Feiliu Valley.
Elder Qin got up and said, “It has been 100 days.”
He then waved his arm to open the entrance to the secret zone as his voice echoed throughout the tokens of his disciples.
All the disciples inside the secret zone knew they had to leave the area in half an hour once they heard the elder’s voice.
If they didn’t make it in time, their rewards could be confiscated as punishment.
In just a few minutes, disciples began to leave through the entrance.
After 100 days, out of the more than 100 who went in, only a little more than 40 disciples came out of the zone.
The rest either came out earlier or had already perished.
It was just proof that exploring a secret zone was a challenging task.
After a while, Zhou Yuanhao came out, with Xiao Yan behind him.
The moment Elder Qin noticed them, he slightly nodded.
As a Nascent Zhenjun, the elder noticed the changes in the disciples. However, it was something that a Golden Core Sage could not achieve yet.
When Chen Jingzhai got out, the elder chuckled and waved his arm, signaling the boy to come over.
“Senior brother,” Chen Jingzhai greeted with a bow and a smile.
“So, I see you got the rewards from the immortal abode?” Elder Qin asked gently.
“Yes!” The boy nodded.
“Very good!” The elder laughed and turned to the rest of the disciples. “Alright. You guys should start sorting the rewards according to your own peak.”
He didn’t ask Chen Jingzhai to leave, nor did he ask the boy to take his storage bag.
The Golden Core Sages of each peak nodded and started to count the rewards their disciples had collected.
The sages were looking forward to seeing what their disciples had reaped from the secret zone, as there was an immortal abode inside it.
That was why they were highly detailed when checking the storage bags of their disciples.
“Well done!” The Golden Core Sage of Elixir Peak couldn’t help but praise his disciples.
He was the first to finish sorting everything, and the result was much better than expected.
The disciples of Elixir Peak had gathered a lot of herbs, and some were even Grade 3 herbs.
Usually, that wouldn’t be enough to make the Sage happy, but there were a lot of treasures in the storage bags that the peak didn’t have.
Another reason he was delighted was that the thing he was worried about did not happen.
Since the disciples did not enter the immortal abode, he was worried they would come out empty-handed.
Fortunately, not only did that not happen, they came out with their bags full.
Also, out of the seven disciples of Elixir Peak, two even came out with the carcasses of a few demonic beasts.
Those were enough to ensure that Elixir Peak would not rank last.
After counting all the items in his disciples’ bags, the Sage gave them spirit stones in exchange for the items.
He then turned to Chen Jingzhai and smiled. “Little Master-Uncle, can you tell me about the immortal abode? Also, I would like to have our nine-section bamboo staff back.”
“Oh, right!” Chen Jingzhai nodded and tossed the staff to the Sage. “I still have yet to thank you for the information, or else I would never have found the ruin.”
“Will I get any reward for that?” asked the Golden Core Sage from Elixir Peak as he grabbed the staff.
“Of course. How can I not reward my disciple nephew for that?” Chen Jingzhai replied without hesitation and threw a pill-sized item toward the Sage. It stopped and hovered in front of the Sage. “Will this be enough?”
“This is?” The Sage’s eyes widened. “An Essence Power Pearl?”
That was more than enough to cause a commotion among other cultivators present. Even other Golden Core Sages could not keep their mouths shut.
Not a single one of them had expected that Chen Jingzhai would get such a thing from the secret zone.
“The essence power did not leak when I broke the fifth Restriction. Instead, it gathered and formed into a pearl,” Chen Jingzhai explained with a smile. “I believe we don’t have to hand this to the clan, right? Since it’s not a treasure but something more similar to a spiritual stone.”
“It’s not similar to a spiritual stone. It’s much more valuable than one,” the Sage laughed. “But, you aren’t wrong. We don’t have to submit this to the clan.”
Everything obtained in the secret zone had to be handed to the clan, except for the spiritual stones.
Since the Essence Power Pearl was something similar to the spiritual stone but only denser, they didn’t have to hand it in.
The pearl was formed through the condensation of Essence Power Liquid.
Unlike a spiritual stone that would crumble into dust once used, an Essence Power Pearl would disappear without leaving any trace or impurities.
