After being reborn, I stole the female lead's cheat ability and raised the empress.

Chapter 50 Infiltrating the Imperial Preceptor's Residence

Thinking about how the Third Prince had teased her, an idea gradually formed in Ali's mind. She nodded in agreement: "That's indeed the case."

"The black market provides them with shelter, clothes, and necessities, but they have to feed themselves. Although they sometimes get people from the slums to do things for them, the black market never forces them; you could call it charity." Yu Yang looked at the beggars with a calm expression.

Anyway, apart from Ali, there's no one here he cares about.

Hearing this, Ali became even more puzzled: "So, the black market isn't exactly good, but it's not bad either. Then why are there rumors that the black market is full of evil spirits?"

"Well...who knows? Maybe it's just a rumor spread by some people. After all, there are still a lot of people who don't like the black market."

"Yes, most people are ignorant and foolish. They believe whatever others say casually. If others refute them, they suddenly realize the truth, but they basically don't take responsibility for their actions."

"They don't think they've done anything wrong; after all, they were just saying a few words, what crime could they have committed?"

"But just a few words could have cost a young life." As a psychologist, she has encountered too many patients on the verge of collapse due to unbearable gossip, and has heard of many suicides caused by it, so she feels extremely angry. But the thought that some people still can't withstand the gossip and choose extreme measures fills her with a sense of powerlessness: "Perhaps public opinion thinks you deserve to die, so you must die. There will always be a group of people who follow the trend and attack others recklessly. The masses are also the easiest to fool; they stand on the moral high ground, executing others with the air of saints."

Yu Yang grinned slightly, knowing that the beggar's affairs were none of his business: "Let's go, we still need to go to the Imperial Preceptor's residence."

Ali glanced deeply in the direction the beggars had left, then said, "Okay."

Before long, the two arrived at the back mountain of the Imperial Preceptor's residence.

The entrance to the secret realm is right in front of us.

But now the two of them were in a dilemma.

It is speculated that the secret realm is indeed nearby, but it is located in the void and requires a token to open the void gate.

However, Ali looked around and saw that it was a small flat area halfway up the mountain. The scenery was pleasant, but there was nothing but flowers, plants, trees and rocks. How could she obtain the token?

The two searched every inch of the place thoroughly, but after a long time they found nothing. Yu Yang took out a spiritual fruit and handed it to Ali: "Here, eat this first, and then we can continue searching."

"What kind of fruit is this? It's quite pretty."

"Spirit Fruit".

"Spiritual fruit?" Ali took it and took a bite, her eyes shining: "Wow, don't be fooled by its green color, it doesn't taste sour or astringent at all, it's sweet, and the spiritual energy is sinking into my dantian. I feel all my fatigue has been swept away."

"That's right. This spiritual fruit contains spiritual energy. Eating it can replenish spiritual energy, making it extremely rare. Even people without cultivation can strengthen their bodies by eating it."

"Something this good must be very valuable, right?"

"It's not that expensive, at most a few taels of silver each."

Ali's voice rose several octaves: "How many ounces?"

One tael of gold = ten taels of silver = ten strings of copper coins = ten thousand copper coins. One copper coin here is roughly equivalent to one yuan in modern currency. A few taels would be equivalent to several thousand yuan.

Ali felt a pang of regret, then realized another problem and glared at Yu Yang: "Didn't you say you were broke? Where did you get these spirit fruits?"

Yu Yang froze for a moment, then immediately came up with an explanation: "Ahem, I just took it from Manxianglou. They have spirit fruits, so why not take them?"

Sure enough, once you tell one lie, you have to use thousands of other lies to cover it up.

Ali muttered to herself, then said to Yu Yang, "Really? I don't think I noticed before. How much did you take? Hurry up and give it to us so we can split it!"

Seeing that Yu Yang was really about to take it, Ali quickly stopped him: "Hey, no, I was just joking. This is your fruit, how could I possibly take it?"

"It's okay, I'm a man, I don't like these fruits and snacks, you can take them." Yu Yang smiled and handed all the fruit in his arms to Ali.

"Then... I won't stand on ceremony." She really didn't stand on ceremony, taking the spirit fruit and immediately putting it into her storage bag.

After finishing the spiritual fruit in her hand, Ali casually tossed the pit aside.

In an instant, the two of them froze.

Ali and Yu Yang slowly turned to look at each other. They could clearly hear that it wasn't the "crunch" sound of the fruit pit falling on the grass, but rather the "clang" sound of metal scraping against metal. Ali quickly looked in the direction where the fruit pit had been thrown.

Sure enough, a token appeared above the fruit pit.

Ali ran over happily to pick up the token, her face beaming with joy: "To hit the key with just a fruit pit, this luck is unbelievable."

"Yes, it came so easily. Let's go in quickly." Yu Yang echoed with a smile, awkwardly putting his right hand behind his back.

"Haha, yes, bringing you along was definitely the right decision."

If Ali had noticed Yu Yang's right hand, she would have seen blood still dripping from the tip of his index finger. Unfortunately, she didn't notice.

She's busy opening the door right now.

A surge of pure white spiritual energy flowed into the token. Ah Li grabbed the token and pointed it into the void.

In an instant, the air visibly shifted, and a vortex gate made of spiritual energy appeared out of thin air before the two of them.

Ali chuckled softly, "Let's go."

Yu Yang nodded and followed her into the secret cave.

The moment the two stepped inside, the portal closed automatically. They looked around and found themselves in a pitch-black tunnel with no end in sight. The only light came from the unidentified points of light hanging from the tunnel ceiling, resembling a sky full of stars.

As she walked, Ali suddenly screamed, "Ouch!" It turned out that a drop of water from her head had accidentally dripped onto her arm, and she could feel its coolness even through her clothes.

Yu Yang immediately asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

"I wasn't prepared, I was just a little surprised. It was just some water droplets from the cave ceiling that got on me, it's nothing serious." Ali didn't seem to care.

Upon hearing this, Yu Yang took out a cloak and covered Ali's head with it. "That way, the dripping won't get on you."

"Hmm..." Ali blushed slightly, clearly touched by the detail.

The two then continued walking forward.

However, this drop of water was quietly corroding Ali's arm. After a long time, the chill not only did not subside but increased, and Ali realized that something was wrong, feeling somewhat alarmed: Why is it so cold? And there was also a bit of piercing pain.

But it's dark inside the cave right now, so it's not convenient to observe. Let's wait until we're in a brighter place.

Thinking this, she urged, "Yu Yang, let's hurry up."

"it is good."

After walking for an unknown amount of time, when they took a step forward, the view suddenly opened up, and looking at the layout of the hall, they realized that it was actually an ancestral hall.

The ancestral hall is meticulously laid out, solemn and dignified, with exquisite architecture. The altar is fully furnished with lamps and offerings, and the statue of the old Taoist priest in the center is lifelike, even the individual hairs of his beard are clearly visible. On either side are murals, roughly depicting the life and deeds of the person being worshipped. The hall is clean and tidy, as if it is regularly maintained.

Ah Li looked at the markings on the table. Why was there a golden flower pattern here?

No, it's a large sector composed of countless small sectors.

Looking back, the tunnel, though only a step away, seemed like a thousand miles away. Not a ray of light penetrated the hall, and the dark tunnel arches accentuated the sacred atmosphere of the ancestral hall.

"No wonder there's no end in the tunnel."

The stinging sensation returned, and Ali quickly found a place to sit down. Since it was just below her shoulders, she had to take off her clothes first.

This startled Yu Yang, who was opposite him. He stared at Ali's clothes as they were gradually removed, revealing her delicate, white shoulders.

Holy crap, what is the boss doing? Is she trying to seduce me?

The boss with her bare shoulders is irresistible!

Boss, please don't do that, I can't help but want to kiss you!

Yu Yang pouted and swung his little arms toward her with a cheeky grin, his heart fluttering with desire.