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When Hexin woke up, she saw Qin Shu and Chiyu standing by the river, holding a woven grass fishing net.

The net was reinforced with Qin Shu's wood-attribute spiritual energy, making it sturdy enough to withstand Silverwhites' bites.

"This actually works?" Hexin was amazed.

Qin Shu, sensing the timing was right, swiftly pulled the net up—successfully catching a few fish.

Chiyu took out a small bottle, placed the fish inside, and filled it with water. Qin Shu repeated the process twice more until Chiyu's bottle was full.

This was more than enough for sword practice, and if they got hungry, they could always fish out a couple for a meal.

After erasing any traces of their presence, the trio unanimously decided to head toward the central palace on the map.

Even though everyone claimed there was nothing of value there, every new batch of disciples still insisted on checking it out themselves.

With four days left before the trial ended, they spent two just traveling.

As they neared the palace, they started encountering other sect disciples.

**"Hand over the Glowing Spirit Orchid!"**

**"Why should I? I found it, it's mine!"**

**"I saw it first! I was the one who lured away the rabbits!"**

**"Possession is ownership! Just seeing it means nothing!"**

...

Hearing the word "rabbit," Hexin's ears perked up.

Rabbits? They had taken down three of those already—so why hadn't they seen any Glowing Spirit Orchid?

Lost in thought, she lagged behind while Qin Shu and Chiyu continued ahead.

Snapping out of it, she quickly caught up. "Aren't we going to stop them?"

Chiyu remained silent, but Qin Shu glanced at her, smiling. "If you go over now, they won't see you as a peacemaker—they'll think you're after a share."

Hexin frowned. "They mentioned rabbits... We fought three, but we didn't see any Glowing Spirit Orchid."

Seeing her troubled expression, Qin Shu patted her shoulder. "Sister, sometimes fate gives, sometimes it takes. No use forcing it."

Hexin pondered for a moment—then immediately heard Qin Shu add, **"Seems like in the cultivation world, luck isn't enough—you need sharp eyes too."**

Hexin: "..."

Was it really just her eyesight?

Unacceptable! She had to find a technique to train her vision. No more treasures would escape her notice!

Just as they were about to leave, the arguing disciples suddenly united—**"Stop right there!"**

None of them responded, but the next moment, a talisman came flying their way.

Qin Shu reacted quickly, forming an earth-attribute shield that enveloped the three of them.

Hexin flinched at first, expecting danger—but when the talisman activated, all it did was release a tiny spark.

She was instantly disappointed.

"This is it? Second Senior Brother's talismans can wipe out a horde of monsters. This thing wouldn't even impress me at a New Year's celebration!"

Hearing her blunt critique, Qin Shu chuckled. "Probably a new disciple from the Talisman Sect—still in training."

With a flick of her wrist, the shield dissipated. Turning to the two disciples, she asked, "What's this? Did you stop us just to demand a share of the orchid?"

At her words, the two immediately grew wary.

One clutched a talisman, the other gripped a sword. Judging by their sect badges, one was an inner disciple of the Sword Sect.

**"Attacking fellow disciples is a crime punishable by expulsion!"** one of them shouted.

Qin Shu raised an eyebrow. "Then why call us over? You want us to mediate?"

The two glanced at each other, hesitant. Truthfully, they were just worried the trio would call for reinforcements.

Chiyu, however, had no patience for this. With her fire-attribute heavenly spirit root, she was naturally fiery-tempered.

She simply unsheathed her sword and asked, **"Are we fighting or not?"**

**"The Scarlet Sky Sword?!"** The Sword Sect disciple instantly recognized it.

**"Chiyu! Run!"**

Anyone in the sect had heard of Chiyu.

Rumor had it that after joining the Alchemy Sect, her master had given her the legendary Tempering Gold Elixir, making her a pure fire-attribute heavenly spirit root cultivator.

Who could possibly win against that? Not to mention she was of the demon race—her natural defense alone would be near-impenetrable.

**"You're not getting away! That orchid is mine!"** the Talisman Sect disciple yelled, chasing after the fleeing swordsman.

Chiyu sighed, slightly disappointed.

Qin Shu smirked. "A swordsman who's afraid to fight? Not a real swordsman at all."

Chiyu nodded. A true swordsman needed courage. Without it, how could they ever master the blade?

Just as she sheathed her sword, the two disciples returned.

But this time, something massive was chasing them.

**"Help!"**

**"Save us!"**

Qin Shu turned to look—and her heart nearly stopped.

A colossal beast, resembling a giant ox, was thundering toward them, raising clouds of dust like a stampede.

The two tiny figures in front of it looked like they could be crushed under a single hoof.

Panic surged through Qin Shu—she grabbed Hexin and shouted, **"Run! That's a Stage Three demon beast, a Green Barbaric Bull! We don't stand a chance!"**

A Stage Three demon beast was roughly equivalent to a human Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even if all of them worked together, they'd still get flattened.

As she sprinted, she pulled out a Bodhi Leaf, tossed Hexin onto it, and jumped on herself after a few more strides.

Chiyu, of course, had it easiest—she simply transformed into her original form and flew.

Sitting on the Bodhi Leaf, Qin Shu turned back, trying to draw the beast's attention.

Fireball, Vine Bind, Earth Split.

She used everything she had—but nothing could so much as scratch the beast. The best she could do was buy the others a few more seconds.

Hexin, seeing this, followed suit with her own Fireballs.

For the Green Barbaric Bull, their attacks were no more than mild irritations.

But even small annoyances could add up.

With a furious bellow, the bull scraped at the ground, turned its head—**and locked onto them instead.**

**"No worries! It can't fly!"** Hexin reassured them.

At that moment, a bolt of lightning crashed down from the clear sky.

Both Qin Shu and Hexin barely dodged in time.

Their gazes darted to the bull—its horns crackled with electricity.

Chiyu launched a fireball at it, while the two cowardly disciples had already fled, showing no intention of fighting alongside them.

Qin Shu had no time to be angry. She urgently pulled out her flying turtle, popped a Qi Recovery Pill, and shouted, **"Senior Sister! We can't win—run!"**

**"You go first, I'll hold it off."** Chiyu's voice was calm.

Qin Shu caught a glimpse of her agile movements and made a split-second decision.

She cast Earth Split and Vine Bind again.

**"Together!"** she yelled, grabbing Hexin and dashing away.

In that same moment, Hexin threw out her own Vine Bind.