Song Yao was in despair.
This was completely different from what she had envisioned.
She couldn't be a pill cultivator, she couldn't be a medicine cultivator, she couldn't leave the Nine Saints Hall, and she was drowning in debt.
It felt as if the entire cultivation world was targeting her.
Surely she couldn't actually go back to being a sword cultivator or spiritual cultivator who fought and killed all the time?
Those two professions made enemies far too easily, which wouldn't do any good for her future retirement plans.
After moping around for several days, she tried to refine pills directly without even looking at the basic theoretical knowledge of pill cultivation.
After blowing up three cauldrons, she actually managed to successfully produce a Qi-Replenishing Pill.
The Seventh Elder and He Yu congratulated her with tears in their eyes: “As long as you can refine a Qi-Replenishing Pill, you have one foot through the door of pill cultivation!”
Song Yao inquired about the price of a Qi-Replenishing Pill, then asked about the cost of a cauldron, and fell into silence.
Wiping away his bitter tears, the Seventh Elder comforted her, “It's fine. You only need to blow up three cauldrons to learn how to refine a Qi-Replenishing Pill. It's not a loss. Now that you've succeeded once, it won't be as easy to blow them up in the future.”
Song Yao: “...”
She understood now.
Her path to learning pill cultivation was paved with exploded cauldrons.
Blowing up a certain number of cauldrons would allow her to learn how to make different pills.
If she were from a wealthy family, it would be fine, but she was currently dirt poor.
Ning Zhou happened to come by to deliver food and gave her a good suggestion: “A small demon realm has appeared at Mount Tuling. Second Senior Sister is selecting disciples to go and suppress it. You could give it a try. Who knows, you might find some valuable treasures.”
Song Yao had been to demon realms plenty of times before.
Generally, when a demon took root somewhere or harbored deep resentment, it would form an independent space similar to a secret realm, known as a demon realm.
The stronger the demon and the deeper the resentment, the larger and more dangerous the demon realm would be.
By the same token, the dense demonic energy within a demon realm would nurture many natural treasures that could not be found outside.
If she could hunt and obtain a demon core, she could sell it for a handsome sum.
It was indeed a viable way to make money.
But entering a secret realm meant she would inevitably have to fight.
As Song Yao ate her roasted sweet potato with a conflicted expression, Ning Zhou added, “I heard this demon realm isn't very large, but it swallowed an entire village on Mount Tuling. Over a dozen people are trapped inside, so we not only have to hunt the demons but also rescue the villagers.”
“The Mount Tuling demon realm...”
Song Yao paused, suddenly remembering something.
This place had been mentioned in the book.
It was the place where Jiang Jin won Second Senior Sister's heart.
In the plot, Jiang Jin, as the sixth personal disciple, accompanied Second Senior Sister to the Mount Tuling demon realm.
The demon realm was indeed not large, and its master was indeed not dangerous—it was a pair of twin sisters who had been sacrificed to the mountain god by their entire village.
While others might have struggled, it was an easy fix for Second Senior Sister.
But the problem arose after the twin sisters were dealt with.
Instead of disappearing, the demon realm expanded further, directly covering the entirety of Mount Tuling.
Only then did they discover that the true demons were actually those seemingly simple villagers of Mount Tuling.
These villagers were the incarnations of evil demons. Every once in a while, they would cause trouble to trick cultivators into helping them, but in reality, they were setting traps to lure and slaughter well-meaning cultivators.
In the novel, Second Senior Sister fell into an illusion while trying to protect a few useless junior brothers and sisters. She was then inexplicably poisoned by an aphrodisiac and was saved by Jiang Jin sacrificing himself.
Upon waking up, Second Senior Sister developed feelings for him, and the two became bickering lovers.
Not only that, but because Jiang Jin helped Second Senior Sister neutralize the poison, he absorbed a portion of her spiritual energy and formed his Golden Core in one fell swoop.
Thinking of this, Song Yao suddenly lost her appetite for the roasted sweet potato.
