The head master has a new female apprentice

Chapter 396 Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god— (6k)

Faced with Zhou Qing's "concern," the old hen's clucking finally became a little louder than before, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

As of now, the old hen is unaware that Zhou Qing has already used the token of the Divine Ruins Heavenly Palace to discover its anomalies within the forbidden zone.

Of course, the old hen may not even be aware of the changes in herself.

After all, every time the Black Heart bestowed its essence, it just swam and ate crows in the River of Blood.

Moreover, according to the feedback from [Daily Review], it is still in the third mutation stage and can only ignore most of the three-color restrictions.

Faced with the resurrection of his friend, a primordial spirit, Zhou Qing decided to continue pretending to be completely unaware.

After all, if you act too deliberately, you'll lose that naturalness.

Moreover, treating each other with sincerity may forge a positive relationship for the future.

Of course, we can deal with the future later. Right now, the most urgent thing is to figure out how to get out of this awful place.

Then, he gently opened his shirt and carefully tucked the weak old hen into his bosom, leaving only its head sticking out.

Looking around at the void and chaos, he stroked its head with concern: "Those disgusting tongues scared you, didn't they? They say that potential can be unleashed in times of crisis, and the energy you had back then was really fierce."

After saying that, he gave a helpless twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"I'll cover up your lie for now, so you can quietly use your methods to get me out of this hellhole," Zhou Qing thought to himself.

"Hu-hu-"

Before long, I heard even snoring coming from my arms.

Zhou Qing looked down and saw that his ancestor was fast asleep with his eyes closed.

He suppressed the urge to curse and could only sit cross-legged on the floating meteorite, not daring to make any rash moves.

God knows what might suddenly appear in this godforsaken place.

To make matters worse, he didn't even have a decent spirit stone on him, and if his spiritual power was exhausted, even recovery would be a problem.

So, how do those at the Great Perfection of the Spirit Severing Realm or the Supreme Realm, in order to overcome the Supreme Tribulation, hunt Void Beasts, obtain Void Crystal Cores, and refine the Tribulation Transformation Diagram?

Did we enter from here?
Zhou Qing stared blankly into the chaotic void, ultimately placing his hopes on the sleeping hen in his arms.

……

Time loses its meaning in the void.

Zhou Qing sat cross-legged on the floating meteorite, feeling the remnant drifting aimlessly in the chaos.

Without the alternation of day and night, he could only rely on using the [Daily Mirror] to confirm the passage of time.

Each assessment of the hen's condition signifies the passing of another day.

As for the [Double Pupils] that consume spiritual energy, he only dared to activate them briefly when strange noises suddenly came from the surroundings, in order to avoid possible risks.

In this void devoid of spiritual energy, every wisp of spiritual energy is as precious as life itself.

"Damn it, it's been a whole month!"

After performing the appraisal for the thirtieth time, Zhou Qing couldn't help but curse loudly.

The old hen in my arms was still sleeping soundly, even snoring softly.

At first, he was careful not to disturb this "savior," but later he discovered that the guy had actually entered a deep hibernation.

Perhaps it was because she completely trusted him, or perhaps it was because refining that humanoid creature required a great deal of mental effort—in any case, this ancestor had completely become a hands-off manager.

Using the momentum of the rotating meteorite, Zhou Qing staggered and pretended to flick the chicken's head three times, only then did he feel a little relieved of his frustration.

Two days later, an unusual howling sound suddenly came from afar.

Zhou Qing immediately tensed up, pressing himself tightly against the meteorite's surface. At the same time, his pupils suddenly split into blood-red double pupils as he warily looked toward the source of the sound.

However, when he saw what was in front of him, he suddenly stood up, his eyes wide open, his breathing rapid, and his face filled with disbelief.

"This, this is-"

Not far from it, the outline of a majestic mountain appeared, its entire body as green as jade, emitting a faint green light in the void of darkness.

What's even more breathtaking is that the entire mountain's surface is densely inlaid with countless wood-attribute spirit stones, each one crystal clear and exuding a rich life force.

"Am I seeing things?" Zhou Qing's heart was pounding. He rubbed his eyes hard, making sure it wasn't a hallucination.

Without a second thought, he immediately abandoned the small meteorite beneath his feet and channeled his spiritual power to fly towards the giant mountain of spirit stones.

