Wait a minute, where is my master?

"No, Grandpa Liangmu said that without his permission, non-inspectors are not allowed to leave the Qingmu Blessed Land on their own,"

The Mo Golden Lotus flower floated in mid-air, reminding everyone with a sentence.

After hearing his words, everyone fell into silence, and the small child whose face was covered in a "beard" began to pluck at the roots on his face again.

The Nine Death Soul Flower on the other side of the light screen looked even more anxious on its face.

Fearing that in the next second, Jin Xu might encounter danger.

"You're all so silly. Grandpa Liangmu said we can't go out without his permission, so why don't we just go ask for his consent?"

A cactus, bristling with sharp spines and exceptionally stout, almost resembling a human form, came over from the distance and spoke to the silent crowd of herbs.

Everything in the world has gains and losses. These ten-thousand-year-old treasures may have long lives and live for tens of thousands of years, but they all possess extremely simple natures and straightforward thoughts.

To put it plainly, their longevity comes at the cost of their intelligence.

"Right, we can go find Grandpa Liangmu. Cactus, you truly are the smartest among us!"

The small child broke off one of the whiskers on his face and turned his head to say to the Ba Wang Tree with admiration.

Looking at his face, this seemed to be genuine sentiment, not sarcasm.

"Right, Ba Wang Tree is so smart."

"The cactus is so powerful!"

The various ten-thousand-year-old treasures praised one after another.

Upon hearing the compliments from everyone, the Ba Wang Tree involuntarily puffed up its chest, thinking to itself,

"Grandpa Liangmu once told me that the wise are always humble, and I must be modest."

Then...

It got lost in a chorus of "so great, so smart, so powerful."

On the other side of the screen, the Nine Death Soul Flower also joined in the praise for a few sentences, then suddenly came to its senses and urged the other treasures to hurry and find Grandpa Liangmu.

And so, the many ten-thousand-year-old medicines praised the cactus while running towards the depths of the Qingmu Blessed Land.

Very quickly, only the Nine Death Soul Flower was left in front of the light screen, waiting anxiously and silently for its companions.

...

Meanwhile.

On a moss-covered stone platform.

The little Taoist furrowed his brows as he watched the green light orbs that continued to circle him. The orbs were no longer able to scatter the fragrant powder.

However, their spiral flight continued.

"So... Is this the A-Class trial?"

The green light orb continued to dance.

"Hey, I choose the A-Class trial?"

The green light orb was unaffected, still dancing on.

"..."

The little Taoist turned his head to look at the two women beside him, feeling uneasy inside, convinced that there was some kind of problem.

Jin Xu reached out and gently caught the orbiting green light orb.

Test or no test, he thought it might be time to give the light orb a rest.

The light orb, seemingly tired from its own flight, didn't resist when caught by the Taoist and just quietly stayed in his hand.

After securing the light orb, Jin Xu turned his hand to draw a bronze mirror from his storage treasure and lifted it to his face. He activated his fortune-telling method and looked up at the top of his head, only to see the character for "auspicious," which brought him some peace of mind.

But just standing here wasn't solving anything either.

The little Taoist surveyed the dense forest around him with the intention of using the Spiritual Power to spread out and observe.

At that moment, Jin Xu noticed Little White on his left with a slight twitch of her eyelids, indicating she might be waking up.

Indeed, three breaths later, the husky opened her eyes, nostrils twitching, her body instinctively tensing up with a fierce look in her pupils.

It was only when she saw Jin Xu by her side that she relaxed again, but to be cautious, she still asked a question.

"Temple master, is it really you?"

While speaking, Little White slapped her hand frantically against Jin Xu's body.

At the same time, a green seed materialized out of the void and entered Little White's forehead. A flash of green light enveloped her body, then vanished without a trace.

Somehow, Little White understood that this item was a reward for passing the test, capable of negating death five times within the first layer of the trial.

"...Yes, it's me. Take your hand off,"

Jin Xu said in a deep voice, looking at the two small hands on his chest.

He had noticed the green seed but chose not to reach out to stop it since the Old Dean had explained in detail the nature of the rewards for passing through the Secret Realm, and so he recognized what the item was.

"Ah, I've finally come out of that illusion!"

Upon hearing Jin Xu's affirmative reply, Little White let out a sigh of relief, curiously felt her forehead, then sat down with a flop on the moss-covered stone platform, stretching her body languidly.

It seemed the test had put quite the pressure on her.

"How did it go? What did you experience in the illusion? And is that reward just like what the Old Dean described?"

The Taoist, seeing his Husky in this state, grew curious and squatted down, looking enviously at Little White's forehead before asking.

"Ah, it was pretty much like what that scholar with the pale face described, temple master.

When I entered this Secret Realm, the first thing I saw was a pure white space, and then I chose the A-grade trial as we had agreed. What followed was an endless task of saving people, each time the situation was extremely critical, and there were all sorts of different scenes and characters involved.

There were playmates from when I was in my tribe, Little Yu, and then there were others from my tribe and that dumpling-selling girl in Gusu City, and so on.

I feel as though I've saved everyone I've ever known in my life, except for you, temple master."

As she spoke, Little White shifted from sitting to lying down.

Clearly, this thousand times rescue challenge had left Little White, who had been in a constant state of mental tension, feeling extraordinarily exhausted.

"This is what the Old Dean described as the normal trial process!"

The Taoist muttered to himself.

As he lay on the stone slab, Little White spoke again.

"By the way, temple master, who did you save in the illusion? Were there Little Yu and me?"

In Little White's eyes, their temple master was so powerful and it seemed like he had been awake for a long time by the time she had regained consciousness.

That meant Jin Xu must have come out much earlier than her.

"...Cough, would you believe me if I said I haven't yet entered the trial?"

Jin Xu said, his face looking somewhat embarrassed as he took a seat on the stone platform, speaking softly.

"Huh?"

Little White lay there, tilting her head, her face filled with incredulity.

Then the Taoist told Little White about his own experience after entering the Secret Realm, and he was just as confused.

After listening, Little White seemed not too surprised and had an understanding expression.

In Little White's mind, it was reasonable for anything to happen to Jin Xu, and moreover, the rule of "not dying" five times was, to her temple master, utterly redundant.

"Don't worry, temple master, either way, this test doesn't affect our entry into the Second Layer of the Secret Realm."

"But if we still can't pass the test in the Second Layer, according to the Old Dean, we can't enter the third layer. The Che Liang Wood is said to be in the fourth layer, so we need to find a way to get there to obtain its sap."

Jin Xu said, standing up and looking off into the distance at a tree that pierced the sky, the entrance to the Second Layer of the Qingmu Secret Realm was said to be at the base of that great tree.

"It's okay, temple master. Anyway, what that Old Dean said doesn't apply to you. I think you don't need to listen to him."

Little White continued to comfort Jin Xu as she lay there.

"..."

The Taoist wanted to retort, but somehow felt that what she said made perfect sense.

Just then, Jin Xu suddenly sensed a strong gust of wind behind him, and with a quick turn of his body, he dodged it effortlessly.

Turning his head to check, he found that it was Yu Yaoer, who had already passed her trial, lunging at his back.

"Young master! Ah~"

The Little Fish Demon, having missed her target, fell with a smack onto the stone platform.