Chapter 148

Chapter 148

Everyone was momentarily stunned, clearly not expecting him to suddenly say that.

Perhaps it was due to the camaraderie forged from fighting together, healing wounds together, and fleeing together during these days. They hadn't considered separating after emerging from the perilous area; they were a unit for the time being.

Ning Yuzhou maintained his amiable demeanor as he gently suggested, "Previously, we were trapped in the jungle labyrinth, and later, the malevolent land was fraught with danger at every turn. We had no choice but to act together. Now that we have escaped the dangerous areas, and considering the vastness of this secret realm with numerous places to explore, and plenty of time left, why don't we split up and proceed separately?"

It had been nearly two months since they entered the secret realm. With four months remaining, wouldn't it be a shame not to thoroughly explore the secret realm? While traveling in a large group was safer, if they encountered rare treasures in limited quantities, distribution would become complicated.

It would be better to go their separate ways; whoever found something could claim it, reducing potential conflicts.

The Tang Clan members, along with Duan Haoyan and Shuilinyin, understood his reasoning and agreed after some thought.

Tang Shaolin, speaking on behalf of the Tang Clan, said, "Then we'll head this way. Farewell, Young Master Ning, Miss Min, Young Master Duan, Miss Shui. Until we meet again."

Duan Haoyan also said, "We'll take this path. Until we meet again."

Shuilinyin saluted them, saying, "Until we meet again."

After bidding each other farewell, they departed in the directions they had chosen.

Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao also headed off in another direction.

They split into three groups, proceeding in three different directions without interfering with one another. It was likely they wouldn't encounter each other for a long time.

After traveling for a day, Wen Qiao and the others stopped to find a place to rest.

After all, over the past month, they had either been wandering in the jungle labyrinth or fleeing in the malevolent land, with little opportunity for rest. Their spirits were tense, and their bodies couldn't endure such conditions for long.

There was a stone mountain nearby, but they couldn't find a suitable resting spot.

Wen Tutu simply dug a cave into the stone mountain wall. As a rabbit adept at digging tunnels, whether in the ground or through rock, Wen Tutu could manage it.

Once the cave was completed, Wen Qiao lavished praise upon it, "Wen Tutu, you're amazing!"

Wen Tutu raised its chin, displaying exceptional pride and dignity.

The two humans, accompanied by the two Yellow Crystal Ants and Wen Tutu, moved into the stone cave together.

At the cave entrance, Wen Qiao tossed a segment of Stone Golden Python Vine, quickly nurturing it to block the entrance.

Ning Yuzhou then set up an embedded formation at the cave entrance, combining an isolation array with an illusion array. This dual-array was more effective than a single array, effectively concealing their presence to avoid detection by careless beasts or cultivators who might disturb their rest.

The stone cave was spacious, with Wen Tutu carving it into a living-cave-like space.

Ning Yuzhou took out his alchemy cauldron and began to brew soup.

Wen Qiao, meanwhile, arranged the stone cave, setting up beds, tables, chairs, and even placing several pots of sixth-grade spirit herbs in the corner, nurturing them until they flourished.

After finishing these preparations, Wen Qiao sat beside Ning Yuzhou and recounted her experiences since entering the secret realm.

Upon concluding her story, she retrieved several storage bags containing the nectar fat of Immortal Spirit Honey and Thunder Mushrooms. The nectar fat came in two types: amber-colored nectar fat and near-black nectar balls, akin to royal honey.

Ning Yuzhou first inspected the five Thunder Mushrooms, smiling. "These Thunder Mushrooms are quite good. I can refine a few lightning-repelling spiritual artifacts with them."

Wen Qiao smiled, pursing her lips. "I was worried there wouldn't be enough, so I gathered a few extra."

After storing the Thunder Mushrooms in his spatial ring and entrusting them to Puppet Man Ah Qing, Ning Yuzhou took out a nectar ball to examine, scraping a bit to taste.

Wen Tutu and the two Yellow Crystal Ants squatted before them, fixated on the nectar ball in Ning Yuzhou's hand, their eyes unblinking.

Wen Qiao divided a black nectar ball into three portions for them to sample.

Ning Yuzhou glanced at the three beasts engrossed in consuming the nectar balls and told Wen Qiao, "This Immortal Spirit Flower's nectar is indeed extraordinary. It can be used to refine spirit replenishing pills and detoxification pills, which will surely be very effective."

Wen Qiao nodded, delightedly saying, "Yes, even without refining it into pills, its effects are excellent."

Ning Yuzhou looked at the nectar stored in several storage bags and couldn't resist stroking his little wife's head, chuckling softly. He felt that only she possessed the ability to make those furballs so generous as to give her so much nectar without hesitation.

