Oh no, I accidentally cultivated three spiritual roots and became an empress!

Zhong Lingxin continued digging her way toward Uncle Xuan Yuan and her friends.

The words "evil cultivator" kept floating past her ears.

She had also heard that heretical cultivators had become rampant recently, apparently first discovered by Ge Hongtian's Chaoyuan Sect in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River Gorge.

However, since the Qingyun Sect had not yet issued a mission to fight against the evil cultivators, she didn't take it too seriously.

But now most of the cultivators she encounters are talking about evil cultivators. Could it be that there are more evil cultivators during her time in the Falling Phoenix Mountain Range?

What she didn't know was that it wasn't that the Qingyun Sect didn't issue missions to fight against evil cultivators.

Rather, it's because the Lingyun Sect hasn't yet given the Qingyun Sect any tasks.

Of the patriarchs of the Lingyun Sect who have undergone tribulation, only two are traveling outside on business; the rest are all sealed within the sect and cannot leave.

They were terrified that without the support of their Tribulation-Transcending Ancestor, the disciples they sent out to fight the evil cultivators would be targeted by them, which would be a great loss for the Lingyun Sect.

These days, the sect leader of Lingyun Sect is convening the affiliated second-level sects to discuss missions.

Yes, it's a negotiated task, instead of directly assigning tasks as before.

When Zhong Lingxin and her friends left the Fire Vein, her communication talisman rang.

The mission for the sect to fight against the evil cultivators has been assigned.

It turns out that the evil cultivators discovered an ancient battlefield in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River Gorge. Only cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage could enter that ancient battlefield.

It is said that many evil cultivators have already infiltrated the area, and the righteous sects are mobilizing cultivators from various sects and associations to go to the ancient battlefield to wipe out the evil cultivators.

The Qingyun Sect's mission is to send three Nascent Soul cultivators, along with fifty Golden Core cultivators and five hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators as the first group.

Zhong Lingxin was among the first batch of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Several of Zhong Lingxin's old friends were also with her.

Including the three Du brothers, Guan Jiheng, Zhang Qiuhan, Leng Hanyan, and Xu Lilin.

There was also Jiang Peng, the disciple who was accepted into Lingdan Peak.

I heard that Wei Qifeng is currently in seclusion, otherwise he would have come too.

These people were the most promising group of disciples that Qingyun Sect had accepted ten years ago.

Since entering the back mountain, Zhong Lingxin has maintained contact with them, but due to their respective cultivation, they mostly exchange greetings through communication talismans and rarely team up for missions.

Even during the last time they entered the secret realm, Zhong Lingxin didn't team up with the people from the Qingyun Sect much because of Qu Xin.

I wonder if my old friends have changed after not working together for over ten years.

I don't think so. They say it's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature.

Zhong Lingxin quickly returned to Qingyun Sect and received instruction from her master, who pointed out various minor flaws in her combat skills.

The Venerable Qingyang gave her another storage ring containing hundreds of explosive talismans and various array plates and pills.

Qingyang Zunsheng discovered that Zhong Lingxin actually really liked using the Explosion Talisman.

Zhong Lingxin explained this by saying: When fighting the enemy, you must never use up all your spiritual power. You have to be careful. Who knows what tricks the enemy has up their sleeve? Who knows if there's a hidden predator lurking in the shadows? In short, you must always maintain your combat effectiveness.

Qingyang Venerable Saint nodded and instructed her, "The situation inside the ancient battlefield is unknown. According to the rumors, there are still remnants of souls left over from ancient times. These remnants have lost their ability to distinguish between good and evil, and are left only with instinct. You must be careful. If you encounter them, do not feel sorry for them or show them mercy."

There are also evil cultivators. The one you encountered in the fire veins of the Fallen Phoenix Mountains was someone you experienced firsthand; he was extremely wicked.

The true combat strength of evil cultivators is not weak. The one you encountered was already old, and his dantian meridians had hardened, so although he had the cultivation of a Nascent Soul cultivator, he couldn't unleash its full power. You must never underestimate evil cultivators; you'll suffer a great loss if you do.

Zhong Lingxin hurriedly agreed.

My master has been cultivating for one or two thousand years and has extremely rich experience in fighting enemies. What my master says must be true.

