The medicinal cuisine kitchen lay east of the Purple Tree Grove. It was fairly spacious, neatly furnished with more than a dozen sets of stone tables and chairs.
Medicinal cuisine!
Brewed from the blood of strange beasts and dozens of rare, precious medicinal herbs, its taste naturally left much to be desired; it could only be described as barely swallowable.
Yet after partaking of it for merely a month, everyone's physical strength and bodily toughness had improved markedly. Their vitality surged with boundless vigor, and the power within their bodies felt inexhaustible.
Over the past month, Yao Yin had spent every day inside her cave dwelling practicing the Heavenly Wind Palm Technique—the fundamental martial art of the Medicine King she had chosen—sleeping no more than two shichen a day.
The force of her palm strikes rattled the cliff face with loud thuds, making it impossible for Li Weiyi to sleep at all. He had no choice but to be dragged into the brutal grind alongside her.
The process of practicing martial forms and circulating breathing techniques simultaneously tempered the trace veins within the body.
It was precisely thanks to the support of the medicinal cuisine that Yao Yin could push her body to such extremes and unlock her physical potential without fear of collapse.
As long as one person was pushing desperately, everyone else's pace was swept up with them.
Li Qing and the four eight-spring martial cultivators were likewise training frantically in the Silver Beach River Valley, practicing the fundamental martial arts of the Nine Kings they had selected. Across the river valley, the younger, lower-realm martial cultivators were doing the exact same.
Hard work was merely the least noteworthy baseline requirement for success.
Everyone was risking their lives—and even more, fighting for their lives.
***
Today's medicinal cuisine was quite extraordinary, constantly releasing a rich, nose-filling aroma throughout the brewing process.
Inside the bronze cauldron where the food simmered, liquids boiled incessantly, giving off medicine qi that billowed like five-colored smoke. A treasured glow illuminated the stone building. Even before taking a taste, everyone knew that quite a few precious herbs must have been added to the cauldron today.
Seeing everyone's eyes fixed on the bronze cauldron, the tiger-like mutant youth who cultivated the Heavenly Demon Thirty-Six Axes smiled and said, "Are you all looking forward to this? The Hidden Gate is still rather humane after all. Knowing this is your last meal, they brewed higher-quality medicinal cuisine to see you off."
In just a single month, he had already cultivated the first strike of the Heavenly Demon Thirty-Six Axes to Heavenly Dao Dharma Convergence and tempered several silver trace veins within his body, naturally leaving him brimming with high spirits.
He could hardly imagine what heights he might reach in a year's time.
A mutant child with five open springs spoke up in a childish voice: "The higher one's cultivation, the more dangerous the trial. It's still too early to say whose last meal this really is."
Every single person seated here was a mortal enemy.
Naturally, they traded barbs and sharp glances, with no need for false courtesy or pretended harmony.
***
Once the treasured glow spilling from the cauldron reached its peak, the old cook instructed everyone to step forward and serve themselves.
The medicinal cuisine had no set quota.
As long as it was not taken away or wasted, how much one could eat depended entirely on individual appetite.
The hulking mutants naturally held the advantage. There was no helping it; at the same realm, a mutant's combat power was inherently greater than a mortal's.
Li Weiyi followed his usual routine, first scooping out a basin for the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors. The basin he used was no smaller than those of the mutant cultivators. During this period, the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors had eaten their fill without restraint, practically living in the medicinal cuisine kitchen, and their bodies had visibly grown.
Yet according to Spirit Tablet Master, they had to grow to two inches long before their combat strength would rival a Wuhai Realm martial cultivator.
Right now, they were at most an inch and a half.
Three black-robed figures walked along the bluestone path below the Telekinesis Stone Wall, arriving at the center of the martial practice square outside the medicinal cuisine kitchen, and looked toward the crowd still eating their final meal.
"Twenty-Four, I hear this batch is of very high quality. Who do you think will survive to the end?" Yin Twenty-Three was a bear-like mutant whose physique, like Yao Zhengsheng's, was far more massive than that of ordinary mutants, endowed with innate supernatural strength.
Yin Twenty-Four said coolly, "Two are fairly decent! One is Li Qing, a mortal with nine springs and ninety veins. The moment he arrived at the Hidden Gate, he was able to withstand an axe strike from Yin Nine.
"The other is Yao Yin, granddaughter of the Yao Li tribal chief, who possesses a Pure Immortal Physique. Both are highly competitive!"
The Hidden Ones of the Hidden Gate did not all stay in seclusion forever. After their cultivation reached a certain realm, quite a few were dispatched outside.
Some traveled the world to forge a new identity through battle.