When his feet landed on the mountainside, Zhou Qing couldn't help but bend down and stroke the ground.

The touch from his fingertips was cool and warm, and the pure life force made every pore on his body feel refreshed.

This is undoubtedly a genuine wood-attribute spirit stone.

"It's actually true!" Zhou Qing murmured to himself, then couldn't help but burst into laughter.

He looked around greedily. The spirit stones varied in size, some as small as grains of rice, others as large as millstones, all deeply embedded in the mountain.

Their arrangement is completely random, yet it creates a natural and beautiful aesthetic.

"At least 100,000 yuan, no, a million yuan!" Zhou Qing was shocked, his voice trembling with excitement.

He had never seen so many wood-attribute spirit stones in his entire life.

Whether it's the drop of the [Friend's Token] or the treasure vault of the Xuanyuan Royal Family, he's risking his life for those one or two hundred wood-attribute spirit stones.

However, all the wood-attribute spirit stones obtained in the early stages combined are not even a fraction of what is available here.

"We've struck it rich! We've really struck it rich!"

Zhou Qing could no longer care about anything else and quickly squatted down to dig.

But they found that the spirit stone remained completely still.

He put in even more effort, but it was still in vain.

This immediately gave him a bad feeling.

Then, I took out a tetanus shot and tried to pry it open, but it was still the same.

"No way, are you kidding me?" He quickly placed his hand on a spirit stone the size of a millstone and began to circulate the Yin-Yang Technique.

Strands of pure spiritual energy flowed into his body through his fingers, proving that this was indeed a real spirit stone, not a hallucination before his death.

"What exactly happened?" Zhou Qing frowned.

He wanted to make an appraisal, but he was worried that he would only get information about the spirit stone or the surrounding mountain.

So it flew away slightly and used [Daily Insight] on the outline of the entire mountain.

[Void Beast: This is a turtle-like Void Beast named Void Carrier. It is a solitary type and, although slow, has a violent nature. It often uses itself as bait to lure prey to its own consumption and molting.]

Upon seeing the feedback, Zhou Qing froze on the spot.

He looked at the floating "giant mountain" again in disbelief and immediately became wary.

Using his double pupils, he secretly looked down—

Beneath the turtle's back, a huge head and limbs can be vaguely seen.

The head was covered in bluish-black scales, and its eyes were closed, as if it were asleep.

This is no sacred mountain at all; it is clearly a void beast of unimaginable size!

Zhou Qing was so frightened that he wanted to leave quietly, but after glancing at the priceless wood-attribute spirit stones on the turtle's back, he felt it was too much of a waste.

"Fortune favors the bold!" He gritted his teeth and quietly flew back to the tortoise's back.

According to the information in [Daily Insight], this Void Beast often uses itself as bait to lure its prey.

But it hasn't launched an attack yet, perhaps because it's too small and weak, not even enough to fill a tooth gap?

"Perhaps its prey consists of massive void beasts like those that attacked the void passage a month ago."

A glint flashed in Zhou Qing's eyes, and he had already made up his mind.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his inner unease, and carefully took out the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree, placing it on a spirit stone the size of a millstone.

As soon as the ancient tea tree came into contact with the spirit stone, it greedily absorbed the pure wood-attribute spiritual energy within.

"This is a rare opportunity, so it's important to recover our strength first." Zhou Qing sat cross-legged to the side, placed his hands on another spirit stone, and began to absorb spiritual energy by circulating the Yin-Yang Technique.

While cultivating, he remained constantly vigilant about the movements of the enormous creature beneath him, ready to flee at any moment.

……

A month later.

Zhou Qing opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and restrained, his spiritual energy surging like a tide—he had completely recovered to his peak condition.

The ancient tea tree beside me has also been revitalized, with an ethereal Taoist charm flowing among its branches and leaves, emitting a refreshing fragrance.

What surprised Zhou Qing the most was that the void beast named "Xu Tuo" never attacked them, which made him even more certain of his judgment.

Although the spirit stones that had been completely absorbed had lost their spirituality, they remained firmly embedded in the tortoise's back and could not be removed.

To avoid attracting attention, he constantly moved the ancient tea tree to different locations, absorbing its nutrients almost as if he were shooting at a different spot.

"I can no longer absorb spiritual energy. My meridians are saturated. I might as well take this opportunity to condense the spiritual seal again and let the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree absorb it repeatedly."

