Did you not see him when you came out?

"Senior Brother Zhou, are you alright?" Lu Yaoyao called out softly.

Zhou Qing shook his head, but looking at the [So Awesome!] note above her head, faced with such an admirer, he gritted his teeth and directly took off the Yang Fire Talisman on his body.

"You have the weakest cultivation, so you're under the least pressure and can walk faster. Take this!" Zhou Qing finished speaking and tossed it over.

Lu Yaoyao was stunned and about to say something, but Zhou Qing made a shushing gesture.

There was no other way—if you walked faster, I could hang back and slowly farm Ignorance Points. Otherwise, you keep looking at me, and I'll have presence.

To put her at ease, Zhou Qing simply sat down on the ground: "I have no interest in first place. I might as well use this gravity to properly stabilize my cultivation here. You need to work hard—I used to be the weakest among the Core Disciples, but now that's you."

Watching Zhou Qing's serious expression, Lu Yaoyao bit her lip lightly, then suddenly gave a sweet smile, her eyes sparkling, and nodded heavily.

And the [So Awesome!] above her head that had just transformed instantly became [So Loving!].

Seeing this, Zhou Qing nearly choked on his breath.

What do you mean, So Loving?

I'm not your dad!

You can't even use adjectives right—this is how I come across in your heart right now?

[Heart Insight Points +7]

Hearing the prompt, his displeased mood eased a little.

Seeing that the seven people ahead had already left, Zhou Qing quickly waved his hand to signal.

"I definitely won't let you down!"

Lu Yaoyao's eyes were full of emotion as she made her promise to Zhou Qing, then stepped forward with heavy strides and walked ahead.

It had to be said, the pressure here had a decent stabilizing effect on those who had advanced too quickly.

Having broken through consecutively during this period, if not for the Ice Soul Dark Scale Fish, this place would have been an excellent training ground.

Watching the figures of the group almost disappear, he quickly stood up again and moved forward against the pressure.

The prerequisite for farming Ignorance Points was a tense, crowded setting with many people. If everyone was gone, who would ignore you?

It was just like back when he fished at the back mountain of Divine Peak—even if he found a secluded spot, he had to make sure other senior brothers could still see him.

And so, Zhou Qing kept trailing the group, advancing bit by bit.

[Ignorance Points +1, +1, +1...]

But just as they reached the halfway point, a chilling howl came from ahead again, and then Wandering Souls three times more numerous than before burst forth.

At the forefront were even a dozen or so terrifying Wandering Souls radiating Foundation Establishment Realm power.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing immediately crouched down, utterly incredulous.

"Why are there so many?"

These Grand Elders were way too unreliable—they were practically using them as cannon fodder.

Boom boom boom!

Explosions rang out ahead, and soon someone couldn't hold on. With what little strength and dim light they had left, they turned and fled in terror.

Zhou Qing suddenly regretted the impulsive decision to give the Yang Fire Talisman to Lu Yaoyao. His talent skill [Reduce Presence] was at first-level perfection, but it still meant a 90% chance of being ignored by Qi Condensation Realm cultivators—there was still that 10% chance of being noticed.

What if it just happened to hit?

And even if Qi Condensation couldn't spot him, there were still Foundation Establishment Wandering Souls. His skill was only [LV2: (44/100)].

Foundation Establishment had a 60% chance of targeting him.

Without a second thought, he turned his retreat path into his forward path and ran.

But he had underestimated those who could tap into their potential under crisis. In this gravity that felt like wading through mud, a late Foundation Establishment Senior Sister jogged right past him like the wind.

She screamed like a pig being slaughtered as she ran, piercing Zhou Qing's eardrums.

It seemed to trigger a chain reaction—the others also turned and fled. There were just too many enemies; they couldn't win.

Watching one person after another run past him, Zhou Qing grew more anxious.

Maybe it was survival instinct, or maybe they were just panicked, but not a single person glanced at Zhou Qing, let alone lent a hand.

