The head master has a new female apprentice

Chapter 397 We rogue cultivators have no prestige! (6k)

The spirit silk precisely wrapped around each spirit stone, then gave a sharp tug—

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

More than a dozen spirit stones were forcibly pulled back and put into their storage bags.

Zhou Qing's heart pounded, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up in a smile.

If these spirit stones were placed in the outside world, each one would be priceless.

And over the years, he hasn't managed to pry one off at all. Of course, he doesn't dare to pry too hard, for fear of being discovered.

But now he has easily taken it into his possession!

"I've made a fortune!" Zhou Qing thought to himself with delight, but his hands didn't stop moving at all. The spiritual threads continued to wander in the void, trying to roll back a few more pieces.

However, just as he was about to make another move, the turtle's back suddenly trembled, and its hunched body regained its balance.

The previously loose spirit stones became stable again, as if they had never been shaken.

Zhou Qing immediately concealed his aura and became vigilant.

The battle between the two giant beasts intensified.

The giant crocodile Void Beast suddenly curled into a ball, and all the blood-red patterns on its bone armor surface lit up.

It began to spin at an astonishing speed, like a meteor covered in spikes, frantically crashing into the hollow tortoise shell.

Each collision creates a spatial collapse in the void, with a diameter of hundreds of feet.

The Hungry Turtle, on the other hand, displayed astonishing combat intelligence.

Instead of resisting, it suddenly retracted its limbs and head, hiding its entire body inside its shell.

When its opponent charged again, it seized the opportunity to stretch its neck and bite the opponent's spinning body!

"Crack!"

A chilling cracking sound echoed through the void.

The giant crocodile Void Beast let out a mournful howl as half of its body was torn off!
The shattered bone armor mixed with starlight-like blood formed a strange blood mist in the void.

But what's even more amazing is yet to come.

Suddenly, all the spirit stones on the back of the tortoise lit up, and countless rays of blue light intertwined on the surface of the tortoise shell.

These rays converged into its mouth, coalescing into a chilling, bluish-black energy sphere.

"Is this... absorbing the power of spirit stones?" Zhou Qing gasped.

It seems that this wood-attribute spirit stone is not only bait, but also a weapon!
"boom--!!!"

The energy sphere transformed into a dark blue-black beam of light that pierced through the void.

The giant crocodile Void Beast had no time to dodge, and half of its body was instantly vaporized!

The remaining remains writhed wildly in the void, and fear finally showed in their six compound eyes.

Xu Tuo didn't give it any chance.

The massive body suddenly leaped up, pouncing on its heavily injured opponent with an agility completely disproportionate to its size.

Four sharp claws pierced deep into the opponent's body, and a gaping maw accurately bit into the throat.

"Hiss!"

The final struggle came to an abrupt end.

The giant crocodile Void Beast's pupils gradually dilated, and its massive body began to disintegrate, turning into countless fragments of its origin that shimmered with an eerie light.

These fragments contain the purest void power, flickering uncertainly in the darkness.

Under Zhou Qing's shocked gaze, Xu Tuo suddenly opened its blood-red maw, forming a pitch-black vortex in its throat.

A terrifying suction force instantly enveloped the entire void, and the disintegrating fragments of origin, as if summoned, transformed into streaks of dark blue light, all of which disappeared into the mouth of the Void Cart.

As the devouring continued, the wounds on the shell of the Void-Taming Tortoise healed at a visible speed, and the bluish-black scales gleamed with a metallic sheen.

Even more astonishingly, new spirit stone embryos were slowly forming at the locations where the spirit stones had been shattered.
"What a perfect cycle!"

Zhou Qing swallowed hard, staring intently at the outlines of the newly formed spirit stones on the tortoise's back.

As previously understood, the conditions for the formation of wood-attribute spirit stones are far more demanding than those for other attributes.

Normally, only deep within the roots of a spirit tree that has grown for ten thousand years, nurtured for a thousand years in a place of extreme purity and vitality, can a small spiritual vein of wood attribute be formed.

They then mined a small number of wood-attribute spirit stones.

But what he saw before him completely overturned his entire understanding of the world!
These spirit stones were actually born from the flesh and blood of the Void Beasts, constantly being reborn through cycles of devouring and metamorphosis.

“Life and death cycle. So this is the true mystery of creation,” Zhou Qing murmured to himself, as if he had touched upon some ultimate principle of heaven and earth that transcends the Dao of Array.

