Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

"Hey! Stay away from me, don't come any closer! Oh my god, what's that smell! Ugh..."

Mo Yuming retreated hastily like a startled rabbit.

"Hehe, the odor I used to exhale didn't smell bad at all, it even smelled a little nice, really, I'm not kidding you! Want me to give you another one to smell?"

The little dwarf looked indifferent and even tried to go over and explain to Mo Yuming.

"Stop! It's safer for us to keep our distance!"

Mo Yuming was utterly helpless, so disgusted by the monster that he gritted his teeth, thinking to himself:

Ugh, I really want to kick this guy. It's never going to end. Being bothered by his farts once wasn't enough, now he wants me to smell them too. Dream on!

"The turbid energy I released has a great effect! Look at these spiritual herbs. If they hadn't been nourished by my turbid energy, they wouldn't have grown so strong even if they lived for another ten thousand years."

"With my turbid energy, the medicinal potency of these herbs is ten times higher than that of ordinary herbs of the same year! My master discovered this secret, which is why he went to great lengths to build this herb garden space."

Although the dwarf stopped walking, his mouth still couldn't stop talking.

"What? These medicinal herbs are so amazing, all thanks to your fart?"

Mo Yuming looked disgusted and said with a sneer:

"Come on! In the beginning of heaven and earth, the Dao divided into Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang have pure Qi and turbid Qi. Pure Qi rises to become heaven, and turbid Qi sinks to become earth. Earth gives birth to all things."

So you mean your farts are the purest form of impurity, capable of nourishing all things? Give me a break!

The little dwarf said in a very serious tone:

"Of course! In the beginning of heaven and earth, yin and yang each had their own function. The turbid qi I expel has a great effect on the growth of all things in the world!"

"Hey, keep bragging! You might as well say you're the creator, that everything in this world was made from your farts. Anyway, there's no one else in this space, so go ahead and brag."

Mo Yuming burst into laughter, he had never seen anyone make farting sound so grand and dignified.

"My master said I was born from the essence of heaven and earth, and was conceived in the clouds and mist."

Even before I became self-aware, I was already able to absorb various kinds of mist and vapor around me and transform them into spiritual energy.

At that time, I was always surrounded by mist and spiritual energy.

When I was first sculpted into human form, I couldn't control myself. I would often exhale gas continuously, and a rainbow would follow me wherever I went.

So my owner named me Hongmeng. Later, I learned to control it, and I could condense turbid air into balloons, like little Easter eggs.

Seeing this, my master gave me another nickname, "Butt Egg"! It's been almost 100,000 years since my master left, and nobody has called me by my nickname…

The little man seemed lost in memories of the past, a look of nostalgia and wistfulness on his face.

"Hey, stop complaining about that piece of crap and answer my question! Want to go for a walk?"

Mo Yuming thought to himself, this guy can sense all the movements in the secret realm. What if there was a deviation when Xinlan was teleported in and she is a bit far away from here? If he can't find out immediately, it will be troublesome if time is wasted.

With this guy cooperating, there's no need to worry about accidents.

"Oh, it's getting dark, I'm going to sleep!"

The dwarf completely ignored Mo Yuming's question, looked up at the sky, and said something inexplicably. Then he floated above a spiritual herb with crystal-clear branches like ice and snow and layers of silver leaves that grew in three-petaled rings.

The flower of this elixir is like a large wine glass, with six petals and four stamens, crystal clear, and as big as a millstone.

At this point, the dwarf's body began to shrink, becoming less than a foot tall.

He spread one petal open, squeezed through the gap, and then curled up on the flower's stamen and fell fast asleep.

"It's not even dark yet!"

Mo Yuming was furious when he saw that Mo Yuming's answer was irrelevant and was about to yell at him.

Unexpectedly, the once brightly lit secret realm suddenly went dark.

The bright dome of the secret realm turned pitch black, and countless small bright spots appeared on it, twinkling like the starry sky in the night.

The medicinal herbs on the ground also became strange and unusual without sunlight.

Many medicinal herbs have become incredibly translucent, emitting a faint green glow, with leaves that are crystal clear, like jade.

Some of the medicinal herbs have flowers that emit a red glow, so vibrant they look like little red lanterns.

Some of the medicinal herbs' fruits emitted a bright yellow light, golden and shiny, like golden eggs.

Some of the medicinal fruits are like they were carved from mutton fat jade, emitting a soft white light.

Mo Yuming stood alone in this bizarre and beautiful strange space, so astonished that his jaw almost dropped.

I never imagined that such a small, secret space would be designed so cleverly, with day and night distinctions.

Mo Yuming has been in this secret realm for about four or five hours.

If what the dwarves said is true, and time flows three times faster here than outside, then only a little over an hour has passed outside, and it should still be noon.

If Mo Yuming hasn't come out by the afternoon, Xinlan will likely come into the cave to look for him.

At that time, it would probably be around dawn.

I wonder what the dawn here will be like? Will it also suddenly light up all at once?

Mo Yuming had no hope for that little monster. It seemed that all that the guy cared about was eating, farting, and sleeping. There was no way to communicate with him.

