On Small Stone Island, two masses of crimson firelight rose up. The flames were like living tentacles, constantly twisting, strangling, and entwining. Terrifying heat burst forth, destroying everything within them.
Two brief, shrill cries of monster beasts rang out from within the flames.
In merely a moment, the crimson flames receded. Qi Chan'er then saw two charred monster corpses fall to the ground with a thud, lying there silently. Their outlines still revealed them to be Water Cloud Crocodiles, but all life had long since left them. They were dead beyond death.
"So this is the terrifying might of the Perfected Stage Fireball Technique? No wonder it is a technique that can hold its own even among Late Qi Refining Stage cultivators."
Watching the four Water Cloud Crocodiles that had driven her into a desperate corner only moments ago lose two of their number to two Fireball Techniques in the blink of an eye, Qi Chan'er's expression was filled with emotion.
She knew that the Fireball Technique was quite effective against Water Cloud Crocodiles.
However, her own Entry Stage Fireball Technique was of little use against these Tier 1 Mid-grade Water Cloud Crocodiles, so she had never used it.
Only if her Fireball Technique reached the Minor Accomplishment Stage would it be of great use against the combined assault of four Water Cloud Crocodiles.
Yet the power of the Perfected Stage Fireball Technique before her still left her stunned.
"Of the four Water Cloud Crocodiles, two have already been dealt with. The remaining two are nothing to fear."
Suppressing the astonishment in her heart, Qi Chan'er looked toward the remaining two Water Cloud Crocodiles and smiled faintly.
Before, four Water Cloud Crocodiles could drive her into a desperate situation, but two of them naturally could not do the same.
At once, she activated her spell power.
Buzz.
Before her, the Golden Ring released an incomparably condensed beam of Spiritual Energy Golden Light. With a slight tremble, it pierced straight through the air. This time, nothing went wrong; it struck a Water Cloud Crocodile not far away squarely in the neck.
Then she saw the Water Cloud Crocodile's body stiffen before it slowly collapsed onto the ground, clearly dead.
In a one-on-one battle, her High-grade Magic Tool, the Golden Ring, could naturally kill a Tier 1 Mid-grade Water Cloud Crocodile with ease once it shifted into an offensive stance.
Whoosh.
Pfft.
At the same time, Qi Chan'er saw the enormous head of the last remaining Water Cloud Crocodile fly high into the air from another direction. Blood erupted from the smooth, mirror-like neck of the crocodile demon like a fountain and waterfall.
In the air, a small Grey Shadow swept past at incredible speed before silently returning to a fair palm.
Following it with her gaze, Qi Chan'er saw, just as expected, a handsome young man. He wore the Wind Moon Sect's Inner Sect Disciple Robes and looked at her with a faint smile, casually playing with an entirely grey Dagger Magic Tool in his hand.
"It really is you. Thank you for saving me."
Seeing the familiar face of the young man, Qi Chan'er's delicate face showed little surprise. She merely thanked him sincerely, her expression deeply moved.
When she had suddenly heard someone sigh earlier, her first reaction had naturally been extreme shock. With her life in danger, she had no way of knowing whether the person who appeared at such a time was friend or foe.
However, once she saw the two subsequent Perfected Stage Fireball Techniques, she had vaguely formed a guess.
Although the Cloud Rising Mountains were generally rather safe, high-cultivation base Xiu Xian cultivators would not come here. Not to mention Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators—even Late Qi Refining Stage cultivators were rarely seen.
And within the Qi Refining Realm, those who possessed a Perfected Stage Fireball Technique were few and far between.
What was more, the owner of that Perfected Stage Fireball Technique had later stepped in to save her. Even before seeing who it was, Qi Chan'er had already more or less fixed upon one person in her mind.
Now that she saw that familiar young face, her guess had clearly been correct.
"No need to thank me. We both come from the Qi Family, so when we are outside, we should of course help each other under normal circumstances."
Playing with the High-grade Magic Tool Flying Ash in his palm, Qi Chuan shook his head slightly and spoke without concern.
When he had seen Qi Chan'er in danger earlier, he had hesitated for a moment over whether he should save her.
But since she too came from the Qi Family, there was no reason to stand by and watch her die.
Thus, after that brief hesitation, Qi Chuan had acted immediately, leading to the scene just now.
"However, I'll take the teeth of these four Water Cloud Crocodiles. No problem with that, right?"
Qi Chuan looked toward the corpses of the four Water Cloud Crocodiles in the clearing.
The Water Cloud Crocodiles killed by his High-grade Magic Tool Flying Ash, as well as the one Qi Chan'er had killed, still had relatively intact corpses.
