Chapter 25: Mysterious Moon Secret Realm (Please add to favorites! Please keep reading!)

Shao Heng froze for a moment, then smiled as she took the spiritual banana.

Duobao seemed even happier; it waited until she took a bite before it began to feast voraciously.

"Next time we go to the market, I'll buy you other varieties of spiritual fruit, like spiritual peaches, berries..."

"But you have to take good care of the spiritual fields."

Duobao possessed high intelligence; it nodded while eating the spiritual banana.

Shao Heng could prepare the [Azure Emperor] spiritual liquid in small porcelain vials in advance and have Duobao take them to the fields.

Although its magical power was low, it had, after all, become a demon. Despite its small size, its strength was considerably greater than that of an untrained adult man.

Every acre of spiritual field was equipped with a well. Duobao only needed to draw water to dilute the spiritual liquid, allowing it to irrigate the rice fields once a day, replacing the need for the Rain Casting Technique, and then handle weeding and pest control.

Shao Heng could then come to harvest every three days, using spells to process everything in one go before heading to the market to sell them for spirit stones.

Furthermore, she had carefully investigated and found that the flow of spiritual rice in the market was primarily to provide spiritual meals for the inner disciples of the Zhenyi Yuan Sect and to feed the cultivators' contract beasts. With a daily consumption reaching ten thousand catties, Shao Heng selling a few hundred catties every three days would not disrupt the market; as long as she acted cautiously, it would not be easy for anyone to notice anything suspicious.

However, Earth Dan Shen, being a rare spiritual medicine, was different. Selling large quantities of spiritual herbs inevitably carried the risk of being targeted.

Moreover, spiritual herbs could already serve as direct substitutes for spirit stones as cultivation consumables, so there was no need to go out of one's way.

Regarding the cultivation of Earth Dan Shen, Shao Heng planned to figure out for herself how effective the [Azure Emperor] spiritual liquid was, and then make arrangements based on the survival rate.

She played with Duobao for a while, then sent it to the spiritual fields, prepared three days' worth of spiritual bananas, and returned to her residence.

Once Shao Heng sat upright on the prayer mat in her room, she let out a long sigh of relief.

She currently had twenty-three spirit stones in hand. Keeping thirteen for emergencies, she laid out ten beside her mat for cultivation.

With a reliable way to earn spirit stones, Shao Heng was no longer stingy with them.

She emptied her mind and body, casting aside all worries, and immersed herself in cultivation.

...

Three months passed in the blink of an eye. At the Miaofa Pavilion, most of this year's newly recruited outer disciples were gathered in the lecture hall.

Shao Heng was among them.

As this year's lecturing elder, Zhao Tang was to step down from her duties starting today.

Over the past three months, whenever they had questions, they had mostly sought guidance from Elder Zhao. Out of respect for that bond, they all came to attend the final lesson.

At this moment, Shao Heng sat upright on her prayer mat, her eyes clear and her spirit bright, looking quite well-nourished at a glance.

In fact, that was indeed the case.

Shao Heng had previously verified that the Earth Dan Shen could indeed withstand more [Azure Emperor] spiritual liquid within a short period. By mastering the pattern, she could shorten the cultivation time by about fifty times, with the plants maturing roughly every two and a half months.

Two days ago, she had just harvested the first batch of Earth Dan Shen—eight plants in total—and naturally, she was in high spirits due to the good news.

She used the spiritual rice to earn spirit stones, which she then exchanged for other cultivation treasures and some low-grade but powerful spells.

As of today, Shao Heng had refined two hundred and eighty-seven cauldrons of magical power. In at most half a month, she would reach three hundred cauldrons and break through to the middle stage of the First Realm.

Furthermore, she had currently accumulated over two thousand spirit stones and various other cultivation resources.

Shao Heng waited patiently for Zhao Tang's arrival, while thinking to herself: "Previously, I didn't take on extra tasks mainly to focus my time on increasing my cultivation. But once I break through to the middle stage of the First Realm, I can no longer continue to cultivate in isolation; I need to try taking on hunting missions from the Law Enforcement Pavilion."

Otherwise, having cultivation without knowing how to fight would be just as embarrassing as her previous situation, where she understood martial techniques but lacked the physical strength to execute them.

