Chapter 82

In the center of seven towering stone pillars, the stone ground was uneven, resembling a deep, sunken valley.

Surrounding the area were strange rocks, and on the ground were droppings and fur from spirit beasts, clearly indicating frequent activity nearby.

The sun hung high in the sky, its rays casting shadows from several stone pillars. In three of these shadows, spirit beasts were squatting, resting and avoiding the sunlight.

A silver-flame spider, a golden-maned ape, and a venomous-scaled scorpion—all second-stage spirit beasts, their strength comparable to that of martial artists at the Kaiyuan Realm.

The three spirit beasts were each several meters long. The venomous-scaled scorpion was covered in green, toxic light, and a pungent, acidic smell permeated the air around it.

The silver-flame spider lay like a web, seemingly asleep, while the golden-maned ape, with its golden fur, stood over two meters tall, its fierce eyes gleaming with a golden light.

At the entrance of a narrow stone path, where only two people could walk side by side, Yan Qingsong moved cautiously, quietly poking his head out.

He explained softly to Naorou behind him, "The silver-flame spider, the golden-maned ape, and the venomous-scaled scorpion are all here. They don't like sunlight, so they are all resting in the shadows. Come and take a look." He slightly moved aside to let Naorou come forward.

Naorou stepped up, her bright eyes scanning the area, and she giggled, "Not bad, the information is accurate. With our strength, we can definitely handle these three second-stage spirit beasts."

"How we divide the spoils will depend on who contributes the most," Yan Ziqian said from behind.

Naorou nodded, then drew out her white jade ruler and walked out without hesitation, heading towards the silver-flame spider. "I'll deal with the spider alone. You and my sisters can handle the other two. That's how we'll divide the work."

As Yan Ziqian and Feng Kai were surprised, Naorou swung her ruler, and a multitude of ruler shadows filled the air, creating a powerful and heavy aura that almost instantly filled the entire small valley.

The silver-flame spider, the golden-maned ape, and the venomous-scaled scorpion immediately sensed the danger and rose from the shadows, all roaring and charging forward angrily.

Naorou moved gracefully, giggling, and landed in front of the silver-flame spider like a breeze.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Balls of silver flame, like bubbles, floated up from the spider's body.

These bright silver flames were not only not hot but also extremely cold, causing the air to make a strange, freezing sound.

"Stupid spider, do you think you can hurt me with that?"

Naorou looked relaxed, and suddenly threw her ruler. The ruler shadows, carrying a heavy force, rained down on the silver-flame spider, causing it to emit a piercing howl.

"Truly a mystic-grade spirit weapon, indeed powerful," Yan Qingsong said enviously from behind.

"Feng Kai, you and Qingsong deal with the venomous-scaled scorpion. I'll help the Shuimuyue Sect friends with the golden-maned ape!" Yan Ziqian shouted and rushed towards the golden-maned ape with the Shuimuyue Sect girls.

Feng Kai and Yan Ziqian were both at the early Kaiyuan Realm, and dealing with second-stage spirit beasts wouldn't put them at a significant disadvantage. With the help of a few Body Refinement Realm companions, using spirit weapons and techniques, it wasn't difficult to kill a second-stage spirit beast.

The group had been active in this natural stone forest for a long time, and their experience in dealing with spirit beasts had gradually increased. Once they started, the highest realm cultivators would take the lead, attracting the main attacks of the spirit beasts, while those of slightly lower realms would spread out and attack from the flanks with spirit weapons, techniques, arrows, and spears.

This way, the spirit beasts were attacked from all sides, unable to defend both front and back, left and right, often ending up covered in wounds, slowly being worn down until they were exhausted and killed.

This time was no exception.

Led by Naorou, Feng Kai, and Yan Ziqian, over twenty young people worked together and didn't take too long to severely wound the three second-stage spirit beasts, each of which eventually collapsed from exhaustion.

"The silver-flame spider I killed alone definitely belongs to us. You contributed to the golden-maned ape, so we'll take the ape's skin and core, and the rest is yours. The venomous-scaled scorpion is completely yours. Any problems?"

Beside the three bloody spirit beasts, Naorou smiled and proposed the division.

The silver-flame spider was the most valuable, followed by the golden-maned ape, and the venomous-scaled scorpion was the least valuable...

She claimed the silver-flame spider for herself and took the golden-maned ape's core and skin, clearly getting the best deal. She smiled at Yan Ziqian and said coquettishly, "Your Ice Shatter Manor is wealthy and powerful, surely you won't argue with a few girls, right?"

