I tamed beasts and achieved immortality in the world of cultivation.

Outside Lin Yuan City, in a secluded, dense forest.

The campfire crackled, with two blue carp and two spirit sheep chickens perched on top of the flames. Golden oil dripped into the fire, sizzling and filling the air with a fragrant aroma.

Xiao Chunan sat cross-legged by the fire, staring at the golden-brown chicken leg and swallowing hard. He casually tore off a piece and stuffed it into his mouth, muttering "Delicious" indistinctly. He then tore off another piece and handed it to Chen Qing.

Chen Qing took it, took a bite, but looked towards the distant horizon.

"Are those people still in the city?" Xiao Chunan asked while eating.

"Yes." Chen Qing nodded. "Dan Yu is watching from the sky and hasn't come out yet."

Xiao Chunan swallowed the chicken in his mouth, wiped the grease from his lips, and frowned, saying, "Why didn't you just make a move? Those people are clearly cultivators from the Qian Kingdom."

Chen Qing shook his head and poked at the campfire with a branch: "First, the city is full of people and eyes, and if a fight breaks out, innocent people will inevitably get hurt. Second, we don't know what their goal is, and acting rashly could alert them. Third..."

Chen Qing looked up at Xiao Chunan and said, "What if they have accomplices?"

Xiao Chunan thought for a moment and nodded: "That makes sense."

Chen Qing didn't say anything more.

He didn't tell Xiao Chunan the real reason.

The weakest of these people is at the sixth level of Qi Refining, so they must be extraordinary. If I were to kill them all openly, I would inevitably become a thorn in the side of the cultivators of the Qian Kingdom.

Moreover, he tries to conceal as much of his strength as possible.

Xiao Chunan took a bite of the grilled fish and then asked, "But are we sure we can finish this? Are you sure we don't want to contact Uncle Zhang?"

"Yes!" Chen Qing tore off a piece of fish, speaking casually. "Of those five, only one is at the seventh level of Qi Refining, while the other four are at the sixth level. Although I just broke through, if it really comes down to a fight, Dan Yu can hold off the seventh-level Qi Refining guy, and you, me, and Qingtian can take care of the remaining four. As long as we quickly eliminate one or two, the rest are nothing to worry about."

"Even if they conceal their cultivation level, we can simply contact him using the communication talisman given to us by Uncle Zhang. He happens to be in the neighboring Mingyuan County these days, and with his late-stage Foundation Establishment speed, it won't take him long to get here."

"With Uncle Zhang as a backup, then there's definitely no problem." Xiao Chunan nodded, but then paused in his grasp of the spirit sheep chicken, his gaze towards Chen Qing filled with surprise: "Dan Yu restrains the seventh level of Qi Refining?"

He stared at Chen Qing for a couple of moments, then suddenly realized, "Dan Yu has broken through to the upper-grade first rank?"

Chen Qing nodded, his expression unchanged: "Yes, it happened not long ago."

Xiao Chunan gasped and muttered, "You've raised this spirit beast way too fast... I felt something was off last time, and it turns out it really broke through. A first-tier high-grade spirit beast is definitely enough to keep a Qi Refining seventh level cultivator at bay."

He shook his head, a hint of envy in his voice: "Wow, you're something else. You should have said so earlier."

Chen Qing smiled but didn't reply.

Xiao Chunan didn't press further, but changed the subject: "By the way, I have some news for you."

"What news?"

"My sister sent a message from the sect saying that Xuanzhen Peak will send a True Monarch at the late Golden Core stage to oversee Yunzhou. It is said that the True Monarch is extremely skilled in formations, and with him there, the three northern states of the Martial Kingdom should be safe."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing paused slightly in the branch he was fiddling with as he played with the spirit sheep chicken.

Late stage of Golden Core...

That's good news.

Although both Lingyun Sect and the Blood Soul Sect to the north have many Nascent Soul Ancestors, Chen Qing learned from Shen Tu Yu that such friction is a routine operation between the two sects. Nascent Soul Ancestors do not easily intervene. Therefore, the late Golden Core stage is already the most powerful existence. With such a strong person in charge, the Qian Kingdom would have to think twice before sending disciples to infiltrate.

However, Chen Qing felt a pang of emotion.

Although Beast Taming Peak is one of the Ten Peaks of Lingyun, its strongest member is only Shen Tu Yu, who is in the late Foundation Establishment stage. Therefore, it is ultimately less likely to have high-level intelligence sources like this, and thus it is also weaker.

But no matter what, with that Golden Core True Monarch's arrival, my thoughts of leaving Yunzhou have become less intense.

After all, the spiritual veins, water sources, and environment of Half Moon Lake are extremely suitable for his cultivation and raising of spirit beasts. It's not certain that he could find such a suitable place elsewhere.

