Past Events of Core Formation

"Suit yourself then."

He Lingxiu didn't mind, but when Wang Li followed her onto the Azure Bird's back, he felt the bird looked at him with a hint of disdain.

He harbored a certain reverence for this Azure Bird.

The Cultivation World's classification of exotic beasts was absolutely simple and crude.

Exotic beasts that cultivators could tame and utilize were called spirit beasts, while those that cultivators could not use were called demonic beasts.

This Azure Bird, which merely seemed to show disdain in its eyes, was definitely classified among demonic beasts in the records of many sects.

Firstly, it was an exotic beast from Jizhi Continent.

Jizhi Continent was a standard chaotic continent, and a large portion of its territory was standard Desperate Lands.

Naturally, exotic beasts in a continent not ruled by cultivators wouldn't be inherently usable by them.

Secondly, although this type of Azure Bird wasn't inherently hostile to cultivators like some demonic beasts, to the point where they viewed cultivator flesh and blood as spirit pills, their nature was to dislike contact with other species and they held grudges.

If cultivators accidentally did something that displeased them, these exotic beasts would find ways to retaliate.

Their strength was not low either.

They could absorb starlight to cultivate, and before their lifespans were exhausted, most of them could rival cultivators at the Golden Core Peak.

Therefore, in the demonology of the Central Divine Continent, it was classified as a Level 4 Grade 9 demonic beast.

Like many Qi Concealment Talismans, it could simulate a cultivator's aura, confusing their senses. The Essence Devouring True Flame it exhaled possessed a certain spell nullification effect. Many cultivators were unwilling to fight such demonic beasts because they might lose many of their artifacts by the end of a battle.

Wang Li and Lü Shenliang had not entered Jizhi Continent before, nor had they directly dealt with such an Azure Bird. Wang Li couldn't precisely determine the cultivation stage of this Jizhi Azure Bird at the moment, but he was certain it was definitely not a young bird, meaning it possessed at least the strength of a Level 3 demonic beast.

He estimated that if he were to fight this bird, the outcome might be quite bleak.

He knew that He Lingxiu had mentioned that such exotic beasts could indeed be bought at Jiaomu Market with enough spirit sand. He was well aware that Jiaomu Market, in a sense, was a trading post for cultivators from the chaotic continent, and among the traveling merchants were many cultivators from the chaotic continent.

Many products from the chaotic continent were sold at markets like Jiaomu Market, and in return, they would purchase cultivation resources unobtainable in the chaotic continent.

But the key was that every transaction required genuine spirit sand.

The amount of spirit sand needed to acquire such a demonic beast was astonishing.

"Are you by any chance the illegitimate daughter of the Huayang Sect Master?" As the Jizhi Azure Bird soared into the clouds, Wang Li couldn't help but look at He Lingxiu beside him and ask, "Otherwise, at your age, where did you get such capabilities?"

"You're prying into my secrets," He Lingxiu replied with a chuckle, not angered. She turned slightly to look in the direction of the lone peak. Although Lü Shenliang's sword light had completely disappeared, she felt that Lü Shenliang was probably stopping somewhere, quietly watching her junior brother.

From all the scenes before, although she felt Wang Li's life was difficult, it was clear that this senior sister and junior brother truly depended on each other.

Coupled with what she knew about why Lü Shenliang and Wang Li were abandoned on the lone peak by the Profound Heaven Sect, she actually envied Wang Li for having such a senior sister and was simultaneously jealous of Lü Shenliang for having such a junior brother.

This feeling was complicated.

That was why, even when Old Ancestor Tong Hui's Yin Thunder Umbrella was stolen by these two, she didn't hold a grudge against them.

"Since we're going to the Seven Treasures Ancient Domain together, it's indeed necessary for both sides to understand and trust each other more." So after a chuckle, she looked at Wang Li with a half-smile and said, "But if you want to know some of my secrets, do you also need to pay an equivalent price?"

Wang Li's eyes immediately lit up. "Heh, fellow Daoist, are you truly the illegitimate daughter of the Huayang Sect Master?"

"Your train of thought is truly different from others," He Lingxiu said, looking at Wang Li speechlessly. Then she became serious again and said, "Your senior sister was unwilling back then, and later she had problems when she was at Foundation Establishment and Core Formation. Do you really think her failure in Core Formation was natural, and solely due to her own issues?"

Wang Li frowned deeply.

The smile on his face completely vanished.

He glanced at He Lingxiu and said, "At least it wasn't the Profound Heaven Sect people who tampered with it."

He Lingxiu said calmly, "How can you be so sure?"

Wang Li replied, "They're too cowardly, they wouldn't dare. Besides, senior sister isn't foolish. If they had tampered with it, she wouldn't have shown them any leniency all these years."

He Lingxiu gave a faint, sarcastic smile and said, "So you actually know deep down that many people under the Three Sages probably fear the growth of a cultivator with an immortal spiritual root."

Wang Li tilted his head slightly and said indifferently, "Who can say for sure? The Central Divine Continent is too far for us. For figures like the Three Sages who rule over various continents, who can know their thoughts?"

"As a disciple of the Profound Heaven Sect, being ostracized on the lone peak for so many years, haven't you ever thought of giving those people on Thirty-One Peaks a good lesson?" He Lingxiu narrowed her eyes slightly and said, "According to what your senior sister said earlier, perhaps even the Sect Master of the Profound Heaven Sect and the others are no match for your senior sister."

"So what?"

Wang Li also sneered, "After killing them all, we'll flee into the chaotic continent?"

He Lingxiu nodded and said, "That doesn't seem impossible."

"Then the Profound Heaven Sect would be gone."

Wang Li regained his composure, shook his head, and said, "The Profound Heaven Sect shouldn't be destroyed like this. The final outcome shouldn't be like this. Even if Thirty-One Peaks are like turtles, as long as they are still there, people will remember what happened, remember those Profound Heaven Sect cultivators who died in the chaotic continent."

He Lingxiu also calmed down. After a moment of silence, she nodded and said, "There's some truth to that."

Wang Li turned to look at her. "So, are you or are you not the illegitimate daughter of the Huayang Sect Master?"

He Lingxiu almost couldn't resist kicking Wang Li.

This was a complete U-turn.

The shift in topic was completely nonsensical.

"A dog that bites doesn't bark, but a dog that doesn't necessarily bite always likes to bark first," she said, taking a deep breath and looking at Wang Li. "Have you ever heard of a group of young cultivators from our Lesser Jade Continent who formed an alliance called the Scripture-Abandoning Dao-Departing Alliance?"

Wang Li exclaimed in surprise, "Are you by any chance a member of this Scripture-Abandoning Dao-Departing Alliance?"

He Lingxiu knew that Wang Li's way of thinking was rather peculiar. If she didn't respond directly, he might occasionally blurt out something that made it seem impossible to communicate. So this time, she decisively shook her head and said, "Of course, I'm not a member of the Scripture-Abandoning Dao-Departing Alliance. Have you heard of this Scripture-Abandoning Dao-Departing Alliance or not?"

Wang Li looked at her expression and felt that if he continued to speak nonsense, he might be thrown off the bird by it. So he honestly nodded and said, "I've heard of it."

"Since I said we need to understand and trust each other more, I don't mind telling you that the three cultivators we are going to rescue this time are members of the Scripture-Abandoning Dao-Departing Alliance," He Lingxiu said.