Mortal: I really didn't want to be reborn as Zi Ling!

Zi Ling held the Lingxi pendant in her palm and examined it for a long time. The pendant still retained her mother's body temperature, just as her mother had said, the pendant was intact.

She let out a long breath, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense for half a month, finally settled down a little.

As long as everyone is alright.

As long as a person is alive, there is always a chance for things to turn around.

"And this batch of goods—"

"You don't need to worry about that."

Zhou Yuan waved her hand, her tone returning to its usual composure: "That young friend Han you know and his martial uncle are indeed quite capable. A few days ago, they sent our Miaoyin Sect a large batch of demon beast materials. The sect's inventory is still quite sufficient for now, so the Miaoyin Sect can withstand this loss."

She paused, as if wanting to say something, but in the end, she simply smoothed Zi Ling's messy hair reassuringly: "Mother can handle these things. I came today so you can focus on consolidating your cultivation."

Zhou Yuan wanted to tell her daughter the truth.

The monster materials were secondary; what mattered was that section of Thunder Bamboo—the Lord of Mad Shark Island had paid a hefty deposit and signed a contract with the Star Palace.

If the goods cannot be delivered on time, Miaoyinmen will have to pay ten times the amount in compensation.

That sum of money was enough to empty most of the Miaoyin Sect's savings accumulated over several decades.

But looking at her daughter's face, which still showed some anxiety, she ultimately swallowed those words back.

Ning'er has just formed her core, and her cultivation is not yet consolidated. This is the time when she needs to focus on her cultivation.

She figured out how to solve these problems herself.

The Chaotic Star Sea is vast, but the number of forces capable and daring enough to raid the Myriad Sounds Sect's fleet can be counted on one hand.

As long as the other party makes even the slightest mistake, she has a way to make them pay the price.

If all else fails—we'll see if Ning'er is willing to take out the remaining half of the Thunder Bamboo.

Seeing her mother's confident demeanor, Zi Ling didn't ask any further questions.

She ultimately did not voice her suspicions.

Regardless of whether this matter is truly as she suspects—that it was Jiyin Island orchestrating the whole thing.

Even if it really was dried up by Jiyin Island, with Mother's methods and the power of Miaoyin Sect, they probably wouldn't be able to find anything.

Moreover, if what she thought was true was something her mother couldn't handle.

Zi Ling couldn't help but recall the words of advice Jin Kui had given her decades ago when she had just become his disciple.

"What's inside your own body is something you and I know. The people of Extreme Yin Island may not know exactly what it is, but they will never let this go."

"Could this whole thing be a setup specifically targeting me?"

Watching her mother's hurried departure disappear into the spiritual light shining from the dome of Tianxing City, Zi Ling stood alone at the entrance of her cave, motionless for a long time.

The sea breeze surged up from below the sea of ​​clouds, making her skirt flutter loudly.

She raised her head and looked at the eternal, inextinguishable light atop the dome of Tianxing City in the distance, her gaze gradually turning cold.

"Trying to scheme against me?"

She muttered to herself, a cold smile playing on her lips.

"It all depends on how strong your teeth are."

If it really wasn't Jiyin Island that made the move—then my father at most encountered an accident, and with his late-stage Core Formation cultivation, he was more than capable of protecting himself.

If it was Jiyin Island that made the move—then in order to lure him out, they would never dare to easily kill his father.

A living Wang Heng is far more valuable than a dead Wang Heng.

Once she understood this, Zi Ling became less anxious.

The most urgent task is to stabilize one's cultivation level, and then refine one's natal magic weapon.

Only with the Azure Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword forged from Golden Thunder Bamboo, and with the power of the Evil-Repelling Divine Thunder to restrain demonic arts, would she have more confidence to face the demonic forces of Extreme Yin Island.

Otherwise, with her current strength, even if she finds a weakness in the Extreme Yin Island, she won't have enough leverage to turn the tide.

"It seems impossible to forge seventy-two Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords in one go."

Zi Ling returned to the secret chamber, sat on the futon, and counted the number of Golden Thunder Bamboo in her hand, her brows furrowing slightly.

It wasn't that she didn't want to accelerate the ripening of the Golden Thunder Bamboo, but rather that she had used far too much demonic beast essence and blood on spiritual herbs over the years.