It was the purest form that essence power could get. That was why it was extremely rare.
“Thank you, Master-Uncle!” Bai Jinfei immediately bowed after getting the reward.
“Come on; you don’t have to thank me for that. It’s an exchange,” Chen Jingzhai calmly replied. “Although you did want to see me fail, you still helped me in the end.”
Bai Jinfei grinned while grabbing the pearl tightly in his hand. The pearl was extremely valuable to a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Plane.
That alone was more than enough for his trip to the entrance of the secret zone.
Both Lin Feiyang from Divine Flame Peak and Feng Liuyun from Divine Cloud Peak could only look at Bai Jinfei enviously.
However, that envy was quickly replaced with depression.
Feng Liuyun got hit by depression even harder as he was only a step away from reaching the immortal abode, and he should’ve also gotten a share of the reward.
Yet, everything was too late for him.
Even the Golden Core Sages of the two peaks also had bad expressions on their faces.
Not only did they miss the chance to enter the immortal abode, but the other disciples did not do as well as they had expected.
Judging from the results, they were behind Elixir Peak.
It was clear that Divine Flame Peak and Divine Cloud Peak would rank last.
Not long after Elixir Peak had finished sorting its inventory, Wine Celestial Peak was done as well.
Jiang Lin also had an Essence Power Pearl and even got a spell and a spiritual brush from the expedition.
Those weren’t the only things he had collected. Like other disciples, there were a lot of spirit plants and herbs, and a lot of them were Grade 3.
Unlike the disciples of Elixir Peak, who collected herbs by harvesting them, the disciples of Wine Celestial Peak were taught to collect herbs using talismans.
That was why the herbs collected by Wine Celestial Peak were in better condition, which naturally could be sold at a higher price.
“Oh? Jiang Lin, did you also enter the immortal abode?” the Golden Core Sage of Elixir Peak asked.
“Yes, I was fortunate enough to make it there when Little Master-Uncle was preparing to break the fifth Restriction,” Jiang Lin replied, with a hint of pride in his eyes.
“It’s all thanks to disciple nephew Jiang, that we managed to break the Restriction.” Chen Jingzhai smiled.
“Well done!” Bai Jinfei exclaimed, although no one understood why he would have such a reaction.
After that, Jiang Youning from Lijiang Peak, Chu Jingsong from Sky Whale Peak, Zhang Kuo from Heavenly Artisan Peak, Xiao Yan from Blazing Sun Peak, Zhou Yuanhao from Divine Tower Peak, and Zhao Qinghe from Dream Celestial Peak had finished sorting their inventories too.
All of them possessed an Essence Power Pearl too.
They had at least two spells, spiritual items, and Grade 3 herbs in their bags.
Chu Jingsong, Jiang Youning, and Zhao Qinghe even managed to get their hands on some white lotus seeds.
The result had brought so much surprise to the Sages.
Everyone couldn’t help but turn their attention toward Cui Chengen.
“I guess we can conclude that Daoxuan Peak will rank first in this expedition into the secret zone,” the Sage of Elixir Peak said. “Also, Little Master-Uncle has Lin Feiyang’s and Feng Liuyun’s storage bags.”
“It’s just a small punishment for them.” Chen Jingzhai calmly looked at everyone present. “It’s my responsibility as their Master-Uncle to educate them when needed. We can’t have someone from our clan disrespecting their higher-ups, can we?”
The brows of a few Sages twitched a little when they heard that, while Cui Chengen’s expression darkened.
That was Chen Jingzhai’s first time, clearly stating that he was their Master-Uncle.
A few were disappointed when Elder Qin remained quiet.
“You’re right, Master-Uncle.” Bai Jinfei nodded. “Some of our disciples have forgotten what our rule is. So we have to thank you for reminding them.”
“I’m just doing what I should do. Also, don’t you find it confusing for you to address me as Master-Uncle when they are too?”
“That’s the more reason for you to educate them.” The Golden Core Sage grinned. “Since this is a rare chance, can we see what you have in your bag, Master-Uncle?”
Everyone quickly gathered around Chen Jingzhai when they heard that. They all wanted to know how much their Master-Uncle had gained from the secret zone.
