Are You Still Not Going to Thank Fang Qing for His Guidance?

Within Fang Qing's body, countless Divine Marks condensed into a Divine Lamp. When the lamp flew out and entered the Bronze Lamp from the Great Thunder Sound Temple, the Bronze Lamp shone brilliantly, emanating an incredibly terrifying aura.

A smile appeared on Fang Qing's face.

By refining the Bronze Lamp with his own Divine Marks, he now possessed an extremely formidable trump card. The Bronze Lamp could even allow Fang Qing to fight opponents above his level.

"Tomorrow, when we head into Lingxu, our safety will be better assured."

Fang Qing sensed his connection with the Bronze Lamp. A complete string of Prayer Beads lay quietly in his hand. This complete set of six beads was also one of his trump cards; once activated, ordinary cultivators would be unable to harm him at all.

For offense, he had the Bronze Lamp; for defense, the Prayer Beads. What Fang Qing needed to do now was continue opening up his Bitter Sea, continue devouring vital essence, constantly unleash his life potential, and steadily raise his realm.

After entering the Life Spring Realm, a cultivator's practice was not too different from before. The main focus was consuming all sorts of heavenly treasures, continuously expanding the Bitter Sea, stimulating one's life potential, and ultimately causing countless reserves of life potential to form a section of Divine Meridians within the body, in hopes of reaching the other end of the Bitter Sea.

The Bitter Sea was boundless and filled with infinite mysteries. Above the Life Spring Realm lay the Divine Bridge Realm. At this realm, one formed Divine Meridians within the body and used them to force a crossing over the Bitter Sea, ultimately reaching the Other Shore.

This process required an enormous amount of life essence, which was why Fang Qing wanted to venture into Lingxu.

Although Hundred Herb Liquid was good, he also wanted to see whether there were any valuable treasures deep within Lingxu.

Tomorrow's trip was mainly meant to protect the disciples, so the timing was not entirely right. Still, it was time to head out and take a look.

Ever since arriving at Lingxu Grotto-Heaven, this would be Fang Qing's first time leaving it to see the more distant ancient ruins.

He was rather expectant.

The night soon passed. The next day, Fang Qing met with Lu Zhihua. The two led more than a hundred disciples out of Lingxu Grotto-Heaven and toward the neighboring ancient ruins.

"Fang Qing is really leading the team? Isn't that a little unreliable?"

"Senior Brother Fang Qing may have reached the Life Spring Realm, but I don't feel safe with him leading us..."

"What is the sect thinking? Are they planning to heavily nurture Senior Brother Fang Qing? But there's no need to have him lead a team, is there?"

"Stop arguing. Senior Brother Fang Qing is the Peerless Genius of our Lingxu Grotto-Heaven. How many days has it been since he joined, and he's already in the Life Spring Realm? Since the sect elders have asked him to lead us, they must have a foolproof plan!"

"This is a trial for disciples. Why should we care so much about the elders' protection? In the end, we have to rely on ourselves! We can't depend on others for everything!"

As Fang Qing and Elder Lu Zhihua slowly flew through the sky, the other disciples still found it unbelievable.

Some did not understand, while others did not care. Still others held their breath, intending to cultivate diligently, make a stunning breakthrough, surpass Fang Qing in the future, and become the pillar of the sect.

The disciples all had different thoughts, while Fang Qing and Elder Lu Zhihua spoke in the air.

More precisely, Elder Lu Zhihua was imparting his experience in leading a team.

"There are many Ferocious Birds and beasts in the depths of Lingxu. We absolutely must not lead the team too deeply inside. Otherwise, even we may not be able to handle it. That would be troublesome."

Elder Lu Zhihua said.

Fang Qing nodded.

His gaze rested on the distant ruins, while his mind also sensed them.

Ever since cultivating the Longevity Art and entering the Innate Realm, he had constantly remained in a state of breathing in harmony with heaven and earth. His mind could sense poisonous insects, venomous snakes, and the like hidden among the grasses and trees.

Some places had excellent medicinal herbs, yet venomous snakes lurked beside them, waiting specifically for prey to come along.

This truly was a dangerous place. The disciples sought medicinal herbs, while those poisonous insects and venomous snakes regarded the disciples as medicinal herbs, waiting for them to come close.

"Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters, when gathering medicinal herbs, you must be extremely careful. Keep your ears open and your eyes in every direction. Do not become so delighted at the sight of herbs that you forget the danger. You must be cautious beyond caution."

Just as many disciples were eager to make a move, Fang Qing's voice rang out.

A ray of light emerged from his body. It did not take the form of a Divine Lamp, but was merely a casual Divine Mark.

"For example, there is a Dragon Tongue Grass in front of you. Some disciples would want to rush over and pick it immediately upon seeing it, yet they do not know that a large snake is hiding beside it."

As Fang Qing spoke, the Divine Mark fell into the grass. With a light turn, it severed a hidden venomous snake into more than a dozen pieces. Blood splattered across the grass, staining the Dragon Tongue Grass red.

"Ah, a venomous snake!"

"I didn't see it at all before!"

"If we had rushed over just now, wouldn't we have been bitten by that snake?"

"Senior Brother Fang Qing is amazing!"

After seeing that a venomous snake had truly been hidden in the deep grass, many disciples were startled. Some had genuinely wanted to rush forward and grab the Dragon Tongue Grass, afraid someone else would get it first. But had they rushed in like that, they might very well have been ambushed by the snake.

They might not have died, but they certainly would have been injured.

"Are you still not going to thank Fang Qing for his guidance?"

Elder Lu Zhihua shouted.

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother!"

The many disciples all offered their thanks earnestly.

Some disciples might previously have been unconvinced or displeased, but Senior Brother Fang Qing's instruction just now truly made sense. In Lingxu, they had to be cautious and not let the medicinal herbs before their eyes cloud their judgment. One careless mistake could truly cost them their lives.

"Remember, you must be cautious. Of course, when it is time to act, you must act as well."

Fang Qing continued instructing his Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters. Standing in midair, he continued sensing the movements within Lingxu.

The disciples also began to act.

The disciples participating in the trial were not useless. They had long since finished studying the Dao Scripture and entered the Bitter Sea Realm, though the extent to which they had opened their Bitter Seas varied.

Fang Qing's classmates—Zhou Yi, Wang Ziwen, Lin Jia, and the others—had not even finished reading the Dao Scripture, nor had they opened their Bitter Seas. Naturally, they could not participate in this trial.

Those who had entered the Bitter Sea Realm and attained some accomplishments could make limited use of Mysterious Methods and take part in training. As long as they were not careless, they could still gather some medicinal herbs. They could also kill ordinary venomous snakes and poisonous insects.

Some disciples killed several poisonous insects and dug up a ten-year-old Fragrant Wood. Others unearthed an Azure Dragon Vine, which could be exchanged for a bottle of Hundred Herb Liquid.

Other disciples were less fortunate. They encountered several venomous snakes and were bitten a few times, nearly dying from the poison.

Had Elder Lu Zhihua not brought antidotal elixir pills, that disciple would have become food for the snakes.

Even at the outskirts of Lingxu, one careless mistake could cost someone their life.