Seeing the awkward expressions on Ying Yuankai and the others, Li Fei couldn't help but feel amused and glanced a few more times at the female disciple. She appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, with delicate and refined features, exuding an air of quiet elegance like an orchid—an exceptionally beautiful yet aloof girl.
Li Fei found herself staring a moment longer when suddenly the two elders began descending. Chestnut Blaze Valley had arrived so quickly.
This place somewhat resembled the narrow path at Tiger Jaw Cliff in Green Mound, with towering cliffs on either side. However, a swirling black mist lingered in the passage—the unmistakable seal of No Moon Court.
At the base of the cliffs stood a bare stone tablet, devoid of inscriptions but polished smooth from years of being touched.
Dongyang Zhenren said, "Before entering the valley, everyone must first wear their name tags properly."
The disciples hurriedly retrieved their name tags from their robes. Made of stone, these small but weighty tags were cumbersome when hung at the waist, often knocking painfully against their stomachs. Normally, no one actually wore them, preferring to keep them tucked away.
"Once all twenty of you touch the stone tablet, the seal will open. A spiritual source has been set up within the valley. By dusk on the fifth day, each of you must have hunted at least two monstrous creatures or ferocious beasts, presenting their fangs as proof, and gather at the spiritual source to exit. Those who fail to hunt two will have their meal stipends halved for three months."
None of the twenty disciples spoke or showed surprise. Using meal stipends as punishment was a common tactic among immortal sects, something they'd grown accustomed to since joining.
Then Baifu Zhenren's booming voice suddenly rang out: "Not only will your stipends be halved for three months, but those who fail to hunt two will spend three days in contemplation at the Contemplation Tower beneath the Cloud Sea!"
The group was instantly shaken. Being sent to the Contemplation Tower beneath the Cloud Sea was an immense humiliation. Aside from those desperately short on funds, which disciple would willingly go below the Cloud Sea? And to the Contemplation Tower no less—a place reserved for punishing ordinary disciples. For those from above the Cloud Sea to end up there would make it impossible to hold their heads high among their peers afterward.
A sense of urgency immediately gripped the disciples, and any earlier flirtatious distractions vanished without a trace.
After all twenty disciples touched the stone tablet, the black mist shrouding the narrow path instantly split open, revealing a gap from which a surge of demon qi rushed forth, causing the disciples to visibly react.
"Be careful... Don't assume you can complete this trial alone!"
Dongyang Zhenren couldn't resist offering a final warning. As soon as he finished speaking, the disciples felt an immense pulling force drag them toward the fissure. In the blink of an eye, their vision blurred, and when it cleared, they found themselves inside Chestnut Blaze Valley.
Before them stretched a long, deep passage between cliffs that gradually widened as they flew forward. At its end, the view suddenly opened up to reveal vast undulating forests of deep green below. Upon closer inspection, faint lines of light could be seen connecting at the horizon before disappearing deep into the woods—likely marking the spiritual sources where they could exit after collecting fangs.
As Li Fei surveyed the terrain, Lei Xiuyuan suddenly gave her head a light pat. "What are you staring at? Come here."
He led her to stop by a rocky cliff edge, leaving Li Fei astonished. "Xiu Yuan? You're not planning for just the two of us to team up, are you?"
Lei Xiuyuan replied, "We could, but it'd be more effort. We still need elemental coordination. I've roughly assessed their spirit roots earlier. Wait here for a moment."Li Fei stared dumbfounded as he flew back again. A general understanding? He had been chatting and laughing with someone earlier—was he also trying to figure out their Spirit Root attributes?
Lei Xiuyuan flew toward a female disciple and exchanged a few words with her. She nodded and followed him as they flew back toward Li Fei.
Upon seeing Li Fei, the female disciple also seemed surprised, but then she smiled brightly and said, "Su Wan, disciple of Guangwei Zhenren, single fire-attribute Spirit Root. It’s been a while, Jiang Shi Mei."
Li Fei was a little taken aback. "You know me?"
