Chapter 774

Two days later, outside a canyon in the inner palace.

After a flash of golden spiritual light, a burly man with a full beard appeared at the entrance of the canyon.

This man, whose cultivation had already reached the sixth layer of Jin Dan, was now filled with panic. Having just run out of the canyon, he didn't even have time to get his bearings before flying off into the distance without looking back, as if something formidable were chasing him from behind.

Not long after the man left, several more streaks of light flew out from the canyon. The leader had a very handsome appearance, and as he looked at the man fleeing in a panic not far ahead, a hint of mockery appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Junior Brother Qiu, that guy is about to get away, let's give chase!"

Hearing the reminder from a fellow Jin Dan disciple beside him, Qiu Wuxin shook his head slightly and said, "You don't need to intervene; leave this person to me."

"I've been in here for so long without really stretching my limbs. Before entering the Wind and Thunder Palace, it's time to let these people know that there are places they shouldn't be entering."

After saying this, Qiu Wuxin took out a high-tier spiritual talisman and stuck it on his body, and then he vanished from where he stood.

Before the few people beside him could even discover where he had gone, an elderly man among them with a higher cultivation at the late Jin Dan stage locked his gaze onto the fleeing man in the distance.

Following the elder's gaze, those few people realized that in just a moment, Qiu Wuxin had already caught up to a position not far behind the bearded man, his flight speed far exceeding the former's.

"Could what Senior Brother Qiu just used be the third-grade mid-quality Warm Wind Speed Talisman? A single spiritual talisman like that must cost at least seven or eight thousand spirit stones; Senior Brother is truly willing to spend."

Seeing Qiu Wuxin pursuing his opponent in the distance, an elder of the "Falling Maple Valley" standing on the spot couldn't help but sigh with envy.

Hearing this, another middle-aged man standing in the crowd laughed with a playful expression: "Heh heh! Senior Brother Qiu is deeply favored by the Martial Uncle; he is not like us. A third-grade mid-quality spiritual talisman is nothing to him."

"We can only blame ourselves for not having such good luck. If we could all be held in high regard by the Martial Uncle like Senior Brother Qiu, perhaps we might also obtain a chance at Nascent Soul formation in the future."

"Why do you two have so much to say? Who the sect will support in forming a Nascent Soul in the future is for the Martial Uncle to decide; is this something you can recklessly criticize here?"

"Look at Junior Sister Chen; she never gossips behind anyone's back. It's a waste that you formed your Golden Cores over a hundred years earlier; you really don't know how to keep your mouths shut at all."

While the two were talking, a man wearing Daoist robes in front suddenly spoke up to interrupt them, reprimanding the pair.

This man in Daoist robes was named Luo Liangshan, and his cultivation had already reached the peak of Jin Dan; he was the one with the highest cultivation among the five "Falling Maple Valley" elders present.

Luo Liangshan not only had outstanding cultivation talent but also served as the Sect Master within the sect, and his prestige was the highest of anyone besides the Supreme Elder Qiu Daoping.

Hearing the reprimand from this Sect Master, the two who had just spoken closed their mouths, but the look in their eyes when they glanced at Qiu Wuxin still revealed a hint of jealousy.

On the other hand, a female cultivator elder who had been standing on the spot without speaking the whole time had a very calm expression, seemingly having no great interest in what was happening before them.

While the few people here were talking, Qiu Wuxin, who had accelerated his flight speed with the help of the "Warm Wind Speed Talisman," finally approached the side of the bearded man after chasing for a distance.

Seeing the opponent catch up, the bearded man was also shocked, hurriedly pouring more magic power into his feet, wanting to increase his flight speed to shake off his opponent.

However, no matter how the bearded man cast his spells, the distance between him and Qiu Wuxin kept getting closer.

Before long, a cyan longsword had already appeared in Qiu Wuxin's hand, which then transformed into a sharp sword light over ten zhang long, rapidly stabbing toward the bearded man who was fleeing for his life.

Seeing the sword light coming menacingly from behind, the bearded man dared not respond lightly, hurriedly stopping his figure to take out a black shield magic treasure, casting a spell to enlarge it dozens of times to block in front of him.

