Extracting all things: My attributes grow infinitely.

The three of them ran wildly until they were completely out of the vicinity of the cave.

The snake finally stopped.

He turned around and glanced at the mountains shrouded in mist behind him.

A flicker of relief at surviving the ordeal crossed her face, but more than anything, she was seething with barely suppressed rage.

For this exploration.

She spent no less than 10,000 contribution points in total.

The barrier-breaking talisman alone cost her a large portion of her savings, in addition to the expenses she incurred in bribing various people to obtain this information.

Now look what's happened.

The barrier-breaking talisman was used up, and the person almost died. This information is a complete scam!

She's been a swindler for so many years, when has she ever done such a losing business?

But after this trip, she lost everything!

"Damn it!!"

The snake cursed through gritted teeth.

It's unclear whether she's cursing Bai Qiuhan or the middleman who sold her the false information.

But if you're talking about finding a middleman to settle accounts...

She absolutely wouldn't dare.

Because the other party was also a genuine inner disciple...

Cui Chenghua was also still shaken, but he calmed down faster than Hua She. After regaining his senses, a thoughtful glint flashed in his eyes.

"Senior sister..."

He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "Didn't you think that Senior Brother Bai's demeanor just now seemed a little off?"

The flower snake frowned and looked at him: "What do you mean?"

Cui Chenghua carefully considered his words and slowly said, "Senior Brother Bai's cultivation is indeed undoubtedly at the ninth level of Qi Refining, but he has never really made a move from beginning to end. When he let us go, the reasons he gave were sufficient, but I always felt... that he was somewhat outwardly strong but inwardly weak."

The more he spoke, the more convinced he became of his judgment: "Senior sister, think about it. If he were truly at his peak, why would he go to such lengths to set up this trap to lure us in? A mere ninth-level Qi Refining inner disciple's monthly stipend alone is more than all of our combined wealth. Why would he go to such lengths to swindle us outer disciples?"

The flower snake narrowed its eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

Seeing that she did not refute, Cui Chenghua became bolder and continued, "There is another point. The news of his seclusion was spread ten years ago. If he was really trying to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, even if he failed, he could have come out of seclusion again. But he has been in seclusion for ten years."

"Either he failed to break through and his injuries are too serious to return to the inner sect, or he offended someone he shouldn't have and is hiding here to avoid trouble."

"In either case."

"That explains everything."

"He's definitely not at his peak right now!"

The flower snake remained silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a cold laugh: "So, what are you trying to say?"

Cui Chenghua licked his lips, a greedy glint in his eyes: "Senior Sister, we certainly can't afford to offend a weak Qi Refining Stage 9 cultivator, but... what if we sell this information to the other senior brothers in the inner sect!?"

"Among those inner disciples, there are plenty of ruthless individuals looking to take advantage of the situation. A Qi Refining Stage 9 cultivator who is severely injured but has accumulated ten years' worth of resources is like a piece of fat meat delivered right to their mouths. As long as we sell the information to the right people, the intelligence fee alone could be more lucrative than raiding an entire cultivation family!"

After hearing these words, the snake's expression showed no sign of being moved; instead, it revealed a hint of mockery.

"Junior Brother Cui."

Her tone was cold: "How do you know his weakness wasn't just an act for us?"

Cui Chenghua was taken aback.

"An old monster like him, who has been in the inner sect for who knows how many years, has more tricks up his sleeve than you can even imagine. If he wanted to put on a show, you think you could tell?"

Flower Snake sneered, "What if he's deliberately pretending, trying to use us to get rid of some inner disciples who have old grudges against him?"

"If something goes wrong..."

"Which of us can bear the wrath of the other inner disciples?!"

A cold sweat broke out on Cui Chenghua's back.

Although Hua She's words were harsh.

Yet every word he said made sense.

He thought he had seen through the other party's weakness, but what if that weakness was something the other party deliberately showed him?

