“Tenth place: Each member of the group is rewarded with five bottles of mysterious-rank low-grade Spirit-Purifying Pills, five bottles of yellow-rank high-grade Spirit-Replenishing Pills, five bottles of yellow-rank high-grade Return-to-Spring Pills, 500 low-grade spirit stones, 500 sect points, and one mysterious-rank low-grade defense artifact.
......
Fourth place: Each member of the group is rewarded with eleven bottles of mysterious-rank low-grade Spirit-Purifying Pills, eleven bottles of yellow-rank high-grade Spirit-Replenishing Pills, eleven bottles of yellow-rank high-grade Return-to-Spring Pills, 3,500 low-grade spirit stones, 3,500 sect points, and one mysterious-rank low-grade defense artifact.
Third place: Each member of the group is rewarded with twelve bottles of mysterious-rank low-grade Spirit-Purifying Pills, twelve bottles of yellow-rank high-grade Spirit-Replenishing Pills, twelve bottles of yellow-rank high-grade Return-to-Spring Pills, 4,000 low-grade spirit stones, 4,000 sect points, one mysterious-rank low-grade defense artifact, and a one-time 10% discount at the Xiaoyao Chamber of Commerce.
Second place: Each member of the group is rewarded with thirteen bottles of mysterious-rank low-grade Spirit-Purifying Pills, thirteen bottles of yellow-rank high-grade Spirit-Replenishing Pills, thirteen bottles of yellow-rank high-grade Return-to-Spring Pills, 4,500 low-grade spirit stones, 4,500 sect points, one mysterious-rank low-grade defense artifact, and a one-time 20% discount at the Xiaoyao Chamber of Commerce.
First place: Each member of the group is rewarded with fourteen bottles of mysterious-rank low-grade Spirit-Purifying Pills, fourteen bottles of yellow-rank high-grade Spirit-Replenishing Pills, fourteen bottles of yellow-rank high-grade Return-to-Spring Pills, 5,000 low-grade spirit stones, 5,000 sect points, one mysterious-rank low-grade defense artifact, a one-time 30% discount at the Xiaoyao Chamber of Commerce, and one sword talisman containing a strike from a peak Nascent Soul cultivator.”
Another wave of gasps erupted from the field after the rewards were announced.
Perfected Person Ye said, “The above rewards can be claimed at Governing Peak's Resource Management Hall by presenting your identity jade token and the corresponding reward list.
Furthermore, the sect will issue rewards to each group's guide based on the group's team ranking and individual rankings.
The reward list will be sent to your identity jade tokens by tomorrow evening at the latest. Remember to check for it.”
Just as everyone thought Perfected Person Ye was finished and the competition was completely over, she spoke again. “There is one last thing.
Since you all passed the trial of the evil-qi-infested demon beasts, the sect has prepared a small reward for everyone.
However, given the unexpected situation with the evil-qi-infested demon beasts, which resulted in you facing stronger beasts, the rewards for the trial will be issued after the sect investigates the causes and consequences.”
The festive and joyful atmosphere spread from Fighting Peak to all the various floating peaks.
At the Fighting Peak transmission hall, seeing that most of the new disciples had chosen Governing Peak as their destination, Gu Ningyun decisively decided to return to Qixia Peak first.
The Resource Management Hall at Governing Peak would likely be brightly lit all night.
Gu Ningyun could guess without even looking that the disciples forced to work the night shift at the Resource Management Hall would have expressions of utter helplessness.
After hearing Gu Ningyun's explanation, Wen Xuan and the other friends also decisively changed their destination, returning together to Ruiyu Pavilion on Qixia Peak.
Instead of wasting time in that queue, it was better to go back and do something else.
After bidding farewell to her friends and returning to Cloud Residence, Gu Ningyun took a bath and collapsed onto her bed in the bedroom.
Although cultivators could replace sleep with cultivation, as a Qi Refining level four with low cultivation, the ten consecutive days of mental tension had still left her mentally exhausted.