Hearing only a loud "Bang," the bearded man was directly knocked flying dozens of zhang by the sword light released by Qiu Wuxin.

Before the man could steady his figure, Qiu Wuxin, who had already caught up from behind, slashed at him again from the air, the momentum of his sword edge astonishing.

The man desperately drove his magic treasure to resist, but still failed to block this sword from his opponent.

After a scream rang out, the shield magic treasure in front of the man directly split into two halves, and along with two of his fingers, they were all slashed off by this violent strike from Qiu Wuxin.

"Fellow Daoist Qiu, I just accidentally entered this place; I have no intention of competing with you for anything. Now that you have already obtained that spiritual object, there is no need to be so relentless, is there!"

Seeing that his best defensive magic treasure had been directly destroyed by the opponent like this, the bearded man, knowing he was no match for this fierce god before him, could only lower his head and beg for mercy toward Qiu Wuxin's position.

But this act of showing weakness did not cause the opponent to waver in the slightest. Qiu Wuxin looked at the other party with a hint of mockery, just shaking his head lightly, and then the flying sword hovering beside him lit up with dazzling spiritual light once again.

"Fellow Daoist, you are bullying people too much; aren't you afraid that I will fight you to the death!"

Seeing that the opponent still refused to let him go, the bearded man's expression suddenly changed, and a third-grade mid-quality high-tier spiritual talisman appeared in his hand, spitting out a few threatening words toward Qiu Wuxin.

Facing the man's thought of fighting to the death, the look in Qiu Wuxin's eyes toward the other party still remained unchanged.

"This fish of yours will certainly die, but the net will not break!"

After mocking the man, the momentum on Qiu Wuxin's whole body suddenly increased several times, and the flying sword in his hand broke through the air once again.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Qiu Wuxin returned to the crowd where "Falling Maple Valley" was located with a blank expression, with an extra emerald-green cloth bag in his hand.

And the bearded man who had just fought him had already been exterminated in mid-air, his body even burned to ashes.

Qiu Wuxin's cultivation had already reached the ninth layer of Jin Dan, and being favored by the sect's Supreme Elder, he had many high-tier magic treasures and spiritual talismans on him; his combat ability was such that even Sect Master Luo Liangshan might not necessarily be his match.

As for the bearded man who escaped from the canyon, his cultivation was only at the sixth layer of Jin Dan, and being a rogue cultivator by origin, he didn't even have a single magic treasure of third-grade top-quality.

The gap in strength between the two was truly vast; even if he wanted to fight to the death, it was impossible for the opponent to succeed.

Seeing Qiu Wuxin resolve the battle cleanly and neatly, the crowd from "Falling Maple Valley" felt no surprise at this result and hurriedly stepped forward to congratulate him.

Qiu Wuxin had long been accustomed to this kind of scene of being complimented by everyone; he just waved his hand lightly without paying too much attention.

"Sect Master Senior Brother, we have already been in here for six days now, and the gates of the Wind and Thunder Palace are about to open. Should we arrive there ahead of time, so as to save other sects from getting in before us and taking advantage of the situation?"

After congratulating Qiu Wuxin, the crowd from "Falling Maple Valley" standing on the spot began to discuss the upcoming itinerary.

Hearing the suggestion from the sect elder beside him, Luo Liangshan pondered slightly but did not directly express his stance to answer the other party, instead looking at Qiu Wuxin on the side with a smile.

"Junior Brother Qiu, before we came in this time, the Martial Uncle entrusted the matters in the secret realm to be led by you. I think it's better for you to make the decision!"

Seeing that Luo Liangshan did not make a decision directly but instead asked for his opinion, Qiu Wuxin revealed a hint of a smile and nodded, saying:

"The people who should be cleared out in this vicinity have been cleared out; staying here is meaningless. Since the time for the palace to open is almost here, let's go directly to wait outside the Wind and Thunder Palace! For the next actions, I ask everyone to lend me a hand; as long as we can successfully complete the mission, I will naturally meet with the Master to request rewards for everyone after we return."

"Heh heh! In that case, we thank Junior Brother Qiu."

