C34 What If the Amount Is too Much?

"Seal the city gates and dig three feet into the ground if you have to, but find Anqi for me!" Qing Heng bellowed inside the room. "Where is she? Send someone to scour the underground river, both upstream and downstream!"

"Qing Yi, get on it," Qing Heng ordered, his brow furrowed in frustration, once everyone had dispersed. "Root out the traitor who leaked our clan's information. I want them drawn and quartered!"

It was inconceivable that such a confidential matter could be discovered, let alone exploited. Someone had pinpointed a vulnerability in the plan, ambushed the second group, and then masqueraded as them. Such seamless execution was impossible without an informant...

...

Lee Yu was oblivious to the events transpiring outside. Awakening from his stupor, he found himself in an idyllic setting, alive with birdsong, floral scents, and bathed in sunshine.

Glancing back, Lee Yu saw no sign of a cave entrance. The water that had been dragged along by the mysterious force had also vanished. Testing the ground beneath his feet, he found it soft but not soggy. Even if the soil had absorbed the water, it shouldn't feel like this.

"This place is eerie," Lee Yu murmured to himself.

He surveyed the area. The water had disappeared, and so had Qing Anqi. The cave that had unleashed that powerful suction was an anomaly in itself. If he had seen the disturbance sooner, he would have steered clear. But fate had it erupt just as he passed by, catching him completely off guard.

Rubbing his temples, Lee Yu felt a surge of anxiety. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an unusual sprig of grass.

"Huh?"

The grass looked ordinary, yet it emitted tiny arcs of lightning. Each flicker was accompanied by a pulse of Thunder Spiritual Force.

Lee Yu watched intently, realizing the lightning's intermittent nature was why he hadn't noticed it before.

"A thunder attribute spiritual entity," Lee Yu thought, delighted. He plucked the grass and then sensed another ripple of spiritual energy nearby. Turning, he saw a fiery red flower. As the breeze caressed it, a spark of flame danced within its petals.

Lee Yu's eyes widened as he cried out, "A fire-attributed spiritual object!"

Spiritual objects encompassed a broad range of items, generally described as those imbued with a rich concentration of spiritual energy.

In the wild, such objects were often guarded by mystical beasts, as they greatly aided in the beasts' cultivation. Having already spotted two spiritual objects, Lee Yu, ever cautious, was now on high alert to avoid any surprise attacks from these guardians.

After all, while spiritual objects were invaluable, life was priceless.

"Team 1 has nothing to report."

"Team 2 has nothing to report."

"Team 12 has nothing to report."

One by one, the teams emerged from the underground river, each report casting a deeper shadow over Qing Heng's already darkening expression. Beneath his commanding visage simmered a volcano on the verge of eruption.

Several Fourth Grade individuals also exited the river. One elder among them shook his head at Qing Heng, "County Duke, there are no signs of the formation being tampered with."

The Qing family had fortified this place for years, embedding formations in the heavens and the earth to create an impenetrable defense. It was this security that allowed the Fourth Grade masters, usually hidden in the shadows, to slightly withdraw during this operation.

After all, they were in their 'home.' Who could have imagined a child vanishing from within a securely locked home?

"Futile!" Qing Heng bit back his rage and stormed off, his robes billowing behind him.

...

Lee Yu shed his long robe and gathered the spiritual objects he had collected into a makeshift bundle, slinging it over his shoulder.

His undergarments were still soaked as he hummed a tune, foraging for a path while scavenging for more spiritual objects.

Though unfamiliar with his surroundings, Lee Yu marveled at the abundance of spiritual objects scattered everywhere. Most importantly, the absence of other creatures made it exceedingly safe.

"Indeed, fortune follows the protagonist after a great ordeal," Lee Yu mused contentedly.

Meanwhile, Qing Anqi was engaged in a fierce battle, her sword clashing against the two puppets before her.

Standing at nearly two meters tall, the silver puppets were formidable opponents. Despite Qing Anqi's relentless slashing and thrusting, her blade failed to inflict any damage upon them.

Moreover, they moved with swift and formidable force. Only when struck in their darker-colored areas would they momentarily falter.

"Keep it up, I can definitely do this," Qing Anqi murmured, her peripheral vision catching the glimmer of light on the stone wall. Each time she landed a hit on the puppet's marked spots, another light dot appeared on the wall.

She had previously conquered a stone chamber housing a bronze puppet. After striking it fifty times, not only did she gain access to the current chamber with two puppets, but she also received a substantial reward.

Qing Anqi was unsure of her whereabouts, yet it was clear these puppets served as a means of training for the trials.

"Lee Yu must be undergoing his trial in another chamber," Qing Anqi mused, hoping to encounter him once she completed her own. She couldn't help but wonder, though, would he be able to hold his own?

Qing Anqi felt a twinge of concern. Lee Yu hadn't mastered any martial techniques, and the puppet she now faced possessed the strength of a typical Eighth Grade Supreme Dao cultivator.

"Anqi is probably off in some corner, gathering Lingzhi, right?"

Meanwhile, Lee Yu, the subject of Qing Anqi's thoughts, leaped over a fire-attribute spirit item without a second glance. He wasn't impressed by it.

He hadn't been taught how to discern the quality of spirit items, but he trusted his intuition, using the presence of spiritual energy to gauge their worth.

Sure, there might be discrepancies. Some precious spirit items lacked substantial attributes, but that was of little consequence to him. With an abundance of spirit items, missing out on a few didn't bother him.

"This one's too ugly; I don't want it!"

"This one's not bad," Lee Yu commented upon spotting another spirit item, only to shake his head in dismissal. "Too bad I've already got several like it. I'll pass."

After what felt like an eternity, Lee Yu's eyes caught sight of an altar-like structure in the distance. His heart leapt with excitement, and he dashed toward it.

It was the first structure he had encountered in this strange land.

As he drew near, an unexpected event unfolded.

A spectral woman materialized atop the altar, her face devoid of emotion. "Challenger, congratulations on passing the Green God Trial. You have ten minutes to harvest any ten spiritual items of your choosing."

Lee Yu was at a loss for words. Was the examiner referring to him?

He glanced back at the bulging bag, nearly half his height and likely dozens of times heavier than what he had brought. The most crucial point was that, having filled his robe to the brim, he, like a diligent little bee, had stealthily made two trips back to Blue Star. After all, when it comes to good stuff, one should take as much as possible.

At that moment, Lee Yu felt a twinge of guilt.

Thankfully, the ethereal woman remained still after her declaration.

Lee Yu cautiously refrained from stepping into the altar's domain, instead gazing blankly at the woman's back. Since her arrival, she had been facing the altar's heart.

"..." Lee Yu mumbled to himself, "Am I exploiting a glitch?"

It appeared he had overstayed and overindulged in the Qing Shen trial's reward space. By some stroke of luck, the phantom woman lacked intelligence.

At the altar's core lay an eight trigrams design, with an arched, ornately carved stone pillar at two of its points. As Lee Yu pondered his next move, beams of light danced across the pillar, eventually converging and solidifying.

The inverted U-shaped pillar now radiated a soft, milky glow.

"A teleportation portal?" Lee Yu mused, recognizing the similarity to countless films and games.

Then, a little girl emerged from within.

The spectral woman began to speak, "Trial Challenger, congratulations on flawlessly completing the Qing Shen trial. You have fifteen minutes to freely harvest twenty spiritual plants.”

Lee Yu squinted, a sense of recognition washing over him. “This figure seems so familiar.”