Junior Sister must ascend this time!

Si Mingche and Jiang Mian, with their keen perception, slowly woke up and then pretended to struggle to stand up and block Yun Qing's way.

Si Mingche sized up the group of people in front of him, frowning as he said, "Jin Yu Sect? You're Shen Qingchen? We have no grudge against you, so why did you injure us?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingchen's tone became even more apologetic, "I'm sorry, it was our negligence. We were chasing a demonic beast just now, but we didn't expect our sword energy to injure you."

"Is a simple 'sorry' all it takes?"

Si Mingche glanced at Yun Qing, "My junior sister is delicate and frail; she's only just recovered somewhat. What if your sword strike damages her foundation again?"

Jiang Mian chimed in, "That's right. We're not going into the secret realm this time for any ranking. We just want to find some high-grade spiritual plants to treat our junior sister's illness."

Yun Qing already had fair skin, and looking at her now, she did indeed have the air of a sickly beauty. Shen Qingchen suddenly felt like she wasn't human.

He quickly pulled out a storage ring. "It was our fault, and we will take responsibility. These are some high-grade pills and some high-level spiritual plants we found in the secret realm. We don't know if they will be of any use, but please accept them so that we can compensate you for your losses."

Si Mingche accepted them without hesitation. Even though he had previously mocked them for being poor, he had no problem taking these things.

But this was only the beginning. While Shen Qingchen was still feeling guilty, Yun Qing knelt beside the Xuan Yu Eagle, tears streaming down her face, "My little eagle, how did you get so badly hurt? Don't die!"

"They all say you're a demon beast, but you saved me when we first entered the secret realm, and I've long considered you a good friend. But now my good friend is seriously injured, and I'm powerless to help..."

The disciple behind Shen Qingchen glanced at the Xuan Yu Eagle's wing and saw that there was indeed a small wound, but it wasn't very noticeable.

"Enough already! My senior brother gave you so many pills; that's more than enough to heal its wounds. Besides, its injuries are barely noticeable unless you look closely. Why are you acting like it's going to die? I think you're just trying to scam me!"

He glanced at Yun Qing and the others in their light purple sect robes and recognized them. "You're from the Chengtian Sect? Hmph! Of course, what other sect besides the Chengtian Sect has such strange people? And they're even friends with demonic beasts..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Xuan Yu Eagle suddenly began to convulse uncontrollably, a commotion that terrified everyone present.

Of course, it was Yun Qing who secretly called.

Yun Qing clung to Xuan Yu Ying again, crying, "What's wrong? Hang in there! I'll sell everything I own to save you!"

Seeing this, Shen Qingchen's face darkened, and she sternly said to the disciple, "Lu Xingzhou! Say less. This isn't the Golden Jade Sect. Don't cause me any trouble! Apologize to them!"

Lu Xingzhou had a bad temper, but he was most afraid of Shen Qingchen, so he quickly bowed and apologized to the three of them.

"I'm sorry, all three of you. My junior brother is straightforward and offended you. I apologize to you again on his behalf."

As Shen Qingchen spoke, she glanced at the three people's disheveled state and, thinking of their small flying boat, took out a storage ring.

"We didn't bring too many pills with us this time. Here's a thousand high-grade spirit stones. Please accept them first. If it's not enough, come to the Golden Jade Sect to find us. We'll take care of everything."

Si Mingche snorted at Lu Xingzhou, then accepted the storage ring again. His junior sister was right; the Golden Jade Sect was indeed full of fools and riches!

After the performance, all three of them were a little tired. Jiang Mian helped Yun Qing up. "Junior Sister, let's go."

The three people and the eagle looked rather disheveled. Shen Qingchen hesitated for a moment and said, "Gentlemen... the inner perimeter is not far ahead, and the monsters there are of a higher grade. It might be dangerous for you to go there like this."

"If you don't mind, we can travel together for a while, so we can look out for each other on the way."

Yun Qing quickly turned around, "Then thank you very much, Senior Brother Shen!"

This is perfect! If there are any high-level spiritual plants along the way, we'll lure them over; if there are any demonic beasts, we'll let them attack!

Lu Xingzhou was somewhat displeased, "Senior Brother, you've already given them so much, why do you still want to go with them?! They're weak and cunning, they'll only drag us down..."

Shen Qingchen shot him a glare, and he immediately shut up.

Because the Xuan Yu Eagle couldn't carry so many birds at once, and the inner area was very dangerous, Yun Qing gave it some pills and then set it free.

The Black Feathered Eagle flew away, tears of gratitude streaming down its face. There are still many good people in this world!

Throughout the rest of the journey, Yun Qing adhered to her style: if there was trouble, Jin Yu Sect would come; if there was treasure, Cheng Tian Sect would take it.

When they reached the vicinity of the inner perimeter, Lu Xingzhou finally couldn't help but say to Shen Qingchen, "Senior Brother, they hid from the demonic beasts they encountered along the way, and ran faster than anyone else when they came across high-level spiritual plants. I don't think they're in any danger."

"We've done everything we can to help them. The inner area is full of third and fourth-tier monsters. We can't even protect ourselves. We really can't take them any more."

Upon reflection, Shen Qingchen realized that his junior brother was indeed right this time. He planned to separate from Chengtian Sect once they reached a safe location.

The group arrived at a stream and found many spiritual plants. They did not find any trace of monsters, so they decided to rest there for a while. Those who wanted to find spiritual plants could do so, and those who wanted to rest could do so.

Seeing that Yun Qing and the other two were diligently digging for spiritual plants and no longer looked as weak as before, Shen Qingchen stepped forward and said, "How has Junior Sister Yun's injury been these past two days? If it's nothing serious, perhaps we should take our leave here..."

Lu Xingzhou followed, "My senior brother has already said that, you're not going to keep pestering me, are you?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the calm stream suddenly burst into flames.

A huge black shadow suddenly burst out from underwater, splashing water everywhere. Before the group could even see what it was, a huge column of water spewed from its mouth, drenching everyone present.

Lu Xingzhou was closest to the stream and got soaked the most, almost drowning on land...

Then, seven or eight thick, long tentacles emerged from the water and began to entangle the disciples on the shore.

"Back off!"

Shen Qingchen drew her sword with lightning speed. In a flash, the two tentacles were severed, and bright red liquid splattered from the cut.

Just as everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, they discovered that new tentacles had grown from the severed wound of the giant beast, exactly the same as before.

Lu Xingzhou's voice was somewhat strained, "What...what is this thing?"

The underwater creature seemed to be enraged, and the entire stream churned. Then, a grayish-brown behemoth slowly rose from the bottom of the stream, its surface covered with a layer of dark green algae and mud. Eight tentacles of varying lengths and as thick as arms extended from the tail of the main body, with slightly curled ends.

Jiang Mian frowned. This thing was so ugly and disgusting. Coincidentally, he had seen it on the "Ugliest Monster Ranking." He reminded him:

"This is an Eight-Tailed Mud Octopus, a fifth-tier demonic beast, and one of the most powerful demonic beasts in this secret realm. It likes to drag people into the water and then trap their prey in the mud to slowly devour them. Be careful not to get entangled by its tentacles."