Wait a minute, where is my master?

Let's not talk about what is happening in the outside world for now.

Inside the Qingmu Secret Realm.

The little Taoist and Yu Yaoer, riding on Little White, dashed through the forest dense with fallen leaves and vines for a full half an hour.

Along the way, everything was calm, without the slightest ripple.

It seemed as if the creatures on the first layer of the Secret Realm intentionally avoided them.

"Young Master, didn't that white-faced scholar say that within this Secret Realm there would be Wood Spirit Beasts roaming around, and that upon killing them we could obtain Heavenly Talent and Earthly Treasure? However, we've entered this forest and half a day has passed, so why haven't we encountered anything?"

Yu Yaoer blinked her clear, large eyes. She lay on the back of the Husky, her whole body buried in the soft grey and white fur, looking up at Jin Xu with a hint of puzzlement.

Little Fish Demon even planned to pick some precious medicines and Spirit Fruits in the Secret Realm to study and come up with new recipes that could defeat Jiang Xiulan.

But after half an hour, they encountered nothing, making her a bit anxious.

"Right, temple master. Even if we don't encounter any Wood Spirit Beasts, there should be other creatures in this Secret Realm. We have been walking for so long, but I haven't sensed any trace of human life."

The Husky continued running without pausing, took a sniff of its cool nose, and added its own comment.

The little Taoist, who was sitting cross-legged on the head of Little White, opened his eyes when he heard the two girls' questions and spoke gently.

"Going by what the Old Dean told us about the Secret Realm, aside from the fact that it doesn't work on me, everything else should be correct. Little Yu, haven't you used your Spiritual Sense to scout the surroundings?"

Without waiting for Yu Yaoer's response,

Jin Xu immediately activated his Spiritual Sense and sent it out in all directions.

"Young Master, this Qingmu Secret Realm suppresses the Spiritual Sense of cultivators who enter, so now my Spiritual Sense can only probe an area less than a hundred meters."

Little Fish Demon sat up from the back of the Husky and, while grooming her golden-red dress, said pitifully to the little Taoist.

On the other hand, Jin Xu, who had already sent out his Spiritual Sense, ignored Yu Yaoer's words and instead showed a puzzled look on his face.

"Strange..."

"What's wrong, Young Master/temple master?"

Both girls, seeing the little Taoist's expression, asked simultaneously.

"Little White, speed up a bit,"

Jin Xu first instructed, then explained to the two.

"In this layer of the Secret Realm, just like the Old Dean said, there are indeed many Wood Spirit Beasts carrying Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and a few rare and exotic beasts. But they seem to be able to sense our route of advance beforehand and avoid us well before we arrive."

A moment after Little White sped up, the little Taoist, who had not retracted his Spiritual Sense, continued, "As expected, when we increase our speed, the Wood Spirit Beasts also hasten their avoidance. It's as if an invisible hand is manipulating them."

A female and a dog both wore a bewildered expression upon hearing Jin Xu's words.

Little White was not mentioned, for she had grown up in the Demon Realm and had little experience with things like Secret Realms.

But Yu Yaoer, the granddaughter of the Shui Clan Elder, was different.

Having lived for over two hundred years, she had experience and culinary skills to match.

She had even followed her grandmother into a small secret realm a few times, but she had never heard that creatures within a Secret Realm could avoid danger to such an extent.

Moreover, the Wood Spirit Beasts in the Qingmu Secret Realm were not naturally occurring.

They were randomly deployed among the four layers of the Secret Realm, with strengths ranging from Qi Cultivation to Void Refinement, and carried Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures of varying degrees of rarity. They constituted a small test in the Qingmu Secret Realm that depended on both strength and luck.

Theoretically, they should not be actively avoiding the cultivators who enter.

So why were these tests now avoiding them?

Yu Yaoer couldn't figure it out.

She blinked her clear, large eyes and turned her gaze to the little Taoist.

Even though Little Fish Demon couldn't understand, her intuition told her that the problem must lie with their Young Master.

...

Atop the high cliff.

The child formed from the Nine Death Soul Flower danced with his hands, swiftly manipulating the ashen-grey light spots on the scroll of bark in front of him.

"What is going on with this person, why has their speed suddenly increased!"

On the precipice, the childish voice rose with the mountain wind, her eyes brimming with anxiousness, fearing the little Taoist might carelessly encounter a Wood Spirit Beast and needlessly lose his life.

"Little Soul, Grandpa Che has approved my coming to the first layer."

Just as the Nine Death Soul Flower was fully concentrated, waving her hands faster and faster, a small and timid voice sounded in her ear.

Then, behind Nine Death Soul Flower, a little raccoon with a red-topped white-stemmed mushroom on its head squeezed out from a spatial rift.

"Ah!"

The sudden cry of the Red Dust Mushroom startled the Nine Death Soul Flower.

Her hands shook involuntarily, and combined with the greyish-brown bark scroll, the light dots representing the three little Taoists suddenly burst forth with a strange speed.

Thus, the greyish-brown light dots representing the Wood Spirit Beast eventually collided with the light dots of Jin Xu and his two companions.

"Mumu, come quickly with me, that little Taoist without the 'undying' rule to protect them has collided with a Wood Spirit Beast in the Void Refinement Realm!"

The Red Dust Mushroom, just arrived and still unclear about the situation, was grabbed by the mushroom on its head by the child a full foot tall and pulled back into the spatial rift.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, Little Soul, don't grab my body... and not the tail either!"

Before the spatial rift closed, the small voice of protest from the Red Dust Mushroom drifted through.

...

Deep within the dense forest of the Qingmu Secret Realm.

"Young master, it seems there really is someone controlling this Wood Spirit Beast and intentionally avoiding us."

Yu Yaoer, standing on the back of the husky, looked down at Jin Xu and spoke.

"Hmm, the Old Dean had mentioned before that every layer of the Secret Realm is monitored, we just don't know why she would deliberately target us."

The Taoist responded without looking up.

At the moment, his feet were on a thick layer of fallen leaves, his eyes glinting with a faint silver light as he observed the Wood Spirit Beast under his left hand that was struggling fiercely.

The beast's whole body was brownish-green, made of wood, with a faint scent of plants and grass, and its form had morphed to resemble a cheetah.

However, it was apparent to anyone at a glance that it wasn't a real cheetah.

"Temple master, have you identified the Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure inside the Wood Spirit Beast?"

The husky lowered its huge head, curiously peered at the Wood Spirit Beast, and then asked the Taoist.

Having grown up in the Demon Realm, she was seeing for the first time such creatures that could fight and then explode with treasures after.

"I have seen it, but the Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure inside the cheetah Wood Spirit Beast is just an ordinary Gathering Spirit Grass, do you two need it?"

The Taoist asked gently.

"No need / Useless."

The two women in mid-air shook their heads in unison.

Gathering Spirit Grass, a low-grade Spirit Grass that is ubiquitous in the Cultivation World, where one Low Grade Spirit Stone can buy five of them.

It was clear the two women had no shortage of this thing.

Seeing the two had no interest in the item, Jin Xu waved his left hand and flung the Wood Spirit Beast far away.

"Temple master, are you still going to catch Wood Spirit Beasts? If not, could you please put me and Little Yu down..."

In mid-air, Little White, who was lifted by the Taoist because she was too slow, asked timidly upon seeing Jin Xu throw away the Wood Spirit Beast.

Upon hearing this, Jin Xu, who was just busy observing the Wood Spirit Beast, hurriedly set the two women down on the ground.

"Cough, I'm sorry, I forgot about you two just now."

The Taoist awkwardly expressed his apology and then heard Yu Yaoer's shout.

"Young master, be careful!"