The heavenly fire had gradually diminished, but the Cannibal Flower Lady Qiu Tian had also disappeared.

"Zhiyo~" Little Zhiyo's eyes were brimming with tears. It had only just found a familiar face, but Lady Qiu Tian was gone in less than a day.

As an Ancient Creature, Little Zhiyo was different from the common Spiritual Beasts and had no friends.

It had hoped that through Lady Qiu Tian, it could receive news of other Ancient Creatures, but alas, it had not managed to find out anything before Qiu Tian died.

"Don't be too sad, Little Zhiyo. You still have me and Little Wuya," Ye Lingyue said as she looked at Little Zhiyo's sorrowful face, feeling sad for it. She picked up Little Zhiyo and held it close to her chest, gently comforting it.

Little Wuya also flew over, touching Little Zhiyo with its tender beak.

Indeed, it still had its big sister and Little Wuya. It wasn't alone. Little Zhiyo felt a lot better.

After comforting Little Zhiyo, Ye Lingyue began to circle around the meteorite.

She wondered, what exactly did Lady Qiu Tian want her to do here?

Could it be for this meteorite?

Considering that it had crushed a near thousand-year-old, dozens of meters tall Cannibal Flower into ash in an instant, the size of the meteorite could be imagined.

Its surface was pocked and uneven, and it looked to weigh several thousand pounds, requiring at least a dozen strong Martial Artists to move it.

Ye Lingyue touched the meteorite with her hand, and the Qian Cauldron's Breath seeped into the meteorite.

Upon examination, Ye Lingyue was pleasantly surprised.

Good heavens, this colossal meteorite was truly a treasure, for it contained an immensely rich reserve of Meteorite Iron.

Among the mainland's three famous irons, Meteorite Iron was originally extracted by a Ming Alchemist from a small piece of meteorite by chance.

From this huge meteorite, at least a thousand pounds of Meteorite Iron could be extracted.

Unexpectedly, Lady Qiu Tian's Reincarnation Tribulation had become an opportunity for Ye Lingyue.

It would be foolish not to take advantage of such an opportunity.

Ye Lingyue immediately started to cut the meteorite.

Meteorites are extraterrestrial objects of astonishing hardness, but fortunately, Ye Lingyue had the Star Saliva Dagger, infused with Dragon Saliva Iron and Meteorite Iron.

She exerted force with her feet, climbed nimbly onto the massive object, and from a high vantage point, the meteorite looked like a small hill.

"I must finish cutting the meteorite before the army from Qi City arrives," Ye Lingyue thought. She had heard that Hong Fang and others had already reached Qi City. She couldn't let Hong Fang and Xiahou Qi gain from the meteorite.

With a focused mind, the Star Saliva buzzed and split into nine. Having mastered the third of the Ghost Sect Thirteen Needles, Ye Lingyue's control over the Star Saliva had become even more skillful.

Nine daggers traced nine sharp arcs in the air.

There were several clanging sounds as the hill-like meteorite shuddered.

A cloud of dust rose, and following a loud boom, the meteorite was split into nine pieces.

Each piece weighed over a hundred pounds, and the cut surfaces were smooth and flawless, emitting a silvery white gleam.

Having finished cutting the meteorite, Ye Lingyue then used her Divine Sense to move all the meteorite pieces into Hong Meng Heaven. She planned to refine them slowly once she arrived at Dan City.

After completing all this, Ye Lingyue looked down and saw a tender green sprout in the fertile black soil, growing where the meteorite had once been.

It was a sprout that had not grown for long, its tips still covered with fuzz.

Unlike an average sprout, the leaves of this one bore a mark resembling lips, which seemed oddly familiar.

"Zhiyo~"

Little Zhiyo approached it, sniffed around, and let out a cry of surprise.

This sprout had the same aura as Lady Qiu Tian.

"Could it be that this is what's left after the Cannibal Flower Lady Qiu Tian's failed Reincarnation Tribulation?" Ye Lingyue couldn't believe her eyes as she looked at the tiny little one.

Little Zhiyo nodded frantically.

Qiu Tian was an Ancient Creature, different from ordinary Spiritual Beasts. If it were any other Spiritual Beast, facing such a formidable natural disaster might have resulted in it being reduced to dust.

However, Qiu Tian managed to preserve its last seed and, after failing the Tribulation, used that seed to be reborn anew.

Even ants strive for survival; no wonder Qiu Tian asked Ye Lingyue to come here today. It must have sensed the Wood Spirit aura in her.

Qiu Tian knew that by staying beside Ye Lingyue and with the help of the Wood Spirit, it could one day grow back into the towering presence of the Ancient Creature Qiu Tian.

"I've become a nanny now," mumbled Ye Lingyue. "Qiu Tian, you really owe me a big one this time. Once you return to your true form, we'll settle the score."

Ye Lingyue was somewhat exasperated. She found that ever since she accidentally received the title of Hong Meng Heavenly Queen, she had been taking in more and more weak and ailing creatures, from Little Zhiyo to Little Wuya.

As if understanding Ye Lingyue's words, the little one used its fuzzy leaves to gently rub against Ye Lingyue's fingers.

After moving Qiu Tian into the Hong Meng Heavenly Queen, Ye Lingyue quickly left Black Valley.

No one knew that after the hopeless disaster, such a small interlude had occurred in Black Valley.

It wasn't long after Ye Lingyue had left.

The ground, which looked ashen, began to tremble slightly.

The trembling, accompanied by strange sounds like the gnashing of teeth, grew in intensity and volume.

As if something was restlessly moving under the ground, about to burst forth from the earth at any moment.

Suddenly!

The ground cracked open swiftly, just like the earth parched from days without rain.

Yet the soil of Black Valley seemed moist.

Gusts of chilling Xuanyin Evil Qi emerged from beneath the ground.

A sigh that was neither male nor female, along with a thunderous noise, burst forth from the ground in an instant.

It was a man dressed in a grey robe.

To say he was wearing a robe was an overstatement, as the man's clothing was tattered, barely providing any coverage, and it looked like he hadn't changed clothes in a long time. Inside his open chest, a lean torso could be seen, carrying an allure that could make women and married ladies' hearts flutter.

His hair was an odd shade of grey; unlike humans, his ears were long and pointed; and the corners of his mouth revealed sharp fangs like those of a wild beast. His pale and slender fingers had nails an inch long.

His pupils, the same color as his hair, were dull and cold, exuding a neurotically violent aura.

This was a demon born for slaughter.

But what was most shocking was a strange tattooed face on the man's arm. If Ye Lingyue saw it, she would undoubtedly recognize it.

Because that ghost-faced tattoo bore a striking resemblance to the ghost tatoo on Wu Zhong's body.