Four Gather Together!

Hearing Gu He's assured answer, Nalan Yanran fell silent for a moment before saying with a resolute gaze, "Master, I know you are saying this to encourage Yan Ran. I know my own talent very well. Senior Sister Xian'er and Junior Sister are both far more talented than I am... But Yan Ran will not be discouraged because of this. I will also fight for the position of Saint!"

"Senior Sister Yan Ran, how could Qing Lin's talent compare..."

"Junior Sister, your senior sister can see her own talent clearly!"

Seeing Nalan Yanran speak like this, Qing Lin grew flustered and wanted to explain, but Nalan Yanran interrupted her.

When Qing Lin still wanted to say something, Gu He raised a hand to signal her to stop. Then, in a gentle tone, he said, "Yan Ran, talent can indeed determine a person's upper limit. It is good that you can think this way... As your master, I can guarantee that as long as you all put in the effort, your final gains will not disappoint you!"

"Yan Ran will certainly remember Master's teachings!" Nalan Yanran said solemnly as she bowed to Gu He.

Seeing this, Qing Lin also echoed Nalan Yanran's words.

"Very good... My true body has gone on a journey and will not return to the Jia Ma Empire for some time. Here are eight Void Jade Talismans. If you go out to gain experience and encounter trouble you cannot resolve, do not hesitate to use them, especially if you encounter matters related to the Soul Hall again!" Gu He took out another eight Void Jade Talismans and handed them to Nalan Yanran as he instructed her.

"Mm!"

Taking the Void Jade Talismans, Nalan Yanran nodded heavily.

After making these arrangements, Gu He's clone sent Protector Qing and Feng Protector away from Nine-Colored Valley. He assigned Protector Qing to a city near Wutan City, while Feng Protector remained near the imperial capital.

At present, Gu He's true body had already reached the terrifying peak of a second-revolution Nine-star Dou Zun. Before the clone cultivated to that realm, it would not encounter any bottlenecks. It merely needed to accumulate energy relentlessly, so the clone temporarily remained in Nine-Colored Valley, a place rich in spiritual energy, to cultivate.

In the blink of an eye, nearly another two months passed.

During this time, Nalan Yanran became increasingly adept at handling the Misty Cloud Sect's affairs, both great and small. Moreover, with strength enough to crush the older generation, her prestige within the Misty Cloud Sect rose to an extremely high level. Elders such as Yun Leng obeyed her every word.

After Liu Ling and Xiao Jin went to Stone Desert City, they spent over two months further strengthening the Senior Disciple Mercenary Group. Its members were no longer limited to Stone Desert City alone. The areas along the Jia Ma Empire's border connected to the Monster Beast Mountain Range were also filled with members of the Senior Disciple Mercenary Group. Furthermore, two new Dou Ling experts had joined the mercenary group, and there were even more mercenaries at the Da Dou Shi level.

Moreover, at the edge of the desert near Stone Desert City, Liu Ling happened to encounter Yue Mei, leader of the Snake People Tribe's Charming Snake Tribe, once again. Because of a previous agreement, the two fought as soon as they met. However, with Liu Ling's current strength as an Eight-star Dou King, he defeated Yue Mei with great ease.

His astonishingly rapid increase in strength made Yue Mei blurt out the word "freak." After defeating her, Liu Ling deliberately showed off for a while, leaving Yue Mei red-faced with anger yet utterly helpless.

After teasing Yue Mei for a while, Liu Ling saw how angry she was and went over to try to cheer her up... Through their later interactions, feelings gradually developed between Liu Ling and Yue Mei. However, because of certain orders Queen Medusa had issued before, Yue Mei always held herself back and did not dare reveal her true feelings.

"Yue Mei, the next time I come to the Tagor Desert, I will bring the Shapeshifting Pill. Wait for me!"

Standing atop a sand dune at the edge of the great desert, Liu Ling waved to Yue Mei and said his farewell. Then, he flapped the wings on his back and flew toward the Misty Cloud Sect.

Cloud Mist Empire.

More than two months earlier, after Xiao Yi Xian returned to the Poison Sect, she no longer relied on Little Silver's power. With her own strength alone, she intimidated every expert, including Xie Bi Yan.

Under her deterrence, the Poison Sect, which had only recently been established and still contained some open and secret struggles, quickly became as solid as iron. Any voices of dissent were suppressed.

Within the Poison Sect, Hua An, as the sect's Left Protector, still handled all its affairs on behalf of Xiao Yi Xian, the Sect Leader. After seeing Xiao Yi Xian's extraordinary potential, Xie Bi Yan, a Dou Zong expert, also served her wholeheartedly and did not dare show the slightest disobedience.

It was precisely because of this that, less than half a month after Xiao Yi Xian returned to the Poison Sect, nearly all forces within the Cloud Mist Empire, aside from the Alchemist Association, were absorbed by the Poison Sect. Even the imperial family of the Cloud Mist Empire, which existed only in name, was no exception. With the tide of events against them, all members of the imperial family could only disband and be reduced to commoners. Most of the imperial family's retainers and generals had no choice but to join the Poison Sect.

At this point, the Poison Sect's number of Dou Emperor experts suddenly exceeded ten, while there were even more Dou Kings, numbering sixty or seventy in total.

After reorganizing the Poison Sect, Xiao Yi Xian finally began the plan to excavate the Poison Sage Ruins. Large numbers of Poison Sect disciples were secretly brought into the ruins to gather poisonous insects and Poisonous Herbs from that Ancient Forest. The total amount of poison within that Ancient Forest could be said to surpass that of ten Cloud Mist Empires. Xiao Yi Xian only needed to go there periodically to collect them, and she would obtain an enormous amount of cultivation resources.

After arranging these matters, Xiao Yi Xian did not remain in the Cloud Mist Empire for long and instead returned directly to the Misty Cloud Sect.

Within Nine-Colored Valley of the Misty Cloud Sect.

When Xiao Yi Xian, who had returned together with Little Silver, first saw Gu He's clone cultivating in seclusion, her eyes were filled with surprise.

"Is that Master?"

Pointing with her small finger at the blurry figure on the Nine-Colored Sacred Lotus, shrouded in a layer of distorted sealing energy, Xiao Yi Xian asked Nalan Yanran uncertainly.

"Xian'er, that is indeed Master. However, what you are seeing now is only one of Master's clones!" Nalan Yanran answered truthfully.

"So that is how it is. Master really has so many mysterious things about him!" Xiao Yi Xian nodded lightly, her eyes still filled with intense curiosity.

Not long afterward, Xiao Jin and Liu Ling also returned to Nine-Colored Valley. Although Liu Ling had previously seen Gu He and his clone put on an act together, all he could see now was a blurry figure. He did not connect it to the refined man who had fought Gu He outside Stone Desert City that day.

(End of Chapter)