Starting as a spiritual plant master, may I eventually become the master of all lands.

Just as Song Chuan was advancing to the eighth level of Qi Refining and heading to the next place with a joyful expression, he was unaware that eight people were walking towards him by the river where he was digging for Huangwenzhi.

The eight people wore square headscarves and Taoist robes; they were all disciples of the Four Pillars School.

Two Qi Refining Level 9, three Qi Refining Level 8, and three Qi Refining Level 7.

They were all late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, clearly the most elite team of the Four Pillars Sect, and likely had an extraordinary goal!

"Brother Kang, this mission we're leading is the most difficult one yet!" one of the ninth-level Qi Refining cultivators said to the other.

The cultivator surnamed Kang looked at the river before him and nodded:

"Brother Yuan, there's no need to worry. Our team is top-notch in terms of both cultivation level and magical artifacts and talismans."

"I wonder if Junior Brother Zou has made it to that strange cave. Although cave salamanders are ordinary creatures, the elder said that the other demons in the cave are not easy to deal with," said the cultivator surnamed Yuan.

"Let's not worry about his affairs. Let's see if that second-tier demonic turtle in the river is still there," said the cultivator surnamed Kang.

These Qi-refining cultivators from the Four Pillars Sect are actually here to deal with the second-tier demonic turtle!

That's equivalent to a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even eight late-stage Qi Refining cultivators couldn't possibly defeat a Foundation Establishment cultivator. I wonder what gives these people their confidence.

"Junior Brother Jiang, Junior Brother Xu, you two go and investigate the riverbank. Elder Chen said there is a patch of black soil. If there are traces of it being licked, then the demon turtle is still lingering here."

The cultivator surnamed Yuan pointed to two junior brothers, whose expressions tightened and they exchanged a glance.

"This demonic turtle is something Elder Chen Yuntian specifically requested, and he's waiting outside."

Moreover, Elder Chen bestowed upon us the Four Pillars Eight Gates Formation. Once this formation is set up correctly, even a second-tier cultivator cannot escape. There's no need for worry.

The monk surnamed Kang chuckled.

The two junior brothers then took a breath and quietly walked towards the river.

"Demonic beasts are not of our human race. As long as we master their innate supernatural abilities and use powerful formations to restrain them, we can try to overcome them even if we are of a higher level," the cultivator surnamed Yuan continued.

"Of course, how could we dare to challenge a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the human race?"

"Senior Brother Kang, does the demon turtle possess a supernatural ability to spew poisonous mist?" asked a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

"That's right, that's why it likes to eat black soil. This demon is called the 'Black Tortoise Beast,' and its shell is of great use to the Four Pillars Gate."

A moment later, the two junior brothers returned, and one of them spoke:

"Senior Brother Kang, Senior Brother Yuan, the black soil shows signs of both being broken by magical artifacts and being licked."

"Oh? It seems someone came to this black soil looking for something. If that person dared to take the black soil, they must have been killed by the demon turtle."

"Elder Chen was right after all. That demonic turtle is greedy for black soil and has been staying here for over a hundred years."

The monk surnamed Kang flipped his wrist and took out four gray pillars, each about three inches in size. He kept one for himself and gave one to each of the three people.

The pillar resembled both jade and stone, brimming with spiritual energy. It was clear at a glance that it was not something a Qi Refining cultivator should possess.

"Huh? The four pillars of destiny—year, month, day, and hour—are different from what we usually use."

"Hehe, this was specially made by Elder Chen, not the ordinary stuff from the sect. It's controlled by the four of us."

Seeing that the cultivator surnamed Kang had already allocated the four pillars of life, the cultivator surnamed Yuan patted his storage bag and took out eight small flags.

He handed six of them to the remaining three people.

"The four of us will preside over the Eight Banners Sect of the Trapped Heaven," the cultivator surnamed Yuan said solemnly.

"Let's go! Everyone take your positions near that black earth and lure out the demon turtle. If this succeeds, we won't need to worry about anything else!"

The eight people walked solemnly toward Wutu.

Whether they will succeed remains to be seen.

……

Looking at Xuanhe's map, Song Chuan realized that Master Kuzhuo had already collected most of the spiritual plants he needed.

There is also a third-tier spiritual plant on top, named "Earthfire Spear".

This spiritual plant is safe to harvest, but extremely difficult to find. It's not even marked on the map.

Song Chuan estimated that even if he didn't find the Earth Fire Spear, with the two third-tier spiritual plants, Firefly and Flame Flower, plus the cave salamander he caught, he should be able to get Master Ku Zhuo to bestow upon him a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Moreover, there are several second-tier fire-attribute spiritual plants and a few spiritual fruits. However, if they're lucky enough to find the Earth Fire Spear, then the Foundation Establishment Pill is definitely within their grasp!

He hesitated for a moment, then followed the direction of the cave salamander.

Let's see what we find along the way. If all else fails, we'll catch the cave salamander first.

After rushing for several hours, Song Chuan frowned and stopped.

He suddenly felt a heat, which was neither caused by fire-attribute spiritual plants nor by any magical artifacts or spells. It was very peculiar!

He darted to a tree and hid there.

Three men stood about thirty feet away. One was at the ninth level of Qi Refining, and the other two were at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Judging from their clothes, they seem to be from the Changshao school, but something doesn't feel quite right.

Opposite these three was a woman with fair skin and a beautiful face, dressed in the attire of the Vine Flower Valley!

This woman was at the ninth level of Qi Refining, and Song Chuan did not recognize her.

That burning sensation was emanating from her. Song Chuan was greatly surprised.

"I thought the Red Water Demoness would sneak in among the rogue cultivators of Qi, but I didn't expect she used a quota from the Vine Flower Valley."

The person at the ninth level of Qi Refining looked at the woman and said.

Chishui Nuba?

Hiss! Song Chuan gasped.

She is not only not a cultivator from Vine Flower Valley, but she is also not human!

Song Chuan had read the records of "Rain Master and Drought Demon" in Yuewei Hall, which also mentioned Nüba. They both came from the neighboring Rain Master Kingdom.

The cultivators of the Rain Master Kingdom generally practice water-attribute techniques because the country has abundant rainfall, and these cultivators call themselves "Rain Masters".

As for the drought demon, it is extremely complicated.

There are human-demon-like demons that transform from corpses, and beast-demon-like demons that transform from corpses of dead beasts. They are collectively called drought demons.

Strangely, the drought demon, which can cause severe droughts, only exists in the Rain Master Kingdom, supposedly because it is related to the country's ley lines.

The cultivators of the Rain Master Kingdom are mortal enemies of the drought demon.

However, the female demons are quite different. Although they all have the character "ba" in their names, they are not transformed from corpses. They are descendants of an ancient and extraordinary people! They are completely different from the drought demons.

In this world, besides humans, demons, and spiritual plants, there are also ancient and wondrous beings.

Many of them resemble humans in appearance, but each possesses unique talents and abilities, and each branch is very small in number.

To this day, no one knows how many ancient and extraordinary races still exist.

The reason why human cultivators possess spiritual bodies may be because their ancestors may have intermarried with ancient extraordinary people.

The Nüba live on the banks of the Red River in the Rain Master Kingdom. They are not all women; there are also men among them.

Furthermore, the sect's records specifically emphasize in the last sentence:

"Do not be enemies with Nüba, for this tribe has the ability to regulate the water vapor of several countries in the Eastern Regions."

What an eye-opening day! I actually saw Nüba!

Looking at these three cultivators dressed in the robes of the Long Spoon Sect, their bodies brimming with water elemental energy, they must be the so-called Rain Masters.