The Confucian and Taoist Sages of Mortal Cultivation

In the Crimson Forbidden Land, at the central area, atop the ring-shaped mountain range, stands a white jade pavilion.

On the stone table inside the pavilion, there were two jade boxes, and it was unknown what treasures were inside.

Although it was difficult for the Qi Refining stage disciples who participated in the Blood Trial to reach the summit alive, it wasn't that no one had ever done it.

When the Crimson Trial was first opened a few times, many cultivators found thousand-year-old spiritual herbs in the buildings on the mountaintop and took them out, causing quite a stir at the time.

Beside the pavilion, a giant black rat, about the size of a calf, lay on the ground, fast asleep.

The next moment, a blue whirlwind appeared out of thin air in the pavilion.

Once the blue whirlwind dissipated, a handsome man and a beautiful woman appeared inside the pavilion.

The giant black rat sensed someone trespassing into its territory, suddenly opened its eyes, and bared its teeth at the strange man and woman.

"You're courting death." Yang Qingyuan snapped his fingers at the sight.

With a thunderous roar, a lightning sword beam burst forth from his fingertips, expanding to a size of about ten feet, and shot towards the head of the black giant rat.

Before the giant black rat could react, it was struck by the lightning sword beam, half of its head exploded, and it immediately fell to the ground, dying instantly.

"This Black-toothed Rat was a top-tier level one demonic beast, comparable to a cultivator at the thirteenth level of Qi Refining." Seeing Yang Qingyuan kill the giant rat with a flick of his finger without even using a magic weapon, Nangong Wan asked, "The cultivation technique you practice must also be a top-tier technique, right?"

Yang Qingyuan nodded slightly and explained, "It's a top-tier sword technique with lightning attributes, and the accompanying spell 'Flick of the Finger Thunder' is quite good."

Nangong Wan was relieved to hear that the other party was cultivating a top-tier technique. She looked around and said, "The Crimson Trial has been opened so many times, but only you and I have been able to enter this secret realm with the cultivation level of Foundation Establishment."

Then, she looked at the jade boxes in the pavilion and reached out to bring the two boxes closer.

Yang Qingyuan also cast a curious glance and said, "Besides the Divine Wind Token, this is the first time I've seen treasures packaged in containers within the Crimson Forbidden Land. Open it and see what's inside?"

Upon hearing this, Nangong Wan opened the two boxes.

Inside the box were two identical ice crystal flowers.

The ice crystal flowers exude a bone-chilling cold, and from time to time they transform into a mini ice crystal phoenix soaring into the sky.

"A thousand-year-old elixir!"

"Phoenix Blood Flower!"

Nangong Wan's face lit up with joy, and she said, "It's been a long time since a thousand-year-old spiritual herb has appeared in the Crimson Forbidden Land."

Upon hearing this, Yang Qingyuan, who had never heard of the Phoenix Blood Flower before, asked, "What is the use of this flower?"

Nangong Wan didn't hide anything and introduced, "Phoenix Blood Flower is an extremely special spiritual medicine that can help female cultivators cleanse their meridians and improve their physique. Because it needs to be nourished with phoenix blood and phoenix essence, it is very rare."

"The Yue Kingdom no longer has any phoenix-type demon beasts; only ancient secret realms like the Crimson Forbidden Land still contain such spiritual herbs."

"Judging from the ice-attribute spiritual power emanating from this Phoenix Blood Flower, it was most likely irrigated with the blood of an ice phoenix demon of level eight or above."

"It's perfect for my 'Plain Maiden Reincarnation Technique,' as it can greatly shorten the time of reincarnation."

"The only pity is that a female cultivator can only take the Phoenix Blood Flower once; it will be ineffective the second time."

Yang Qingyuan's heart stirred when he heard the words "Ice Phoenix," "Phoenix Essence," and "Change Physique."

"Half for each of us." Nangong Wan had no intention of keeping the treasure for herself, so she directly tossed the other box to Yang Qingyuan.

Yang Qingyuan took the box and carefully put it into his storage bag. Then he released the black dragon and said, "Since we're here, let's explore all the buildings in the ring mountain range first."

