Chapter 680 - 625: Stepping onto the Peak 34 (4,000 Words)
Having learned a lesson from the Fiery Fire Grass incident, these young and impulsive boys and girls finally calmed their hearts. They dared not be careless again, each becoming cautious, making the following process of harvesting Spiritual Medicine smoother.
The tasks of picking Spiritual Medicine and cultivating herbal seedlings took the entire group a full month. This was because everyone involved was a cultivator, working quickly and without fatigue from such tasks. The difficult-to-harvest High-level Spiritual Medicine was not required to be picked by the group.
The Secret Realm opens once every three months, and the remaining time after finishing the work is given by the family for these juniors to cultivate within the Secret Realm. Although this time is not long, it is a generous endowment from the family.
The Secret Realm is rich in Spiritual Energy, which results from humans not consuming the realm’s Spiritual Energy and the presence of Spiritual Medicine enhancing the energy.
If someone were to practice for a long time inside, combined with younger Spiritual Medicine only consuming Spiritual Energy without contributing, it would lead to depletion. If not controlled, the Secret Realm’s Spiritual Energy would gradually turn to the same concentration as the outside world.
The Spiritual Energy within the Secret Realm is artificially cultivated, its use limits its availability, unlike Spiritual Energy born of the world, which is endlessly cyclical.
To ensure sufficient Spiritual Energy within the Secret Realm, whenever too frequent cultivations deplete the energy, the realm is sealed for one or two centuries, allowing Spiritual Medicine inside to freely grow, replenishing lost energy.
Every family possessing a Secret Realm highly values it, careful not to lose any amount of Spiritual Energy. Consequently, cultivation is not permitted within the Secret Realm, except for juniors like Tan Shuangshuang and Liang Ziqian, whose low cultivation levels earn them temporary permission.
Initially, Tan Shuangshuang and Liang Ziqian planned to cultivate quietly within the Secret Realm. Who would think after just one month, the group of boys and girls came seeking adventure, restless in their solitude, forming groups to explore.
Tan Shuangshuang and Liang Ziqian tried to restrain them, but these restless minds showed no interest in cultivation, eager to uncover any Ancient Spiritual Medicine left behind in the realm. Unable to suppress them, exploration was permitted.
However, Tan Shuangshuang and Liang Ziqian, being just two people without the ability to be everywhere, could only repeatedly warn them to travel in pairs, avoid dangerous areas, and stay away from strange places. Who knows what ancient mechanisms might be left within the realm.
After the others left, Tan Shuangshuang and Liang Ziqian also found it hard to focus on cultivation. Tan Shuangshuang worried these mischievous youngsters might cause some trouble.
These youngsters, lacking maturity, had trouble even picking Spirit Grass without getting into trouble with the Spiritual Medicine, ending up bald from their encounters. Faced with formidable ancient arrays, who knows what might happen, the more one thinks about it, the more unsettling it becomes.
Liang Ziqian also felt restless and unsettled, knowing well the past trouble caused by the younger generations of the Liang Family better than anyone. Now, with equally troublesome juniors from the Tan Family together, there was no one overseeing them, uncertain if they’d cause chaos.
Realizing Tan Shuangshuang shared his concern, a sudden giggle escaped Liang Ziqian. ’Don’t we seem like a couple looking after a group of mischievous kids playing, worrying about everything like parents anxious about their children causing troubles?’ he couldn’t help but say.
Tan Shuangshuang was nearly choked by saliva, shocked by Liang Ziqian’s comparison. Why suddenly such an ambiguous analogy? Was he possessed by something unclean?
Seeing Tan Shuangshuang’s reaction, Liang Ziqian became aware of his inappropriate comparison, feeling awkward, unable to resist touching his nose, and coughed dryly. ’Since they all ran off, staying here, unable to focus on cultivation, why don’t we go explore ourselves?’ he suggested.
Tan Shuangshuang thought it over and realized staying put was dull, especially without Fei Hu, worried it would damage Spiritual Medicine due to its immaturity, making even petting impossible. This made Tan Shuangshuang even more bored.
So, with little hesitation, Tan Shuangshuang nodded, ’That sounds good, remaining here is boring. There aren’t too many dangerous places within the Secret Realm. We can separate and reconvene before leaving the realm.’