Part of it is used to refine elixirs and improve cultivation, another part is used to accelerate the ripening of Rainbow Grass and cultivate Gold-Eating Insects, leaving very little for Golden Thunder Bamboo.

To date, only three and a half thousand-year-old golden thunder bamboos have been prematurely matured.

Three ancient golden thunder bamboos can yield at most thirty-six bamboo shoots.

It's still far from a complete set of seventy-two handles.

"How about we just go find Old Devil Han?"

Once the idea popped into my head, it grew wildly like weeds.

The small green bottle in Han Li's hand had a much simpler and more direct effect on ripening than her broken pearl, and it was almost without any limitations.

If he were willing to help, he could use the remaining Golden Thunder Bamboo to cultivate enough Ten-Thousand-Year Golden Thunder Bamboo, and then her seventy-two Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords could be obtained in one go.

Moreover, it can save a lot of monster blood essence, which can be used for other things.

But just like that, he gave the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo to Han Li—

The scales in Zi Ling's heart began to sway back and forth again.

That's a Heavenly Thunder Bamboo, a rare and precious material that you can't find another one like it anywhere else in the entire world.

Giving something away for free always feels like a loss for me.

Forget it.

She shook her head in the end.

Compared to taking advantage, it's more important to collect all seventy-two Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords as soon as possible.

Besides, I didn't lose anything; I just didn't gain any more advantage.

"Hmm—we can't let him take it for free. We should at least make him give up some demon beast blood and demon beast cores for free. If we calculate it that way, it's not a loss for him."

A smile returned to Zi Ling's lips. She took out a blank jade slip from her storage bag, placed it between her eyebrows, and used her divine sense to inscribe a few lines of text.

A moment later, she flicked her finger, and the communication jade simplified into a stream of light, passing through the cave's restrictions and disappearing in the direction of the next room.

-

at the same time.

In the adjacent cave, Han Li was sitting cross-legged in a secret chamber, surrounded by a layer of light blue spiritual light.

His eyes were closed, and his internal energy was slowly circulating along the route of the Azure Origin Sword Technique, adjusting his state and making final preparations for the upcoming Core Formation.

A month later, he will go into seclusion to break through the bottleneck of Core Formation.

The Dust-Clearing Pill had already been prepared, along with all the necessary auxiliary pills, and the spiritual energy concentration in the cave had been adjusted to its optimal state.

All is ready except for the opportunity.

Just then, a soft buzzing sound came from the restrictions outside the cave.

Han Li opened his eyes, his brows furrowing slightly.

A pale purple communication talisman was hovering outside the barrier, beating anxiously.

He raised his hand and sent the transmission talisman through the barrier into his palm.

Zi Ling's voice came from the talisman, her tone carrying a rare solemnity.

"Brother Han, I have something important to discuss with you. If it's convenient, please come over next door for a chat."

Han Li stared at the communication talisman in his hand, lost in thought.

Important matters?

What important matter could it be?

When he delivered monster materials to the Miaoyin Sect half a month ago, Fan Jingmei didn't mention anything.

Zi Ling should be consolidating her Core Formation realm right now, so why is she suddenly asking him to "discuss important matters" at this time? Could it be some kind of deal?

Han Li subconsciously touched his storage bag.

Over the years, he and Zi Ling have made many deals. He never lost money, but each time she got what she wanted.

To be honest, he's now reflexively wary of Zi Ling's phrase "we need to discuss important matters."

I can't not go.

Zi Ling is now a Core Formation cultivator and also Jin Kui's disciple.

If someone takes the initiative to invite him, it would be difficult for him to refuse.

Moreover, although the transactions between the two over the past sixty-nine years have involved mutual calculations, they have generally been mutually beneficial and have never caused any unpleasant incidents.

In particular, the group of gold-devouring insects made a great contribution to his monster hunting overseas.

Fine, I'll go.

Han Li stood up, straightened his robes, and pushed open the stone door of the cave.

Outside the gate, the streets of the thirty-ninth floor of Tianxing City remained bustling with people. Several streaks of light swept overhead, leaving long trails of light. The spiritual light emanating from the distant dome enveloped the entire street in a warm glow.

Han Li turned his head to look at the cave next door, which was many times more magnificent than his own.

The protective aura above the stone gate rippled slightly, and a faint aura flowed through the cracks in the gate.

He took a deep breath and walked over.

-

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