Perhaps this little thing never wanted to go outside, or perhaps it simply didn't believe that Mo Yuming could get out.

Mo Yuming looked at the animal hide map in his hand, determined the direction, and then walked forward.

He decided to walk to the central area indicated on the map and wait there. No matter where Xinlan appeared, Mo Yuming could arrive within fifteen minutes. This was undoubtedly the safest method.

Mo Yuming carefully calculated the number of steps and directions, and finally stopped in an area full of medicinal herbs with small red flowers.

This area, which was about several tens of feet wide, was covered with this medicinal herb, with pale purple leaves and round, branched roots.

The branches are covered with clusters of tiny red flowers, each with five small petals and bright yellow stamens. The flowers are only the size of a fingernail, like miniature peach blossoms strung together.

The safflower of this elixir emits a soft, pale red glow under the night sky, with specks of light merging together to form a pinkish-red curtain.

Mo Yuming stood in the sea of ​​flowers and looked into the distance, but found that the view was not wide open.

The reason is that these medicinal herbs all grow tall and strong, and many of their flowers and branches are taller than him.

After all, he was just a seven-year-old child, and rather thin.

In such an environment, to see far, one must always stand on tiptoe and look up.

Maintaining that posture for several hours would definitely be unbearable.

But Mo Yuming dared not sit down to rest, lest he waste time and regret it too late.

So, Mo Yuming decided to build a mound of earth, and it would be much easier to sit on the mound and wait.

The medicinal herbs here grow so densely that there is almost no open space available.

If you want to build a mound, you must pull up some medicinal herbs to make room for them.

Mo Yuming knew that these medicinal herbs were precious herbs that had grown for thousands or tens of thousands of years, and each one was priceless. Uprooting them would undoubtedly cause huge losses.

These medicinal herbs have endured such a long period of time, they must have all acquired spirituality, it is indeed a pity to pull them out like this.

But Mo Yuming couldn't care less about that now; all he could do was try to pull as few spiritual herbs as possible.

Mo Yuming found a relatively sparse area nearby, respectfully bowed to the few herbs he was about to uproot, then took out the black dagger, gently cleared away the soil around the roots of the herbs, and carefully cleaned out the roots of the spiritual herbs completely.

Although Mo Yuming had not studied pharmacology, he understood that in the absence of knowledge about the medicinal properties of spiritual herbs, it was best to keep the plant intact in order to minimize damage to the herbs. Some resilient spiritual herbs could even maintain their vitality.

Sure enough, after Mo Yuming dug away the soil around the roots of the medicinal herb, he felt the herb trembling slightly, as if it were afraid.

Mo Yuming sighed, gently touching the spiritual herb with his hand. Although he felt reluctant, he hardened his heart and continued digging.

The soil in this secret realm was very soft, but Mo Yuming found it difficult to dig.

On the one hand, he had to be careful to avoid damaging the roots of the medicinal herb;

On the other hand, this soil, though loose, was extremely heavy, like lead powder and iron filings. Every time Mo Yuming dug out a handful of soil, he had to exert a great deal of effort to pile it up.

It took nearly half an hour just to dig out the soil around a medicinal herb and pile it aside, leaving Mo Yuming panting heavily.

After the herb was completely dug out, Mo Yuming took a storage bag and put the spiritual herb, along with a small piece of soil attached to its roots, into it.

Looking at the storage bag in his hand, Mo Yuming realized that he had just been acting foolishly.

Why waste effort moving soil when there are such convenient ways to move precious items?

Mo Yuming chuckled self-deprecatingly, walked to the second medicinal herb, and skillfully began to dig in the soil.

This time, instead of carrying the soil out in handfuls, he held a storage bag in one hand and stirred the soil with the other.

With a thought, a large pile of soil quickly burrowed into the storage bag.

Mo Yuming used less than a quarter of an hour to process the same size medicinal herb.

After collecting the spiritual herbs, Mo Yuming turned around and went to the mound of earth. He raised the storage bag in his hand, and with a thought, heavy soil, as heavy as lead sand, automatically piled up on the mound. Soon, the mound grew taller.

Mo Yuming stepped on the mound of earth a few times, compacting the soil until a platform about two feet high was formed.

Mo Yuming jumped off the mound with satisfaction and walked towards the third medicinal herb.

After digging up five medicinal herbs and spending more than an hour, Mo Yuming finally collected enough soil to pile up a mound more than three feet high.

The top of the mound was leveled and a platform about two feet in diameter was created, where Mo Yuming could sit comfortably.

Standing on the platform, the view suddenly opened up, and the boundless sea of ​​flowers was spread out before my eyes.

Under the cover of night, the medicinal herbs emitted fluorescent light of various colors, creating a mesmerizing and dazzling spectacle, like a disturbed sea of ​​rainbows.

Although the scenery was captivating, Mo Yuming was in no mood to appreciate it.

Standing on the mound of earth, Mo Yuming looked somewhat tired; collecting the soil from the mound had taken a lot of his energy.