Nangong Wan did not refuse and immediately joined forces with Yang Qingyuan to search the ring-shaped mountain range.

The level-one demonic beasts in the mountains sensed the aura of the black dragon and immediately cowered away, not daring to show themselves.

Half a day later, the two stopped fighting, looking as if they hadn't had enough, and stood not far from the huge tower in the core layer of the secret realm.

Unfortunately, there is a wind barrier around the tower.

To pass through this wind barrier, cultivators not only need to possess a Divine Wind Token, but also must have reached the late Nascent Soul stage.

Nangong Wan could only sigh helplessly and could only distribute the harvested medicinal herbs.

"There are ten thousand-year-old spiritual herbs in total. You and I will each take half." Nangong Wan took five thousand-year-old spiritual herbs and handed the remaining five boxes to Yang Qingyuan.

"What about these hundred or so medicinal herbs that are hundreds of years old?" Yang Qingyuan asked, carrying a storage bag.

"Keep it. Focus on your cultivation. The cultivation world has been quite turbulent lately. Only by increasing your strength can you protect yourself." Nangong Wan felt a warmth in her heart as she thought of Yang Qingyuan's previous vow, and she did not ask for the remaining spiritual herbs.

Upon hearing this, Yang Qingyuan put his arm around Nangong Wan and chuckled, "You want me to reach the Core Formation stage as soon as possible so you can propose marriage to the Hidden Moon Sect, right?"

Nangong Wan's earlobes turned slightly red, and she replied with a straight face, "Even if you went to propose, I might not agree."

Seeing this, Yang Qingyuan reached out and lifted Nangong Wan's chin, then lowered his head and kissed her.

Nangong Wan felt the warmth on the tip of her tongue and was instantly captivated. Her red lips parted slightly, and she gasped softly.

As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder; the two hadn't seen each other for three months, and now their passion was burning fiercely...

Two hours later, Nangong Wan, her face rosy and radiant, nestled in Yang Qingyuan's arms, lying on the grass. Gazing at the wind barrier near the massive tower, she softly parted her lips and said, "Until our cultivation reaches the late Nascent Soul stage, we simply cannot break through this wind barrier. What do you plan to do next?"

Yang Qingyuan pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps we can invite a highly skilled array master, who might be able to break this restriction."

"After all, the formation diagram is in our hands."

Nangong Wan, however, did not take it to heart and explained, "A formation master with such skill must at least be a Core Formation cultivator."

"The more people there are, the easier it is for the news to leak out."

"If the seven major sects find out that you've hoarded the elixir for yourself, they'll definitely not let you off the hook."

Yang Qingyuan, however, thought of the Phoenix Blood Grass he had just acquired and had already made up his mind.

"Alright." Nangong Wan reluctantly got up, took out a new white dress from her storage bag and put it on, saying, "After this trip, I will prepare to go into seclusion to break through this cycle of reincarnation."

"You must take good care of yourself."

Yang Qingyuan originally wanted to invite Nangong Wan to go to Jiang Kingdom with him, but seeing that she was currently in a weak period of reincarnation, and worried that something might happen to her, he said, "Alright, I'll come to see you after you get through this period of reincarnation."

After saying that, he also got up, put on his clothes, and activated the Divine Wind Token.

As the gale surged, a blue vortex appeared out of thin air.

Nangong Wan stepped into the cyan vortex and was then teleported to the blood-red forbidden area, arriving at the tomb in Eagle Sorrow Gorge.

After seeing Nangong Wan off, Yang Qingyuan walked to a patch of medicinal herbs.

There are more than ten seedlings of purple monkey flowers growing in this medicinal clump, which are about twenty or thirty years old.

As for the demonic beast guarding the medicinal herb patch, it was a top-tier level one black-spotted snake, which is now inside the belly of the Ink Dragon.

Looking at the seedlings of spiritual herbs, Yang Qingyuan didn't know how to accelerate their growth. So he first used his flying sword to carve a stone table and benches from the mountainside. He then took out his writing implements and placed them on the table. After sitting up straight and contemplating for a while, he finally picked up his brush and began to write on the paper...