Chapter 211
The real person will surely reward him.
...
Li Qingran hurriedly led the disciples of the Sword Pavilion towards the entrance of the secret realm.
The scenery and fragments of ruins within the secret realm could change every year, but the location of the entrance remained constant; one only needed to follow the Mirror River westward.
At this moment, they were not far from the entrance.
Occasionally, they encountered disciples from other sects.
Li Qingran stopped in front of a rock, her exceptional dantian and dual spiritual roots, combined with her extraordinary insight, suddenly filled her with a strong sense of danger—a feeling of being watched.
Something was staring at her.
Staring at the disciples of the Sword Pavilion.
Feigning ignorance of that gaze, Li Qingran slipped from the front of the group to the back, acutely aware that the gaze followed her all the way.
It was almost certain now.
It was primarily aimed at her.
But the disciples of the Sword Pavilion might be caught in the crossfire.
After the recent battle, everyone was exhausted and could hardly endure any more turmoil. Yet she still had the energy to fight, especially with various life-saving items given by her master.
Since that was the case...
Li Qingran suddenly grabbed the sleeve of Tu Xinghe in front of her. "Senior Brother, could you please take everyone to the entrance of the secret realm first? I just remembered that Master asked me to find a spirit herb, and I caught a glimpse of it on the way. I need to go get it now."
Tu Xinghe hesitated for a moment. "Is it far?"
"Not too far. If I run quickly, I can be back in less than half an hour," Li Qingran smiled.
"Alright, you go ahead... Wait, hold on."
Tu Xinghe called out to Li Qingran, signaling a few nearby senior brothers to hand her all their protective items. He said seriously, "Although there’s almost no danger near the entrance, it’s better to be cautious. Take these with you."
Li Qingran did not refuse.
She accepted the talismans, pills, and sword pellets with both hands.
She knew that only by accepting these would her senior brothers and sisters feel at ease.
And what she needed was to reassure them.
As long as they safely traversed the last stretch, once the entrance to the secret realm opened, with her master guarding outside, everyone would be completely safe.
...
...
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Chapter 226: The Real - Luring the Tiger Away from Its Mountain
"Interesting, has she sensed my gaze?" Monk Huikong murmured to himself, watching the girl who had separated from the main group as she leisurely manipulated the remains of a demon cultivator to follow behind.
"Truly a talented disciple with great fortune! But this works out well; it saves me the trouble of having to disguise my intentions."
None of the disciples from the Sword Pavilion were lacking in talent.
His original plan was to capture all the disciples of the Sword Pavilion.
But now, his thoughts had changed.
The value of this female cultivator alone was worth more than all the other disciples combined, even if he included the three direct disciples and Yue Qianchi.
An exceptional dantian—how astonishing!
He hadn’t seen such strong talent in thousands of years.
Whether as material or a vessel, she was top-notch!
Song Chiyue wanting those three direct disciples from the Sword Pavilion had already annoyed him, and now she wanted him to hand over Yue Qianchi and Yun Suxin to Yaotai? What, was he supposed to just settle for scraps?!
So he didn’t plan to tell Song Chiyue.
This female sword cultivator, he intended to keep for himself!
...
"Hey, isn’t that Li Qingran?"
On a mountain peak.
The disciples of Chixiao Peak were attacking a restriction that contained many valuable items, likely from a cave dwelling opened by some ancient cultivator. They had already breached several similar restrictions and reaped considerable rewards.
This was also the reason they hadn’t gone when Song Chiyue summoned them.
"It really seems to be her."
Yun Zimo followed Zhang Hanxiao's pointing finger and saw Li Qingran racing through the mountains, frequently glancing back with a serious expression, as if she were evading some pursuer.
"Senior Brother, didn’t you say Li Qingran was tossed into some corner by the Sword Pavilion?"
Xiao Yifeng glanced at Lu Changtian beside him.
He was immediately startled.