After the last fragment of the origin was devoured, Xu Tuo let out a satisfied growl.

Its cyan-gold pupils swept across the turtle's back, paused briefly where Zhou Qing was, and then slowly closed.

Its massive body returned to its floating "spiritual mountain" state, as if the battle had never happened.

"It has found me." Zhou Qing's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat, and every hair on his body stood on end.

But judging from its appearance, it seemed that this human in front of it didn't even deserve to be looked at.

Having just had a hearty meal, the void behemoth clearly had no interest in a nobody like Zhou Qing.

"call--"

Zhou Qing let out a long sigh of relief, his tense nerves relaxing slightly.

He looked down at the old hen in his arms, then at the wood-attribute spirit stones on the tortoise's back that shimmered with alluring spiritual light, a hint of struggle flashing in his eyes.

"This place is nice, but it's not a place to stay for long."

He murmured softly, a glimmer of clarity flashing in his eyes.

If we continue to be greedy, I'm afraid—

The next time Xu Tuo opened those enormous blue-gold eyes, it wouldn't just be those void beasts that were devoured.

……

In the blink of an eye, a century has quietly passed.

At this moment, Zhou Qing sat cross-legged on the back of the tortoise, surrounded by 30,000 spiritual seals, each one as solid as a substance, radiating a lustrous glow.

These spiritual imprints flowed slowly in the void, outlining mysterious trajectories.

What surprised him most was the change in that ancient tea tree that had attained enlightenment.

Nourished by such a massive amount of wood-attribute spirit stones, the tea tree, which was originally three feet tall, has grown to over ten feet, with a rich Daoist aura flowing between its branches and leaves.

At the center of the tree canopy, a crystal-clear Enlightenment Flower is quietly blooming—its petals are as smooth and lustrous as white jade, and its veins are shimmering with iridescent light.

According to feedback from [Daily Insight], with careful nurturing, this flower has a high probability of bearing an Enlightenment Fruit in the future.

"That's a treasure that could drive even the Heavenly Sovereign mad."

Zhou Qing sighed softly, her fingertips carefully tracing the petals, as if afraid of disturbing this wonder.

Fortunately, after the Void-Beast devoured the giant crocodile, it fell into a deep hibernation.

Its massive body remained motionless, its dark blue-black shell gleaming with a metallic sheen, resembling an ancient serpent that had just finished its meal, silently lurking in the void.

Over the past century, Zhou Qing has considered leaving.

But all that can be seen in the surroundings is eternal darkness and nothingness.

There was no sun, moon, or stars, no mountains or rivers, not even a wisp of wind.

In this chaos, he couldn't even tell which way to go.

The thought that "leaving rashly might lead to being lost forever" sent chills down his spine.

Without the spiritual stones on the back of the Void Tortoise to replenish his spiritual power, he would soon be exhausted and eventually turn into a dried-up corpse in the void.

During this time, the random posts did offer him some comfort.

The two newly displayed posts are quite interesting:

【Mind Reading Notes】—Able to peek into the target's thoughts for three days, but unfortunately, in this deep void, it's of no use except as a hen's hen.

【If you're so capable, then post this】—Encourage others to take risks, and you'll get half the profits if they succeed.

This post left Zhou Qing both amused and exasperated, but who could he possibly persuade to go to this godforsaken place?

The old hen had regained some of her senses and was no longer as foolish as before.

But it seemed to have fallen in love with this peaceful life, spending its days lying on the spirit stone, comfortably absorbing the pure energy, treating this place as an inexhaustible "self-service restaurant".

"We can't just stay like two lice, forever parasitizing this turtle's back, can we?"

Zhou Qing rubbed his throbbing temples, his voice hoarse.

Although a hundred years is but a fleeting moment for a cultivator, one must be on guard against accidents at all times in this place.

His mind was under constant tension, and he began to show signs of going astray.

Even with the help of the ancient tea trees, it was still difficult to calm the mind.

Want to vent your anger by having a fight?
But in the depths of this void, not a single opponent can be found.

Even if he encountered a Void Beast, he might not be a match for it in his current state.

Even more frightening is that if the battle awakens the Void Tortoise, this "mobile supply station" may disappear into the darkness.

I want to talk to someone to relieve my boredom, but I can only talk to myself.

