Chapter 1107: Tian Chi Dan

As Li Luo was sighing over Jiang Qing's astonishing speed of accumulating merit points, the others also learned of this information, and their expressions immediately stirred with some shock.

"Junior Li Luo, your fiancée is truly a tiger." Senior Zong Sha said with a complicated expression.

How long had it been, yet she had already obtained the merit of three A's and one B? For traps like the one they had just encountered, was it simply delivering warmth to that Jiang Qing?

Yet on their side, after paying the price of nearly an entire squad being wiped out, they had only managed to slay one Great Evil Guai.

This stark contrast left one's feelings extremely complicated.

"How exactly did she do it? In such a short time, even Senior Lingyuan only slew one Great Evil Guai. Slaying three at once—even Wu Changkong couldn't do that, right?" Jiang Jiang Wanyu said in utter disbelief.

Feng Lingyuan's gaze lingered on the merit ranking board for a moment, then she said, "She possesses dual Nine-Grade Light Phases, which indeed have a strong restraining effect against aberrant beings. Given that, although this result is indeed astonishing, it isn't entirely beyond belief."

Then she glanced at the rankings behind. Second place also came from the Holy Light Ancient Academy—Ning Meng, two A's and one B. This person seemed to be the Upper Court's chief there.

Tied with Ning Meng was Wu Changkong, both with two A's and one B. As for those further down, it was more evenly matched—a string of one A and one B, with no real gap between them.

Feng Lingyuan looked for a while, then her gaze returned to Jiang Qing's name. A glint of keen interest flashed through her eyes. This rising supernova of the Holy Light Ancient Academy had directly suppressed the Upper Court chiefs of the two great ancient academies. Although this might only be temporary, it was enough to demonstrate Jiang Qing's ability.

Given a year or two more, such a person might well become the strongest student in the entire Academy Alliance.

Feng Lingyuan suddenly turned her head and looked toward Li Luo.

Li Luo found her gaze a little strange and said, "Senior Feng, what are you looking at?"

Feng Lingyuan said, "Such an outstanding Miss, and she hasn't broken off the engagement with you?"

Li Luo gave a faint smile. You didn't expect that, did you? Then you probably wouldn't expect even more that it was I who took the initiative to call off the engagement? Although in the end, he had pounded his chest in regret countless times in the dead of night over this pointless, self-defeating act, the engagement was already broken, so he could only force a smile and swallow the bitter fruit of his youthful, chuunibyou impulsiveness.

But naturally, he couldn't share all this with Feng Lingyuan. He replied with great bravado, "What kind of talk is that, Senior Feng? I'm not bad either, am I?"

Feng Lingyuan did not argue with this, because although Jiang Qing was dazzlingly brilliant, Li Luo was actually no simple matter either. He possessed three phases, and if one really got down to it, ordinary Lower Nine-Grades were no match for him. Moreover, he had been able to single-handedly defeat three Small Tian Xiang Seal-tier experts at the Five-Star Tian Zhu Jing level, which was enough to show that his own foundation far surpassed those of the same rank. Additionally, Li Luo hailed from the Li Li Tianwang lineage, giving him a top-tier, profound background. When these two factors were combined, Li Luo was truly an exceptionally powerful, perfect match.

Of course, another key point was that Li Luo's looks were also very high.

Feng Lingyuan glanced at the handsome face of the youth before her—his deep, bright black eyes carried a gentle smile, while a hint of sharpness hid at the bottom of his gaze, and his grey-white hair added a few different flavors to him.

Even though Feng Lingyuan was not someone who judged by looks, she had to admit that Li Luo's appearance was indeed quite pleasing to the eye.

"I hope you find this Jiang Qing soon. When the time comes, we'll join forces, rake in enough merit points in this conscription mission, and then crush that Wu Changkong until he can't move." Feng Lingyuan said.

"Senior Feng's words resonate deeply with me." Li Luo beamed with a brilliant smile.

Wu Changkong, right? Trying to suppress me, right? Just wait until I find the big white goose, and then I'll show you what the suppressive power of a husband-and-wife tag team looks like!

But then Li Luo reflected again—would relying on outside help make him seem a bit unmanly?

But he quickly found his answer.

The big white goose was family; there was no distinction between you and me, so naturally it didn't count as outside help.

And so, his conscience was at ease.

Just as they were talking, they suddenly sensed slight fluctuations in the surrounding space, and then the town before them gradually began to blur.

However, faced with this sudden change, the crowd was not surprised and merely watched quietly.

Because this town itself was not real, but rather a projection formed by the "Zhongsheng Guipi Tu." Now that the Evil Heart Pillar here had been destroyed, the projection naturally dissipated, and the scene would gradually revert to the original appearance of "Xiao Chentian."

The town quickly vanished, replaced by a secluded mountain valley. However, the environment within the valley had already withered entirely due to the erosion of the malevolent Qi, so it appeared somewhat desolate.

Yet not everything had withered. At a certain spot in the valley, the ground had caved in, revealing a depression, from which countless crimson crystals had tumbled out, and embedded upon these crystals were scattered crimson-red pills.