After Luo Liangshan and a few others bowed to Qiu Wuxin to express their thanks, the few of them quickly transformed into several streaks of light and flew into the high sky, soon disappearing at the edge of the horizon. — Beside a huge water pool hundreds of miles away from the "Falling Maple Valley" crowd, six Jin Dan cultivators surrounded two giant white crocodiles exuding cold air, continuously casting spells to attack the opponent.

Although the two giant crocodiles had already reached the late Jin Dan stage, facing the siege of six Jin Dan cultivators with not-weak strength, they still fell into a disadvantageous position, trapped in a situation where they could only be passively beaten.

And above a piece of bluestone not far from the battlefield, a cyan-clothed man with thick eyebrows and sword-like eyes was holding a thick book and reading it slowly.

The cyan-clothed man's appearance while reading was very focused, and from time to time, a hint of a smile would appear at the corner of his mouth; he had no reaction at all to the fierce battlefield close at hand, seemingly as if he didn't see it at all.

This cyan-clothed man and the six people who had just besieged the demon beast were actually cultivators from the same sect; they were the number one sect of the "Tianhai Cultivation World," the Qingyang Sect.

As time slowly passed, one of the giant crocodiles with slightly weaker strength finally couldn't withstand the siege of the "Qingyang Sect" crowd and fell onto the battlefield with a "thump."

As for the other giant crocodile, seeing this, it also no longer had the courage to continue resisting. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone's attention was on its fallen companion, it suddenly spat out its natal Jin Dan and released several streaks of white light.

Although this white light was not very powerful in terms of lethality, it was a very good diversionary tactic.

After forcing back a mid-stage Jin Dan cultivator in front of it with the power of the white light, the remaining giant crocodile finally broke through the heavy siege of the crowd and ran straight toward the direction of the water pool rapidly.

"Not good! This guy wants to run, stop him quickly, otherwise once it escapes into the water, it won't be so easy to force it out again."

Seeing this scene, one of the "Qingyang Sect" late-stage Jin Dan cultivators with higher cultivation hurriedly shouted, then raised his flying sword and chased toward the direction where the giant crocodile was fleeing.

However, although his speed was fast, the remaining white giant crocodile didn't run slowly either; in just a moment's effort, it had already arrived at the shore, only a step away from the water pool.

Seeing that the white giant crocodile was about to escape into the bottomless water pool, a hint of disappointment suddenly appeared on the faces of the crowd chasing from behind.

But just at this moment, a five-colored spiritual light suddenly appeared in front of the white giant crocodile, blocking it and directly shaking it back more than ten zhang away. Immediately after, a cyan figure holding a scroll walked out from the five-colored spiritual light; it was the cyan-clothed man who was still reading a book hundreds of zhang away from the battlefield just now, the "Qingyang Sect" peak Jin Dan cultivator Xiao Haoran.

"Fighting so well, why are you in such a hurry to go back!"

Just after Xiao Haoran finished speaking, the white giant crocodile that had been shaken back far away had already steadied its figure, then kicked its legs hard on the ground and flew directly toward another direction, hoping to re-enter the water pool.

However, this time, when it was still a step away from the water pool, that five-colored spiritual light that appeared out of thin air suddenly appeared in front of the giant crocodile again, and immediately after, the same outcome appeared; the white giant crocodile was shaken flying more than ten zhang away again.

This time, Xiao Haoran's action of attacking was a bit slower, so much so that the few people who arrived from behind clearly saw his action just now.

He actually didn't use any magic treasure, directly shaking back this fierce late-stage Jin Dan demon beast with just his physical body.

Just seeing this somewhat astonishing scene, there wasn't much change on the faces of those six people; obviously, they had long expected Xiao Haoran's divine abilities, which was why they faced it so calmly.

"We still have to rush to the Wind and Thunder Palace in a while, you guys move faster and resolve him quickly."

Seeing that the white giant crocodile not far away had been re-surrounded by the "Qingyang Sect" six people who had arrived, Xiao Haoran gave an instruction and then sat down on the spot to continue reading the book in his hand, without the slightest intention of wanting to join the battlefield to help.

