Zi Lingling and Ye Lingyuan’s mouths twitched simultaneously, their expressions a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
Treasure hunt?
The challenge for this level was… unexpectedly unconventional.
Were they sure this was hell mode?
They couldn’t fathom the twisted logic of whoever designed this stage.
Fine.
A treasure hunt it was, but what constituted the “best” treasure?
The key was how to judge this “best.”
Zi Lingling glanced at Ye Lingyuan and immediately asked, “May I ask, what counts as the ‘best’?”
She naturally had to get clarity.
Otherwise, failing the trial due to this ambiguity would be a bitter pill to swallow.
“Best is best. Judge it yourselves!”
The voice of the Altar Spirit echoed again.
Zi Lingling’s lips twitched, and she asked again, “Then, are the treasures we find to be handed over, or kept for ourselves?”
“The best treasure goes to the altar. The rest we divide equally.”
The Altar Spirit’s voice remained as cold and robotic as ever.
“You’re… trying to use us as laborers!”
Zi Lingling’s expression turned frosty as she said this.
Although Ye Lingyuan remained silent, the coldness in his eyes spoke volumes.
“You have the option not to attempt this level!”
The Altar Spirit stated indifferently.
“We can choose not to attempt it?”
Zi Lingling raised an eyebrow and asked.
“Yes! But…”
The Altar Spirit’s voice was devoid of any inflection.
Zi Lingling: “But… what?”
The Altar Spirit: “But you will never be able to reach the fifth level!”
Zi Lingling nearly cursed.
Wasn't that stating the obvious?
It would have been more direct to say they would become fodder for the altar.
Zi Lingling gritted her teeth and said, “You win!”
Ye Lingyuan’s expression showed little change.
He had anticipated this outcome.
He hadn’t pointed it out earlier because he had been observing Zi Lingling.
He had to admit, a woman haggling was quite captivating!
Uh… especially Zi Lingling, who was even more so.
“Alright! Hurry up and start the level, we’re pressed for time!”
According to the white-haired man, they had only ten days to clear the trials, and they had already wasted five days on the first three.
Therefore, she was running out of time.
“The level has already begun. You will enter in three breaths!”
As the Altar Spirit’s voice faded, Zi Lingling and Ye Lingyuan felt the surroundings change.
The staircase, previously shrouded in an eerie aura, had vanished.
Before them lay a verdant forest, with small fierce beasts and demonic beasts occasionally appearing, exuding an aura of peace.
Birds chirped and flowers bloomed!
Zi Lingling and Ye Lingyuan couldn’t help but marvel that in this brutal cultivation world, such a paradise existed.
They exchanged a glance and then walked into the forest.
Since the Altar Spirit wanted them to find treasure and had sent them here, it implied the treasure was within the forest.
What was called a treasure hunt felt more like a leisurely stroll.
As they passed, smaller beasts scattered.
They paid them no mind, or rather, there was no need to.
Upon arriving here, they discovered that their spiritual energy and divine sense had been restored.
Huh?
This grass…
Seven golden leaves, like seven tiny suns hanging from the branches.
Is this… Sun-Gold Grass?
Sun-Gold Grass, a top-grade earth-rank spirit herb, possessing a supreme yang attribute, it was an indispensable ingredient for refining top-grade detoxification pills.
They were rich! They were rich!
Zi Lingling rushed forward, only to discover that there was more than one plant of Sun-Gold Grass.
She unceremoniously collected about twenty plants of Sun-Gold Grass into her Divine Maiden Palace, instructing Yi Ran to cultivate them well.
Then, she began a meticulous search within a five-meter radius.
“What are you looking for?”
Ye Lingyuan asked with some curiosity.
“Ghost Grass!”
Zi Lingling replied without looking up.
“Ghost Grass? What is that?”
Ye Lingyuan was taken aback and asked again.
“A poisonous herb!”
Zi Lingling stopped. “The Ghost Grass itself is not poisonous, but its flower is a potent toxin.”
A cold glint flashed in her eyes. She continued, “The poison of the Ghost Flower is extremely overbearing. It is colorless and odorless, yet it can corrode one’s meridians, ultimately crippling their spirit root.”
A faint chill emanated from Ye Lingyuan’s body. “So, you were poisoned by the Ghost Flower before?”
Zi Lingling nodded, lowering her gaze. “Yes! The Ghost Flower poison is one of the ten great poisons. I wonder where they got it from.”
Ye Lingyuan: “They?”
Zi Lingling: “Yes, if they crippled me, wouldn’t the Zi family then be in their grasp?”
Ye Lingyuan’s gaze flickered, and he said with heartache, “Lin’er, you have suffered.”
Zi Lingling sneered, “The suffering I have endured will not be in vain. They owe me, and they will eventually pay!”
She looked into the distance, a sharp glint in her eyes.
In the Zi family’s Zi Jin Pavilion, Zi Wenchang and Madam Wang, who were discussing how to enter the Zi Xin Pavilion to find the Patriarch’s Seal, suddenly shivered.
Zi Lingling exuded an aura that repelled others, causing Ye Lingyuan’s heart to clench.
“Lin’er, from now on, this King will never allow anyone to bully you!”
Zi Lingling blinked, her gaze warming.
“Let’s find the Ghost Grass first! With the Ghost Grass, revenge will be even more interesting, won’t it?”
She smiled slyly and then used her divine sense to scan the surrounding five meters, resuming her search.
“Are you so sure there’s Ghost Grass here?”
“Yes! Sun-Gold Grass is supreme yang, and Ghost Grass is supreme yin. They are mutually antagonistic, inseparable like close companions!”
“You mean, Sun-Gold Grass can counteract the poison of the Ghost Flower?”
“Yes and no! If both supreme yang and supreme yin powers enter the body simultaneously, it’s a miracle if one doesn’t explode from the strain!”
Zi Lingling’s eyes flashed with brilliance as she spoke. “Found it!”
Saying this, she walked seven steps forward and then crouched down.
Ye Lingyuan followed and discovered that the Ghost Grass, as Zi Lingling described it, was indeed transparent.
Ghost Grass, a top-grade earth-rank spirit herb, was entirely transparent, shaped like a horseshoe, with silver light flowing across it. The entire plant protruded no more than an inch from the ground.
Zi Lingling carefully dug out the roots of the Ghost Grass and stored them in her Divine Maiden Palace.
She instructed Yi Ran to plant it in a dark location and then said to Ye Lingyuan, “Therefore, the antidote for the Ghost Flower poison is generally not made with Sun-Gold Grass, but with a mild herb called Nightshade Grass.”
“So, you are an alchemist?!”
Although Ye Lingyuan asked, his tone was clearly one of affirmation.
Zi Lingling nodded, admitting it.
Ye Lingyuan pulled her into his embrace and said gently, “Lin’er, you are truly an inexhaustible treasure! I truly don’t understand what those people in the Zi family were thinking, mistaking a pearl for a pebble and causing you so much suffering.”
Zi Lingling thought bitterly, “It’s not that they mistook a pearl for a pebble. It’s that the Zi Lingling of the past was indeed a pebble trying to pass for a pearl!”