Chapter 11

Chapter 11

In the valley of Qingxu Peak, the disciples participating in the trial continued their journey.

Having already traveled some distance from the valley entrance, many disciples had dispersed to search for spiritual herbs on their own. However, a small group still followed the main path, heading deeper into the valley.

Among them were Lu Shitu, You Weiwan, and Jiang Ziliu.

Jiang Ziliu was, of course, the supremely confident type. The valley's deepest parts housed the rarest, highest-grade spiritual herbs. Even though such herbs would be extremely difficult to find and often surrounded by dangers, he was utterly confident in his ability to locate them safely.

Meanwhile, Lu Shitu, remembering Rong Yu's instructions, silently continued inward.

You Weiwan, looking concerned, tried to persuade him again: "Senior Brother Lu, the deeper parts of the valley are dangerous. There are plenty of valuable herbs to gather around here. Are you sure you don't want to stop?"

While low-level spiritual beasts weren't a major threat to any initiated disciple, Lu Shitu was now effectively a mortal. He likely couldn't handle them. Since Taiqing Elder had entrusted Lu Shitu to her, You Weiwan didn't want to cause the elder any worry.

Hearing this, Jiang Ziliu sneered sarcastically, "Exactly. Those who aren't weaned yet shouldn't venture further. It's treacherous ahead, and no one has time to protect a good-for-nothing."

He usually wouldn't show this side of himself in public, but he couldn't help it. Recent events had left him furious and jealous: angry that things hadn't gone his way, and jealous that Taiqing Elder clearly valued Lu Shitu so highly, and even that You Weiwan was accompanying him.

Moreover, his eyes, still injured from earlier, hadn't recovered; his vision was blurry and painful, making it hard to maintain his usual facade of polite elegance.

The other disciples nearby also looked down on Lu Shitu, mostly envying how a good-for-nothing could become an elder's personal disciple, and they chimed in with mocking remarks:

"What a shame. Even if someone can always rely on others, spiritual herbs have to be collected by oneself. I wonder if he can even manage to pick one or two by himself?"

They all laughed derisively, since even the lowest-ranked, newest disciple wouldn't be limited to just one or two herbs.

But this doubt was indeed shared by everyone. No one took Lu Shitu seriously. What could a mere mortal accomplish? Just surviving the trial would be an achievement; passing was a pipe dream.

Hearing this, You Weiwan frowned, feeling a wave of disgust. For the first time, she felt a doubt: Why was everyone... like this? Had they always been this way? Why had she never noticed before...

She saw that Lu Shitu seemed to ignore them, his expression calm as he walked on. She felt a stir of anger on his behalf, but also felt somewhat relieved.

If Senior Brother Lu could actually top the trial results and shut these people up, that would be the most satisfying thing imaginable. But alas... it was impossible.

As she thought this, she noticed Lu Shitu's footsteps suddenly halt. Following his gaze, she saw a section of completely ordinary, natural rock face, largely obscured by plants.

Lu Shitu stared for a moment, as if confirming something, then suddenly walked towards it.

There were clearly no valuable spiritual herbs there. What was he doing?

You Weiwan almost called out to warn him, but remembered this was part of the trial; she shouldn't give any hints. She bit her tongue, feeling anxious for him.

Lu Shitu reached the rock face, cleared a small area at its base, and sat down, entering a state of meditation.

You Weiwan stood watching, baffled and growing more worried.

What was he doing? Was Senior Brother Lu giving up?

After waiting a while and seeing that Lu Shitu truly had no intention of searching for herbs, she reluctantly stopped as well and began her assigned planting task nearby.

The other disciples were initially stunned, then bursts of laughter erupted. Had this good-for-nothing really given up? Good. It saves him from a futile effort.

Jiang Ziliu was especially pleased, feeling a wave of satisfaction: So he's finally come to his senses and decided to quit? When he comes out empty-handed, Taiqing Elder will be utterly disappointed, right? He'll regret not taking me, the trial champion, as his disciple!

"The sect trial is for disciples. Why is a good-for-nothing without a spiritual root here making a fool of himself? Should have quit from the start," one disciple sneered.

Another took the chance to flatter Jiang Ziliu: "It must be because Senior Brother Jiang is too outstanding. Some people aren't even fit to compete; they've lost the will to fight before even starting."

Jiang Ziliu looked at Lu Shitu and smirked maliciously, not refuting the comment.

"Look at him. Does he really think sitting there will make spiritual herbs fall from the sky? Ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Hey, Lu, if you ask us nicely, maybe we'll spare some weeds for you. Better than just sitting there!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha, senior brother, don't! What if he actually believes you? I wouldn't even give weeds to someone like him."

