You think I have mixed spiritual roots? I became an immortal through a spirit gourd, so what are you

"Chen Huai'an's aura has disappeared. Where did he go? Could he really have been killed by those bastards from the Yin Sha Sect?" Qin Muyao searched around but couldn't find Chen Huai'an's aura. She frowned.

Chen Huai'an's cultivation level wasn't very high, but his combat strength was still quite good. As long as he wasn't being chased by a Foundation Establishment realm expert, he could definitely survive. This was because she had given Chen Huai'an some third- and fourth-tier talismans as a trump card for survival. Even if he encountered a Foundation Establishment realm expert, he could still put up a fight.

What puzzled Qin Muyao was why Chen Huai'an was so obedient and willing to hand over the storage bag containing spirit stones to her. Hadn't he already told her that before he left?

Since the spirit stone escort mission failed, Qin Muyao could only shift all the blame onto Liu Qing.

10 low-grade spirit stones is a huge sum of money for the Qingyun people now. Fortunately, they also killed four Foundation Establishment experts. Although they suffered a slight loss in this deal, it also dampened the morale of the enemy.

"I wonder what the situation is like outside. If the Yin Sha Sect can't find me, will they leave? And these spirit stones, I didn't give them to Liu Qing. This is a very troublesome matter." While Chen Huai'an was resting and recovering his depleted mental energy, he was quickly thinking of a solution.

Chen Huai'an intercepted this batch of spirit stones without authorization. This was both unplanned and planned, but he did not follow Qin Muyao's instructions and instead did it in secret.

Chen Huai'an is now gambling that Liu Qing will die.

He knew that the disciples of the Yin Sha Sect did not come to hunt him down; they intended to eliminate the strong one by one.

This was a good thing for him; now that he was hiding inside the purple gourd space, he had escaped the crisis. Next, Liu Qing and his group would face a thousand-mile pursuit from the Yin Sha Sect's Foundation Establishment disciples. Their targets were the spirit stones they were escorting and, more importantly, the complete annihilation of their group.

Chen Huai'an gave the spirit stones to Liu Qing in front of several Qingyun Sect disciples. Whether Liu Qing counted them in person was not something he needed to consider.

Because there are priorities, in such a critical situation, there was simply no time to check if there were 10 low-grade spirit stones in the storage bag.

After extensive analysis, Chen Huai'an was certain that once Liu Qing died, the 10 low-grade spirit stones would become ownerless.

Once Liu Qing dies in battle, the disciples of the Yin Sha Sect will definitely plunder the spoils of war, and the whereabouts of these 10 low-grade spirit stones will become a mystery.

The only way to find out who took the 10 low-grade spirit stones is to confront the Yin Sha Sect. However, the Qingyun Sect and the Yin Sha Sect have already broken off relations, so confronting the other side is simply impossible.

"Once I get out, I'll have to find out where Liu Qing is. If Liu Qing is still alive, then I'll hand over the 10 low-grade spirit stones. If Liu Qing is dead in battle, then the 10 low-grade spirit stones are mine." After analysis, Chen Huai'an believed that the probability of him being able to keep the 10 low-grade spirit stones for himself was very high.

There's a saying these days: the bold get rich, the timid starve. 10 low-grade spirit stones are enough to buy countless cultivation resources. If he could refine all 10 low-grade spirit stones into high-grade spirit stones through the purple gourd, it would be an absolutely terrifying fortune. Therefore, this risk is worth Chen Huai'an taking.

Chen Huai'an didn't need to do anything; he just waited. After a couple of days, he would leave the purple gourd space and try to find out if Liu Qing and the others had managed to break through the encirclement and return to the Qingyun Sect.

These past two days, Chen Huai'an has been carefully tending to the medicinal herb field. All the seeds of the spiritual herbs he planted have sprouted and are growing very well.

These things are key to his learning of alchemy, so the more of these most basic materials, the better.

As for the current situation outside, Chen Huai'an neither wanted to nor could he worry about it; he was not in a position to concern himself with such matters.

He was just a minor monk who only needed to follow orders.

"Huh, this is a message from Senior Sister Qin." Two days later, Chen Huai'an left the purple gourd space, and then his waist token vibrated. He received a message from Qin Muyao.

"Senior Sister Qin really cares about me."

"Mission failed. Liu Qing is dead. The mission to escort the spirit stones has failed. Return immediately upon seeing this message." Chen Huai'an read out the message Qin Muyao had sent him. His brows furrowed slightly, then were replaced by a look of wild joy.

"Haha... Liu Qing is really my lucky star, he actually gave me such a great gift."

Chen Huai'an frowned again. Now that he had received Qin Muyao's message, he definitely had to reply to let her know he was safe. However, he didn't know how to respond.

Liu Qing, a Foundation Establishment Realm expert, has already died in battle, while he is just an ant in the Qi Refining Realm. How can he explain to Qin Muyao how he survived?

"Never mind him, let's just take it one step at a time. If things really don't work out, we can just run away. With these 10 low-grade spirit stones in my hands, he can maximize his profits. With these spirit stones, reaching the Foundation Establishment realm shouldn't be a problem." Chen Huai'an shook his head, putting these unrealistic thoughts behind him. What he needed to do now was to return to the Qingyun Mountain mine and meet up with Qin Muyao.

Another point is that he needs to carefully manage these 10 low-grade spirit stones. Similarly, he needs to test Qin Muyao. Only if he is certain that these spirit stones have nothing to do with him can he keep them for himself. If there is even the slightest clue pointing to him, he cannot embezzle these 10 low-grade spirit stones.

When Chen Huai'an entered the purple gourd space, the disciples of the Yin Sha Sect had already launched a surprise attack on the Qingyun Mountain mine. However, because of the expert Qin Muyao's presence, the Yin Sha Sect did not continue to fight to the death.

Both sides suffered losses in this probing attack, but the Qingyun Sect suffered more heavy losses, losing 100,000 low-grade spirit stones and several Foundation Establishment disciples. However, Qin Muyao went berserk and killed several Foundation Establishment experts, so the losses of both sides can be considered even.

Both sides are exercising restraint and have refrained from sending their elite Foundation Establishment disciples into the fray. If a large number of Foundation Establishment disciples were to enter the battlefield, it could alter the course of the battle and draw in higher-level cultivators.

"Senior Sister Qin, what exactly happened? How did this female senior brother die in battle?" Upon returning to the Qingyun Mountain mine, Chen Huai'an sought out Qin Muyao.

"Chen Huai'an, didn't we communicate before? You were supposed to keep these spirit stones. How could you hand them over to that good-for-nothing Liu Qing? And you made the worst, most useless decision to break out separately. What were you thinking? If you stayed together, you could protect yourselves and wait for my rescue. Why did you have to split up?" Qin Muyao was filled with resentment and immediately questioned Chen Huai'an.

"Senior Sister Qin, I'm just a lowly cultivator at the Qi Refining Realm, and I've only been in the outer sect for a few days. Senior Brother Liu is a Foundation Establishment Realm expert and an inner sect disciple. If I disobey orders, he could kill me with a single slap." Chen Huai'an said with a wronged expression.

To steal those 10 low-grade spirit stones, Chen Huai'an had no choice but to take a gamble, which was also a test of his acting skills.