Li Nanzhu waited until almost everyone else had entered before heading into the secret realm with her senior brothers.
Upon entering, she immediately felt that the spiritual energy here was far denser than in the outside world. It was even comparable to the effects of the Spirit Gathering Array she had set up in her own courtyard.
No wonder people in the cultivation world loved secret realms. Even if they didn't find any natural treasures, simply cultivating inside and absorbing more qi than they could elsewhere was a massive benefit.
The Flowing Cloud Secret Realm opened for five days each time. In the original novel, Cang Dongqing and the people from the Wuji Sect only found the Glazed Wood on the final day before the realm closed.
Therefore, Li Nanzhu wasn't in a hurry to find them. Instead, she followed the guide her eldest brother had prepared.
Along the way, Li Nanzhu collected many spiritual plants based on Mu Wenyan's guide. Once refined into pills, they would be quite effective; even selling them raw would fetch a good price.
However, this was only the outer perimeter. The further they went, the more dangerous it would become.
Li Nanzhu was fine; since she only had a Qi Condensation cultivation, Mu Wenyan wouldn't let any truly dangerous demonic beasts near her. Duan Xianxing, however, was miserable. Every time they encountered a demonic beast, Mu Wenyan would be the first to kick him out toward it.
Once, a demonic beast hadn't even noticed Duan Xianxing, yet Mu Wenyan kicked him directly into the beast's face.
Duan Xianxing had shrieked as he was chased around, eventually having to exhaust all his qi to resolve the threat.
Li Nanzhu observed Duan Xianxing's combat style while occasionally adding a spell or two to lighten his burden.
Still, why was her eldest brother so brutal when it came to their seventh brother's training? He could have clearly used qi to toss him, but he chose to use his foot.
Was this still the eldest brother she knew? Eldest Brother, you're breaking character!
Where was her gentle-as-jade eldest brother?
Li Nanzhu would never admit that she was the one who had pushed him to drop his persona.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
And this was only the first day.
Seeing that Li Nanzhu could help Duan Xianxing in battle, Mu Wenyan decided that on the second day, she should fight personally instead of acting as a support.
Of course, the creatures appearing before Li Nanzhu were all tier 1 demonic beasts.
Li Nanzhu's first opponent was a red-scaled snake.
As a fire-attribute demonic beast, its body was covered in crimson diamond-shaped scales as hard as iron. Ordinary weapons could hardly penetrate its defense.
According to the guide Mu Wenyan had provided, its weaknesses were its eyes and its seven-inch mark. The eyes were difficult to hit, and the scales at the seven-inch mark only slightly opened when the snake was launching an attack.
Generally, when facing such a beast, two or more cultivators would coordinate their efforts.
Li Nanzhu attempted to use water attacks and vines, but both ended in failure.
The red-scaled snake's cultivation was higher than hers. Under the pressure of raw cultivation disparity, even her water attribute—which should have been a natural counter—was suppressed by the opponent.
The water arrows Li Nanzhu manifested with spiritual energy were rapidly evaporated by the flames upon contact with the snake.
Even Mu Wenyan assumed it would be difficult for Li Nanzhu to handle the red-scaled snake alone and prepared to have Duan Xianxing step in to help her.
But neither of them expected Li Nanzhu to be so reckless.
Seeing that her current means of attack were useless, Li Nanzhu actually calmed down.
As the red-scaled snake spat fire at her again, she manifested a water shield directly in front of her. Even though the shield was shattered instantly and the fire attack pierced through her body,
Li Nanzhu’s hand didn't tremble in the slightest. She drove her dagger ruthlessly into the snake's seven-inch mark and twisted it!
The red-scaled snake's body crashed to the ground, and Li Nanzhu coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Little Junior Sister!"
Though the cultivation world was often brutal, Li Nanzhu acted as if she couldn't feel the pain. She wiped the blood from her mouth and flashed a slightly weak smile.
"I'm fine, it just hurts a bit. Do you have any pills I can eat?"
"Little Junior Sister, doesn't it hurt...?"
Watching Li Nanzhu swallow a healing pill and seeing her wounds rapidly close, Duan Xianxing finally spoke up with heartache.
"Ah, it hurts a lot. Waaaah, I'm actually terrified of pain, it's killing me!"
Li Nanzhu actually felt like crying. She really was afraid of pain; back in the modern world, she would have wailed for half a day over a minor injury, let alone now when it felt like her internal organs were aching. Fortunately, the pill was quickly repairing the damage.
"If it hurts, why do you fight like that? What kind of cultivator fights that way? You're not allowed to do that anymore, do you hear me?"
"Mm-hm, I know, I know," Li Nanzhu nodded dismissively.
Mu Wenyan couldn't help but poke Li Nanzhu's forehead, his heart aching for her. Such a large wound must have been excruciating.
But he still had to say his piece.
His little junior sister's fighting style was simply too absurd.
Normal dharma cultivators followed the path of ranged attacks or kited their enemies while retreating. Li Nanzhu was neither a sword cultivator nor a proper dharma cultivator.
The two of them thought Li Nanzhu would learn her lesson and be more careful, avoiding such a suicidal fighting style in the future.
However, they were clearly mistaken.
Whether it was close-quarters or ranged combat, once Li Nanzhu figured out the enemy's attack patterns, she would immediately charge at their weakness. Every strike was lethal, and she remained as calm as if she wasn't the one getting injured.