Lu Changtian’s eyes were bloodshot, fists clenched, his body slightly trembling, and he was staring at Li Qingran with a gaze full of killing intent.
"Senior... Senior Brother?!"
"What’s wrong?" Lu Changtian withdrew his gaze, and the killing intent in his eyes dissipated. This left Xiao Yifeng momentarily confused, doubting whether he had just imagined it.
"I said that’s Li Qingran. It looks like she’s being chased by something."
"Oh." Lu Changtian nodded. "I see her. Although Li Qingran is no longer one of us from Chixiao Peak, she was once our junior sister. Are we really just going to watch her in trouble? Come, let’s go help her!"
"Huh?" Xiao Yifeng was dumbfounded. "Senior Brother, you... you’re not acting right. Didn’t you say you found Li Qingran disgusting? You already have Junior Sister Mu Baishuang, so you wouldn’t still..."
"What are you thinking? That was just in the heat of the moment." Lu Changtian rolled his eyes, already sheathing his sword and heading down the mountain without looking back. "Am I such a petty person? Don’t you want to know how our former junior sister is faring in the Sword Pavilion? Come on, let’s go."
The remaining three exchanged glances, feeling there was no real issue, and followed along.
...
"Have you been following me for so long without showing yourself?"
Li Qingran stopped in an open area, the gentle expression she usually wore vanished, replaced by coldness and killing intent.
"Jie jie jie, as expected of one with an exceptional dantian, you’re quite perceptive!"
A figure shrouded in demonic energy emerged from the shadows behind a rock.
Wherever it passed, flowers withered, and the chirping of insects fell silent, the pressure of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator bearing down on her.
"Demon cultivator remains?" Li Qingran frowned. "No, demon cultivator remains are the bones of cultivators who have lost their souls. They are formed from the lingering thoughts of deceased cultivators within the secret realm, resembling a resurrected evil spirit. They possess only the instinct to kill, lacking thought and consciousness, and certainly cannot speak..."
The demon cultivator before her was so broken and desiccated, with ghostly flames burning in its eye sockets.
It clearly resembled a demon cultivator's remains.
But why could it speak?
Could it be... that someone was controlling the demon cultivator remains?
Could the troubles over there with the formation also be related to these controlled demon cultivator remains?
"Fair maiden, your knowledge is commendable, but unfortunately, today I... this seat can only leave you here in this secret realm!"
As the words fell, Huikong commanded the demon cultivator remains to strike.
A ghostly claw emerged from beneath the black robe, sealing off all of Li Qingran's escape routes.
A late-stage Golden Core against a perfected Foundation Establishment? He had no idea how he could lose!
The female cultivator before him seemed stunned, standing frozen in place, likely feeling the gap between them and succumbing to despair.
A late-stage Golden Core—very impressive.
Li Qingran watched as the demon cultivator remains pulled out a large handful of talismans from its storage bag.
These were all ordinary Thunderfire Talismans, which her master often sent her in bulk.
Now, adding up the ones she had from occasional sect missions, she had about four or five hundred in total.
Her master seemed to frequently refine talismans.
To her master, these ordinary Thunderfire Talismans were just useless scraps.
So now, pulling out a large handful didn’t weigh on her conscience.
Demons feared thunder; she would weaken them first!
Facing the onslaught of the demon cultivator remains, Li Qingran’s mind was clear. She directly threw a Thunderfire Talismans.
She couldn’t win in a head-on confrontation; she had to suppress the opponent first.
In Huikong’s eyes, the girl who had been standing still suddenly moved, and then a storm of talismans filled the sky.
He swore he had never seen so many talismans flying in the air in his life.
And these talismans were real!
Boom! Boom! Boom—!
Countless bolts of thunder and fire rained down.
These Thunderfire Talismans, which would normally be ineffective against a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, were a different story when there were hundreds of them.
Moreover, the demon cultivator remains were not truly late-stage Golden Core; as the demonic energy on its body was consumed, its power would only weaken further.
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