However, the other "Qingyang Sect" members who were fighting with the demon beast, hearing Xiao Haoran's urge, immediately gathered their spirits and each used their divine abilities to intensify the attack, leaving the demon beast before them with no chance to escape.

A quarter of an hour later, under the continuous siege of the "Qingyang Sect" crowd, the second white giant crocodile finally couldn't withstand it either, and soon fell to the ground, dying.

After the few people handled the corpses of the two demon beasts, they dived into the water pool beside them and found several white flowers exuding spiritual light, picked them, and only then returned to Xiao Haoran's side not far away.

"Senior Brother Xiao, it is indeed as you expected; the quality of the mature Ice Wind Snow Lotuses at the bottom of the pool has already reached above the third grade, and two of them have already reached third-grade top-quality."

"This time we not only killed two late-stage Jin Dan demon beasts but also obtained so many high-tier spiritual medicines; we can be considered to have found good things."

The "Qingyang Sect" few people took the spiritual objects in their hands to Xiao Haoran, introducing the spoils of this time to him with happy faces; everyone was very excited in their hearts about the results of this time.

One must know that these high-tier spiritual objects, if placed outside, are not things that can be bought with spirit stones by ordinary people; they are already enough to make any Jin Dan cultivator instantly become wealthy.

However, hearing the flattering words from his companions beside him with respect, Xiao Haoran, as the leader of the crowd, didn't have much change on his face, just nodding slightly in response, his gaze always remaining on the scroll in his hand.

Seemingly having no great interest in these high-tier spiritual objects in the hands of the few people that are extremely precious outside, it was instead the unremarkable book in his hand that could attract him more.

Seeing this situation, the "Qingyang Sect" few people didn't appear too surprised either; after reporting the results of the battle, they hurriedly put away these spiritual objects in their hands.

Xiao Haoran, this recognized number one genius Jin Dan cultivator of the "Tianhai Cultivation World," besides cultivation, had almost no interest in anything else, only loving to study some classical books that could be seen everywhere in the market.

And every time he saw something he was focused on, Xiao Haoran would be like this now, ignoring the things around him, completely immersed in the sea of books.

Seeing this, the "Qingyang Sect" crowd didn't dare to say much either, and could only stand on the spot and wait.

Until more than an hour later, Xiao Haoran, who had finished reading the whole book, put away the book in his hand and stood up to stretch his hands and feet.

Seeing this situation, an elderly man with a long beard standing on the side hurriedly stepped forward and asked:

"Senior Brother Xiao, now there is only half a day left until the time for the Wind and Thunder Palace to open. Should we hurry and go over there first, so as to save ourselves from being snatched in by people from other sects in a while."

"Hmm! Why is there only half a day left? You guys didn't say so earlier; if the Chen Chen Laozu knows that we entered later than others, there might be another reprimand after we go back."

"This."

Hearing Xiao Haoran's reprimand, the "Qingyang Sect" crowd on the side also revealed a hint of helplessness on their faces.

Throughout the whole "Qingyang Sect," everyone knew that Xiao Haoran disliked others disturbing his reading the most; even if the crowd had the heart to remind him, they were unwilling to spoil his fun at this time.

Xiao Haoran's cultivation had now reached the peak of the ninth layer of Jin Dan, almost the person with the most hope of advancing to the Nascent Soul realm in the entire "Tianhai Cultivation World"; perhaps he would become a high and lofty Nascent Soul cultivator not long after.

Although there were many "Qingyang Sect" elders present, everyone knew clearly that no one wanted to offend this future Nascent Soul Chen Chen Laozu of the sect casually for a small matter.

Fortunately, Xiao Haoran only questioned them a few times in his mouth and didn't really want to blame them, soon leading the crowd to leave the spot together.

Inside a cave full of raging flames, five female cultivators dressed in colorful clothes joined forces to trap a giant python exuding flames all over its body in the middle with a formation.

This fire python had a powerful momentum, and facing the third-grade top-quality formation driven by five Jin Dan cultivators, it still performed very fiercely, continuously spitting out incomparably powerful flames to attack the formation trapping it.

