Refining Ruins Cauldron

However, the crowd did not lose their rationality.

The surrounding area was teeming with spirit beasts, whose low growls sent chills down one's spine.

The weakest among them all had a cultivation level of early Foundation Establishment, and most of them had already broken through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage!

There were even quite a few spirit beasts at the late Foundation Establishment stage!

Within the horde of beasts, several auras flickered in and out of sight. If I'm not mistaken, those were probably beast kings at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage!

Pairs of eyes watched intently, vigilantly surveying their surroundings, guarding the Dao Rhyme Tree.

This wasn't the most terrifying thing. What truly brought everyone to their senses was the serpentine spirit beast, tens of meters long, coiled under the tree!

Early stage of Golden Core Realm!

Gu Qingyun's expression darkened slightly. This serpentine spirit beast had only revealed a little bit of its aura, yet it had already forced the surrounding spirit beasts to stay away.

If a fight were to break out, the scene would be unimaginable.

Human cultivators, even after reaching the Core Formation stage, can still suppress those at the Foundation Establishment stage; spirit beasts, of course, are even more capable.

Both their physical bodies and their cultivation levels will be even more terrifying!

For those below the Golden Core stage, seeing this, Gu Qingyun couldn't think of any other possibility besides fleeing for their lives.

"Damn it, where did this Golden Core spirit beast come from?! With it guarding it, what's the point of trying to steal it?!"

In the crowd, someone started swearing.

The leaders also looked grim.

The strongest among those present is only at the half-step Golden Core stage. If they encounter a spirit beast at the early Golden Core stage, they will only face certain death.

Qiu Wentian, on the other hand, remained calm, gently patting the heavy sword on his back, seemingly lost in thought.

"Everyone, as you can see from the current situation, if we want to obtain the spirit fruit, we must deal with these spirit beasts."

Zhao Qingshan spoke first, deliberately raising his voice and speaking with a gloomy expression.

"If we don't unite against this enemy, we'll only become food for these spirit beasts!"

"I propose we join forces to deal with the spirit beast first, and then each of us can rely on our own abilities for the rest, what do you say?"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Wentian was the first to agree: "I agree."

Once he spoke up, the Blood Blade Sect members naturally had no objections.

Li Wei turned around and looked at Gu Qingyun, asking for her opinion.

Gu Qingyun naturally had no objection and slowly nodded.

There is probably no better way than this.

Without dealing with these spirit beasts, no one can get close to the Dao Rhyme Tree, let alone seize the spirit fruits.

When the spirit beasts go berserk, it's uncertain whether they'll be able to leave alive!

"The Longevity Sect has no objections."

Li Wei then responded.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Qingshan smiled almost imperceptibly for a moment before immediately composed himself.

"Alright, let's join forces against the enemy, kill!"

After speaking, Zhao Qingshan, as the initiator, naturally took the lead. His black longsword reappeared, and he moved with the sword, his body brimming with boundless and inexhaustible wood spirit energy.

"Every bush and tree seems like an enemy soldier!"

The sword flashed and charged towards the nearest spirit beast.

That spirit beast was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment and couldn't withstand Zhao Qingshan's attack at all.

It was instantly torn to shreds amidst countless sword lights!

When one person makes a move, others will naturally follow suit.

Li Wei wielded his weapons, striking with twin hammers, his moves expansive and powerful, his strength utterly pure.

Each time the twin hammers fell, they easily forced the spirit beasts back.

Some of the weaker ones were smashed into mincemeat on the spot, unable to withstand such ferocity.

The disciples followed suit, each displaying their unique abilities.

Almost every disciple of the Blood Saber Sect wields a sword, making them the most ruthless and bloodthirsty.

Amidst the flashing blades, blood splattered everywhere.

Qiu Wentian, however, did not move. He remained standing in the same spot, holding the heavy sword in his hand.

His gaze remained fixed on the serpentine spirit beast.

Only someone at the early stage of the Golden Core realm is worthy of being my opponent!

In an instant, the serpentine spirit beast seemed to sense something amiss, and traversed hundreds of meters to pinpoint Qiu Wentian's location.

