Surviving in the Demonic Sect, one begins cultivation by retrieving corpses.

Yuan Shao said in a deep voice, "Now that the Water Hou has emerged, things are about to get interesting."

His gaze swept over the official ships of the Zhenhe Division. "The two guards, Sun Chan and Chen Qian... as well as the commander of Tianzhu Prefecture, all need to get busy."

The director of the Zhenhe Division only issued a transfer order for them to come here and distributed appraisal artifacts.

As for what exactly they're going to retrieve, nobody knows.

Now that the water beast has appeared, it has become the most likely explanation for this situation.

They certainly wouldn't hold back anymore.

Chen Mu, however, was paying attention to a large ship belonging to the Xunshan Hall.

They also had a group of people from the Xunshan Hall, who were among them.

really!

The lake dam was shrouded in wisps of cold mist and chilly air.

Several magical artifacts suddenly flew out from the ship where Sun Chan was, falling into the surging waves.

Yuan Shao looked up and saw Sun Chan slowly walk to the bow of the boat and take out a yellowish bamboo basket from his hand.

He said with some surprise, "It's actually... the Fish King Basket! Sun Chan has gone to such lengths."

This Fish King Basket is a simplified replica of the Dragon King Basket, a water-based magical artifact.

It can only be classified as a ritual implement, far less profound than the genuine article.

The true Dragon King's Basket is naturally superior to all aquatic spirits and monsters; even dragons cannot escape being scooped into its basket.

Although the Fish King Basket is just a fake, it is still a rare artifact that the Zhenhe Division has kept hidden for many years, and its power is far beyond that of ordinary magical artifacts.

Water lions and other spirits that haunt Yin Rivers are also quite wary of this creature.

Normally, unless it's for official business of the Zhenhe Division, borrowing this item would not only cost an exorbitant amount of money, but also require a considerable favor.

Seeing this, Yang Yueqi of the Zhenhe Division pondered and said, "It seems that Sun Chan is determined to get the Foundation Establishment treasure that the Division Chief promised."

"Using a fish king basket to catch a water lion is a waste of its potential."

Not just Sun Chan.

The commander of Tianzhu Prefecture, who had just made a move, is now making another one.

The young man in white donned a light, crimson armor, its surface shimmering with a subtle light and covered with intricate, ancient inscriptions.

With a light touch of his toes, he leaped into the icy lake water.

Li Wanwan from the Mountain Patrol Hall immediately recognized the armor: "The Bright Divine Child Armor!"

She looked surprised and exclaimed, "This commander is so young, yet he has a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation level and possesses a C-level Dao technique. I never expected that he would receive such a treasure from Lord Tianzhu."

Everyone present came from families of cultivators and had exceptional insight, so they naturally knew the value of the Bright Divine Child Armor.

The Bright Divine Child Armor is a rare mid-grade magic weapon even among those at the Qi Refining Realm.

This type of armor and magical artifact is especially rare.

Not only can it amplify one's own magical power, it can also resist ordinary Taoist attacks.

This armor belongs to the Lesser Yang Fire element. When placed in the Yin Water River, it can perfectly counteract the Yin cold. It is precisely because of the protection of this precious armor that this commander dared to plunge into the water without any hesitation.

Moreover, this armor is completely different from the Fish King Basket that could be borrowed earlier; it must be completely refined with one's own essence and blood before it can be activated at will.

In other words, this magical artifact already completely belonged to him.

Chen Mu's eyes revealed envy as he said, "To be at the Qi Refining Realm and possess a mid-grade magic weapon, no wonder everyone says that joining the Heavenly Pillar Prefecture is incredibly wealthy, while serving in the Three Departments and Two Halls of a sect is as plain as a soup or water."

He paused slightly, then added with a hint of confusion, "But isn't this commander being far too impatient?"

"Even though the Bright Emperor Divine Child Armor can isolate the Yin River's water vapor and not damage one's cultivation foundation, this mid-grade magic weapon is bound to be damaged."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao calmly replied, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained; nothing gained, nothing gained."

"Besides, this body of water is hardly a dragon's den or a tiger's lair."