Yan Ziqian and the others hesitated but nodded, agreeing to the division.

"Then it's settled!" Naorou waved her hand. "You men are responsible for the division. Once the materials are sorted out, just give us what belongs to us."

She turned and smiled triumphantly at her sisters, who giggled.

"I knew you would come, and we wouldn't get any advantage, hehe. Fortunately, we didn't plan to in the first place," Yan Qingsong wiped the spirit beast blood from his body and said casually, "After the materials are divided, how about we all have a drink to celebrate? The young ladies won't refuse, right?"

He said this, and Yan Ziqian, Feng Kai, and the other Ice Shatter Manor martial artists looked expectantly at the Shuimuyue Sect girls.

This was their true purpose.

"No problem, meeting guys like you, the sisters also want to get to know you," Naorou agreed.

Yan Ziqian, Feng Kai, and the others's eyes brightened, their spirits lifted.

"Brothers, do a good job, and we'll have a drink later, chat with the young ladies about life and such," Yan Qingsong said happily.

The Ice Shatter Manor martial artists immediately became enthusiastic, the small loss in spirit materials forgotten.

They didn't notice that above them, a dark cloud had silently appeared.

Under the scorching sun, there were no clouds, but this dark cloud appeared suddenly, looking extremely strange.

Clusters of grayish-brown smoke, invisible to normal people, floated up from the three spirit beast corpses, seemingly drawn by the dark cloud, slowly rising and quietly merging into it.

The cloud, originally the size of a millstone, clearly grew larger after some time.

However, the Ice Shatter Manor group was only thinking about meeting the Shuimuyue Sect girls and didn't notice the sky or the anomaly.

After a while, no more grayish-brown smoke floated up from the spirit beast corpses, and the dark cloud had grown even larger.

At this moment, Gao Yu, who had been tracking the dark cloud, finally arrived.

As soon as he appeared, the Shuimuyue Sect and Ice Shatter Manor people immediately noticed him and focused their attention on him.

"Gao Yu, hehe, what a coincidence," Yan Qingsong smiled, his eyes slightly cold. "At Tianlang Mountain, you said you wanted to kill me. I've been waiting for a long time, waiting for you to make a move, but you never came, which disappointed me."

"Gao Yu of the Gao family," Feng Kai's face darkened. "My brother lost an arm at Tianlang Mountain, and you, Gao Yu, are not off the hook!"

"Yan Qingsong!" Gao Yu's handsome face was sinister, his eyes flashing with a sinister light, giving off a very uncomfortable and dangerous feeling.

However, his main purpose today was not Yan Qingsong. As soon as he arrived, he looked up at the dark cloud.

The dark cloud, upon Gao Yu's arrival, seemed to be startled and quietly moved away.

"I don't have time to deal with you today, but the next time we meet, I will definitely kill you!" Seeing the dark cloud move away, Gao Yu's face turned urgent, and he hurriedly tried to follow it.

"Hehe, do you think I'll give you another chance?" Yan Qingsong frowned. "I heard you've broken through to the ninth level of Body Refinement, reaching the same realm as me. I'm a cautious person and won't wait for you to become a real threat."

After a pause, Yan Qingsong suddenly lunged at Gao Yu. "To prevent you from becoming a future threat, I'll kill you today for peace of mind!"

Yan Qingsong was known in the Ice Shatter Manor for his cunning and ruthlessness. He was very cautious and wouldn't give his enemies many chances.

Since Gao Yu had once said he wanted to kill him, Yan Qingsong had been keeping an eye on him. When he learned that Gao Yu had entered the Star Cloud Pavilion and broken through to the ninth level of Body Refinement, he felt the pressure and saw Gao Yu as a target to be eliminated. Now that Gao Yu had come to him, how could he let him leave easily?

Almost instantly, Yan Qingsong rushed over, blocking Gao Yu's path and making the first move.

"You're asking for death!" Gao Yu, anxious about the dark cloud, saw Yan Qingsong ruining his plans and instantly ignited his killing intent, immediately engaging in battle.

"Damn it, they're really fighting! Is Gao Yu crazy, doesn't he see how many people are here?"

Tu Ze, Zhuo Qian, and the others rushed over and, upon entering the valley, saw Gao Yu and Yan Qingsong already fighting. The chubby Kang Zhi stomped his foot, cursing and glaring at Gao Yu.

