Chapter 60

Chapter 60

The Crimson Heaven Sect was located in the western region of the Central Continent, nestled within the Verdant Mist Mountains.

Traveling from the Heavenly Pill Valley to the Crimson Heaven Sect by air vehicle would take about half a month at full speed.

After leaving the Heavenly Pill Valley, Qin Hongdao's air vehicle headed straight for the Verdant Mist Mountains where the sect resided.

A few days into the journey, they passed through a desolate marshland when the air vehicle was suddenly attacked.

The vehicle shook violently, but as it was a Celestial-grade spiritual artifact, it sustained minimal damage. However, the passengers inside were instantly on high alert.

Wen Qiao swiftly opened the door, her figure as light as the wind. A white ball clung to her shoulder—a rabbit that had been hastily scooped up. With her rapid pace, the bunny soared, resembling a fluffy ball hanging from her shoulder.

Ning Yuzhou followed her at a leisurely pace.

Reaching the front of the air vehicle, which resembled a spacious hall, Wen Qiao saw the furious Sheng Yunshen and Qin Hongdao, who was holding her massive blade, ready to confront their attackers outside.

"Senior Sister Qin, what's going on out there?" Wen Qiao inquired.

Qin Hongdao chuckled. "It's nothing serious, just some blind vultures trying to pick a fight with me. Don't worry, I'll teach them a lesson and be back in no time."

Wen Qiao quickly interjected, "I'm coming too."

Sheng Yunshen was startled and hurriedly said, "Ming sister, let Senior Sister handle it. She's a force to be reckoned with; no amount of opponents would scare her."

"Who's a force to be reckoned with?!" Qin Hongdao playfully tapped her junior brother on the back of his head with the hilt of her blade, chiding him with a smile. Then, she turned to Wen Qiao and, without refusing her request, said, "Alright, let's go together. We'll give those ignorant scoundrels a sound beating and teach them some manners."

Wen Qiao happily agreed and, with a wave of her hand, a long, stone-gold whip appeared in her grip.

She told Ning Yuzhou, "Husband, we're going out with Elder Sister Qin to settle a dispute. You guys stay here."

Wen Tutu also sent him a telepathic message, expressing her agreement.

Ning Yuzhou smiled warmly at her and said softly, "Go ahead, but be careful not to get hurt."

"Okay, don't worry," Wen Qiao replied, before leaping out of the flying vehicle alongside Qin Hongdao. Her departing figure seemed more lively and less solemn than usual.

Sheng Yunshen opened his mouth, noticing Ning Yuzhou calmly staring outside. He couldn't help but say, "Ning Young Master, you really shouldn't have let her go out just now. Those who dare to rob on the road are usually desperados. Sister Min's cultivation is still low. What if she gets hurt?"

"Nah, Miss Qin is with her," Ning Yuzhou replied with a smile. "Besides, I trust Ah Chu."

Sheng Yunshen's gaze shifted to the outside of the aircraft, still worried.

If it were any other junior brothers and sisters accompanying their Senior Sister to beat up someone, he wouldn't be concerned. But Wen Qiao's appearance was too deceiving, and coupled with the fact that she rarely showed her skills except in her battle against Mu Shan in Cangwu Town, Sheng Yunshen still saw her as an adorable and gentle young lady who needed protection. Her victory over Mu Shan was only because Mu Shan was too weak.

Those outside were specialized bandits who had likely killed countless innocent cultivators. How could Mu Shan compare to them?

Amidst Sheng Yunshen's worries, Qin Hongdao and Wen Qiao had already confronted the group of bandit cultivators.

There were ten of them, all with cultivation levels that Wen Qiao couldn't penetrate. They hovered in mid-air, riding on various kinds of spirit artifacts. The leader was a burly man with a thick beard, whose cultivation was unfathomable. Just standing there, he exuded a terrifying aura.

Qin Hongdao didn't summon her long saber but picked up a sword instead, pointing it at the burly man. "Robbers, huh?"

The burly man grinned, revealing a row of sharp white teeth, clearly not taking the two female cultivators seriously.

