Han Li suddenly recalled the young girl he had encountered inside the forbidden ground and glanced involuntarily toward the direction of Spirit Beast Mountain. To his relief, he found Han Yunzhi sitting obediently on the ground, her complexion calm and peaceful, with nothing untoward having occurred. This put Han Li's mind at ease.
As the closure of the passage drew near, the expressions of the Moon Veil Sect members grew increasingly grim.
Meanwhile, the disciples of the other sects wore outward expressions of concern for the Moon Veil Sect disciples, but inwardly they were rejoicing. After all, as the largest sect in the Yue State, the Moon Veil Sect had long been a target of envy. The chance to slightly weaken their strength was naturally welcome.
Whether it was the irony of their thoughts working against them, when only a quarter of an hour remained before the passage closed, a white figure suddenly flashed from within. A squad of over ten Moon Veil Sect disciples emerged in orderly fashion, led by none other than the stunningly beautiful Nangong Wan.
At the sight of their return, Old Monster Qiong merely let out a long breath of relief. But Fairy Nishang could not contain herself—she rushed forward and seized Nangong Wan's arm, peppering her with questions of deep concern, her worry written plainly across her face.
This scene drew the attention of the others, who looked on in puzzlement. This was hardly surprising. Although Nangong Wan had met these Core Formation stage cultivators a few times before, she had always worn a veil, never revealing her true face. None of them recognized that this beautiful young woman was the "Fairy Nangong" they had met on prior occasions.
Seeing her emerge safely, Han Li felt genuinely relieved. After all, she was the first woman he had ever been intimate with in this lifetime. Even though he knew that no further fortune could be had between them, he could not help but feel concern for her.
However, Ancestor Li and Fuyunzi wore somewhat forced smiles. This was understandable—setting aside how many spirit herbs the Moon Veil Sect had actually harvested, the mere fact that more of their disciples had walked out of the forbidden ground alive than both their sects combined was enough to leave them feeling quite dejected.
"It seems all the disciples should have come out by now. Those who haven't—" the leader from Spirit Beast Mountain cleared his throat and began to speak.
But before he could finish, someone came scrambling out of the nearly closed passage in a most undignified manner. It turned out to be none other than the old rogue Xiang Zhili from the Yellow Maple Valley. The burly swordsman from the Giant Sword Sect and the young Daoist who had been collecting herbs with him, however, were nowhere to be seen.
The moment the old man tumbled out of the passage, a tremor emanated from the direction of the forbidden ground. Then, with a flash of green light, the passage shattered and vanished without a trace.
At this point, anyone still trapped inside the forbidden ground could only face certain death. No disciple who failed to exit in time had ever reappeared when the forbidden ground was next opened—they simply vanished for reasons unknown. This was precisely why no one dared to delay.
Still, that the old rogue—a mere tenth-level disciple of the Yellow Maple Valley—had managed to escape with his life at the very last moment was truly beyond the expectation of these powerful figures. They could not help but cast several appraising glances at Xiang Zhili.
"Brother Li, I never expected your valley to be so full of talent! Not only did an eleventh-level disciple manage to walk out of the forbidden ground, but even a tenth-level disciple preserved his life as well. Your sect truly has excellent methods of instruction—I am quite impressed!" The cultivator from the Giant Sword Sect saw that only two of his own disciples had emerged from the forbidden ground, and the barefoot man in whom he had placed the greatest hope had not returned. Yet the Yellow Maple Valley had managed to save even two low-level disciples. Resentment welled up inside him, and he could not resist a few barbed remarks.
Ancestor Li's face darkened. He too believed that both Han Li and Xiang Zhili were opportunists who had hidden away throughout the ordeal. He shot the old rogue a venomous glare, but still felt compelled to defend the two aloud:
"These juniors possess only shallow cultivation techniques. That they managed to preserve their lives is their own good fortune. As for the methods they employed, there is no need for us elders to criticize further."
"Hmph!"
The Giant Sword Sect cultivator, seeing Ancestor Li put on such a pretense, found it exceedingly disagreeable and was about to say more when Old Monster Qiong spoke up with some impatience:
"What is there for the two of you to argue about? If people can come out alive, that is the younger generation's capability. Would you have them charge in recklessly knowing they would fail? But—Brother Li! Hurry up and check the results of the wager. Better to settle it sooner rather than later. Do you expect a man of my age to wait around here indefinitely?"
The old man clearly put on an act of leveraging his seniority, but neither the Giant Sword Sect cultivator nor Ancestor Li dared to anger him. They exchanged a glance, shared an awkward laugh, and let the matter drop. After all, bearing the grudge of such a monster would bring nothing but misfortune.
