Seeing the awkward expressions on Ying Yuankai and the others, Li Fei found it somewhat amusing. He couldn’t help but glance a few more times at that female disciple. She appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a delicate and graceful appearance, as ethereal as a pure orchid. She was an extremely beautiful yet aloof girl.
Li Fei couldn’t resist looking a few more times when suddenly, the two elders began to descend. They had arrived at Lilie Valley surprisingly quickly.
This place was somewhat similar to the narrow path at Tiger’s Mouth Cliff in Qingqiu. Both sides were flanked by towering cliff walls, but a swirling black mist lingered in the narrow passage—the sealing technique of the Wuyue Court.
At the base of the cliff wall stood a bare stone stele without any inscriptions. It appeared smooth as if it had been rubbed by countless hands over the years.
Dongyang Zhenren said, “Before entering the valley, everyone put on your name tags properly.”
The disciples hurriedly took out their name tags from their robes. These were made of stone, small but heavy. Hanging them on the waist was quite cumbersome, constantly hitting their waists and stomachs, which was particularly painful. Usually, no one would wear them, keeping them in their robes instead.
“Once all twenty of you have touched the stele, the seal will open. A Yuan Power source has been set up in the valley. Five days later, at dusk, each person must have hunted at least two demon beasts or fierce beasts, bringing back their fangs as proof. Gather at the Yuan Power source to exit the valley. Those who fail to hunt two beasts will have their food allowance halved for three months.”
None of the twenty disciples spoke or showed surprise. Using food allowance as punishment was a common practice in cultivation sects, and they had grown accustomed to it since joining.
Baifu Zhenren’s booming voice suddenly rang out, “Not only will your food allowance be halved for three months, but those who fail to hunt two beasts will all go to the Contemplation Tower below the Cloud Sea to face the wall for three days!”
Everyone was instantly shocked. Going to face the wall at the Contemplation Tower below the Cloud Sea was an utter disgrace. Except for those in extreme financial need, which disciple would willingly go below the Cloud Sea? Moreover, it was the Contemplation Tower, a place where only ordinary disciples were punished. If disciples from above the Cloud Sea were sent there, they would never be able to hold their heads up in the sect again.
Immediately, the disciples felt a sense of urgency, and any lingering thoughts of romantic adventures instantly vanished.
After the twenty disciples had touched the stone stele, the black mist covering the narrow path instantly split open, revealing a gap. The overwhelming demonic aura from within immediately rushed out, causing the disciples to feel somewhat moved.
“Be careful… don’t expect to complete the trial alone!” Dongyang Zhenren couldn’t help but remind them one last time.
As soon as his words fell, the disciples felt an extremely strong suction force pulling their bodies toward the gap. In the blink of an eye, they found themselves inside Lilie Valley.
Before them stretched a long, deep gorge between cliffs. As they flew forward, it became increasingly spacious. Upon reaching the end, it suddenly opened up to reveal a vast expanse of lush, undulating forest below. If one observed, several faint lines of light could be seen on the horizon, interconnecting and finally descending into the depths of the forest. This must be the Yuan Power source where they could exit after collecting the fangs.
As Li Fei was observing the terrain, Lei Xiuyuan suddenly gave her head a light pat. “What are you spacing out for? Come here.”
He led her to stop at the edge of a rocky cliff. Li Fei was greatly surprised. “Xiuyuan? You’re not planning for just the two of us to team up, are you?”
Lei Xiuyuan said, “We could, but it would be more difficult. We still need the Five Elements to complement each other. I’ve roughly understood their spiritual root attributes. Wait here for a moment.”
Li Fei watched in astonishment as he flew back. Roughly understood? So when he was chatting and laughing with others earlier, he was trying to understand their spiritual root attributes?
Lei Xiuyuan flew towards a female disciple and said something to her, and she nodded, following him as he flew back towards Li Fei.
Upon seeing Li Fei, the female disciple also seemed surprised, but then she smiled cheerfully and said, “Su Wan, disciple of Guangwei Zhenren, single fire attribute spiritual root. Junior Sister Jiang, it’s been a while.”
Li Fei was a bit surprised. “You know me?”
