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

Two or three hours passed, and the sky was beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

Cui Ying caught four more snake-tailed fish, while Xu Hai, standing nearby, naturally caught nothing.

"Fellow Daoist Cui, how did you manage to do that?"

Xu Hai stared at the naked snake-tailed fish lying at Cui Ying's feet. Although these demonic beasts were all of lower cultivation than them, he was still so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth.

Last night, he stayed by Cui Ying's side and watched with his own eyes how this girl, who was a few years younger than him, could always accurately find the traces of snaketail fish, and then flick her finger to almost instantly cast an ice spike spell while killing the snaketail fish with perfect accuracy.

He went from being surprised and unconvinced at the beginning to being completely convinced now.

"Without him, only hands are familiar."

Looking at the somewhat dejected young man, Cui Ying smiled and said, half-jokingly:

“My home is backed by the Phoenix Mountain Range, and I often go into the mountains to hunt demons and gather herbs. Over time, I may have become more sensitive to demonic energy. In addition, being in a dangerous environment for a long time, I even dream about practicing magic. So I am more adept at using magic.”

Xu Hai, unsuspecting, was deeply moved:

“Back when I was at home, the cultivators in the village all praised me as a rare genius, and I was quite proud of it. But now that I’ve met Fellow Daoist Cui, I realize that besides the prodigies recruited by those sects, there are always people more talented than me around me.”

"hehe."

Cui Ying smiled and said to Xu Hai:

"Fellow Daoist Xu, there's no need to belittle yourself. I was just lucky."

In fact, Xu Hai had also discovered the trail of a Qi Refining Level 4 snake-tailed fish, but the beast was too cunning, and he was also a little nervous as it was his first time on a mission.

Therefore, his attack spells lost their accuracy, and by the time he prepared to make a second move, the snake-tailed fish had already escaped.

At this point, she looked up at the sky and continued:

"It's getting late, let's go back and rest for a bit before coming out again."

When they returned to the stone house, they found that the last two stone houses were also moving. After knocking on the door, two graceful figures came out.

After a brief conversation, Cui Ying learned that they were sisters.

The woman on the left wearing a long black dress is the older sister, Yang Chunlu, who is also a cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Refining.

The girl on the right wearing a pink dress is the younger sister, Yang Xueshuang, whose cultivation level appears to be only at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

They arrived at Qingyang Lake half an hour ago and were now preparing to go out on patrol.

Cui Ying and Xu Hai were already quite tired after patrolling all night. After a brief discussion, the four of them decided to let the Yang Chunlu and Yang Xueshuang sisters patrol the lakeside first.

After they have rested, we will come out and meet them.

If any abnormality is detected along the way, a whistling warning signal can be emitted.

After making her decision, Cui Ying watched the Yang sisters walk away and then took Taxue back to her stone house.

After a quick breakfast, she lay down fully clothed and rested for about an hour and a half when there was a knock on the door.

For the rest of the time, Cui Ying continued to patrol the lakeside with Xu Hai.

Within just one morning, the lake surface was once again turbulent.

Even though it was a bright and sunny day, large clusters of dark clouds drifted in from afar.

Immediately afterwards, a flock of silver-crowned eagles appeared out of nowhere and swarmed into Qingyang Lake.

At the same time, a large number of snake-tailed fish emerged from the lake and silently pounced on the red carp.

Fortunately, the Zhao family was not to be trifled with. The moment that dark cloud drifted over, a steward noticed something amiss and activated the defensive array in time, which barely managed to stop part of the Silver Crown Eagles' attack.

Meanwhile, the cultivators stationed by the lake were naturally on high alert and launched their attacks.

The melee ended quickly.

Forty-five red carp were lost in Qingyang Lake.

However, the Yang sisters joined forces to kill four snake-tailed fish, Cui Ying dealt with five snake-tailed fish, and also killed three silver-crowned eagles. Xu Hai finally made a gain, capturing two silver-crowned eagles at the third level of Qi Refining.

Qingyang Lake is thirty miles away.

