Stop pretending, the seemingly useless junior sister is the real boss.

At this moment, their gazes towards Bai Xiaobai became somewhat complicated.

Everyone was shocked by Xiao Qi's strength, never expecting that he had already reached the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage.

Ling Tian was also puzzled. If it were someone at the peak of the Golden Core stage, he should be able to sense their strength, but he couldn't perceive Xiao Qi's true cultivation level at all.

Just as Fengling and the others wanted to learn more about Xiaoqi's identity and strength, Shen Ji yawned again.

"Alright, those who need to go about their business, go about your business. Those who need to recuperate, go about your business. Xiao Qi and Xiao Bai stay here, as well as Chang Ling. For the time being, you should stay with Xiao Bai."

Although Changling was fearless, he was still somewhat wary of Shenji deep down.

So when it heard Shen Ji tell it to stay, it naturally didn't object, and there was something else it wanted to confirm.

Seeing this, Fengling and the others had no choice but to leave reluctantly.

After all, they had just met their junior sister, and they wanted to talk to her as much as possible.

After Ling Tian and the others left, Chang Ling circled around Xiao Qi again and again, finally stopping in front of Xiao Qi.

"The aura emanating from you is very peculiar. You are neither a demon, nor a spirit beast, nor a demon beast. Moreover, your strength should be more than just the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage."

Upon hearing what Changling said, Bai Xiaobai was filled with shock.

What does it mean to be more than just the Great Perfection of the Golden Core?

What kind of sparring partner did her master find for her?

So Xiao Qi's strength is not just at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage, could it be at the Nascent Soul stage?

Xiao Qi did not refute Chang Ling's guess, and even Shen Ji remained calm.

They seemed completely unsurprised by what Changling had just said.

However, what Xiaoqi said next shocked Bai Xiaobai even more.

"The Blade Spirit is so beautiful. I've never seen such a beautiful Blade Spirit before."

Xiao Qi's words left Bai Xiaobai completely stunned.

So Xiao Qi was able to see the red-clad sword spirit?

Upon being praised by Xiao Qi, Chang Ling laughed heartily.

"Little Seven is quite handsome, and he has a sweet tongue. Don't worry, I'll protect you in the Qingxiao Sect. You're so strong, why don't I break my soul contract with this bean sprout? If we join forces, we're sure to make a name for ourselves."

Bai Xiaobai never expected that Changling would abandon its former master simply because Xiaoqi had only praised it a couple of times.

She rolled her eyes in anger, her face contorted as she cursed Changling as a fickle, worthless sword.

"Didn't you always want to form a soul contract with my senior brother? What? You're already falling for someone else? You're such a fickle and fickle sword."

Despite Bai Xiaobai's accusations, Changling still smiled brightly.

"People seek their own way out, and so do swords. Besides, this is the cultivation world where strength is the ultimate truth. A peerless sword like mine naturally needs to find a more powerful master. You are too weak. What benefit could I gain by following you? And when will I ever be able to come to this wretched place, Qingxiao Sect?"

"Well, Changling, you've finally spoken your mind. You want to leave Qingxiao Sect? Dream on. Xiaoqi won't be fooled by you. He's my sparring partner, and he'll always be there for me as I grow stronger."

The red-clad sword spirit stared at the sullen little dumpling accusing her, her voice still languid.

"Little Seven is a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, and if I'm not mistaken, he should be a legendary ancient divine beast. He's here as your sparring partner? Little guy, don't you know who your spirit realm's ancestor is?"

Although Changling was speaking to Bai Xiaobai, her gaze remained fixed on Shen Ji, whose expression remained gentle.

It increasingly felt that Shen Ji, the peak master of Xiaoyao Peak, was somewhat unfathomable.

Not only is his own strength unfathomable, but he also has an ancient divine beast at the late Nascent Soul stage by his side.

In the Tianyan Continent, ancient divine beasts are merely legends.

It is said that they live in a mysterious and ancient chaotic realm, isolated from the mortal world and rarely set foot in the human world.

Records say that during the ancient times of war, several divine beasts appeared in the world, capable of tearing the sky apart and shattering thousands of miles of mountains and rivers with a wave of their hands.

After that great battle, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth declined sharply, and the divine beast race went into seclusion, leaving only incomplete records scattered on ancient stone tablets.

Legends about ancient mythical beasts mostly say that their essence blood is extremely rare. If an ordinary cultivator could obtain even a drop of a mythical beast's essence blood, their strength would experience a tremendous leap.

Besides their essence and blood, the divine beast race also possesses a mysterious lineage of traditions.

Therefore, many top sects have spent thousands of years searching for entrances to secret realms, hoping to find traces of divine beasts and obtain their essence and blood to inherit their lineage.

But most of them returned empty-handed, and some even became trapped in the secret realm, never to emerge again.

Finally, the Tianyan Continent gradually came to the conclusion that the ancient divine beasts had long since disappeared from this world.

The reason Changling believed that Xiaoqi was a divine beast was because when he killed that Nascent Soul stage demonic cultivator, he saw him control a divine beast cub with a secret technique.

After the demonic cultivator was killed by it, the dying divine beast cub gave its life essence to the long spirit, whose spiritual body had almost dissipated.

Only by absorbing the essence and blood of the divine beast cub was Changling able to maintain his spiritual body.

It was through the memories of that mythical beast cub that it learned some things about the ancient mythical beasts.

So when it saw Xiaoqi just now, it recognized her at a glance because of that familiar feeling.

However, Changling didn't quite understand. The Qingxiao Sect was just one of the major sects in the entire Tianyan Continent. In terms of strength and foundation, it could only be considered a mid-level sect.

Although it couldn't fathom Shen Ji's strength, it was definitely more than just the late-stage Nascent Soul realm.

So, would such a profound and unfathomable expert, with an ancient divine beast at the late Nascent Soul stage by his side, really be willing to submit to a small sect like the Azure Cloud Sect?

Bai Xiaobai, unaware of Changling's thoughts, had an expression of disbelief and shock in her eyes.

"You said...you said Xiao Qi is an ancient divine beast? How could he possibly be an ancient divine beast? Isn't it said that the divine beast race is just a legend?"

She also knew a little about the legends of ancient mythical beasts.

When she first transmigrated into the body of a small snake in the cultivation world, she often wandered around the treasure pavilion of the spirit world in order to return to her original world.

In the treasure pavilion, she saw many records and legends about ancient mythical beasts.

Moreover, in a hidden corner of the treasure pavilion, she inadvertently found a yellowed and tattered record.

According to that book, when the ancient divine beast went into seclusion, it left a branch of its lineage on the Tianyan Continent.

That collateral branch is the demon race, which is now the Spirit Realm.

If the legend is true, then just as Changling said, Xiaoqi really is the ancestor of the spirit world.

Bai Xiaobai was eager to verify Xiao Qi's identity, so she looked at Shen Ji, who had a calm expression.

"So, Master, Xiao Qi... he really is a legendary ancient divine beast?"