That idiot from the Sword Sect turned out to be a lucky charm.

Chapter 25 The assembly is complete

Lin Zhifeng was overjoyed to hear this.

This full-force strike from a Nascent Soul stage sword cultivator is incredibly useful. Whether it's for a sneak attack (don't worry, Lin Zhifeng wouldn't use it for anything bad), or for escaping and saving one's life, it's perfect.

Seeing Ding Mo generously hand over a stack of items, he quickly thanked him, accepted them, and put them into the storage ring on his left hand, so that he could take them out immediately if he encountered any emergencies in the future.

Ding Mo nodded without saying anything.

Lin Zhifeng asked Ding Mo, "What are your plans next, Uncle-Master?"

Ding Mo said, "Now that I've taken on the role of team leader, I'll naturally go and find other disciples from the Sword Sect."

Lin Zhifeng said, "I've arranged to meet Lin Jun and the others in the northeast corner. Among the top members of our Sword Sect, we have the weakest foundation, and we'll probably need the most help if we encounter danger. Since you don't have a clear goal yet, why don't you come with us?"

Ding Mo thought it was a good idea. Anyway, it was the same whether they rushed one or let two go. Indeed, his role as team leader was to provide backup for everyone; just like Lin Zhifeng said, if the struggling students were taken care of, the team's overall performance wouldn't be bad.

Ding Mo didn't necessarily want to obtain many treasures or inheritances; he just wanted to take good care of the Sword Sect members and minimize casualties.

Having reached an agreement, the two decided not to waste any more time and rode their spirit swords toward the northeast corner where Lin Zhifeng and the others had agreed.

Along the way, they picked up several members of their brotherhood, and they all flew together towards the rendezvous point. After flying for more than an hour, they finally arrived at the agreed location.

Lin Jun and several others were already waiting there. They gathered together and waited for a while until all the members of the brotherhood were assembled, then they headed south together.

Besides Lin Jun, Lin Zhifeng, and their group, there were more than a dozen other members of the Sword Sect, making a total of nearly fifty people, which was quite a small team.

They were no longer afraid of any beasts or monsters they encountered on the road; they would swarm them and attack them en masse.

This method, though simple and crude, was incredibly efficient. Before long, everyone had made significant gains.

Before we knew it, it got dark.

Although this secret realm is an independent space, completely unrelated to the outside world, it surprisingly has the same day and night cycle as the outside world. It seems that the flow of time in the secret realm is the same as that in the outside world.

Since it was getting late, and the group didn't dare to take any more risks, they found a cave nearby and decided to spend the night there.

There were naturally wild animals living in front of the cave, but they wiped out their home.

They cleared out the wild beasts and divided up the contents of their burrows. Although most of it consisted of worthless trinkets, it was better than nothing.

They lit a fire in the cave, not because it was cold, but mainly for the light. The Sword Sect members were quite poor; they couldn't afford magical artifacts with lighting functions, like luminous pearls. It was a bit sad, but fortunately, everyone was at the same level, so it was bearable.

Ding Mo and the other normal disciples of the Sword Sect found a corner and meditated with their eyes closed.

Lin Jun and his group were used to being lazy, so how could they possibly settle down? Having finally managed to get out and have some fun, the day's adventures were incredibly new and exciting for them. Now that they had some free time, they couldn't help but chatter about their day's experiences.

Lin Zhifeng sat with them, smiling and acting as a good listener, occasionally chiming in with a few words. The atmosphere among them was harmonious and pleasant.

As they were talking, the barrier at the cave entrance was activated.

This barrier was set up by Ding Mo, who possessed the highest cultivation level, making it arguably the most robust and secure barrier in this secret realm. Wild beasts generally cannot break in, and other cultivators likely lack Ding Mo's abilities, making it impossible for them to enter.

Now that they've been provoked, they have to go and see what's going on. If it's someone from the Sword Sect, then they'll let them in to spend the night.

Ding Mo stood up and walked towards the cave entrance, with Lin Zhifeng following behind out of curiosity. Lin Jun and the other curious kids followed behind Lin Zhifeng.

Ding Mo walked to the cave entrance and examined it carefully, finding no signs of damage to the barrier. After thinking for a moment, he cast a spell to dispel the barrier, and the cave entrance opened.

People outside saw that the cave entrance was open and came over.

Lin Zhifeng craned his neck to look outside and saw that they were the female cultivators from the Hundred Flowers Palace.

These girls must have gone through a lot of hardships. They no longer have the ethereal beauty they had before entering the secret realm. They all look a bit disheveled—some have messy hair and loose hairbands; some are injured, their clothes torn by beasts and stained with blood that is hard to tell whether it's human or beast blood…

The leader of the group of women stepped forward and bowed to Ding Mo, speaking softly, "Fellow senior brothers of the Sword Sect, disciples of the Hundred Flowers Palace greet you! We sisters have a favor to ask, and we wonder if you would be willing to grant it?"

Ding Mo returned the greeting and said, "Please speak, ladies."

The female cultivator said, "It's getting late, and my sister and I are of low cultivation level. We can't find a suitable place to rest for the night. Could you please take us in for the night?" She added, "Just a small corner will do. We can offer five spiritual herbs in exchange."

Ding Mo was somewhat troubled: after all, there was a difference between men and women. Although cultivators didn't care much about such things, he didn't want to cause trouble for the Sword Sect.

Lin Jun and the others were already egging them on from behind: "Uncle, just agree! It's so late, it's too dangerous for these weak women to spend the night outside."

Ding Mo had no choice but to agree. He said to the people from the Hundred Flowers Palace, "In that case, we'll have to trouble the ladies. As for the spirit herbs, there's no need for that; it's just a small favor for us."

Ding Mo made a gesture, and the disciples of the Sword Sect quickly made way. The female cultivators of the Hundred Flowers Palace then entered the cave one after another.

Ding Mo pointed out a corner for them to make themselves at, then returned to the cave entrance and set up the barrier again. He then went back to his previous seat and closed his eyes to cultivate.

Lin Jun and his group, who had been so aggressive when they were alone, are now sitting upright and speaking in much quieter voices.

They couldn't help but turn their gaze to the female cultivators of the Hundred Flowers Palace.

After settling down in the corner, they lit a fire. Then everyone began to take care of themselves: those with disheveled hair combed it again; those with torn clothes changed into new ones; and those who were injured began to heal their wounds.

Lin Jun sidled up to Lin Zhifeng with a cheeky grin and whispered, "Which female cultivator do you think is the most beautiful?"

Lin Zhifeng glanced at him and said, "What? Are you tempted by worldly desires? Don't you want to break through to the Divine Realm anymore?"

Lin Jun scoffed, "Dude, you really think highly of me. With my looks, I wouldn't dare to even dream of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage."

Lin Zhifeng said, "If you're not even confident about breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, why do you think you can marry a female cultivator from the Hundred Flowers Palace? I've heard that the Hundred Flowers Palace has very high standards for choosing a son-in-law."

Lin Jun deflated after hearing that. It's true, with so many elite disciples on the cultivation continent, and the girls from the Hundred Flowers Palace being especially sought after, why would they even look at trash like them?

Lin Zhifeng had originally intended to encourage his brothers to work harder and improve together, without intending to dampen their enthusiasm. Now, seeing that he might have gone too far with his criticism, he quickly changed his approach to encouragement: "You don't need to feel inferior. You're not without talent; it's just that you were too lax before. From now on, focus more on your cultivation. Once you're more skilled, we'll do some big things together. When you become famous, you won't have to worry about not having girls interested in you!"

After saying that, he looked like he knew everything and said, "A man should focus on his career first, and then consider personal relationships."

Lin Jun looked at Lin Zhifeng, whose face was still incredibly youthful, yet who spoke with such an air of maturity, and couldn't help but chuckle. He reached out and ruffled Lin Zhifeng's hair, scolding, "You're not even fully grown yet, and you dare to lecture your senior brother?"

Lin Zhifeng didn't refute him, he just looked at him and smiled.

Just as Lin Jun was about to give his senior brother a taste of his iron fist, a commotion came from the other side of the barrier—it had been triggered again.

Lin Jun said, "It's quite lively tonight. Let's go see who this person is."

Ding Mo also stood up and walked towards the cave entrance. Lin Zhifeng and the others followed behind him to watch the excitement.

Ding Mo released the barrier, and well, this is really going to be interesting.

It turned out that the people who came from outside were female cultivators from Happy Valley.

These female cultivators of the Joyful Union Path were all mature women, each with a voluptuous figure and sexy attire. They seemed to have suffered quite a bit during the day, as several of them had their clothes in disarray.