Chapter 43

Chapter 43

After cheating Wang Xiuyuan out of some Yuanjing, Wen Qiao and Ning Yuzhou quickly put him out of their minds and continued their training in the mountains.

They had now spent nearly two months on Cangwu Mountain.

In those two months of rigorous training, the twenty Hidden Scale Guards underwent tremendous transformations. Their cultivation levels all soared into the Primordial Martial Realm, and their auras became even more formidable. In unison, they could withstand a blow from a cultivator in the Yuan Vein Realm.

Wen Qiao's cultivation also advanced to the peak of the Yuanming Realm, with signs of another breakthrough looming.

Concerned that her rapid progress might destabilize her mental state, Ning Yuzhou asked her to temporarily suppress her cultivation and focus on consolidating her gains for a while.

Wen Qiao obediently followed his advice and did not force a breakthrough, letting things take their natural course.

Compared to her, Ning Yuzhou remained unchanged, still at the Yuanfeather Realm. However, he had advanced slightly, now in the middle stage of the Yuanfeather Realm. Despite this, he was still considered weak among the group of Primordial Martial Realm Hidden Scale Guards.

Ning Yuzhou was undisturbed by this, continuing his cultivation and alchemy practice methodically without any sign of impatience.

One day, Wen Qiao brought Wen Tuttu and a small spirit monkey to the edge of a cliff.

She stood on the edge of the cliff, gazing down. From the crevice in the mountainside, a Spirit Tree grew, the only feature amidst the bare cliff face. A nest rested on one of its branches, though its avian inhabitant was currently absent.

"Wen Qiao," she asked, "is this the place?"

The little Spirit Monkey clung to her shoulder, peering down and chirping at her.

Receiving an affirmative response, Wen Qiao looked down again. "This Golden-Winged Flame Eagle often steals your Spirit Fruits and carries off young Spirit Monkeys, so you want me to kill it?"

The monkey chirped a few times, its eyes glistening with moisture as it looked at her.

"Oh, alright then," Wen Qiao said. "I'll give it a good beating, but I won't kill it."

After making the agreement with the little Spirit Monkey, Wen Qiao unfurled her Stone Gold Snake Whip. The golden whip coiled around a protruding rock on the cliff's edge. She tugged on the whip, leaping off the cliff.

The little Spirit Monkey and Wen TuTu quickly clung to her shoulders, afraid of being swept away by the wind.

Wen Qiao descended gracefully, her slender form as light as a feather, bounding through the air with composure.

The golden whip extended rapidly. Gripping it firmly, Wen Qiao slid down the cliff wall. Eventually, she arrived before the Spirit Tree on the cliff. As she neared the tree, she jumped again, using a thin branch as a launchpad. The branch bent like a bowstring, propelling her forward. She landed safely in the bird's nest below.

The nest was enormous, with a few resilient golden feathers resting atop it, clearly belonging to the Golden-Winged Flame Eagle.

Wen Qiao had come to confront this eagle at the request of the spirit monkeys. It seemed that the Golden-Winged Flame Eagle frequently plundered their spiritual fruits and, when food was scarce, would even snatch away young spirit monkeys as sustenance – an utterly despicable act. However, such occurrences were common in the wild; unless absolutely necessary, monsters seldom ventured beyond their territories to hunt. The spirit monkeys, aware of the eagle's prowess, did not actually expect Wen Qiao to kill it.

Secondly, Wen Qiao sought a worthy opponent. Upon hearing about this Golden-Winged Flame Eagle, she decided to challenge it to a fight.

Upon discovering that the eagle was absent, Wen Qiao explored the vicinity of the spirit tree, swiftly acquainting herself with the surroundings of the nest.

This particular spirit tree, nestled on the cliff face, flourished exceptionally. Its lush foliage was adorned with clusters of ripe, crimson fruits. Though not of a high rank, the tree's fruit emitted a rich aroma and was brimming with spiritual energy, making it particularly alluring.