In their eyes, female cultivators were weak. Even if they were powerful, they were limited by their innate conditions. A female cultivator at the same level as a male cultivator was always weaker. Qin Hongdao's cultivation was on par with his, both being at the Yuanling Realm, but the burly man didn't take her seriously. Looking at the aircraft behind them, it was very elegant, the kind that well-bred, refined female cultivators would use.

Items like these are often mere ostentation, but they remain popular among female cultivators, thus keeping their market prices high. If sold on the black market, they could fetch a considerable fortune.

Female cultivators and their elegant flyers were prime targets for robbery in their eyes.

"Brothers, seize these two women, and the flyer will be ours!"

The burly man's voice boomed like a bell, accompanied by laughter as he brandished a massive hammer, charging at Qin Hongdao.

Qin Hongdao laughed too. She had been in this line of work for a while, and many arrogant individuals had crossed her path, only to end up kneeling before her, weeping and begging for mercy.

She propelled herself with a spirit sword, gliding through the air with a swift whoosh, darting past the group of assailants at an astonishing speed.

The robbers hardly had time to react. They felt a sudden pain in their chests and tumbled from their flying swords, dazed and confused.

Before they could regain their composure, Qin Hongdao was already in front of the burly man, engaging him in combat.

Those who had fallen scrambled to their feet, ready to aid their leader, when thick vines suddenly burst from the ground, binding them all.

"What is this?"

The bound cultivators were even more bewildered.

However, they reacted swiftly and soon realized who was behind this – it was actually another female Yuanming Realm cultivator they had overlooked from the beginning.

Qin Hongdao's imposing aura was too strong, causing Wen Qiao standing beside her to be completely ignored.

Furthermore, with Wen Qiao only at the Yuanming Realm, she was not considered an opponent by these cultivators at all. Naturally, they didn't take her seriously. Little did they know that this very oversight would lead to their downfall.

Wen Qiao didn't care about their thoughts. While Qin Hongdao was slapping them off the spirit artifact, she promptly nurtured a segment of the Stone Gold Python Vine to bind them first before dealing with each one individually.

Her low cultivation level wasn't a problem; she could just fight them one by one, eventually defeating them all.

Wen Qiao lifted a cultivator and clenched her delicate little fists, delivering a punch.

"Aaaah—"

The wail of pain startled the other bound cultivators.

Aside from the burly man, the lowest among them was at the Primordial Martial Realm, with two even at the Yuankong Realm. If not for Qin Hongdao injuring them when she slapped them down, Wen Qiao might not have been able to bind them at all.

The two cultivators in the Yuankong Realm immediately flew into a rage. They gathered their Yuanling Energy, ready to break free from the Shijin Python Vine's bindings. At that moment, Wentin, hiding in the shadows, made his move.

Now at the Eighth Stage, Wentin was equivalent to a cultivator in the Yuanling Realm, and his power surpassed that of the two in the Yuankong Realm by one level. With a swift swipe of his paws, the rabbit scratched their faces, tearing the flesh and splattering blood. Then, with a flurry of invisible rabbit claws, black strands of hair danced in the air as Wentin raked his claws across their heads.

When Wentin leaped back, the two cultivators in the Yuankong Realm were barely breathing, hanging limply from the Shijin Python Vine on the verge of death. Their shiny bald heads now provided a rather amusing sight.

Sheng Yunshen, watching the battle from the flying vehicle, was utterly stunned.

Mouth agape, he stammered after a long while, "Young Master Ning, Wentin... he..."

"It likes to shave things, particularly fur," Ning Yuzhou said casually. Human hair could also be considered a form of body hair; there was nothing wrong with that logic.

Sheng Yunshen hastily covered his head, protecting the locks of his black hair, and felt fortunate that the last time Wen Tutu leaped onto his head, she hadn't used her claws on it.

The battle outside continued uninterrupted.