"Never mind that for now." Chen Qing threw the branch he was holding into the fire. "Let's deal with those five people first."

Xiao Chunan nodded, a cold glint flashing in his eyes: "That's exactly what I was thinking."

……

The next day, early morning.

A light drizzle began to fall from the sky, the raindrops like curtains, turning the world into a grayish-white expanse.

Chen Qing sat cross-legged under the tree, then suddenly opened his eyes. Dan Yu's cold voice echoed in his mind: "Chen Qing, they left the city and headed northwest."

Chen Qing stood up and patted the fallen leaves off his clothes.

Xiao Chunan opened her eyes, her gaze sharp: "Gone?"

"Let's go." Chen Qing nodded, raised his hand and waved, releasing spiritual energy to erase all traces of the two. "Northwest direction, towards Blood Spirit Abyss."

Xiao Chunan's lips curled into a slight smile as he reached for the hilt of his sword at his waist: "Then what are we waiting for?"

The two exchanged a glance, then vanished into the rain.

……

Fifty miles north of Lin Yuan City, the road leading to Blood Spirit Abyss is full of potholes, with rolling hills and dense forests on both sides. Under the cover of rain and mist, the visibility is only a few dozen feet.

At this moment, five figures were hurrying through the rain.

The man in the lead had an ordinary face and simple clothes; he was the middle-aged man at the seventh level of Qi Refining. His steps were steady, each step firmly planted on the ground. The rainwater evaporated from his clothes before it even touched his skin, and a faint mist swirled around him.

Four people followed closely behind, all of whom were at the sixth level of Qi Refining. Although they were not as composed as the former, they were not slow either.

"This trip has been quite an ordeal." A thin, monkey-faced cultivator wiped the rain from his face and muttered, "I spent three months in Yunzhou and then four days squatting in Linyuan City. My legs are numb from squatting."

"Be content," a square-faced cultivator chimed in, his voice low. "We've gathered all the necessary intelligence. Apart from Yunzhou Prefecture, we've covered the defenses, patrol patterns, family details, spiritual veins, and sacred lands of the other five prefectures... That's enough to report back."

The gaunt cultivator chuckled, a glint of excitement in his eyes: "Next time we come, we won't have to sneak around like this. Then, hehe, we can burn, kill, and plunder, we can do whatever we want."

"That's right." Another short, stout cultivator licked his lips. "Last time we passed by Qingxi Valley, the Lin family's spiritual fields looked pretty good. They were full of top-quality golden rice. One plunder would be enough for us to eat for a year."

"What's the Lin family?" the square-faced cultivator sneered. "If you ask me, Half Moon Lake is the real money-maker. I heard there's a Lingyun Sect guardian there who raises a whole lake of blue carp; it's got plenty of oil and fat."

"Guardian of the Lingyun Sect? What's their cultivation level?"

"Level 5 Qi Refining, maybe? A step weaker than us. What are you afraid of?"

The group became more and more excited as they talked, their voices gradually growing louder, as if they could already see the scene of their next rampage of plunder in Linyuan County.

The middle-aged man at the front remained silent, but a slight, cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

These people have no idea what they're talking about.

If the Blood Soul Sect and the Lingyun Sect really start a conflict and a major war, low-level disciples like them will be nothing more than the most worthless cannon fodder.

He's already changed several batches of guys like the four behind him. The last batch was spotted by Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Lingyun Sect while scouting Mingyuan County, and none of them came back.

If he hadn't learned a survival technique from Senior Brother Qi and made a quick escape when he sensed something was wrong, he probably would have been doomed too.

How long will this batch survive?

"Enough." The middle-aged man suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but carrying an undeniable chill. "Stop talking and hurry to the Blood Spirit Abyss secret passage to return to the Qian Kingdom and report back."

Upon hearing this, the group immediately shut up and quickened their pace.

But just then, a sword light pierced through the rain!

The cold light was dazzling, and it moved as fast as lightning, heading straight for the thin, monkey-faced cultivator on the far left!

At the same time, three crystal-clear ice spikes flew silently from the side, blocking all his escape routes!

"Be careful!"

The middle-aged man reacted the fastest, shouting as he dodged to the side. A flash of light appeared in his hand, and a blood-red longsword was already in his grasp.

But his warning came too late.

The gaunt cultivator's pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively activated his protective spiritual light, causing a layer of blood-red light to illuminate his body.

But the sword light was too fast, so fast that he didn't even have time to take out his talisman!

"puff!"

The sword light easily pierced through the protective aura, entering his left chest and exiting through his back, bringing with it a cloud of blood mist.

Three ice spikes followed closely behind, piercing his body with three sharp "thuds." The gaunt cultivator didn't even have time to let out a scream before his body stiffened and swayed, then he collapsed to the ground with a "thud," lifeless.

[Third update today, new book recommendation period, please vote, fellow readers~]