The Scarlet Secret Realm would remain open for three months, with only fifteen days remaining. Hu Ying, having benefited from her recent encounter, had broken through to the fourth level of the Cave Heaven realm.
"By the way, I heard there's a moving herb shop somewhere in the mountains to the west," Hu Ying mentioned casually. "They say you can find ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs everywhere in it, but no one's ever managed to locate it. Want to give it a try?"
"Oh?" Ling Yun considered it for a moment. "Better not. Sounds too dangerous."
After they parted ways, Hu Ying set off north to try her luck, while Ling Yun immediately began heading toward the fabled moving herb shop.
"Ding! Mission complete. Reward issued. Congratulations, host, you've earned x system coins."
Ling Yun nearly spat blood. "System, why was my reward just system coins this time?"
"Ding! Since it was a secondary mission, the reward was reduced accordingly. However, system coins have significant purchasing power, so please explore their usage carefully."
So that's why, Ling Yun realized. Skipping the first mission meant reduced rewards on the secondary mission.
The moving herb shop was no secret. Ever since the Scarlet Secret Realm first opened, disciples had reported its appearance, moving rapidly and stopping only briefly before vanishing. The Sword Sect elders speculated that it might be a relic left behind by the Blood Ancestor himself.
Ling Yun reached the location Hu Ying had mentioned but found nothing unusual. After four days of fruitless searching, he asked, "System, do you have a scanning feature?"
"Ding! No. But the Thousand-Plate Detector can be purchased to scan nearby energy and spatial fluctuations."
Ling Yun browsed the system store, and his jaw dropped. "That many system coins? You've got to be kidding me! You'd have to sell me twice over to afford this!"
"Ding! Host may use credit to purchase and have the amount deducted from future mission rewards."
Strangely, it felt familiar, almost like being scammed.
"Does this detector pick up spiritual energy from plants?"
"Ding! Unknown."
After careful (and somewhat reckless) consideration, Ling Yun said, "Buy!"
If it could track spiritual plants, the risk would be worth it.
"Ding! System coins deducted, remaining balance: -8000 system coins."
Ling Yun picked up the Thousand-Plate Detector, his hands trembling slightly as he looked at the price tag.
The Thousand-Plate Detector: A tool capable of detecting energy and spatial fluctuations within a two-hundred-meter radius.
The device was a deep starry blue, resembling a compass but carved with sun, moon, and stars, as well as various animal figures, and notably, it lacked a pointer.
Ling Yun channeled spiritual energy into it, and a 3D map appeared in his mind.
"What are these green dots?" he wondered.
Following one dot, he uncovered a fifty-year-old fig. Testing further, he quickly grasped the detector's functionality. Green dots represented spiritual plants—the deeper the color, the older the plant. However, it couldn't detect beings with life attributes, like people or animals.
"Jackpot!" Ling Yun exclaimed, uncovering a three-hundred-year-old Earthheart Fruit buried ten meters underground. Earthheart Fruits grew deep in the earth, evading even divine sense, but the detector located it with pinpoint accuracy.
"Oh? Here's another one. Judging by its depth of color, it could be a ten-thousand-year-old specimen." Excited, Ling Yun sped off toward his next target.
...
In another part of the realm, Niu Xiahua, an eighth-level Cave Heaven cultivator from the Heavenly Wind Peak, had just discovered a ten-thousand-year-old Thunder Phoenix Fruit by the river. The conditions for such a fruit were stringent, requiring a location struck thrice by natural lightning. Consuming it could potentially awaken a thunder physique, though the odds were one in ten thousand.
Thrilled by her find, Niu Xiahua had kept vigil for five days and nights without rest. When the fruit finally ripened, releasing a fragrant aroma, she moved to pluck it.
"Dark Nether Strike!"
A shadowy figure appeared from nowhere, launching an attack.
"Caught you, you little rat!" she sneered, countering with a heart-piercing palm strike that sent her assailant flying.
"Damn it!" Seeing his sneak attack fail, the would-be thief fled.
"A filthy assassin from Assassin Peak? Think you can escape?" Enraged, Niu Xiahua gave chase, engaging him in a fierce aerial battle.
"I'm Xia Liu, an inner disciple of Assassin Peak! We're both from the Sword Sect—why the need to kill me?" Xia Liu, a sixth-level Cave Heaven cultivator, was clearly outmatched, losing ground with each clash.
"Ha! You dare to ambush me, your elder sister Niu, and still talk of brotherhood? Take this!" Niu Xiahua pulled out a golden ring, chanting, "Heaven and earth devoid of rings, reverse yin and yang. Release!"
The ring transformed into a brilliant light, striking Xia Liu's head and splattering his brains.
When she returned to the fruit, she found a strikingly handsome man already plucking it.
"Daoist Ling Yun, wait!" she called out.
Ling Yun paused, looking back with a calm smile. "Daoist Niu, how may I help you?"
The two had met once before at the training grounds. Ordinarily, Niu Xiahua wouldn't hesitate to use her ring on any trespasser. But now, facing Ling Yun, she had to be cautious; she didn't want to provoke the wrath of his protector, Wei Yingxue, the Sword Sect maniac.
"Daoist Ling, I've been watching over this fruit day and night, and after finally overcoming a would-be thief, I had hoped to retrieve it myself. I hope you'll consider my humble request." She spoke earnestly, even bowing slightly.
Ling Yun, who had a soft spot for politeness, responded thoughtfully, "Daoist Niu, I do truly desire this Thunder Phoenix Fruit myself. How about we make a trade? I'll exchange this two-thousand-year-old Yin Marrow Fruit for it. Would that be acceptable?"
Niu Xiahua's eyes sparkled with joy; the Yin Marrow Fruit could help her break through to the next level. Stuck at the eighth level of Cave Heaven for decades, she saw hope at last.
"Daoist Ling, you're too generous! I gladly accept."
Ling Yun produced the Yin Marrow Fruit and tossed it to her.
"Haha! Daoist Ling, you are indeed a man of your word. Do give my regards to Sister Wei!"
Taking the Yin Marrow Fruit, Niu Xiahua eagerly went off to find a secluded place to make her breakthrough.
Ling Yun stashed the Thunder Phoenix Fruit into his system space, planning to use it later when he ascended to the Cave Heaven realm. Should luck be on his side and he awakened the Thunder Physique, it would be an unimaginable boon.
The Yin Marrow Fruit, as the name suggested, was strictly for female cultivators. Any man attempting to consume it, even in refined pill form, would face a violent and gruesome end. Additionally, Niu Xiahua was a formidable warrior known for her deadly Rainbow Ring technique, making her a challenging opponent.
Curiously, the senior disciple Wei Yingxue had yet to return from her sect mission. According to some disciples, she had ventured into the Endless Abyss.