junior brothers and sisters wearing Wanjian Sect disciple uniforms diligently digging. Considering that Sword Cultivators were generally poor, she said, "Little Junior Sister, should I accompany you in digging for a while?"
Tian Ning took out the paper recording her missions and looked around; there were no missions requiring Linmucao.
"No need, Third Senior Sister, let's go find the Blazing Flame Fruit first." The main mission this time was the Blazing Flame Fruit. Tian Ning said, "Along the way, we can pick some spirit plants I need for my missions."
Shi Qinxin nodded. Since her Little Junior Sister said so, she wouldn't be coy.
As far as the eye could see, the entire Secret Realm was almost entirely spirit plants. Everyone who came in this time should have a full harvest, staying until the Secret Realm closed.
Blazing Flame Fruit likes heat, so Shi Qinxin led Tian Ning towards a volcano in the east.
Along the way, they saw many disciples stopping to dig spirit plants. Further in, Dan Ding Sect disciples were also digging. Except for Qiu Xiu's group led by Helian Boda, who didn't stop; their purpose was the same as Shi Qinxin's—the sixth-order Blazing Flame Fruit.
Helian Boda's group walked ahead. When Tian Ning and Shi Qinxin caught up, Qiu Xiu, who had been suppressing his anger for several days, started being sarcastic.
"Oh, Shi Qinxin, you haven't given up yet? You, an unorthodox Pill Cultivator, only know how to concoct poison. Even if you really get the Blazing Flame Fruit, so what? Do you really think you have the ability to refine the Pulse-Restoring Pill?"
Qiu Xiu didn't care that no one was paying him any attention. He continued, "The Blazing Flame Fruit would be a waste on you! I think you should give up and let us from Dan Ding Sect have it. When my father refines the Pulse-Restoring Pill, maybe you'll kneel down and beg This Young Master, and This Young Master, in his great benevolence, will give you one!"
Shi Qinxin considered everything Qiu Xiu said to be nonsense.
Even if the Dan Ding Sect Sect Leader personally refined a furnace of Pulse-Restoring Pills, at best, a furnace could produce at most five pills.
Five… Over the years, many people in the Cultivation World have suffered damaged meridians. Just the Sect Leader Xiao's nephew, Qiu Xiu's cousin, suffered an accident during his tempering, and the once genius fell into the abyss, now only waiting for a Pulse-Restoring Pill to repair his meridians.
Blazing Flame Fruit is so rare! Many other Sect disciples also need it…
Dan Ding Sect would inevitably sell some to maintain relationships with various Sects.
Thinking of this, Shi Qinxin unconsciously touched her shattered Dan Tian.
If she had only severed meridians and couldn't use a sword, Sect Leader Xiao might still ask Dan Ding Sect for a Pulse-Restoring Pill for her, but now she was just a waste with a completely destroyed Dan Tian. If she didn't fight to get the Blazing Flame Fruit, she would probably never have a chance at a Pulse-Restoring Pill in her life.
Shi Qinxin's eyes were covered with a layer of coldness, and the emotions she hadn't expressed for a long time surged up: "Qiu Xiu, I don't mind fighting you here! Anyway, this is a Secret Realm. As long as you all die, no one will know who did it."
Qiu Xiu was about to jump with anger!
"Shi Qinxin, you madwoman, your actions are no different from the Devil Race! You still say you haven't severed ties with people from the Devil Race… Ugh!"
Tian Ning found him noisy. She took a large steamed bun from her storage pouch and stuffed it into his wide-open mouth.
The world was finally quiet.
Several Dan Ding Sect disciples silently gave Tian Ning a thumbs-up. Brother Qiu had been too boisterous lately, losing his temper at anyone he met.
Qiu Xiu was almost choked by the sudden bun!
He took out the damned bun, just about to flare up.
Tian Ning spoke first: "Senior Brother Helian, he's so disrespectful and harms the relationship between the two Sects. Aren't you going to do anything?"
"..."
Helian Boda somewhat regretted his words. It was clear that this Junior Sister was someone who held grudges.
In this matter, Dan Ding Sect was at fault. Everyone saw Qiu Xiu's disrespectful words first.
"Junior Brother Qiu, our main mission this time is to obtain the Blazing Flame Fruit. Behave yourself and don't cause any more trouble."
Qiu Xiu was unhappy: "Helian Boda, stop lecturing me!"
"Junior Brother Qiu, if you hadn't leaked the news about the Blazing Flame Fruit appearing in the Secret Realm, there wouldn't be so many people competing with Dan Ding Sect this time! Master has already analyzed the pros and cons with you, don't you understand?" Helian Boda said, his brows furrowed. "Don't forget, Senior Brother Bai is waiting for us to bring the Blazing Flame Fruit back."
Qiu Xiu was the type of person who would retort ten times for every one remark.
But when Helian Boda mentioned his pitiful cousin, Qiu Xiu, for once, didn't target Shi Qinxin anymore: "Fine, I understand. They can't possibly compete with so many of us. Let's go!"
The Dan Ding Sect members quickened their pace, far exceeding Tian Ning and the others.
"Third Senior Sister, should we hurry too?"
Tian Ning remembered her Senior Brother saying that the Blazing Flame Fruit was extremely rare, with the fruit tree only bearing one fruit every hundred years.
