Where does that wicked woman get her conscience?

They are currently positioned at the innermost edge of the competition area. Once they pass through the dense trees in front of them, they will reach the dangerous inner circle.

The monsters that come and go here are of a higher level than those outside, and they have a greater chance of forming crystal cores.

If the opponent has the ambition to compete for first place, they will definitely come here.

Several people were lying on a tall tree, observing their surroundings.

The Cloudscale Ape was obediently hiding in the jungle below, while the Autumn River's Wind-Breaking Ice Flower Giant Bee was much more impatient.

It flew around the heads of the group, buzzing incessantly.

Guan Xun frowned and glanced at her sideways; it was obvious to anyone that she was somewhat unhappy.

Qiu Chuan felt a little panicked and pulled the giant bee into his arms: "Quiet down, you better be quiet!"

However, the giant bee simply wouldn't listen to him and flew out again after a few moments of thrashing around.

Guan Xun didn't tolerate it. Spiritual energy surged in his palm, and with a casual flick of his wrist, he wrapped the giant bee around it. In an instant, the giant bee was frozen into an ice block and perched high on a tree branch.

Now it was quiet.

Ling Moyan: ...

Autumn River: ...

"Is everything ready?" Guan Xun asked softly, ignoring the two men's reactions.

"Ah."

Ling Moyan nodded without hesitation, while Qiu Tianchuan hesitated and said, "Should we just take it from them? What if a fight breaks out...? They outnumber us, what if we get robbed instead?"

"Just do as I say." Ling Moyan grabbed his shoulder. After spending these days together, he had gotten used to the other's melancholy and timid nature.

"They're here." Guan Xun didn't have time to listen to their arguing. As he withdrew his divine sense, he threw the rabbit in his hand to the ground.

The rabbit, already terrified, was freed from its restraints. It pricked up its ears and ran away, but before it had gone far, it crashed headfirst into Mu Qing, the leader of the group.

"Some even come to you on their own?"

Just as Mu Qing was about to bend down and pick up the rabbit, a powerful spiritual force appeared between them with lightning speed, sweeping the white rabbit away!

His expression changed drastically. Judging from the aura alone, the other party was even stronger than him.

"Who?!"

The other four quickly spread out and took up positions, remaining alert to their surroundings.

"It's you? This rabbit is our prey." Ling Moyan and Qiu Tianchuan stepped out from behind the tree and headed straight for the unconscious white rabbit.

"Ling Moyan!" Mu Qing shouted coldly. The scene unfolding at this moment was exactly the same as the previous conflict, except that the roles had been reversed.

"What, trying to steal it again?" Ling Moyan's tone was full of provocation. He had been holding onto that loss for a long time, and this time he didn't hold back at all. "Have you no shame?"

Mu Qing has always been arrogant and has always wanted to enter Qianshan Academy, but he failed to be selected, which made him harbor hatred towards the students of that academy.

His victory in the previous crystal core dispute had made him feel much better, but now, hearing this provocative tone, a surge of anger welled up in his heart. Ignoring the people around him who were trying to stop him, he swung his fists, which contained powerful spiritual energy, at Ling Moyan's head without hesitation!

Ling Moyan was prepared. The moment Mu Qing threw a punch, he spun around, and a fiery red spiritual energy surged up, enveloping his entire body and creating gusts of wind.

The clash of spiritual energy caused a muffled sonic boom in the air, and ripples of the strong wind spread rapidly in all directions like waves, scattering grass and dust everywhere.

A slight numbness spread from his arm upwards, Mu Qing's face turned red, he clenched his teeth, and felt a slightly metallic taste in his throat.

Just then, someone kicked him hard in the knee! Caught off guard, he stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

Mu Qing: ? ? ?

Ling Moyan punched Qiu Tianchuan's arm twice and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Well done."

After saying that, he turned to look at Mu Qing, whose face was already turning purple with anger, and shrugged contemptuously.

Seeing that the people around him were about to make a gesture, Qiu Chuan really wanted to pull Ling Moyan aside and tell him to tone it down...

He looked up at the tall, lush tree not far away, and subconsciously swallowed. Had his junior sister, Guan Xun, noticed the commotion? When was she planning to make her move? Did she really expect them to fight two against five?

In fact, from the very beginning, Guan Xun not only did not pay attention to the situation here, but also crossed the boundary line and entered the inner perimeter.

She stood atop the tallest tree, her small, red body hovering on her shoulder, tail held high, alert to her surroundings.

