A Bountiful Harvest

After the two of them walked out of the ice field, the terrain gradually narrowed, entering a region of low stone hills.

This area did not look like it held anything of value, but the warmth in Lin Zhiyue's chest grew increasingly distinct—her koi-fish constitution was at work.

She tugged at Cen Xi'er's sleeve. “Second Senior Sister, over here. There should be something good.”

Cen Xi'er trusted Lin Zhiyue completely.

The two of them walked a distance along the rift valley. After turning past a cliff face, a cave entrance half-buried in rubble appeared ahead.

The entrance was not large, but the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from within carried a sharp aura unique to the Gold attribute.

Before Lin Zhiyue could clearly see the situation inside the cave, Cen Xi'er had already leaned half her body in to investigate, only to suddenly shrink back.

“A Gold-Collared Rhino Serpent,” Cen Xi'er whispered, a trace of gravity in her tone. “Late-stage Golden Core, coiled inside the cave. Judging by the scale patterns on its skin, it's at least an adult male.”

The two exchanged a look and drew their swords at the same time.

The scales of a Gold-Collared Rhino Serpent were excellent materials for artifact refining, and its gallbladder and bones were also highly valuable. Since they had encountered it, there was no reason to let it go.

Lin Zhiyue and Cen Xi'er coordinated to probe into the cave. After forcing the serpent out, they teamed up to fight it in the open area for nearly the time it took for an incense stick to burn.

The Gold-Collared Rhino Serpent had thick defenses, immense strength, and tricky venomous fangs. However, Lin Zhiyue positioned herself to target its weaknesses while Cen Xi'er constantly tested it from the flank. Ultimately, the two joined forces to slay the serpent beneath a cliff wall.

Lin Zhiyue caught her breath and was about to squat down to harvest the serpent's skin when she noticed Cen Xi'er standing still at the cave entrance.

She followed Cen Xi'er's gaze—protruding from the pile of rubble deep within the cave was a sword hilt.

The hilt was dark gold. Though most of the wrapping had weathered away, the exposed metal remained as bright as new, gleaming with a restrained, cold light in the dimness of the cave.

The sword was buried in rubble and dust, looking as if it had been abandoned for a very long time.

Cen Xi'er walked over, squatted down, grasped the hilt, and tried to pull it out.

The sword did not budge in the slightest, embedded in the stone crevice as if it had taken root.

She applied more strength, but the sword still showed no reaction. Frowning, she was about to try again from a different angle when her fingers suddenly froze, and her entire body stiffened.

Sensing something was wrong, Lin Zhiyue quickly walked over. “Second Senior Sister?”

Cen Xi'er did not answer. She remained motionless in her sword-holding posture, her eyes glazing over for a moment before snapping back, though she seemed completely frozen in place by something.

Lin Zhiyue waved her hand in front of her eyes, but Cen Xi'er's pupils didn't move. Lin Zhiyue's heart tightened, but just then, the system screen popped up:

【Detected that the host's companion, “Cen Xi'er,” is undergoing the remnant soul inheritance trial within the sword. Her status is normal. Mission issued: Protect Cen Xi'er until her inheritance ends. Reward: Premium Draw Ticket ×3.】

Lin Zhiyue let out a sigh of relief after reading the prompt.

Instead of disturbing Cen Xi'er, she took a few steps back and found a suitable spot at the cave entrance to sit cross-legged. Placing the Azure Scale Sword across her knees, she could keep an eye on the activity outside the cave while monitoring Cen Xi'er's condition at any time.

The cave fell silent, with only the occasional gust of wind filtering in from outside and Cen Xi'er's faint breathing echoing against the empty stone walls.

The dark-gold sword remained completely still in Cen Xi'er's hand, but the spiritual runes on its spine began to slowly glow and fade.

Lin Zhiyue guarded the cave entrance for three days and three nights.

In between, she went out to find water and dry rations, then returned to continue her vigil, checking at regular intervals to ensure Cen Xi'er's breathing and spiritual energy fluctuations remained stable.

On the morning of the fourth day, as she was gnawing on a piece of dry flatbread at the entrance, a very soft hum suddenly echoed from inside the cave.

She quickly walked in and saw Cen Xi'er's fingers gently tightening around the hilt. Her previously glazed eyes began to refocus, taking a few breaths to return from empty to clear.

She looked up and met Lin Zhiyue's gaze, the corners of her lips curving slightly. Then, with a flex of her wrist, the dark-gold longsword that had been immovably stuck in the rubble was steadily drawn. The moment the blade left its sheath, it let out a clear, ringing hum.

