Amidst the surging clouds, the silver-haired sword cultivator arrived, treading on light.
The Sect Leader Mu Zhengting's sleeves flickered with cold light, and his Heaven-Slaying Sword Intent caused all vegetation within a ten-mile radius to prostrate: "Only by tearing space can we achieve it, and it will take at least thirty days."
"Thirty days?" Yao Jin stamped her foot in exasperation, "The Disciples in the Mystic Realm might be..."
"The celestial dao is inherently unchangeable." Mu Zhengting looked up at the fractured mountain wall, his sword-like eyes reflecting myriad starlight, "The true word secret art passed down by our ancestors is, after all, not a true spatial Grand Dao."
At this moment, deep within the Thousand Moon Realm, Elder Mo stared at the empty pit, his eyes splitting with rage. Demonic Qi surged around him like a black tide, and the entire cave rattled with falling stones under his immense pressure: "How dare you steal my Kirin Blood Vine."
A blood-colored token glowed faintly in his palm, revealing over a dozen flickering red dots, which were the locations of the other trial Disciples.
The sinister old man cackled as he soared on his sword, leaving a trail of blood mist in his wake, and screams startled the cold crows in the forest.
"Kill all living things, and I'm bound to find it." The blood-stained Qiankun Bag jingled at his waist, and another sword light was frantically fleeing in the distance.
Outside the Mystic Realm, Mu Zhengting's Heaven-Slaying Sword had already carved out its seventh fissure; inside the Mystic Realm, the last three Disciples were huddled in a mountain stream, trembling.
As a blood-colored sword gleam pierced through the morning mist, Elder Yao Jin suddenly pointed at the fractured mountain wall and exclaimed, "Look, the cracks are bleeding."
Currently, Qing Feng was the most at ease.
Since setting up the protective formation with Yan Yi at the Blood Ginseng's original location, he hadn't left the cave by half a step, spending his days sleeping soundly with his arms as a pillow.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and Yan Yi attempted to go out and investigate several times, but he dissuaded her each time.
On this day, Yan Yi finished her meditation; not only were her old injuries completely healed, but her cultivation had also advanced somewhat.
She looked up to see Qing Feng sprawled on the ground sleeping, and couldn't help but recall Qin Yue's frequent complaints about the 'lazy bones of Chen Ming Peak'.
She had always been cold and dispassionate, and in the past, she would never meddle in others' affairs, but now that she considered Qing Feng a fellow Disciple, she couldn't stand by and watch him waste his time like this.
A cultivator's lifespan is closely related to their realm. Qin Yue was a divinely gifted spiritual body, forming a Golden Core and condensing a Nascent Soul was commonplace for her, but how could Qing Feng, who hadn't even touched the threshold of the Golden Core realm, be so complacent?
Yan Yi suddenly rose, her jade hand reaching directly for his ear.
"What are you doing?" Qing Feng suddenly opened his eyes, startling Yan Yi into barely retracting her hand.
The frost on her face remained unchanged: "Cultivating." But inwardly, she was secretly surprised; this was different from what Qin Yue had described, this person actually retained a third of his alertness even in his sleep.
Qing Feng secretly groaned; this chief Disciple of Dan Refining Peak was like ice on the surface, but a stubborn rock within.
Ever since he mistakenly rescued her half a month ago, he had become a second Qin Yue.
First, there was Senior Sister chasing him with a sword daily, and now there was the ice beauty constantly pressing him to cultivate.
"We'll go our separate ways when we return to the mountain." While he pondered rummaging through Chen Shanyu's storage bag for a hypnosis secret art, he reluctantly propped himself up. Just as he was about to assume a feigned meditation posture, the sound of a stone wall cracking suddenly came from outside the cave.
Qing Feng alertly scanned every corner of the cave, his divine sense spreading out like a net but yielding nothing.
It wasn't until his Qiankun Bag at his waist stirred that he suddenly realized the source of the problem.
Chen Shanyu's Relics had not been opened since Yan Yi accompanied him, and now he could feel the strange fluctuations surging within, even through the fabric.
"Step back a bit." He motioned for Yan Yi to stay at the cave entrance and went out alone to the open space outside the cave.
The dream world flowed in his palm, ready to respond to any sudden situation.
As soon as the bag's opening was lifted, colorful streamers burst forth, and a fist-sized, rainbow-patterned beast egg rolled onto the ground, its shell trembling violently.
