Chapter 205 - 202: Selling a Small City Level Mysterious Ghost Spirit

Hunger spread like wildfire, quickly becoming the most severe trial the students now faced.

Subjectively, none of them wanted to eat. But the hunger was so intense it felt as if their very organs were melting. Who could possibly restrain that with willpower alone?

And even if someone could manage to hold out for a short while, what was the limit of human endurance when that time stretched on?

The students exchanged glances. Someone hesitantly suggested, "Why don’t we... try eating some of the porridge?"

Xie Yunchong stopped him sternly. "No! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Dong Siliang, however, was suddenly filled with regret. "Senior Brother Xie, should we not have refused that woman’s flatbreads? She told us not to regret it. Did she foresee this?"

Xie Yunchong’s face was taut. "What if she did? Knowing what you know now, would you have dared to eat those flatbreads then? If you really want to eat, there are plenty of them on the ground outside the courtyard gate. Why don’t you go pick some up?"

That’s right—there were still plenty of flatbreads scattered on the ground in front of the calico cat.

Dong Siliang immediately fell silent.

Xie Yunxiang, meanwhile, quietly stood behind Song Ciwan, silently chanting the Purifying Heart Spell to stave off his hunger with sheer willpower.

He still preferred to be near Song Ciwan. Compared to his own cousin, Xie Yunchong, the "Xin Mian" that Song Ciwan was playing was undoubtedly more reliable in Xie Yunxiang’s eyes.

As the group stood in silence, the evening sun slowly set, and soon, night enveloped the village.

And so, the second severe trial of the Deceitful Realm descended along with the night.

Suddenly, everyone felt cold. An extreme, biting cold.

A bone-chilling cold, seeping in from every crack and crevice, advanced on them from all directions with the darkness.

Someone cried out in a low voice, "It’s so cold!"

Everyone couldn’t help but shiver uncontrollably. Dong Siliang could no longer bear it. "Senior Brother Xie, we haven’t found any clues. Are we supposed to just freeze in this courtyard all night?"

Zhang You also couldn’t help but say, "Even if we can survive one night of freezing, what are we going to do when the sun rises tomorrow?"

Dong Siliang said, "Exactly! Without clues, we can’t just endure this, can we? Freezing and starving... how much longer can we last?"

Xie Yunchong’s expression turned grim. He was cold, too. But even more chilling than the cold was the darkness of the night, so pitch-black you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

It was so, so dark.

The night sky had no stars, no moon. It was nothing like the daytime, when the sun shone brightly. Back then, Huai Xi Village, though strange, had at least appeared peaceful on the surface.

But now, the darkness that came with the night was enough to drive a person mad.

The only source of light in the entire courtyard was the Red Candle in the main hall, but it was faint—just a tiny speck of red light, so weak it looked as though it could be extinguished at any moment.

What were they to do?

At this moment, no one had an answer. Not Xie Yunchong, not Jiao Zuo, and not Song Ciwan.

However, Song Ciwan was slightly better off than the others: her Heaven and Earth Scale could still be opened.

Stored within the Heaven and Earth Scale were many of the pawned items she had acquired in the past, including a good amount of food, as well as a Bright Light Talisman that could deal with the current darkness.

’I shouldn’t take out the food,’ Song Ciwan decided.

’It would be too hard to explain. Everyone’s storage artifacts are sealed; even my own Vast Sea Grotto Heaven is sealed.’

’And if something as high-level as the Vast Sea Grotto Heaven is sealed, whose storage artifact wouldn’t be?’

’But a Bright Light Talisman should be fine. It’s just a few flimsy sheets of Talisman Paper. I could plausibly have been carrying them in my pocket.’

Song Ciwan slipped a hand into her sleeve. Her mind raced as she weighed another option. ’Should I try selling Mr. Gao’s Mysterious Ghost Spirit right now?’

’Before, everyone was watching my every move, which made selling the Ghost Spirit tricky. But this darkness... it’s the perfect cover.’

Song Ciwan activated the Heaven and Earth Scale, just about to pawn Mr. Gao’s Mysterious Ghost Spirit.

