My best friend asked me if I was still doing system tasks.

Zhang Bohui said, "Third Senior Sister, let's go after that female cultivator while she's undergoing her tribulation."

After killing that one, turn around and grind this one to dust.

Zhou Shuxiang frowned and said, "That's what I thought too, but all the monsters we used to track scents are dead. By the time we find out which way Han Xue ran, won't she have already hidden herself away?"

Zhou Mingqin patted Zhang Bohui on the shoulder: "I know you're worried they'll gossip, but the secret realm still has more than half a year before it opens."

Zhang Bohui shook his head: "No, even if they go out and tell people, someone has to believe them."

I still suspect they're from the conservative faction. If they reveal their identities to the cultivators of the Canglan Realm, they'll definitely be wary of us.

Zhou Mingqin felt that Zhang Bohui's words made sense and said, "Even if they don't say anything, they will probably find out about the many cultivators from the Canglan Realm we have killed. It's only a matter of time."

"My senior brother and the others are also in this secret realm. Xiao Jingjing brought enough fragrance-seeking beasts. I'll contact them now and have them join forces to hunt down Han Xue."

Zhou Shuxiang disagreed, saying, "No, this secret realm is too big. What if she gets lucky and we can't catch her? We'll be finished."

I refuse to believe that Han Xue won't come back to find Yan Ming. Let's stay here and wait. Once the storm clouds disperse, we'll rush up and subdue her!

Find out if they have any accomplices!

While multitasking, Xiange monitored Zhou Shuxiang and the other two, along with Ruan Chayan. It stopped the distraught Luo Hanying, saying, "Don't run anymore. Further ahead is the territory of high-level demonic beasts. They haven't chased us. You should rest."

Luo Hanying breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Xiange's words, but as she relaxed, she tripped over a stone and her knees buckled, causing her to kneel on the ground.

Seeing that the cultivator was about to fall, Jingyao Shrew climbed from her arms onto her shoulder and leaped away with a kick of its hind legs.

Luo Hanying was pushed so hard that she fell heavily to the ground.

"Are you trying to die...?"

Jingyao Shrew chirped a few times confidently, regardless of whether Luo Hanying could understand it or not.

Luo Hanying rolled over and lay on her back on the ground. ["Xiange, how is Chacha?"]

Is she alright now?

"Ruan Chayan seems to be doing well for now." Xuan Ge said something Luo Hanying had never imagined: "It must be that the World God showed mercy."

"What do you mean by that?!"

Luo Hanying sat up with a jolt and looked at Xian Ge, who seemed to be enjoying a snack of code and bamboo shoots. "You said there are World Gods in this world?! Then what tasks do you want us to do? Shouldn't World Gods know everything?"

"Just ask me what you need to investigate..."

"Shut up!" Xiange coldly interrupted Luo Hanying. "I misspoke just now. Just pretend you didn't hear anything and don't ask any unnecessary questions. Don't make me erase your memory."

Luo Hanying was stunned by Xiange's shout and subconsciously wanted to ask why, but looking at Xiange's fierce expression, she couldn't make a sound.

She choked back tears: "You have to tell me, will Ruan Chayan be alright? Will we be able to get through this?"

Xiange took a deep breath and regained her composure: "I can tell you definitively that Ruan Chayan will be fine."

Whether or not we can successfully overcome this calamity depends on the arrangements of Heaven.

Their arrangements are beyond our ability to know or interfere with.

"Why, why do we always have to face things like this?" Luo Hanying sobbed softly.

First it was Qiao Hezhi's group, and now it's Zhou Shuxiang's group.

She wasn't asking Xiange for an answer; she just felt useless, only able to let Ruan Chayan use such a dangerous method to protect the two of them.

The feeling of helplessness regarding what happened to her and Ruan Chayan plunged Luo Hanying into self-doubt.

Twenty-seven bolts of heavenly lightning struck down one after another, faster and stronger with each strike. The umbrella-shaped defensive magic artifact shattered and scattered, the array plate collapsed, and the magic robe and hairpin were reduced to charcoal.

Ruan Chayan's skin cracked, and tiny purple-gold lightning bolts flowed through the wounds.

The three high-grade spirit stones in her arms turned to dust, and the fourth one also became dull and lifeless.

Under the cleansing influence of spiritual energy, her wounds healed rapidly, only to burst open again when the next bolt of heavenly lightning arrived.

Ruan Chayan's shattered golden core transformed into a dense vortex of spiritual energy. A tiny infant with features identical to hers was born from the center of the vortex, absorbing the spiritual energy to grow, its body crackling with heavenly lightning.

As Zhou Shuxiang counted the number of heavenly lightning bolts falling, she suddenly noticed something amiss: "Mingqin, that's not right. Aren't we supposed to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm before facing the Tribulation of the Three Nines?"

Why do I get the feeling that Yan Ming is undergoing her Nascent Soul formation and Heavenly Tribulation simultaneously?

Zhou Mingqin scratched his head, unable to give a clear answer.

Zhang Bohui guessed, "Perhaps it's related to the cultivation method she uses? In such a vast cultivation world, there must be some strange cultivation methods and techniques."

Zhou Shuxiang nodded.

When only three bolts of heavenly lightning remained, Ruan Chayan's nascent soul had already taken shape. Her aura and divine consciousness were uncontrollably released outwards, making her entire being exude a fierce and imposing presence.

The fact that Zhou Shuxiang could sense it from so far away proves that Ruan Chayan's actual strength is no less than that of an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.

Before she could even utter the words "We must not let Yan Ming go," the three of their communication jade slips suddenly became scalding hot.

"Third Junior Sister! The Incense Invitation Realm has opened ahead of schedule! Come find me at the teleportation array immediately! We need to return to the Azure Sea Realm as soon as possible!"

Zhou Shuxiang looked doubtful: "But..."

Zhou Mingqin anxiously urged, "Don't hesitate any longer! She's already reached the Nascent Soul stage; she's not so easy to kill. If we expose ourselves to more people, we'll be in trouble!"

"go!"

*

Just as Ruan Chayan gritted her teeth and endured the Second Nine Heavenly Tribulation, Luo Hanying rallied and had Xiange retrieve the information about the Shiren Sect once again—

She couldn't continue down this path of despair. Even if she couldn't join the Shiren Sect for the time being, she couldn't fall behind in what she needed to learn.

The reason they repeatedly find themselves in such perilous situations is because they lack the ability to fight back, let alone have any means to save their lives.

Luo Hanying looked at the information about the seven main peaks again and again, but she still felt dissatisfied.

Just as she was about to randomly choose a path to follow, Xiange noticed her hesitation and showed her other factions that weren't mentioned in the main peak's detailed introduction.

"Cultivating righteous energy?"

Looking at the short description, Luo Hanying asked Xiange, "What does this mean? The picture shows a calligraphy brush; are they fighting with calligraphy brushes?"

“Yes, it can be understood in such a crude way,” said Xiange. “The Shiren Sect has courses on Confucianism, but they are not the mainstream.”

If you want to become a Confucian scholar, you need to cultivate righteousness and integrity. You can use a writing brush as a magic tool, or a sword or something similar.

Normally, cultivation involves things like benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, as well as rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics.

Luo Hanying seemed to perk up a bit: [“I think I like this!”]