Chapter 381: Xiao Heyun’s Calculation

To avoid arousing Xiao Heyun’s suspicion, she didn’t immediately plant the Blood Lotus Mark on him, instead testing the waters with a light touch.

Fortunately, there were no system alerts.

The corner of Song Wanning’s mouth curled as she planted the Blood Lotus Mark directly on him.

After finishing, she casually put some distance between herself and Xiao Heyun, then quickly entered the Secret Realm.

Just as she stepped through the gate, she was, as expected, teleported away again.

The destination was random.

When she came to her senses, she found herself in a beautiful place, filled with the singing of birds and the scent of flowers.

Babbling brooks flowed on all sides, making it seem as if she had stumbled deep into a forest. In the distance, deer were everywhere, leisurely grazing on grass and occasionally rubbing their antlers against tree trunks to scratch an itch.

’Where is this?’

Song Wanning took out a map. This was a map drawn by seniors who had entered the Spirit Stream Secret Realm before. Every member of the Ancient Cold Sect had a copy, and it marked many locations.

She searched it thoroughly and finally found her current location.

"According to the records, there should be a medicinal garden here!!"

Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded in her Sea of Consciousness. The Golden Small Sword was awake.

"You’re awake?"

Song Wanning was pleasantly surprised. She really hadn’t been used to the lack of the Golden Small Sword’s chattering these past few days.

"Yep, yep, I’m awake!"

The Golden Small Sword nodded a little sheepishly and jumped onto Song Wanning’s shoulder.

"Big Brother, you’re finally awake! We all missed you so much!"

The Dragon Spirit pulled the Divine Nether Profound Fire out with it. The little guys all squatted on Song Wanning’s shoulder, looking just like protectors.

"Hehe."

The Golden Small Sword grew even more embarrassed and scratched its head.

Song Wanning didn’t rush to ask about its changes, instead holding the map and walking toward the medicinal garden’s location.

Her luck was finally turning; a random teleportation had sent her exactly where she wanted to be.

Having now obtained a new Alchemy Dao inheritance, she was in dire need of a large quantity of Medicinal Herbs to refine Elixir Pills. This was especially true because many Elixir Pills were of an extremely high grade, and the materials she brought from the Lower World were insufficient for refining them.

It was a timely blessing.

But according to the records, the medicinal garden here had a restrictive barrier and also a Guardian Puppet, so she couldn’t be careless.

After crossing the stream and advancing eight hundred meters, she could vaguely see a shimmering restrictive barrier that looked quite mysterious.

Song Wanning sent out her Divine Sense to probe it and discovered that, as expected, it couldn’t penetrate the barrier.

So, after setting up her defenses, she took out the Immortal Hairpin, easily opened the barrier, and carefully slipped inside.

The moment she entered the barrier, a rich medicinal fragrance washed over her. Just taking a single sniff made her feel as if her body was brimming with vitality.

Lifting her eyes, she saw lush green Medicinal Herbs filling the garden. Different species were clustered together by type, with no disorder whatsoever.

Song Wanning raised an eyebrow. ’This doesn’t look abandoned at all. It’s more like someone has been diligently tending to it.’

Recalling the puppet her seniors had seen, she quickly understood. The puppet must have been tending to these Medicinal Herbs all along, which was why they were growing so well.

This was quite a windfall for her.

Faced with so many Medicinal Herbs, she didn’t rush to pick them. Instead, she first looked around, trying to select the most valuable ones to harvest. At the same time, she wouldn’t "wipe them all out," leaving some behind for a future fated person.

Besides, the puppet wouldn’t just stand by and watch her take all the Medicinal Herbs.

Soon, Song Wanning’s figure began to flit rapidly through the garden.

She placed the harvested Medicinal Herbs into the medicine house she had obtained previously, which could best ensure their medicinal properties wouldn’t be lost. She even planted some of the rarer herbs inside it.

Before long, the puppet emerged.

Its body was made entirely of metal, and its eyes flickered with a wood-attribute green light. Its gaze, fixed on Song Wanning, was filled with killing intent.

"You’re up!"

Song Wanning chuckled at the little guys on her shoulder and immediately sped up her harvesting.

Since she couldn’t damage the roots and stems, she could only be as fast as possible.

A medicinal garden this large couldn’t be cleared out in a short time.

"Okay, rest assured, Big Sister!"

The Golden Small Sword let out a mischievous chuckle and charged toward the puppet with its younger siblings in tow.

...

On the other side of the Secret Realm, Jiang Cen was anxiously rushing about. She had been quite lucky, teleporting to a place with a top-tier fruit tree right after arriving. The tree was laden with Spirit Fruits, which would be a great boon to her Cultivation if she ate them.

But her mind was set on the ultimate treasure, and she was also thinking about Zhang Shuning’s prize, so how could she care about some mere fruit tree?

’I have to find the place described in the book quickly, but the description isn’t clear. I’ll have to find it myself!!!’

’This stupid place is huge. How long is it going to take me to find it?’

’I can’t let that woman, Zhang Shuning, get the treasure first!’

The more Jiang Cen thought about it, the more frantic she became. She charged recklessly through the Secret Realm, and before long, she actually disturbed a Great Demon.

This caused a bloody storm throughout the entire Secret Realm.

Meanwhile, Xiao Heyun was also exploring the Secret Realm under his system’s guidance. Because he owed too many points, he could no longer buy on credit and couldn’t even exchange for a treasure-hunting function.

It had been a long time since his transmigration that he had experienced such a predicament.

’This won’t do. At this rate, the ultimate treasure will be snatched away by someone else.’

’System, locate Yun Yunzhou for me right now! As long as I can gain a certain amount of affection from her, I’ll be able to exchange for the treasure-hunting function!!!’

’Anyway, with the conquest system, finding her location is a piece of cake.’

"Host, please wait. Locating conquest target..."

"Conquest target’s location confirmed. She is nearby. Host, please proceed as soon as possible."

A red dot appeared on the system’s interface, and Xiao Heyun’s spirits immediately lifted.

He first tidied up his appearance, then carefully selected a new Vestment robe. Only after deeming his looks to be invincible did he head toward the red dot’s location.

About an hour later, he finally arrived at Yun Yunzhou’s location.

Before he even got close, he saw Yun Yunzhou being attacked by a demon beast, her situation extremely perilous.

Xiao Heyun’s eyes lit up. This was a perfect opportunity for a hero to save the damsel in distress!

So, without a second thought, he rushed over and quickly joined the fray.

Yun Yunzhou had been fighting her opponent when someone suddenly appeared. She subconsciously almost attacked the newcomer.

Fortunately, he was charging at the demon beast.

Her gaze darkened, and she quickly put away something she was holding.

Xiao Heyun caught this out of the corner of his eye and nearly coughed up blood.

’Here I am, kindly helping her, and what does this woman do? She puts her treasure away first, afraid I’ll snatch it from her.’

He cursed her inwardly, but his expression remained utterly cold as he ruthlessly dealt with the demon beast, his methods chilling and domineering.