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

As dawn broke, the two finally stood atop Songcui Cliff.

At this moment, Zhu Chaoyun seemed to remember something and asked:

"Master, you were quite far away just now, but your voice rang in my ear like a ghost. What kind of secret technique is this?"

Seeing that Cui Ying remained silent, Zhu Chaoyun continued:

"I heard from the rogue cultivators in the village that some cultivators can transmit their voices over a thousand miles simply by moving their lips, and it feels exactly the same as what you just said. Hehe, Master, how have I been doing lately? I wonder if I have the honor of being able to cultivate this Thousand-Mile Voice Transmission Technique?"

"Do not."

Listening to the boy's rambling voice, Cui Ying shook her head with a stern face.

"what?"

Zhu Chaoyun looked disappointed, but he still waved his hand knowingly:

"Fine, I won't teach you then. I haven't even mastered the Mighty Force technique you taught me the other day, and the power I use is unstable. Yesterday, it almost tore down my front door."

"What I mean is, today I will not only teach you the art of transmitting sound over a thousand miles, but also the art of riding the clouds and mist, so that you can ascend to the top of all things."

She had just checked the area around the top of the cliff and found that there were not many vines left that could help the two of them safely reach the bottom of the valley.

So they abandoned that method and decided to ride the clouds to the bottom of Chiyang Valley.

"what!?"

Before Zhu Chaoyun could react, Cui Ying swiftly extended her sword-like finger and pointed it at the boy's brow.

The touch was icy cold. Out of the corner of Zhu Chaoyun's eye, two flashes of inspiration appeared. Then, he felt something slip through Cui Ying's fingers like an eel and burrow into his brow.

"ah!!??"

The next moment, a loud male voice rang out: "Help!!"

Before Zhu Chaoyun could figure out what had entered her mind, Cui Ying pushed her off the cliff.

He endured the terrifying feeling of weightlessness as he plummeted downwards, flailing his arms and legs wildly as if trying to grab onto something, when he heard a familiar voice in his ear.

"Weren't you just asking to learn some skills? What, a mere cloud-riding technique has scared you like this?"

Zhu Chaoyun opened his eyes at the right moment, only to find that a white cloud, the size of two octagonal tables, had somehow condensed beneath him and was now slowly descending.

He curiously touched the white cloud; it was soft and fragrant, like a brand-new cotton quilt.

"hey-hey."

As he drew closer to Chiyang Valley, Zhu Chaoyun smiled foolishly.

"I never dreamed that one day I, Zhu Chaoyun, would be able to fly through the sky on clouds... Hehe, this feeling is just amazing! Amazing!"

As he spoke, he even stood up and jumped vigorously on the clouds:

"Master, I don't want to learn that telepathic communication technique anymore. This cloud-riding skill is much more interesting... How about you teach me this cloud-riding skill? Once I've learned it... Oh dear!"

Looking at the excited Zhu Chaoyun, Cui Ying suddenly regretted her decision.

His smug, jumping-around manner, in particular, made Cui Ying secretly resent herself for not buying a packet of poison at Songlin Market yesterday and making him mute.

As the white mist dissipated, Zhu Chaoyun fell heavily onto the grass outside Chiyang Valley, wincing in pain.

"Master, if you don't want to teach me, then don't! You even deliberately threw me down. You're being too petty!"

Zhu Chaoyun limped to his feet, muttering defiantly, "With such a narrow mind, he still dares to act as a teacher."

"Oh my!"

Before he could take a few steps, he fell flat on his face with a thud: "Where did this rock come from? I almost fell to my death!"

Seeing Zhu Chaoyun's miserable and disheveled appearance, Cui Ying curled her lips into a smile, feeling somewhat amused, but on her face she reprimanded him with a serious expression:

"Our sect's secret techniques aren't like cabbages at the village entrance; you can't just pick and choose, learning them whenever you want and not learning them whenever you don't want!"

Seeing Zhu Chaoyun stiffen her neck and try to retort, Cui Ying snorted coldly:

"If you speak recklessly and disrespectfully to the sect again next time, it won't be a minor punishment like falling down a couple of times!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Chaoyun realized that the inspiration in his mind was the telepathic ability to travel a thousand miles and the skill of flying through the clouds that he desired.

He twitched the corners of his mouth, wanting to laugh but not daring to.

He quickly put on a fawning smile and hurried off to pick two pieces of miasma-repelling grass.

"Master, please calm down. I was just looking for a treasure when I was carrying one. I didn't recognize it because I was blind. Please don't hold it against your disciple."

"Shut up!"

Cui Ying was so angry she wanted to strangle him: "If you say another word, I'll cut out your tongue!"

"..."

Despite being met with indifference, Zhu Chaoyun remained silent and obediently followed behind.

Soon, the two passed through Chiyang Valley and entered Phoenix Mountain Range.

The Phoenix Mountain Range stretches for tens of thousands of miles and consists of countless peaks of all sizes. The mountains are lush with vegetation and rich in spiritual energy, giving birth to countless mountain spirits and monsters, as well as countless powerful demons that devour the sky and the moon.

The depths of the Phoenix Mountains are so deep that it is no exaggeration to call them a paradise for demons, a terrifying place that even Cui Ying in her previous life dared not easily set foot in.

While the outer area is relatively safe, there are naturally fewer valuable monsters and spiritual plants.

Those truly rare and precious materials, born from the essence of heaven and earth, are often hidden deeper in the mountains, and are also the domain of those powerful demonic beasts.

Cui Ying did not linger on the outskirts, but led Zhu Chaoyun straight into the deeper part of the mountain.

"Let's go, it's time to go somewhere else today."

They usually just circled around the perimeter, afraid of encountering powerful monsters.

But today is different. With a handy weapon, there's no need to worry so much.

"Well!"

Zhu Chaoyun was also full of anticipation today, and nodded vigorously in agreement after hearing the words.

Cui Ying rolled her eyes at him and took the lead in walking up the thorny mountain path.

Along the way, they saw some pheasants, snow rabbits, and kingfishers, but Cui Ying was too lazy to do anything about them.

Passing by the hillside where they had fought the demon wolf before, the two began to deliberately conceal their auras. After walking another dozen miles, they indeed found all sorts of things scattered throughout the jungle.

Cui Ying glanced around and quickly found a suitable person to practice on.

"Look over there!"

Zhu Chaoyun looked in the direction Cui Ying was pointing and immediately saw a familiar figure.

A spirit deer, as tall as an adult's chest, stood in front of a bush, tilting its head back to reach the tender green leaves. It had small antlers on its head and occasionally opened its big, round eyes, looking around warily.

"Another lone five-colored deer!"

Zhu Chaoyun exclaimed in surprise, his heart filled with excitement.

Cui Ying nodded, but Zhu Chaoyun hesitated: "You really want me to do it?"

"It's just a five-colored deer at the second level of Qi Refining. You have the Cold Light Crossbow in your hand, what are you afraid of?"

Having learned from her previous two demon-hunting experiences, Cui Ying roughly knew that Zhu Chaoyun, despite his apparent boldness, was actually a paper tiger. However, since she had already taken him as her disciple, she naturally intended to train him.

So, Cui Ying looked away and coaxed, "Besides, I'm here with you. If anything happens, I can protect you."

"Pfft!"

A spiritual energy arrow, no longer than a palm, shot through the air in an instant, trailing a pale golden tail, and precisely pierced the long neck of the five-colored deer, leaving behind a cloud of blood mist.

But the five-colored deer did not fall; instead, it swayed and struggled to maintain its balance, then panicked and darted off in other directions.

"Chase!"