Chapter 20

As her gaze shifted, she happened to catch sight of her senior sister, Wen Yuanyuan, and her heart brightened. Among all her uncle's disciples, her senior sister possessed the greatest talent for crafting magical implements. If she could obtain that legacy of artifact refinement, her breakthrough would be immense.

But the most crucial of all was the legacy of the sword cultivators. Swordsmanship had always been the foundation of Kunlun, the bedrock upon which its unassailable reputation was built. If anyone acquired a sword cultivation technique superior to Kunlun’s own, it would be a humiliating blow. No matter what, the sword cultivator’s legacy was not to be missed.

Holding fast to the principle that if she could seize one thing, she might as well take two, Li Mengze decided unceremoniously that she must get to the inheritance before the heroine.

Li Mengze had no qualms about this, largely because the heroine, Bai Lian, had not entered the secret realm by honorable means; in fact, her methods could be considered downright despicable. After learning of the secret realm’s existence, the heroine schemed tirelessly to obtain its token. She eventually acquired it from the direct descendant of a minor clan. Although that young man coveted her beauty and harbored ill intentions, it was still wrong for her, after snatching his opportunity, to cripple his spiritual roots and kill two other clan children who possessed dual spiritual roots, merely to prevent future revenge. Those children were barely seven or eight, still in the early stages of cultivation.

In the world of cultivation, killing and stealing treasures was tacitly accepted by the heavenly way, but to kill children with whom she had no feud—did she fear no damage to her inner dao?

Taking the chance from such a person, Li Mengze felt no burden at all.

As for combat experience, that went without saying; Kunlun’s disciples all rose amidst battle, so fighting was second nature to them.

Wei Qingtong and Ba Yicheng mainly took it upon themselves to teach Li Mengze some survival skills for the wild. When choosing a camp, always pick a spot with a wide view and downwind from the prevailing breeze; being upwind could let your scent carry, attracting attacks from beasts. After slaying a beast, handle your spoils promptly, lest the smell of blood draw other predators. If you find yourself in the territory of a powerful, kingly beast and defeat it, you may rest and recover your spiritual energy there—since in such territories, beasts of similar rank are rare, giving you time to regain your strength. However, in most cases, it’s best not to provoke the beast kings.

Demonic beasts respected strength above all; those who dominated a region as kings had fought countless battles and could even challenge those above their level. Their physical bodies were far sturdier than human cultivators’. At the same level, a beast outmatched a human in every aspect—strength, endurance, and more.

Especially the beast kings of secret realms, who hovered around the transformation stage; ordinary cultivators could not hope to challenge them.

Li Mengze looked left and right, secretly thinking that all this talk was aimed at her. Well, what could she do when the others were all around the Nascent Soul realm? It was true: in this world, one level higher in status or cultivation meant crushing those beneath you. Since she was still young and weak, she could only nod obediently, promising not to court death by challenging king beasts. Ba Yicheng and Wen Yuanyuan nodded in satisfaction. Their little junior sister was admirable in every way but had a strong penchant for action, which worried them. After all, she’d always been well protected within the sect, and this was her first time out in the world.

Wei Qingtong was alone here for two reasons: he had accepted a sect assignment, and he was waiting for other disciples who would travel to the secret realm alone. He too would enter, but since their cultivation levels differed, the places they’d be teleported to would not be the same. That was why Ba Yicheng had taken his two junior sisters ahead of time.

At the height of summer, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the secret realm opened. By mid-May, many cultivators had already gathered outside the Demon Domain. If Kunlun lacked its own camp, they’d be like the wandering cultivators outside—those who arrived early could pitch tents, while latecomers would have to make do with a mat on the ground.

Arriving early had its perks. With so many cultivators, the market became lively. Where there were women, there was a thriving business. Cultivators were no exception. Li Mengze personally saw a female cultivator in a shop specializing in women’s robes, spending a fortune in spirit stones. Some of those garments, in Li Mengze’s eyes, were so avant-garde that even with her twenty-first-century sensibilities, she wouldn’t have dared to wear them out. Yet the woman bought them as if it were perfectly normal. Li Mengze was baffled—why would someone heading into a deadly secret realm wear such cumbersome attire? Was she planning to charm monsters with her looks?

She couldn’t help but wonder if those demonic beasts would truly be swayed by such beauty.

The streets were crowded with vendors, all exchanging their wares for what they needed. The exchange benefited many: those with ample spirit stones could buy pills and magical artifacts, while those without had to barter for what others had in surplus.

For several days after, Li Mengze hardly left her quarters, secluding herself in her space to refine Exorcism Pills.

Wiping non-existent sweat from her brow, she gazed regretfully at the charred dregs in her pill furnace, emitting a burnt odor. This was her best attempt after several explosions. She had failed even the basic step of condensing the essence several times. Li Mengze guessed that the Exorcism Grass and Barrier-Breaking Grass repelled each other—one being water-aligned, the other fire. Even when their essences were condensed, they resisted fusing.