By the time Qin Hongdao emerged victorious against the burly man, Wen Qiao was still in the midst of her own barrage, pummeling each person bound by the Stone Golden Python's vines. Wen Tuttu crouched nearby, nibbling on an exquisite Spirit Pill while keeping a watchful eye for any who dared to disobey or attempt a sneak attack. At the slightest sign of disobedience, it would pounce with a rabbit-stomp, its claws scratching until they questioned their existence.

As Wen Qiao continued her barrage, she suddenly broke through a threshold.

Raging Primal Essence Qi flooded into her body, and the suppressed cultivation finally found its breakthrough. The peak barrier of the Yuanming Realm was shattered, and she successfully advanced to the Primordial Martial Realm. Her cultivation only stabilized at the middle stage of the Primordial Martial Realm.

Qin Hongdao watched with amusement and couldn't help but say, "Sister Min, that's enough."

Wen Qiao held a man whose face had been beaten into a pig's head. She looked up, then threw him to the ground.

Qin Hongdao carried the burly man over and observed Wen Qiao's condition. Although she had just broken through, her cultivation was condensed, without any signs of instability from a forced advancement. It was clear that her cultivation had genuinely risen.

The burly man, defeated by Qin Hongdao, wished he were dead. He wept bitterly and almost clung to her legs, begging for mercy like a granddaughter.

"We immortals just wanted to plunder some Yuanjing to survive, no ill intentions. We swear..."

Qin Hongdao smiled. "Swearing to me is useless. I don't believe you. You encountered me, but if it were someone weaker, you might have killed them long ago. Killers will always be killed. Remember that lesson."

With that said, Qin Hongdao didn't waste any words and swiftly crippled their spirit orifices.

After being deprived of their spirit orifices, the group turned from cultivators into ordinary people unable to cultivate. Their regrets came too late.

Even so, Qin Hongdao didn't let them off. After extracting information about the forces behind them and their lair, she and Wen Qiao eradicated the rest of the bandits, chasing them all the way back to their hideout.

Following that, they also took the opportunity to eliminate the bandits lurking nearby, sparing other innocent cultivators from harm.

Wen Qiao enjoyed the battle and kept close to Qin Hongdao all the way.

Initially, Qin Hongdao had been somewhat worried about her low cultivation level, fearing she might get injured by other cultivators. He considered using the same tactic as before, incapacitating the threatening bandits along the way for her to practice on. However, with Wen TuTu providing support, Wen Qiao only needed to charge ahead fearlessly, relying solely on her fists to conquer all.

This allowed her to fight freely, and they didn't stop until the area was cleared of bandits. Then, they resumed their journey.

*

Back at the spacecraft, Sheng Yunshen appeared rather timid as he timidly greeted the two heroic women returning from their mission.

"Min sister, congratulations on your breakthrough."

Wen Qiao gave him a playful grin, leaving Sheng Yunshen both intimidated and unable to resist stealing a few more glances. The young girl's smile, with its dimples blooming, was genuinely adorable.

How could such an adorable girl be so ruthless when fighting?

In contrast, Ning Yuzhou proved to be dependable, giving each of them a Spirit Replenishing Pill.

Wen Tuttu discovered that it didn't have any, and immediately let out a loud snort. Only after Ning Gege gave it a spirit pill did it happily stuff it into its cheek pouch.

Wen Qiao took it and immediately popped it into her mouth without even looking at it.

Qin Hongdao's expression turned serious as his eyes widened. "Is this an exceptional-grade Profound Rank Spirit Replenishing Pill?"

As a spirit pill that cultivators could use to replenish their Essence Energy during battles, there were no limitations on the grades when Alchemists first created the Spirit Replenishing Pills. They ranged from the Yellow Rank to the Profound Rank, Earth Rank, and even Heaven Rank. The higher the rank, the more effective they were in replenishing Essence Energy.

This was also because cultivators had different cultivation levels, and thus required varying amounts of Essence Energy. For high-ranking cultivators, they needed higher-grade Spirit Replenishing Pills. How much Essence Energy could those Yellow Rank pills provide? Swallowing a pile of them might not even replenish the necessary amount, which would be disastrous during battles.