Just as a damaged primordial spirit needed sleep to recover, when one was excessively mentally fatigued, sleep provided the best recovery effect with the fewest side effects.
After she fell asleep, the fat duck—who had arrived a step late because it had been wandering around the Qixia Peak dining hall—stood outside the array of Tingfeng. It stared at the courtyard gate, which didn't respond no matter how much it knocked, and fell into deep thought.
With its early Nascent Soul stage cultivation as a guarantee, it was certain that it had sensed the little girl returning to Qixia Peak not long ago.
Could she have left again to queue for her rewards at Governing Peak?
The fat duck waddled its tail and paced twice in front of the gate. Thinking of the current crowded state of the Resource Management Hall, it shook its head. The little girl couldn't be that foolish.
The Spirit-Heart Peach Tree trembled, shaking down a few tender pink petals, and the silence inside and outside the Tingfeng courtyard returned once more.
As the sun set, Gu Ningyun, who had slept all afternoon, wriggled in her blankets for a while before finally crawling out of the soft bedding.
Walking into the courtyard with sleepy eyes, she only gradually regained her clarity after smelling the sweet and elegant fragrance of the Spirit-Heart Peach blossoms.
She cast several Cleaning Techniques on herself and tidied her clothes, returning to her usual composed appearance.
After an afternoon of rest, she had already sorted out her mood and state, ready to face the next round of cultivation and challenges.
They had spent nine days in the secret realm. Because fighting the lynx had consumed too much of the disciples' physical strength, the extra food they had packed had all been distributed to the disciples to replenish their energy.
Gu Ningyun glanced at her storage bag, which now contained only fasting pills, and prepared to make a trip to the dining hall for dinner.
However, as soon as she opened the courtyard gate, she felt an intense gaze coming from the upper right.
Gu Ningyun looked up abruptly.
Through the layered petals of the Spirit-Heart Peach blossoms, she first saw a ball of white duck down. Looking higher, she met a duck head with a pouting beak and eyes full of resentment.
Gu Ningyun subconsciously took a step forward. “Senior?”
The duck head moved and disappeared among the shadows of the flowers.
At this, Gu Ningyun really couldn't help herself.
She ran to the Spirit-Heart Peach Tree in a few steps and stood on her tiptoes to look up.
With just one glance, she saw a big, white, plump duck lying on a peach branch a head taller than her.
It really was it!
Gu Ningyun leaned against the tree with one hand and poked the fat duck's snowy-white chest with the other. “Senior, why are you hiding your head under your wing?”
The fat duck didn't answer. Instead, it tucked its head even deeper under its wing.
Gu Ningyun fell silent for a moment, then suddenly broke into a mischievous smile. “Senior, even if you hide your head that deep, I still won't be able to find your neck.”
This was like lighting a firecracker.
The fat duck snapped its head out. “Little girl, how—how can you treat this great lord like this!”
By the end of its sentence, its expression carried a hint of resentment again.
Gu Ningyun was stunned. She subconsciously pulled back her smile and softened her tone. “Senior, what's wrong? Did someone bully you?”
Hidden behind the flower shadows, the fat duck secretly observed Gu Ningyun's expression and tone through the petals.
Unsure of what it sensed, its duck feet scratched at the branch, looking somewhat smug and joyful.
Unlike its subconscious small movements, however, the fat duck's face maintained its previous expression.
“Little girl, this great lord is hungry...”
Gu Ningyun: “...”
She smiled helplessly and tugged at the tip of its wing. “Come down. I'll grill some fish for you.”
“Eh? Grilled fish!” The expression on the fat duck's face could no longer be maintained as its true nature returned. “Quack, quack, quack! How could this great lord forget? After all this time, you must have already finished the introduction to food cultivation!”
Its wings flapped, and a slight ripple of space flashed. The next instant, it appeared beneath the tree. “Then what are we waiting for... slurp... Little girl, you must be starving too.”
Gu Ningyun ignored the sound of it slurping its saliva and gave a hum of agreement, silently picking up a trident.
Rate on N.U.