Impatient, the young spirit monkey plucked a few fruits, offering one each to Wen Qiao and Wen Tuzi, before greedily devouring one itself.

Accepting the fruit, the trio sampled its taste, all agreeing that it was delightful.

After consuming the fruit, Wen Qiao concealed herself within the vicinity of the spirit tree, simultaneously suppressing her aura and blending in with the tree, awaiting the return of the hunting eagle.

Approximately two hours passed before Wen Qiao spotted a dark silhouette on the horizon, accompanied by a distant, resonant cry – the telltale signs of the Golden-Winged Flame Eagle's return.

Upon hearing the call of its predator, the little spirit monkey's fur stood on end. Ignoring the spiritual fruit, it hastily took refuge behind Wen Qiao.

Wen Tuzi, however, remained calm. It pulled out a spirit pill from its cheek pouch and began licking it leisurely, all the while observing the Golden-Winged Flame Eagle as it flew back to its nest.

This Golden-Winged Flame Eagle was a fifth-stage demonic beast. Its body feathers were a golden chestnut color, giving off an appearance of flowing metal from afar. Its beak, talons, and claws were pure gold. When its wings spread, they spanned over a dozen yards, casting a massive shadow in the air. Its flight speed was incredibly swift, making it the ruler of the skies in this region.

As the Golden-Winged Flame Eagle landed on the spirit tree, the wind generated by its folded wings rustled the leaves loudly.

Wen Qiao, hiding nearby, almost got swept away by the gale. She quickly grabbed onto the trunk of a nearby spirit tree and silently stared at the Golden-Winged Flame Eagle.

Unaware that there was an intruder lurking near its nest, the eagle had just finished its meal and was lazily preening its feathers with its beak, seemingly very content.

Wen Qiao approached the Golden-Winged Flame Eagle stealthily.

Several yards away from the bird, it still hadn't noticed the intruder and continued grooming itself attentively. Seeing her chance, Wen Qiao pounced on the eagle abruptly, hooking herself onto its back. With her fair fists, she delivered a fierce punch to the eagle's spine.

"Screech!"

A shrill cry echoed as the Golden-Winged Flame Eagle was slammed by the tender yet domineering fist, causing it to crash into its nest. It struggled fiercely, spreading its wings wide, attempting to shake off the attacker on its back.

Yet at this moment, not only was it carrying an incredibly strong human on its back, strangling its neck and pummeling it with punches, but there was also a small rabbit perched on its head, brandishing its bunny claws to shear off the bird's feathers.

Shearing feathers was Wen Tuzi's greatest delight.

Despite being a rabbit, it had many habits that didn't align with typical rabbit behavior.

The little spirit monkey cowered on the side, shivering. After a while, it noticed that the Golden-Winged Flame Eagle was being relentlessly beaten by both Wen Qiao and Wen Tuzi, unable to shake them off. The monkey was utterly astonished, watching wide-eyed as the human and rabbit tormented the eagle.

Feathers flew everywhere, and soon, the beautiful Golden-Winged Flame Eagle became a bald eagle.

Its piercing cries eventually ceased, and with its wings spread, the eagle slumped in its nest, a picture of despair, also indicating its submission to Wen Qiao.

Whatever will be, will be.

At this moment, the Golden-Winged Flame Eagle's emotions aligned with those of the white-bellied wolf spider when it had been beaten by Wen Qiao.

Wen Qiao jumped off its back and picked up the bloodstained feathers from the ground, selecting the most attractive ones.

These feathers were excellent materials for refining weapons and could be gifted to her husband.

The nimble little spirit monkey leaped out, joyfully gathering the golden-feathered flame eagle's fallen plumes.

After completing these tasks, Wen Qiao went on to pick some ripe spiritual fruits from the nearby spirit trees. Then, she whipped out her Stone Gold Python Whip, latching onto the cliff's rocks, and swiftly climbed upward, leaving the golden-feathered flame eagle's nest behind.

Upon reaching the cliff, Wen Qiao wound the Stone Gold Python Whip around her waist, smoothing out her slightly disheveled clothes. She then left the cliff, preparing to return to the valley.