After much trial and error, she finally thought to strip the two herbs of their elemental properties. After much effort, she succeeded in preparing ten stalks of Exorcism Grass and eight of Barrier-Breaking Grass, losing five in the process. If she failed again, she’d have to look for another issue.

Though Exorcism Pills were fourth-tier, Li Mengze found the process much harder than expected. Her previous smooth progress seemed only to have set her up for these current setbacks.

With a faint pop, she collapsed onto her mat. She didn’t need to look; the sound alone confirmed her failure.

After lying there for a while, the spiritual energy in the pill room seeped into her body, clearing her mind. She simply lay there, entering a meditative state.

When she awoke, her spiritual energy was fully replenished. Not leaving at once, she continued her attempts at alchemy.

Once she had stabilized her mind, she placed the fused essence into the furnace, adding auxiliary herbs in sequence to refine the essence. Her spiritual sense monitored the changes in the pill liquid, slowly separating and attempting to fuse components. At first, things went smoothly, but as soon as she added Fresh Grass, black smoke billowed forth along with a burnt stench. Weakly withdrawing her hand, Li Mengze knew she had failed yet again.

Since she had failed, there was no point in continuing today. She’d already spent several days in her space, and the medicinal seedlings she’d traded for still needed planting.

Shouldering her small hoe, she strode with confidence toward her herb garden.

Once she had brought out the spiritual herbs, she arranged them according to their attributes and planting requirements. The few aquatic plants she placed by the spiritual spring behind the mountain, where the ample spiritual energy and flowing water would nurture their roots and enhance their medicinal properties—a win-win.

When all these tasks were done, Li Mengze found her mood much improved, and the frustration from her failed alchemy faded.

Still, she decided to treat herself. She had constructed a small stove in her space, making it convenient for the occasional feast.

She had enough spiritual rice to last decades, so there was no need for thrift. She steamed a pot of it, using spring water from the spiritual spring. Even before it was done, the rich fragrance filled the space, resonating with the spiritual energy in her body.

Li Mengze also noticed that as her cultivation advanced, not only did her space expand, but new areas appeared—places she could not yet explore, shrouded in a hazy mist. The artifact spirit had said that once she reached the Golden Core stage, she could unlock most of the restrictions in her space. For now, she could only sigh with longing.

Fortunately, as her power grew, the spiritual rice she cultivated in the space began to mutate. Not only did it contain more spiritual energy, but the yield increased as well. Once a faint purple, the grains had now turned a deep, glossy violet-black, with a soft, chewy texture and a melt-in-the-mouth sensation—a considerable reward.

With the rice steaming, she turned to preparing the dishes. The wood for her cooking fire came from trees on the back mountain, which had grown for countless years and were faintly imbued with spiritual energy, though far from awakening true sentience. Li Mengze had chopped a few for practice, splitting them into pieces of equal size for convenience.

Food cooked with this wood was aromatic and preserved the spiritual energy within the ingredients.

Li Mengze was careful not to waste anything. She prepared a spirit bird about the size of a domestic chicken—its exact species unknown—stuffed its belly with various spiritual mushrooms and slices of spirit-pig ham, then wrapped it in fragrant grass leaves. These leaves, broad as lotus leaves, were soft, elastic, and carried a delicate herbal scent—an essential culinary herb.

She wrapped the bird tightly with the leaves’ veins, secured it, and placed it in a special hollow she had dug beneath her earthen stove. She packed the surroundings tightly to prevent airflow, letting the gentle heat above steam the bird to perfection, preserving its spiritual energy and making for an easy, foolproof cooking method. By the time the rice was done, the bird was steamed to perfection as well.

After this, Li Mengze stir-fried a vegetarian dish, combining a variety of spiritual ingredients for a meal that was as beautiful as it was delicious.

Dining alone, with one meat and one vegetable dish, was just right. Though cultivators could forgo food after building their foundation, eating dishes made from spiritual ingredients did no harm. It was simply inconvenient for those in training, as few carried provisions, and low-grade spiritual ingredients were expensive and troublesome to prepare, so many simply did without.

Li Mengze, however, was more indulgent than others when it came to food. She could abstain, but whenever the chance arose, she would never let it slip by.

A glance at her storage pouch told all: an abundance of seasonings, fully stocked and ready for any culinary whim.

While she stir-fried, the rice finished steaming. As her dish came off the stove, the fire beneath the rice flickered out.

Using her control technique, she brought everything to the table and conjured a gentle breeze to dissipate the heat. The aroma was mouthwatering. Though not on par with those crafted by a master spiritual chef, it was of excellent quality, with most impurities removed—no need to worry about further purification after eating.

After a satisfying meal, there was plenty of rice left, though little meat or vegetables remained. Li Mengze did not waste it; she shredded the leftover meat, mixed it with vegetables, and wrapped it in rice to form simple, delicious rice balls. Stored in her space, they would remain as fresh and tasty as when first made, ready to eat at any time.