Niu Dazhuang glanced at Xia Qingxue, looking like he was about to say something, but Yinn Shang, who was beside him, stopped him with a look.

He sent a slightly confused voice transmission, "We’re just going to let the Golden Crow Sect have it?"

"This is something a Supreme Elder from the Golden Crow Sect wants. There’s no need for us to fight them over it." Yinn Shang shook his head. "Even though I couldn’t identify the Spirit Plant, the mere fact that it could break through the laws of this Small World to reach the Tier Four level tells me its origins are anything but simple."

Golden Core Masters have already begun to grasp the ’Dao,’ possessing many abilities far beyond the reach of ordinary people. The Golden Crow Sect and the Celestial Vein Sect must have divined the changes within the Qiantian Secret Realm, which is why they made a last-minute decision to send people to participate. Their sole purpose was this Spirit Plant.

Given Luoxia City’s power, it wouldn’t have been impossible to contend with them, especially since this is our home turf.

However, before they entered the Secret Realm, Muu Guibai had already given him instructions. So, from the very beginning, they hadn’t made the Exotic Treasure within the Secret Realm their primary objective. Instead, they focused on methodically completing their tasks as usual.

Obtaining a single leaf from the Exotic Treasure was already an unexpected windfall. Letting Xia Qingxue have the core was no great loss.

Whether the Celestial Vein Sect returned empty-handed wasn’t their concern. That was an issue between the Golden Crow Sect and the Celestial Vein Sect.

Xia Qingxue’s offer was quite generous. Song Changsheng didn’t hesitate, immediately choosing to exchange the core for the vine in her hand.

Even though she had let him name his price, that didn’t mean she was a fool who would accept anything. Besides, the core’s value was difficult to determine, so it was better to trade it directly for the vine, which was of comparable worth.

As the main stalk of a Tier Four Spirit Plant, it couldn’t be of poor quality. It was more than qualified to serve as the primary material for a Tier Four Spiritual Artifact. If used to forge a Tier Two or Tier Three Spiritual Artifact, it would possess astounding potential.

His choice surprised Xia Qingxue slightly, but she didn’t comment. She simply gave a slight nod and completed the exchange for the core.

In any case, her mission was now complete. Although cultivating the Spirit Plant from the core would require a vast amount of time, that was a trivial matter for the Golden Crow Sect. As a Golden Core Sect that had stood for thousands of years, their heritage and resources were beyond imagination. It was simply a question of whether they were willing to pay the price.

"Fellow Daoist Xia, Fellow Daoist Song, since our business here is concluded, let’s prepare to head back." Seeing the two trade peacefully, Yinn Shang breathed a sigh of relief. ’If those two had actually fought, it would have been a real headache to handle.’

"You can go on ahead. I won’t be joining you," Song Changsheng said with a cupped-fist salute. "I’d like to explore a bit more."

Niu Dazhuang glanced at the three towering mountains around them and boomed, "Eldest Brother, you go on ahead! I’m going to stay behind and explore a bit too!"

Yinn Shang shot Niu Dazhuang a surprised glance but said nothing. He just gave him a warning look and said, "Fine. Just don’t lose track of the time."

With that, he grabbed the unconscious Hou Tianming from the ground and flew toward the exit on his sword. Xia Qingxue left with him. She had already completed the mission assigned by her Sect and had no interest in anything else here.

Once they were far enough away, Niu Dazhuang turned to Song Changsheng and grinned. "Now that the pests are gone, kid, let’s get back to our fight!"

Song Changsheng shook his head with a wry smile. "Fellow Daoist Niu, you didn’t deliberately stay behind just to engage in Magical Combat with me, did you?"

Hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in Niu Dazhuang’s eyes. "So you noticed it too."

"My skills may be unrefined, but I have a keen enough eye for that," Song Changsheng suggested with a smile. "The Array Patterns are right here. How about we each study them on our own and not disturb the other?"

Niu Dazhuang curled his lip. "You people with the surname Song are all so damn pretentious. I couldn’t figure it out, but you did. If your skills are ’unrefined,’ then what does that make me?"

He was still a little sore about it. After all, his master was Zhan Tianxia, the strongest Array Master in the Daqi Cultivation World, and he himself was a Tier Two Top-grade Array Master. Yet, in the end, Song Changsheng had completely stolen his thunder.

But he was a straightforward person. He could admit when someone was more skilled than him. He was just a little annoyed about it, but he bore no real ill will.

Song Changsheng just smiled and said no more. It wasn’t the first time he had dealt with the man, after all.

"Where would you like to start, Fellow Daoist Niu?"

Niu Dazhuang ignored him and flew straight toward the mountain they had previously damaged. He landed on the shattered summit and placed a hand on the ground. In an instant, bright Array Patterns began to emerge on the mountain’s surface.

These were the Original Array Patterns of the [Three Mountains and Three Talents Array]. Only a Natural Magical Array, formed by nature itself, would possess them. To anyone else, they were worthless, but to an Array Master, they were a priceless treasure.

Song Changsheng also landed on a mountaintop, but his method was different from Niu Dazhuang’s. With the help of his [Eye of Truth], he could comprehend the Original Array Patterns of all three mountains simultaneously.

The [Three Mountains and Three Talents Array], as its name suggests, was a special type of [Three Talents Array] formed by using an array to link the three great mountains. It operated on the same principles as the [Three Talents Array] Niu Dazhuang had deployed to break the array.

The three mountains represented "Heaven," "Earth," and "Man," respectively, and could draw upon the power of the cosmos. Once the array was formed, it integrated both offense and defense, endlessly renewing itself.

However, it likely hadn’t been formed for very long, so it still had quite a few weaknesses. It was far inferior to the [Illusionary Array] Song Changsheng had previously encountered in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, which was why he had so easily spotted its flaws.