Herb-Gathering Father and Daughter
Song Wen walked out of the cave and came to a deserted, open area.
Song Wen placed the spirit beast pouch on the ground and had the Black-Armored Ghost King and the Silver Corpse guard its sides, ready to attack at any moment. Then, he positioned the six Sacred Beetle Gu on the outer perimeter, keeping watch for any disturbances around them.
He himself retreated two miles away, a distance from which he could use the Blood Escape Technique to escape in time should any unexpected events occur.
A burst of spiritual energy struck the spirit beast pouch, and a giant tortoise, two zhang in size, appeared without warning, its body covered in wounds.
Due to its severe injuries, the Iron-Shell Tortoise fell into a deep sleep after being taken into the spirit beast pouch by Qingyan. It used the unique innate secret technique of its turtle clan to reduce the consumption of its physical body and call upon all available Spiritual Qi to repair its body as quickly as possible.
Suddenly released from the spirit beast pouch, the secret technique was broken, and the Ironback Turtle immediately awoke. It immediately realized that its original master was dead.
At this moment, it noticed a ghost and a corpse, one on the left and one on the right, attacking the cracks in its shell, clearly intending to kill it.
Two miles away in mid-air, a figure stood, staring intently at it.
"Don't kill me, I'll serve you as my master."
Suddenly, a voice appeared in Song Wen's mind. The voice sounded somewhat old and was obviously transmitted by the Ironback Turtle.
For a fleeting moment, a hint of hesitation crossed Song Wen's mind.
To be worshipped as a master by a third-tier spirit beast is an irresistible temptation.
But in an instant, Song Wen forgot about it.
The Ironback Turtle's image was too conspicuous; it would be recognized at a glance as belonging to the Daoist nun Qingyan. Even the spirit beast pouch it inhabited bore the unique standards of the Beast Taming Sect.
Most importantly, Song Wen's strength is far inferior to that of the Ironback Turtle, and he also has a blood feud with it for killing its master. At any time, it may forcibly break the soul contract and choose to devour its master to avenge its original master, Qingyan, by virtue of its cultivation level far exceeding that of Song Wen.
Song Wen dared not leave such a huge hidden danger by his side.
The Ironback Turtle was far too weak, and the Ghost King's longsword pierced its body without any resistance, unleashing a torrent of ghostly energy that ravaged its interior.
On the other side, the Corpse King did the same, piercing flesh with both hands and tearing hard, ripping off the Ironback Turtle's left forelimb.
Under the attack of the ghost and the corpse, the Ironback Turtle quickly lost its breath.
Song Wen hadn't noticed was that the moment the dying Ironback Turtle appeared, the six Sacred Beetle Gu began to stir.
As soon as the Ironback Turtle breathed its last, the six Sacred Beetle Gu swarmed in like cats smelling fish, directly burrowing into the Ironback Turtle 'Ironback Turtle body and heading straight for its demon core.
The demon core, the size of a pigeon egg, belonging to the Ironback Turtle, was quickly devoured by the six Sacred Beetle Gu, with a small portion disappearing.
Six Sacred Beetle Gu emerged from the Ironback Turtle's body, and as if they had eaten too much, they wobbled back into Song Wen's body.
Seeing that the Ironback Turtle Demon Core was rapidly losing Spiritual Qi, Song Wen hurriedly used the Corpse Dao Secret Art to seal the Ironback Turtle's corpse and slow down the loss of Spiritual Qi.
Since the Sacred Beetle Gu is interested in the Ironback Turtle's corpse, let's keep it as food for the Sacred Beetle Gu.
Having dealt with the Ironback Turtle, Song Wen returned to the cave he had been in before.
After setting up the <Qi-Sealing Spirit-Isolating Formation> and the <Nine-Palace Yin-Transforming Formation>, Song Wen began his cultivation.
Both the Black-Armored Ghost King and the Silver Corpse were seriously injured and needed proper care to recover.
The spiritual materials needed for the Ghost King's recovery mainly consist of Yin Soul and various Ghost Dao spiritual objects. Song Wen obtained quite a few from Rogue Cultivators like Jing Lu, which were just right for the Ghost King's use.
Song Wen also has no shortage of the spiritual materials needed for the Silver Corpse.
After refining the two with various spiritual items, the Ghost King stayed in the Eight-Banner Yin Soul Banner, and the Silver Corpse stayed in the Corpse-Nurturing Coffin, slowly recuperating.
Song Wen calmed his mind and began to meditate and cultivate.
The Longevity Art had only advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm for half a year, which can be said to be just stabilizing the Foundation Establishment Realm, when it made another leap forward and broke through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.
Rapidly increasing one's spiritual power cultivation can inevitably lead to an unstable Foundation.
Song Wen needs to meditate and cultivate diligently for a long time to stabilize his cultivation level.
Six months later.
Two figures, a man and a woman, appeared at the edge of a rocky cliff.
The man was about forty years old, with a Qi Refining Qi Refining Third Layer, and was somewhat thin.
The girl was sixteen or seventeen years old, with Qi Refining Second Layer, and was petite and charming.
"Father, look! It's Wind Spirit Grass."
The girl looked delighted and pointed to the cliff below, gesturing wildly as she shouted.
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged male cultivator looked in the direction the girl pointed.
Twenty feet below the cliff, in a crevice in the rock, grew two inch-tall spiritual herbs, swaying in the wind.
Judging from the growth of the two medicinal herbs, they should be over fifty years old.
Wind Spirit Grass is a mid-grade first-tier spiritual spirit medicine. These two Wind Spirit Grass are worth at least twenty Spirit Stones, which is a considerable income for low-level Rogue Cultivators like them.
The male cultivator produced a bundle of rope in his hand, tied one end of the rope to a large rock on the edge of the cliff, and the other end to his waist.
Having spent years gathering herbs, the male cultivator was well aware that this seemingly peaceful cliff might be hiding unknown dangers.
Gale-force winds could blow at any moment at the edge of the cliff, and venomous snakes and insects lurking in the crevices could deliver a fatal blow. With a rope tied to him, at least he wouldn't have to worry about falling to his death in a moment of panic during an accident.
"Qingqing, you wait here for your father, don't move around. I'm going down to Wind Spirit Grass."
"Mmm!" The girl named Qingqing nodded hurriedly.
The middle-aged male cultivator used both his hands and feet, like a nimble ape, to climb the steep cliff face.
The girl paced back and forth on the cliff top, feeling both joy and a touch of worry for her father's safety.
She would occasionally peek over the edge of the cliff to observe her father's position.
Soon, the middle-aged male cultivator arrived at the crevice where the Wind Spirit Grass grew and easily picked it. Just as he was about to put the Wind Spirit Grass away in the jade box, he heard his daughter above the cliff let out a scream.
Looking up, she could no longer see her daughter, but she could still hear her daughter's cries for help.
The middle-aged male cultivator's expression changed drastically. He didn't care about anything else, and a yellow talisman appeared in his hand. He activated the talisman with his spiritual power, and his body rose into the air.
This is a Flying Talisman, the only mid-grade first-tier talisman he possesses, intended for use in times of crisis to save his life.
The middle-aged male cultivator arrived at the top of the cliff and saw that the place where they had just stood had collapsed, leaving a hole several feet in size.
The depths of the hole were pitch black, making it impossible to see clearly.
"Qingqing, Qingqing..."
The middle-aged male cultivator shouted loudly as he leaped down, completely disregarding the potential dangers lurking within the hole.
The hole wasn't vertical; it was winding and twisting. At some of the bends, fresh friction marks could be seen, clearly left when the girl had just fallen.