The person who arrived was none other than the anxious Immortal Xu.
Xiao Zhao leaped from Immortal Xu's shoulder and into Feng Ninghe's embrace. Its plump body nuzzled against her, emitting soft whimpers.
"Master, it's wonderful that you're alright."
Feng Ninghe smiled, feeling inexplicably reassured. She turned her gaze to Immortal Xu. "Where are the others?"
"The beast tide was ferocious. Everyone couldn't bear it and had already fled the secret realm. Elder Sister Feng, you should have seen it. While they were in chaos, I sprinkled beast-attracting powder on Feng Guangyao, making him the sole target of numerous demonic beasts. The scene was utterly satisfying."
Immortal Xu said gleefully, as if seeking praise.
The reason he agreed to Feng Guangyao's request was not out of genuine willingness to help. It was merely to set a trap for that scoundrel at a crucial moment, to make him suffer losses in this secret realm and vent Feng Ninghe's anger. And Feng Guangyao had been completely unsuspecting of him.
"Well done," Feng Ninghe patted Immortal Xu's shoulder, praising him. "Did you get the Blazing Spirit Blood Lotus?"
Old Man Xu suddenly remembered the main business and instinctively glanced at Feng Ninghe's palm. It wouldn't be easy to contend for the Blazing Spirit Blood Lotus after being swept into the vortex with the Underworld King.
Feng Ninghe shook her head, but her mood wasn't dampened. She lifted her crimson lips, her alluring face sporting a wicked smile. "No Blazing Spirit Blood Lotus, but I found something else good."
As she spoke, she flicked her jade bracelet, and a clear bell chime drifted into their ears. In her palm, a handful of shimmering blue Sakura Grass appeared.
Old Man Xu was naturally discerning. He recognized the blue Sakura Grass at a glance, becoming even more excited than Feng Ninghe. "Blue Sakura Grass!"
"Master, something is following you," Xiao Zhao sensed something and was pawing at Feng Ninghe's body.
The next moment, Xiao Zhao suddenly snatched a palm-sized tender sprout from Feng Ninghe. Held by Xiao Zhao, the sprout struggled fiercely. Upon closer inspection, the tender leaves actually had eyes and a mouth.
Feng Ninghe abruptly stepped back, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the sprout. "What are you?"
The sprout seemed displeased. It arrogantly lifted its two leaves, opening its mouth to explain, "This lord is the renowned Sky-Reaching Sprout!"
"Sky-Reaching Sprout?" Feng Ninghe fell into thought. She had studied medicine for many years, how had she never heard of a 'Sky-Reaching Sprout' as a spiritual herb?
Xiao Zhao's bright eyes were fixed on the Sky-Reaching Sprout. Then, it puffed up its furry, round body and extended its chubby little hand to paw at the sprout. "Master, can I eat it? It looks very nourishing, but it seems so scrawny."
Before Feng Ninghe could respond, Xiao Zhao had already grabbed the Sky-Reaching Sprout and was attempting to stuff it into its mouth.
"Wuwu! Don't eat this lord, I... I have a great use!" The Sky-Reaching Sprout cried out in fear, tears streaming from its eyes, causing its two leaves to instantly shrivel.
"You can't eat it!" At this moment, Old Man Xu seemed to recall something and added, "The Sky-Reaching Sprout is a good thing!"
Only then did Xiao Zhao let go of the Sky-Reaching Sprout. Old Man Xu leaned in for a closer look, examining the sprout before him. He frowned, looking somewhat surprised. "I seem to have seen this thing in ancient texts recorded by my grand-master. Legend has it that the Sky-Reaching Sprout can grow over ten zhang tall and heal wounds, but these two leaves... are they too small!"
Feng Ninghe lightly nicked her arm with a small knife, and a drop of blood instantly welled up. She grabbed the Sky-Reaching Sprout and placed it on her arm. "Let me see what use you have."
The Sky-Reaching Sprout cried out in terror, its two tender leaves trembling incessantly, tears falling in large drops. "The outside world is too dangerous, this lord wants to return to the Spiritual Yuan space! The Blazing Spirit Blood Lotus is my brother, and they will avenge me if you bully me!" It felt a pleasant scent from Feng Ninghe and had followed her all along. Who would have thought it would face the risk of being eaten!
The Sky-Reaching Sprout's tears contained a faint shimmer. The moment the tears touched the wound, it felt cool and the wound instantly healed.
Feng Ninghe examined the Sky-Reaching Sprout closely. "It is indeed somewhat useful, so I won't eat you for now, but you are far too small..." With only two green leaves, squeezing out a few drops of tears would leave the Sky-Reaching Sprout shriveled. How could one expect it to heal?
Upon hearing that she wouldn't eat it, the Sky-Reaching Sprout stopped crying and opened its large eyes. "This lord can also grow! When I grow up, let alone ten zhang, I can grow even bigger!"
Growing bigger and smaller, was this a genetic trait of their family? Feng Ninghe couldn't help but think of the Blazing Spirit Blood Lotus from before.
"Then how can you grow?" Feng Ninghe looked at the Sky-Reaching Sprout's shriveled green leaves. She had no doubt that if this continued, the Sky-Reaching Sprout would wither within two days.
The Sky-Reaching Sprout crawled towards her spatial jade bracelet, drooling. "There seems to be something good in here, let me take a look!"
Indeed, there were many good things stored in the spatial jade bracelet. Feng Ninghe scanned the space with her spiritual sense. Only then did she discover that a spiritual pond had inexplicably appeared in her jade bracelet. It was the same one she had seen before. Beneath the pond water, Feng Ninghe could clearly feel pearls emitting abundant spiritual energy, infusing the entire water with spiritual power. Immersing oneself in such water would aid in cultivation.
The Sky-Reaching Sprout rushed towards the spiritual pond and buried itself completely within it. Its shriveled green leaves instantly became plump and tender. The Sky-Reaching Sprout then opened its small mouth and tried to eat a large pearl. However, its mouth was too small, making it impossible to swallow or bite the pearl. Helpless, it put down the pearl and drank large gulps of pond water.
The spiritual pond was something she had "borrowed" from the Spiritual Yuan space. Logically, the Sky-Reaching Sprout, being from that space, should have known about the spiritual pond. Why did this sprout look so unworldly? Soon, she dismissed her doubts and casually retrieved two pearls of similar size, handing them to Xiao Zhao and Old Man Xu. "These two are for you." The pearls contained potent spiritual energy, and at critical moments, one could absorb the spiritual energy from them for their own use. Xiao Zhao happily held a pearl as large as its body.
"That black hole has appeared again," Old Man Xu noticed the black hole appearing behind Feng Ninghe and reminded her.
Feng Ninghe narrowed her eyes and quickly got up. "The Underworld King is about to emerge. Let's go."
Outside the entrance to the secret realm.
Everyone sat cross-legged, resting and tending to their injured. Baili Ye, however, had already retreated, unconcerned about the injuries of his elite soldiers. Feng Tongtong, who was still with the Feng family contingent, secretly rejoiced. Feng Ninghe, swept into the black hole, had died like this, and the secret from five years ago would be buried with her.
Several family heads gathered to discuss. Their primary interest was why the Underworld King had appeared in Lingshan.
"The Underworld King is powerful and will surely be unharmed after being swept into the vortex. We should leave quickly before the Underworld King emerges," a spiritual cultivator worried. If it weren't for the severe injuries of some people in their group requiring time for quiet healing, they would have already evacuated this mountain range. However, they didn't wait for the Underworld King; instead, they were met by Feng Ninghe and Immortal Xu.