When the old hen is in a good mood, she will cluck twice, but most of the time she won't even bother to lift her eyelids.

"We have to find a way to save ourselves; this old hen is completely unreliable!" That day, Zhou Qing suddenly stood up, his desire to leave growing stronger.

He stared at the mountain-like carapace of the Void Tortoise, and alarm bells rang in his mind.

If we continue to linger here with wishful thinking, we may not even have a chance to escape when the ferocious beast awakens again.

"Ok?"

Just as Zhou Qing looked around in bewilderment, a strange whistling sound suddenly came from the void.

This sound was unlike any ordinary void turbulence; it carried the lingering resonance of a metallic vibration.

His pupils contracted slightly, and his blood-red double pupils activated instantly, with two scarlet beams piercing through the darkness.

In the field of vision, a blurry outline was slowly drifting—that was definitely not a meteorite!
"This is."

As the distance closed, a dilapidated ancient gate gradually came into view.

On the two broken gateposts, the mottled characters "Xingmen - Shanziying" are still faintly discernible.

The entire doorway was covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and several shocking claw marks remained on the door frame, as if it had been the site of an earth-shattering battle.

"A stargate to the Star Battlefield?!"

Zhou Qing's heart skipped a beat.

Back then, Zhao Muyi had given a detailed explanation of the journey from the Jiuli Dynasty to Tianlan City via the ancient teleportation array.

The Starry Sky Battlefield is an ancient battlefield remnant, accessible only through a special star gate.

The damaged stargate in front of us was clearly forced into the depths of the void by some terrifying force!
His golden wings unfurled with a "whoosh," transforming into a streak of light as he rushed toward the star gate.

The storage bag billowed in the wind, its mouth wide open, attempting to retrieve the ancient portal. However, no matter how much spiritual power he channeled, the star gate remained completely still.

"Damn it!"

Unwilling to give up, Zhou Qing tried several more times, even risking probing his spiritual power into the star gate.

But the immense spatial power immediately rebounded, making his hands go numb.

In the end, he could only watch helplessly as the gateway to the star battlefield slowly sank into eternal darkness.

"Sure enough."

He smiled wryly as he recalled his second senior sister's explanation back then.

Back then in Yaoguang Prefecture, Jin Mantang, the manager of Duobao Merchant Guild, preferred to spend a lot of money to hire a formation master to escort the treasures rather than risk using a storage bag.

The second senior sister explained, "Storage space has its limits. Forcibly storing treasures with excessively high energy levels will only cause the space to collapse."

The spatial power contained in this star gate clearly exceeds the capacity of ordinary storage magic treasures.

……

Time flies, and several years have passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, an unprecedentedly violent turbulent current suddenly surged in the void.

Zhou Qing clung tightly to the old hen, his spiritual energy shield creaking under the pressure.

Their ten fingers dug deep into the cracks of the spirit stone on the turtle's back.

However, the tortoise ignored these turbulent currents and continued to rotate at a constant speed.

For three whole months, Zhou Qing felt like he had been thrown into a never-ending whirlpool, vomiting until he was dizzy and disoriented.

Five years passed in the blink of an eye, and he had been here for a full 150 years.

Zhou Qing's eyes were bloodshot.

He no longer had the mind to condense a spiritual seal, and even felt a physical aversion to the wood-attribute spirit stones he had once dreamed of.

Just at this moment of despair, a strange, ethereal fragrance suddenly wafted over.

Zhou Qing suddenly looked up and saw three small void beasts resembling dragons, frantically swinging their bodies as they swam in a certain direction.

Their eyes gleamed with greed, as if some priceless treasure lay ahead.

"Treasures of heaven and earth?"

A glimmer of light finally appeared in his long-dimmed eyes.

In this eternal darkness, even a life-or-death struggle would be better than this endless torment.

He quickly left a spiritual imprint on the turtle's back to ensure that he could sense the location of the Void-Carrying Turtle at any time.

He grabbed the dozing hen, his spiritual energy surging around him, and golden wings unfurled from his back with a "whoosh".

It transformed into a streak of light and sped off in the direction from which the fragrance emanated.

When Zhou Qing saw the scene before him clearly, he trembled violently, even his breath caught in his throat—

In the depths of eternal darkness, a strange halo of light, about thirty feet in diameter, floats suspended!
The halo emitted a soft white glow, with fine golden runes flowing around its edges, forming a complex array pattern.

