My ancestors were spiritual plant growers, so it's not surprising that I hunt demons every day,

"A blood lion beast."

Zhu Chaoyun immediately drew his sword, took a close look, and then asked Cui Ying beside him with a hint of nervousness, "Should we chase them or not?"

The Blood Lion Beast is a small demon beast that resembles a lion or tiger. Its entire body is covered with inch-long black fur, except for a ring of blood-red fur around its tail and four hooves.

This blood lion beast was not highly cultivated, probably around the fourth level of Qi Refining. Cui Ying originally wanted Zhu Chaoyun to practice on it, but the beast ran extremely fast and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Thinking of the spirit beast whip that Lei Yunjing wanted, and its fur worth several hundred spirit stones, Cui Ying didn't say anything. She urged the cloud to chase after the fleeting black figure.

Perhaps knowing that there were cultivators behind him plotting against him, the blood lion beast, its feet treading on crimson flames, fled desperately without daring to look back.

But Cui Ying was unwilling to let it go. She followed closely behind on the cloud, and only after the distance between them closed did she raise her hand and release two ice spikes.

"whoosh"

Unexpectedly, the moment the ice spike pierced through the air, the blood lion beast lost its footing and rolled directly into a bottomless crevice.

"Ow"

A scream rang out from afar, but it quickly ceased.

Cui Ying frowned, her expression somewhat grave.

What they thought was an easy prey turned out to be a missed opportunity.

"Master, the monster that just swallowed that Blood Lion Beast, wasn't it... wasn't it?"

Zhu Chaoyun shuddered, cold sweat instantly covering his forehead.

"Don't be nervous, we'll retreat slowly."

Feeling the surge of demonic energy that had just risen into the sky, Cui Ying sighed softly and could only retreat slowly with Zhu Chaoyun.

Although she considered herself to have some strength, she was not arrogant enough to snatch prey from the mouth of a giant python that was about to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

When the two returned to the foot of the mountain where they had found the Blood Lion Beast, Cui Ying quickly found a valley with lush vegetation.

Soon, magical energy fluctuations erupted from within.

A moment later, a disheveled Zhu Chaoyun, clutching a strange flowering tree that was half a person's height and exuded a wonderful fragrance, was screaming as he fled.

Not far behind him, a buzzing sound rang out, and a large black cloud was relentlessly pursuing him.

"Help! I'm going to die!"

Upon hearing this, the girl, who was standing quietly outside the valley, shook her head helplessly, flicked her finger and threw out a crimson fireball, which exploded in the rapidly moving black clouds.

"Boom"

After a wave of intense heat swept by, countless black dots fell from mid-air; they were all black poisonous bees, each an inch long.

The entire swarm was momentarily blocked by the fireball released by Cui Ying, but the remaining black bees continued to vibrate their wings, raising their gleaming stingers, and once again fearlessly chased after Zhu Chaoyun.

Cui Ying, unfazed, unleashed several fireballs in succession, annihilating most of them in one fell swoop, before fleeing in another direction with Zhu Chaoyun.

The remaining swarm of bees buzzed and chased for several miles before finally coming to a stop in mid-air, giving up the pursuit with a sense of helplessness.

"hehe."

After flying away from the territory of the black bees, Zhu Chaoyun, whose face was covered in bumps, looked down at the seven-colored flower tree in his hand and couldn't help but smile again.

The tree is entirely emerald green, and at its top hangs a palm-sized, lotus-shaped object that resembles both a flower and a fruit. At the center of the flower are dozens of densely packed, snow-white stamens that emit a seven-colored halo and a refreshing, intoxicating fragrance.

"Master, what did you tell me to steal?"

Zhu Chaoyun grinned a few times, but soon pulled at the large bump on his cheek, wincing in pain.

"Emerald Tree Flower, although you only got one, this one alone can be exchanged for three or four hundred spirit stones in Thundercloud City."

It was already noon, so Cui Ying found a clean place to rest before explaining to Zhu Chaoyun:

"Does the wound on your face still hurt? If it is, pluck some flower stamens, crush them to extract the juice, and apply it to the wound. That will neutralize the black bee's venom."

"This flowering tree is so valuable, no wonder that swarm of black poisonous bees kept chasing me."

Zhu Chaoyun took a deep sniff of the snow-white stamens before excitedly handing the flower tree to Cui Ying:

"It's just a few stings from black bees, it doesn't hurt at all. Master, sit here and wait for me, I'll go heat up some food for you."

Soon, Zhu Chaoyun, his face swollen like a bun, gathered a pile of dry firewood, flicked out a flame to light the fire, and soon the aroma of cooked food filled the air.

"Master, there are two sword techniques you taught me last time that I just can't grasp the essence of no matter how I practice them."

While eating, Zhu Chaoyun seemed to remember something and said to Cui Ying somewhat embarrassedly.

Cui Ying peeled a roasted spirit egg in her hand, continuing her actions as she spoke to him:

"But there's a problem with flying swords. Go to that open space over there and demonstrate it to me first."

"Good."

Ever since Cui Ying took him as a disciple, she only taught him the techniques and rarely gave him personal guidance. So when he suddenly got the opportunity, Zhu Chaoyun was naturally overjoyed.

He quickly stuffed the food into his mouth and then took his magic sword to practice in a nearby open space.

Soon, streaks of crimson sword energy lit up one after another in mid-air.

"Raise your hands a little higher, and pronounce the word 'mnemonic' a little slower. There's nothing wrong with the movements, it's just that you're not very skilled at them."

Cui Ying sat cross-legged on the spot and quickly gave her conclusion:

"Once you have the chance to see more blood, you'll learn it without a teacher."

"Cough cough."

Upon hearing Cui Ying's startling words, Zhu Chaoyun almost mispronounced the incantation.

After all, with his limited skills, if he were separated from Cui Ying, who knows who would be bleeding whom out.

He composed himself, intending to take advantage of the absence of others to practice sword control, but he suddenly stopped halfway through forming the hand seals, his expression changing slightly.

"Master, did you hear anything? Could it be some kind of mountain spirit again?"

"Someone is calling for help."

Cui Ying closed her eyes and listened carefully to the sounds coming from the wind.

"Help! Help!"

Faintly, several women's cries for help suddenly rang out from the foot of the distant mountain.

The voice contained magical power, and the two could even hear how anxious its owner was.

"Go and have a look."

After thinking for a while, Cui Ying gave Zhu Chaoyun a look and then extinguished the fire with a burst of cold air.

Zhu Chaoyun, who was not far away, also put away his magic sword and followed behind Cui Ying without saying a word.

The two did not fly on clouds, but simply followed the direction from which the sound came, and with the help of the Lightness Technique, they traveled swiftly.

Soon, the woman's cries for help grew closer and closer.

Not long after, Cui Ying saw a girl in a green shirt and white skirt stumbling out of the dense forest opposite her. However, her skirt was now stained with blood, and her face was full of panic.

When the girl suddenly saw Cui Ying and Zhu Chaoyun appear at the foot of Jade Bamboo Peak, she was overjoyed and hurriedly shouted:

"Fellow Daoists, please help me! I beg you to save me!"