Tang Zirong finally fell silent, no longer daring to harbor any hopes of escape. The seemingly innocent and adorable girl before him was anything but easy to deal with. On the contrary, she could see right through his thoughts and instantly cut off all his retreat paths. Tang Zirong truly understood what it meant to have no options left. In front of Zhang Yiyi, he had no opportunity for negotiation or scheming; he could only follow her orders unconditionally.

Strangely enough, Tang Zirong wasn't usually someone who allowed himself to be controlled. Otherwise, he wouldn't have endured humiliation and bided his time to kill the Tang family's fifth young master and avenge his blood feud. Yet now, despite being under her control with no say in the matter, he felt an inexplicable sense of compliance. In fact, he found himself growing increasingly accustomed to following Zhang Yiyi's commands.

Some fleeting thoughts emerged in his mind but quickly vanished. Tang Zirong didn't linger on them. After all, he had no way out now. He might as well follow the girl's orders and see if it would lead to a new path forward.

"It seems we've made better time than expected."

As they arrived at the bamboo forest where the Blue Phoenix Flowers grew, Zhang Yiyi stopped. Her divine sense carefully scanned the forest, quickly locating the items she was looking for.

They were fortunate—there were two Blue Phoenix Flowers, both fully mature and at the perfect stage for harvesting. However, a nest of Bamboo Green Snakes guarded the forest. Among them, the snake king had already reached the fifth stage, while the rest were at least in the third or fourth stage.

This nest of snakes tightly surrounded the Blue Phoenix Flowers, making it no easy feat to steal the flowers from them.

"Immortal, according to the map, the Blue Phoenix Flowers are indeed in that bamboo forest," Tang Zirong said, pointing toward it. "But the forest is guarded by a nest of Bamboo Green Snakes, most of them at the third or fourth stage. There are a lot of them, and they're tough to deal with."

Tang Zirong had meticulously prepared for this secret realm trip, knowing which items were within his ability to obtain and which were too dangerous to attempt. With his strength, merely surviving this secret realm and successfully exiting was already no small feat.

After all, every time this secret realm opened, more than half of the Tang family disciples sent in ended up dead or injured. It was clear that the treasures here were not easily acquired. Furthermore, they had to complete the numerous tasks assigned by the family first before keeping any additional spoils as their own gains.

However, most of the easily obtainable resources were designated for family tasks. The remaining items available for personal gain were far more difficult to acquire, with significantly higher risks.

If Zhang Yiyi hadn't insisted on coming for the Blue Phoenix Flowers, Tang Zirong wouldn't have even considered provoking the nest of snakes. No matter how valuable the flowers were, he lacked the ability to take them.

"You're mistaken." Zhang Yiyi shook her head and corrected him. "That nest of snakes doesn't just contain third- and fourth-stage ones. The snake king has already advanced to the fifth stage."

Tang Zirong's scalp prickled at her words, but he didn't doubt her. The information he had was based on records from previous Tang family disciples who had entered the secret realm. However, it had been a century since the last opening of the secret realm, so it was entirely plausible that the snake king had advanced from the fourth to the fifth stage.

Moreover, her statement revealed the strength of her divine sense, likely comparable to that of a Golden Core cultivator.

"Immortal, should we still proceed?" he asked hesitantly, though he refrained from suggesting they abandon the Blue Phoenix Flowers outright.

"Of course, we'll proceed. How else will we get the flowers?" Zhang Yiyi replied with a smile. "But there's no rush. Let's wait here for a bit and let others clear the path for us."

With that, she retreated to a hidden spot and cast a talisman onto Tang Zirong, signaling for him to conceal his aura and remain quiet to watch the scene unfold.

As the talisman took effect, Tang Zirong immediately felt his aura disappear entirely. Moments later, several waves of divine sense swept over their location but failed to detect them.

Tang Zirong's eyes flickered with understanding. He now realized what Zhang Yiyi meant by "enjoy the show."

Soon, a group of five arrived at the bamboo forest. Leading them was none other than the Tang family's second young master.

"Is that the Tang family's second young master you mentioned?" Zhang Yiyi asked, transmitting her voice to Tang Zirong through divine sense. "Didn't you say there were only two Golden Core cultivators with suppressed cultivation accompanying him as guards? Who are the other two following behind?"

Zhang Yiyi immediately noticed that the two at the back appeared reluctant to be there, particularly the female cultivator in green, whose emotions were especially volatile.

"They're newly hired guest cultivators," Tang Zirong explained. "The Tang family recruited them specifically for this secret realm expedition."

Tang Zirong quickly transmitted his explanation: "That doesn't seem right. By logic, those two guest cultivators should each have their own collection tasks and wouldn't need to follow the Second Young Master's orders. It looks like they were probably coerced by him."

In the Tang family, less powerful guest cultivators weren't even as trusted as their in-house servants. Especially those hired specifically for secret realm expeditions—they were often treated as disposable cannon fodder. Most of the casualties during these expeditions were among such people.

The male and female guest cultivators were currently expressing their frustration and anger toward the Tang family's Second Young Master. They knew very well how precious the Blue Phoenix Flower was, and such a valuable spiritual herb would naturally be guarded by formidable beasts. Yet now, the Second Young Master was forcing them into the bamboo forest as bait to lure out the guardian beasts. To them, this was practically a death sentence.

