Yun Rumo woke up once again to find herself in a dark cave, with a ribbon tied around her hands. Although it looked as though a single tug would snap it, no matter how many times she tried, Yun Rumo still could not break the ribbon.
"Don't waste your energy. That is a low-grade tier-one magical item, the White Cloud Ribbon. There's no way you can break free."
Only then did Yun Rumo notice that someone was actually standing in the darkness; she hadn't seen them at all a moment ago.
Looking at the woman wearing a mask over her face, Yun Rumo said in a soft, gentle tone, "Big sister, I didn't see anything. Can you let me go?"
Though Yun Rumo had been bullied for many years, that didn't mean she was a fool. She still knew how to behave in different situations.
Since the person hadn't killed her, it meant she temporarily didn't want to kill her, or perhaps she considered her to have some utility value. Therefore, Yun Rumo spoke up to probe the woman's thoughts from a different angle.
Unfortunately, Yun Rumo's intentions were seen through at a glance. The woman said coldly, "Don't try any tricks. Rest assured, I won't kill you, but there's no way I'm letting you out either."
Looking at the woman clad in tight black clothing, Yun Rumo thought with profound confusion, "Is this woman sick in the head?"
Alas, the woman could not perceive the thoughts in Yun Rumo's mind. After pasting a talisman onto Yun Rumo's head, she took back her magical item.
"Don't worry, it's very safe here. Who knows, we might not even need to wait seven days," the woman said with a hidden meaning.
Regrettably, Yun Rumo ignored her and angrily tried to peel off that yellowish-brown talisman instead. Sadly, pinned in place by the tier-one Immobilization Talisman, Yun Rumo couldn't even move a muscle, let alone tear off the talisman herself.
"No, Auntie must be worried sick right now. Yunmo, believe in yourself. You can definitely break through a mere talisman!" Yun Rumo circulated the Canglan Art, attempting to use spiritual qi to force open the seal of the Immobilization Talisman. Unfortunately, being only at Qi Refining Level 1, Yun Rumo could barely try a few times before her body's spiritual qi was completely exhausted.
Thus, Yun Rumo practiced cultivation to recover her spiritual qi, and then continued trying to break through that talisman once she had recovered.
***
Meanwhile, on the other side, Lin Moyu had already fallen from the sea of clouds back down to the ground. Looking at the picturesque and scenic Lingyun Realm, Lin Moyu had already figured out which types of spiritual herbs to harvest.
The most precious resource in the Lingyun Realm was a tier-two Cangyun Fruit tree. However, because it was guarded by a peak tier-two bear demon, and this secret realm restricted cultivators above the Qi Refining Stage from entering, very few people were ever able to bring the Cangyun Fruits out.
As for taking the tree along with them, there once was a cultivator at Qi Refining Level 10 Perfection who entered the secret realm carrying a pseudo-tier-three magical treasure, severely injuring the peak tier-two demonic bear and finally leaving the secret realm with the Cangyun Fruits.
As a result, after leaving the secret realm, the Cangyun Fruit tree began to wither—it could only grow within the Lesser Cangyun Secret Realm—so it had to be sent back later.
Because the fruit tree could not be taken away, no Qi Refining cultivators ever brought pseudo-magical treasures into the secret realm again. On the other hand, ordinary Qi Refining cultivators were completely incapable of snatching the Cangyun Fruits from the hands of the peak tier-two demonic bear, so the value of the Cangyun Fruits gradually rose.
The Cangyun Fruit was the main ingredient for the top-grade tier-two medicinal pill, the Illusory Cloud Pill, and also one of the auxiliary ingredients for the pseudo-tier-three Enlightenment Pill. Since the pseudo-tier-three Enlightenment Pill was an essential medicinal pill for cultivating an Acquired Spiritual Physique, the Cangyun Fruits had always been in a state where demand outstripped supply.
