The Emperor's Domineering Favor, the Evil Consort's Unparalleled Reign

As soon as Ying Li finished speaking, the wolf suddenly stood up. The hair on its back stood on end, and its body kept growing larger until it returned to its original size, more than five zhang long. Its gray-black claws gleamed with a cold light, and it stood on blood-red clouds. A huge, blood-red mouth dripped with salty, fishy saliva, and its yellowish eyes surveyed the surroundings. Finally, without hesitation, it launched a fierce attack on the people of Winter Night Manor and the group of monsters that were originally of the same kind.

A colossal beast lunged and bit, blood splattering everywhere. The mountain walls collided, and rubble tumbled down incessantly. The deafening roar echoed throughout Winter Night Mountain. Corpses were swept and kicked around like dust. People went from life to death extremely quickly. They collapsed in various positions in the blood-soaked cave, their eyes rolled back, blood bubbles constantly gushing from their mouths. Each person's death was extremely gruesome, and the grotesque holes in their bodies made one shudder at the sight.

Its internal organs were haphazardly torn apart, emitting the unique stench of rotting flesh. In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, all the creatures in the cave except for Ying Li and Yi Bicheng had been killed by the wolf. It howled, and seeing that there were no more enemies in the cave, it shot off towards the outside of the cave!

The wind howled through the mountains and forests. Ying Li watched as the huge black silhouette disappeared into the winter night wilderness, a slight shock on his face. "Before Winter Night Mountain is destroyed by the wolf hunters, let's go and pick some spiritual herbs on the mountain to store up. We'll need these spiritual herbs to nourish our cultivation in the future."

Ying Li addressed Yi Bicheng, then took the lead and ran out of the cave. Yi Bicheng was somewhat bewildered. Looking at the mess and desolation of the cave, a dark glint appeared in his eyes. He put away the Northern Red Plum Fan, stomped his right foot on the ground, and followed Ying Li's figure.

The two spent another half an hour picking herbs on Winter Night Mountain, gathering most of the precious medicinal herbs on the mountain. Just as they were putting the herbs into their brocade robes, a loud "boom" resounded, and the mountain shook violently. Yi Bicheng reached out and grabbed the slightly unsteady Ying Li, looking into the distance. There, he saw a bright white light shining from the mouth of the wolf. It aimed at a side mountain to the east, and with a flash of cold light, it shot out!

Amidst a flurry of flying rocks, the eastern mountain suddenly collapsed, reduced in an instant to a mound of yellow earth. Dust billowed, and in the cold wind, the beast's silhouette was chilling and resolute. All the medicinal herbs on the eastern mountain were buried beneath the yellow earth, never to be found again.

Next was Winter Night Mountain, where Ying Li and Yi Bicheng were. Ying Li and Yi Bicheng exchanged a glance, and the two quickly left the area, shooting towards the foot of the mountain. Just as their feet touched the ground, another loud "boom" resounded, and Winter Night Mountain suddenly trembled, as if an old man had suffered a violent attack, his bones shattered and he could no longer stand. The entire Winter Night Mountain was reduced to dust in the single blow of the wolf hunter. The spiritual herbs that had grown with great difficulty also lost their spiritual power in that attack, were submerged in darkness, and could no longer exert any effect.

Ying Li and Yi Bicheng trembled, unable to conceal their shock as they watched the Winter Night Mountain suddenly change. The wolf snorted a few times, sneezed, and seeing Ying Li at the foot of the mountain, it shrunk back to its original size and ran towards him. Upon reaching him, the wolf lay down gently at Ying Li's feet, whimpering twice, and then began to gently nibble at Ying Li's shoes to grind its teeth.

The people of Winter Night Manor rushed in from all directions in a panic. When they saw Winter Night Mountain razed to the ground, their faces were filled with stunned fear. The outsiders, in particular, had already begun to flee when they saw this. They should have known that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Anything cheap and good must be poisoned, and Winter Night Mountain was just like that.

Ying Li watched as several familiar faces hurriedly packed their things and left Winter Night Manor. A cold smile played on her lips. Then her gaze settled on two figures not far away. Two people, slightly older than herself, stood at the former entrance to Winter Night Mountain, a man and a woman. Their faces wore calm and restrained expressions. When they saw Ying Li and the wolf at her feet, the two smiled, and then the man took the woman's hand and disappeared into the shadows of the manor.

Cheng Bo's two children must know something, and Ying Li had no interest in getting involved in the affairs of Winter Night Manor anymore. This outcome was entirely Cheng Bo's own doing. If he had upheld his ancestors' wishes and hadn't harbored malicious intent towards the spirit-inducing wolf hunter, and hadn't harmed so many people, then Winter Night Manor wouldn't have suffered such losses today.

However, this also reflects that Winter Night Manor has indeed lost its former glory. Over the years, only small fry have come each time, and they can only break the malfunctioning array using blood curses. If a true expert came, they certainly wouldn't have wasted fifteen years trying to break the array. Cheng Bo's children also seem to be formidable figures, but so what? Ying Li wouldn't waste time on irrelevant people.

"Should we tell the elders what happened here?" Yi Bicheng asked, looking at the chaotic and disorderly crowd with a worried expression. Ying Li looked at the wolf at his feet, and then thought of the worries of Bixia Palace, and shook his head. "Let's suppress it for now, and treat it as an accident. We've never been here before. Brother Yi, what are your plans for the future?"