Zhou Qing became increasingly excited as he thought about it, "This might be an unprecedented opportunity!"

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

If it weren't for the physical intimacy with Shen Hanyi (number six), which defiled his virginity, he could have taken this opportunity to cultivate the [Hundred Tribulations Blood Curtain] inscription-level divine power to perfection and condense three thousand Phoenix Dao patterns.

"Never mind, let's focus on the present." Zhou Qing shook his head, hugged the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree, and found a secluded, uneven corner.

He carefully placed the ancient tea tree on his lap, gently stroking the trunk with both hands, and soon entered a profound state of enlightenment.
……

Meanwhile, in Tianlan City.

Seven teleportation arrays stood in the center of the plaza, shimmering with spiritual light and flowing with runes.

People kept disappearing from the platform, being teleported to distant places.

People also kept emerging from the void, arriving here with a weary air.

Outside the array platform leading to Nanhuang Prefecture, a slender figure stood alone, motionless.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, but she stubbornly bit her lip, refusing to let the tears fall.

“Dad won’t die…” she murmured softly, her voice barely audible to herself. “He must just be trapped.”

She looked down at her palm; her fingertips trembled slightly.

"If Dad really had an accident, how could I still be here? I should have vanished long ago..."

She stubbornly persisted in this thought, as if that would convince herself.

Moreover, according to the plots in those vernacular novels—if the old man really met with misfortune, there would definitely be signs before he passed away.

For example, he might say, "After this is over, I'll take you to the place you've always wanted to go."

Or: "What if I don't come back this time..."

But Dad didn't say anything.

He simply patted her head as usual and told her, "Don't worry, I'll be right back."

"He must still be alive!" Lu Yaoyao clenched her fists. "Dad is so capable, he'll definitely find a way to get out!"

In the distance, City Lord Li Changhong and Ji Yunluo stood side by side, looking at her with complicated expressions.

"Such a young Spirit Severing Realm expert, coupled with the identity of a Level 4 Array Master..."

Li Changhong said in a low voice, his tone full of self-blame, "Heaven knows how much effort he put in to get to where he is today."

"Because of my request, he rushed to help without hesitation. Even when we had all given up, he turned the tide, repaired the formation, and saved everyone's lives."

"But he himself..."

Li Changhong's voice trembled slightly, and he did not continue speaking.

Ji Yunluo sighed, her aged eyes filled with guilt: "Now, only this child is left, waiting here for two months, still unwilling to believe, unwilling to leave..."

After a moment of silence, Li Changhong finally made up his mind: "I want to take her as my goddaughter, and from now on, Tianlan City will be her home. I will devote all my resources to helping her reach the Spirit Severing Realm, so as to ease the guilt in my heart!" Ji Yunluo shook her head: "A couple of days ago, I tested her and wanted to take her as my disciple and teach her the Way of Formations."

"But she refused outright."

"She just wanted to wait there."

Li Changhong was stunned and speechless for a moment.

“We’ve both been through this, we should understand…” Ji Yunluo smiled bitterly, “Some things simply can’t be made up for by resources or power.”

Li Changhong sighed deeply, his heart growing heavier.

“I saw my past self in her… even my future self.” She closed her eyes, her voice hoarse. “God, why is it always so unfair?”

……

Two days later, on the platform leading to Nanhuang Prefecture, the spiritual light suddenly shone brightly, and the first batch of teleporters finally arrived.

"Everyone!" Before the group could step off the platform, two experts at the Spirit Severing Realm who had been waiting there stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

Everyone looked puzzled.

One of the Spirit Severing Realm cultivators, the very one who had led Zhou Qing into the spatial passage, stepped forward and said, "I am acting on the orders of the City Lord, and have important matters to report."

He recounted in detail how the spatial passage collapsed and how Zhou Qing, a fourth-level array master, risked his life to save him.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked on with lingering fear, and then looked at Lu Yaoyao, who was standing alone to the side, their eyes filled with gratitude.

If it weren't for her senior brother stepping forward, they would probably have already fallen into nothingness by now.

The cultivators exchanged glances, then stepped forward in unison and bowed deeply to Lu Yaoyao.

The girl turned around stiffly, and seeing this scene, her red eyes could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down her face.

Several days later, the second group of teleporters arrived.

