Chapter Four: Wild Game Roasted with Heavenly Pepper Blossom

After Feng Qinghe and his group had gone far, You Xiyue stood up and put the green-glowing stone back into her spatial pouch.

“Let’s go.”

Seeing that You Xiyue was heading up the mountain, Jun Yang asked in confusion, “Are you planning to enter the Cloud Depths Secret Realm with them?”

“Can I even get in?” You Xiyue replied with some exasperation.

“You could go in, but if you did, I’m afraid your cultivation would overwhelm the secret realm and cause it to collapse.”

“There’s nothing particularly valuable in there anyway, no reason to bother.”

“Then why do you want to climb the mountain?”

You Xiyue patted her stomach. “While rummaging in my pouch just now, I found some Heavenly Pepper Blossoms and suddenly craved roast chicken.”

“Heavenly Pepper Blossom Roast Chicken!” Jun Yang’s eyes lit up. “Let’s go, quickly! I’ll catch the chicken.”

Man and beast ventured deep into the forest.

As soon as Jun Yang entered the woods, he locked onto several plump wild animals. “Little Ancestor, wild spirit boar should be good for roasting too, right?”

You Xiyue tilted her head, thinking for a moment. “Go ahead and catch them.”

“Alright!” In a flash, the little snake turned into a streak of white light, shooting toward its chosen prey with lightning speed.

While Jun Yang went hunting, You Xiyue was not idle. She found a clearing, tapped her finger lightly on the ground, and instantly a small pit caved in. Then, with a few swift gestures, she chopped down a large tree, which promptly broke apart into firewood. In the blink of an eye, a roasting rack for the boar was set up.

By the time You Xiyue had finished her preparations, Jun Yang returned, coiled around two wild spirit boars and four blazing fire chickens.

“These are the fattest ones,” Jun Yang said, flicking his tongue and transforming back into his dazzlingly handsome human form. As he set about cleaning the game, he could not help but drool uncharacteristically.

You Xiyue started rummaging through her spatial pouch once more.

By the time Jun Yang had set up the roasting rack and conjured a fireball to light the wood, You Xiyue was still searching.

“Little Ancestor, don’t tell me you’ve lost the Heavenly Pepper Blossoms again?”

“Stop bothering me, I’m about to find them,” You Xiyue replied, impatient.

Jun Yang dared not say another word, grumbling inwardly about how she’d been searching forever and still claimed she was almost done. He glanced up at the sky, no longer holding out any hope.

Having followed You Xiyue for a decade, he was all too familiar with how chaotic her spatial pouch was—never mind the two nearly full storage earrings, even the pouch itself was crammed to bursting.

Just as he was grumbling to himself, a miracle occurred: You Xiyue actually managed to find the Heavenly Pepper Blossoms.

This celestial herb was famed for its aroma, which, when used in cooking, imbued food with extraordinary savor and lingering aftertaste. It was a discovery You Xiyue and Jun Yang had made by chance, and ever since, they were enamored with the flavor—saving every Heavenly Pepper Blossom they found to use in roast chicken.

Pinching the flower by its stem, You Xiyue released a faint spiritual pressure from her fingertips, instantly grinding the blossom into powder and sprinkling it over the roasting boar and chicken. The fragrance drifted through the entire forest, so much so that even Feng Qinghe and his companions, nearly at the summit of Misty Cloud Mountain and the Qinglan Sect, could smell it.

“What’s that smell? It’s amazing…” Feng Ling’er lifted her head, sniffing around.

Feng Qinghe caught the scent as well. It was certainly tantalizing, but as cultivators, they were not particularly fixated on food. “Let’s go. We’re almost at Qinglan Sect. We can’t be late for the time to enter the Cloud Depths Secret Realm.”

“Yes,” the group answered and pressed on.

The longer the chicken roasted, the deeper the flavor of the Heavenly Pepper Blossom permeated, and the farther the aroma drifted.

Jun Yang frowned, glancing up toward the summit. “Looks like the people up there are trying to trace the source of the smell.”

“Yes,” You Xiyue replied, her spiritual sense also registering the activity at the mountaintop. With a snap of her fingers, an immortal barrier rose up around the two of them.