You Weiwan finally had enough and said sharply to them from a distance, "Senior brothers, the trial time is limited, and the herbs in the valley are finite. I hope you all know what's more important."

The disciples, having been put in their place and sensing her displeasure, finally stopped their clamor and moved on, though some muttered, "Why is Junior Sister Weiwan defending that waste of space? Is he worth it..."

Lu Shitu paid no attention to any of this. Clearing his mind, he sat quietly, waiting for the change to occur.

As the sounds of people faded away, Lu Shitu gradually entered a mysterious state.

He found himself in a void, where glowing characters began to appear in the distance, dense and layered, slowly moving towards him.

Lu Shitu held his breath, waiting, remembering Rong Yu's instructions: "Within Qingxu Peak, there are scattered stone walls called Scripture Reflection Walls. They are treasure artifacts used for testing in the spiritual herb classes of Qingxu Peak's past. When I studied in the sect as a youth, I took tests on them several times."

"The Reflection Walls will pose questions, all about key spiritual herbs covered in class. If your answers meet the standard, the wall will grant you that very herb."

"You don't need to go deepest into the valley or compete with the other disciples. Just find a Reflection Wall and obtain the herbs from within."

As the first lines of text floated before his eyes, Lu Shitu focused on reading the question.

The characters read: "What is the spiritual herb known as the 'Eye of the Demon Realm'? (Note: You must provide its full name). Recite the content about it from the spiritual herb class."

Lu Shitu was stunned for a moment. The next second, the characters before him began to fade, urging him to answer quickly or forfeit.

The number of questions one could answer per entry into the Reflection Wall was limited. Rong Yu had instructed Lu Shitu to answer as many as possible to gather enough herbs.

Lu Shitu quickly inscribed below the question: "Xuanming Wushuang Danxin Rui". The text stopped fading and became clear again.

This long string of words was indeed the herb's full name. Some herbs are named by their discoverer, and this one's discoverer was named Xuanming, who very narcissistically prefixed the actual herb name 'Danxin Rui' with 'Xuanming Wushuang'. Most people simply called it 'Danxin Rui', but Lu Shitu remembered the lecturer mentioning this full name once in class.

This method of obtaining herbs by answering questions seemed easy, but it was actually quite difficult.

Lu Shitu's expression grew more tense. Recalling the class content, he began to meticulously write his answer below.

Fortunately, Lu Shitu had paid extreme attention in class and had an excellent memory. Even for this demanding question, he handled it with ease.

He detailed the attributes, characteristics, cultivation methods, precautions, uses, etc., of the Danxin Rui as taught in class. Then, he caught the spiritual herb that materialized in the void and simulated the steps for harvesting and preserving it.

Once he was done, the text before him flashed brightly for an instant and then transformed into a properly processed Danxin Rui, which dropped into Lu Shitu's palm with a soft 'pat'.

Lu Shitu carefully stored it in his jade slip, allowing himself a slight smile.

It seemed he would live up to his master's expectations.

He looked up, ready and focused for the next question.

Meanwhile, deep within the valley, Jiang Ziliu and the two disciples following him pressed on. Their faces were clouded, morale low.

Just moments ago, they had been extremely lucky to encounter an extremely rare Nine-Colored Lotus. It was a crucial ingredient for the Nascent Soul Pill, incredibly scarce; not something you could just buy even at the Hundred Herb Pavilion, let alone in a wild valley.

However, Jiang Ziliu, too impatient and having neglected his herbal studies, had reached for it before the flower was fully bloomed. The moment he touched it, the lotus withered instantly.

Another disciple who had tried to stop him earlier grew angry and and called him out. Jiang Ziliu, already agitated and irritable due to the earlier incident with Lu Shitu, was in a foul mood, and things got heated between them.

However, everyone understood clearly that whoever picked the spirit herb would keep it. Jiang Ziliu’s actions left the other two disciples feeling uncomfortable, and they began to consider parting ways with him.

Jiang Ziliu’s face darkened as he inwardly cursed the disciple for being ungrateful. If it weren’t for his own extraordinary luck, how could they have encountered such a rare spirit herb? Instead of being thankful, the disciple had the nerve to blame him—what a jerk.

Jiang Ziliu thought, "Hmph, just wait and see. There are countless treasures waiting for me ahead, and the top spot will undoubtedly be mine."

With that thought, he decided he would ditch these two ingrates later to avoid further trouble.

The three continued walking forward, putting on a united front but secretly at odds, each lost in their own thoughts.