Soon, Zhong Lingxin packed her personal resources and went to the Qingyun Sect's square to set off with the team.

The three Nascent Soul cultivators leading the team this time are Hai Yuan, Wang Ling, and Yi Xiuyuan.

Hai Yuan was the Nascent Soul cultivator who led the team to the Tianyuan Secret Realm last time, and Zhong Lingxin knew him. He was the captain of the team entering the Ancient Battlefield this time, and all the cultivators of the Qingyun Sect had to obey his orders.

Wang Ling and Yi Xiuyuan are the captains of Team One and Team Two, respectively.

Zhong Lingxin was assigned to the second team and placed under the management of Yi Xiuyuan.

The second team was further divided into three smaller teams, with Zhong Lingxin and the three Du brothers (Jiang Peng, Du Jia, and Zhong Lingxin) all assigned to the first smaller team.

Guan Jiheng and Zhang Qiuhan were assigned to the second team.

Xu Lilin and Leng Hanyan were assigned to the third squad.

Each team had more than eighty people, so they were divided into eight groups.

Zhong Lingxin's group consisted of twelve people, with two Golden Core cultivators, Huo Tianfeng and Yu Zhengjie, serving as the group leader and deputy group leader, respectively. Zhong Lingxin was grouped with the three Du brothers, Jiang Peng, and the other five were Li Haolin, a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the Great Perfection stage, specializing in swordsmanship; Bai Xuanyi, a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the Great Perfection stage, specializing in swordsmanship; Luo Yongyang, a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, specializing in spears; Feng Wuxia, a female late Foundation Establishment cultivator, specializing in swordsmanship; and Qi Hongyi, a staff cultivator.

Zhong Lingxin and the other four introduced themselves: Zhong Lingxin, early Foundation Establishment stage, cultivates both zither and sword, her sound attacks can attack the enemy's consciousness, and she is currently learning to help teammates increase their spirit and reduce spiritual power output; Jiang Peng, early Foundation Establishment stage, alchemy cultivator, tries to provide pill support for teammates; Du Chunfeng, early Foundation Establishment stage, talisman cultivator, can draw third-grade talismans, tries to provide talisman support for teammates; Du Zhongxia, mid Foundation Establishment stage, sword cultivator; Du Qiuhan, mid Foundation Establishment stage, sword cultivator.

In addition, the three Du brothers have a combined attack formation that allows them to fight against Golden Core cultivators of higher levels.

After everyone briefly introduced themselves, they all expressed their willingness to cooperate.

This ancient battlefield is shrouded in mystery; one cannot act alone.

Huo Tianfeng nodded.

Overall, his group is not bad. Although there are three people in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, they all have other abilities and cannot be judged solely on their cultivation level.

The group rested for a night at the entrance to the ancient battlefield in the upper reaches of the gorge. The next day, they entered the ancient battlefield together with the cultivators from the Lingyun Sect.

As soon as they entered the battlefield, cultivators from the Lingyun Sect approached them, demanding that cultivators from the Qingyun Sect follow them.

Zhong Lingxin glanced at the Lingyun Sect cultivator with an unfriendly expression, standing lazily, waiting to see what Hai Yuan would say.

Hai Yuan clearly knew Chen Zhixiong, the leader of the Lingyun Sect, and he also knew that the Lingyun Sect, as a first-class major sect, had sent more cultivators than them.

Chen Zhixiong brought several Nascent Soul cultivators to the Qingyun Sect, and he had his own purpose.

Perhaps when they were outside, the Lingyun Sect was afraid that the cultivators undergoing tribulation within the sect wouldn't be able to leave, so they didn't dare to be too unrestrained.

Once they're in this ancient battlefield, they won't hold back.

When there's danger, of course, we have to send the cannon fodder first.

If any second-level sects still want to break free from the control of the Lingyun Sect, just like they did in the Tianyuan Secret Realm, then don't blame him for taking drastic measures. He'll kill the Qingyun Sect cultivators first as a warning to others.

Haiyuan could tell from Chen Zhixiong's wretched appearance that he had no good intentions. He greeted him with a smile and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, saying, "Senior Brother Chen, I was just looking for you. Here you are."