Qin Hongdao looked at the Profound Rank Spirit Replenishing Pill in his hand and suddenly asked, "Young Master Ning refined this?"

Ning Yuzhou maintained his gentle demeanor, his warm gaze like jade, appearing harmless and amiable like a good-natured person. However, to Qin Hongdao and his sister, he was unfathomable.

How long had it been? Not only could he refine a Profound Rank pill, but he could even refine an exceptional-grade one. Even if he was a genius alchemist, wasn't this a bit monstrous?

Only Wen Qiao found it reasonable and didn't think it was odd for her husband to be so monstrous.

After describing the earlier bandit-slaying incident, Ning Yuzhou led Wen Qiao back to their room to rest.

The senior sister and junior brother watched them leave, when suddenly Qin Hongdao slapped his junior brother's back so hard that it made him grimace. Through his winced smile, Qin Hongdao said, "Junior Brother, when I decided to try every possible means to save you by seeking help from Young Master Ning, little did I expect... that your poisoning this time would turn out quite fortuitous."

Sheng Yunshen instantly felt wronged. "Senior Sister, how can you say that? Back then, with my ugly appearance, what was good about me?"

Qin Hongdao patted his head and chuckled.

Indeed, fools have their own fortuitous charm.

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After leading Wen Qiao back to their room, Ning Yuzhou examined her body and found no serious injuries. Although there were some superficial wounds, they could easily be remedied with a superior-grade spirit pill – hardly a concern.

"How was the bandit suppression mission?" Ning Yuzhou asked.

Wen Qiao's eyes sparkled as she looked at him. "Some of those cultivators were quite formidable. In the beginning, Sister Qin would injure them for me to practice on. Later, when she saw that Wen Tuzi could lend a hand, she didn't intervene anymore."

Wen Qiao had a penchant for combat. In the past, she would engage in battles with magical beasts, but clashes with cultivators were a rare occurrence.

This bandit extermination mission has finally made up for her shortcomings in battling cultivators, bringing her great joy.

Ning Yuzhou gazed at Wen Qiao with gentle eyes as she animatedly recounted their joint mission with Qin Hongdao to dismantle the bandit den. He listened quietly, not interrupting her tale.

After that raid, the journey ahead seemed much smoother.

However, perhaps due to the conspicuousness of their vessel, they were ambushed again when they were halfway to Crimson Heaven Sect.

Compared to the straightforward robbery before, this time, the attackers were more skilled in their ambush tactics. The entire spacecraft was flipped backward, crashing into a mountain range.

Qin Hongdao flew out in a rage, promptly grabbing and pummeling the ambushers without hesitation.

Wen Qiao followed closely behind, only to realize that Qin Hongdao's speed was too swift, leaving no room for her or Wen Tuttu to intervene. This suggested that during their previous encounter with bandits, Qin Hongdao had shown some restraint, at least allowing them the chance to spout nonsense.

Qin Hongdao dragged all the ambushers out from their hiding spots, not missing a single one.

Unfortunately, after subjecting them to a brutal beating, they died with blood pouring from their seven orifices before revealing their origins or motives.

Qin Hongdao's expression turned grim.

Ning Yuzhou and Sheng Yunshen also emerged from the spacecraft.

Ning Yuzhou bent down to inspect each of the deceased cultivators one by one. "Their sea of consciousness has been destroyed. The cause of their death lies in what was imprinted within it."

"Such viciousness?" Sheng Yunshen exclaimed in horror. "Senior Sister, isn't this kind of mind control similar to what the Shadow Tower does?"

Qin Hongdao raised an eyebrow. "We have no grudges with the Shadow Tower."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be them. Someone else could have bought our lives from the Shadow Tower as well. Senior Sister, do you think it could be the work of the person behind the Yang Village massacre?" Speculated Sheng Yunshen. Ever since he had been poisoned, his attacker had vanished without a trace.

Given that person's ruthless nature, it wouldn't be surprising if they had sought to purchase their lives from the Shadow Tower.

Qin Hongdao nodded slightly. "That's also a possibility."