"No rush. The Blazing Flame Fruit is still a long time from ripening." Shi Qinxin glanced towards the volcano. "Little Junior Sister, let's go collect the spirit plants you need for your missions first."
Tian Ning agreed, and the two didn't rush to catch up with the Wanjian Sect.
Tian Ning had many missions, and the spirit plants in this Secret Realm were numerous and varied. The two spent the afternoon busy and gained a lot, basically finding almost all the spirit plants needed for their missions.
Shi Qinxin was afraid her Little Junior Sister would get tired, so she went to catch a spirit beast to roast. When she came back and saw her Little Junior Sister's skillful movements in digging spirit plants, she couldn't help but say, "Little Junior Sister, you're very good at handling spirit plants?"
Her movements were more proficient than her, a Pill Cultivator.
Tian Ning nodded: "I know a little about alchemy."
"Third Senior Sister, where did you catch that spirit beast?"
Spirit plants were everywhere in this Secret Realm, but spirit beasts were almost invisible. They hadn't encountered a single one along the way.
"I lured it out using this," Shi Qinxin took out a small porcelain bottle and handed it over. "This is an Aphrodisiac Pill for spirit beasts. Crush it and sprinkle some to let the smell drift out, and it will attract nearby male spirit beasts. Giving it to female spirit beasts will also have an effect, but mine can only attract low-grade spirit beasts."
She was only a half-way Pill Cultivator and could only refine these low-grade pills that others wouldn't look at.
Tian Ning became interested: "Third Senior Sister, do you have the recipe?"
"Yes, I'll copy it for you."
In a short while, Tian Ning got the recipe and began to study it seriously…
She did understand alchemy, but the recipes given by the Old Man were all very proper ones. This was the first time she had heard of the existence of an Aphrodisiac Pill.
"It's just a low-grade recipe, Little Junior Sister. It'll be easy for you to learn." Shi Qinxin chuckled at her serious expression.
Tian Ning held onto the recipe: "I'm thinking, if I replace the low-grade spirit beast essence in the materials here with high-grade spirit beast essence, and replace these several low-grade spirit plants with their high-grade counterparts, could I improve it to attract high-grade spirit beasts?"
Pill refinement is not an easy task. Just like talisman refinement, every step is the result of countless failures by predecessors.
Although she thought so, Shi Qinxin didn't want to discourage her Little Junior Sister's confidence.
She used a small knife to cut the roasted spirit beast meat into pieces, even in size, just enough for her Little Junior Sister to have one bite at a time. After cutting two plates, Shi Qinxin called Tian Ning over to eat.
"Coming!"
Tian Ning put away the recipe and went to take the plates from Shi Qinxin.
Just as her hand was about to touch the plate, she suddenly stopped. Shi Qinxin, who sensed something was wrong at the same time, quickly flung the plate behind Tian Ning towards a man in black with a blade in hand.
"Who are you?!"
The person in front of them was completely wrapped in black cloth, their entire face covered, clearly prepared.
The other party didn't have any intention of responding to Shi Qinxin. The oppressive pressure of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator swept over, making it difficult for Shi Qinxin, who had intended to take out poison, to even protect her Little Junior Sister.
The man in black moved quickly, attacking Tian Ning with his knife, without any hesitation.
He was aiming for her life!
He had been carefully observing. This time, leaving Wanjian Sect, Tian Ning didn't bring the white cat.
Without the Divine Beast to protect her, it was naturally the perfect opportunity to strike!
The man in black's eyes were filled with coldness. The thrill of getting his revenge made him try to see fear or anger on the young woman's face to satisfy his inner perversity… but there was none.
This seemingly frail girl, who could be easily killed with a single blow, stood there motionless. Her dark eyes looked indifferently at him as he attacked, her thin lips slightly parted, softly uttering a few words: "Long Han, you want to kill me."
Not a question, but a statement.
How could this be?
Long Han's pupils shrank, never expecting that his carefully crafted disguise would be seen through at a glance!
Even though he was shocked, his actions didn't stop!
That day at Wenren Manor, it was this dead girl who exposed his carefully suppressed love for Xue'er. She caused him to be ostracized by Long Ye and made Xue'er look at him with that fearful look… He would never let her go!
Long Han's knife stabbed directly towards Tian Ning's heart!
But the expected bloody scene didn't appear. Instead, his mid-grade Magical Artifact knife, like a shoddy imitation, seemed unable to withstand something as he forcefully stabbed Tian Ning, and the tip of the blade shattered instantly!
???
Even Long Han was stunned for a moment, bewildered.
Clearly, the clothes the other party was wearing were tattered, the same ordinary clothes Tian Ning was wearing the day she returned home. How could… it destroy his mid-grade Magical Artifact on the spot!
Could it be…
Long Han was always ruthless and calculating, and at this moment, he couldn't help but think more.
Could it be that there were defensive treasures among the things sent by the Dragon Clan Elders that day? The Dragon King, to protect a dead egg, had spent so much on giving her so many good things!
"Hey." Tian Ning called out while he was racking his brain.
Long Han:?
Tian Ning tore off the black cloth covering his face, and then a storm of fists greeted him…
This time, Tian Ning didn't hold back at all, purely venting her rage by beating this punching bag. After all, the Dragon Clan had thick skin and couldn't be killed.
"..."
Witnessing the bloody scene again, Shi Qinxin silently averted her gaze.
Little Junior Sister… is actually a Body Refinement Cultivator, right?
"