When Shen Qing learned about the question for the third round of the exam, she was quite surprised. She remembered clearly from her previous life that the question for the third round back then was to enter the Beast Forest and bring out a spiritual beast of superior quality or higher.
But now, the question for this third round seemed even more difficult.
Half of the items listed on it were either things Shen Qing had never heard of or were extremely hard to obtain.
Take the horn of the Golden Remnant Bull, for example. During the growth process of this spiritual beast, its horn would gradually fall off its head and immediately turn into golden powder, which was why it was named the Golden Remnant Bull.
Then there was the fur of the Golden Powder Rabbit. Before reaching adulthood, the Golden Powder Rabbit had only white fur on its tail. It would grow golden - pink fur after reaching adulthood, but it would use this fur to nourish a spiritual medicine called the Golden Powder Ball.
The pollen of this spiritual medicine was their food.
It was extremely difficult to obtain the fur of the Golden Powder Rabbit.
No wonder the disciples going to the Beast Forest all had long faces.
But Chu Lanqiu was quite optimistic. She planned to first collect the items on the list that were relatively easy to obtain, and then figure out how to get the others later.
To avoid any unexpected situations, the elders of the Beast Taming Sect had set up a barrier at the entrance to the Beast Forest. Ordinary cultivators were not allowed to enter through this entrance.
If they wanted to enter the Beast Forest, they had to take a longer route and enter through the second entrance.
Therefore, Shen Qing and the others had to stay in the Beast Taming Sect.
Time was pressing. Chu Lanqiu didn't even have time to say goodbye to Shen Qing and the others before she rushed into the forest.
Xian Shiyu watched her senior sister leaving with teary eyes. She started to miss her even before they had truly parted.
When Chu Lanqiu finally disappeared from sight, Xian Shiyu became as energetic as if she had taken a shot of adrenaline and kept cheering for Chu Lanqiu from behind.
Shen Qing and Li Xian returned to their leisurely days. Since they had met Immortal Huiyan in the Beast Taming Sect, the actions of the Main God's Palace seemed to have come to a halt.
Even the guards of the Main God's Palace, who usually went around causing trouble in various sects, seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Immortal Huiyan left the Beast Taming Sect silently, and the guards he brought with him also left. Nan Zhijin was among them.
If it weren't for Pei Xuanjing and the others sending gifts every now and then, Shen Qing would have thought that these days were quite satisfying.
The most annoying thing was that Shen Chuyun even included some notes with the gifts, saying that she would make up for the birthday gifts Shen Qing had missed since she was one year old.
A toy for a one - year - old baby, a small doll for a two - year - old, a small clay figurine for a three - year - old... They sent one item every day, which really annoyed Shen Qing.
In the end, Shen Qing threw all the things they sent outside the door and even put up a sign.
"Free giveaway! Take it if you want!"
For a while, the idle disciples of the Beast Taming Sect gathered outside Shen Qing's house, waiting for her to throw out the gifts sent by Pei Xuanjing and the others.
The things they sent were all high - quality magical tools and pills, which were very valuable.
The disciples of the Beast Taming Sect stared at these things every day.
Later, when they realized that Shen Qing wouldn't accept their gifts, they gradually stopped sending such things. Instead, they learned from Shen Qing's previous example and made some snacks from spiritual fruits and herbs.
But Shen Qing's taste buds, which had been spoiled by Li Xian's cooking, were not so easily bought. When she saw those snacks that were lacking in color, aroma, and taste, she immediately lost her appetite and threw them out.
The disciples of the Beast Taming Sect were a bit disappointed when they saw that the things thrown out were snacks. But thinking that the spiritual fruits and herbs used to make these snacks were quite precious, they planned to take them back for their spiritual beasts to eat.
But unexpectedly, when they took these snacks back, the spiritual beasts didn't even want to eat them. They just sniffed them a few times and then shook their heads and walked away in disgust.
After that, the disciples knew that there was nothing good left, so they no longer gathered outside Shen Qing's door.
"Mine tastes better, right?"
Li Xian looked at Shen Qing with a smile as she stuffed his snacks into her mouth like a little hamster, puffing out her cheeks.
"Of course." Shen Qing, who had been harassed by those annoying people for several days, sounded impatient. "When on earth will they go back? I really don't want to see them."
"I clearly told them that I wouldn't accept their apologies, but they still come to send things every day. Who cares?"
Just as she was saying this, there was a sudden and urgent knocking on the door.
"Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!"
The knocking was very impatient. Shen Qing was full of grievances. She thought it was those people sending someone again, so she shouted out of the door angrily, "Get out! I don't want those disgusting things!"
But unexpectedly, it was Elder Yaoyue's voice that came from outside the door, "Shen Qing, it's me! Open the door quickly!"
Shen Qing was startled. She quickly swallowed the snack in her mouth, opened the door, and apologized to Elder Yaoyue, "Uncle - master, I didn't know it was you, so I was so irritable. Please don't blame me."
Elder Yaoyue waved her hand indifferently. But like a thief, after entering Shen Qing's room, she poked her head out to look around, very vigilant.
But even so, she still didn't feel at ease.
She even released her spiritual sense to check around. Only after confirming that no one was following did she carefully close the door.
"Are there only the two of you here?" Elder Yaoyue rummaged through the room as soon as she entered, checking if there were any other people.
Shen Qing and Li Xian looked at each other, both of them looking confused.
"Uncle - master, there are only the two of us in the room. Zhaoyang and Qinian have gone to catch spiritual beasts with Shiyu."
Hearing this, Elder Yaoyue nodded. Then she placed some shielding stones around to block other people's peeping spiritual senses.
"Uncle - master, what are you doing?"
Seeing Elder Yaoyue acting so nervously, as if hiding some big secret, and even taking so many precautions when speaking, Shen Qing was quite puzzled.
Elder Yaoyue turned around, putting her index finger in front of her lips, "Shh! Shh! Shh!"
"Don't talk to me for now. Let me finish setting up the barrier here first."
Elder Yaoyue's voice was so low that if Shen Qing didn't have good hearing, she wouldn't have been able to hear what she was saying at all.
Shen Qing and Li Xian had no choice but to sit obediently at the table, waiting for Elder Yaoyue to finish.
Elder Yaoyue not only placed barrier stones, shielding stones, and shields but also put on many protective magical tools.
After finishing the setup, she wiped the cold sweat off her forehead and said, "Finally finished."
Shen Qing couldn't hold back anymore and asked, "Uncle - master, why are you so nervous? What on earth do you want to tell us? It's like you're about to peek into the secrets of heaven."
Elder Yaoyue quickly sat down at the table, pressed Shen Qing and Li Xian's heads down, and the three of them got very close.
Even though she had set up many barriers, Elder Yaoyue still spoke in a very soft voice.
"What I'm going to tell you is almost like peeking into the secrets of heaven."
There was a serious look in Elder Yaoyue's eyes, and there was also a hint of fear. Shen Qing suddenly felt a sense of unease, and a thought popped into her mind.
"Uncle - master, what you're going to say... is it related to Real Person Kunshan?"
Elder Yaoyue suddenly widened her eyes in surprise and covered her mouth. Then she said, "Shen Qing! Have you also noticed something? How do you know that's what I'm going to talk about?!"