The light curtain rippled like water, illuminating the surrounding void with a faint glow.

In the center of the halo, a crystal-clear herb could be vaguely seen floating within, its five leaves as translucent as glass, emitting a captivating fragrance.

The three void beasts that resembled dragons that we saw earlier are now lingering here!

These Void Beasts were much smaller than the giant crocodile Void Beasts they had encountered before, about ten zhang in length.

Its entire body was covered in jet-black scales, which were dotted with star-like silver spots.

Their thick, long bodies meandered through the void, their eyes fixed on the spiritual herb in the center of the halo, their mouths watering.

But these ferocious beasts kept their distance, their thick tails swaying uneasily, as if they were wary of something.

"This elixir," Zhou Qing narrowed his eyes, a glint of light flashing in his double pupils, "Although I've never seen it before, this arrangement is clearly a meticulously designed trap!"

His heart suddenly raced, and a bold guess came to mind.

Holding his breath, he focused his spiritual energy into his eyes, carefully examining the seemingly gentle halo.

Sure enough, as the light screen swirled, mysterious runes could be vaguely seen appearing and disappearing. These runes were arranged in an orderly manner and were definitely not formed naturally!
Looking along the edge of the halo, in the deeper darkness, a blurry figure is holding a compass-like magical artifact, occasionally making hand seals to cast spells.

The man's movements were skillful, clearly indicating that he was very familiar with the formation here.

"Just as I suspected!" Zhou Qing's eyes flashed with a sharp light. "Someone is fishing in the void!"

This discovery sent shivers down his spine.

The being capable of setting up such a formation and daring to create a scheme in the void must be at least at the Great Perfection of the Spirit Slaying Realm, or even possibly a legendary Supreme Being!
Since the other party dared not venture into the void themselves, they used rare spiritual herbs as bait to lure the void beasts into their trap, taking their crystal cores to refine the Tribulation Transformation Diagram in preparation for breaking through to the Supreme Realm.

Just as his thoughts were racing, a sudden change occurred!

"Zheng——"

A metallic tremor suddenly rang out, piercing the void, and a jet-black chain as thick as a bowl shot out from the halo!

The chain is covered with barbs, and each link is engraved with blood-red runes.

The sharp claws at the tip gleamed with a cold, eerie blue light, striking the nearest void beast like a venomous snake flicking its tongue!
"Pfft!"

The claws pierced through the Void Beast's head without any resistance, and black blood gushed out like a spring, condensing into blood-red crystal beads in the void.

"Roar--"

The remaining two Void Beasts let out terrified howls and turned to flee.

The stabbed creature struggled frantically, its claws tearing at the chains, creating blinding sparks, but it couldn't budge them an inch.

The chains began to slowly retract, dragging the dying Void Beast toward the circle of light.

"good chance!"

Without hesitation, he lunged forward and grabbed the Void Beast's tail just as the chains were about to retract completely!

"boom!"

An irresistible force suddenly came, and Zhou Qing felt dizzy.

The protective spiritual energy creaked under the strain of the compressed space, and the old hen in her arms turned back reluctantly.

Looking at the ever-receding tortoise, it let out a mournful cry: "Cluck cluck."

After passing through a viscous spatial barrier, Zhou Qing's vision suddenly opened up.

He was standing on a magnificent bronze platform, the ground of which was engraved with intricate patterns.

A dozen towering stone pillars stand majestically all around, each adorned with a lifelike dragon sculpture, spewing eerie blue flames from their mouths.

At the edge of the platform, an old man in a black robe stared dumbfounded at the uninvited guest.

The old man was emaciated, his wrinkled face filled with shock.

He still held the other end of the chain in his hand; the void beast was already dead.

The old man's voice trembled slightly, his cloudy eyes filled with disbelief, "You came from the void?"

Zhou Qing took a deep breath, and the long-awaited fresh air made him feel refreshed.

He patted the bloodstains off his sleeves, sensed the other party's aura of being at the Spirit Severing Realm, and respectfully bowed.

"Thank you for saving me, fellow Daoist!"

……

In the power structure of Nanhuang Prefecture, apart from the many cities under the rule of the Tianyun Dynasty, the most powerful sects are "one palace, two temples, three sects, four clans, and eight aristocratic families".