Su Wan merely smiled without answering and stood quietly beside her. Li Fei studied her carefully—she looked about seventeen or eighteen, with a slender waist and long legs, her hair tied in a loose bun at the side of her ear. She was both beautiful and poised, the very picture of heroic grace. She was also a disciple of Guangwei Zhenren? That made her and Lei Xiuyuan fellow disciples. A girl with such an overwhelmingly single fire-attribute Spirit Root—Li Fei couldn’t help but imagine how dashing she must look when unleashing Immortal Techniques at full power.
As if sensing Li Fei’s gaze, Su Wan gave another friendly smile. "What’s your Spirit Root attribute, Jiang Shi Mei?"
"Primary water, secondary earth."
Su Wan nodded and fell silent again.
Li Fei had wanted to chat more with her. Since arriving at No Moon Court, she had been training day and night, too busy to make friends her own age. Su Wan’s concise speech and carefree demeanor made her quite likable, but Li Fei couldn’t shake the feeling that Su Wan didn’t seem too keen on talking to her. Since Li Fei wasn’t particularly eloquent or sociable either, she decided to let it go.
After a while, Lei Xiuyuan returned with a male disciple in tow. The boy was already excited about being chosen by Lei Xiuyuan for the team, and now that he saw Li Fei was also part of it—along with a pretty female disciple—he couldn’t contain his delight, grinning to himself.
"Lei Xiuyuan," he introduced himself bluntly, without any unnecessary words.
Su Wan followed suit. "Su Wan."
The male disciple brought by Lei Xiuyuan appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen, with an exuberant air about him. He grinned and said, "I’m Deng Xiguang, disciple of Baifu Zhenren. Primary wood, secondary fire Spirit Root."
Li Fei had just opened her mouth to say, "I’m—" when Deng Xiguang eagerly cut in, "I know you! Jiang Shi Mei, you’re a disciple of Chongyi Zhenren, right?"
Again? How did everyone seem to know her? It made sense if people from Shining Light Peak recognized her, but she didn’t recall ever interacting with disciples of other elders.
Deng Xiguang smirked proudly. "Since we’re all here for the trial at Chestnut Blaze Valley, I did a little research on the participants beforehand. But Jiang Shi Mei, Chongyi Zhanglao kept your details so tightly under wraps that I could barely find anything about you. As for the others, though—look, that exceptionally beautiful female disciple over there—"
He pointed toward the girl who was as elegant and cold as an orchid. "She’s—"
Before he could finish, Lei Xiuyuan cut him off. "The others have nothing to do with us. You all know the elemental matchups, so no need to elaborate. Su Wan and I will take the lead in attacks, Deng Xiguang will handle suppression, and Li Fei will assist. If we encounter any special Ferocious beasts or Monstrous creatures, do not engage immediately. Su Wan and I will test their attack patterns first, then we’ll strategize."They were all seasoned disciples, so this arrangement was quite reasonable, and naturally no one objected. Deng Xiguang was still rambling on enthusiastically when Li Fei waved her hand to cast an illusion spell on everyone. Thick mist enveloped them, concealing their figures. He praised, "What a beautiful technique, Jiang Shi Mei!"
Li Fei pretended not to hear. Such clumsy attempts at conversation were even less natural than Ying Yuankai's earlier question about Spirit Root attributes.
For this trip to Chestnut Blaze Valley, each disciple had to hunt two monstrous creatures or ferocious beasts to complete the trial. With four in their group, that meant eight in total.
The four of them flew swiftly over the vast sea of trees. Clusters of demon qi were frequently visible in the forest, often surrounding young and weak demonic beasts. Yet no matter how they attacked, they couldn't harm them.
Su Wan pondered, "Does this mean they're not part of the hunting targets?"
Li Fei thought for a moment. "Could it be these young demonic beasts are protected for future disciples?"
Though Chestnut Blaze Valley was vast, no amount of demonic beasts would suffice if disciples hunted here frequently. Protecting the young and weak was one way to manage it.