Thus, under Old Monster Qiong's urging, Daoist Fuyunzi of the Pure Void Sect and Ancestor Li had no choice but to swallow their pride and cooperate. They had the disciples who had emerged from the forbidden ground from all three sects display their harvests one by one to determine the outcome of the wager.
The Pure Void Sect had only four Daoists exit the forbidden ground this time. But when the middle-aged Daoist who had emerged first laid out his spirit herbs, everyone's expression shifted slightly.
"Three mature Blood Orchids of one hundred years, two Heavenly Spirit Fruits of three hundred years, three Jade Marrow Fungi of four hundred years..."
The Daoist continuously produced eleven or twelve spirit herbs, placing them one after another on the ground. The sheer quantity left onlookers astonished. Only Fuyunzi, the one who had made the bet, smiled with quiet self-satisfaction, apparently quite pleased by the shocked expressions of the others.
The elderly man from the Yellow Maple Valley who had gone up first, along with the male disciple of the Moon Veil Sect, produced far fewer specimens—only a sparse handful each.
The second Daoist from the Pure Void Sect produced less extravagant results, but still had seven or eight spirit herbs—considerably more than an average harvest. This made Ancestor Li feel uneasy, and even Old Monster Qiong's cheerful expression faded, turning serious for the first time.
The powerful figures from the other four sects, having heard about the wager, naturally stepped forward to observe. Seeing this, they too were secretly amazed.
However, the spirit herbs brought forward by the Chen siblings eventually brought some relief to Ancestor Li, as their combined harvest totaled nearly twenty specimens, comparable to the two Daoists' totals. And the next Pure Void Sect disciple performed at a normal level, producing only four.
As for the Moon Veil Sect, they maintained their ordinary standard—three consecutive disciples each produced fewer than five, allowing both the Daoist and Ancestor Li to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
But when the next young man from the Yellow Maple Valley stepped forward to display his spirit herbs, he hesitated and, with great embarrassment, produced only three specimens. This nearly made Ancestor Li's nose twist with rage, and he was on the verge of cursing aloud. He had placed no hope whatsoever on Han Li and the old rogue contributing anything.
By rights, it should have been Han Li's turn next. But who would have thought that old rogue Xiang would dart forward and cut in front of Han Li? He then reverently produced two Purple Monkey Flowers, which caught Ancestor Li by surprise and improved his mood somewhat—though only slightly. Even though the spirit herbs before him now exceeded the Pure Void Sect's by one or two specimens, as long as the final Daoist produced an average amount, he would still lose the bet. He had no expectations of Han Li's harvest, figuring that the boy would at best match the old rogue with two or three specimens—which would already be doing his duty as a low-level disciple.
Thinking of this, Ancestor Li glanced at Fuyunzi, only to find the latter looking equally restless. Their eyes happened to meet, and after a brief moment of mutual surprise, they quickly looked away and continued to focus on the wager.
The last Daoist to step forward was a white-haired elder. He walked up unhurriedly and began producing herbs one by one at a leisurely pace, his glacial manner making everyone want to roll their eyes.
But when he had laid out five spirit herbs and still reached into his storage bag, Ancestor Li's expression turned dark, while Fuyunzi beamed with delight. As for the Moon Veil Sect disciples, neither of them could spare them a moment's thought.
In the end, the white-haired Daoist produced a grand total of seven spirit herbs—an astonishing feat that left all onlookers thoroughly surprised.
Seeing this, Ancestor Li's face had turned ashen. The Daoist, however, eagerly shifted his attention to the Moon Veil Sect disciples, believing the victory over the Yellow Maple Valley was already secured.
Now, Han Li stepped forward. The others merely glanced at him before turning their eyes to the Moon Veil Sect, completely ignoring him.
Ancestor Li noticed this as well, but he did not so much as look at Han Li. He believed there was no chance of turning the tide, and that this eleventh-level disciple stepping up would only bring further embarrassment. Naturally, he showed Han Li no kindness in his expression.
Han Li paid no attention to the others' behavior, nor did he have any thought of concealing mature herbs or producing fewer than he actually possessed.
Each sect's two accompanying stewards had brought along one or two scent-tracking spirit beasts. These strange creatures, resembling squirrels, could smell any spirit herb of a hundred years or more concealed within a three-zhang radius—even inside storage bags.
Therefore, every disciple who emerged from the forbidden ground, after voluntarily surrendering their spirit herbs, still had to be sniffed over by these small beasts before they could leave. This was to prevent any disciple with dishonest intentions from smuggling herbs out.
Han Li walked to the designated spot, took out a storage bag he had long prepared, and without ceremony turned it upside down. With a flash of white light, a massive pile of over twenty spirit herbs of various kinds spilled onto the ground.