Upon hearing this, they also spontaneously stepped forward to express their gratitude.

This scenario repeated itself until the last group of people arrived half a month later.

Upon hearing this, a woman with silver hair and a covered face unconsciously tightened her grip on her jade-like hand.

Following the direction, when she saw Lu Yaoyao's figure clearly, her pupils suddenly contracted, and her body swayed slightly.

A flash of silver light, and the woman had instantly teleported in front of Lu Yaoyao.

The girl looked up and saw who it was, her lips trembled, and she couldn't hold back any longer, throwing herself into the other's arms: "Sister Shen—"

……

In the endless void.

Zhou Qing sat cross-legged on the back of the tortoise, his eyes closed, with 20,000 spirit seals floating around him.

These spiritual seals were extremely restrained, with not a trace of their aura leaking out, for fear of disturbing the enormous creature beneath them.

"call--"

The next moment, the spiritual seal slowly dissipated, and he opened his eyes, his gaze flashing with excitement.

Thirty-four years!
In this void, he had spent a full thirty-four years.

And the number of his spirit seals has also skyrocketed from the initial 10,000 to the current 20,000!

"If we were outside, it would take at least 2,300 wood-attribute spirit stones to condense so many spirit seals," Zhou Qing muttered to himself, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his lips.

But here, it's practically free.

What delighted him even more was that the absorption of such high-quality and massive spiritual energy had also boosted his cultivation level, and his spiritual power had reached the threshold of the mid-stage of the Spirit Severing Realm.

It's a pity that his artistic conception is not yet complete, otherwise he would have already broken through.

"Sigh, it's still a bit lacking."

Zhou Qing sighed softly and turned his gaze to the ancient tea tree beside him.

Although it can help one achieve sudden enlightenment, it can only last for a maximum of one hour at a time.

If the time limit is exceeded, a strange "Dao-eroding moss" will grow on the body, corroding the physical body and cultivation.

In addition, he had to be constantly vigilant about the movements of the Void Beasts and keep track of the passage of time, so his cultivation was always intermittent.

It was only in the last two years that he remembered something.

Actually, there's no need to use the "Daily Reflection" feature frequently. You can simply open the system panel and observe your increasing age to calculate the time.

"I wonder how Junior Sister Lu is doing."

Standing up, Zhou Qing went to the other side of the tortoise's back and placed the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree on a wood-attribute spirit stone the size of a human face.

Gazing into the endless darkness, he recklessly activated his [Double Pupils], scanning the depths of nothingness.

"You must be very worried, right?"

After leaving a divine mark, he moved to the other side.

The old hen was perched on a sacred stone, pecking incessantly, sparks flying everywhere.

But it kept pecking stubbornly, which made Zhou Qing feel uneasy.

"Ugh"

After this ancestor awoke five years ago, its behavior became more and more like when it was first bought.

He looks like a fool, spending all his time either pecking at spirit stones or spacing out.

"Why is it that the more it evolves, the more it regresses?"

He muttered to himself worriedly, while inwardly he was ranting and raving:
You are amazing, you are arrogant!

You brought me to this godforsaken place, have you even thought about how to get me back?

What a lousy place! What a lousy place! What a lousy place!
Now you're pretending to be stupid, huh?

Although he was cursing in his heart, he still had to put on a doting expression on his face—who knows if this ancestor would suddenly wake up?

"Good peck, excellent peck, you're really good, your teeth are amazing!" Zhou Qing praised insincerely.

But in the next instant, the entire turtle shell suddenly trembled violently!
"boom--"

A mysterious shimmering light flashed across the surface of the tortoise shell, then spread out like ripples.

Zhou Qing's heart tightened, and he instantly picked up the old hen, flashed to the side of the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree, and became fully alert!
"Is this beast finally waking up?"

Soon, he seemed to realize something, and under the influence of his double pupils, he immediately looked up at the void not far away.

In the depths of darkness, a ferocious silhouette slowly emerged.

It was a void beast comparable to a mountain, resembling a giant crocodile, but with six pairs of scarlet compound eyes.

Its entire body was covered in jet-black bone armor, with each piece of shell engraved with eerie blood-red patterns.

What is most terrifying is its enormous mouth—its upper and lower jaws are covered with barbed teeth, and when it opens and closes, you can even see the fleshy whiskers wriggling deep in its throat.