Yi Bicheng touched the winter night grass in his arms, a deep chill and disappointment in his eyes. After a while, his gaze softened again. "I have an old friend who is in poor health. I picked this herb for her, hoping it can cure her illness."

Ying Li suddenly understood. No wonder Yi Bicheng was working so hard. Back in Linshui City, and now at Winter Night Manor, Yi Bicheng was only doing it for one person. A sense of unease washed over her. After a long while, she lowered her head and smiled faintly. For some reason, she felt a pang of envy for Yi Bicheng's old friend, who had such a devoted friend as Yi Bicheng.

“Girl, if you don’t mind, we can travel together. Anyway, I’ll be participating in the intermediate disciple assessment next year. We can keep each other company and help each other in our future cultivation.” Yi Bicheng smiled, the gloom in his eyes earlier completely gone.

Ying Li thought about it and agreed happily. The wolf was originally a spirit guide, but now it had transformed into a small wolf, so it wasn't particularly conspicuous. Although it attracted some strange looks while following Ying Li, it didn't cause any other trouble. After all, there were too many people raising spirit beasts on this Spirit Realm Continent. Raising a tiger or a small wolf was nothing compared to those who raised spirit beasts.

That day, Ying Li and Yi Bicheng left Dongye Manor and arrived at an inn in Huai'an Kingdom. The two booked two superior rooms, closed their doors, took out the spiritual herbs they had obtained at Dongye Manor, and began to cultivate.

Ying Li poured the spiritual herbs out of the Xuanjin, totaling over 3,700 top-grade Lingluo grasses and over 2,000 top-grade Shengye and Kulan herbs. This was truly a profitable deal. Ying Li first took out 1,000 Shengye herbs and began absorbing spiritual energy for cultivation.

Abundant spiritual energy flowed continuously from the leaf into Ying Li's dantian. Ying Li felt a sense of ease throughout her body. The abundant spiritual energy continuously nourished her internal organs, filling every cell with spiritual energy, making her feel extremely comfortable and at ease. It was only after Ying Li finished absorbing the spiritual energy from the last leaf that she realized the strangeness of the situation.

She absorbed a thousand top-grade spiritual herbs and leaves in a row, but only felt comfortable and did not feel any breakthrough. Could it be that something was wrong with her body?

"Girl, don't worry about it. Last time I helped you break that Leopard Cat's Disabling Array, my spiritual power was greatly damaged, which affected the control of the Seven Star Totem in the Bone Ring. So now, the spiritual power you absorb is just replenishing what you lack, not increasing it." The alluring man walked out of the Bone Ring with his arms crossed, looking at Ying Li's puzzled eyes and said in a deep voice.

"Aren't those who obtain the Bone Ring supposed to be incredibly powerful? Why is this the case now?" Ying Li was completely baffled. Since childhood, she had heard that those who obtain the Bone Ring, even if they are fools, can become Spirit Masters. She has the Seven-Star Bone Ring, but she doesn't have the mystery and power of those legends.

“Only those who understand the art of manipulation can achieve that effect. Without it, the Bone Ring is merely an ornament. Right now, you don't understand the manipulation method, and your mental strength is very weak, so I can only manipulate it on your behalf. You should know that in the past, the Bone Ring was controlled by a mentally controlled king who was always in a slumber, manipulated by the holder, and used the spiritual power of the Seven Star Totem to do its work. Now, the Seven Star Bone Ring in your hand is operated by my spiritual power, so my loss will affect the Seven Star Totem. This is one of the reasons why I need to recover my spiritual power first so that you can increase your spiritual power and advance.” The alluring man snorted coldly, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied.

Ying Li rolled her eyes. "You've said so much seriousness, but my advancement has nothing to do with you." The alluring man's expression changed. Seeing that Ying Li had seen through his thoughts, he moved closer to her and put on a smiling face, saying, "Girl, don't be so blunt."

Ying Li was both amused and exasperated. She chuckled twice, but there was nothing she could do about it. She shook her head and took out the remaining 1,200-plus top-grade leaves and bitter herbs, beginning to absorb their spiritual energy to replenish the bewitching man's spiritual power.

A powerful and dense spiritual energy continuously surged into Ying Li's dantian, circulated within his body, and then returned to the withered bone ring on his right hand. The crescent-shaped scar on the bewitching man's forehead turned from red to white, and then back to red. Beneath his calm face, a hint of madness appeared.

Half an hour later, the remaining 1,200-plus leaves and bitter blueberries were all absorbed into Ying Li's body. Finally, Ying Li felt the spiritual power in the withered bone ring on her right hand continuously overflowing from her right hand and flowing into her body. Her body had a great sense of saturation. Her eyes were slightly red, and her deep pupils subconsciously gathered the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Spiritual power was constantly flowing in this world.

It's unclear how much time passed, but two whooshing sounds came from Ying Li's room. The woman collapsed to the ground, the barrier around her dissipated, and she slowly raised her drooping head. When she finally opened her eyes, they were bloodshot, with swirling vortexes shrinking at the corners of her eyes before disappearing completely.

The woman's lips curled up slightly. "Spiritual cultivation, fifth stage."