With the Eight Immortals' magical treasures in hand, even a mortal like myself! Ha!

Are there other cultivators hunting as well? That's surprising, but it also seems reasonable, since the ocean doesn't belong to Gu Qing alone.

As the flying boat and the demon beast raced forward in both directions, Gu Qing soon spotted a massive figure—the demon beast was over ten feet long, with a robust and sturdy body, and three prominent horns on its head, the horns cold and gleaming with a faint gray-black spiritual light.

Its neck is short and thick, hidden beneath heavy scales; its limbs are short, thick, and powerful; most peculiar is its abdomen, which is round and bulging high, and its entire body is snow-white like a ball, forming an extreme contrast with the scales on its back.

"Waaaaah—"

A pair of amber vertical pupils stared intently at the approaching flying boat, and white mist was faintly exhaled from its nostrils. It seemed that the white mist on the sea surface might have been created by this monster.

Seeing the monster let out a piercing cry and stare fiercely at Han Xiangzi on the flying boat, Gu Qing knew that the monster had been attracted by the sound of the flute.

Perhaps the sound of Han Xiangzi's flute was too harsh, making the sea beast uncomfortable, which is why it stared at Han Xiangzi with resentment.

"Shall we make a move?" Tieguai Li glanced at the demon beast and asked.

Gu Qing naturally wouldn't let this level-six sea beast escape, and immediately said in a deep voice, "Attack!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Qing leaped off the flying boat, while Tieguai Li swung his iron crutch towards the sea, and two water dragons immediately rose into the air; at the same time, the sound of Han Xiangzi's flute also became short and rapid.

Upon hearing the sound of the flute, the demonic beast felt dizzy and was instantly torn apart by the two water dragons. A level six demonic beast was thus easily killed, its blood staining a patch of seawater nearby.

Gu Qing maneuvered the flying boat forward and then began to extract useful materials such as demon cores, hides, and scales from the demon beasts.

Just then, the cultivators who had been chasing the demonic beast finally arrived. Seeing Gu Qing dealing with the beast's corpse, their expressions turned extremely grim.

The elder who seemed to be the leader spoke first, his tone tinged with displeasure: "Fellow Daoist, we've been tracking this demonic beast for some time now. Isn't it a bit excessive for you to just snatch it like this?"

The brown-robed elder who spoke was at the late Core Formation stage. Beside him stood a middle-aged male cultivator at the mid-Core Formation stage, and behind him followed a cultivator at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Gu Qing took a closer look at the Foundation Establishment cultivator's face, but felt that the other party looked more like a female cultivator—her appearance had a certain androgynous beauty, making it difficult to tell whether she was male or female.

This reminded Gu Qing of someone: Ling Yuling of the Star Palace, the young lady of Tianxing City.

Gu Qing showed no intention of negotiating with the other party, but calmly dealt with the monster's corpse, his speed increasing by a third, as if it were not the first time he had dealt with a monster's corpse.

Tieguai Li stepped in front of Gu Qing and chuckled as he retorted, "That's not right. Before being hunted, these demonic beasts were ownerless. Any cultivator in the world has the right to hunt them."

"Do you know who we are?" The middle-aged man's face darkened, and he was about to reveal his identity.

The old man in brown robes glanced at Tieguai Li and Han Xiangzi without showing any emotion. He could tell that both of them were at the late stage of Core Formation. It was precisely because of this that he was somewhat wary and did not make a move immediately, but instead tried to negotiate.

"Oh? May I ask where you all are from?" Han Xiangzi asked, showing some interest.

"We are stewards of the Star Palace. We ask that you give our Star Palace some face," the old man in brown robes said slowly.

Upon hearing the words "Star Palace," Gu Qing stopped what he was doing and looked up—he didn't look at the two Core Formation cultivators, but instead focused on the Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Interesting. I never expected to encounter people from the Star Palace under these circumstances. However, even so, I will not give up this demonic beast to you." Gu Qing said at this moment, his tone showing no sign of backing down.