"A demon beast egg?" Yan Yi leaned against the stone wall, raising an eyebrow, her black hair gently swaying in the mountain wind. Seeing Qing Feng's fully alert demeanor, she had thought some fierce creature was about to emerge.
"Perhaps it's a turtle egg." Before Qing Feng could finish speaking, fine cracks suddenly appeared on the eggshell. A fluffy white paw extended from the crack, followed by a round head topped with broken eggshell, its glass-like red eyes misty, its multicolored fur stained with egg fluid, and its fluffy long tail almost as long as its body.
The little creature stumbled into Qing Feng's arms, letting out a joyful whimper as its pink nose twitched, curling up in his neck and rubbing incessantly.
Yan Yi's cold face instantly thawed, and her skirts rustled as she strode forward: "The price we just agreed upon..."
"Not for a thousand gold." Qing Feng's fingertips lightly stroked the little beast's ear tip, and the triangular ears immediately twitched sensitively.
The warm sensation in his arms reminded him of the civet cat he kept as a child, only this little one's tail tip had a faint golden glow.
Yan Yi bit her lip unwillingly: "Such a lively spiritual pet, can you really keep it?"
Before she finished speaking, the little beast suddenly bared its claws at the rock wall, and five golden marks actually carved three-inch deep grooves into the Xuan Iron Rock.
"You're mistaken." Qing Feng lifted the little beast and met her gaze, "This is a Zouwu, a benevolent beast recorded in ancient books."
The little beast in his arms let out a timely, milky roar, and golden light flowed between its claws like scattered stars, reflecting a myriad of colors in the young girl's eyes.
Ancient texts like the Classic of Mountains and Seas once recorded: In the Lin Clan's country, there was a strange beast as large as a fierce tiger, covered in multicolored fur with a long tail extending beyond its body, named Zouwu. Riding it, one could travel a thousand li in a day.
However, what the world didn't know was that this description only applied to a young Zouwu; once it matured, it was capable of chasing stars and pursuing the moon.
"It's perfect as a mount for Senior Sister Qin Yue." Qing Feng rubbed the cat-sized cub in his arms, "Her adventurous spirit, combined with the Zouwu's speed, would make escaping danger more dignified."
"Zouwu?" The teacup in Yan Yi's hand rippled, and her apricot eyes widened.
In this day and age, even ordinary ancient exotic species are rare, let alone a benevolent beast symbolizing auspiciousness.
Others entering the Thousand Moon Realm all struggled and got covered in dust, but this lazy fellow seemed to be here for a treasure hunt picnic.
"Though it can't compare to the Four Sacred Beasts or Four Fierce Beasts, it's a rare commodity now." Qing Feng scratched the little beast's chin, watching it wag its tail comfortably.
This tail was even half a section longer than its body, practically a built-in cat teaser.
Yan Yi suddenly pursed her lips and chuckled: "It would be good for you to have it as a spiritual pet, saves you from dozing under a tree all day."
She had heard that Zouwu were naturally lively, and if he really kept it by his side, he would probably be chasing its long tail all over the mountain every day.
"Oh no." Qing Feng quickly waved his hand, "I'm planning to give it to Senior Sister Qin."
He remembered his neighbor's noisy civet cat a few days ago; it was docile and clingy as a cub, but when its energy came up, it could tear down the roof beams.
If this Zouwu grew up, he feared it would drag him along chasing clouds and pursuing the moon, where would he get a peaceful sleep?
Yan Yi was stunned: "Such a rare treasure... you're just giving it away?"
"Senior Sister has a fiery personality, so she needs something fast-footed." Qing Feng spoke sincerely, but in his heart, he was calculating: once this little ancestor started making a fuss, there would be the energetic Senior Sister to go wild with it, and he would just hold his Great Mysterious Dog, basking in the sun and snoring.
That Black Dog had long cultivated to be intelligent; it could fetch roasted chicken at mealtime and transform into a soft couch when he was tired, which was a hundred times more convenient than raising a cub.
The Zouwu cub seemed to sense something, tilting its head and rubbing against his palm.
Qing Feng looked at its glass-like beast eyes and sighed: In another three months, this docile appearance would likely turn into a mischievous Demon Lord.
Just like the neighbor's little brat during the lockdown in his previous life, if cooped up for too long, it could keep the entire building awake all night, and he couldn't endure that suffering a second time.
"A perfect match." The more he thought about it, the more he felt this deal was worthwhile.