Wait a minute, where is my master?

Jin Xu heard the shout of Little Fish Demon.

With composure, he used his Spiritual Sense to check behind him.

He discovered that the Wood Spirit Beast he had thrown out had come back to launch a sneaky attack.

The spiritual power fluctuations of the little Taoist were not revealed. The Wood Spirit Beast, driven only by instinct and lacking its own consciousness, could not comprehend that the cultivator who could hold it down with one hand was an extraordinary person.

That was why it made such an ignorant and reckless move.

"There's a road to heaven you don't take, and hell has no gate, yet you... Eh!?"

The little Taoist turned around, intending to punch the Wood Spirit Beast back into the cycle of nature, but before he could make a move, a childish voice rang out from a spot ten meters away.

"Little Taoist, don't be afraid, I'm here to save you!"

As the voice fell, the Wood Spirit Beast, transformed into the shape of a cheetah, let out a reluctant growl and halted its sneaky advance.

It tucked its tail, turned, and ran deep into the dense forest.

An abrupt change left Jin Xu and the other two stunned, causing them to turn their gaze toward the area ten meters away.

Little White also curiously sniffed the air, sensing a hint of a sweet fragrance.

"Little Taoist, are you alright?"

In the void, a child transformed from the Nine Death Soul Flower, holding onto the tail of a Red Dust Mushroom, crawled out of a space crack. The first thing she did was to look closely at Jin Xu in front of her.

"Thanks for your concern, I, the little Taoist, am all well. May I ask who you are?"

The little Taoist scratched his head in confusion, unable to recall who this suddenly appearing, oddly concerned child holding a raccoon really was.

"Sir, do you know this person?"

Yu Yaoer, standing behind Jin Xu, suddenly transmitted her voice to ask.

"I've never seen them before. Do you know them?"

"I don't know them either, but there's something strange about the raccoon this child is holding, and the mushroom with the red cap and white stalk on its head looks like the legendary Spiritual Medicine, Red Dust Mushroom."

Mushroom soup was once on the new recipe list Yu Yaoer was researching; she generally knew about various unusual mushrooms in the Nine Provinces Realm.

Unaware of the conversation between the two, Little White, after catching a whiff of that sweet fragrance, found it increasingly intoxicating and couldn't help taking a few more sniffs.

"I am from the first level of the Qingmu Secret Realm as a checker. You entered the secret realm but did not take the test and thus did not gain the 'immortality' rule. Therefore, I came specially to offer you another chance to take the test."

The Nine Death Soul Flower, transformed into a child, landed from mid-air and released the tail of the Red Dust Mushroom it had been holding.

Her childish voice, combined with the pretense of maturity, sounded somewhat like a child wearing adult clothes.

Actually, by age, the Nine Death Soul Flower was thousands of years old, so it wasn't really pretending to be mature.

But if we were to speak of wisdom... well, let's not talk about that.

"You are the first-level monitor of the secret realm? Was this light ball that sprinkles spices sent by you?"

Hearing the child's words, Jin Xu stretched out his hand to grab the green light sphere he had encountered upon entering the secret realm from his storage magic treasure and placed it in his palm.

"Yes, it was dispatched by me. However, it's called a Plant Spirit, not a green light sphere. What it was sprinkling is not spices but spore powder from the mushroom."},

Your constitution is very strange: the illusionary tests of the secret realm couldn't shake your spirit. I had intended to let it assist you in completing the test, but unexpectedly you're even immune to the spore powder.

But no worries now, I've brought all the mushrooms.

This time, we'll definitely help you complete the test."

Although the Nine Death Soul Flower, transformed into a child, tried to seem mature at first, it wasn't long before its innate naivety was revealed.

The Taoist had only asked one question, and she told everything about the causes and consequences without hiding any details.

As Little Yu spoke these words, he also gestured to the Plant Spirits. The green light sphere, which had been lying quietly in Jin Xu's palm like a sculpture, suddenly stirred.

It floated reluctantly from Jin Xu's hand and flew towards the Nine Death Soul Flower.

Seeing that the other party could command the green light sphere, the Taoist believed most of what he had said.

As he was pondering this, Yu Yaoer spoke.

"This... little inspector, I understand that you want our young master to retake the test, but why are you dispersing the Wood Spirit Beasts we have encountered along the way?"

The Little Fish Demon spoke, blinking her clear, large eyes. She stepped forward, planning to get closer to the other party.

"Of course, to protect you. You two are protected by the 'undying' rule, but this little Taoist is not.

Although he has you two Nascent Soul Realm demons guarding him, it still isn't necessarily safe.

Just like the Refining Void Realm Wood Spirit Beast you encountered just now, if I hadn't appeared in time, he would have been killed.

Also, don't come closer. I have a deadly poison within a ten-meter radius around me that even someone from the Nascent Soul Realm can't withstand."

The Nine Death Soul Flower earnestly revealed her true intentions for dispersing the Wood Spirit Beasts.

As she spoke, she stepped back, always maintaining a distance of more than ten meters from Yu Yaoer.

Upon hearing what Little Yu had said, the Little Fish Demon was slightly taken aback and stopped her advancing steps.

Jin Xu had also wanted to get closer to interact, but after hearing the other's words, he observed the withered vegetation around the Nine Death Soul Flower and silently dismissed the idea.

The Taoist was confident in his physical strength and the quality of his Spiritual Power, but he was unsure about his resistance to poison. Since he had never experienced it before, it was better not to take the risk unnecessarily.

At that moment, Little White behind them was still furiously sniffing the air, getting more agitated as he did so.

"Thank you for your concern, but I actually do have some strength, and the Wood Spirit Beasts probably wouldn't pose much of a threat to me.

However, I am willing to cooperate with you to complete the illusion test.

But since I can't get close to you, how are you going to administer my test?"

From a distance of over ten meters, Jin Xu first explained a few things and then questioned the Nine Death Soul Flower.

Having the chance to try the first layer of the Qingmu Secret Realm's test, the Taoist was quite willing. He was curious about whom he would be saving in the illusionary trial.

"It's fine, helping you enter the illusionary test is the Mushroom's task, and he can get close."

The Nine Death Soul Flower, morphed as Little Yu, ignored the former part of the Taoist's speech.

You, with no fluctuation in Spiritual Power and two Nascent Soul Realm bodyguards, have no strength at all.

After muttering to herself, she summoned a grey-barked scroll, examined the white dots on it, then spoke to the little raccoon wearing a mushroom cap.

"Mushroom, please hurry and help this little Taoist complete his test; I can't hold out much longer."

The Red Dust Mushroom hummed softly and then trotted over to Jin Xu's feet.

"Just stand still, and don't move. I'll find a way to help you enter the illusionary test, so don't be afraid."

The little raccoon's faint, mosquito-like voice rang out.

Jin Xu nodded and stood upright in his spot.

Meanwhile, Yu Yaoer, knowing better, also maintained her distance from her young master; she certainly didn't want to go into the illusion and rescue the young master a thousand times again.

"Get ready, I'm going to begin now."