"Something delicious?"
Nangong Yu looked at Wang Baole with a face full of confusion. She sniffed the air but didn't smell anything.
Seeing her adorable expression, Wang Baole smiled and said, "Just follow me. I promise you won't be disappointed."
"Okay."
Nangong Yu nodded slightly.
The two of them flew into the giant crevice together.
At first, the path was narrow. After flying for about fifteen minutes, they discovered that there was an entirely new world within the mountain, and the spiritual energy inside was even denser than outside.
Could it be that Young Master Wang's sword earlier had nearly struck the spiritual vein of Hundred Treasures Mountain?
Just as this thought flashed through Nangong Yu's mind, she saw countless points of light ahead.
They flew toward the lights and found that the stone walls were covered with glowing mushrooms, twinkling like stars.
However, none of these mushrooms were edible. They didn't pick any and instead landed on the ground to continue exploring.
Nangong Yu stayed close to Wang Baole, full of curiosity about what exactly had caught his interest.
After walking in the darkness for who knew how long, they suddenly heard the sound of rushing water.
It was an underground river. Nangong Yu bent down and scooped up some of the water, discovering that it was brimming with spiritual energy.
"This is a spiritual river. Looks like there's a spiritual spring here inside the mountain."
Wang Baole's eyes lit up immediately. If he could bring the spiritual spring back to the Miscellaneous Dao Institute, he'd get to drink spiritual water every day.
With that thought in mind, he cupped his hands and drank a mouthful. "Ah… refreshing. I wonder if there are any fish in this spring?"
Nangong Yu said, "We can use our spiritual senses to check."
The two of them began probing the river with their senses, and before long, they discovered dozens of one-foot-long, palm-sized fish with translucent bodies and dragon-like tails swimming through the dark river.
"Let's eat some fish first."
Wang Baole rolled up his sleeves excitedly and began fishing.
The fish had clearly lived in the dark river for countless years and had no sense of danger.
With just one strike of his machete, Wang Baole skewered a fish. The others didn't even react.
This made him immensely pleased. After removing the fish from his blade, he caught two more before the dragon-tailed fish scattered in alarm.
Wang Baole wasn't discouraged. He started cooking immediately.
Soon, the cave was filled with an incredibly enticing aroma.
Even though Nangong Yu had tasted many delicacies before, the scent still made her unconsciously swallow a mouthful of saliva.
Gulp!
The sound wasn't loud, but in the quiet cave, it was especially clear.
Nangong Yu's cheeks instantly turned red. She sneaked a glance at the busy Wang Baole, and seeing that he hadn't reacted, she secretly sighed in relief.
"Time to eat."
Wang Baole had prepared three fish—one boiled into soup, one roasted, and one steamed. Every method was used.
"Mm, thank you, Young Master Wang." Nangong Yu picked up her chopsticks, her cheeks glowing red, unsure whether it was from excitement or shyness.
Half an hour later, the two had finished the three fish, feeling completely full.
Even Wang Baole, who possessed the Gluttonous Physique, had only managed to eat two of them.
"The spiritual energy in these fish is incredible. Let's cultivate for a bit—hic."
Wang Baole spoke and couldn't help letting out a satisfied burp.
"Giggle..."
Nangong Yu burst out laughing, and halfway through, she too let out a burp. "Hic."
"Hahaha…"
Wang Baole finally laughed out loud, then sat cross-legged to begin cultivating.
After finishing his meditation, he found that his cultivation had actually advanced a small realm. Turning to the side, he saw that Nangong Yu had also broken through.
After stabilizing her breathing, Nangong Yu said, "The fish in this spiritual river are amazing. Why don't we catch a few to take back and honor our elders?"
Wang Baole nodded. "I was thinking the same thing."
With that, the two began catching fish. After an hour, they had each caught over a dozen and continued deeper into the mountain.
As they ventured further, more and more glowing mushrooms appeared around them. What had originally been scattered star-like specks on the stone walls now resembled a sky full of stars.
The pitch-dark cave was lit up as brightly as day.
Suddenly, Wang Baole stopped in his tracks, staring straight ahead with eyes gleaming with excitement.
Beside him, Nangong Yu froze in place, her mouth forming an O-shape.
In front of them, amidst a massive stone pile in the cave, stood a fleshy mushroom dozens of meters tall, shaped like meat and clinging to the boulder. It had both a head and a tail, and its color was a vivid red—clearly a meat Ganoderma.
Next to it were several others, several meters tall, in white, black, green, and yellow hues.
"That's… that's a Great Taishui!" Nangong Yu blurted out instinctively.
Just as Wang Baole was about to ask, the red Taishui suddenly spoke. "You two are the trial participants this time?"
As soon as it opened its mouth, a terrifying, ancient aura emanated from it, making Wang Baole and Nangong Yu tense up.
Wang Baole mustered his courage and said, "Yes, we're this round's trial participants."
"You people of the Taixu Sect are really something. You promised to send someone every ten thousand years to take the trial, and now how many tens of thousands of years has it been? If you don't come soon, my disciples and descendants are going to take over my whole nest!" the red Taishui grumbled.
Wang Baole nearly couldn't resist saying, 'Senior, the Taixu Sect is long gone.'
But for the sake of the delicious-looking Taishui, he wisely kept that thought to himself.
"Then let's begin the trial," the red Taishui said, a little impatiently.
Wang Baole looked confused. "Senior, what are the steps of the trial?"
The red Taishui snorted. "Hmph! The Taixu Sect bullies others too much. Clearly, they no longer take this old Taishui seriously!!!"
Nangong Yu quickly spoke up, "Please forgive my junior, senior. It's our fault for not explaining properly. Our master said he feels deep regret that the Taixu Sect hasn't come for so many years, and he asked us to relay his apologies. As such, he's entrusted this trial entirely to your discretion."
The red Taishui huffed again but seemed appeased. "Hmph! At least your Taixu Sect still has some sense. Since you lot are so fond of eating Taishui meat, the trial this time will be to eat it. However much Taishui meat you can eat, that's how large a Taishui you may take with you."
"Thank you, Senior!"
"What a great deal!"
Nangong Yu and Wang Baole spoke simultaneously. Though their words differed, their tones were full of joy.
The red Taishui said coldly, "Don't celebrate too early. This time, you only have one day."
The two nodded immediately, saying in unison, "We're willing to take the trial."
"Begin."
As the red Taishui's overwhelming aura faded, Nangong Yu leaned over to Wang Baole and whispered,
"Our target should be the smaller ones. They're clearly younger and contain less spiritual energy, so we'll be able to eat more."
Wang Baole nodded slightly. "Good idea. Let's begin."
"Right."
With that, the two of them began searching the cave for their targets...
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