Deng Xiguang exclaimed, "That must be it! Jiang Shi Mei is so clever!"
This guy hadn't stopped talking the entire way. Every time she spoke, he had to praise her. Li Fei shot him an annoyed glance and simply stopped speaking.
Lei Xiuyuan closed his eyes, focusing his mind as he released an aquatic immortal technique to probe the surroundings. After a long while, he said, "I just searched the nearby demon qi. There are large clusters in all directions, but the one to the east is extremely powerful. We should avoid a direct confrontation for now."
The talkative Deng Xiguang was surprised again. "Why are you the one probing for demon qi? Shouldn't Jiang Shi Mei handle that?"
Li Fei frowned coldly. "I can't. Got a problem with that?"
Even Deng Xiguang, dense as he was, finally realized he wasn't making a good impression. He rubbed his nose and fell silent.
"Our team is newly formed, so this is a good chance to assess each other's cultivation and reactions. Let's head west first. The demon qi there feels moderate—good for practice."
Lei Xiuyuan turned his cloud and led the way westward.
As they crossed the endless forest, a long, narrow chasm suddenly appeared ahead, splitting the trees on either side. Li Fei flew closer and peered down. The trench was filled with churning black water, and the mirror in her arms began to tremble slightly. Though she couldn't sense demon qi, the mirror's vibrations indicated an extremely dense presence.
The other three no longer looked relaxed. Li Fei immediately began setting up defenses. Deng Xiguang waved his hand, and countless massive trees rose creaking from the trench. In the next moment, Lei Xiuyuan's Golden Arrow Rain descended. The arrows were no longer slender golden lights but thick, dull shafts resembling heavy spears. The trench erupted with deafening roars, and the four quickly scattered. Rows of giant trees were shattered as something swept through them. In an instant, a massive serpent demon burst from the depths, its tail lashing through the air with a violent crack—a hideous, terrifying sight.
Su Wan let out an excited "Heh!" The girl's eyes gleamed at the sight of such a huge serpent demon. Worried she might impulsively attack first, Li Fei quickly layered a Mist Illusion over everyone, concealing their figures behind a drifting, elusive haze.
"Restrain it."Lei Xiuyuan's voice came from nearby, and without a word, Deng Xiguang shot out countless small leaves. Unexpectedly, the snake demon moved with astonishing agility, coiling its body mid-air before twisting away effortlessly to dodge the leaves. It seemed to fear Li Fei, avoiding her entirely as it suddenly turned its head and tail, its loud tail lashing toward the misty clouds opposite her.
Deng Xiguang missed his strike and was cursing in frustration when a sharp gust of wind sliced through the concealing mist behind him. Reacting swiftly, he leaped high into the air, only to hear three startled gasps. A foul, fishy wind surged behind him, and he barely had time to glance back—the snake demon had opened its gaping maw, ready to swallow him whole.
Suddenly, several ochre-colored light barriers materialized around him. Li Fei, focused intently, layered ten defensive spells in an instant. Then, green light flickered in her palm as she silently shot out over a dozen small leaves. The snake demon immediately twisted away, only to be ambushed by another volley—the first attack had been a feint!
This time, the demon couldn’t evade. In an instant, thick vines coiled tightly around it—this was no mere Vine Entanglement but a far more advanced Vine Dance technique. The supple vines twisted and whipped the demon’s massive body as Lei Xiuyuan and Su Wan reacted swiftly. Countless thick, dim golden lights and several fire dragons roared forth, the Supreme Harmony Art transforming into razor-sharp blades that pierced the demon. The fire dragons shrieked as they devoured its body, leaving behind only a charred skeleton that crashed to the ground in the blink of an eye.
The entire sequence was lightning-fast, executed with breathtaking speed. By the time the snake demon was dead, Deng Xiguang had barely landed. His face was deathly pale, his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word.
Su Wan turned to Li Fei, then suddenly laughed heartily, her face full of admiration. "Rumors in the world are mostly nonsense—seeing is believing! Jiang Shi Mei, what impressive skill!"
OpenNovel