But he dared not sit down to meditate and recover, and it was already late at night, and it was afternoon outside.

If Xinlan couldn't wait any longer, she might come in to find him during this time. Mo Yuming was afraid that he might accidentally fall asleep and miss the opportunity to discover the teleportation array as soon as it appeared.

At this moment, Mo Yuming's desire to become stronger grew even stronger.

If one possesses profound magical skills, a single sweep of divine sense can reveal a region spanning several miles or even further.

Why bother going to such great lengths to build a small mound of earth, only to become breathless over such a tiny thing?

But reality is so cruel. Becoming stronger is easier said than done. It is a journey full of twists and turns, arduous at every step, and even the path to becoming stronger is hard to find.

The waiting time was not only boring, but also incredibly long.

Because you have to be constantly aware of your surroundings, you can't concentrate on your cultivation.

To pass the time, Mo Yuming would sometimes sit on a mound of earth and twist his body idly, sometimes stand in place and jump around, and repeatedly practice his seemingly correct but actually incorrect Tai Chi. He even did children's radio calisthenics many times.

However, the night seemed to freeze, and the long night remained unchanged.

Finally, unable to resist the drowsiness any longer, Mo Yuming even pinched his thigh, trying to alleviate the sleepiness with pain.

He kept eating braised chicken legs and gnawing on chicken bones, trying to use his appetite to fight off sleepiness.

But having exhausted all methods, his eyelids felt as heavy as lead, becoming increasingly difficult to open.

"Brother Ming!"

A clear, crisp voice rang in his ears. The sweet and melodious child's voice entered Mo Yuming's ears, but it was like a thunderclap that suddenly woke Mo Yuming from his daze.

"Xinlan?"

Mo Yuming could hardly believe his eyes. Was it an illusion?

Wait, how did Xinlan find me? I didn't see the teleportation circle. Mo Yuming looked up and around, but found nothing.

"Ming-ge, what are you doing?"

Seeing that Mo Yuming was behaving strangely, Xinlan asked him curiously.

It really is Xinlan! Oh no!

Mo Yuming knew he was in trouble. He hurriedly jumped off the mound, grabbed Xinlan's arm, and asked anxiously:

"Lanmei, how did you get in? I didn't see you."

"I came in through that halo! I didn't disturb you because I saw you were practicing."

These flowers are so beautiful! How unique! Look! I also picked lots of pretty berries, red and shiny, I wonder if they're edible!

Xinlan didn't notice that Mo Yuming's expression was off. She excitedly raised her little hand to show Mo Yuming her achievement.

"How long have you been here? Where were you teleported to? How did you find me!"

Mo Yuming had no interest in looking at the red fruit and stared at Xinlan anxiously, asking her question.

"I've been inside for about fifteen minutes, right there. I came out from that spot and spotted you immediately!"

Xinlan felt that Mo Yuming's question was a bit strange, but she still answered seriously.

Mo Yuming looked in the direction Xinlan pointed out, and a faint blue halo was flashing about two zhang behind him.

"Hurry, it's too late! Hurry..."

Mo Yuming hurriedly grabbed Xinlan's hand and ran towards the circle of light. His movements were so fast that even Xinlan didn't have time to react.

Mo Yuming was extremely annoyed, hating himself for falling asleep at the most crucial moment, failing to notice the teleportation array that appeared right beside him.

Judging from the flickering of the halo, it was clearly a sign that it was about to disappear.

Hurry! Faster! Mo Yuming wished he could grow another pair of legs to run forward, while Xinlan was dragged along by Mo Yuming in a daze.

Fortunately, she was young and light, and her Xuan Gong cultivation was relatively high, so she did not fall down when Mo Yuming suddenly pulled her forward.

Three steps, two steps, one step! Mo Yuming pulled Xinlan and rushed into the location of the light circle, but at the same time, the light circle seemed unable to withstand the impact, and the moment the two stepped into the light circle, the light circle suddenly disappeared.

"Depend on!"

Mo Yuming couldn't help but swear. Could he really be that unlucky?!

"Ming-ge, what's wrong?"

Xinlan was unaware of what was going on.

"This teleportation array can only last for fifteen minutes; we can't get out!"

Mo Yuming said dejectedly.

"A quarter of an hour? Didn't Brother Ming come in more than three hours ago? How can I still come in?"

Xinlan didn't understand.

"The teleportation array can only be activated from the outside; there is no way to get out from here."

The only way to get out is to take advantage of the teleportation array outside when it is activated, but this array is only activated for a quarter of an hour each time.

The spell will close when the time is up. The only way out is to wait until someone outside activates the formation again. I've been trapped here for almost a day and a night!

Mo Yuming explained.

"Brother Ming, you're mistaken. It hasn't been that long. You've only been in this cave for a little over three hours!"

Xinlan said.

"Here..."

Just as Mo Yuming was about to explain, the vanished halo suddenly lit up again out of thin air.

In an instant, the two were enveloped in a halo of light. The white light swirled, and Mo Yuming felt a blur before his eyes. He immediately fell to the ground, dizzy and disoriented.