Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

Dongyang Li counted the Sumeru Rings in his palm and said excitedly, "Eleven have been eliminated at once. It seems we're going to win this time."

Chai Feng glanced at him, a smile appearing in his eyes, and said, "Judging by the time, we're about to enter the second stage of the competition. At that time, the cultivators will be more concentrated. After we join up with the others, we'll first take care of the remaining members of the Hidden Edge Sect, and then deal with those rogue cultivators."

Dongyang Li agreed, but now that the crisis was over, he remembered that he and Chai Feng didn't get along. He didn't reply but glared at him fiercely and turned to look at the place where Xu Lingguang was hiding: "Friend over there, would you like to show yourself?"

The other party secretly helped them, taking down five opponents single-handedly. Their strength should not be underestimated. Dongyang Li felt he had to recruit such a powerful ally.

Then, a strangely familiar face peeked out from behind the rock.

Xu Lingguang waved with a smile and said, "Hi, it's me."

Dongyang was overjoyed to find out it was him. She jogged towards him, saying, "I haven't seen you for the past few days. I thought you were out of the game, and I was so disappointed."

Xu Lingguang jumped down from the high ground where he was hiding and said, "I was initially teleported to a remote valley. I originally wanted to follow the map to meet up with you, but I couldn't understand the map at all, so I had to find my way around randomly."

He briefly recounted his experience: "I also met Meng Shuisheng and his group."

"How did you run into Meng Shuisheng?" Dongyang Li asked worriedly, looking Xu Lingguang up and down. "You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"No, I can run fast."

Xu Lingguang smiled and took out five Sumeru Rings: "Here, take their Sumeru Rings while you're running away."

Dongyang Li was genuinely surprised this time. It was true that Meng Shuisheng was a spoiled brat, but firstly, Seven Luminaries True Man only had this one precious son, and secondly, Meng Shuisheng's aptitude and comprehension were actually quite good. Furthermore, with his father's intensive training with rare and precious materials, his cultivation level was actually quite impressive. Even if Dongyang Li were to fight him, he might not be entirely confident of winning.

"You managed to send Meng Shuisheng and the others away all by yourself?"

Dongyang Li circled Xu Lingguang once, clicking his tongue in admiration: "I underestimated you."

Meng Shuisheng suffered a great loss at Guan Linxu's hands during their first encounter, something he should have realized then. Guan Linxu's appearance was simply too deceptive; he wore an innocent and honest face, yet always managed to deliver a ruthless blow to his enemies.

Xu Lingguang scratched his face and explained, "I seized a flying boat and used poison when they and the crocodile were both exhausted."

He didn't think it was his own skill; it was just that Meng Shuisheng was incredibly unlucky. If they hadn't fought that fierce battle with the crocodile, he wouldn't have been able to snag this opportunity even if he had gone back.

Dongyang Li ignored his self-deprecation and walked up to Chai Feng with Xu Lingguang in his arms, proudly raising his chin: "Look, if it weren't for Brother Guan, we would have been finished this time. You should reflect on how you looked down on people before."

Their arrogance was palpable, as if they had won a battle.

The smile on Chai Feng's face had vanished. He stared at Xu Lingguang for a moment and said, "Thank you."

Xu Lingguang felt that there was a hint of hostility in Dongyang Li's gaze. He recalled the scene he had witnessed that night, shrank back, and quickly pulled Dongyang Li's arm off his shoulder, chuckling, "Don't be so polite, we're all friends."

After exchanging pleasantries, the group began to take stock of their spoils.

The Hidden Edge Sect has collected sixteen Sumeru Rings and found many good items.

There are weapons, magical artifacts, talismans, elixirs, and even a map.

Xu Lingguang glanced at the map and found that the map of Cangfeng Sect was much more detailed and clear than that of Jiuzhuan Manor. He silently handed the map to Dongyang Li and the others to read, his expression indescribable.

Dongyang Li looked at it and said, "I have to go back and talk to the elders. We absolutely cannot let Senior Brother Zhang draw maps again in the next competition. What kind of maps does he draw? If I weren't so clever and quick-witted, I wouldn't be able to tell the directions at all."

After everyone passed the map around and memorized it, they divided up the spoils.