Yet the Cangyun Fruit tree only bore three fruits every three years, and the price was merely a thousand Spirit Stones. Qi Refining cultivators capable of borrowing pseudo-tier-three magical treasures looked down on this price, while those who had their eyes on it couldn't borrow a pseudo-tier-three magical treasure to fight the peak tier-two demonic bear.
Thus, this fell into a vicious cycle. Although Lin Moyu did not possess a pseudo-tier-three magical treasure, relying on his methods to snatch a few Cangyun Fruits from the peak tier-two demonic bear was still more than enough.
This was the confidence that the Blood Talisman Killing Scripture gave Lin Moyu. A single hand full of offensive talismans was enough for Lin Moyu to remain invincible all the way to the Deity Transformation Stage; after that, it would all depend on whether he could find the subsequent cultivation techniques.
Opening the small Rubik's Cube and locking onto his position via the map inside, Lin Moyu walked toward the low peak where the Cangyun Fruit tree was located.
Although Lin Moyu's current spiritual qi reserves were sufficient for him to fly on a sword, it was a pity that without a flying sword and sword flight techniques, Lin Moyu couldn't shake off the fate of walking on foot for the time being.
Even though Lin Moyu had drawn a few Azure Cloud Floating Talismans, it merely changed his mode of travel from walking on the ground to walking in the air.
Therefore, once the talisman's effect ended, Lin Moyu stopped wasting spiritual talisman paper; he didn't have much inventory left on him anyway.
***
Lin Ruyu followed the Item-Seeking Talisman to a cave. Looking at the corpse inside, Lin Ruyu didn't act rashly; instead, she first observed the surrounding environment.
Seeing messy traces not far away and combining them with the previous guidance of the Item-Seeking Talisman, Lin Ruyu guessed that after arriving here, Yun Rumo had been ambushed and taken away.
As for why the attacker hadn't dealt a fatal blow, she couldn't guess the reason, but as long as Yun Rumo was still unharmed, it was acceptable.
Looking at the tier-one Item-Seeking Talisman that had already lost its effect, Lin Ruyu took out a talisman drawn on cyan talisman paper with a slight ache in her heart.
"Tier-two Qi-Seeking Talisman, I hope you can pull your weight." Lin Ruyu channeled her spiritual qi into the tier-two talisman—the Qi-Seeking Talisman—to search for Yun Rumo's traces once more.
***
"Is that the tier-two spiritual entity, the Cangyun Fruit tree?" Hiding in a tree with an Invisibility Talisman pasted on his body, Lin Moyu looked at the peak tier-two Iron-Backed Bear demon sleeping beneath the Cangyun Fruit tree.
Originally, Lin Moyu had only intended to take the three newly ripened fruits. However, upon truly seeing the Cangyun Fruits hanging all over the tree, Lin Moyu's heart was tempted as well.
"There must be eighty or ninety fruits here. A single Cangyun Fruit can sell for three hundred Spirit Stones..." Lin Moyu calculated in his mind, and immediately wanted to sweep up all those Cangyun Fruits in one go.
Only, his ambitions were grand, while reality was cruel.
Not only did Lin Moyu lack a spatial storage item, but he also couldn't manage to escape instantly while carrying dozens of Cangyun Fruits.
Although he hadn't thought of any good methods yet, Lin Moyu simply began to calm his mind and wait for an opportunity to arise. Having no opportunity right now did not mean there wouldn't be one later.
As long as Lin Moyu could sweep up all those Cangyun Fruits in one go, he wouldn't lack Spirit Stones to use for a very long time.
Just as Lin Moyu peaceably began to wait, a person he least expected actually appeared in this place.
"Zihan?" Lin Moyu was dumbfounded. The genius from Huayang High School he had mentioned earlier was Zihan, the possessor of an Acquired Spiritual Physique.
Of course, Lin Moyu's relationship with Zihan could not be considered good, nor could it be considered too bad; it could only be described as a chance encounter. As for why Lin Moyu, this former good-for-nothing, knew Zihan—that was another story altogether.
It was a dark and windy night. After school let out, Lin Moyu hadn't gone home yet; instead, he had sneaked into the classroom...