Chapter 49: The Realm of the Mysterious Moon (Requesting monthly tickets! Requesting follow-up subscriptions!)

Shaoheng shrugged helplessly and said, "Senior Sister Li, I know nothing of alchemy."

Li Chaoge chuckled twice, then suddenly sighed, "It's a pity this drop of dragon blood is merely ordinary blood. If it were the essence blood of a true dragon, one could refine Great Medicines of the fifth rank or higher. But then again, it's likely impossible to stumble upon such a windfall."

Obtaining the dragon blood was enough to offset the favors she owed from her previous information gathering.

Li Chaoge said with a beaming smile, "Junior Sister Shaoheng, if there are such good opportunities in the future, you must come to me!"

When the two women parted ways, Li Chaoge showed a hint of hesitation, but ultimately spoke up: "Junior Sister, while I was asking around for information, I happened to uncover the grudge between you and that Jiang Yunjiang. That Jiang Yunjiang possesses top-tier aptitude after all. I heard she has only been cultivating for less than half a year, yet she has already advanced to the middle stage of the First Realm, and even has a Green Carp Demon of the late Qi-Refining stage bound to her."

"Low-tier aptitude, like mine, means even after over a decade of cultivation, I cannot match her half a year of progress. There is no need for us to cling to those grudges. Setting aside the saying that it is better to resolve an enmity than to foster one, the worst we can do is simply avoid her sharp edge."

Hearing this, Shaoheng merely replied, "Thank you for your kindness, Senior Sister."

If she truly possessed only low-grade aptitude, then Li Chaoge's words could be considered heartfelt. Thus, Shaoheng did not show any strange expression, responding instead with a smile.

Watching Li Chaogge walk into the distance, Shaoheng thought to herself, *"Jiang Yunjiang? Avoid her sharp edge?"*

*"She had Yan Ning and the others cause trouble for me, and she delayed my planting of spiritual rice to sell spirit stones. I still have to settle the final score with her!"*

She picked up the little monkey from the ground and walked to the railing of Qiufeng Terrace to gaze into the distance.

The Danfire Maple trees circled a small lake. The bright moon hung above, and as a light breeze blew, ripples danced across the water's surface, shimmering with light.

Staring at the lake while stroking the little monkey, Shaoheng pondered, *"The key is the 'dirty thing' inside Jiang Yunjiang. But the fact that she can only find a First Realm cultivator to cooperate with suggests her own situation is already quite difficult. Even if her strength is great, it cannot be too immense."*

*"I still have over three thousand spirit stones. I can go to the market to see if there are any specialized spells or treasures that can suppress souls."*

Her thoughts raced, and after many reflections, only one idea remained.

*"It is said that the Profound Moon Secret Realm is a special small world. I have never encountered it before; I am truly curious."*

...

One day, while Shaoheng was meditating in her room, an object suddenly flew out of her storage ring of its own accord and hovered before her.

She opened her eyes. The crescent-shaped Moon-Inquiry Token was currently emitting a faint blue glow, with runes crawling across its surface, constantly rotating and shifting.

Shaoheng pressed her finger against the Moon-Inquiry Token, channeling her magic power into it. Instantly, the token erupted in a brilliant light! It completely enveloped the young girl's body before she vanished from the spot.

Only the golden-furred little monkey remained in the room. Seeing Shaoheng disappear with the token, it let out a few disappointed whimpers.

On Duobao's right hand was a small storage bracelet that Shaoheng had specially purchased for it, containing a sufficient supply of spiritual bananas and spiritual fruits.

Because of their blood contract, Ao Chuan could enter the secret realm with Shaoheng and be counted as a person. Duobao, however, could only stay behind, unable to enter with her.

It curled up in its small nest, facing a pile of over twenty thick books. These were classics Shaoheng had specifically bought for it from the market—written in extremely easy-to-understand demon script—with instructions that it must use this time to "overtake on the curve" and make significant progress.