Others went undercover in hostile factions, lurked among their own tribes, or infiltrated Lingxiao Palace...
Although the vast majority of Hidden Ones remained in deep cover, there were still those specifically tasked with gathering intelligence.
Thus, the Jiuli Hidden Gate's grasp of external information was by no means inferior to that of the Jiuli Dao Academy.
Yin Twenty-Three was astonished. "A Pure Immortal Physique, and the tribal chief's granddaughter at that, was actually sent to the Hidden Gate?"
"Word is there is something wrong with her body, so she could only come to the Hidden Gate to seek a slim chance at survival," Yin Twenty-Four said.
Yin Twenty-Five, a youth slightly younger than Yin Twenty-Four, spoke up: "Supposedly, Yin Five sent back some news regarding this batch of recruits. Aside from that Li Qing, he made a special point of mentioning Li Weiyi. Have you heard about it?"
Yin Twenty-Three shook his head.
A look of doubt surfaced in Yin Twenty-Four's eyes. For Yin Five, who had been silent for years, to suddenly send back intelligence mentioning someone, that person was bound to be extraordinary. It seemed she had underestimated him before.
Seven springs?
An insect tamer?
After finishing the medicinal cuisine, the twenty-six youths gathered in the square.
Yin Twenty-Three's voice boomed like thunder: "I am Yin Twenty-Three, and I arrived here only three years before you. I have a piece of bad news to share: starting now, the protection period is over.
"You may use any means at your disposal to eliminate competitors, making it easier for yourselves to survive to the end.
"However, there is an ironclad rule: under no circumstances may you take action against any competitor weaker than yourself."
The tiger-like eight-spring mutant youth said, "That means we can only battle those of the same realm, or lower realms can attack higher realms. But if a cultivator of a lower realm dares to provoke me, can I kill them?"
"Of course you can," Yin Twenty-Three said.
Li Qing swept his gaze over the crowd, speaking in a threatening tone: "Then I shall advise you all beforehand: do not come seeking your own deaths. My sword is faster than it was a month ago, and it hungers for blood."
Yin Twenty-Three said, "Here is another piece of bad news: the trial officially begins right now. Those with nine and eight open springs, follow me."
Yin Twenty-Five said, "Those below seven springs, follow me."
After everyone else departed, Yin Twenty-Four looked at the only two remaining, Li Weiyi and Yao Yin. "Let's go!"
All three groups boarded boats along the blood river, heading toward different trial grounds.
They boarded a flat skiff over ten meters long and drifted downstream.
All three had taciturn dispositions. Yin Twenty-Four stood at the bow, her spine straight and upright, yet she appeared somewhat slender and frail—scarcely resembling a Wuhai Realm expert.
Yao Yin sat at the stern, head bowed in contemplation. Her entire body shone with radiant fair skin, beautiful enough to form a painting on her own.
Li Weiyi sat in the center of the boat.
He noticed that this flat skiff was formed by joining two smaller boats together, linked by chains.
After traveling several dozen li, Yao Yin could not help but ask, "Am I to take the trial together with him?"
"Cultivators of the same realm naturally undergo their trial in the same place. The trial ground for seven-spring martial cultivators is the gathering area of soldier-grade ferocious insects: flying-winged white spiders," Yin Twenty-Four said.
Yao Yin's delicate face grew solemn. The protection period was already over; in this trial, the flying-winged white spiders might not even be the most terrifying danger.
The skiff entered a tributary of the underground river only a few meters wide. Without any glowing flora, the light grew dim.
The space between Li Weiyi's brows lit up, releasing particles of spiritual light that faintly illuminated the darkness.
"We're almost there!"
Yin Twenty-Four glanced at Li Weiyi. "A word of advice: once inside the cavern, avoid using spiritual light as much as possible; rely on perception instead. If you awaken a swarm of flying-winged white spiders, I fear the two of you will be buried inside."
Li Weiyi was one to heed good advice, and the glow between his brows faded into darkness.
Even without light, with his current cultivation, he could still make out the figures of the two women within several meters. Yao Yin in particular had skin that stood out distinctly even in the dark.
Li Weiyi asked, "What do we need to do to pass the trial?"
"It is only your first trial, so you don't need to do anything at all. Just ride this boat and safely pass through the spider cavern. Generally speaking, drifting downstream, the boat will exit the cave in three days. I will be waiting for you at the outlet," Yin Twenty-Four said.
Could it really be that simple?
Entering the territory of ferocious insects and expecting not to disturb them—how could that be possible?
Yin Twenty-Four walked over to Li Weiyi and unfastened the chains connecting the two boats. She added, "Oh, right! The spider silk in the cavern is valuable. You can collect some along the way. If you gather enough, it can be exchanged for precious herbs.