On her way back, as Wen Qiao passed through a grove of stone spikes, she suddenly spotted a pink-robed woman fleeing clumsily from within. Something seemed to be swaying amidst the stone spikes behind her, darting through them.

Spotting Wen Qiao, the pink-robed woman's face lit up with relief. Without hesitation, she hurled the item in her hand towards Wen Qiao, shouting, "Fellow Daoist, please lend a hand."

Without any delay, Wen Qiao whipped out her Stone Gold Python Whip, sending the object back at the pink-robed woman and promptly retreated.

The item struck the woman's face directly, its juices splattering everywhere. A layer of stony liquid rapidly condensed on her face, creating a stark contrast with her fair complexion, looking rather peculiar.

"Chirp, chirp," the little spirit monkey called out.

Wen Qiao's expression shifted slightly, a realization dawning upon her. It turned out that the item the pink-robed woman had thrown was stone spike milk, an exceptional alchemy ingredient. However, this stone spike milk was incredibly rare, taking ten years to produce a single drop and a hundred years for a stalk. Moreover, it was guarded by a swarm of stone spike rats. Whenever they appeared, there would be thousands upon thousands of them, making them quite terrifying to provoke.

Sure enough, Wen Qiao soon caught sight of the pursuing swarm of stone spike rats.

The pink-robed woman glared at Wen Qiao with resentment, fueled by the idea that if she wouldn't help, they would suffer together. She then dashed towards Wen Qiao.

Wen Qiao, however, paid her no heed and turned to run. With the assistance of the spirit monkeys, she took a shortcut and quickly left the pink-robed woman behind.

Discovering Wen Qiao's escape, the pink-robed woman's eyes widened in fury. The stone bamboo rats, sensing the scent of the stone bamboo milk on her, became frenzied and relentlessly pursued her.

One of the rats used its companions as stepping stones, leaping onto the pink-robed woman's back. It tore through her clothes and savagely bit into her shoulder.

"Ahh—!"

The pink-robed woman screamed in agony. Cold sweat drenched her body as she nearly collapsed but dared not stop. Doing so would invite thousands or even tens of thousands of stone bamboo rats to pounce, each taking a piece of flesh, which would surely result in her being torn apart.

She hastily stuffed spiritual pills into her mouth and activated a spirit talisman, throwing it behind her.

The spirit talisman exploded, killing many stone bamboo rats. However, the sight of their fallen comrades and the scent of blood only intensified their rage, causing them to relentlessly pounce one after another.

In no time, the pink-robed woman's back was drenched in blood, with numerous chunks of flesh missing, exposing her bones.

Fortunately, just as the pink-clad woman was on the verge of collapse, several male cultivators appeared.

The men promptly stepped forward, surrounding and eliminating the frenzied colony of stone-spring rats. After some time, they managed to kill them all, leaving a carpet of corpses and a heavy scent of blood in the air.

One of the male cultivators helped the injured woman to her feet. "Junior Sister Mu Shan!"

The pink-clad woman looked up at the man holding her with tear-filled eyes, whining pitifully, "Senior Brother, it hurts so much..."

Mu Zi Ming, observing his weak Junior Sister in his arms, hastily fed her a few healing spirit pills. He noticed a layer of stone-spring milk on her face and frowned. "How did this happen? Junior Sister, where's the stone-spring milk?"

After taking the spirit pills, Mu Shan's complexion improved significantly. Fuming, she said, "Senior Brother, it's all because of that little wench..."

According to their plan, they were supposed to distract the stone-spring rats while Mu Shan secretly retrieved the milk, then rendezvous outside the stone-spring forest. Everything had been going according to plan until, during Mu Shan's escape, another group of stone-spring rats started chasing her. They managed to shake off the rats only to find Mu Shan, but to their surprise, the stone-spring milk had been smashed.

