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

She made up her mind that once she reached the Foundation Establishment stage, she would find a branch of the Loose Cultivator Alliance to train with.

Perhaps it was Zhong Lingxin's ruthlessness that intimidated those sect disciples who were full of grievances and resentment. In the days that followed, they all intentionally or unintentionally avoided contact with the disciples of the Loose Cultivator Alliance.

The disciples of the Loose Cultivator Alliance were also extremely happy. They were indeed the weaker party, and it was naturally a good thing that they could avoid being disturbed.

As we walked along, we unknowingly arrived at the Jade Dragon River.

From a distance, the silvery river flows quietly through its winding course. If it weren't for the fallen leaves floating on the surface, one would never guess that it is a river that is flowing rapidly.

During the journey to the Jade Dragon River, a Foundation Establishment disciple named Xiao Yizi demonstrated leadership skills and gradually became the leader of the independent disciples.

Looking at the Jade Dragon River, he exclaimed, "Before entering the secret realm, I read many records left by our predecessors, all of which said that the Jade Dragon River was like a sleeping jade dragon, elegant and beautiful. But when I actually came here, I realized that the descriptions of our predecessors were not even a tenth of the beauty before my eyes."

Zhong Lingxin smiled and said, "A great river, so wide and calm, without a single ripple! So quiet, so very quiet!"

Xiao Yizi glanced at Zhong Lingxin with a smile: "Junior Brother Wu, don't be fooled by this quietness. I heard the river is quite a commotion."

Ever since Zhong Lingxin beat up Wu Lao Er, Gui Tou A Si has become a loyal follower of Zhong Lingxin. He said anxiously, "Senior Brother Wu, let's not care if he makes a fuss or not. See if those sect disciples are here. Let's follow behind them and catch some spirit fish and shrimp to sell for spirit stones."

Zhong Lingxin smiled. She didn't intend to make money by selling spirit fish and shrimp; she just wanted to get some snacks for her master and Uncle Xuanyuan to go with their drinks.

Since she became an apprentice, it has always been her master and Uncle Xuanyuan who have given her things, and she has never repaid them in any way.

The group of independent cultivators perked up when they heard that they could catch spirit fish and shrimp to sell for spirit stones.

They were well aware that the good things in the secret realm were extremely difficult to fall into their hands, so when they came in, they prepared a lot of jade boxes specifically for catching spirit fish and spirit shrimp.

Unlike other spiritual herbs and minerals, spiritual fish and shrimp are not so sought after that everyone fights tooth and nail for them.

Some of the sect disciples who had already reached the riverbank excitedly took out their fishing nets and cast them into the river, hoping to catch a few spirit fish to satisfy their cravings.

They had been in the secret realm for four months, and the spiritual food they brought with them had long been used up. They were eating fasting pills every day, and their mouths were so bland that they felt like birds had been swallowed.

Perhaps because there were too many cultivators, they hauled net after net of spirit fish and shrimp into the Jade Dragon River, and not a single demonic beast came to disturb their fishing.

Gradually, the cultivators grew bolder, and several Foundation Establishment disciples stepped onto flying swords, leaped over the Jade Dragon River, and cast their fishing nets towards the middle.

Ye Mingyang and Zi Qing only reminded everyone to be careful and not to go too far into the middle.

Even the rogue cultivators, Flame and Thousand Slash, couldn't resist, so they went to a bend in the river and cast their nets as well.

More disciples from various sects and associations joined in.

Along the long Yulong River, thousands of disciples stood casting nets along the banks that stretched for dozens of miles.

Cheers echoed from the riverbank from time to time.

A few days later, more disciples who had entered the secret realm arrived one after another and joined the disciples who were casting nets.

After several days of safe net casting, some disciples finally couldn't resist the urge to catch more fish. They flew to a small island in the middle of the river and cast their nets there.

Ye Mingyang and the others felt increasingly heavy-hearted.

That giant python was incredibly calm.

As the saying goes, patience leads to a bountiful harvest.

Despite all the commotion over the past few days, the giant python hasn't appeared, clearly indicating that it's lurking nearby, waiting for more disciples to enter the river.

Xiao Yizi and Zhong Lingxin shared the same idea.

The group didn't catch many fish; instead, they searched back and forth along the riverbank, trying to find any clues as to where the giant python might be lurking.

On this day, Ye Mingyang and Hua Qinglian encountered Xiao Yizi and Zhong Lingxin, who were also searching.

He cupped his hands in greeting to the two men and asked, "Senior Brother Xiao, Junior Brother Wu, have you both gained anything?"

Xiao Yizi shook his head: "No, where is Senior Brother Ye?"

Ye Mingyang also shook his head.

Seeing the four of them standing together, Ziqing and Ziyang from the Zixia Sect also came over and exchanged their experiences in the search.

Huang Xiuyuan and Liu Yuyuan of the Chaoyuan Sect, Wei Fayan and Shoufa of the Law Enforcers Association, as well as several leaders from the Chamber of Commerce and the Four Arts Association came over.

Everyone looked at the wide river and was at a loss.

Cheng Wanfu of the Talisman Association angrily took out a talisman and threw it into the river, saying furiously, "Find it where it is, and I'll blow it up!"

Ye Mingyang said, "We can make a move to alert the enemy, but that would require more talismans. Alternatively, if someone doesn't want to use talismans, they can use spiritual power."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at Xiao Yizi and Wu Huan.

Xiao Yizi nodded: "Brother Ye is right. In that case, how about we arrange them in order and each take charge of a section?"

Zhong Lingxin walked to the front of the group, waved her hand, and drew a map of the Jade Dragon River stretching for dozens of miles on the ground, highlighting several river bends and deep pits: "Fellow senior brothers and sisters, these are more than ten river bends and deep pits, more than three zhang deep, that we have discovered during our patrols along the river these past few days. According to the records left by our predecessors who came here before, that giant python was already three zhang long and thicker than a water bucket. Shallow water is not a good place for it to hide, so these more than ten places are where it is possible for it to ambush us."

Most of the cultivators in the Chaoyuan Sect practiced divine sense techniques. Huang Xiuyuan added two more places and said, "Junior Brother Wu is right. Our cultivation is not high, and our divine sense cannot detect far. Our Chaoyuan Sect is known for its divine sense cultivation. The places that Junior Brother Wu pointed out are places that we cannot detect with our divine sense. The giant python is very likely hiding here."

Zhong Lingxin glanced at Huang Xiuyuan and thought to herself, "It seems that my spiritual cultivation is above his."

It turned out that the places Zhong Lingxin marked were places that she couldn't detect with her divine sense.

Of course, she wouldn't tell people openly that her divine sense could probe many places; she would just use a retractable magic weapon and pretend that the magic weapon couldn't reach the bottom.

Everyone had seen a flash of silver light in her hand as a thin, stick-like object plunged into the water and stirred it around. None of them expected that her spiritual sense was so high.

Seeing that everyone agreed on the location of the deep pools and pits, Zhong Lingxin smiled and said, "The giant python, in order to devour more of us cultivators, wouldn't be lying in ambush at either end. It should be somewhere among our designated locations. Fellow senior brothers, now is not the time to conserve our strength. We need to work together to cross the river. Now, let's first select five of the most likely deep pools and pits where the giant python is hiding, and have the five major sects investigate them. Then, starting with the most difficult ones, we'll assign responsibility to each one to a different sect or association. How does that sound?"

Everyone nodded in agreement; this arrangement was the most reasonable.