Chapter 13: Orchid Spring Ravine

Half a year later, Tang Yue had reached the fifth stage of Qi Refining. Her speed wasn't slow, but her three-year-old junior brother had also reached the fifth stage. He hadn't even had his birthday yet—it was really best not to compare, lest she lose her mental balance.

Senior Brother Wei had found a powerful cultivator who might be able to treat her innate deficiency of vital energy. This person was a rogue cultivator in Huayue City, unaffiliated with any sect, yet had reached the Void Fusion stage—his cultivation was even deeper than the elders of major sects at the Body Integration stage. Naturally, he had his own untransmitted secrets.

Unfortunately, that cultivator had gone off traveling and wouldn't return for another two or three years to treat Tang Yue. However, he had sent word to Senior Brother Wei that the Furong Body Tempering Sutra was authored by him and could help restore her vitality. Tang Yue could start cultivating it now to temper her body. Even if he treated her immediately, he would first ask her to practice this sutra.

Tang Yue couldn't help but feel this was all too coincidental. How could the book she randomly picked up be exactly what she needed? Was this the power of the plot?

But since she couldn't figure it out, she didn't stress over it. She decided to keep an eye out during future travels—maybe she'd stumble across the answer.

One day, the academy announced that Qi Refining disciples would be joining an observation mission in batches, accompanying Foundation Establishment cultivators to Orchid Spring Ravine to hunt demon beasts and gain experience.

The demon beasts there all had strength at the Foundation Establishment stage and above. Qi Refining cultivators obviously couldn't face them head-on, so they were mainly responsible for scavenging usable items from slain beasts and gathering useful herbs.

Orchid Spring Ravine was dangerous. Though Qi Refining disciples weren't expected to directly fight the beasts, surprise encounters could happen, and they would need to hold off the enemy until Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived.

To reduce risk, the academy required Qi Refining disciples to form small teams. Tang Yue agreed with Yue Yanling and Shang Fangling to sign up for the same session. They brought along their young junior brother, making a four-person team.

Tang Wan had also wanted to bring the junior brother, hoping to grow closer to him. But the disciples in her group objected. Even though the child had astonishingly reached the fifth stage of Qi Refining at just three years old, he was still a toddler, and caring for him would be troublesome.

After the event, Qi Refining teams would be ranked based on the materials they collected. The top team would receive generous rewards—and more importantly, it was a recognition of their abilities. Tang Wan's team was aiming for first place.

Chu Tianshu also objected to Tang Wan bringing the junior brother. Rankings were important—first place came with the chance to enter a secret realm for training. Once disciples reached Foundation Establishment, this kind of opportunity was invaluable for gaining experience and boosting cultivation.

As a Golden Core cultivator, Chu Tianshu would be leading the Foundation Establishment disciples, killing beasts and protecting the teams. He promised Tang Wan that the junior brother would be assigned to his group so he could look after him.

So, without realizing it, Tang Yue ended up in the same session as the male and female leads. By the time she arrived, it was too late to back out. Once registered, a disciple couldn't withdraw unless they were seriously injured or near death.

She had no choice but to tough it out.

Tang Yue's team stood out. Other groups were made up of all male cultivators, or mostly males with a few females. Hers had three female cultivators and one child, and was immediately labeled as the weakest team.

But their strength wasn't low. Yue Yanling was at Qi Refining stage 9, Shang Fangling at stage 10 and nearly at Foundation Establishment, while Tang Yue and the junior brother were both at stage 5.

Aside from them, only Tang Wan's team had similar cultivation levels—stage 9 and 10 disciples, plus Tang Wan herself at stage 8. Their equipment was also top-tier. Clearly, they had their eyes on first place.

Orchid Spring Ravine lay west of Kunwu City, several dozen kilometers away. Foundation Establishment disciples flew there on swords, while Qi Refining cultivators shared a flying boat.

During the ride, her team distributed supplies: Yue Yanling handed out talisman seals, Shang Fangling gave pills, and Tang Yue provided food. Everyone came prepared for group action.

Tang Yue also distributed her own inventions—the Qiankun Net and the Herbal Digger—to everyone. She had designed them herself, after poring over countless works by master craftsmen following her registration for the mission.