In Mu Shan's original plan, with the stone-spring rats relentlessly pursuing her, she had fled in a disheveled state. Spotting a female cultivator passing by the edge of the forest, she decided to shift the blame, giving the stone-spring milk to her, hoping the rats would turn their attention to the other woman. Then, after finding her Senior Brother, they would reclaim the milk together.

As for whether or not that female cultivator would be mauled by the rats, why should she care?

Upon hearing Mu Shan's account, Mu Zi Ming's sharp eyes narrowed slightly.

Mu Shan spoke indignantly, "Senior Brother, you must find that little wench and avenge me."

Muzi Ming's expression was somewhat grim. After all, it was frustrating to have put in so much effort for nothing, and to have missed the opportunity with the stone bamboo milk. Nevertheless, he comforted her, "Of course, that female cultivator was likely here on a training mission too. If I encounter her, I'll definitely avenge you, Junior Sister."

***

When Wen Qiao returned to the spirit monkeys' territory, she saw Ning Yuzhou sitting beneath the Spirit Monkey Tree, refining pills. A barrier surrounded him, and the eager spirit monkeys peered at him from its edge.

Upon seeing her, he greeted her with a gentle smile. Swiftly, he finished his pill refinement, trapping the aroma of the pill within the barrier, preventing it from spreading.

"A'zhuo is back. Are you hurt?"

"Nope, I'm fine," she replied, settling down beside him. She took a sip of the spiritual wine offered by a small spirit monkey, closing her eyes in contentment.

Then, she narrated to him how they had ambushed the Golden-Winged Flame Eagle, how they had pummeled it with Wen Tuttu, and also mentioned the encounter with the pink-clothed woman in the stone bamboo forest, along with her actions.

"She clearly intended to shift the blame elsewhere. Well, I won't let her have her way," Wen Qiao said with a cold expression.

Despite her innocence and lack of social experience, these days under Ning Yuzhou's guidance, she had come to understand the darker and unjust aspects of the cultivation world. Thus, when she encountered the pink-clothed woman, she remained vigilant, preventing her from succeeding in her intentions.

Ning Yuzhou narrowed his eyes slightly and pondered for a moment before saying, "We've been here for quite some time. It's time to depart."

"Leaving already?"

Wen Qiao thought about it and did not object.

After deciding to leave Cangwu Mountain, Wen Qiao took the initiative to bid farewell to the Spirit Monkey and White-Bellied Wolf Spider. With their departure, they wouldn't have to search for spirit herbs specifically anymore.

Upon hearing this news, the spirit monkeys chattered noisily, displaying their reluctance to part.

The white-bellied wolf spider shifted its long legs and resolutely decided to snatch another high-grade spirit herb to exchange for more Blue Spirit Pills.

Compared to the white-bellied wolf spider's meticulous calculations, the spirit monkeys were much simpler. Understanding that they might not meet again anytime soon, they presented all the spirit wine they had brewed to Wen Qiao. The old monkey king hopped about in agitation, chirping complaints nonstop but dared not intervene. When Wen Qiao was distributing the spirit pills, he stealthily offered her the Water Cloud Fruit he had been saving for himself.

Accepting the spirit monkeys' spirit wine and the seven-leaved Tong Ling Zhi that the white-bellied wolf spider had retrieved, Wen Qiao exchanged them for Blue Spirit Pills according to their value. Finally, she bid farewell to the group of beasts.

Afterward, they left the small valley and set out for the outskirts of Cangwu Mountain.

As the saying goes, ascending a mountain is easy, but descending is hard.

In the case of Cangwu Mountain, this difficulty referred to the encounters with the monsters along the way. Passing through their territories uneventfully was one thing; should a direct confrontation arise, it would inevitably lead to a clash.

For Wen Qiao, any creature daring to obstruct her path would face her head-on, and she would see who could withstand the other's strength!

Without the need for the Stealthy Scale Guards to intervene, Wen Qiao single-handedly dealt with those obstructive monsters, forcing them to quickly step aside and not dare to hinder her again.

They descended the mountain smoothly and without incident.