As for the two Water Cloud Crocodiles he had killed with two Perfected Fireball Techniques, he had deliberately controlled the power. Their monster corpses were merely charred, while their teeth were unaffected.
"Of course."
Hearing this, Qi Chan'er hurriedly shook her head.
He had saved her life. How could she possibly have any objection?
Upon receiving her reply, Qi Chuan no longer held back. With a flick of his hand, the grey dagger flew up and streaked through the air, immediately beginning to harvest the teeth of the four Water Cloud Crocodiles.
Very quickly, four sets of Water Cloud Crocodile Teeth went into his possession.
"Four sets of Water Cloud Crocodile Teeth, three points of Inner Sect Contribution per set. Added to the previous three sets, that makes twenty-one contribution points in total. One point of Inner Sect Contribution is roughly equal to ten Low-grade Spirit Stones, which means my gains from this outing have reached two hundred and ten Low-grade Spirit Stones."
"Even if I buy Gathering Yuan Pills, I can purchase twenty-one of them. Taking one a month, I won't have to worry about elixirs for nearly two years."
Qi Chuan felt rather pleased as well.
"I came to this Black Swamp to hunt Water Cloud Crocodiles too. But before this, I only saw scattered ones. I never expected you had drawn them all here." After collecting the Water Cloud Crocodile Teeth, Qi Chuan had some free time and spoke to Qi Chan'er.
"That isn't the case." However, Qi Chan'er shook her head and said, "Water Cloud Crocodiles are Pack Monster Beasts. Their original numbers were far greater than this."
"Even these four Water Cloud Crocodiles count as scattered compared to their original dense pack formation."
"Why is that?" Qi Chuan was somewhat surprised.
There were so few Water Cloud Crocodiles in this Black Swamp. Even if the Inner Sect issued Water Cloud Crocodile-hunting missions in the future, would completing them not become much more difficult?
If that were the case, then it would be impossible to keep earning Sect Contribution through Water Cloud Crocodiles.
"I don't know either. Perhaps Water Cloud Crocodiles have been hunted for many years and their numbers have dwindled? Or perhaps some change occurred in the Cloud Rising Mountains not long ago?" Qi Chan'er shook her head, equally puzzled.
She said, "In any case, I've come to this Black Swamp several times over the past few months, yet I never saw many Water Cloud Crocodiles. I only encountered danger this time because I let my guard down."
Qi Chan'er then took out a stalk of Black Spirit Grass and waved it at Qi Chuan. "I came this time for this. There is a purchasing mission for it in the Outer Sect."
Qi Chuan had already told her why he had come to the Cloud Rising Mountains, so she felt that she should be equally candid with him.
"Black Profound Grass."
Qi Chuan looked at the stalk of Black Spirit Grass and nodded. He did not covet it. After all, he had already taken several sets of Water Cloud Crocodile Teeth, so he had to leave her with some gains.
The two chatted briefly, exchanging what they knew and sharing information about the Wind Moon Sect and the Cloud Rising Mountains. This counted as another kind of gain. Their horizons broadened, and Qi Chuan learned about some of the circumstances in the Outer Sect, discovering that competition there was equally brutal.
There were even some Late Qi Refining Stage cultivators in the Outer Sect who, for various reasons, were not qualified to enter the Inner Sect and had not become Stewards within the sect either.
However, the Black Swamp was ultimately not a place to linger. Thus, after chatting briefly, Qi Chuan surveyed Small Stone Island once more and waved his hand.
"With these Water Cloud Crocodile Teeth, my mission this time is more or less complete. I'm preparing to return and settle it. Let us part ways here." Qi Chuan said.
"Alright." Qi Chan'er nodded upon hearing this.
She lowered her head and looked at the Black Profound Grass in her hand. Qi Chuan had saved her life; a few words of thanks and a few sets of Water Cloud Crocodile Teeth were naturally not enough to repay him.
But the Black Profound Grass in her hand was not particularly valuable either.
Under normal circumstances, she could only keep it in her heart and wait for a future chance to repay him.
With a wave of his hand, Qi Chuan turned around. His body floated into the air as he prepared to leave.
Looking at Qi Chuan's retreating figure, Qi Chan'er hesitated. In the end, she gritted her teeth and decided to speak.
"Qi Chuan!"
"What is it?"
Hearing her, Qi Chuan turned back and looked at Qi Chan'er in confusion.
Qi Chan'er said seriously, "Would you be interested in exploring an opportunity with me?"
Before you continue