"Hmph! How dare you, a junior, interrupt when our elders are speaking!" The middle-aged male cultivator snorted coldly, and a pressure from the Core Formation stage instantly spread out, directly approaching Gu Qing.

Seeing this, Gu Qing quickly dodged to the side and then raised his voice, "What? Are you really going to make a move? It seems like we have a better chance of winning."

"Wait!" The old man in the brown robe finally forced himself to calm down. There was an important person behind them, and it was really not advisable to cause trouble with the group in front of them.

It would be a real shame to let a level six demon beast go to waste; but the reputation of the Star Palace seemed to have no effect at the moment. For a moment, the old man in brown robes was caught in a dilemma and did not know what to do.

Just then, the mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator spoke up, his voice clear and melodious: "My name is Ling Yuling. May I ask your esteemed name and origin, fellow Daoist?"

Gu Qing was somewhat surprised when he heard the other party announce their name—he hadn't expected to actually run into the young lady of the Star Palace. This was quite a strange thing; he never imagined that the young lady of the Star Palace would also be out hunting demonic beasts.

He secretly wondered just how wealthy Ling Yuling, who was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, would be.

Ling Yu felt a highly aggressive gaze fall upon her, and she couldn't help but frown slightly.

"Hehe, we're temporarily residing on Kui Xing Island. Come to think of it, that place is still your Star Palace's territory. What, are you going to retaliate against us because of this demonic beast?" Gu Qing asked with some curiosity, his eyes sharpening.

If the other party answers "yes," then Gu Qing will be forced to undergo a tribulation. If it really comes to that, things will be bad—after all, Gu Qing hasn't even left Tianxing City yet.

Tieguai Li noticed the change in Gu Qing's tone and immediately took out the corpse puppet he had crafted. This corpse puppet was the body of the elder brother of the Li brothers of the Ghost Spirit Sect, and it had now been crafted into a puppet by Tieguai Li, possessing the ability to act independently.

The corpse puppet exuded a chilling ghostly aura, and in a short while, it completely surrounded an area of ​​several hundred feet in radius.

Upon seeing the dense ghostly aura, the old man in the brown robe instantly became serious and hurriedly whispered a warning to the middle-aged male cultivator beside him: "Be careful! The one opposite is an evil cultivator! You protect the young lady, I'll handle this!"

Seeing that the two sides were about to fight, Ling Yuling quickly stepped forward and said, "Everyone, is there some misunderstanding between us? This demon beast was hunted by the two seniors, so it naturally belongs to the two seniors. We have no intention of fighting over it."

"Oh? Young man, you are quite reasonable, which is rather endearing. I just wonder if your elders are as understanding as you are," Han Xiangzi said with a smile, twirling the purple-gold flute in his hand.

If it weren't for the current special circumstances, Han Xiangzi would actually be interested in playing a piece.

At this moment, Ling Yuling seemed to secretly transmit a message to the two elders who had brought her out. After hearing the message, both of them frowned, but after pondering for a moment, they finally nodded in agreement.

Seeing that the two elders nodded in agreement, Ling Yuling smiled and said, "I have already discussed it with the two elders. This sea monster will be given to you two seniors."

Gu Qing wasn't surprised. After all, it was just a level six demonic beast, and Ling Yuling, as the young lady of the Star Palace, had no shortage of such things. Her hunting of demonic beasts was probably just to gain experience.

"This senior's flute music seems to be able to attract demonic beasts. Am I right?" Ling Yuling turned to look at Han Xiangzi and asked softly.

Han Xiangzi chuckled a few times, then readily admitted, "You're quite thoughtful, young man. You're becoming more and more likable."

"If Fellow Daoist Han really likes her, why not capture her and take her back as your disciple?" Gu Qing joked with a smile.

"Is that really true? Then I really have to take this person as my disciple. Little girl, are you willing?" Han Xiangzi asked immediately, looking as if he was really considering taking her as a disciple.

Gu Qing would naturally be happy to have another junior sister, but it also depended on whether she was willing. He quickly smoothed things over: "Alright, Fellow Daoist Han, stop joking. She's from the Star Palace, how could she possibly be interested in a rogue cultivator like you as her master?"