Cen Xi'er stood up holding the sword, looking down at the dark-gold luster flowing along the blade. Her voice still carried a hint of exhaustion from just emerging from the divine sense trial, but there was an even greater, irrepressible brightness. “A senior left a wisp of divine sense in the sword, and had me learn swordplay from him in my divine sense for a few days. I had to defeat him to draw it.” She paused, the corners of her lips curving up. “I almost lost.”

Lin Zhiyue smiled, walked over, and patted her shoulder. “Congratulations, Second Senior Sister.”

Cen Xi'er put away the sword, and the two walked out of the cave side by side.

When the morning light fell outside, it coated the entire stone hill area in a pale-golden sheen.

Cen Xi'er looked down at the longsword newly hanging at her waist. After walking a couple of steps, she paused, turned to Lin Zhiyue, and said, “Thank you for guarding me these past few days.”

Lin Zhiyue waved her hand. “Don't be so polite, Senior Sister. Let's go, it's time to head out. The secret realm should be closing soon.”

The two walked out along the stone hills, their steps much lighter than when they had arrived.

The morning breeze blew in from the distance, brushing past their hems and hair, carrying the dry and crisp scent unique to the Northern Realm Secret Realm.

By the time Lin Zhiyue and Cen Xi'er walked out of the rift valley, spiritual light signals for the various sects to assemble had already lit up in the direction of the secret realm's exit.

The two quickened their pace, winding along the foot of the mountain for nearly an hour before finally rushing back to the valley at the secret realm's entrance before sunset.

Disciples of the Six Sects were already returning to their respective teams one after another.

Tiance Palace's spirit boat was moored in its usual spot, its silver-ground, black-patterned banner fluttering vigorously in the twilight.

Qi Yan stood on the open ground not far in front of the spirit boat, his back to the valley. He only turned around when he heard footsteps.

Qi Yan's gaze lingered on her for a brief moment—from the top of her head down her shoulders, brushing past her cuffs, pausing briefly on a few tiny tears along the hem of her robe, and finally returning after confirming there was no other obvious damage. He tilted his head slightly toward the spirit boat. “Everyone is here. Board the boat and rest.”

Lin Zhiyue gave an affirmative response and boarded the spirit boat with Cen Xi'er.

Over a dozen Tiance Palace disciples who had returned earlier were already sitting on the deck, either adjusting their breathing cross-legged or sorting through their harvests. Chu Zhixun waved to them from a corner of the cabin, while Liu Fengyao squeezed in beside him and winked at them.

Lin Zhiyue sat down by the window, patted away the dust and ice shards on her body, and let out a long sigh of relief.

As the spirit boat rose into the air, she leaned back against her seat, watching the Northern Realm wasteland recede outside the window and the setting sun sink below the horizon, her heart settling into a sense of peace.

She calculated all the gains from this trip to the secret realm—

Then she scrolled through her system panel. In the Mermaid's Love Song card pool, she was still missing the mermaid tail and the crown. However, after the two missions in the ice field and the rift valley, she had accumulated over a dozen Premium Draw Tickets in her hand.

Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened. The spirit boat pierced through the clouds as the twilight slowly deepened from dark blue into a deep ink-purple.

Without hesitating any longer, Lin Zhiyue leaned back and quietly tapped open the system screen. She stacked the dozen or so Premium Draw Tickets together and began pulling them one after another.

During the first ten-pull, deep-blue light connected in a continuous sweep, and midway through, the crown interwoven with conch and coral emerged. For the second wave, she did seven or eight single pulls, and on the second-to-last card, a sea-blue mermaid tail dress finally fell from the screen.

The hem of the dress spread out like surging waves, and the pearls and silver thread embroidery adorned on it shimmered with a soft luster under the light.

With all twelve pieces of the set lit up, the system popped up a line of large golden characters:

【Mermaid's Love Song complete set gathered! Set skill “Echoes of the Vast Sea, Mermaid of the Tides” unlocked. The host can obtain all abilities of the mermaid race—underwater breathing, water control, a massive boost to movement speed in aquatic combat, and the ability to briefly influence the intelligence of low-tier aquatic creatures through song. The duration depends on spiritual energy consumption.】

Lin Zhiyue stored the mermaid tail dress into her system space. As the screen closed, she leaned back and slowly exhaled.

Cen Xi'er sat across from her, looking down as she wiped her newly acquired dark-gold longsword, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Chu Zhixun poked his head in from the other end of the cabin to ask if she was hungry, while Liu Fengyao shouted from the side, “I still have some spiritual fruit here, do you want some?”

The spirit boat flew smoothly through the clouds, its banners on both sides fluttering in the evening breeze. The direction of Tiance Palace was already faintly visible on the distant horizon.