Although the furballs didn't particularly enjoy the nectar, they weren't known for their generosity. Why would they give it away for free? If any other cultivator approached, they would likely transform into spiky balls and drive them away.

"When I left, the big furball followed me, wanting to come with me. But I felt it was better for it to stay and live there... I collected a few seeds of the Immortal Spirit Flower. Planting them in my spatial ring for appreciation wouldn't be bad."

As Wen Qiao spoke, she took out a seed of the Immortal Spirit Flower and nurtured it.

For the Upper Realm, the Immortal Spirit Flower was merely an ornamental spirit flower. However, for Lower Realm cultivators, its grade surpassed tenth-grade, making it a genuine fairy grass.

Exhausting all her primordial spirit energy, she could only nurture it to a few inches tall. To make it bloom would require a considerable amount of time, demonstrating the high grade of the Immortal Spirit Flower.

Exhausted, Wen Qiao ate several pieces of nectar, muttering, "Fortunately, the Immortal Spirit Flowers in that valley had already bloomed. All I needed to do was provide some primordial spirit energy to help them grow better and bloom more splendidly. Otherwise, trying to nurture them to bloom would have taken over a year..."

After the soup was ready, Ning Yuzhou poured it out and pushed it toward Wen Qiao to drink while he continued working.

He took out a metal plate and placed it on a stove emitting a spiritual artifact aura. As an Artificer, Ning Yuzhou had actually refined a Xuan-grade spiritual artifact stove. If other cultivators saw this, they would certainly criticize him for neglecting his duties and wasting materials meant for artifact refinement.

Taking out a fire talisman and tossing it into the stove to ignite, the metal plate heated up quickly. Ning Yuzhou poured some oil onto the hot plate and then laid down slices of prepared meat to begin grilling.

Wen Qiao, Wen Tutu, and the two Yellow Crystal Ants couldn't help but stare intently, curious about what Brother Ning was preparing.

For two months in the secret realm, they had been constantly on the move, searching for heavenly treasures, and engaged in battles. It had been a long time since they had relaxed and sat down to eat, let alone tasted Brother Ning's delicious food.

The meat sizzled on the hot plate as Ning Yuzhou diluted a piece of nectar with water, stirring it into a thick honey-like consistency. He then brushed this mixture onto the grilled meat.

As the sizzling sounds filled the air, a sudden and peculiar fragrance wafted over, blending the aroma of grilled meat with the scent of spirit honey. This unique aroma was so enticing that even the omnivorous Yellow Crystal Ants couldn't resist crawling closer, their antennae twitching incessantly.

They wanted to eat!

Ning Yuzhou served the grilled meat brushed with Immortal Spirit Honey on a plate and handed it to them.

Wen Qiao's plate was piled with roasted meat; Wen Tutu had slightly less, as the two Yellow Crystal Ants were small and only had one piece each.

After just one bite, Wen Qiao sped up her eating, "It's delicious, Husband, you should eat too."

Wen Tutu was even more impressive, quickly finishing the roast meat that was as big as its body. After eating, it stared longingly at the roast meat on Wen Qiao's plate, clearly wanting more.

Wen Qiao generously shared some with it.

Ning Yuzhou also tasted a bit and discovered that using Immortal Honey for roasting could enhance the texture and flavor of the meat, making it an all-purpose seasoning.

Body cultivators and spirit beasts were all big eaters. After finishing the roast meat, they were still not satisfied and could still fit in more, all looking expectantly at Ning Yuzhou.

Ning Yuzhou calmly took out several sections of red flesh tendrils.

Wen Qiao: "…What is this?"

Wen Tutu immediately started cooing, telling her what it was.

Wen Qiao was somewhat skeptical, "Is it really good?"

Although she hadn't seen those huge plant-type spirit beasts with flesh tendrils, looking at these red tendrils made her think of a certain kind of worm…

Wen Tutu loudly hissed, telling its sister that it was very tasty, and Brother Ning had already tested it.

Amidst Wen Qiao's doubts, Ning Yuzhou had already cleaned the flesh tendrils and cut them open lengthwise, placing them on the iron plate to roast. When the flesh tendrils met heat, their color quickly turned to that of cooked meat and rapidly became golden, a very beautiful color. The air was once again filled with an indescribable meaty aroma.

It seemed to be really delicious.

Wen Qiao silently thought, swallowing her saliva. She was glad there was an array at the cave entrance; this smell wouldn't drift out, or it would attract many spirit beasts.

After brushing the diluted Immortal Honey over them, Ning Yuzhou served the dish to Wen Qiao.

