Before them stood three thick stalks of Violet Thunder Bamboo, each with thirty-three segments—and since each segment took fifty years to grow, they had stood here for nearly two thousand years. These were third-grade spiritual materials, the kind that even Golden Core Elders of the sect would take interest in.
"This was all thanks to Junior Brother Du. You should have first pick," said Jiang Daoyu, his gaze locked onto the three bamboos, clearly unable to look away. He turned to Du Yi, who had contributed the most.
"Senior Brother should pick first," replied Chen Jinshu in agreement.
"Then I'll take the one in the middle," Du Yi didn't decline. Though the three stalks appeared to be of similar age, each had its own merits.
The middle stalk was wrapped in fine arcs of purple lightning, and its deeper hue and thicker stalk signaled older age—ideal for crafting higher-quality spiritual tools.
The left stalk was thinner but crackled with more electric light, hinting that any crafted tool would possess greater thunder power.
The right stalk, though slightly inferior in color, shimmered with an eerie green hue, suggesting a mutated wood-element spiritual aura.
As a cultivator of the metal spiritual root, Du Yi prioritized quality and hardness in his tools.
"Junior Sister, you helped defeat the enemy earlier. You should pick next," Jiang Daoyu said casually.
"Alright! Then I'll take the one with the mutated wood attribute," said Chen Jinshu, having had her eye on that particular stalk.
"These three probably aren't the ones discovered by the other sect disciples—the timing doesn't match."
"We'll take just the three matured stalks and leave the bamboo shoots for future disciples."
The three then took out their tools and each harvested a five-zhang (approx. 16.5 meters) section of the bamboo. As their hands touched the stalks, waves of thunderous energy surged from the bamboo. Their robes were scorched at the edges, though the protective enchantments on their garments quickly restored them.
Chen Jinshu waited until her two senior brothers finished harvesting theirs, then began transplanting the bamboo roots—with their permission. As long as the shoots and most of the roots were left intact, new bamboo would grow again in a century. Once the transplant was done, she turned to the others.
"Senior Brothers, where are we headed next?"
"There's nothing else in the Purple Bamboo Hollow worth searching for," said Du Yi with a mysterious smile. "Have you heard of the Nether Thunder Swamp?"
Ten days later.
Four ragged figures shot out from the Nether Thunder Swamp in absolute disarray. Chen Jinshu and her two companions looked like they'd been struck by lightning—hair like nests, robes scorched black by relentless thunderbolts, and soot-covered faces.
Even Xiao Yin, looked worse off—its feathers charred black, a burnt scent lingering in the air. Without the aid of a robe's protection, it had taken the full brunt of the swamp's fury. If it weren't still flying, Chen Jinshu might've had to rescue it herself.
"Senior Brother Du! Didn't you say the Nether Thunder Swamp was relatively safe? Why did a thunderstorm riot break out all of a sudden?" Chen Jinshu's cheeks flushed as she grumbled bitterly.
She quickly cast a cleansing spell on herself, wiping away the soot. Sitting on the back of the sparrow, she conjured a water mirror and fixed her hair. Thankfully, the protective gold belt her senior brother had given her had absorbed most of the damage.
Without it, she'd have ended up like Du Yi—electric smoke and flickering sparks leaking from his sleeves, looking utterly miserable.
"Pure accident, pure accident!" Du Yi chuckled awkwardly. He'd gone in to harvest some Thunder Spirit Mushrooms to temper his body—who knew a few mushrooms later would trigger a lightning explosion?
The three barely made it out. The swamp now teemed with serpentine blue-gold lightning crashing to the ground. Any beast caught in it turned to charcoal instantly.
This lightning wasn't ordinary. It carried destructive power, and even Foundation Establishment cultivators would struggle if struck. Fortunately, they only caught some of the residual waves and escaped with minor injuries.
Suddenly, the sky above the secret realm cracked open with a loud crack—as if torn apart. A torrent of green light spilled out. A massive emerald vortex emerged, twinkling with starlight. It looked like a celestial pillar reaching the heavens.
"Senior Brothers, the timing is perfect! The exit's opening—we part ways here!" Chen Jinshu recognized the sign that the secret realm was ending.
In truth, they had another day or two to explore.
But Chen Jinshu didn't want to push her luck and chose to leave early.
"Don't forget the matter of the demonic cultivators," Jiang Daoyu reminded her sternly. "We need to report it to the sect immediately. Dragging it out might give them time to cover their tracks."
"Let's first notify our own masters, then report together. If we rush straight to the Sect Master, we might alert the enemy."
"Agreed." Both nodded.
As they spoke, large groups of disciples were flying toward the vortex—panic on their faces, as if fleeing for their lives.
"Could they have run into demonic cultivators too?" Chen Jinshu frowned.
"These disciples might not know much, but they'd still be afraid. Now that the exit's open, no demonic cultivator would dare show themselves—it'd be suicidal," said Du Yi with a laugh.
"Once we're out, they'll have to behave," he added.
"Farewell, Senior Brothers!" Chen Jinshu nodded, summoned her Gale Gourd, and stored the now-miniature Xiao Yin inside her sleeve.
Her spirit beast pouch could only hold four creatures, and with room for only seven or eight of the demonic cultivators she might capture, she wasn't going to squeeze in her sparrow.
Much better to keep it close by.
Whoosh!
Riding the Gale Gourd, she shot toward the exit, leaving behind a streak of green light. The others followed on their flying instruments. When she reached the emerald vortex, Chen Jinshu dove in without hesitation. Her body spun wildly, tumbling through the exit, and was unceremoniously spat out onto the ground.
"Ouch!" she yelped. She stood, straightened her robes, and glanced around—only to find herself surrounded.
Her master Shui Huanmeng stood quietly among six senior brothers and sisters.
Seeing her, Dai Yuzhu and the others waved excitedly.
She hurried forward, calling out.
"Master!"
"Senior Brother!"
…
"Junior Sister, what's that burning smell on you?" Wen Yushu sniffed jokingly.
"Just came out of a lightning riot," Chen Jinshu laughed wryly.
"Wasn't the Thunder Marsh supposed to be stable?" asked Senior Brother Zheng Shaosi, frowning slightly.
"It normally is. I think the secret realm sensed it's ending—so it started driving people out."
As she finished speaking, she noticed some Feng family cultivators greeting the Sect Master and preparing to leave with their elders.
The Xuanming Sect's secret realm allowed disciples to enter via tokens, but the exit always returned them to the starting location—behind the sect.
"Master, I encountered many demonic cultivators disguised among other sect's disciples in the secret realm. Please report this to the Sect Master—they must be stopped before they leave!"