And the various magic treasures controlled by these five female cultivators, when hitting the fire python, could only splash a burst of sparks, causing no damage to it at all.

"Senior Sister Yu, this fire python is too powerful; I'm afraid we can't hold on for long. Should we notify the Senior Sister to withdraw first."

"No, the Senior Sister is still breaking the formation below; if we withdraw at this time, she will run into the fire python when she comes out, and it will be very difficult to retreat completely. Let's persist a little longer... Huh!"

Just when the two Jin Dan female cultivators in mid-air were talking, the aura on the fire python in the formation suddenly weakened rapidly, and its figure also shrank several times from the size of more than ten zhang just now, no longer able to pose any threat to the formation trapping it outside.

"Huh! Senior Sister, this fire python seems to be failing."

"Could it be that the Senior Sister has already broken the formation over there?"

Before the few people could confirm what was going on, a crimson streak of light flew back from the depths of the cave and landed beside the crowd, transforming into a young woman wearing red clothes.

"Senior Sister!"

Seeing this woman appear, a hint of joy suddenly appeared on the faces of the few people present, and they bowed to her.

After the red-clothed woman waved her hand, looking at the fire python struggling in front, she turned to face the crowd and said softly: "I have already broken the restriction inside just now; this guy can no longer pose a threat to us."

"You open the formation, and I will behead it!"

Hearing the red-clothed woman's words, the other five women on the side immediately nodded, then cast spells to let her into the formation.

Half a stick of incense later, following a sound of explosion, the fire python, which had been beaten to be covered in cuts and bruises, was directly pinned to the ground by the flying sword thrown out by the red-clothed woman, and soon it completely lost its breath, transforming into spiritual light and dissipating between heaven and earth.

After the fire python disappeared, a round ball the size of a palm exuding red light remained on the spot. Seeing this object, a hint of joy suddenly appeared on the red-clothed woman's face, and she stepped forward to pick it up.

"Congratulations to the Senior Sister, this Golden Flame Bead is finally in hand; after working for so long, fortunately, the effort was not wasted this time."

The other few people saw the round ball in the red-clothed woman's hand, all with happy faces, and stepped forward to congratulate her.

"Being able to successfully obtain this object is not my credit alone; after returning, I will naturally request rewards for everyone from the Chen Chen Laozu."

"Thank you, Senior Sister!" Hearing the red-clothed woman's verbal promise, the few people were all very happy in their hearts, and stepped forward to bow to her again.

After the few people were reserved on the spot for a while, one of the women took out a scroll magic treasure and looked at it, suddenly her expression became somewhat anxious:

"Senior Sister, just now we spent too much time dealing with the fire python; now there is less than two hours left until the Wind and Thunder Palace opens. If we don't hurry and set off, we might not be able to catch up with the people from other sects."

The red-clothed woman heard this, nodded slightly and said: "Hmm! But there is no need to be too anxious; even if they enter first, it is not so easy to want to compete for spiritual objects."

"Everyone hurry and search if there are any omissions nearby; let's gather here in a while, and we will set off together."

A quarter of an hour later, five or six streaks of spiritual light flew out from the cave just now, then rapidly crossed the horizon and disappeared in the sky on the other side.

At the same time, in other places located in the inner palace, there were still many cultivators whose cultivation had already reached the Jin Dan stage, who were fleeing for their lives just like them.

Although these people were traveling alone, some were in groups of three or five, but the direction and destination of everyone's advance were basically the same.

On a high mountain in the northeast corner of the inner palace, several streaks of light suddenly flew from the distant horizon, and after rapidly crossing the mountain top, they soon disappeared on the other side of the high mountain.

After the streaks of light disappeared, a golden butterfly that had been stopping on the tree trunk on the mountain top suddenly got up and flew, then entered a very hidden cave beside it.

A man wearing cyan clothes was hiding in the cave at this time, in seclusion and meditating, rapidly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth all around.

After the golden butterfly flew into the cave, it soon landed on the cyan-clothed man's hand, and before long, the person directly opened his eyes and stood up.

"Three more Jin Dan cultivators have come; the Wind and Thunder Palace should be opening immediately. It seems it is time for me to leave too!" (End of chapter)