My ancestors were spiritual plant growers, so it's not surprising that I hunt demons every day,

They set off at the beginning of the morning, and Cui Ying and Xue Changye traveled on clouds without stopping at all.

It took only an hour to reach the vicinity of Yuzhu Peak.

At this moment, the sky was bright, and Jade Bamboo Peak was covered with emerald green bamboos and thick ancient trees that were twenty or thirty feet tall. With the help of the Lightness Technique, Cui Ying moved lightly and nimbly through the lush and towering forest.

Before long, they ventured deep into the foot of Yuzhu Peak and slowed down to survey their surroundings.

Unlike the nameless hills outside, this place had clearly not been visited by cultivators for a long time. The thick tree trunks were entwined with unknown dark green vines, and the ground was covered with dead branches several feet deep.

Cui Ying scanned it with her divine sense and found that the lower half had completely rotted into mud, while the upper half still retained its original appearance with fallen branches and leaves.

The entire forest was covered with layers upon layers of thick, green leaves, allowing only a small amount of sunlight to penetrate, making the air below feel unusually damp and gloomy, while a layer of grayish-white miasma slowly rose from it.

In her previous life, she did not take this route to enter Jade Bamboo Peak, and she did not know much about Jade Bamboo Peak.

Thinking of this, Cui Ying's eyes flickered. She casually plucked a withered vine hanging beside her, but surprisingly, it didn't break immediately after she used some force.

She took a closer look at the vines, which were thicker than her wrist, and tightened her grip again, using all her strength.

"Bang" sound.

This time, the vines shattered and broke in his hands.

Cui Ying shook her head, losing interest instead.

“Sister Cui Ying, let me lead the way.”

Xue Changye stepped past Cui Ying and took out a white bone knife.

After walking for about the time it takes to eat a meal, he casually chopped down a jade bamboo blocking his path, then suddenly turned around and smiled at Cui Ying, saying:

“Sister Cui Ying, everyone in the village says that you have become a disciple of a reclusive master. Not only has your cultivation improved by leaps and bounds, but your family’s life is also getting better and better. Once the new house is built, you will use three magical artifacts as betrothal gifts to marry that mortal from the Gu family.”

"Could you tell Mr. Xue if all of this is true?"

Cui Ying paused in her steps, finally realizing Xue Changye's purpose for today.

She couldn't help but chuckle, then looked up at the young man in front of her with a half-smile, and asked, "Fellow Daoist Xue, do you believe what those rogue cultivators in the village are saying?"

Seeing Xue Changye's brow furrow slightly, she casually plucked a bamboo leaf and played with it in her hand, continuing to smile:

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore, Fellow Daoist Xue~ The first question concerns the secrets of our sect, so I can't say much. But the spirit stones my family used to build our new house were all saved up by my parents over the years, and I also hunted a lot of demon beasts to exchange for spirit stones. All in all, we finally managed to gather enough a few days ago. It's not as miraculous as the rumors in the village~ As for the Gu family, it is indeed true that such a thing happened."

"Is that so!?"

Xue Changye nodded, turned around and took a few more steps forward before asking, seemingly casually:

"Gu Shiyin is just a mortal. Has Sister Cui Ying considered this?"

Just then, Cui Ying suddenly changed her expression, turned around, and went straight to a nearby bamboo grove. She put her arm around a bamboo stalk and looked down into the pile of green and yellow leaves.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Xue Changye immediately stopped talking, turned around, and followed.

He saw Cui Ying staring blankly at a pile of withered branches and fallen leaves from afar, and couldn't help but call out:

"Besides withered branches and fallen leaves, there are absolutely no valuable spiritual plants here."

Cui Ying simply gave a "shut up" look to the back before lightly jumping down. She then made a hand seal to summon a strong wind that blew away all the fallen leaves in front of her. Her gaze then fell on a small patch of snow fungus balls growing among the jade bamboo forest, and a hint of joy slowly appeared in her eyes.

"It really is snow fungus. This stuff is not only an auxiliary material for refining some high-level spiritual pills, but also an extremely delicious spiritual food. This piece can probably sell for thousands of spirit stones."

Cui Ying sighed inwardly: If she hadn't heard a spirit chef mention in her previous life that snow fungus would emit a pungent, putrid smell before it matured, she probably would have missed it.

With a slight flick of her wrist, Cui Ying sent a flash of silver light through the air, slicing up the snow fungus along with a small layer of soil beneath it, which then fell right into the wooden box that had been prepared beforehand.

"Fellow Daoist Xue, you..."

Cui Ying was about to put the items into her storage bag when she suddenly remembered Xue Changye behind her. Before she could finish speaking, the young man behind her covered his mouth and nose, retreated a considerable distance with a look of disgust, and waved his hand, saying:

"It stinks! Sister Cui Ying, please put it away quickly."

"Hehe~ Since that's the case, then I won't stand on ceremony."

Cui Ying was more than happy to hear this, and immediately closed the wooden box and threw it into her storage bag.

"We're still a ways from the mountainside, let's not waste time here, let's hurry up!"

Discovering these snow fungus here was already an unexpected delight for Cui Ying. Upon hearing this, she nodded without hesitation and used her lightness technique to follow them.

"Sister Cui Ying, is your magic sword a mid-grade first-rank magic weapon? It looks quite good. Did you borrow it from the village, or was it a gift from your master?"

Cui Ying secretly rolled her eyes. She wanted to say it was a gift from her sect, but she was too afraid of Xue Changye's nagging, so she simply told the truth:

"I bought it! I earned the spirit stones myself to buy it!"

"Oh! I just thought this magic sword was quite beautiful~ Sister Cui Ying, it's me!"

Xue Changye slowed down, wanting to walk alongside Cui Ying again, but Cui Ying simply passed him and turned into a blur as she sped forward.

"~"

Xue Changye touched the tip of his nose, gave a wry smile, and finally followed without saying anything more.

After continuing for about 15 minutes, we were already close to the mountainside of Yuzhu Peak.

Suddenly, Cui Ying, who was leaping, stopped on a branch of a large ancient tree and gazed into the distance.

On the exposed rock face of the mountain ahead lay the carcass of a small, grayish-brown beast. Half of its body was missing, and the remaining limbs were oozing bright red blood.

A bloody stench filled the surrounding area, clearly indicating that the person had just died.

Although Cui Ying had long known that the trip to Jade Bamboo Peak would not be peaceful, she still frowned slightly upon seeing this bloody scene so early in the morning.

She quickly scanned the surrounding area, and after finding nothing unusual, she floated over in a flash.

Upon closer inspection, Cui Ying discovered that the furry little beast was actually a giant rat. A rat-like monster the size of a calf, regardless of its attack power, must have a cultivation level no lower than the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

"It's just a weak earth spirit rat, nothing to see here. Let's hurry on our way!"

Xue Changye, who had caught up, only glanced at her briefly before reminding Cui Ying to continue upwards.

"Ouch!!"

"Ouch!!"

Just as Cui Ying was about to set off, the Phantom Wolf, which had been silently following behind Xue Changye, suddenly rushed out, arched its body, and roared fiercely.