Gossamer Whirlwind Tortoise

"If you can't handle it, Junior Sister, don't force yourself. Your life comes first." As if his conscience could not rest easy, he hurriedly added another sentence.

"Got it." Bai Lan answered and put the wooden token into her Storage Bag.

Closing her eyes, she searched through the information on first-rank Whirlwind Tortoises in her mind. Their weakness was the belly... unsurprisingly.

Whirlwind Tortoises were usually of the fire, wind, or water attributes. Their attacks consisted of the fireballs, wind blades, or water bullets they spat out.

Among them, water-attributed Whirlwind Tortoises were the weakest, while fire-attributed ones were the strongest.

Bai Lan had previously read a book in the Azure Sect's Library Pavilion about the growth habits and behaviors of low-rank demon beasts. It was proving useful now.

"Is the host really going to the Hundred Thousand Mountains? I heard it's very dangerous there." The system was somewhat worried.

After all, even Long Aotian and Bai Ling had suffered plenty of setbacks in a place like the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Bai Lan nodded, battle intent blazing in her eyes.

"I've got so many Mystical Techniques in my head. This is the perfect place to find some practice." Bai Lan smiled as she spoke. "Real combat is the best training, isn't it? Besides, I can't die."

"If the host remains conscious, you can naturally reload a save and rewind time. But if you are erased in a single strike by a powerful demon beast, even your consciousness will instantly dissipate. What if there isn't even time to reload..." The system was worried.

Bai Lan shook her head. "Don't worry. I know my limits."

Of course she understood the system's concerns, but if she hid in the sect forever simply because she feared death, what cultivation could she possibly speak of?

Besides, she had legs.

The moment she saw a Foundation Establishment cultivator, or sensed the aura of the Foundation Establishment stage, she would turn and run. This was Bai Lan's newest rule for herself.

Qi Replenishing Pills could quickly restore spiritual energy, but Bai Lan did not plan to use pills to recover her spiritual energy for the time being.

Every medicine carried some poison, and low-rank pills in particular contained pill toxins whose harm far exceeded the value the pills themselves provided.

Spirit Stones could completely replace Qi Replenishing Pills in restoring spiritual energy, without any pill toxins.

After preparing enough dried rations and water for half a month, Bai Lan set off for the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

The Azure Sect was located in the heart of the mountain range. After crossing two empty mountain ranges, one would reach the outskirts of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Why were the two mountain ranges around the Azure Sect empty?

Because when the sect was first established, Azure Ancestor had slaughtered every demon beast in those two mountain ranges.

In the years afterward, the Azure Sect also regularly sent disciples to clear out demon beasts in the surrounding area.

Safety was the whole point.

Several days later, at a certain shallows in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

The gray-robed girl raised her hand and threw a fireball into the shallows behind three Whirlwind Tortoises. It struck the water and kicked up a towering wave. The three little tortoises, which had been nestled on the shore with their eyes closed, instantly shrieked and sprang up, crawling toward Bai Lan.

Then Wood Spikes burst from beneath the ground, launching the Whirlwind Tortoises into the air. Several vines shot from the earth and tightly bound one of them, followed by a golden longsword that pierced straight through the tortoise's belly.

Its shell remained perfectly intact. Her golden sword had pierced its belly without the slightest deviation, preserving the demon beast materials as completely as possible.

The chain of attacks was tight and smooth. From the tortoises' perspective, however, the death of one companion within just a few breaths was enough to send the remaining two into a frenzy.

One red and one blue tortoise let out shrill cries and began madly spitting attacks at Bai Lan.

"Tsk, you really are low-rank demon beasts. Just look at those brains—I'm worried for your entire demon beast race." Bai Lan shook her head slightly.

One Whirlwind Tortoise spat a water ball, while the other spat a fireball, and they were fired at the same time. The water ball and fireball collided halfway through.

When water and fire met, they canceled each other out, greatly reducing their power.

Bai Lan took a Spirit Stone from her Storage Bag and held it in her palm, absorbing the spiritual energy within. Facing the Whirlwind Tortoises that had already gone berserk, wind rose beneath her feet as she began dodging their attacks with effortless ease.

Her robes fluttered as water balls and fireballs flew past both sides of her body. She perfectly evaded the attacks spat out by the Whirlwind Tortoises, even using their shells as footholds to dodge.

After hundreds of saves and reloads, she had long since become familiar with the Whirlwind Tortoises' attack patterns. She could almost perfectly evade their breath attacks.

And secretly use Spirit Stones to restore her spiritual energy in the meantime.

Qi Refining level two was still ultimately too low. After unleashing that instant-kill combo on the Whirlwind Tortoise just now, the spiritual energy in her body had already been drained dry.

Hold back the other Whirlwind Tortoises, kill one alone, then restore her spiritual energy through perfect evasion. Once she had accumulated enough spiritual energy, kill the next one alone.

Thus, Bai Lan had spent nearly all these days killing Whirlwind Tortoises according to those steps.

The efficiency was somewhat slow, but once she got used to it, it was not too bad.

The only pity was that the Whirlwind Tortoises around this stretch of shore had nearly been slaughtered clean by Bai Lan.

But she understood the principle of sustainable resources and did not drain the pond to catch every fish, so...

She only killed adult Whirlwind Tortoises and left the young ones alone.

A moment later, Bai Lan took a deep breath and looked at the three Whirlwind Tortoise corpses on the shore.

"It's almost time to turn in the mission, right? System, count how many Whirlwind Tortoises there are in total." Bai Lan put the three corpses into the Void Stone and yawned.

These past days, she had slept rough in the wind and open air—sleeping atop tree branches at night and gnawing on steamed buns during the day.

She had nearly been forced from a cultivator into an ascetic monk.

"With these three included, the host has already killed fifty-seven." The system swallowed. "Is the host finally planning to rest?"

Such a gentle and adorable host had been killing like she had gone mad these past few days.

Other than looking slightly unsettled the first time she saw blood, she grew increasingly adept afterward.

There seemed to be only three words in her head: Battle! Awesome!

"Let's hurry back to the sect. Once I collect the reward, I'm going to feast properly. I can't choke down another bite of these lousy steamed buns." Bai Lan viciously bit into the bun in her hand and headed toward the outskirts of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

"Hand over your Storage Bag, and us brothers might still leave you an intact corpse. Otherwise, hehe."

Bai Lan's ears twitched. After becoming a cultivator, her senses had grown several times sharper; she could clearly hear the conversation several meters away.

Two at Qi Refining level five and one at Qi Refining level seven were surrounding someone dressed as an Azure Origin Sect disciple.

Taking a bite of her bun, Bai Lan frowned and weighed her own strength.

Herself: Qi Refining level two.

There were three of them, including one at Qi Refining level seven. Their apparent strength surpassed hers, while their hidden strength was unknown for now.

There was no need to compare. One glance was enough to tell that she had no chance of winning.

Forget it. Fellow Azure Origin Sect brother, pray for your own fortune. Everyone had their own fate—at a time like this, he couldn't possibly expect a Qi Refining level two like her to save him.

Withdrawing her gaze, Bai Lan shook her head and started to leave.

"Big Brother! There's an Azure Origin Sect chick over there!"

"Only Qi Refining level two. Looks like she's spotted us!"

"Go deal with her too. Who knows whether she saw our faces? If she gets away and reports us, Azure Origin Sect will definitely put out a kill order on us brothers!" the leader said viciously.

Bai Lan halted, her eyes turning cold.

She had originally intended to stay aloof from matters that did not concern her, but now...