The aroma was strong, but thinking about its original form, Wen Qiao hesitantly took a bite. Then she found that the crispy and charred texture was superb, not to mention its excellent taste, which surpassed the roast meat she had just eaten.

Wen Tutu hissed, staring longingly at her, asking her sister to share a bit, as Brother Ning was still roasting and hadn't given any to it yet.

Wen Qiao gave it a piece and fed the two Yellow Crystal Ants as well.

The entire cave was filled with the fresh and fragrant smell of roast meat.

After finally eating until their bellies were round, they lay down on the bed in the corner to rest.

"Husband, where are we going next?" Wen Qiao asked, holding Ning Yuzhou's hand. "I wonder where Senior Sister and the others are. How is Senior Brother Sheng?"

Although Sheng Yunshen's cultivation wasn't low, when compared to his fellow disciples, he was the weakest. Not only Qin Hongdao and Yi Xuan worried about him, even Wen Qiao felt that Senior Brother Sheng was the weakest and most vulnerable, needing special care.

The Thousand Islands Secret Realm was so vast; finding people wouldn't be easy.

"Senior Brother Sheng has decent luck; he should be able to survive until the end," Ning Yuzhou said indifferently.

"I hope so."

Ning Yuzhou's shoulder touched hers, allowing him to smell the faint scent of spirit herbs on her.

Perhaps because her original form was a little sprout, and she often cultivated in the spirit herb fields, she had a clear and refreshing scent, somewhat ethereal yet slightly bitter… It was impossible to describe the smell, but Ning Yuzhou liked it very much. When tired, he would take a deep breath, and it would invigorate him.

"Should we go look for Senior Sister Qin and the others?" Wen Qiao asked again.

"There's no need to specifically search for them. If we're lucky enough to meet, we can act together."

Wen Qiao responded with an "oh." Wanting to specifically find them didn't necessarily mean they would, so it could only be like this.

"We'll just wander around. There are still four months left, no rush," Ning Yuzhou said gently. His calm demeanor gave off a very Zen vibe, completely without forcing anything.

"That works. We'll go wherever we end up," Wen Qiao said happily. "As long as we're together, it's fine."

These words truly touched the heart. Ning Yuzhou couldn't help but pull her into his arms, lowering his head to kiss her face before patting her back and softly saying, "Sleep. I'll keep watch."

Wen Qiao rubbed against his chest and soon fell asleep.

Three hours later, Wen Qiao woke up full of energy, taking over while Ning Yuzhou went to sleep.

They took turns resting. After getting plenty of rest and having another delicious meal, they prepared to leave.

After leaving the stone cave, they randomly chose a direction to proceed.

In the following days, they wandered around the secret realm. If they encountered spirit herbs not found in their space, they would dig one or two and send them inside, not forcing themselves to find anything specific.

The Thousand Islands Secret Realm was not only vast but also rich in treasures. Just various spirit herbs alone allowed Wen Qiao to make a bountiful harvest.

On the way, they encountered many cultivators, but they were mere passing acquaintances. They would glance at each other from afar, have no interaction, and quickly part ways. This was normal, after all, three months had passed since they entered the secret realm. In three months, the surviving cultivators would have made considerable gains. What they feared most was attracting attention and being targeted for murder and robbery.

Wen Qiao and Ning Yuzhou also encountered such murderous cultivators.

While digging for spirit herbs on the road, they suddenly encountered two ambushers. Both were at the Primordial Void Realm. Perhaps seeing one Primordial Void Realm and one Meridian Realm, they assumed they would be easy targets and directly attacked to kill.

Without a word, Wen Qiao gave them a painful lesson: she punched each of them, shattering their chest bones, and ultimately killed them in retaliation.

After killing them, Wen Tutu searched the two cultivators' storage bags and dragged them over to Wen Qiao. It remembered what its sister had said: after killing, you must search the storage bag.

The two cultivators might have robbed quite a few people; there were many items in the storage bags, but not many good ones. Wen Qiao casually looked through them and threw them into the space, letting Puppet Man Qing sort and categorize them, discarding the useless ones.

After wandering around the secret realm for a month, this day, Wen Qiao and Wen Tutu were climbing a large tree to pick spirit fruits while Ning Yuzhou guarded below. Suddenly, they saw a bright spiritual light appear in the sky nearby.

When spiritual light flashed, it meant a rare treasure had emerged.

This spiritual light startled many cultivators in the secret realm.

Wen Qiao and Wen Tutu jumped down from the tree, pulling Ning Yuzhou and flying toward the spiritual light.

The glow was exceedingly close to their location, and Wen Qiao and Ning Yuzhou practically arrived in an instant. Upon reaching the site, Wen Qiao was momentarily taken aback.