The pills were round and smooth, flowing with mysterious light, emitting a strange fragrance.

"This is... Tian Chi Dan?"

Feng Lingyuan took one look and identified it. Her eyes immediately brightened slightly. This so-called "Tian Chi Dan" was not a pill refined by humans, but rather a unique "Tian Chi Dan" formed when a spiritual insect called the "Chi Qin Lian Chong" burrowed into the interior of some minerals containing the energy of heaven and earth, and the two eventually fused together.

This "Tian Chi Dan" contained pure heaven and earth energy, and was a rather rare cultivation resource with the effect of enhancing phase force. Even in the auction houses of Inner Shenzhou, this item was extremely sought after.

The others' eyes also gleamed with heat, clearly not expecting such an unexpected windfall.

"This is the location of that Evil Heart Pillar from earlier." Deng Changbai observed for a while and said.

Feng Lingyuan nodded and said, "The construction of an Evil Heart Pillar also requires finding a place where heaven and earth energy gathers. The fact that 'Tian Chi Dan' can grow here naturally makes this the place with the most abundant heaven and earth energy in this area."

With a sweep of her sleeve, she directly swept up all the "Tian Chi Dan" here. There were roughly several dozen pills, though some were not fully mature. Among them, three were the most striking—crimson as fire, crystal clear throughout, and one could even faintly see a curled-up insect shadow at their center.

These three "Tian Chi Dan" could be considered top-grade.

Feng Lingyuan unceremoniously took one for herself, then flicked another to Deng Changbai. The latter had also withstood a Great Evil Guai earlier, and with his teammates having been captured, he certainly deserved a share of one.

As for the last one, she thought for a moment, then simply gave it to Li Luo.

"If it hadn't been for you earlier, our side would likely have suffered heavy losses as well, so you deserve a share of one." Feng Lingyuan had a forceful personality and did not consult with the others, but directly made the decision.

However, the others had no objections either. After all, as Feng Lingyuan had said, if it hadn't been for Li Luo earlier, they would probably have been in unknown life-or-death situations by now.

Seeing this, Li Luo did not stand on ceremony. He reached out and took it. With this "Tian Chi Dan," his strength could also be enhanced by a fraction. The dangers of this Xiao Chentian were more terrifying than imagined, so he still had to seize every opportunity to boost his strength.

The remaining "Tian Chi Dan" of much lower grade were distributed evenly among the crowd by Feng Lingyuan, which could be considered a happy outcome for all.

The terrifying atmosphere brought about by the Great Evil Guai earlier had indeed faded considerably under the impact of these "Tian Chi Dan."

Li Luo pinched the "Tian Chi Dan" and somewhat understood why the Tianyuan Ancient Academy planned to contest this "Xiao Chentian" with the "Zhongsheng Demon King." This space clearly possessed extremely vast cultivation resources, and if they could swallow it up, it would undoubtedly be an extremely abundant stockpile of provisions for the academy.

Right now, just one "Thousand-Skin Evil Heart Pillar" location had treasures like "Tian Chi Dan." If those "Ten-Thousand-Skin Evil Heart Pillar" locations were any indication, there would likely be even rarer heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

Thinking of this, Li Luo's heart grew a fraction hotter.

Although merit points could also be exchanged for resources, that was ultimately more delayed. But personally obtained heavenly materials and earthly treasures had a real-time quality, and besides, the two did not conflict.

He could simply take both portions.

Li Luo and Feng Lingyuan exchanged a glance, both seeing the fervent intent in each other's eyes.

Feng Lingyuan was now at the late-stage Da Tian Xiang Jing and was also preparing for her future Marquis path, so the cultivation resources she needed were even more enormous. This "Xiao Chentian" was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for her.

Thus, Feng Lingyuan no longer hesitated and directly cast her gaze upon the map light screen projected by the "Ancient Spirit Leaf." There, several blood-red skull markers had appeared, each skull representing a large "Aberrant Nest."

These places would be the main battlegrounds going forward.

All squads from the two ancient academies would push toward these locations.

"Deng Changbai, are you going to follow us?" Feng Lingyuan said, her eyes flickering slightly.

Deng Changbai hesitated for a moment. Feng Lingyuan had just given him a "Tian Chi Dan," so it would be awkward for him to refuse. Moreover, all his own squad members had been captured, and he indeed needed to find a powerful helper. Feng Lingyuan, who ranked second in the Upper Court, was naturally a very good choice. The only issue was that Wu Changkong seemed to have some grudge against Li Luo earlier. If he followed along, would he offend Wu Changkong?

However, he immediately recalled the conversation between Li Luo and the others just now; the number one on the Merit List, Jiang Jiang Qinge, was actually Li Luo's fiancée?

She sounded like a ruthless character; in that case, there was indeed no need to be too wary of Wu Changkong.

His thoughts turning, Deng Changbai quickly made a decision and nodded at Feng Lingyuan to indicate his willingness to temporarily join forces.

Feng Lingyuan smiled faintly, her slender jade finger pointing at a blood-red skull, making the decision directly.

"Then next, we will advance directly toward here."