"hateful."

Not far from here, on a mountain ridge, a man in black robes suddenly opened his eyes. He flung the small blood-red flag in his hand, his face terribly gloomy.

"If the Silver-Crowned Eagle and the Serpent-Tailed Fish, which I have spent so much effort to subdue, can devour more spiritual creatures and then feed back to me, I will definitely be able to win the first place in the next disciple competition."

"Damn it, the Zhao family is really courting death, they actually dare to send people here."

Qingyang Lake, lakeside.

That afternoon, everything was calm and peaceful.

Late the next night, taking advantage of a thunderstorm, the silver-crowned eagle and the serpentine fish launched another attack.

Cui Ying had a good harvest; in just half an incense stick's time, she had caught another six snake-tailed fish.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Cui, your income from hunting demons is much more than the rewards you get from missions. We are truly envious."

The Yang sisters were just as surprised as Xu Hai when they first saw Cui Ying finish a snake-tailed fish with a flick of her finger.

Although most of the attacking snaketail fish are at the early stage of Qi Refining, with occasional appearances at the middle stage, they are extremely adept at concealing their presence and are not easily detected unless they actively reveal themselves to hunt.

Therefore, after seeing that Cui Ying was almost always right, they went from being surprised at first to accepting it as a matter of course.

Cui Ying smiled but didn't say anything. She had seen the Yang sisters make their moves during both attacks. They were sound cultivators, more skilled in sound waves and ranged attacks, and their gains were no less than hers.

Three days passed uneventfully yet thrillingly, and Cui Ying learned some details about Qingyang Lake.

The real person in charge here is a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining named Zhao Yutang.

However, it is said that this person seems to have reached a critical juncture in his cultivation and has been in seclusion, so much so that many cultivators who come to do missions have never seen him.

The one who frequently appears in public is another direct descendant of the Zhao family, named Zhao An, whose cultivation level is the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Zhao An's cultivation level is mediocre, but he has quite a temper.

On several occasions when they met, he always bossed them around, and the rogue cultivators who came to help looked disgusted but also didn't want to offend him.

"stop."

"Yang Chunlu, Yang Xueshuang, the guards on the west side are gone last night. You sisters should go over there now and take over their posts while you're at it, to see if anyone has been missed."

Just then, Zhao Yutang flew over from afar on a cloud, his face grim. The guards on the west side were all dead, and they couldn't find replacements, so they had to draw from their existing numbers.

"What? Hong Niangzi and the others are all dead?"

Upon hearing this, Cui Ying's expression also turned somewhat unpleasant.

She still remembered that on her first night there, the news was given to her by the Red Maiden couple stationed on the west side, along with two other monks.

Just as she was recalling what the matchmaker had said, she suddenly heard the girl next to her exclaim in surprise.

"What? We're perfectly fine here, why should we go to that godforsaken place? I'm not going, you go yourself!"

Upon hearing that all the cultivators stationed in the west had died overnight, the impetuous young Yang Xueshuang's expression immediately changed, and she refused without hesitation.

"According to the rules we came from, Xue Shuang and I are only responsible for the east side. Other places are not under our jurisdiction, and we do not accept secondment."

Yang Chunlu, who was standing next to her, also looked displeased upon hearing this, and immediately took out the task sheet that she and her sister had signed to argue their case.

Zhao An's gaze turned cold, and a shadow of gloom appeared on his drooping eyelids.

He seemed surprised that, despite being on the Zhao family's territory and having a higher cultivation level than the Yang sisters, they dared to defy him.

"Xu Hai and Cui Ying, you two go."

He glared at the Yang sisters, then turned to look at Xu Hai beside him.

When Xu Hai heard that all those cultivators had died, he broke out in a cold sweat.

He glanced at Cui Ying subconsciously, hesitating about how to refuse, when he saw the girl next to him nod and agree.

"Me too."

"Okay, they urgently need manpower over there. You guys pack your things and head over there quickly."

Seeing that someone had finally agreed, Zhao An nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave.