However, how could the Purifying Fire be so easily extinguished?

The Purifying Fire seemed to be Spiritual, burning even more fiercely within the water mist and causing the Water Patterned Turtle’s shell to sizzle.

At that moment, Cyan Treasure’s snake tail moved again. Its internal Foundation Establishment Platform trembled lightly, and the Ancient Dragon Illusion flashed behind it, striking the ground.

The roots of the Poisonous Mushrooms suddenly underwent Solidification, turning into python-like tree roots that ensnared the three Pet Beasts: the Thunder Armor Hedgehog, the Cyan-Scaled Snake, and the Water Patterned Turtle.

The three Pet Beasts scrambled to escape, but an earthen wall had already been erected behind them, and they were bound tightly by the wooden roots that shot up after it.

This only caused the Purifying Fire on their bodies to burn even more intensely.

Cyan Treasure forced itself to its feet, muttering an incantation. Life Energy surged from its body like a tide, continuously pouring into the ground to strengthen its Control Power over the tree seeds and increase the venom output.

More and more roots sprouted from the ground, and on top of them grew new, white poisonous mushrooms.

Even though the three students still had Bottom Card Techniques they hadn’t used, their Pet Beasts’ strength was mostly drained, and their bodies would no longer obey them.

From the sky, the Thousand-eyed Wind Bird spoke in a human voice, its words carried by the wind to the ears of every student and Pet Beast on the field: "Gu Ming’s team has achieved a decisive victory and will receive bonus combat points.

"Zhou Han’s team has lost the ability to fight. Both sides will cease combat immediately!"

Hearing the verdict, the faces of the three students fell.

Upon hearing this, Gu Ming immediately had Cyan Treasure stop.

Cyan Treasure had been enduring the flames. Knowing they had won, it immediately let go, cutting off the supply of Life Energy.

Without a source to sustain them, the roots and poisonous mushrooms all turned into green particles of light, receding like a tide back into the earth.

The three surviving Pet Beasts looked as if they had escaped a catastrophe, appearing miserable and dejected, like eggplants beaten by frost, unable to even lift their heads.

The three students from Yangyang High School shot Gu Ming a hateful glare before picking up their Pet Beasts.

The Thousand-eyed Wind Bird in the sky suddenly grew larger. Talons made of wind grabbed the students and their pets, flying them toward the safe zone in the rear.

Just then, Wang Teng arrived, fashionably late. He saw the chaotic scene, but Gu Ming and Lu You appeared to be unharmed.

Cyan Treasure, on the other hand, was covered in blue flames, which was a strange sight that immediately caught his eye.

He asked, "Are you guys okay?"

"We’re fine. The fight just ended."

Wang Teng breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness you’re alright."

He had brought back some Yang Herbs from the Initial Forest. "I’ve got the medicinal herbs. What about you guys?"

As he spoke, Ah Kun happened to return with the Amphibian Rock and Cold Water Marrow, spitting out stones one after another onto the shore.

Several small, smooth, shimmering stones rolled to a stop at Gu Ming’s feet.

Wang Teng heard the sound and glanced down at Gu Ming’s feet.

He thought he had seen wrong, so he looked twice more, certain he hadn’t misread the situation.

"What’s with Ah Kun? It brought back some useless rocks."

Gu Ming coughed. He didn’t bother to explain, first pocketing the small, smooth stones before checking the quality of the Cold Water Marrow and the Amphibian Rock. "The materials are all ready. Let’s first..."

Just as he was about to change the subject and start preparing the medicine,

The system updated the plot:

「Special medicinal ingredients recovered by Ah Kun. Triggers a reaction in the Glowing Deer’s hidden bloodline.」

「As it turns out, the Yin Fire burning inside the Glowing Deer is the eternally inextinguishable Yin Marrow Spirit Fire of this land. Simply creating a Water Soul Stone is a temporary fix, not a permanent cure.

「To permanently solve the Glowing Deer’s problem, you must find the Fire Seed Source and perform a ritual to eliminate it, only then can the affliction be removed.」

Gu Ming paused. After glancing at the system, his attention was completely captivated by it.

Not until Wang Teng asked him why he wasn’t moving did Gu Ming snap back to his senses.

The system had just provided a second treatment plan. The core idea was that the one who tied the bell must be the one to untie it.