To use someone else to do one's dirty work.

The fish took the bait.

These old monsters use this kind of method as casually as eating and drinking.

"Then... what does Senior Sister mean?"

Cui Chenghua asked somewhat unwillingly, feeling a little reluctant that the duck that was about to be eaten had flown away.

"Don't get involved!"

Hua She uttered five words decisively, without the slightest hesitation, "Whether he's truly weak or feigning weakness, this matter is beyond our control. I don't want to have anything to do with him now, much less be remembered by him!"

Although she was vicious and greedy, she was never a fool.

On the contrary, her years of experience in the outer sect made her understand a principle better than anyone else.

Things you shouldn't touch.

I absolutely must not touch it, no matter what.

Every time she explores an unknown place, she finds a group of outer disciples to act as cannon fodder to scout ahead, preferring to pay a higher price rather than risk her life easily.

She never does anything that involves risking her life, and that's her biggest advantage in surviving to this day.

Seeing how resolute she was, Cui Chenghua had no choice but to shut his mouth in frustration.

Flower Snake took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the irritation in his heart.

Although this time we suffered a major setback and lost everything,

Fortunately, she is still alive.

As long as you're alive, you can always find a way to make back what you've lost.

Thinking of this, she changed her gaze and said, "Fine, let's go and get that worldly opportunity you mentioned first, hoping it can make up for my loss this time."

Cui Chenghua realized what was happening, his face twitched, but he dared not refute it.

He simply looked at Ma Yuankui with a gloomy expression: "That newcomer has been kept in mind by Junior Brother Ma. Junior Brother Ma, you..."

The two were talking.

But then he suddenly realized that Ma Yuankui's reaction was a bit off.

Since escaping, he hadn't uttered a single word, simply following silently behind the two, his face expressionless, his eyes empty as if he had lost his soul.

"Junior Brother Ma?"

Cui Chenghua frowned and waved his hand in front of him.

Ma Yuankui, however, acted as if he hadn't seen him at all, his lips moving as he muttered something to himself.

Cui Chenghua strained his ears to listen carefully, and only managed to make out a few words.

"No hope of breakthrough... the Great Dao is severed..."

"Ninth-grade spiritual energy... can't even be used for Qi Refining..."

He kept repeating self-deprecating words, and his voice was extremely dejected.

Cui Chenghua was stunned for a moment.

Then it dawned on me.

Yes, in preparation for this expedition, Ma Yuankui consumed the Mortal Qi in advance, thus severing his hopes for the Dao.

Let alone foundation building.

Even the hope of breaking through to the Qi Refining stage was extremely slim.

Flower Snake frowned. Although she didn't care about other people's lives, she was short-handed right now, and having one more Qi Convincing Realm fighter was better than none at all.

She comforted him, "Junior Brother Ma, don't be too discouraged. Although ninth-grade spiritual energy is a bit lacking, it's not entirely hopeless. As long as you accumulate resources diligently in the future, you won't really have no hope of cultivating Qi..."

Before she could finish speaking, Ma Yuankui suddenly raised his head, a strange and resolute glint flashing in his empty eyes.

"Senior sister is right."

He spoke in a hoarse voice, a smile more painful than a grimace tugging at the corners of his mouth, "But... Senior Sister, you won't even give me this much-anticipated opportunity, will you?"

The snake's expression changed slightly; it realized something was wrong.

Before she could react, Ma Yuankui suddenly took a step forward and pounced on her like a gray lightning bolt!

at the same time.

The true essence within his body surged wildly like a runaway flood, and a thick, dark red mist spewed out from every pore of his body, enveloping him in an ominous cloud of blood mist!

"You're insane!!"

The snake's pupils suddenly contracted, and it retreated rapidly. Cui Chenghua was also terrified and fled in panic, tumbling and crawling backward.

But Ma Yuankui was too fast.

Or.

He had no intention of leaving the two of them any room to react!