Suddenly, Dong Siliang, who had been babbling and complaining nonstop, let out a furious roar. "No, I can’t take it anymore! I need to eat! I need to get warm! AHHH—"

He screamed, his emotions completely shattered by the hunger and cold.

He even flailed his arms, shoving aside the companion next to him.

The person closest to him was Xie Yunchong. Poor Xie Yunchong was a Cultivator who didn’t practice Body Techniques, nor did he possess a strong foundation in Martial Arts like Jiao Zuo.

Having lost his Power, the physically frail Xie Yunchong couldn’t withstand Dong Siliang’s shove at all. With a cry of pain, he was pushed to the ground. THUD! He landed right on his backside.

After pushing Xie Yunchong aside, Dong Siliang shoved past two other companions in the darkness and shot forward like an arrow cleaving through the waves, heading for the kitchen.

No one could stop him. "Dong Siliang!" Xie Yunchong roared in fury.

Dong Siliang paid him no mind. He charged ahead recklessly, stumbling on the steps of the house and then crashing into the kitchen wall.

A series of CRASHES and BANGS echoed through the yard, mixed with Dong Siliang’s pained cries and shouts. Then, finally, he burst into the kitchen.

Soon, frantic slurping sounds came from the kitchen. It seemed Dong Siliang had picked up the vegetable porridge and was eating.

Immediately after, Dong Siliang’s voice, full of praise, drifted out. "Delicious! Whoa, this is so good, absolutely delicious, hahaha... I’m eating, I have to eat... So hungry, so hungry... I’m eating!"

GULP, SLURP... Dong Siliang began to wolf it down even more ferociously.

Outside, the courtyard fell silent. The only other clear sounds were the group’s increasingly ragged breaths and the distinct noise of saliva being swallowed.

Zhang You whispered, his voice strained, "I... I want to eat too. I... can’t... hold... on... much longer..."

Song Ciwan’s hand trembled as she pulled a Bright Light Talisman from her sleeve, along with a piece of flint and steel.

Her Power was sealed, so she couldn’t use her True Qi. The only way to activate the Spirit Talisman was the crude method of lighting the Talisman with flint and steel.

Fortunately, the Bright Light Talisman was only a low-grade, One-star Level Talisman, so burning it would still work.

So, in the darkness, Song Ciwan sold Mr. Gao’s Mysterious Ghost Spirit. [You have sold a Small City Level Mysterious Ghost Spirit—Resentment, Desire, and Bewilderment—weighing two jin and six liang. You have obtained the Supreme Alchemy Skill, First Layer.]

Supreme Alchemy Skill: Legend claims this is the Alchemy skill of the Golden Immortal Dao Ancestor, Taishang Laojun. It is all-encompassing, able to refine everything from the azure clouds above to the Netherworld below, capable of creating any Spiritual Elixir and Treasure Medicine.

Note: The First Layer can refine Elixirs for any being below the rank of Earth Immortal.

RUMBLE!

Segment after segment of abstruse information flooded into Song Ciwan’s mind like a tidal wave. Stunned by the massive influx of data, she was dazed for a moment.

’I actually got the Supreme Alchemy Skill by selling Mr. Gao’s Mysterious Ghost Spirit!’

’It’s only the First Layer, but... this is the Supreme Alchemy Skill!’

This time, Song Ciwan’s luck was almost frighteningly good.

However, as amazing as the Supreme Alchemy Skill was, it was clearly no help in breaking through the Deceitful Realm at this moment.

From that perspective, perhaps her luck wasn’t so good after all.

She stood frozen, her mind reeling from the massive shock, her thoughts momentarily stalled. By the time she came to her senses and processed the First Layer of the Supreme Alchemy Skill, she realized her surroundings had fallen completely silent.

At some point, the sounds of Dong Siliang eating in the kitchen had stopped. The sound of her companions swallowing their saliva had also vanished.

Everyone’s breathing was still there, though. After another moment, faint rustling sounds drifted in from outside.

It sounded like someone was whispering, "Quick, over here. The dog’s out cold. We don’t have to climb the wall, we can just walk into the yard. Come on, be careful, step lightly..."