The aroma was thus blocked, and no one searching down the mountain would pass by their spot.

“Now we can eat in peace,” Jun Yang said, patiently turning the roast boar and handing a freshly roasted chicken to You Xiyue.

You Xiyue took a deep breath. “It smells wonderful.” She began to eat contentedly.

Jun Yang had a voracious appetite. You Xiyue finished one roast chicken and a few bites of boar, feeling full, while the rest was quickly devoured by Jun Yang.

Afterward, Jun Yang reverted to his snake form, contentedly patting his belly with his tail. He sighed, “Only by following you, Little Ancestor, can I eat like this. Using Heavenly Pepper Blossoms for a mere feast—if those old immortals found out, they’d probably cough up blood in distress.”

Unfazed, You Xiyue once again pulled out the green-glowing stone, set it on the ground, and lay down to rest.

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the Cloud Depths Secret Realm, disciples from every sect had gathered in a dense crowd.

As the territory belonged to the Qinglan Sect, it was only fitting that they presided over the proceedings.

The host was True Lord Yun Zhaozhen, head of Azure Mist Peak—Yun Tianhe.

“Today marks the opening of the Cloud Depths Secret Realm, which opens once every fifty years. May all the young talents of the sects seize this opportunity. Each of you will receive a life-preserving jade token—crush it to leave the secret realm instantly. If you linger in battle, life and death are your own fate; our sect bears no responsibility. Now, disciples below the Golden Core stage, please line up and enter one by one.”

“Brother Qinghe, I’m going into the secret realm,” Feng Ling’er said, looking up at him with flushed cheeks.

Feng Qinghe glanced down, giving a slight nod before looking at those standing behind Feng Ling’er. “Be careful. If you encounter mortal danger, crush your jade token immediately. If you survive, everything else can be sorted out.”

“Yes, Third Young Master,” the group replied respectfully.

“Go on,” Feng Qinghe instructed, then turned and left for the rest area prepared for the Feng Clan by the Qinglan Sect.

Feng Ling’er looked back reluctantly before heading into the secret realm with the others.

Soon, only the heads of each sect remained at the entrance, each waiting quietly in their designated area.

True Lord Yun Zhaozhen approached Feng Qinghe with a beaming smile. “True Lord Feng An truly lives up to the Feng Clan’s bloodline—reaching the Nascent Soul stage at just three hundred years old.”

Feng Qinghe stood up, showing neither modesty nor arrogance. “You flatter me.”

“I wonder, True Lord Feng An, did you notice a strange and wonderful fragrance while climbing the mountain?” Yun Zhaozhen inquired.

Feng Qinghe nodded. “I did.”

“Do you know where it came from? Did you notice anything unusual?”

Feng Qinghe shook his head. “No.”

Yun Zhaozhen looked up at the sky. “Recently, immortal cranes have often been seen flying over Misty Cloud Mountain.”

Feng Qinghe glanced at him in surprise. Immortal cranes were auspicious creatures, always heralds of good fortune. “What are you implying, True Lord Yun?”

Yun Zhaozhen chuckled. “It’s just a guess. With immortal cranes and this sudden marvelous scent, perhaps a world-shaking artifact is about to emerge.”

“If such an artifact truly appears, Misty Cloud Mountain will be a lively place indeed.” Feng Qinghe gazed off into the distance. “Does the Qinglan Sect have a means of protecting itself?”

Yun Zhaozhen’s smile froze, understanding Feng Qinghe’s meaning instantly.

If it were an ordinary artifact, perhaps Qinglan Sect could claim it, but if it were something of immortal grade or higher? Even the Upper Realm might send people, and Misty Cloud Mountain could fall into chaos. How many of its peaks could withstand such turmoil from the Upper Realm?

With an awkward smile, Yun Zhaozhen said, “It’s only speculation. There may not be an artifact appearing at all.”

Unfortunately, just as he finished speaking, the entire Misty Cloud Mountain began to tremble, and even the Cloud Depths Secret Realm was affected.

A beam of golden light exploded in the distance.

It was a long time before peace returned.