"I'll see you off this far. Good luck to you both."
Dharma qi surged from Yin Twenty-Four's body, enveloping the small boat beneath her as she navigated against the current and headed back.
Li Weiyi and Yao Yin rode the remaining skiff, now halved in size to just a few meters long, continuing downstream with the blood river's flow. Darkness surrounded them, enveloped in an eerie silence broken only by the sound of flowing water.
The underground river passage grew even lower; both had to lie flat on their backs just to pass through.
Li Weiyi could hear Yao Yin's steadily quickening heartbeat, so he said in a low voice, "I know you misunderstand me. But I suggest that for this trial, we'd best not fight amongst ourselves. If we break the boat, everyone will end up dying here."
Yao Yin said, "That is precisely what I wanted to say! No matter what intentions you harbor, nothing is more important than survival. We are competitors, but why can't we outlast the others first?
"Furthermore, don't be greedy for petty gains and bring disaster upon us. Gathering spider silk will undoubtedly make it easier to disturb the flying-winged white spiders. Passing through the spider cavern safely is all that matters."
"Fine!"
Just as Li Weiyi agreed, he caught a scent and sniffed deeply. "So fragrant... A scent like this really makes one want to take risks..."
Yao Yin ground her teeth, despising him to the core.
She assumed Li Weiyi was deliberately teasing her with words.
She did indeed possess an innate, unique bodily fragrance, which was undoubtedly magnified within this dark, desolate cavern.
"It's medicine fragrance. There's a precious herb nearby."
Li Weiyi sat up abruptly. The previously cramped cavern had opened up into an expansive space, and roughly ten zhang above their heads grew a crimson-red precious herb.
"It has already turned completely crimson-red. In other words, this is a five-hundred-year-old cistanche."
Li Weiyi channeled dharma power toward his ears, eyes, and nose, elevating his perception to its peak state. After confirming there was no aura of ferocious insects nearby, he leaped upward.
Sitting up from her prone position, Yao Yin felt her jade-white cheeks flush with heat, realizing she had misjudged him.
Yet her guilt soon vanished, replaced by shock.
Ten zhang high was a height that martial cultivators at their Yongquan Realm should never have been able to reach in a single bound.
Yet the man before her surged with dharma qi beneath his feet, actually walking on air as though treading upon an invisible flight of stairs. His movement technique was so profound that it did not seem like that of a Yongquan Realm martial cultivator at all.
Over the past month, Li Weiyi had newly mastered three moves to Heavenly Dao Dharma Convergence, one of which was Yellow Dragon Ascends to Heaven.
Treading nine consecutive steps through the empty void, he finally seized the crimson cistanche, which felt faintly warm to the touch.
Wrenching it from the fissure in the cliff wall, Li Weiyi's body began to fall rapidly.
Even at Heavenly Dao Dharma Convergence, leaping ten zhang was the absolute limit of Yellow Dragon Ascends to Heaven. With the dharma qi beneath his feet already spent, Li Weiyi found it difficult to arrest his downward momentum.
Alarmed, Yao Yin hurriedly deployed the Heavenly Wind Palm Technique, gently pushing out a palm strike that stirred a gust of wind to cushion the falling Li Weiyi.
Whoosh!
Li Weiyi borrowed the momentum to glide back onto the boat, clutching the crimson cistanche weighing nearly a hundred jin, and smiled. "Thanks!"
"I was only saving myself! Who knows if the commotion from your fall would have alerted a swarm of flying-winged white spiders?" Yao Yin's pretty face was icy cold, filled with resentment. "Didn't we agree at the start? Don't be greedy for petty gains; passing safely through the spider cavern is the most important thing."
"This isn't a petty gain!"
Li Weiyi corrected her, "This is a hundred-jin, five-hundred-year-old cistanche, worth nearly a hundred million. Cistanche nourishes yang and enriches blood. Consuming all of it would be enough to boost one's physical body by a significant margin."
Worth nearly a hundred million—even though Yao Yin was the granddaughter of a tribal chief, she was still slightly shaken.
Li Weiyi naturally had to take the gamble. Having harvested this cistanche, raising the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors to two inches in length would soon be within reach.
"You did help a bit just now. When the time comes, I'll cut off two jin for you." Li Weiyi was generous, not wishing to owe any favors.
"You had better keep it for yourself!"
Yao Yin sat back down on the boat, her expression laden with worry as she said, "The fragrance emitted by this precious herb might awaken the flying-winged white spiders. I suggest you throw it away. Greed gets people killed, and I don't want to go down with you."
Chapter 79