"hiss--"

It emitted a piercing screech, and its six pairs of compound eyes simultaneously locked onto Zhou Qing on the back of the illusory tortoise.

Zhou Qing felt his hair stand on end!

This is absolutely a terrifying void beast that has reached the Supreme Realm, or even far surpassed it.

But soon, its gaze passed over the tiny human and stared intently at the wood-attribute spirit stones on the tortoise's back that emitted an alluring spiritual light.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Qing couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

It seems that these spirit stones are not only bait for Xu Tuo, but also treasures that other void beasts find hard to resist!
He immediately put the ancient tea tree into his storage bag and hugged the old hen, thinking that if Xu Tuo couldn't defeat him, he would have to take the opportunity to run away quickly.

Under Zhou Qing's tense gaze, the crocodile-like void beast suddenly accelerated, its massive body leaving a trail of afterimages in the void.

It opened its blood-red maw, and a distorted spatial vortex condensed in its throat—a void breath powerful enough to tear apart even a Spirit Severing Realm expert!

It seems the other party is also cautious and is preparing to test the waters first.

Zhou Qing tensed up, and a thin, cicada-wing-like spiritual energy shield immediately formed on his body.

At this critical moment——

"Boom!"

The entire turtle shell shuddered violently once again.

The previously dormant Xu Tuo finally opened its enormous eyes, which were comparable to the sun and moon!

What a pair of eyes those are!

His pupils were an eerie bluish-gold color, and the whites of his eyes were covered with spiderweb-like blood vessels.

The moment it fully opened its eyes, Zhou Qing felt as if his blood was about to freeze—the brutality and killing intent contained in its gaze were almost tangible.

"Roar--!!!"

Xu Tuo let out a deafening roar.

The turtle's back, which had been floating slowly, suddenly began to spin at an incredible speed, and Zhou Qing was almost thrown off.

He desperately clung to the protruding spirit stone, watching helplessly as the ethereal head emerged from beneath the tortoise shell—

That's not the head of an ordinary turtle!

Its triangular head, covered in scales, has three spiral-shaped horns.

When it fully stretches its neck, the exposed portion is two-thirds the length of its turtle shell!

The giant crocodile Void Beast's breath crashed down, but was blocked by a layer of suddenly brightening cyan light curtain a hundred feet away from the turtle's back.

Countless spatial rifts exploded in the void, and the violent turbulence shredded all the nearby meteorites into dust.

At this moment, Xu Tuo's counterattack began.

Its seemingly clumsy body suddenly burst forth with terrifying speed, and its four giant claws covered in bone armor kicked off violently in the void.

The force of that kick caused ripples to spread throughout the surrounding area for thousands of miles!

The giant crocodile Void Beast finally realized what was happening, but the die was cast and it had to be cast, especially since... it was hungry!

"boom!"

Two ferocious heads collided violently.

The giant crocodile Void Beast's sharp teeth bit into the Void Cart's neck, but only a string of dazzling sparks flew out—those bluish-black scales were far harder than imagined!

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xu Tuo opened its blood-red maw and accurately bit its opponent's forelimb.

Amidst the teeth-grinding sound of bones shattering, Zhou Qing clearly saw a jet-black liquid gushing from the wound—it was actually the blood of the void, shimmering with starlight!

"Roar!!" The injured giant crocodile Void Beast was completely enraged.

It suddenly released its sharp teeth that were biting down on Xu Tuo's neck, and instead swept its tail horizontally.

The long tail, covered in barbs, drew a shrill cry in the void, striking the side of the tortoise shell that was carrying the void solidly.

"boom--"

The power of this attack even caused the enormous body of the Void Carrier to deviate from its course.

The tortoise shell on which Zhou Qing was located tilted violently, and countless spirit stones burst forth with dazzling spiritual light as they collided.

He clung tightly to one of the protruding spirit stones, his body almost being flung away.

A whirlwind-like void surge swept past, causing his robes to flutter wildly.

Amidst this violent shaking, more than a dozen spirit stones the size of millstones flew off the tortoise's back and shot towards the depths of the void.

"good chance!"

Zhou Qing's face lit up with joy, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

Without hesitation, he channeled his spiritual power, and dozens of fine, hair-like spiritual threads shot out from his fingertips, wrapping around the scattered spirit stones like a spider web...

(End of this chapter)