Zong Qing felt as if she were having a dream, in which she saw a dragon.
No, it's not a dragon, it's a jiao (a type of dragon-like creature).
It resembled both a dragon and a serpent; she couldn't tell the difference clearly, nor could she see it distinctly.
I felt a burning heat all over my body, as if something was about to boil and burn.
He was immediately terrified and quickly opened his eyes!
"Huff... Huff huff huff!"
Heavy breathing came from her hoarse mouth.
She struggled to lift her eyelids and looked around at her surroundings.
A vast starry sky came into view, and I had no idea where I was.
"Where am I..."
"This place is... that's right! Scales!"
Memories flooded back, Zong Qing recalled various things.
She remembered being brought there by a giant scale.
But now, the scales are gone.
She didn't know where she had gone.
But the final direction seems to be inside the Heaven-Pacifying Yao Prefecture.
Could it be that I've stumbled upon the Heaven-Pacifying Yao Prefecture?
Zong Qing couldn't understand it. Her whole body still felt a dull, burning pain, as if it were a lingering injury from the impact.
He can't even stand up.
His internal Law Power had been completely burned away, so he couldn't even open his storage bracelet to summon a pill.
Just when I was feeling anxious and worried...
A whooshing sound suddenly came from above.
Looking up, she saw a man who looked to be in his forties staring at her with a curious expression.
"Are you... a cultivator? An outsider? Or a local Rogue Cultivator?"
Seeing that the person asking the question seemed to have no ill intentions, Zong Qing opened her mouth with difficulty and replied in a hoarse voice.
"Fellow Daoist, I... I have suddenly encountered a calamity and unfortunately fallen into this state. May I... may I ask where you are..."
Where is this place...?
Zong Qing was about to ask about the situation here and find out more.
Suddenly, he felt dizzy and weak, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
"Hmm? Foreign cultivators, is it some other Blessed Land?"
"Strange, why have there suddenly been more cultivators from other Blessed Land coming here recently? Weren't the lords of the other Blessed Land supposed to have all left?"
"Could it be because the sect has neglected to target these cultivators?"
The male cultivator, who appeared to be in his forties, was slightly taken aback, somewhat puzzled.
Whether out of kindness or not, he pulled Zong Qing up, took her flying sword, and sped back to the sect.
Having entered the sect, he didn't know how to settle the female cultivator, and was thinking that perhaps she should stay in the cave abode to recuperate first.
From afar, they saw two young cultivators approaching.
"Uncle-Master Xu!"
"Greetings, Uncle-Master Xu!"
"Didn't Uncle Xu go outside the sect to sell pills? How come he's back so soon? Oh, and who is this?"
Lu Changming and Lu Changye greeted Xu Xiong respectfully.
This male cultivator, who appeared to be in his forties, was none other than Xu Xiong.
Hearing the two voices, he pointed to Zong Qing on the flying sword and shook his head.
"This is... a female cultivator I happened to run into outside the sect, I don't know where she came from."
"It's strange, I don't usually like to meddle in other people's business, but why did I feel like helping this female cultivator when I saw her?"
"You two have come at the right time. Help me take her back to her cave abode and see if giving her some medicine can save her."
"Yes!"
Changming and Changye didn't say much. Surprised, they helped Xu Xiong escort Zong Qing into the cave abode.
He took the elixir.
Then they began to explain why they had run into Xu Xiong.
"Uncle-Master Xu, my master broke through another level a couple of days ago! He's now at the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection."
"We're only one step away from the Golden Core, but the sect's Spiritual Qi is insufficient. Our master specifically sent the two of us to the General Affairs Hall to see if there are any materials for increasing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and earth."
"We have other matters to attend to, so we won't bother you any longer."
Another breakthrough!
Now it was Xu Xiong's turn to be surprised. How long had Lu Li been in the Foundation Establishment Late Stage? At most, it had only been two months.
Now he's broken through to the Great Perfection stage again! Could it be that he's really going to rush to the Golden Core in one go? Goodness!
This is outrageous!
If Lu Li truly attains the Golden Core, wouldn't he have True Lord as a powerful backer in the sect?
Not daring to delay the Changming Changye, he told the two to hurry up and get to work.
He then took out his ledger Jade Slip and began to summarize and calculate the business income and expenditure of the past few days.
It's strange, really.
The sect's business of pills and magical Law Artifact has clearly declined in recent days, after all, those mandatory missions are no longer available.
The initial enthusiasm of Pang's disciples for consumption gradually subsided, and with the passage of time, it seems that quite a few people have truly accepted reality.
Nutrients are fine, as long as I can survive.
This is also why business is declining.
But here's the strange part.
The sect's business has declined, but the number of Rogue Cultivator in the three prefectures has suddenly increased!
Especially foreign monks.
Unlike before, these foreign cultivators this time looked exactly like refugees; they no longer looted or killed anyone after entering the country.
Instead, they kept a very low profile, blending in with the local cultivators, or cultivating in seclusion in various places.
This allowed Xu Xiong to quickly find a new market.
Therefore, he has been frequently leaving the sect recently to sell pills and magical Law Artifact. Unexpectedly, he encountered a female cultivator on his way back.
I brought it back as if by some strange twist of fate.
Just as Xu Xiong was busy, he suddenly heard a strange noise behind him.
Looking back, I saw that Zong Qing had slowly sat up.
"You're awake."
"Where... is this? May I ask who you are, fellow traveler...?"
"This is the Azure Pool Sect. My name is Xu Xiong. I reckon you must have been fleeing as well."
"Well, if you're willing, you can join my Azure Pool as a disciple. After all, you're at least at the Foundation Establishment stage."
Xu Xiong recalled the events, he put away the ledger.
Zong Qing was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and subconsciously asked the question she was most concerned about.
"May I ask, fellow traveler, how far is Hanging Blade Pass from here?"
"Huh? What's Hanging Blade Pass?"
Xu Xiong looked utterly confused, not understanding what he meant.
Even Zong Qing was stunned after he said that.
What is meant by "Hanging Blade Pass"?
Could it be that these Demon Manor cultivators are unaware of the reputation of Hanging Blade Pass?
She wanted to say something more, to get to the bottom of it.
Before she could speak, a loud rumbling sound suddenly came from outside the cave abode.
It sounded like thunder in the sky, or like an explosion out of nowhere.
"This is!"
"Don't be afraid. This has been happening a lot lately. I heard from others that the demon ancestors are fighting each other."
"I don't even know what kind of fighting they're doing."
Xu Xiong noticed Zong Qing's nervousness and offered an explanation.
Recently, there have been occasional cracking sounds in the sky, which initially made the Azure Pool disciples nervous and afraid.
But as the sounds became more and more frequent, and some even sounded extremely distant, the people gradually got used to them.
Zong Qing, on the other hand, became noticeably more nervous upon hearing the words "Demon Ancestor."
The fact that the jade bracelet on her wrist had lost its luster made her even more panicked.
It was then that she noticed a scale had appeared on the surface of the jade bracelet.
"It's that scale! It's stuck to my jade bracelet."
"But why has the jade bracelet lost its magic? Could it have been destroyed by those scales?"
Zong Qing looked worried and was still deep in thought.
The tremors above the sky became increasingly noticeable.
This time, even Xu Xiong's expression changed.
Because... he seemed to hear the mournful howl of the Nether Toad Patriarch again!
" Golden Ape! Why did you have to harm me!"