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

In a grove of trees, more than forty cultivators from the Vine Flower Valley gathered.

Leading the group were three cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refining, one of whom was Qiu Yingsi.

She inserted the spirit-detecting wire into the ground, carefully sensing something.

"Senior Sister Qiu, Song Chuan isn't lying to you, is he? There's no such thing as a Jiazi Chan." It was Shen Zheng who spoke.

"Mute! I'm online."

The once smooth ground suddenly had countless tiny holes, each about the size of a little finger, with something seemingly wriggling inside.

Immediately afterwards, young cicadas with tiny horns on their heads crawled out.

A commotion arose among the crowd, and Shen Zheng's face turned grim.

"Form a Vine Silk Enchanting Array!" Qiu Yingsi shouted softly.

The three Qi Refining Ninth Level cultivators instantly patted their storage bags, and each of them had a thin vine in their hand.

The three of them made a hand seal, and the vines quickly extended and intertwined, instantly surrounding the forest.

These vines continue to grow and twine around each tree.

"After the cicadas molt, you must immediately collect their exoskeletons within the formation. You are only allowed to linger where there are vines; these vines have a disorienting effect and will prevent them from forming a swarm attack."

Qiu Yingsi gave instructions.

"Hurry up, these cicada shells will be useless if left on the tree for too long and exposed to all sorts of impurities. Once we've collected this patch, we'll move on to the next one."

Another cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining continued.

……

"Damn it! What kind of demonic ants are those?"

A dozen or so cultivators were fleeing in panic, one of them exclaimed in horror.

Judging from their clothing, some belonged to sects and others were independent cultivators; it seemed they had no choice but to come together.

"The only way to avoid a swarm of hunter ants is with a flying artifact."

"Two hours ago, I saw a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining being pecked to death by a flock of strange birds while on a flying magic artifact."

"What should we do then? Should we use earth magic?"

"Hehe, you probably don't know, but what's down there right now are all the larvae of a Jiazi cicada. Although they are all ordinary insects, you still have to use your magic to support the protective shield."

Thousands upon thousands of larvae crawl all over you, and you can't kill them all. How long can your magic last?

……

In a canyon, a dozen or so Beast Taming Sect cultivators were chasing a small white beast.

The little beast would occasionally glance back at them and utter a "hee" sound.

"Senior Brother Lu, this Wind Fox is extremely intelligent. Not only did it see through our formation, but it has also been toying with us!"

"Chase it a little further, and once we get close enough, we'll use the Wind-Stabilizing Pearl to break its wind-based magical abilities."

"I wonder where Junior Brother Guan has gone. With his sleepyhead around, he'll surely be able to hold this demon back. Sigh!"

……

Song Chuan and Chi Ying Shu walked side by side.

"Thank you for the Thunderclap Fortune Stick, Fellow Daoist Chi."

"No need for thanks. You've already shared what those two had with me. But if I had arrived sooner, you wouldn't have needed to use the Earth Locust Stone."

"Both of these two are disciples of the Four Pillars Sect, and their magical artifacts are formidable. Even if you had arrived earlier, I would still have to use the Earth Locust Stone."

Besides, the mutated bat could return at any time; a swift victory is the best strategy.

"Fellow Daoist Song is truly a decisive person! I, at the ninth level of Qi Refining, still have much to learn from you." Chi Ying Shu smiled brightly.

"How did you find that strange cave, Fellow Daoist? Could you please tell me?"

"I discovered it by accident."

Song Chuan didn't believe her nonsense. Could she possibly be tracking him? But he didn't feel like she had marked him with anything.

The only unusual thing was that as soon as the woman entered the cave, he felt a slight heat in his body, but it quickly disappeared.

I can't figure it out. Oh well, she doesn't seem to pose any threat to me.

As for the items belonging to Zou Qingfa and his companion, they brought Song Chuan a fortune.

Although their top-tier magical artifacts were destroyed by the earth locust stone, they still possessed over three hundred spirit stones, several kinds of first-tier high-grade talismans, precious pills, second-tier spiritual plants, as well as a few rare insect crystals and two third-tier spiritual plants.

Two third-tier spiritual plants, one of which is highly poisonous, must be what Duanmu Jingyi needs.

Song Chuan originally intended to share these things equally with Chi Ying Shu, but Chi Ying Shu only picked out a small amount as a token of her appreciation.

As they walked, Song Chuan suddenly stopped. Chi Ying Shu raised her eyebrows slightly and also stopped.

Ahead, a motley crew of demonic birds, beasts, and insects mingled together. They were all preying on the Jiazi cicadas, while others were being overwhelmed by the swarm of cicadas.

Song Chuan's expression was solemn. The Jiazi Cicada had actually been unearthed. He wondered if Senior Sister Qiu and the others were ready.

"It really is Jiazi Cicada! A while ago, a cultivator from Tenghua Valley mentioned to me that a man surnamed Song had given a warning to his fellow disciples."

Chi Ying Shu exclaimed in surprise, turning to look at Song Chuan with a strange tone:

"Could it be you?"

"What a coincidence, it is I." Song Chuan smiled slightly.

"How did you find them?"

"The same way they found you, they found them too."

"hehe!"

"Fellow Equatorial Daoist, the road ahead is blocked. I need to find a place to hide until the Emperor's Dew appears."

"I also need to find a place to hide. Let's go."

"..."

Song Chuan found a nearby cave and went inside.

Chi Ying Shu was puzzled. This place was not far from the Jiazi Cicada. With his intelligence and caution, shouldn't he have chosen a more distant place?

After glancing at Chi Ying Shu who had followed him in, Song Chuan sat cross-legged on the ground and closed his eyes to meditate.

Chi Ying Shu looked utterly bored, sometimes resting her chin on her hand in deep thought, sometimes fiddling with the red string in her hand.

The bell on her ankle would occasionally ring twice.

Song Chuan sighed inwardly. The day after tomorrow, on the night of Gengshen, the Emperor's Dew will appear in the world, and the adventure in Kongsang will come to an end. It seems this woman doesn't plan to go anywhere else for the next two or three days.

Should I shake her off, or ask for her help when I'm trying to seize the Emperor's Elixir? She doesn't seem to have mentioned the Emperor's Elixir before. Is it because the Emperor's Elixir is useless to the Nuwa clan?

A thought struck him, and he remembered something else.

If you return to your sect and others ask about your sudden advancement to the eighth level of Qi Refining, you could say that you saved Nüba and she gifted you a spiritual fruit from her clan, or perhaps it was a pill that helped you break through a minor realm.

Ha! That's a good reason. Besides, this female elder is currently a guest at the sect. She will surely inform her elder when she returns. Then the sect will know about my rescue of Nüba.

I'll find a chance to discuss this with her; I think she'll agree. It seems it's best to keep her with me for now.

Saving a life with a ulterior motive, yet still thinking about how to exploit it—hmm, that's getting increasingly unethical.

After thinking for a moment, he blocked his hearing, ignoring the sound of the bell, and immersed himself in his cultivation.

After nightfall, Song Chuan suddenly opened his eyes.

He glanced at Chi Ying Shu and saw that she had settled down and was practicing her skills with her eyes closed.

Without even getting up, he sank into the ground, emerged from the cave, and headed straight for the cicadas.

A few breaths later, Chi Ying Shu also opened her eyes, her eyes suddenly turning crimson, and she rolled them around eerily a few times.

"Did she slip away, or is she going to take care of something?" she murmured, draped a red veil over herself, and disappeared.