The Hehuan Sect cultivates alchemy; my senior sister helps me refine alchemy throughout the world.

Shen Yifei wandered around the secret realm for a few more days, but did not venture any deeper.

He took Liu Mengli's words to heart. Fifth-tier demonic beasts had already emerged; further in, there might even be sixth or seventh-tier ones.

With his limited skills, he could use pills to outmaneuver a fifth-rank opponent, but against a sixth-rank opponent, a single slap would reduce him and his cauldron to dust.

These past few days he's been wandering around the outskirts, fighting any demonic beasts he encounters, digging up any spiritual herbs he finds, and hiding from any lone cultivators he comes across. His gains haven't been huge, but they're not small either.

They dug up seven or eight spiritual herbs that were over a hundred years old, extracted more than a dozen first and second-tier demon cores, and even found a storage bag on a dead person containing more than three thousand spirit stones and several magical artifacts.

Counting the days, the secret realm has been open for almost twenty days. Shen Yifei figured it was about time to leave; one shouldn't be too greedy.

He found a secluded spot, sat cross-legged, and checked the contents of the ring.

Looking at the things scattered all over the ground, Liu Mengli said from inside the cauldron, "Little guy, you've had quite a haul."

She's been much more well-behaved these past few days. She doesn't hum tunes as much anymore, and she speaks very politely, like a completely different person.

"It's alright." Shen Yifei packed his things, stood up, and said, "Time to go."

"Aren't you going to wait until the secret realm closes before leaving?"

"What are we waiting for? If we wait until the secret realm closes, everyone will crowd at the exit, and it'll be chaos, with people fighting and killing each other. I'll leave now and sneak out when no one's looking."

Liu Mengli said "Oh" and didn't say anything more.

Shen Yifei determined the direction and headed towards the entrance of the secret realm. He had been randomly thrown in, but the exit was fixed, located at the stone platform where he had entered.

After walking for most of the day, we arrived near the exit. From afar, we could see that a lot of people had gathered around the stone platform, sitting or lying in twos and threes. Some were healing their wounds, some were taking inventory of their belongings, and some were talking in hushed tones.

Shen Yifei didn't go over. Instead, he found a big tree, leaned against the trunk, and closed his eyes to rest. He would wait until there were fewer people before going out.

After waiting for more than an hour, the people around the stone platform gradually dispersed. Shen Yifei stood up, dusted himself off, and walked towards the stone platform.

He had only taken a few steps when he heard someone call out from behind, "Junior Brother Shen?"

Turning around, I saw Sun Yiran. She had changed into clean clothes, washed the dust off her face, and looked much more refreshed.

"Senior Sister Sun, you haven't left yet?"

"I've been waiting for you." Sun Yiran walked over and looked him up and down. "You've lost weight."

"With such poor food and sleep in there, how could I not lose weight?" Shen Yifei chuckled. "Senior Sister Sun, how have you been doing these past few days?"

"Not bad, I dug up a few more medicinal herbs. How about you?"

"That'll do. Let's go, let's get out of here first."

The two walked together toward the stone platform. There was a circle of light on the platform, emitting a faint golden glow; that was the exit. Shen Yifei stepped inside, and everything went black; the world spun around him.

By the time he came to his senses, he was already standing at the foot of Tianyuan Mountain.

It was daytime outside, and the sunlight stung his eyes. He squinted and looked around; there were already quite a few people in the open space. The Hehuan Sect's flying boat was still there, and Elder Gu stood beneath it, his face grim.

"Elder Gu." Shen Yifei walked over and bowed.

Elder Gu glanced at him, his gaze lingering on him for a moment, and nodded slightly: "Mid-Foundation Establishment stage?"

"Yes, I ate a Ganoderma lucidum inside and broke through."

Sun Yiran stepped out of the halo and walked quickly over. "Elder Gu, I'm back."

Elder Gu's expression softened slightly upon seeing her: "Mid-stage Golden Core? Not bad."