Su Wan just smiled without saying anything, standing quietly beside her. Li Fei carefully observed her. She appeared to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a slender waist and long legs. Her hair was tied in a slanted bun by her ear, both beautiful and capable, truly embodying a heroic and spirited demeanor. She was also a disciple of Guangwei Zhenren. That made her a fellow disciple with Lei Xiuyuan. For a girl to have such a dominant single fire attribute spiritual root, Li Fei couldn’t help but imagine how cool she must look when unleashing her celestial techniques.
Seeming to notice Li Fei’s gaze, Su Wan smiled kindly again. “What’s Junior Sister Jiang’s spiritual root attribute?”
“I have a primary water and secondary earth attribute.”
Su Wan nodded and fell silent again.
Li Fei wanted to chat more with her. Since coming to Wuyue Court, she had been diligently cultivating day and night, without even having time to make friends her age. Su Wan’s concise speech and unrestrained manner made her quite likable. However, Li Fei couldn’t shake the feeling that Su Wan seemed somewhat reluctant to talk to her. Since Li Fei wasn’t particularly eloquent or socially adept herself, she decided to let it be.
After a while, Lei Xiuyuan brought another male disciple. This disciple was already excited about being chosen by Lei Xiuyuan to team up, and now seeing that Li Fei was also in the team, along with a beautiful female disciple, he could barely contain his joy, secretly delighted.
“Lei Xiuyuan,” Lei Xiuyuan introduced himself without any unnecessary words, simple.
Su Wan followed suit, saying, “Su Wan.”
Lastly, the male disciple brought by Lei Xiuyuan, who appeared to be about eighteen or nineteen and looked quite lively, smiled and said, “My name is Deng Xiguang, a disciple of Baifu Zhenren, primary wood, and secondary fire spiritual root.”
Li Fei had just opened her mouth to say, “I’m…” when Deng Xiguang enthusiastically interrupted, “I know you! Junior Sister Jiang, you’re a disciple of Chongyi Zhenren, right?”
Here we go again. How does everyone seem to know her? It made sense for people from Yaoguang Peak to know her, but she didn’t recall having any interaction with disciples of other elders.
Deng Xiguang smiled proudly, “Since we’re all here for the Lilie Valley trial, I did a little research on who was coming beforehand. But Junior Sister Jiang, Elder Chongyi has kept your information so well-guarded that I couldn’t find out almost anything. I managed to inquire about the others though. Look, that exceptionally beautiful female disciple—”
He pointed towards the girl who was as beautiful and aloof as a pure orchid, “She is—”
Before he could finish, Lei Xiuyuan interrupted him, saying coolly, “The others are irrelevant to us. You all know about the Five Elements configuration, so there’s no need for further explanation. Su Wan and I will lead the attack, Deng Xiguang will be responsible for restraining, and Li Fei will provide support. If we encounter any special demon beasts, don’t attack them immediately. Su Wan and I will try to engage them first to figure out their attack patterns before devising a strategy.”
They were all well-trained disciples, and this arrangement was very reasonable, so naturally, no one had any objections. Deng Xiguang still seemed to have more to say, but when he saw Li Fei wave her hand to cast an illusion on everyone, shrouding their forms in a cloud of mist, he praised, “What a beautiful technique, Junior Sister Jiang!”
Li Fei pretended not to hear. Such a clumsy attempt at conversation was even less natural than Ying Yuankai’s earlier inquiry about spiritual root attributes.
For this Lilie Valley trial, each person needed to hunt two demon beasts or fierce beasts to complete the task. With their group of four, that meant eight beasts in total.
The four of them flew over the vast forest. In the forest, clusters of demonic energy could often be seen around what appeared to be young and weak demon beasts. However, no matter how they attacked, they couldn’t harm these creatures.
Su Wan pondered, “Does this mean they’re not within the hunting range?”
Li Fei thought for a moment. “Could it be that these young demon beasts are being protected, reserved for future disciples?”
Although Lilie Valley was vast, no matter how many demon beasts there were, it wouldn’t be enough for disciples to hunt frequently. Protecting the young and weak ones was also a strategy.
Deng Xiguang said, “It must be so. Junior Sister Jiang is indeed clever!”
This person hadn’t stopped talking since they set out. For every sentence she said, he would surely praise her. Li Fei looked at him in annoyance and decided not to speak anymore.