This well-behaved little monkey showed a rebellious side for the first time. Looking at these books gave it a massive headache. It scratched its head, and finally, it reached out to push the stack of books over. The silver mark between its brows suddenly transformed into a crack, from which an eye pupil emerged.

Elsewhere, Shaoheng was completely unaware of the changes occurring in Duobao. As she opened her eyes, she saw not a single shred of light, as if she were a blind person in a world of darkness.

However, her entire body felt as though it were being lashed by astral winds. She had studied this before; it was the turbulence inevitable when traversing space. This force was pervasive, feeling like steel blades scraping against bone.

Thanks to her previous dragon blood tempering and her improved cultivation, Shaoheng was able to cope.

After about fifteen minutes, the pain subsided, and a sliver of light appeared before her eyes. Shaoheng controlled her body to lunge toward the light, and in the next moment, the scenery changed drastically!

She hurriedly turned her body, barely managing to steady herself and avoid falling to the ground.

Shaohing scanned her surroundings, choosing a large tree as cover, and then proceeded to observe her current environment.

She looked up; just as the information she had gathered suggested, there was no sun in the secret realm. It was perpetually night, with only the moon providing light.

In such a strange environment, vast forests actually managed to grow, appearing even more lush than trees growing under normal sunlight.

After observing for a moment, Shaoheng chose a direction and began to walk.

Every time the Profound Moon Secret Realm opened, the terrain underwent massive changes after sixty years, making it impossible to observe effectively. Shaoheng had been willing to pay spirit stones previously but had failed to purchase any useful information.

Although she could clearly perceive that the spiritual energy in the secret realm was a level higher than that outside the sect's outer gates—meaning she could gain insights even through quiet cultivation—how could she be satisfied with just that?

As Shaoheng walked eastward, the trees began to thin out, while mushrooms as tall as a person became more frequent, emitting a faint white glow.

Before long, a scream rang out. Shaoheng immediately ducked behind a large mushroom to hide, simultaneously casting a Face-Changing Spell to transform her appearance and physique into that of Jiang Yunjiang before observing the source of the sound.

She saw a man in white robes; he was the one screaming.

In front of the man stood an exceptionally large mushroom. Countless mycelia extended from beneath its cap, stretching toward the man like the octopus tentacles Shaoheng had seen before. Even if they were destroyed by spells, they would simply regrow.

After the initial panic, the male cultivator quickly regained his composure. He mobilized his full magic power, and as a golden light spread, it seemed as though thousands of golden needles shot out, instantly severing all the mycelia in one go.

*"No, I remember reading in the 'Chronicles of Thousand Gold' that mushrooms reproduce via spores, which are difficult to detect with the naked eye. The best way to counter them is with fire-element spells."*

Sure enough, the man's joy was short-lived. White spots suddenly appeared on his clothing and skin, quickly growing into white circles from which many new mycelia sprouted.

The man struggled incessantly, but a large cloud of purple mist suddenly erupted from beneath the mushroom cap. Once he inhaled it, he lost consciousness completely; his fate was self-evident.

Shaoheng felt her scalp tingle with dread. She quickly took small, rapid steps, moving away from the mushroom she was hiding behind as swiftly and silently as possible.

The magic aura used by the previous male cultivator was clearly that of the late First Realm. Judging by his clothing, he was likely a disciple of the Wenxing Sect.

As she retreated, she suddenly spun around, gripped her longbow, and released an arrow!

*"A middle-stage First Realm dares to enter the secret realm? Let these 'sisters' scout the path for me."*

The arrow, capable of chasing the wind, was caught casually by a woman. The impending explosion of magic power within it was suppressed by a layer of purple light.

The woman's face was like a lotus after the rain, exuding a gentle grace. She wore a pale yellow long dress embroidered with secret star patterns.

As the female cultivator raised her hand, a massive magical palm print formed, pressing down violently toward Shaoheng, causing Shaoheng's pupils to contract.

A peak First Realm cultivator!