"Second Young Master, I've heard that the bamboo forest is filled with snakes, all at the third or fourth stage. If it's just the two of us, we'll be eaten alive before we even manage to draw out the beasts," said the female cultivator in green. Though she was wary of the Second Young Master's status, in the face of life and death, she couldn't hold back and spoke bluntly. "You never mentioned beforehand that the target was a Blue Phoenix Flower in such a dangerous place. If you had, we wouldn't have come at all!"

The Second Young Master of the Tang family had no patience for their complaints. Waving dismissively to his two Golden Core guards, he ordered, "Enough with the chatter. Since you've taken my benefits, you'll do as I say!"

The two Golden Core guards, their cultivation temporarily suppressed to the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage for the secret realm, were far stronger than typical Foundation Establishment cultivators. They immediately blocked the path of the two guest cultivators, their intent clear: refusal was not an option. If they obediently entered the forest to lure the beasts, they might have a slim chance of survival. But defying the Second Young Master's orders meant certain death right here.

"You, go first!" The Second Young Master pointed at the female cultivator in green, forcing her into the bamboo forest to draw out the beasts.

The bamboo forest was indeed crawling with snakes. If these two could endure and draw out several waves, the Tang family's people would have an easier time eliminating the beasts and securing the Blue Phoenix Flower.

The female cultivator in green, knowing she had no choice, steeled herself and stepped into the bamboo forest. Moments later, the sounds of spiritual energy surging, her shrieks, and snapping bamboo filled the air.

Zhang Yiyi, observing with her divine sense, saw everything clearly. The female cultivator had indeed been unlucky—she stepped directly onto the mouth of a snake as soon as she entered and was nearly bitten in half.

However, the green-robed cultivator demonstrated remarkable survival skills, narrowly escaping the attack of several third-stage Bamboo Green Snakes and bolting out of the forest faster than a rabbit.

"Oh, her movement technique is quite interesting," Zhang Yiyi noted. The way the green-robed cultivator moved was almost like a mini-teleportation. No wonder the third-stage snakes couldn't catch her.

The Golden Core guards outside didn't wait for the green-robed cultivator to ask for help. As soon as the snakes emerged, the guards swiftly eliminated the beasts.

"Not bad," the Second Young Master commented, mildly surprised that the female cultivator had escaped unscathed, albeit looking disheveled.

"Now it's your turn," he said, pointing to the male guest cultivator.

The man was similarly forced into the bamboo forest. Compared to the female cultivator, his luck was much worse. He attracted three snakes, all at the fourth stage, and barely managed to escape with his life. Half-dead, he stumbled out of the forest, leaving a trail of blood behind.

The Golden Core guards once again dealt with the snakes, though it took more effort this time.

The Second Young Master paid no heed to the guest cultivators' injuries, focusing only on his strategy. The process was repeated several times. While the two guest cultivators managed to draw out many snakes, the male cultivator eventually fell behind during his third attempt and was devoured by a pursuing snake just as he was about to exit the forest.

The female cultivator, after several trips back and forth, was badly injured. Seeing her companion's gruesome death left her pale and trembling. She knew very well that her life wouldn't last long at this rate.

"Enough resting! Go back in!" The Second Young Master barked at her. With only one bait left, he found the situation regrettable but remained confident that the snake nest had been mostly cleared out. Once the last wave was drawn, harvesting the Blue Phoenix Flower would be relatively safe.

The green-robed cultivator said nothing, her face expressionless. She glanced coldly at the Second Young Master and his guards before straightening her clothes and heading back into the bamboo forest.

This time, however, she stayed in the forest far longer than before. There was no movement or sound for a while, prompting the Second Young Master to frown.

"She's been in there so long. Did she die already?" he muttered, slightly annoyed. It was a shame since she had proven capable. If she had managed to last a few more rounds, it would have further reduced the risks for their group.

Just as he was speaking, a loud explosion suddenly came from deep within the bamboo forest. The ground trembled as a terrifying aura spread outward, rushing toward the forest's edge.

"Well done," Zhang Yiyi said with a crescent-eyed smile. "The Second Young Master is in for it now."

She had seen everything clearly. The green-robed cultivator had decided to go out with a bang—literally. She blew up the snake nest, forcing every snake, including the fifth-stage snake king, out into the open. It was evident that she was determined not to let the Second Young Master and his guards have their way, even at the cost of her own life.

With her life on the line, she used her fleeing technique to its fullest, not only luring the entire nest of snakes out of the forest but also managing to escape with her life. In her wake, the swarm of enraged snakes descended upon the Second Young Master and his guards, leaving them no time to react.

"Damn it!" The Second Young Master cursed as he realized what was happening, but it was too late. Surrounded by the swarm of snakes, including the fifth-stage snake king, they had no choice but to fight for their lives.

"Let's go pick the flowers," Zhang Yiyi said cheerfully. The perfect opportunity had arrived. With the snake king out of the nest, the Blue Phoenix Flowers were waiting for her to harvest.