The Yin Fire here possessed intelligence. Even if a Water Soul Stone absorbed the Yin Fire Spiritual Object from the Glowing Deer’s body,

as long as the deer continued to live and breathe here, it would just reabsorb those Yin Fire particles, which would then ignite whenever it encountered fire.

To solve the problem completely, he had to bring the patient before the fire seed, perform a ritual prayer, and use the ceremony to eliminate the Yin Marrow Spirit Fire.

「After eliminating the Spiritual Fire, you can use the Glowing Deer’s Space Talent to find a way to leave this place.」

Gu Ming scratched his head. The system was still following the "spacetime hijacking" plotline.

The local fire was indeed strange. The organizers of the provincial exam must have had a deeper reason for designing this terrain.

If he just wanted to pass, he could simply provide a basic cure and move on to the next test site.

But if he wanted a high score, he needed to dig into the hidden test questions.

After careful consideration, he decided to try the system’s plan.

However, before searching for that Fire Seed Source, he had some preliminary work to do. First, he needed to purge the yin-natured medicine from the Glowing Deer’s body and Cyan Treasure’s to improve their physical condition. Then, he had to gather the materials for the ritual before setting out to eliminate the source.

Gu Ming communicated with Ah Kun, Dumb Flower, and Mouse Treasure, sending them off in different directions to find the ritual materials described by the system.

Afterward, Gu Ming inspected the items Ah Kun had brought back.

Aside from the items needed to create the Water Soul Stone, he couldn’t find the special Spiritual Object mentioned by the system—the one that could react with the bloodline.

"Strange, where is it?"

’Is the system tricking me?’

Gu Ming subconsciously touched his pocket.

’Could it be?’

The sparkly stones Ah Kun had brought back... Gu Ming had originally thought they were Spirit Stones.

He took one out to look. ’This isn’t a Spirit Stone,’ he thought, disappointed.

It was a piece of jade with a special Spirit Pattern on its surface, which refracted a strange light under the glow of the ghostly blue flames.

The moment this jade appeared, the injured Glowing Deer immediately looked over, as if it had sensed a fluctuation in its bloodline.

Gu Ming glanced at the system’s plot commentary, then had Cyan Treasure smash the jade to pieces with its tail, after which he manually ground it into a powder.

Then, Gu Ming took out a test tube of blood and mixed the powder with the deer’s blood inside it.

The instant the powder from the Star Pattern Grass met the Glowing Deer’s blood in the test tube, a strange phenomenon occurred:

a resplendent river of stars seemed to appear inside the test tube, with countless points of light swirling within.

Gu Ming was secretly amazed as he watched this fantastical reaction.

It was a spatial fluctuation!

If he didn’t have a Space Pet Beast, the Hidden Mist Butterfly, at home, he would have just thought it was something pretty to look at.

His two teammates at his side also looked over, but they didn’t show much of a reaction on their faces, as if they couldn’t see the brilliant, star-filled vista.

"This is a spatial fluctuation," Gu Ming explained. "This Glowing Deer isn’t an ordinary Spirit Beast; it possesses Space Talent."

As he spoke, he began to teach the two of them how to use the Blowing Wind Technique to shrink the Old Deng’s Health Array Pattern from the Cyan Pine Skill. By using this to resonate, they could send out Spiritual Waves to perceive the test tube.

Since the two of them had nothing else to do for the moment, they stopped and began to try this form of Cultivation.

Gu Ming possessed a Sword-shaped Divine Sense. He gently vibrated the sword’s body, transmitting his Sword Qi Divine Sense into the two of them to guide them slightly.

After several attempts, the two of them barely managed to succeed, finally seeing the scene of the river of stars swirling in the test tube.

"It’s a spatial fluctuation. This deer isn’t an ordinary Glowing Deer; it has Space Talent."

It was also at this time, as Gu Ming was using his Divine Sense to teach them, that the Thousand-eyed Wind Bird, which had been observing the three from overhead, silently swooped down and landed noiselessly on Gu Ming’s shoulder.

It stared intently at the test tube, tilting its head to listen to their conversation.

It nodded from time to time, its eyes glinting with a strange light, just like a teacher diligently proctoring an exam.

Gu Ming noticed its presence but didn’t try to hide anything.

After all, the barrier to entry for this technique wasn’t high. Anyone could figure it out with a little thought, so it didn’t matter if someone overheard.

However, back at the examiners’ location, everyone was far from Gu Ming’s calm demeanor. Several of them had gathered together, their eyes glued to the broadcast from the Thousand-eyed Wind Bird.