He gazed into the depths of the lake and said in a deep voice, "From this, we can see that the Foundation Establishment cultivator of Tianzhu Prefecture values ​​this place far more highly than ordinary people do."

Li Wanwan then noticed some movement on the large ship in the distance: "Oh, it seems this senior brother is going to get involved too."

Yang Yueqi was curious; it seemed that, like the Zhenhe Division, the Patrol Hall was also rife with infighting.

This is also a helpless situation where one has no choice but to act.

The cultivation resources of the outer court of the Mingyi Sect have always been firmly held in the hands of the Three Departments and Two Halls, and their allocation is extremely strict.

The Zhenhe Division, which is backed by the Yinshui River, has the most abundant resources. Even so, only a handful of guards, numbering only twenty or so, can successfully break through the shackles and establish their foundation.

Living in such a world of spiritual cultivation, one cannot escape the word "struggle".

If Sun Chan hadn't managed to seize the Foundation Establishment treasure this time, he didn't know how long he would have had to wait, which is why he acted this way.

Yang Yueqi and Yuan Shao's dedication to assisting Gong Yuzhou stemmed from two underlying considerations.

Firstly, he wanted to accumulate enough merits to become the envoy of the guard as soon as possible.

Secondly, they also valued Gong Yuzhou's future prospects. Once he broke through to become a Foundation Establishment True Person, they could naturally help the two of them out of the past bond of assistance.

Chen Mu, who was standing to the side, watched the commotion and couldn't help but chuckle: "He even brought out this item; he certainly has the qualifications to enter the fray and compete."

Yang Yueqi looked up and saw a figure stepping out from another large ship of the Xunshan Hall.

The man raised his hand and tossed out a square treasure box, then poured a wisp of pure true energy into it.

Suddenly, the box expanded rapidly, and the intricate mechanisms inside popped open and interlocked, assembling in an instant into a humanoid puppet.

Yuan Shao exclaimed in surprise, "A puppet at the Qi Refining Realm, and at the mid-stage of Qi Refining Realm at that!"

"Is this a ritual implement from the Mountain Patrol Hall?"

The usually taciturn, blond-haired hero, rarely spoke up, his voice deep and resonant: "No, this is from Senior Brother Ruan of the Mountain Patrol Hall."

Senior Brother Ruan!

All three officers of the Zhenhe Division had heard of this person.

Gong Yuzhou also dropped his nonchalant attitude. "This Senior Brother Ruan is only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining. He used three puppets to suppress and kill Ruan Shenwu, who was at the late stage."

Haojie nodded, "It's this Senior Brother Ruan. We don't even know how many Qi Refining Puppets he has right now."

Yuan Shao also said, "This person has a good reputation in the outer sect. He was originally just a low-level servant in the bone grinding room, but he was promoted to an outer sect disciple by the sect because of his improvement of the bone grinding artifact."

"After entering the outer sect, his cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds. In just six years, he made great strides and is now at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage."

"He can also create Qi Refining Puppets of the same level. If he gains a significant advantage in the future outer sect competition, his promotion to inner sect will be almost a certainty."

Several people were talking on the second floor.

Three parties have already made their move.

Sun Chan's Fish King Basket.

Minghuang Divine Son A, commander of Tianzhu Prefecture.

The Qi-refining puppet of the Mountain Patrol Hall.

Neither Gong Yuzhou nor Ni Shengyan was in a hurry to make a move.

Yang Yueqi looked at the patrol captain. Ni Shengyan had come this time, supposedly to help Senior Brother Gong retrieve something from the bottom of the river?

Are we just going to watch Sun Chan and his men succeed in capturing the Water Hou?

Without waiting for them to ask, Ni Shengyan spoke up, "Let them have this water beast!"

"The important thing is what's underwater..."

The woman in white, with her cool and aloof demeanor, slowly uttered the last few words.

The group heard it clearly.

On the first floor, Gu Zhao watched as several Qi Refining Realm cultivators displayed their skills on the lake dam.

Although he didn't recognize the characters, he watched with great interest.

This is what we call a "battle of immortals".