Chapter 85

    Assembling the Team in a Single Day!!!

    Ji Zhiqing slightly sensed her surroundings, then opened her serene and captivating eyes that seemed to embody the tranquility of time.

    “Did we succeed?” she asked softly.

    Zhou Qin nodded, “Yes, Aunt Qing, we’ve made it in.”

    The idea of transforming Aunt Qing into her original form and passing through the spatial rift as a magical artifact was a sudden brainstorm from the sect leader during their earlier discussions on how to handle the situation.

    Unexpectedly, when they tried it today, it actually worked.

    It seemed that the spatial rift had automatically classified Aunt Qing as a magical artifact. While this classification wasn’t entirely wrong, it didn’t account for the fact that artifacts could also take on human forms!

    With her cultivation at the fourth level of the Divine Transformation stage and the complete restoration and unsealing of an ancient divine artifact, compared to other sects whose strongest members were only at the Nascent Soul level, this was nothing short of a dimensional downgrade in terms of power.

    “Xiao Qin, what should we do now?” Ji Zhiqing asked gently. She was here to act as the enforcer and had no intention of overthinking things.

    Her demeanor remained as gentle as ever, though there was a hint of subtle resentment mixed in.

    In truth, she would have preferred to stay at the sect to accompany Young Master Ning.

    After all, the Qinglian Sect still had a full thousand disciples remaining behind. These disciples were still young and at the golden age for improving their cultivation. She should have been there refining Qinglian Chongyang Pills for them.

    Ji Zhiqing felt a pang of regret.

    Perhaps this was a common flaw.

    At first, she had diligently collected the necessary ingredients, but over time, she began to skim off the top.

    Initially, she would use ninety percent of the precious Jade Nectar to refine pills, which would be enough to supply the entire sect with Qinglian Chongyang Pills for nearly a month.

    But gradually, she started using only eighty percent, then seventy percent…

    Until now, Ji Zhiqing was taking a ninety percent cut of the raw materials, using only the remaining ten percent of the Jade Nectar to refine pills.

    As a result, the pills would run out in just two or three days.

    This forced Ji Zhiqing to frequently visit Ning Chen to seek his guidance.

    As for the frequent shortages of Qinglian Chongyang Pills, she publicly claimed that the extraction process for the most crucial ingredient was extremely difficult.

    The reason Elder Ji was often absent from the alchemy hall was that she had to leave to refine this essential ingredient.

    Once this explanation spread throughout the sect, many clever female cultivators began hoarding the pills, hoping to make a fortune in the future.

    Sometimes, Ji Zhiqing would even despise her own actions, but when she compared herself to the sect leader and others, she felt that she was still quite responsible.

    No matter how much she skimmed off, she still managed to refine the exact required amount of Qinglian Chongyang Pills every month. At most, she had to endure a bit of hardship and make a few extra trips, but she found it worthwhile. sea??h thё n??el Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This was still better than those who took everything for themselves without a thought for others.

    The reason she had been able to quickly restore her cultivation to the fourth level of the Divine Transformation stage was largely thanks to Young Master Ning’s Jade Nectar. After all, as a divine artifact, the amount of energy she needed to advance each stage was far greater than that of an ordinary cultivator!

    Zhou Qin, of course, had no idea about the thoughts running through Ji Zhiqing’s mind.

    After a moment of consideration, she spoke up, “Aunt Qing, let’s find the others first.”

    As a Nascent Soul cultivator, she had a guarantee of safety, but the other junior sisters did not.

    Bringing Aunt Qing here wasn’t just for sightseeing.

    At the very least, they needed to gather the sect’s disciples in this space as quickly as possible. With Aunt Qing’s strength and her own, they could provide protection and minimize casualties in case of any danger.

    This random teleportation had truly caught them off guard.

    Zhou Qin was mainly concerned about the ordinary disciples. As for the other senior sisters who were also direct disciples, she wasn’t worried in the slightest.

    Frankly, it would be a miracle if they didn’t turn the entire secret realm upside down.