As the oldest heritage site in Nanhuang Prefecture, Tianhuang Palace's name is linked to the prefecture's name, demonstrating its profound cultural heritage.

Two sacred Buddhist sites, Jiyuan Temple and Wuxiang Temple, stand side by side. The former suppresses evil spirits, while the latter comprehends cause and effect. Although both belong to Buddhism, they each have their own strengths.

Among the three major sects, the Crimson Sky Sword Sect is full of sword cultivators, the Thousand Puppet Sect is skilled in puppetry, and the Myriad Thunder Sect controls the power of thunder.

The four ancient clans—the Medicine Clan, the Flame Clan, the Ink Clan, and the Rain Clan—all have a long history, and their clan secrets are never passed on to outsiders.

The eight great families—Su, Zhao, Yan, Han, Shen, Liu, Lu, and Zhou—though slightly inferior, each had their own strengths.

In addition, Nanhuang Prefecture also hides many low-profile, secluded sects.

These sects either focus on alchemy or are skilled in array formations. Although they are not well-known, they have many experts and their strength is in no way inferior to the top forces that are publicly known.

It's just that because he keeps a low profile, he is not known to ordinary cultivators.

At this moment, Zhou Qing was in a desolate area in the western part of Nanhuang Prefecture, not too far from Jiyuan Temple and Wuxiang Temple.

The old man in front of us, named Li Wusheng, is a professional Void Hunter in the late stage of the Spirit Slaying Realm.

In the cultivation world, those who have reached the Great Perfection of the Spirit Severing Realm must overcome the extremely dangerous Supreme Tribulation in order to break through to the Supreme Realm.

Even if one successfully advances to the Supreme Realm, each subsequent breakthrough to a minor realm will require facing an even more terrifying Heavenly Tribulation.

The cultivators either risked their lives to withstand the tribulation or tried to refine a "Tribulation Transformation Diagram" to increase their chances of successfully transcending the tribulation.

Therefore, starting from the Spirit Severing Realm, cultivators begin making various preparations for transcending the tribulation.

The creation of the Transformation Diagram is extremely demanding. In addition to imprinting a unique five-colored restriction, it also requires the collection of numerous rare and precious materials.

The most crucial Void Core can only be found within a small number of Void Beasts.

This is precisely why the special profession of "Void Hunter" has emerged.

However, hunting Void Beasts is by no means an easy task.

The methods for opening a specific space are extremely complex, not to mention that a rare spiritual medicine such as the "Five Prisons Soul-Guiding Grass" is needed as bait.

Even if everything is ready, if the hunter is careless and attracts a terrifying being like the Void-Carrying Turtle, the hunter will become the prey in an instant.

Even if you manage to succeed by chance, you might still be double-crossed during the transaction.

After all, sometimes you might be facing a hidden Supreme Realm expert.

Cultivators with sect or family backgrounds can still manage, but for rogue hunters like Li Wusheng, every step they take is on the edge of life and death.

"The surname Zhou? Are you from the Zhou family, one of the eight great families?" After briefly understanding the background, a hint of surprise flashed in Li Wusheng's eyes.

Among the eight great families, the Zhou family ranks last and has far fewer experts at the Spirit Severing Realm than the other families. However, they are still scions of a noble family and are far superior to rogue cultivators like him.

Zhou Qing sighed inwardly, never expecting that 150 years of wandering in the void would directly bring him to his destination.

But Junior Sister Lu is still waiting in Tianlan City, so I must hurry there to avoid worrying her.

Faced with his savior's question, he shook his head frankly: "Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. I am but a rogue cultivator."

"Oh?" Li Wusheng narrowed his eyes and smiled meaningfully: "That's a pity."

After saying that, he turned around and began to dissect the Void Beast that was at the Nascent Soul stage.

As the sharp blade sliced ​​through the animal hide, it rummaged inside for a moment, only to pull out a clump of sticky internal organs.

"What bad luck!" He shook the blood off his hands and spat in disappointment.

He then straightened up, patted the bloodstains off his robes, and turned to look at Zhou Qing.

His smile carried a hint of mercenary shrewdness: "They say that a life-saving grace should be repaid with a spring of gratitude. Although my actions were unintentional, I did bring you out of the void."

"We independent cultivators have no prestige, so it's incredibly difficult for us to obtain even a little bit of cultivation resources. You should understand that best, right?"

(End of this chapter)