Chapter 026

Chapter 26: Secretly Tricking Others

Wei Yun Ting and Wei Zong Han quickly figured out why the Jade Eyed wolves were attacking. They immediately made arrangements to deal with the situation.

First, Wei Yun Ting instructed everyone to extinguish the fire. With some reluctance, she pulled a Breeze Talisman from her storage pouch. The gentle breeze from the talisman dispersed the sweet fragrance from the burning Spirit Jade Wood, gradually calming the restless wolves that had surrounded their barrier.

Then Wei Zong Han picked up the half-burned Spirit Jade Wood and tossed it out beyond the barrier, hoping to lure the Jade Eyed wolves away.

To draw the wolves far enough away, Wei Zong Han infused his throw with spiritual energy, hurling the wood nearly eight hundred meters, about the limit of his strength.

Unfortunately, that chunk of Spirit Jade Wood sailed through the air and landed squarely on Little Fatty Wei Zong Hao’s head. One hand clutching his forehead and the other quickly covering his mouth, Wei Zong Hao held back from shouting in pain.

But even his faint intake of breath woke Wei Yun Xi. She immediately noticed the scorched piece of wood beneath the tree and turned toward Little Fatty.

Only then did Wei Zong Hao lower his little paw from his mouth, whispering anxiously, “I don’t know what happened; it just fell from above and hit me on the head.”

Wei Yun Xi reflexively extended her spiritual sense, quickly realizing that the Jade Eyed wolves that had been besieging Wei Yun Ting’s team were now running directly toward their position.

Without hesitation, she swiftly climbed down the tree, picked up the charred wood, stored it in her pouch, and used a Dust-Removing Talisman to erase all traces. Then she hurried back up the tree.

“Brother Zong Hao, do you have any Aura-Concealing Talismans?” Yun Xi quickly asked.

Wei Zong Hao nodded, retrieving two first-grade talismans from his pouch.

Wei Yun Xi unceremoniously took one and slapped it onto herself, signaling for Wei Zong Hao to do the same. She then gestured with a finger to her lips, indicating silence.

Wei Zong Hao, hearing distant sounds growing closer, quickly followed suit, gripping the tree trunk tightly and even holding his breath.

Moments later, the Jade Eyed wolf pack arrived right at their previous resting spot. Two wolves sniffed the area carefully but found nothing due to the Dust-Removing Talisman’s effect.

Finally, the wolves howled in frustration, turned around, and ran back the way they had come to continue attacking the barrier.

Wei Yun Xi secretly felt delighted as she watched them go. From the charred wood she’d picked up, she’d easily figured out the reason for the wolves’ attack on Wei Yun Ting’s group.

That burnt wood was Spirit Jade Wood, beloved by male spirit beasts for calming females during birthing. Clearly, someone among Wei Yun Ting’s team had mistaken it for ordinary firewood and burned it, unknowingly attracting the wolves.

Wei Yun Xi guessed Wei Yun Qing was the likely culprit. She had only been cultivating for three months, barely reaching Qi Refining first stage, and her knowledge of spirit plants and beasts certainly couldn’t match Wei Yun Xi’s.

After all, Yun Xi had been specially taught at the Feng Clan. There, learning alchemy meant first memorizing every single spirit plant in Lofty Cosmos Realm. Without knowing the plants, how could one dream of alchemy?

Plus, Feng Clan had a specialized alchemy room, allowing Yun Xi to study actual spirit plants, making memorization even easier.

She had decisively gone down earlier to collect the wood precisely because she’d recognized its sweet, fruity scent, immediately knowing what it was. Intending to secretly trick the others, she’d taken the wood.

Of course, she didn’t share these thoughts with Wei Zong Hao. In fact, she had wanted to hide it in her Wooden Token Space, the safest spot of all.

Yet considering the Grand Righteous Sect cultivators secretly observing them, she abandoned that idea. Better safe than sorry—after all, it fell from the sky, and she simply picked it up.

Unable to find what they sought, the Jade Eyed wolves became furious, believing the two-legged creatures had tricked them. They resumed their siege on the barrier.

Wei Yun Ting and Wei Zong Han remained unaware their plan had failed—that the wood now lay in Wei Yun Xi’s pouch—and continued pouring low-grade spirit stones into the barrier’s formation, desperately holding on until dawn.

This time, Wei Yun Ting refused to exhaust her own spirit stones further and immediately turned to Wei Yun Qing for more.

Wei Yun Qing knew she was responsible for their current crisis, and, reluctant to be kicked out, grudgingly handed over a low-grade spirit stone. She felt immense heartache at the loss and silently withdrew to meditate in the corner.

Wei Yun Ting said nothing more, placing the spirit stone into the formation and continuing her vigilant watch of the wolves outside.

All six spent a tormenting night. With Jade Eyed wolves glaring menacingly at them, none could meditate calmly. At best, they could close their eyes to briefly rest.

As dawn broke, the wolf pack finally realized their efforts were futile and left, returning to their own territory to rest through the day.

Only after the wolves disappeared did the six disciples breathe a sigh of relief.

Seeing everyone exhausted, Wei Yun Ting decided, “Let’s rest for an hour before moving out. To avoid falling behind, we’ll travel an extra hour today.”

No one disagreed. Being beginners in cultivation, they still needed food and rest just like ordinary people.

Wei Yun Xi and Wei Zong Hao, however, had already slept three hours comfortably. After dawn, they quickly ate breakfast—a fasting pill and red fruits—and quietly continued their journey.

“Younger Sister Yun Xi, do you think we’ll catch up to Yun Ting and the others?” asked Little Fatty.

“I don’t know,” Yun Xi blinked innocently, replying softly, “but if we hurry, we probably will.”

Truthfully, Yun Xi had no intention of catching up to the disaster-magnet Wei Yun Qing, deliberately leading Little Fatty on a detour away from the group’s resting spot.

After leaving Wei Yun Qing’s troublesome aura behind, both moved faster: Yun Xi eager to avoid being caught, and Little Fatty frightened that two children traveling alone might easily attract mountain spirit beasts.

After traveling half a day, they reached a small stream, and Wei Zong Hao finally collapsed onto the ground, panting, “Younger Sister Yun Xi, let’s rest a bit!”

Wei Yun Xi was also at her limit. Her mind stubbornly believed she could continue, but her small body protested fiercely. After all, she was still just a child.

She dropped to the ground beside him, and after a short break, fetched water from the stream. She drank two mouthfuls and then passed the water to Little Fatty. As he drank his fill, she began picking small, ordinary-looking grasses by the streamside.

Little Fatty finished drinking, chewed on some jerky, and curiously asked, “Younger Sister Yun Xi, what are you doing?”

“Picking Weiwei grass,” she answered calmly.

“What’s that for?”

“When crushed and applied to our bodies, Weiwei grass masks our scent. Animals in the mountains will mistake us for plants. It’s as effective as an Aura-Concealing Talisman.”