Six Realms Immortal Emperor

Seeing the disciples' high spirits, the disciples in white robes on the high place nodded in satisfaction and stretched out their arms in unison.

Several streams of multicolored spiritual energy shot out from their palms, striking the high sky above the valley. A rumbling sound came from above everyone's heads, and a huge light screen as thin as a cicada's wing slowly revealed its true form.

Just then, another dignified old man with a white beard appeared in front of the white-robed Taoist disciple. This old man exuded an astonishing aura, domineering and imposing without being angry.

"Look, even the sect's Grand Elder has come!" a disciple who knew the situation shouted.

"Welcome, Elder." The disciples in white Taoist robes bowed to the old man together.

"Alright, we can begin." The old man glanced at the thousands of outer disciples in the valley and said to them without turning his head.

"Snap, snap..."

The disciple in white Taoist robes continuously cast spells with both hands, bombarding the light barrier covering the valley. Streams of spiritual energy struck the light barrier, causing the massive barrier to tremble violently. Then, all the runes on the light barrier simultaneously emitted a burst of light.

One breath, two breaths, the light lasted for less than three breaths before slowly dimming.

At this moment, a powerful surge of spiritual energy suddenly struck the light screen; the Grand Elder had finally made his move.

The runes then burst into a dazzling light and shattered together; when the light dissipated, the runes did not disappear, but broke into several pieces, which jumped around there, and a huge gap was revealed in the light screen.

"It's open! It's open!"

Xu Jingtian looked in the direction of the sound and saw thousands of outer disciples looking at the light screen with joy, eagerly anticipating the moment it would open.

"Snap!"

A crisp sound echoed throughout the entire valley.

The light barrier broke free of its seal, emitting bursts of purple light that parted the shattered runes, like the eyes of a colossal beast slowly opening. The moment the runes were positioned around the circle, the purple light instantly transformed into a giant sun, radiating boundless golden light, seemingly beckoning to the crowd and inviting them to unveil its mysterious veil.

"Ah!" Some of the disciples were participating in the wilderness trial for the first time, and they all gaped in astonishment.

"What are you all standing there for? The trial barrier has been opened, why aren't you all going inside quickly?" The Grand Elder said loudly, looking at the stunned disciples.

"Charge!"

In an instant, shouts echoed throughout the valley as thousands of outer disciples rushed into the barrier like wild horses.

"Come on, let's follow!"

Xu Jingtian and his group followed the flow of people, hurrying forward and entering a deep, secluded valley.

The valley was extremely vast, yet it was not fully visible from the outside; entering it felt like stepping into another world. Besides mountains and trees, the light was dim, visibility extremely low, suggesting a great danger lurking behind, ready to strike at any moment.

The valley is densely forested and the mountains are quite steep. As the cold wind blows, some of the mist slowly dissipates, revealing breathtaking rock cliffs.

Xu Jingtian and the others followed the crowd, venturing dozens of feet deeper into the valley. The valley branched off numerous times, and soon only a few of them remained. Ahead, the valley was shrouded in mist, with wisps of cold fog drifting by, obscuring everything even with keen eyesight.

Xu Jingtian slowed his pace and said to the people behind him, "Be careful, just stay behind me." The others were fine, as they had already taken note of the situation inside the valley.

"Hmph!" Dongfang Sixing didn't take it seriously and walked past him, relying on his cultivation level of Qi Refining Level 2.

Xu Jingtian frowned but didn't say anything more.

Xu Jingtian and his group of eight, three in front and five behind, slowly advanced into the valley. However, the moisture inside the valley gradually thickened, and the floating moisture threatened to soak their clothes.

Along the way, some small animals, hearing the commotion, hopped and hid in seclusion, occasionally peeking at them. To them, the group were enormous, unfamiliar creatures, yet they sensed no danger and were filled with curiosity about them.

Xu Jingtian looked around. Although the sunlight was shining down, there were towering trees everywhere, making it impossible to see anything further. He could barely make out objects.

"We need to look carefully. Besides wild beasts, there are also rare herbs that can't be found outside. Don't miss them if you come across them," Xu Jingtian reminded everyone. He had heard about this from Senior Sister Pu Lan of Qingxia Academy.

When outer sect disciples undertake sect missions, they usually traverse mountains and valleys outside the valley, searching for spiritual herbs amidst overgrown weeds—a truly difficult task. Coming here has this advantage. In particular, the outer sect disciples who followed Gu Tianxing were invigorated upon hearing this, as the spiritual herbs would prove useful to them.

However, despite everyone's full concentration, there was nothing in the valley except for weeds. Spiritual herbs are not so easy to find.

"Hmph! Go ahead and look for me if you want. I think it's better to go deeper into the valley sooner rather than later, lest the other disciples beat us to it," Dongfang Sixing said impatiently.

"I bet nobody's ever been here before." Xu Jingtian continued walking, ignoring him. As he walked, he carefully observed the changes in his surroundings.

"Hmph, why are you so sure?" Dongfang Sixing said defiantly.

"There are no traces of footsteps here, of course no one has walked here, even a fool would know that!" Gu Tianxing stuck out his tongue at him and followed closely behind Xu Jingtian.

"You!" Although Dongfang Sixing was speechless from being provoked, he also thought it made a lot of sense. However, he couldn't save face, so he walked ahead in a huff.

The other disciples exchanged glances, and although they didn't say anything, they admired Xu Jingtian in their hearts.

A sneeze!

It had been almost an hour. The deeper they went into the valley, the colder it became, and the disciples with the lowest cultivation levels were finding it hard to bear.

Achoo! Achoo! Gu Tianxing and Huang Shaoyuan also started sneezing incessantly.

