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

"Then let's wear it down remotely!"

Chen Qing gritted his teeth and took out a handful of talismans from his storage bag. He had three Golden Sword Talismans, two Fire Serpent Talismans, four Ice Cone Talismans, and double the number of other low-grade and mid-grade talismans.

"Danyu, keep the Crane Heart White Flame burning, burn its legs!"

"Qingtian, stay alert, don't let it get away!"

After conveying his thoughts, Chen Qing took a deep breath, manipulated the Azure Wind Boat to hover outside the poisonous fog, and began to throw out talismans one by one.

The golden sword talisman struck the head, the fire snake talisman coiled around the arm, and the ice cone talisman shot at the knee; Dan Yu's crane heart white flames also spewed out from the side, burning a large area of ​​carbonization to the bone of the skeleton's left leg.

The skeleton struggled through the poisonous fog, its arm severed, its movements growing increasingly sluggish, and the crimson will-o'-the-wisps began to dim.

But it still didn't fall. Its other arm swung around, occasionally swatting away one or two talismans, and it could even condense two bone spikes to throw at the Azure Wind Boat.

"This thing is fucking hard."

Chen Qing cursed, glanced at the last golden sword talisman in his hand, and said, "Never mind, I'll risk it all!"

He activated the last Golden Sword Talisman, and golden light condensed in the air into a three-foot-long golden sword. At the same time, he bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood onto the golden sword!

The golden sword instantly shone brightly, its sword energy soaring into the sky, as if it had come to life, emitting a clear sword cry!

"go!"

The golden sword transformed into a streak of light, piercing through the poisonous mist in the blink of an eye and shooting straight into the thickest vertebra in the center of the skull's chest cavity!

"boom--!"

The golden sword exploded, and the giant skeleton's spine snapped, its upper and lower body instantly separating. The massive skeleton, three zhang tall, collapsed with a crash. The two balls of blood-red ghost fire flickered wildly in its eye sockets a few times, then gradually went out like candle flames in the wind.

The poisonous fog slowly dissipated as the skeleton died.

Chen Qing hovered in mid-air, looking at the pile of scattered skeletons on the ground, and exhaled a long breath of stale air.

"Finally...it's resolved."

He steered the Azure Wind Boat to a slow descent, and when his feet touched solid ground, he felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.

Qingtian also limped out of the woods. His ancient ape form had faded, and he had returned to his four-foot-tall appearance. His hair was disheveled, and there was a bloody wound on his left arm.

"Chen Qing..." A weak thought came from Qingtian, "Am I... even more powerful than Zhang Fei...?"

Chen Qing's lips twitched. Last time it was Zhao Yun, this time it's Zhang Fei, next time it'll be Guan Yu, right?

"Yes, yes, you're better than Zhang Fei."

Qingtian squeaked contentedly, closed its eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

Dan Yu strolled over, pecked at the pile of broken bones with her long beak, picked out a fist-sized piece of translucent white bone jade, gently placed it at Chen Qing's feet, and then raised her head with an expression that said, "This young lady is giving this to you."

Chen Qing picked up the bone jade, its surface warm and smooth to the touch. He probed it with his spiritual energy and could feel an extremely pure spiritual energy flowing within it.

"nice one."

He nodded in satisfaction, put the bone jade into his storage bag, and then squatted down to collect a few of the better-quality bones from the scattered remains of the skull. Although these bones were not as precious as the bone jade, they were still good materials for refining weapons, and selling them for a few dozen spirit stones would not be a problem.

After doing all this, Chen Qing stood up, looked around to make sure no other skeletons were chasing after him, and then let out a long sigh of relief.

Lu Chenxing is right.

Caution is a good thing, but we must not forget the essential nature of spiritual cultivation.

When it's time to act, you have to act.

Chen Qing boarded the Azure Wind Boat, carefully stored Qingtian and Danyu into his spirit beast bag, and continued flying northwest.

……

One day later.

In the northwest of the secret realm, there is a secluded valley.