Lei Xiuyuan closed his eyes to concentrate, using his water-based celestial technique to probe the surroundings. After a long while, he said, “I’ve just searched the nearby demonic energy. There are huge clusters of demonic energy in all directions, but the one to the east is extremely powerful. We shouldn’t confront it head-on for now.”
The talkative Deng Xiguang expressed surprise again, “Why are you probing for demonic energy? Shouldn’t this task be given to Junior Sister Jiang?”
Li Fei frowned and said coldly, “I can’t do it. Do you have a problem with that?”
Even Deng Xiguang, lacking in social awareness as he was, finally realized he wasn’t very well-liked. He rubbed his nose and stopped talking.
“Our team has just been formed, so this is a good opportunity to see each other’s cultivation levels and reactions. Let’s fly west first. I sense that the demonic energy there is moderate and suitable for practice.”
Lei Xiuyuan turned his cloud and took the lead flying westward.
After passing over the vast sea of trees, a long, narrow pit suddenly appeared, cutting across the forest on both sides. Li Fei flew closer to take a look and saw that the chasm was filled with rolling black water. The Liuli Mirror in her embrace began to vibrate slightly. Although she couldn’t sense the demonic energy herself, judging from the mirror’s vibrations, the demonic energy here was extremely heavy.
The other three no longer looked relaxed. Li Fei immediately began to set up defenses. Deng Xiguang waved his hand, and countless giant trees suddenly rose from the pit with a rumbling sound. The next moment, Lei Xiuyuan’s golden arrow rain also fell. The golden arrow rain was no longer simply thin golden light, but thick and dark, like heavy spears. Suddenly, earth-shattering roars came from the chasm. The four quickly scattered in all directions, only to see rows of giant trees being swept away and broken. In an instant, a huge snake demon shot out from the bottom of the pit, its tail making a violent sound in the air, looking incredibly ugly and ferocious.
Su Wan let out a “Hey!” This girl got excited at the sight of such a large snake demon, her eyes gleaming. Li Fei, afraid that she might act rashly and attack first, quickly added another layer of mist illusion on everyone. The disciples’ figures were instantly concealed in the mist, appearing as intangible as smoke.
“Bind it,” Lei Xiuyuan’s voice came from not far away. Without a word, Deng Xiguang shot out countless small leaf blades. However, the snake demon’s movements were unexpectedly agile. In mid-air, its body suddenly coiled up, and then with a twist, it easily dodged those leaf blades. It seemed to fear Li Fei and didn’t dare face her directly. Swiftly turning its head and tail, its resounding tail lashed out towards the cloud of mist opposite her.
Deng Xiguang, frustrated that his first attack had missed, was loudly lamenting when he suddenly felt a gust of wind behind his ear. The violent sound tore through the concealing mist. He reacted extremely quickly, leaping high into the air. Suddenly, he heard the other three cry out in alarm. A gust of foul wind rolled behind him. He only had time to glance back and saw the snake demon opening its bloody maw, about to swallow him whole.
Several reddish-brown light walls suddenly appeared around his body. Li Fei concentrated on her technique, instantly adding ten layers of defense. Following that, green light flickered in her palm, and over a dozen small leaf blades shot out silently. The snake demon immediately flipped over to dodge, but unexpectedly, countless small leaf blades shot toward its side again—the previous attack was a feint!
The snake demon could no longer avoid it. In an instant, numerous thick vines entangled it tightly. This was the vine dance technique, far superior to simple vine binding. The tough vines tightly constricted and thrashed the snake demon’s huge body. Lei Xiuyuan and Su Wan reacted extremely quickly. Immediately, countless thick, dark golden lights and several fire dragons roared forth. The snake demon was pierced by numerous blades formed from the Tai’a technique, while the fire dragons roared and devoured its body. In the blink of an eye, only a charred skeleton fell to the ground.
This series of actions happened as quickly as lightning. By the time the snake demon died, Deng Xiguang had barely touched the ground. His face was pale, and he was so shocked he couldn’t utter a word.
Su Wan looked towards Li Fei. Suddenly, she smiled brightly again, her face full of admiration. She said, “The rumors in the world are indeed mostly nonsense. Seeing is believing! Junior Sister Jiang, what excellent skills!”