The Qiankun Net could collect anything imbued with demonic or spiritual energy. Once cast, it spread over a radius of dozens of meters and swept up demon cores, spirit crystals, spiritual ores, and treasures with ease.

The Herbal Digger helped locate spiritual herbs. It had a built-in indicator that pointed to herbs within a hundred-meter radius and a special design that allowed harvesting the whole plant without damage.

Neither tool could detect high-grade treasures, though—those usually had self-concealing powers and required sharp eyes and luck to find.

She had these crafted by a cultivator from the Heavenly Craft Pavilion. She herself was only capable of making components, not full devices. The materials she provided were excellent, and the finished items were Earth-grade tools—worthy gifts for her teammates.

Yue Yanling was thrilled. "Junior Sister, you're so thoughtful! With this, we won't fall behind on material gathering."

Shang Fangling and Mu Chongyun looked a bit skeptical, politely accepting the gifts but clearly intending to test them first.

Soon, their boat arrived at Orchid Spring Ravine. Foundation Establishment cultivators had flown ahead and were already waiting. After the rules were explained, the teams split up to hunt.

For fairness, Foundation Establishment cultivators were assigned to balanced groups, so that the number of beasts slain would be similar. The rest depended on each Qi Refining team's ability to gather resources.

The terrain of the ravine was uneven and steep in places, requiring caution to avoid slipping. The area was filled with orchids and had a mountain spring where petals often floated down—hence the name.

Tang Yue found a flat area and demonstrated the Qiankun Net. She tossed it into the air, and it expanded into a glowing web, descending slowly to cover a large radius.

When it touched the ground, the net trembled and then contracted into a glowing sphere that flew back to her hand. This time, she only collected a low-grade spirit stone, which she moved to her storage pouch.

Everyone was amazed. This kind of efficient tool far outperformed manually searching with spiritual sense—it could sweep dozens of meters in an instant.

Her teammates were delighted. With such a tool, they might actually have a shot at placing first.

Originally, the three didn't have high hopes. Their team had only four members, while others had seven or eight. Tang Yue had recently offended some influential families, so few wanted to team up with her. Yue Yanling and Shang Fangling only did so because of sect ties and some existing friendship.

Mu Chongyun was too young—no other team would take him. Only his senior sister welcomed him. And truthfully, he wanted to go with her anyway.

They'd all thought just not placing last would be good enough. But with Tang Yue's tools proving so effective, they now saw a chance to aim for first place. After all, they were talented and proud.

Mu Chongyun praised, "Senior Sister, where did you buy these treasures? They're so clever!"

Tang Yue beamed. "You can't buy them anywhere. I designed them and had them made at Heavenly Craft Pavilion."

Shang Fangling added sincerely, "Junior Sister, you're incredibly clever!"

"Thank you, Senior Sister." Tang Yue didn't shy away from praise. She accepted it with grace.

They also tested the Herbal Digger and found it just as useful. In no time, their group cleared all materials within several hundred meters.

Their team became a terror—everywhere they went, nothing was left behind. Other groups began actively avoiding them.

By noon, they had already filled one storage pouch with loot.

Most of it was low-grade material that other teams wouldn't bother with—usually left to mortals to collect. To conserve spiritual energy, the other teams only harvested valuable herbs and materials, ignoring the "trash."

But Tang Yue's group gathered everything. The Qiankun Net picked up anything with spiritual energy, and the Herbal Digger could be driven by a bit of spiritual power to dig automatically.

So they didn't waste time choosing—everything was gathered. Even low-grade herbs earned points.

That night, while everyone rested, Tang Wan's team held a meeting to discuss Tang Yue's group.

Meng Yangxing of the Meng clan, also in Tang Wan's team, had long been displeased. "Senior Sister Zhou, Senior Sister Tang—Tang Yue's team is cheating. They're using treasure tools to scoop up all the resources. If this keeps up, we'll fall behind and fail our masters."

Zhou Huaisu, second disciple of the Purple Heaven Sect leader and Chen Jinbao's senior sister, frowned. "Indeed, if this continues, they'll surpass us. Does anyone have a solution?"

Chen Jinbao added, "They're clearly cheating! It's unfair!"