Until even Lu Yaoyao, her face flushed red, sped past him. Zhou Qing knew—the talent skill was working.

As long as he didn't shout, no one would notice him.

He had just opened his mouth to ask for the Yang Fire Talisman back when a huge swarm of Wandering Souls rushed in from behind.

"It's over!" Zhou Qing's face turned pale as he prepared for a final struggle.

But those Wandering Souls, including the dozen or so Foundation Establishment ones, didn't spare him a single glance. They simply howled past and chased after the others.

Zhou Qing's heart pounded wildly. Clearly, in this tense chase environment, everyone had fallen into that 40% ignore zone.

Not daring to delay, Zhou Qing, clinging to hope, forced his sore legs to move and hurried out.

Fierce fighting broke out ahead again, making Zhou Qing even more cautious.

Soon, panting heavily, he reached about three hundred meters from the exit. His expression changed, and he quickly pressed himself against the wall.

The countless wandering souls had packed the entrance in a surging mass, ceaselessly roaring outward.

"Not good!"

Zhou Qing suddenly recalled something. At the very start, when those wandering souls had chased them to the entrance, they vented for a while before turning back into the depths.

Now, forget about blocking the door—what if...

Thinking this, Zhou Qing's face turned even paler.

He had been lucky to be overlooked just now, but what if, on the way back, he happened to be in that sixty percent zone?

With so many Foundation Establishment Realm wandering souls and hundreds of Qi Condensation scattered souls, they could tear him apart alive.

Even though the Grand Elders were close at hand, they might not be able to rescue him in time, let alone the fact that they didn't dare enter at all, afraid of waking some terrifying existence.

"While they haven't turned back yet, there's only one path left!"

Zhou Qing gritted his teeth, looked toward the depths of the passage, and dared not delay any longer. Carefully, he mustered every ounce of strength and turned to leave...

"What's going on?"

The several Grand Elders waiting outside hurried forward to ask anxiously when they saw someone stumble out in a panic.

But before they could exchange a few words, the others fled out as well.

Seeing them drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, the elders frowned deeply.

"How could there be so many wandering souls? That shouldn't be!"

For a moment, they couldn't understand what had happened inside.

"Senior Brother Zhou, where's Senior Brother Zhou?"

Just as they were discussing summoning a few Golden Core Realm Core Disciples, Lu Yaoyao suddenly cried out, frantically looking around.

The others, still shaken, quickly glanced about as well. Sure enough, Zhou Qing was nowhere to be seen.

"Wasn't he at the very back?"

"Yeah, logically, he should have rushed out ahead of us?"

"Didn't you see him when you came out?"

"I was too busy running, I didn't notice."

They all spoke at once, full of confusion. Such a big, living person, and no one had noticed him when they came out.

Lu Yaoyao even fell to her knees with a thud before the old women, her face full of panic.

"Grand Elders, I beg you, please save Senior Brother Zhou! He gave me his Yang Fire Talisman, and he can't fight those wandering souls alone."

The old women frowned deeply, all turning to look at the massive Bronze Gate in the mountain.

"Should I go in and take a look?" The old woman who had just broken through in her Cultivation Methods spoke up.

But she was quickly stopped by the others.

"Too risky. Once that thing awakens, it shows no distinction between friend and foe, and it might cause irreversible damage inside. Wait a moment—I'll notify the Sect Leader to bring people here!"

One of the old women instantly turned into a streak of light and departed.

Lu Yaoyao, her eyes red-rimmed, stared anxiously at the Bronze Gate.

Before long, Sect Leader Cao Zhengyang arrived in a hurry with his two direct disciples.

"You two go in immediately and make sure to rescue Zhou Qing as fast as possible. Remember, suppress your cultivation as much as you can!" Cao Zhengyang instructed with a grave expression.

The two bowed to show they understood, then swiftly entered...