"Hiss hiss hiss..."

The spirit beast let out a series of low growls, full of threat.

Gu Qingyun was not idle either, but he did not use all his methods. Occasionally, he would casually flick out a few sword lights to force back the approaching spirit beasts.

They can attack at will, and even kill weaker spirit beasts on the spot.

Although it seemed like they were working hard, they didn't actually expend much energy.

Xu Qingran had been paying close attention to Gu Qingyun's actions, so how could she not see what the guy was thinking?

His expression turned somewhat strange: "What are you doing? If you can't deal with these spirit beasts, no one will get the Daoist Spirit Fruit."

Xu Qingran offered a warning, but Gu Qingyun dismissed it and forced another spirit beast back with a single sword strike.

"Senior sister, don't be so naive. Look at Zhao Qingshan, look at the disciples of the Glazed Tile School, what are they doing?"

These words were like a wake-up call. Xu Qingran realized that those guys were clearly slacking off too, and even worse than Gu Qingyun.

Especially Zhao Qingshan, a cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment, had to fight for a long time against a spirit beast at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. Who would believe that?

Not to mention the other disciples of the Glazed Tile School, three or even five of them joined forces just to deal with a spirit beast in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, and they almost couldn't win.

Do they really think everyone else is stupid?

Xu Qingran also noticed that these people's real target was the Dao Yun Spirit Fruit.

They were all intentionally or unintentionally moving deeper into the quagmire, and unknowingly, they had already reached the forefront of the three major sects.

"That Zhao Qingshan! He was the one who said we should join forces against the enemy, but he's also the one who's been plotting against us behind our backs!"

Xu Qingran gritted her teeth in anger, her pretty face darkening.

"At times like these, anyone who puts in the effort is a fool. Just wait and look for an opportunity."

Gu Qingyun spoke again, casually flicking out several sword energies.

The sword energy appeared sharp, but when it grazed the spirit beast's hide, it only produced a few sparks and had no killing power whatsoever.

Hearing this, Xu Qingran disagreed, but she had no choice but to do as Gu Qingyun said.

I don't want to be a fool and be used as a pawn.

"Then when will we have to wait?"

Xu Qingran continued.

"Wait until that Golden Core spirit beast dies."

As he spoke, Gu Qingyun's gaze fell on Qiu Wentian in the distance.

The other spirit beasts are dispensable; the real problem is that serpentine beast king!

At the early stage of the Golden Core realm, he was powerful enough to overwhelm all the spirit beasts and cultivators present.

As long as it lives, no one can get close to the Dao Rhyme Tree!

Xu Qingran suddenly realized that this was indeed the reasoning behind it.

But who has the ability to kill a Golden Core spirit beast?

Could it be that……

She subconsciously thought of one person: Qiu Wentian!

A half-step Golden Core cultivator, a prodigy of the Blood Blade Sect!

If all means are employed, it is not impossible to slay a Golden Core spirit beast.

With the spirit beast dead, the Daoist Spirit Fruit is no longer protected, making it the perfect time to strike!

Xu Qingran slowly turned her head, her gaze falling on Gu Qingyun, and looked him up and down.

This guy looks young, how come he has so many tricks up his sleeve?

Gu Qingyun didn't care at all, and had no intention of explaining.

He has already made it very clear what to do.

Whether you listen or not is none of your business.

Anyway, Gu Qingyun won't make a move beforehand, so just go up and die.

In the struggle for spiritual fruits, the one who laughs first is useless; the one who laughs last is the victor.

In the blink of an eye, nearly half an hour had passed.

The corpses of the slain spirit beasts had piled up into small mountains.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, making one frown.

The spirit beasts possessed powerful physical bodies and high cultivation levels, causing many cultivators to fall victim to their attacks, resulting in increasing casualties.

Even if the Glazed Tile School slacked off, they still lost three people, followed by the Blood Blade School, which lost two.

In contrast, the Longevity Sect suffered the most casualties, with a total of five people dying under the claws of spirit beasts.

The corpses settled and were slowly swallowed by the mud.

Everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief, but at that moment, a cold light flashed!

"Die!"