Sun Yiran smiled but didn't reply.

After waiting for a few more days, people started to come out one after another.

Before the secret realm closed, Han Zhengli came out, but Zhou Yuanwu didn't; he died inside. There were also a few others whose names Shen Yifei couldn't recall who didn't come out either.

When Han Zhengli came out, Shen Yifei was leaning against the bottom of the airship, eating dry rations.

This senior brother, who was in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, was covered in dust and dirt. His robe was torn in several places, and there was blood on his left sleeve.

Han Zhengli walked over to the flying boat and plopped down opposite Shen Yifei.

Shen Yifei lowered his head and pretended not to see it. He knew in his heart that this senior brother was a powder keg, and anyone who touched him would explode. He didn't need to provoke him.

Elder Gu counted the heads; there were thirteen people.

Twenty went in, and seven didn't come out. That's not a low casualty rate for exploring secret realms.

"Get on the boat." Elder Gu's voice was unreadable.

One by one, everyone boarded the flying boat. Shen Yifei sat in the same corner seat as before, Sun Yiran sat next to him, and Han Zhengli sat opposite him.

The flying boat slowly rose into the air, heading towards the Hehuan Sect.

After a brief silence, the cabin gradually became lively again.

Those who ventured into the secret realm and emerged alive all managed to acquire some loot. Now that they have some free time, they're all starting to show off.

"Senior Brother Li, how was your harvest this time?" A round-faced male cultivator came over and asked.

The person he was questioning was a man in his thirties at the early stage of the Golden Core realm. He took out a fist-sized piece of ore from his storage bag and placed it on the table.

"Third-grade Xuan Iron, mined from a mine in the eastern part of the secret realm, can be used to forge two spiritual weapons."

"Wow, this is good stuff." The round-faced male cultivator's eyes lit up. "This thing is worth at least two thousand spirit stones on the market."

Senior Brother Li smiled and put the ore away again.

"What's so special about me? Look at Senior Sister Zhou." He gestured towards a girl named Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun leaned against the cabin wall, her arm in a sling, her face still a little pale. She took out a small jade box from her storage bag, opened the lid, and inside lay a pure white Ganoderma lucidum.

"I picked a fourth-grade Snow Spirit Mushroom from a cliff in the north of the secret realm. There was a third-tier venomous python guarding it, and it almost bit me to death." She said, shaking her sling arm. "This wound is from that beast."

"Fourth grade!" The round-faced male cultivator gasped. "This thing can be used to refine fourth-grade pills, right?"

"It's more than just fourth-grade," a male cultivator dressed as a rogue cultivator chimed in. "Snow Spirit Mushroom is the main ingredient for refining Bone-Regenerating Pills. You know Bone-Regenerating Pills, right? They can set broken bones. One pill costs at least five thousand spirit stones."

Zhou Yun carefully put away the jade box, a slight smile playing on her lips, clearly pleased with everyone's reaction.

Then someone pulled out a few spiritual herbs, someone else pulled out a few demon cores, and someone else pulled out a jade slip, saying that they had found a third-grade cultivation technique.

The cabin was bustling with activity, like a marketplace.

Shen Yifei leaned against the corner, closed his eyes, and pretended to be asleep.

Any one of the items in his ring could stun everyone present. But he wasn't stupid; in this kind of situation, the more he flaunted his wealth, the faster he'd die.

Han Zhengli didn't say anything either.

He sat opposite Shen Yifei, arms crossed, face to the window, staring blankly at the clouds outside.

The round-faced male cultivator, probably trying to liven things up, leaned closer to Han Zhengli and said, "Senior Brother Han, what good stuff did you get this time? Show us!"

Han Zhengli's expression turned even uglier.

He didn't say anything, but just hugged his arms tighter.

Seeing that he remained silent, the round-faced male cultivator gave an awkward smile and shrank back.

There was a moment of silence in the cabin, and the atmosphere was a little awkward.