The items collected by the Hidden Edge Sect were mostly weapons, but Xu Lingguang didn't have many that he could use. He needed a defensive robe, offensive talismans, and an alchemy furnace.

Seeing that he had spent so long picking and choosing only useless things, Dongyang Li couldn't help but say, "What do you need this alchemy furnace for? You can't fight or run away in a critical moment. You'd be better off taking more pills; they could save your life in a pinch."

Xu Lingguang waved his hand and refused: "With this alchemy furnace, I can refine the pills I want myself. I don't need this."

Dongyang Li was surprised to learn that he could refine pills. He looked him up and down in disbelief and exclaimed, "You're actually a pill refiner?"

His tone was so surprised that Xu Lingguang looked at him speechlessly: "What's wrong? Is it not allowed?"

Dongyang Li scratched the back of his head and stammered, "Okay, I just didn't expect that."

The alchemists he had met were either ethereal beings who didn't eat earthly grains, or arrogant and disdainful of people.

This was the first time I had ever seen a pill refiner like Xu Lingguang, who lived such a frugal and approachable life without any airs.

Then, out of curiosity, she asked, "What kinds of pills can you refine?"

Xu Lingguang thought for a moment and said, "I can try any common pills below the second rank, as long as I have the materials."

Upon hearing this, Dongyang Li was astonished. He had never seen an alchemist with such a boastful tone before. Aren't there usually a few alchemists who are good at making a few pills?

Being able to master dozens of types of alchemy is already considered a very skilled alchemist.

"You can make pills of grade two or lower?"

Xu Lingguang explained, "It's not that I can't do it all, but as long as I know the alchemy manual, I can basically master it after a few tries."

Seeing that Dongyang Li looked eager to try, he quickly added, "If you find some unheard-of, obscure pills, I really don't know how to make them."

Dongyang Li immediately fell silent, but quickly perked up again: "Let's refine some Qi-replenishing pills, bone-strengthening pills, and fasting pills for later use. The formation will be activated in two days, and we will be separated again. We can use these two days to discuss our strategy against the enemy and allocate resources to ensure that we can reunite smoothly after the formation is activated."

The area of ​​Wenlingpo was too large, so Xu Lingguang was sent to a remote western valley. He only met about ten people after walking for three days.

Therefore, in order to facilitate the rapid elimination of cultivators later on, the formation of the Hundred Refinements Competition will be activated again on the fifth day, and everyone will be randomly teleported to a smaller competition area for another elimination.

At this point, the arena shrinks, and the cultivators participating in the competition can no longer hide their whereabouts, forcing them to fight. This allows for the rapid elimination of a large number of cultivators.

Xu Lingguang was not good at fighting and felt that he should find a way to get more self-defense items, so he made a list and asked Dongyang Li and the others to find the materials, while he was responsible for refining pills.

Dongyang Li and several disciples went out excitedly to find materials, while Chai Feng stayed behind to guard the area and wait for the other disciples of Nine Turns Manor to arrive.

It was only then that Xu Lingguang belatedly realized that this was actually the rendezvous point circled on the map.

Thinking of that abstract map, his lips twitched, and he began to concentrate on refining the flesh and blood of the crocodile, preparing to turn it into a pill.

Among the pill recipes that Wu Yao gave him, there was a Blood Mist Pill that was made from the flesh and blood of a spiky-tailed crocodile. This pill was entirely blood-red, and when thrown out, it would turn into a cloud of blood mist, gradually devouring and absorbing the spiritual power of the cultivators who were absorbing the blood mist.

It is a type of AOE poison pill with a relatively large range.

This kind of pill is not difficult to refine. Xu Lingguang became proficient after refining two batches and then spared a bit of his attention to watch Chai Feng.

Chai Feng sat not far from him, the large knife resting on his lap. His entire demeanor was silent yet sharp.

If it weren't for the fact that he kept staring at him with that gloomy, unfathomable gaze, Xu Lingguang would have thought that this was indeed a very steady and reliable teammate.

Xu Lingguang originally wanted to ignore it, but unfortunately Chai Feng's gaze was too strong, almost turning into a sieve.

Xu Lingguang hesitated for a long time, but finally couldn't help but explain, "Don't misunderstand. Dongyang Li and I are just ordinary friends."

After hesitating for a moment, in order to enhance credibility, he went against his conscience and said, "I don't like men."