    …

    Meanwhile, in another part of the vast space.

    Two humanoid creatures, each about three meters tall, with fiery red skin, bulging muscles, and wearing beast-hide skirts, were wandering through a lifeless forest of withered trees.

    Their bald, Mediterranean-like heads were hideous, no less terrifying than the most fearsome demons.

    They had thick, long horns on their heads, rough skin, and flat noses with exposed nasal cavities. Their sharp fangs protruded from their lips, making them look both grotesque and menacing.

    One of the red-skinned monsters licked its lips with a long tongue, its voice rumbling like a deep hum.

    “Hohoho, three thousand years! We’ve finally hit the jackpot. The legendary rift has opened again.”

    The other monster beside it also grinned, “Yes, our ancestors have passed down the tales. Whenever this happens, as long as we don’t leave, the heavens will reward us with the most delicious humans as food. I wonder what they taste like?”

    “But we should still be careful. The ancestors also said that some humans can be very powerful.”

    “Who cares? We’re the warriors of our tribe! We’re not like the ordinary clansmen. We’re far stronger.”

    “That’s true.”

    “Besides, in three days, it will be the coming-of-age ceremony for Princess Iya, the only child of our chieftain. Let’s take this chance to hunt as many humans as possible, pick the most delicious ones, and offer their blood as a tribute! When the time comes, we’ll surely stand out and become Princess Iya’s husbands!”

    “Hahaha, of course!”

    The two monsters chatted back and forth.

    Until a strange rustling sound came from the withered forest ahead.

    The two monsters exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of caution and excitement.

    Finally, a small figure emerged from the trees.

    It was a little girl with her hair tied into two buns on top of her head.

    Instantly, the monsters’ eyes lit up.

    Her aura, her tender, fair skin!

    Just looking at her, they could tell how delicious she would be!

    Steaming her would be the best way to cook her!

    Seeing the two monsters staring at her in a daze, Duanmu Yao was puzzled. She lowered her head to check her clothes, but found nothing wrong.

    When she first landed in the forest and found herself alone, she began searching for a way out.

    But with no sense of direction, she had been wandering aimlessly like a headless fly.

    Finally, she heard some low voices. Although they definitely didn’t belong to the female cultivators of her Qinglian Sect, she thought it would be good to team up temporarily to find a way out.

    Unexpectedly, she encountered these two creatures that were neither human nor ghost.

    “Hey!” Duanmu Yao raised her head and asked in a clear voice, “Are you two the so-called demons? Do you know how to get out of here?”

    Hearing this, one of the monsters grinned hideously, “Demons? We are the noble Blood Demon warriors!”

    “You’re a human, aren’t you? Running into us two brothers is your bad luck.”

    The Blood Demon was extremely arrogant, his ugly eyes filled with disdain and greed for this new delicacy.

    This little sprout, who didn’t even look like she had reached adulthood, couldn’t possibly be dangerous.

    It was laughable. In his opinion, the ancestral warnings had been exaggerated over time.

    The male Blood Demons were born with strong physiques, impervious to blades and fire. What was there to fear!

    As the Blood Demon warrior was happily imagining how to best prepare this delicacy for maximum flavor, his vision suddenly blurred. The spot where the little girl had been standing was now empty.

    By the time he realized what had happened, Duanmu Yao had already leaped onto his face.

    She raised her small hand, clenched it into a fist, and swung it down from above!

    Boom!

    The sound of bones colliding and crushing against each other was sickening to the ears.

    Crash!

    Then came an even louder explosion.

    The entire ground shook violently.

    When everything settled, Duanmu Yao stood up, casually flicking the blood off her hand.

    “Disgusting. You didn’t even answer my question. Demons are really arrogant!”

    Ignoring the massive crater in the ground and the Blood Demon warrior whose head had been completely smashed and body severely deformed, Duanmu Yao turned her little head to look at the other Blood Demon warrior, who was now trembling in fear.

    Still using the same matter-of-fact tone, she asked, “Hey, big guy.”

    “Do you know how to get out of here?”

    …