"Senior! If someone fails the trial, will they be trapped in this mysterious space forever?"Chen Jinshu finally voiced her concern.
"I've guarded the Yin-Yang Boundary Stele for many years, overseeing countless trials. Yet, even now, I still hear such doubts," an aged voice replied, tinged with a hint of self-mockery—as though mocking the thankless task of testing disciples all these years.
"The trial of the Boundary Stele was created by my master long ago, meant to leave a legacy for cultivators before their ascension. It is a test, not a prison. The time limit is three days. If the trial cannot be completed, the challenger will simply be returned to where they came from."
"I will clear your name, Senior!" Chen Jinshu said earnestly.
"Reputation means nothing to me," the voice replied faintly. "I only hope that someday, I can see my master again…"
As the voice faded into the void, the surrounding scene began to distort and shift. After stowing away the alchemical scripture, Chen Jinshu felt herself drawn in by a familiar suction force. The stele's spirit quickly transported her back outside.
As her feet landed firmly on the ground, she smelled the familiar scent of fresh grass.
"Finally, I'm out."
She glanced around. The black-and-white stele still stood before her, though she now stood about five zhang (approx. 15–17 meters) away from it.
It seemed the stele returned people after the trial, but not always to the exact original position.
"I'm the first to finish the trial?" Chen Jinshu looked around and saw no one else nearby. She quickly realized something was off.
The Feng family disciples had entered before her, but none of them were outside yet. It was unlikely they had already finished and left, especially since each person's trial varied in length. With three days allotted, it made sense for some to take longer. And given the unity the Feng family showed after facing demonic cultivators, it was unlikely they would leave without waiting. If someone had emerged, they'd likely still be here.
"Since there are still three days left, I might as well wait. And in the meantime… search for the Blood Vermilion Fruit near Dragon Eye Pool."
She and her two senior brothers had already searched thoroughly for the fruit, but hadn't even found the plant it grew on. If someone else had taken it first, that would be one thing. But they hadn't seen even a trace of it. That suggested the Blood Vermilion Fruit grew in an extremely well-hidden spot.
The area around Dragon Eye Pool had a few low hills, only three to five zhang tall, densely overgrown with vegetation and weeds. No steep peaks—making it harder to search. The Blood Vermilion Fruit could easily be hidden among the tangled plants. The area was vast, and finding something like that wouldn't be easy.
"Wait! The Blood Vermilion Fruit has a scent similar to Redfire Grass. Maybe Xiao Yin has a good nose."
An idea struck Chen Jinshu, and she immediately brought out Xiao Yin. She let it familiarize itself with the scent of Redfire Grass. Redfire Grass was a common ingredient in many medicinal formulas, so she had a small patch of it growing in her spirit herb garden.
"Master! This stuff smells spicy and kind of fishy!" Xiao Yin complained.
"Redfire Grass is fire-attribute and naturally pungent. The fishy note is tolerable."
"Try to find anything nearby with a similar scent."
Following her command, the bird flew off toward the nearby hills.
It only took a short while to circle the area due to the sparrow's speed.
Soon, it flapped back excitedly. "Master! That slope over there has a similar smell!"
"Really?" Chen Jinshu brightened. She hadn't expected the method to actually work.
This meant that in the future, when searching for rare herbs, she could simply have the sparrow sniff out a similar plant and significantly cut down search time.
"You did well this time. I'll catch you some fish later!"
The bird led her to a short but thickly vegetated hill. Compared to the others, this one wasn't much different, but the temperature here was slightly higher and farther from the Dragon Eye Pool. There were also more spirit beasts living nearby. All signs pointed to a higher chance of finding the Blood Vermilion Fruit.
Xiao Yin shrank itself and hopped ahead, quickly arriving in front of an especially dense patch of weeds. This particular patch was slightly paler in color compared to the surrounding plants.
"Any danger?" Chen Jinshu asked telepathically.
"There are a few small snakes lying in ambush," the bird replied from about one zhang away.
Hearing this, Chen Jinshu casually drew her Azure Frost Sword from her storage bag. Using her Zither for every encounter would be overkill. And any rare spiritual plant was usually guarded by spirit beasts—so this all lined up.
"You fly overhead using your stealth technique. Make a few fast laps in the air. The moment those snakes show themselves, I'll strike."
"Got it!" Xiao Yin nodded and shrank to the size of a crow, darting toward the grass patch in a flash of blue.
A blue blur zipped through the air above the grass without triggering any attack. The bird made a few more laps. In a split second, three small green snakes shot out like springs, mouths wide open.
Chen Jinshu reacted instantly. Her Azure Frost Sword spun through the air like a boomerang, slicing clean arcs across the grass. The snakes were severed in midair.
"So it was just a few little green snakes. Such low cultivation—and yet they dare guard spiritual herbs."
She called the sword back and walked to the patch of grass, gently parting the weeds. Before her stood a deep green plant, only about ten inches tall, with eight or nine glowing red fruits on it, each one faintly radiant with a crimson shimmer.
"Finally found it!"
She checked the ripeness—perfectly mature. She quickly picked all nine fruits and stored them in a wooden box. As for the plant itself, she didn't leave it behind. After checking the soil conditions, she used a transplant technique to move it into a pot. She would replant it properly after returning to her sect. Going in and out of her pocket dimension felt a bit too risky otherwise. Before she had entered this secret realm, she had prepared a large number of pots with tailored soil for transplanting rare herbs.
"Since you found it, you can have two. For every one you help find, I'll give you a fruit. Deal?"
Chen Jinshu buried a single Blood Vermilion Fruit in the original soil as she spoke.
"Deal!"
Xiao Yin cheerfully resumed its search. On this hill alone, it managed to find two more plants in very well-hidden corners, bearing a total of six fruits.
Later, they found another plant on a different hill, bearing eleven fruits.