Chapter 80: The Early-Death White Moonlight in a Cultivation Novel (Part 11)

Zhou Yanxi was about to head to the Shuangzi Secret Realm for her trial, but she was never the type to enter battle unprepared. Before departure, she meticulously made her preparations.

First, she visited the Treasure Pavilion within the sect. Many of the magical tools, pills, talismans, and other items here were personally crafted by disciples or even elders of the sect.

Although the prices were slightly cheaper than those in the outside world, most of these treasures also required a certain amount of sect contribution points for exchange.

The purpose of this system was twofold: on one hand, it strengthened the disciples' sense of belonging to the sect; on the other, it prevented ill-intentioned individuals from reselling sect-earned items for profit.

Gazing at the dazzling array of goods, Zhou Yanxi felt the strong urge to go on a shopping spree—but reason quickly reminded her to spend her spirit stones and contribution points wisely.

In the end, Zhou Yanxi purchased a Thousand-Face Illusion Mask, Thunder Talisman, Shadow Capturing Stone, and a large number of jade boxes for storing herbs…

These purchases nearly wiped out her accumulated contribution points, leaving her with just a few dozen. Her stash of spirit stones also shrank by a tenth.

If she weren't a second-generation cultivator (xian er dai), she wouldn't have had the confidence to splurge like this.

The disciple on duty glanced at the identity token on her waist but said nothing.

In the sect, few disciples dared to go head-to-head with second-gen cultivators unless it directly involved their own lives. Most wouldn't risk offending one of them without a very good reason.

Disputes between sect disciples and xian er dai usually happened outside the sect. Once they left its protection, these second-gen cultivators were seen as fat sheep just waiting to be robbed. No one hesitated to kill and loot them.

After all, as long as you covered your tracks well and avoided revealing your victim's identity, you could escape retribution. For the sake of heavenly treasures and rare opportunities, cultivators often killed with red eyes. Once they got what they wanted, they'd hide in some corner of the cultivation world, and no one would ever find them again.

So when the Dao Lord of Blade Rhythm told Zhou Yanxi to pose as a rogue cultivator for this secret realm trial, it was actually a roundabout way of reminding her to stay safe. She fully understood and appreciated this gesture of concern.

Later, Zhou Yanxi visited the Scripture Pavilion to look up information about the Shuangzi Secret Realm. In the end, she only managed to find a few details: the place was shrouded in mystery, unaffiliated with any sect, and each entry point was in a different location.

It opened once every five years, lasted for one month, and forcibly ejected everyone inside when time was up. Only those at the Foundation Establishment stage were allowed in, but there was no limit on how many could enter.

The moment Zhou Yanxi saw the words "no limit on entries," her internal alarm bells began ringing—this trip would definitely be fraught with danger.

But in the cultivation world, stepping outside always meant facing danger. She couldn't hide in the Haomiao Sect forever.

So, she came up with a sly idea. She exchanged 5,000 points in the system store for a copy of the "Poison Pill Manual."

It was an essential expense. With her current cultivation and combat skills, she could handle ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators. But if she encountered someone at the late or peak stage, escape might be her only option.

So Zhou Yanxi planned to refine some poison pills for self-defense. She had no intention of forming alliances with strangers this time, so she needed alternative methods as a contingency.

Though making poisons wasn't a glamorous tactic, as long as it kept her alive, she was more than willing to use it. Poison was still part of the pillcrafting arts, after all.

As for why she didn't buy poison pills outside—of course, it was because she didn't want anyone else to know. Many so-called "righteous" pill cultivators looked down on those who made poison pills.

But Zhou Yanxi wasn't one to be bound by such arbitrary standards. In her view, as long as a poison pill could be used effectively, it was a good pill.

So she entered a short three-day closed-door session, purchased some materials from the system store, and refined a batch of items such as:

Beast-luring Pills

Spirit-Sealing Powder

Phantom Mist Pills

She invested quite a bit this time. Zhou Yanxi swore to herself: once she entered the Shuangzi Secret Realm, she would absolutely earn back her investment—anything less would be a waste of everything she put in.

Later, when True Monarch Chongyuan found out his daughter was heading to the Shuangzi Secret Realm, he was worried sick. He gave her a bunch of life-saving items, including:

A seventh-grade defensive formation disk

A rebound array

A protective token identical to her senior brother's

If this had been before, True Monarch Chongyuan might have objected to letting his daughter go out alone. But after this last closed-door session, he saw how much she had grown.

A soaring eagle must spread its wings in the sky. True Monarch Chongyuan didn't want to selfishly imprison his daughter in the name of love.

So, he didn't stop her from taking this risk. He just reminded her to be cautious, not to trust anyone easily, and keep herself safe above all.

And so, Zhou Yanxi left Haomiao Sect. A hundred miles away from the sect, she took out a portable isolation hut.

Inside, she put on the Thousand-Face Illusion Mask and transformed into an ordinary-looking man. She also wore boots stuffed with heel lifts and swapped out her high-grade robes for a plain, low-grade male cultivator's robe.

To fit her carefully crafted identity as a down-on-his-luck, unkempt male rogue cultivator, Zhou Yanxi tied up her hair with a broken crown, leaving a few tufts deliberately sticking out.

Her flashy storage pouch was hidden inside her inner robe—since storage pouches couldn't be stored in her spatial ring, she had to make sure no one would steal anything important.

Instead, she carried a shabby-looking storage pouch outside, filled with a few dozen spirit stones, a used pill furnace, a worn-out blade, and some tattered robes.

After all, a disguise had to be convincing. If she got unlucky and was robbed, she wouldn't shed a tear over that decoy pouch.

After traveling for three days, Zhou Yanxi finally arrived at the edge of the Endless Forest, where the entrance to the Shuangzi Secret Realm was located. The area was already packed with cultivators, and all the prime spots near the entrance were occupied.

So, Zhou Yanxi picked a spot with fewer people and sat cross-legged to rest. She didn't bother using a formation plate—there was no need to compromise her cover for temporary comfort.

She also didn't plan to cultivate during the day or two of waiting. Instead, she focused on observing the people around her, sizing up their cultivation and behavior. That way, when the time came, she'd be better prepared to react.

Thanks to her shabby appearance, Zhou Yanxi blended seamlessly into the crowd—no one paid her any attention.

Except for the Blood Demon.

He had already sensed Zhou Yanxi's presence, but with too many people around, he couldn't pinpoint her location just yet.

At the same time, Zheng Sumin, who had been absorbing others' fortune, had already broken through to the early Foundation Establishment stage. Under the Blood Demon's guidance, she too had come to the Shuangzi Secret Realm.

Zhou Yanxi, still unaware, had no idea that her old "friend" was here as well…