"Master, what are you looking for?"

"The stream." Guan Xun frowned slightly, her divine sense continuing to penetrate deeper into the distance. To confirm her current location, she needed to find the stream that ran through the Illusionary Fall Forest.

She was particularly familiar with that area.

She had thought it over and realized there was no need to stay at Qianshan Academy any longer. Although the spiritual energy cultivation there was good, there was always a deadly threat.

That was the Imperial Tutor.

The other party hasn't been found, probably because they haven't returned to the capital yet, or perhaps her blood has taken effect.

Guan Xun felt that the latter probability was a bit small, and she dared not gamble.

Besides, she prefers a carefree life to living in a noisy and orderly place.

Chi Rong has developed sentience, and her cultivation is not weak. Even if she enters the inner perimeter of the forest now, she will not be much of a threat.

Guan Xun leaped to the top of the small hill and soon discovered rocks and dragonflies and birds around him, indicating that the stream must be nearby.

Suddenly, a low roar came from Chi Rong in her mind. She was startled and quickly withdrew her consciousness. Turning her head, she saw that the Poisonous Lightning Serpent that had been wrapped around her wrist had somehow climbed onto her shoulder.

It huddled up, its little head buried in its body, trembling.

"Why are you yelling at it?" Guan Xun asked.

Chi Rong turned his head and pointed his tail at the Poisonous Lightning Serpent: "This thing is trying to get close to me."

Guan Xun chuckled, picked up the Poisonous Lightning Serpent, shook it a few times, and said, "Isn't it good? It'll keep you company."

“No need.” After a pause, Chi Rong added, “It doesn’t even have intelligence, how can it keep me company? It’s only close to me because it thinks I’m one of its own, what bad luck.”

Guan Xun didn't say anything more. He took a deep look at the area that his divine sense had just explored, then turned his ankle and headed towards the outer perimeter.

I wonder how those two are doing now. Their strength shouldn't be enough to cause them to be beaten one-sidedly.

When she returned, the scene was in complete chaos.

Ling Moyan and Qiu Tianchuan stood back to back, surrounded by several people. Their hair and clothes were somewhat disheveled, but fortunately, there were no visible injuries.

Guan Xun stood on the tree trunk, looking down at the situation below. Red dots appeared in his eyes, enveloping the area with an irresistible aura.

The movements of the group all froze, and the spiritual energy they had mobilized dissipated in an instant, their eyes glazed over as if they were in a daze.

"Master, your control seems to have become even more powerful," Chi Rong exclaimed.

That's natural; she hadn't spent all that time cultivating and nourishing herself. However... just thinking about her fight with the Imperial Tutor gave her a headache. Her strength wasn't enough, far from enough.

She needs to become stronger.

After leaping down from the tree, Guan Xunchong and the other two, still in shock, raised their eyebrows: "You seniors are really amazing."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Chuan's tense body relaxed slightly. He mustered his courage and waved his hand in front of those people. Only after seeing that they did not react did he relax.

"What's wrong with them?" he asked, puzzled. "How did you do that?"

Guan Xun did not answer him, but gestured for him to take out the other party's crystal core.

From the moment Mu Qing and the others started looking dazed, Ling Moyan felt something was off. He had this feeling... as if he had experienced it somewhere before.

Having truly run out of clues, he finally composed himself, clicked his tongue twice, and looked at Guan Xun with a somewhat complicated expression: "Junior, your skills are truly remarkable..."

He had heard his grandfather say that during the transformation of a spirit master, there was a chance of producing extraordinary phenomena, which was a very peculiar ability. Could it be that Guan Xun also had it?

"They seem to be trapped in some kind of illusion, or perhaps they've used some kind of drug or powder?" He hesitated slightly before tentatively asking.

"Well, I got some hallucinogenic powder from the medical clinic," Guan Xun said, taking out a bunch of porcelain medicine bottles from his storage ring and glancing at them casually.

"So many?" Ling Moyan took a deep breath, shook his head with amusement, it seemed he had been overthinking it.

"The powder won't last long, hurry up and get the crystal core." Guan Xun put away the porcelain bottle of medicine, ignored him, and walked straight to the woman.

He reached out and grabbed the necklace the other person was wearing, his fingertips tracing the white jade inlaid in the pendant.

Soon, she sighed softly and let go of his hand.

Forget it, it's too small and not a good piece of jade anyway, and I'm not short of money right now.

You should try to tone down this habit when there are other people around.