Li Wanruo's teeth started chattering and her whole body began to tremble.

"If Junior Sister Wanruo can't bear it, she can use her spiritual power to resist the cold," Xu Jingtian said to her considerately.

"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Xu!" Li Wanruo felt a warmth in her heart and was very happy upon hearing this. She circulated her spiritual energy and indeed felt a warmth throughout her body.

Seeing this, the other disciples at the first level of Qi Refining also began to use their spiritual power to resist the cold.

"Look!" Xu Jingtian suddenly pointed to a patch of grass and said.

"There's nothing there?" Gu Tianxing asked, puzzled.

Xu Jingtian rushed towards the bushes, reaching out to brush away the weeds. A small blade of grass, glowing with a purple light, appeared before them, standing out from the crowd.

"This is the Heavenly Spirit Grass!" Li Wanruo exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh, that's right, this is indeed the Heavenly Spirit Grass." Xu Jingtian often dealt with alchemy materials, so he naturally recognized it.

Legend has it that this herb grows in extremely secluded and cold valleys, preferring dampness and avoiding light. It contains the spiritual power of the five elements and is rarely seen, hence it is called the Heavenly Spirit Herb. The effects of the Heavenly Spirit Herb far surpass those of other spiritual herbs. With it as the main ingredient, one can refine top-grade pills that inner disciples covet.

After the weeds were removed from the Heavenly Spirit Grass, its branches and leaves became even more emerald green, tender, and vibrant.

Xu Jingtian leaned forward and took a sniff. A faint fragrance wafted out, and just smelling it made him feel refreshed!

Xu Jingtian carefully removed the surrounding weeds, then lifted up the branches and leaves of the Heavenly Spirit Grass, and called Li Wanruo to help him dig it up, root and all. This spiritual grass was hard to come by, and they couldn't be careless or damage it in the slightest.

As soon as the Heavenly Spirit Grass left the cold, damp soil, it immediately released a unique spiritual energy.

Xu Jingtian was quite surprised. When this Heavenly Spirit Grass was growing, it was not easy to distinguish from other grasses except for its faint fragrance. But once it was dug up, it immediately revealed its unique spiritual energy.

Everyone's eyes lit up; it was truly a rare and precious herb, a sight to behold!

"Tsk tsk, we're rich now!" Gu Tianxing couldn't help but gleam in his eyes.

"Yes, if we give this spiritual herb to the sect, we could probably get two Spirit-Stabilizing and Mind-Concentrating Pills, right?" Huang Shaoyuan was quite knowledgeable about its value.

"It's not just two, it's more than five. If we're lucky, we might even be able to exchange them for a Five Elements Blood Coagulation Pill." Xu Jingtian was quite knowledgeable about the value of spiritual herbs. This particular spiritual herb was quite rare and its value was much higher than that of similar hundred-year-old spiritual herbs.

Hearing the commotion, Dongfang Sixing couldn't help but turn around and look.

"Heh, it's just a spirit herb, is it really that big of a deal?" Dongfang Sixing pretended not to care at all and continued walking forward. He was walking in front, but he didn't notice the spirit herb, which made him feel very embarrassed.

Xu Jingtian immediately understood, exchanged a glance with Gu Tianxing, and smiled as he handed the Heavenly Spirit Grass to Li Wanruo: "This is the first spiritual herb we've collected, so I'm entrusting it to you for safekeeping."

Li Wanruo carefully took it, her heart filled with excitement. She never expected that a casual dig would yield five Spirit-Stabilizing Pills. It seemed this trip had not been in vain.

The group was so engrossed in admiring the medicinal herb that they were completely unaware that a gigantic beast was slowly moving towards them from the cover of the trees...

Just then, Xu Jingtian suddenly jolted awake, as if he had heard some noise, and alerted everyone, "Listen?"

As he spoke, he pricked up his ears and focused intently, knowing that all the disciples behind him had come for him, and he had to take responsibility for it.

Dongfang Sixing hurriedly looked around and listened for a while. Above the weeds were trees standing tall, their dense leaves rustling in the wind. He heard nothing and couldn't help but exclaim, "What a fuss!" After saying that, he didn't even turn his head and continued walking forward.

"No, something's not right." Xu Jingtian had a vague feeling that something was amiss, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Don't you guys think it's too quiet here?"

His words sent a shiver down Dongfang Sixing's spine. Yes, this was the wilderness, and it was far too quiet; it didn't match the surrounding environment at all. Thinking back, when they came on their way, many small animals had scurried away, accompanied by occasional bird calls, but now, they saw nothing.

This Heavenly Spirit Grass is a rare find, appearing only once every hundred years. It should be guarded by ferocious beasts. The group was so overjoyed to have found the grass that they forgot about it.

Xu Jingtian was on high alert, circulating his spiritual energy and constantly scanning his surroundings. Finally, he heard a faint sound.

Crackling... crackling... A faint sound came from behind the trees, seemingly the sound of branches snapping or the sound of something passing through the weeds.

The other disciples also froze, concentrating intently to listen; without circulating their magical power, they truly wouldn't hear it. Following the direction of the sound, they finally saw the leaves rustling in the distance, as if something was rushing towards them, and its speed was increasing...

"Retreat quickly!" Xu Jingtian hurriedly pulled Li Wanruo back, found a huge rock, and called for everyone to hide behind it.

No matter what kind of wild beast was charging towards them, seeing its speed and impact, they could only retreat and wait and see.

Dongfang Sixing was still at the front. He also sensed something was wrong, but out of pride, he did not back down. Instead, he stood there, staring at the messy grass.