"Brother Tu, these are the three spirit beasts we found. What do you think?" Chu Peng looked at the spirit beast corpses on the ground and said coldly.

"You guys were hiding earlier, thinking of taking advantage, weren't you, Tu Ze? You really think we'll be weakened after killing the spirit beasts and you can take advantage?" Yan Ziqian was stunned, suddenly realizing, his eyes turning cold. "Do you really think we'll be so weakened after killing the spirit beasts that you can take advantage?"

With that, he raised his Ice Dragon Sword and rushed over, shouting, "These people are here to take advantage!"

Feng Kai and the Ice Shatter Manor people didn't believe Tu Ze and the others were there to protect Gao Yu. They thought Gao Yu and the others were originally together, and they had appeared just after the spirit beasts were killed, clearly to take advantage of their weakened state and seize the spoils.

Almost instantly, the two sides clashed again, quickly engaging in a fierce battle.

The two sides had fought several times recently, knew each other well, and immediately targeted their opponents.

Yan Ziqian faced Tu Ze, Feng Kai faced Zhuo Qian, and Kang Zhi, who was originally supposed to face Yan Qingsong, now faced someone else because Gao Yu was targeting Yan Qingsong. The rest each had their own opponents and began fighting in the valley.

"Naorou, what...?"

The Shuimuyue Sect girls, who hadn't reacted yet, suddenly found the valley in chaos, with the Ice Shatter Manor and Star Cloud Pavilion people fighting each other, leaving them as bystanders.

"What's it got to do with us?" Naorou was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "We just need to watch the show!"

The Shuimuyue Sect girls, hearing this, relaxed and giggled, excitedly discussing the battle, pointing at the fighters and making comments.

"Hey, the long sword in Tu Ze's hand has several notches from the previous battles with the Ice Dragon Sword. How can he fight like this?"

"From the current situation, Tu Ze is still at a disadvantage. Seriously, Yan Ziqian is just taking advantage of his spirit weapon."

"Feng Kai and Zhuo Qian have spirit weapons of similar grades, but Feng Kai is older and has been at the early Kaiyuan Realm for a long time. Zhuo Qian just broke through to the Kaiyuan Realm and isn't even familiar with the fighting style yet. She has no advantage against Feng Kai. Yeah, it will probably end up like before, with Feng Kai dominating her. There's still a gap between them."

"Indeed, Tu Ze and Zhuo Qian are injured!"

"Hey! But that Gao Yu guy seems pretty fierce! Yan Qingsong... he's shouting a lot, but doesn't seem to be getting the upper hand?"

"Gao Yu? I've heard of him. He's... a bit of a psychopath, once tortured and killed a girl."

"Really? That's disgusting!"

"Yeah, he doesn't look like a good person. If Yan Qingsong is at a disadvantage, I might help him! A psychopath like that, better off dead!"

"..."

The Shuimuyue Sect girls, like Naorou, remained outside the conflict, watching the battle and discussing it enthusiastically.

Tu Ze and Zhuo Qian, who had not been a match for Yan Ziqian and Feng Kai in previous battles, were also at a disadvantage this time.

The red long sword in Tu Ze's hand had many notches and was at a disadvantage in the clash with the Ice Dragon Sword.

At this moment, Tu Ze's chest had three new, bloody wounds. The blood, chilled by the cold, had formed blood crystals, looking vivid but causing Tu Ze to feel the cold seeping into his chest, making him numb and slowing his movements.

"If I had my spirit weapon, I wouldn't be in this situation. Is the heavens deliberately suppressing me, making me inferior to Yan Ziqian!?"

Tu Ze's face was twisted, his eyes red as he fought Yan Ziqian, his heart screaming in frustration.

"You damn traitor, if it weren't for Master Lu ruining my Dragon Bone Whip again, I would have beaten you to a pulp!" Zhuo Qian gritted her teeth, her face fierce as she cursed.

Her white right arm had two new, fine wounds, the sight of which was shocking, and the bones were almost visible.

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

At this moment, the sound of spirit beasts moving like the wind came from the distance, and soon, two sinister Xuanming Beasts appeared.

"They're here," Liang Zhong frowned, looking at the valley, surprised. "They're fighting each other, and it's quite intense."

"Brother Tu! Sister Qian!"

The Xuanming Beasts stopped, and Qin Lie, seeing the scene in the valley, his eyes turned red, like a enraged beast, suddenly becoming hysterical.

His handsome face was instantly filled with a look of anger and madness, and his body trembled strangely.

He rushed over without hesitation.

...