The environment here is quite tranquil, with gentle slopes on both sides, lush green grass in the valley, and a few unidentified wildflowers scattered among them. Occasionally, you can hear the chirping of insects. If it weren't for the hazy sky overhead spoiling the view, it would truly be a wonderful place for a spring outing.

Chen Qing stood at the entrance of the valley, dressed in a black robe and wearing a mask, with the Blood Spirit Token he had taken from the burly cultivator tucked in his pocket.

He touched the dark red token, sighing with emotion.

He explored it all night and discovered that this thing could not only sense the aura of living beings within a hundred feet, but also roughly judge the strength of their cultivation. Cultivators in the Qi Refining stage appeared as pale red dots on the token, and the higher the cultivation level, the brighter the dots.

Over the past period, he encountered no fewer than ten other cultivators, but the highest level he encountered was only the eighth level of Qi Refining. It was clear that those top cultivators had all gone to the inner circle. He also encountered many living creatures in the secret realm, but the Blood Spirit Token sensed them in advance and bypassed them.

"This is good stuff."

Chen Qing put the Blood Spirit Token into his pocket and walked into the valley.

This area was mentioned in the jade slip he bought on the black market—deep in the valley grew a mid-grade first-tier spiritual herb called "Jade Marrow Fungus," which was the main ingredient for refining "Jade Marrow Pills." Jade Marrow Pills were helpful for Qi Refining cultivators in body tempering and were quite valuable; a good-quality Jade Marrow Fungus could sell for twenty or thirty spirit stones.

Chen Qing's trip was mainly for this purpose.

Although the Blood Fiend Technique he obtained from that Qian Kingdom cultivator was uncultivable, it contained a separate body-refining method that Chen Qing found quite good.

Unfortunately, although Yang Ming was a cultivator from the Dharma Aspect Peak and was most skilled in body refinement, the secret manuals he possessed were all ordinary techniques, and the key secret techniques of the Dharma Aspect Peak were not among them, which made Chen Qing quite disappointed.

Of course, it would be even better if we could encounter a Foundation Establishment spirit creature on this trip.

However, this is only the outer edge of the secret realm; the real treasures are deeper inside, so Chen Qing doesn't have much hope for this place.

"Let's keep it on the perimeter, safety first."

As Chen Qing walked, he scanned his surroundings with his spiritual sense.

The valley was quite quiet, without any unusual aura. Chen Qing thought for a moment, then raised his hand and patted his spirit beast pouch. Two beams of spiritual light flew out and landed on the ground, transforming into a crane and a wolf.

"Danyu, fly higher and keep an eye on our surroundings for me."

"Silver Moon, you have a keen sense of smell, see if there are any Jade Marrow Mushrooms around here."

Dan Yu gracefully shook its feathers, raised its head, flapped its wings, and flew to a height of three or four zhang above the ground, slowly circling in the air above the valley; Yin Yue, on the other hand, took light steps, its silver-gray fur still as smooth as satin under the hazy sky, its nose twitching slightly as it sniffed around in the grass.

As for Qingtian, he was still fast asleep in the spirit beast pouch, not yet recovering from the aftereffects of activating the "Ancient Ape True Form" yesterday.

Chen Qing wasn't in a hurry and followed behind Yin Yue, walking slowly.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Dan Yu suddenly transmitted a thought: "About two hundred feet to the due north, there is a patch of spiritual herbs."

Chen Qing's eyes lit up, and he quickly walked in that direction.

Silver Moon seemed to have smelled something too. Its four short legs moved swiftly, its silver figure weaving through the grass and disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye. By the time Chen Qing arrived, Silver Moon was already squatting beside a clump of spiritual herbs, tilting its head back with an expression that said, "Praise me!"

Chen Qing squatted down and rubbed Yin Yue's head, examining her carefully.

This is a small piece of chalcedony fungus, consisting of seven or eight plants. The entire piece is as white as jade, and a faint spiritual light flows on the cap. It is of excellent quality.

"Great, it's meant to be, I'll pick it!"

Chen Qing smiled and took out a jade shovel from his storage bag. He carefully dug up the jade fungus plants by the roots and put them into a jade box that he had prepared in advance.