She paused for half a second, stood up, and asked, “Where do I sign up?”
Though her tone hadn't changed, Ning Zhou somehow felt a sudden chill and shivered. “At the Fuguang Platform. But you have to be at least at the late stage of Foundation Establishment to participate. Didn't you just reach Foundation Establishment?”
Before he could finish, Song Yao had already taken off on her sword.
Her light green sleeves ballooned in the wind, rustling loudly as the spiritual energy of the mountains surged toward her in that instant, fully gathering around her body.
Ning Zhou watched her departing figure, dumbfounded. “Y-You haven't even attended a single class! How do you already know how to fly on a sword?”
“Wait, that's not right...”
Blinded by the rushing wind, his mouth gaped wide enough to fit two eggs. “How are you...”
How did she seem to have surged to the late stage of Foundation Establishment in just an instant?
But there was no one to answer him. Song Yao's figure had already vanished into the horizon.
An absurd thought popped into his head.
Could Lin Mu have been intentionally suppressing her cultivation this whole time?
How long had she even been in the sect?
Not even a month and a half...
...
On the Fuguang Platform, several disciples were sparring to compete for the final spot.
Those who could enter the demon realm were all sword cultivators, spiritual cultivators, talisman cultivators, or formation cultivators.
The moment Song Yao blurted out, “I want to go too,” she was ruthlessly rejected by a cultivator nearby.
“You're the Seventh Elder's disciple, right? A demon realm is far too dangerous for a pill cultivator. If you want to gather herbs on the mountain, you can wait until after the demon realm is destroyed.”
Song Yao was flexible: “I can be a spiritual cultivator.”
The cultivator shook his head. “Haven't you been taking leaves of absence? You haven't even attended a single class. No. Besides, only those at the late stage of Foundation Establishment or above can participate in the spar.”
After saying that, he advised her earnestly, “This is also for your own safety.”
Pill cultivators were all incredibly fragile.
Newly initiated pill cultivators were even more so.
The flow of their spiritual energy was entirely geared toward refining pills. Having never learned offensive techniques, they stood absolutely no chance against demons.
Behind the cultivator, the few people who had already passed the selection stood in a row. Their attention was drawn over, their eyes filled with amusement.
Ming Ran had lost face in front of Song Yao many times before. Having finally caught an opportunity, how could she let it go?
Cradling her sword, she snorted and mocked, “This is what you get for not practicing diligently. Since you want to be a pill cultivator, don't even think about hunting demons. It'll save you from dragging us down. Don't you agree, Senior Brother Jiang?”
Jiang Jin didn't take the bait. He took half a step forward and said gently, “I heard Junior Sister Lin was poisoned before. You should still rest well. Staying on Baicao Peak to learn how to refine detoxifying pills is much better than going to a demon realm.”
Someone nearby laughed. “Exactly. For a pill cultivator, detoxifying and refining pills is the real job.”
“Junior Sister Lin shouldn't think she can charge onto the battlefield to slay demons just because she made a name for herself in the sword tomb earlier.”
“If you end up losing your life in the demon realm, it won't be worth the loss.”
“...”
The group chimed in one after another, growing more excited as they spoke.
Song Yao let their words go in one ear and out the other. She lowered her head, pondering which techniques and mental formulas she could use.
They couldn't be too high-grade, they couldn't be too obscure, and they had to match a wood spiritual root...
She didn't seem to have ever learned anything so basic.
Maybe she should just use a sword?
Amidst the low chuckles, a cold, sharp sword light suddenly swept toward the platform.
A teal glow sliced through the twilight. The several disciples sparring on the platform were caught completely off guard. Losing their balance and unable to mount any defense, they tumbled off the stage in a tangled heap.
Quiet returned to the Fuguang Platform.
Song Yao had already sheathed her sword, her brow furrowed slightly.
Why was this batch of disciples so weak?
She was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage right now, and she had only used the most basic swordplay. How did she wipe them all out?
This was highly out of character for her.
Rate on N.U.