It was as if the person who had just been crying about how much it hurt wasn't her at all.
Yet, when they encountered the next demonic beast, she would still sacrifice her own safety and risk heavy injury to strike the beast's weak point for a quick resolution.
Fortunately, Li Nanzhu managed to resolve the fights right on the edge of critical injury every time.
But was it really just luck?
Eventually, even Duan Xianxing, a sword cultivator, felt his heart skip a beat watching her fight. Every single engagement felt like she was gambling with her life.
He wanted to intervene several times, but he was stopped by a frowning Mu Wenyan.
It was also thanks to the abundance of healing pills Mu Wenyan carried and the fact that Li Nanzhu’s own spells included healing techniques.
Through this cycle of repeated hunting, Li Nanzhu was on the verge of breaking through to the sixth level of Qi Condensation.
On the third day, Mu Wenyan directly restrained Li Nanzhu and spoke softly.
"Little Junior Sister, that's enough. You've worked hard enough."
Li Nanzhu shook her head.
"Eldest Brother, it's not enough. Besides, how can one cultivate without getting hurt? Don't worry about me."
"Then why is every fight a desperate gamble? I've watched you for a day. Every time you move, you could have clearly dodged many of those attacks."
Li Nanzhu's body stiffened slightly. Even the usually cheerful Duan Xianxing stared at her in uncharacteristic silence.
Li Nanzhu took a deep breath. She felt like she was going crazy since the day she arrived in the cultivation world. Fortunately, she had ended up at the Five Elements Dao Sect and gained a master and senior brothers. So, it was okay.
"I understand, Eldest Brother. I was just too anxious to increase my strength."
Li Nanzhu smiled at Duan Xianxing. "Because Seventh Brother looks so cool when he fights, I wanted to reach Foundation Establishment as soon as possible. Didn't you say I can choose a sword after I reach Foundation Establishment?"
Fearing they were still worried, she added another sentence.
"I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have done that. Don't worry, I won't do it again!"
Hearing her promise, the two finally softened their expressions, though they clearly didn't intend to let her fight for the rest of the day.
Li Nanzhu was helpless; she had truly terrified her brothers. Thus, she could only go back to assisting Duan Xianxing like she did on the first day.
Only occasionally, under her pitiful gazes, would the eldest brother let her fight a tier 1 demonic beast.
This time, Li Nanzhu fought steadily. She no longer followed that suicidal pattern. Although the battles took longer, she barely sustained any injuries.
Seeing that she was no longer risking her life, the two finally relaxed a bit, though they still kept a close eye on her.
Mu Wenyan began pondering what kind of magic tool would be suitable for his little junior sister. At the very least, he needed to get her something to use so she wouldn't go into every fight empty-handed.
On the night of the third day.
The three found a cave and started a fire to roast meat.
"The meat of a gale rabbit really is the most fragrant! Out of all the demonic beast meat I've had, this is definitely the best!" Duan Xianxing stared longingly at the meat over the fire, his mouth watering.
Li Nanzhu also looked at the roast meat with anticipation. If her seventh brother certified it as delicious, it certainly wouldn't be bad.
For the first two days, she hadn't felt hungry because she had taken a fasting pill before entering the secret realm. She hadn't even thought about eating.
Now that the effects of the fasting pill had worn off, she was craving food. She really wanted to eat something. Mu Wenyan looked at the two eager faces and couldn't help but chuckle.
They really were just two kids.
Before long, both of them were eating the rabbit meat, their eyes practically tearing up with joy.
Indeed, who would eat a fasting pill if there was meat available? Compared to this, fasting pills were truly disgusting!
After eating and drinking their fill, the three began to take stock of their spoils from the past few days.
"Twelve tier 2 demonic beast carcasses! Last time, Little Junior Sister helped me sell four for six hundred middle-grade spirit stones. Twelve means eighteen hundred middle-grade spirit stones! I'm going to be rich! Hahaha!"
Li Nanzhu and Mu Wenyan didn't have much of a reaction; after all, Duan Xianxing was the only one who was truly poor.
"Little Junior Sister, once we return to the sect and go to Qingyun City again, I'll take you to eat something delicious. We didn't get to last time!"
Looking at the excited Duan Xianxing, Li Nanzhu was infected by his mood and laughed as well.
"I have nineteen tier 1 demonic beast carcasses here. Seventh Brother, you still have to work hard!"
"Nineteen! Little Junior Sister, you're too intense! Aaaah, as your senior brother, I actually didn't beat your count? Wait, the two of us must work hard together tomorrow to beat Little Junior Sister!"
Watching his junior brother and sister laughing and playing together, Mu Wenyan smiled and put away the Memory Stone in his hand.
This kind of warm scene was a first for him since joining the Five Elements Dao Sect.
He liked it very much, so he would secretly keep it as a memento.
Years later, when Mu Wenyan took out this Memory Stone again, the images were still crystal clear, making the others regret that they weren't at the sect at the time and hadn't been able to participate.
As the night grew deeper, Li Nanzhu, still being in the Qi Condensation stage, could use cultivation to replace sleep, but she still needed to rest properly every few days.
Coupled with the constant fighting of the past few days, even though she was reluctant to sleep, Mu Wenyan simply cast a sleeping spell on her, and she drifted off.
Mu Wenyan and Duan Xianxing then shared a glance and walked outside the cave.
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