On the other side.
"Qing... Qing Jun... senior sister..."
"What’s up! Speak clearly, don’t stutter!"
The little girl was holding back a burst of anger.
The Master’s back belongs only to Qing Jun!
Why let someone else hug it!
Of course.
What made Qing Jun most restless was the Master’s safety.
Alas...
As long as the Master is safe, this time, she will forgive him.
Jin’er shrunk her neck, pointing at the broken bowl in Qing Jun’s arms, curious:
"Senior sister, why do you always carry this bowl? Is it a magical treasure left to you by the Master?"
Jin’er couldn’t figure it out.
This bowl looked plain and ordinary, and holding it made the already dusty Qing Jun appear even more like a beggar.
"As for this..."
Qing Jun puffed up her chest confidently,
"This is Qing Jun’s secret weapon! If I tell, it won’t work anymore, so I must keep it secret."
Saying so,
Instead, it made Jin’er even more curious, her eyes frequently glancing at that broken bowl.
The black-haired girl sighed helplessly.
What secret weapon... She thought this little girl simply wanted to play pitiful in front of the Master.
Probably earlier,
After the master and disciples disguised themselves, the Master casually mentioned that Qing Jun holding the bowl looked like a pitiful little beggar. The girl remembered this in her heart and kept hugging a broken bowl ever since.
As for why Qing Jun wanted to appear pitiful... it was just to gain more pity from the Master.
Rumble—
The three continued deeper into the Celestial Abyss, and the surrounding space rifts grew denser.
Zhiwei, leading her two junior sisters, pressed forward through the layers of harsh winds, finally stepping into the Third-Layer realm.
Here, there was no sky, no earth, only countless floating mountain peaks, scattered rocks, and streams of colorful spatial turbulence.
Upon arriving here,
Qing Jun and Jin’er no longer spoke in whispers but opened their eyes wide, searching everywhere for the Master’s whereabouts.
"Senior sister, come quickly look here!"
Having just landed on a massive floating black stone, Jin’er made a discovery, pointing at the pile of disordered stones with a soft call.
Zhiwei and Qing Jun hurried over.
Among the chaotic rubble, there were indeed several remains already turned into white bones.
Although the flesh had long since vanished with time’s erosion, the tattered clothing still faintly bore some familiar patterns.
"These are... Lingyin Sect’s robes? And True Inheritor robes!"
Zhiwei frowned, crouching down, extending her fair hand to gently touch the pale bones, her fingertips emitting a slight pulse of spiritual power,
"The bones are brittle, and the spiritual power has completely dissipated. These remains... have been weathering here for over twenty years!"
"True Inheritor?! When did Lingyin Sect have True Inheritors die outside?" Jin’er was startled.
True Inheritors were already significant figures within the Lingyin Sect.
Yet here, inexplicably, lay several True Inheritor remains.
The senior sister mused, "Over twenty years ago... Indeed, Lingyin Sect had three True Inheritors die in Qi Kingdom, including Bai Susu’s father, Bai Li."
And here, indeed, lay three skeletons, one of which glimmered lightly with a metallic sheen, likely due to long-term contact with Geng Metal Qi.
"Then this one must be Bai Li’s remains, right? Why don’t we take him back! Bai Susu might stop bullying the Master for the sake of the remains, and then the Master wouldn’t need to appease her, leaving more time to play with us!"
Qing Jun looked at the remains in astonishment,
She hadn’t expected to encounter that nasty woman’s father’s remains here!
The little girl, while pondering, muttered, "But it’s strange, why would they still wear True Inheritor robes when coming to Qi Kingdom? We all disguised as beggars, yet they flaunted it so openly."
"Wait... something’s not right!" Zhiwei exclaimed suddenly, speaking in a tense voice, "Be careful, it’s a trap!"
Just at that moment,
From beneath the black stone, a hoarse, eerie laugh echoed:
"Hehehe... living beings... fresh blood and flesh... the Divine Son’s offerings have arrived!"
With a loud "boom".
The black stone exploded, rocks flying through the air!
A pitch-black figure, wrapped in overwhelming demon flames, smashed apart the rock layer, charging towards the direction where the three girls were standing!
This was an old man with disheveled hair, wearing a tattered black robe.
His eyes were blood-red, his hair wild, his body emaciated, and both his appearance and demeanor seemed extremely sickly.
However, his aura was undeniably at the Fake Pill realm!
"What kind of ugly creature dares to ambush Qing Jun?!"
Qing Jun reacted swiftly, unleashing Xiaohan, and took the initiative to slash towards the dark figure.
Simultaneously, several small True Seals swirled around the sword.
This strike was quite formidable, enough to slay an ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator!
At the same time,
"Celestial Burning Treasure Scroll—Purifying World Lotus!"
Jin’er also unleashed her fire technique, which she had comprehended from the Celestial Burning Treasure Scroll, as flames of lotus swirled upward.
Zhiwei decisively formed a triad of Gourd Swords into a Grand Evolution Wind and Thunder Sword Formation, attacking the crazed old man’s vital points.
But the gap between realms was tough to cross, even with talent.
"Die! All die!!"
The daft old man roared, a sound not resembling any human, confronting the omnipresent sword qi and Divine Fire head-on, countering Qing Jun’s Xiaohan without flinching!
"Bang!"
A dull thud.
Qing Jun felt a tremendous force surging forth, dispersing her proud blood energy, and her small, soft body was instantly flung backward, a hint of blood seeping from her lips.
"Damn... what a powerful ugly beast!"
The little girl gritted her teeth.
It was the first time she had faced such a formidable opponent!
"Senior sister!" Jin’er exclaimed in shock.
Meanwhile, Zhiwei’s sword qi and Jin’er’s Divine Fire struck the mad old man’s Protective Gang Qi, leaving only scorching black streaks, unable to penetrate the defense!