"Greetings, disciples."

Holding a staff, Zhao Tang walked onto the high platform. Her gaze swept across the three hundred or so disciples below, her heart filled with sentiment.

"I will not be teaching any lessons today. By now, you have all completed the Qi Induction and mastered the 'Vitality Nourishing Technique,' as well as several basic spells. You can now be considered true cultivators."

"In nine months, you will participate in the Great Competition. You will either secure a top ten position to promote to an inner disciple, or remain in the outer sect to continue your cultivation. If you are still under sixty when you reach the Second Realm, you will have another chance at the inner sect assessment."

"There is no need for anxiety or confusion. Cultivate diligently, and the sect will always provide you with opportunities to rise."

Zhao Tang did not waste words; after a few words of well-wishes, she announced that the session was concluded.

The disciples in the lecture hall rose one after another, bowed deeply, and spoke in unison.

"Thank you, Elder Zhao, for your three months of teaching."

Having encountered problems while circulating the "Vitality Nourishing Technique" during her three months of cultivation, Shao Heng had frequently sought Zhao Tang's help to resolve them. Thus, her expression was respectful and her thanks were sincere.

As the disciples dispersed, she was about to head to the spiritual fields to check on Duobao when a voice suddenly rang in her ear.

"Wait a moment."

It was Zhao Tang.

From the corner of her eye, Shao Heng saw that no one else was reacting, and Zhao Tang had clearly already exited the lecture hall.

She slowed her movements, and once she was the only one left in the hall, she sat back down on her prayer mat.

After a while, Zhao Tang walked back into the hall. Seeing the young woman in yellow looking at her with bright, almond-shaped eyes, she couldn't help but smile. "Won't you ask me what this is about first?"

"Because I suspect that whatever Elder Zhao wants to tell me must be good news."

"Good news is always worth the wait."

Zhao Tang shook her head. "You are quite silver-tongued. However, I truly do not know if this matter is good or bad for you."

She pulled a white jade token from her sleeve, shaped like a crescent moon.

"The heavens and earth have a moon, named Taiyin. A fragment of the Taiyin Star once fell to the mortal realm, and after being refined by a great expert, it formed a small world with extremely dense spiritual energy known as the 'Mystic Moon Secret Realm.' It is held by our Zhenyi Yuan Sect and the neighboring Wenxing Sect, and the rules of the realm only allow First Realm cultivators to enter."

"This secret realm opens once every sixty years, and each opening lasts for half a year. The next one begins in three months. If you participate, the end of the secret realm will coincide perfectly with the disciple competition, but there is also the possibility of being seriously injured, which could affect your performance."

"Besides the extremely suitable environment for cultivation, the secret realm also produces a cultivation treasure called 'Moon Shards,' which possesses both Taiyin and astral powers."

Zhao Tang reached out toward Shao Heng, and the crescent moon token landed in her palm.

"I remember the thirteen bright spots that appeared on the Mirror of Origin. I later consulted many ancient texts and suspect they were likely manifestations of stars. Speaking of which, your aptitude would be well-suited for the divination path of the Wenxing Sect. If that is the case, the Moon Shards should be of great benefit to you."

"Only those holding a Moon Inquiry Token are qualified to enter the Mystic Moon Secret Realm. Our sect usually only distributes these tokens to inner sect elders for disciple training, but I obtained this one through a trade with a clan elder."

Shao Heng looked at the Moon Inquiry Token in Zhao Tang's palm and understood immediately.

"Elder Zhao..."

"Although the cultivators there are all in the First Realm, the gathering of disciples from two great immortal sects means there will be no shortage of First Realm perfectionists with over nine hundred cauldrons of magical power. And the struggles between cultivators inevitably involve life-and-death crises. Furthermore, I have conditions regarding this Moon Inquiry Token; you must consider carefully whether to accept it."

The Mystic Moon Secret Realm, filled with both danger and opportunity.

The Moon Inquiry Token, representing Zhao Tang's favor.

Zhao Tang thought she would hesitate, but Shao Heng reached out directly, took the token, and gripped it tightly.

"Of course I will go!"