A warm, pure wave of energy emanated from the crystal, calming to the soul just by being near it.
However, Gu Yuexiâs face showed no joy. Instead, her lovely brows furrowed in annoyance.
The aura of this Spiritual Crystal was too strong; it was impossible to conceal.
Her Beast Taming Pouch was designed specifically for living creatures... or dead ones, but it couldnât hold Heavenly and Earthly Treasures like this.
She could refine it immediately, but it was obviously not safe to do so here.
âWhat should I do?â
âCarry it all the way back just like this?â
âHow many Demon Beasts and exam candidates would that attract?â
Just as Gu Yuexi was fretting over this...
BUZZ BUZZ.
Chu Sheng flew over leisurely, carrying something.
It was an unremarkable pouch made from some kind of beast hide.
A Spatial Storage Pouch!
Chu Sheng had already looted the half-dead Liu Ming, and this was the only prize.
He tossed the Storage Pouch in front of Gu Yuexi, indicating she should use it.
Gu Yuexi looked at the Storage Pouch at her feet, then back at Chu Sheng. A flicker of imperceptible surprise and approval flashed through her cool eyes.
âNot bad.â
âThis guy... as a partner, heâs barely passable, I suppose!â
Gu Yuexi took the Storage Pouch and carefully placed the Spiritual Crystal inside.
The pure and sacred wave of energy was instantly sealed away, unable to leak out in the slightest.
After stowing her prize, she turned, her cold gaze falling on Liu Ming, who lay in the deep pit, completely incapable of resistance.
She never had any mercy for those who wanted her dead.
She slowly raised her hand, and a sharp gust of palm wind whistled out, cleanly and decisively ending Liu Mingâs life.
Having done this, her gaze slowly shifted to the Array Masters slumped on the ground, their faces ashen.
Feeling Gu Yuexiâs icy stare, Brother Zhang and the others felt their hearts sink to the depths.
âItâs over.â
They had witnessed everything that happened here. They knew the secret of the Spiritual Crystal, and they knew the terrifying power of this mosquito.
âWeâre definitely going to be silenced by death!â
A bone-chilling despair washed over each of them.
They were unwilling to accept this! They were the chosen ones, with limitless futures ahead of them. How could they die so obscurely in this godforsaken place?
However, just as they closed their eyes, ready to embrace death...
...Gu Yuexiâs cool voice rang out once more, but this time, its content stunned them all.
"Iâll give you a chance to live."
Gu Yuexi looked down on them, her tone flat yet carrying an undeniable authority:
"Hand over anything valuable you have. Buy your own lives."
Though she was decisive in killing, she would never slaughter the innocent wantonly. These people hadnât provoked her, nor would they pose any threat in the future. There was naturally no need to kill them.
As for the secret of the Spiritual Crystal... she would find a place to absorb it soon. After she left this place, there would be no need to hide it anymore.
"Huh?"
Brother Zhang and the others snapped their eyes open, their faces a mask of shock and bewilderment.
âWhatâs happening?â
âSheâs not going to kill us? She wants us to pay Life-Buying Money?â
âIs she... planning to let us go?â
After a brief moment of shock, a wave of ecstatic joy at having survived a disaster surged through their hearts!
We can live! Weâre going to live!
Money and possessions are external things; if theyâre gone, you can always earn more. But if your life is gone, then everything is gone!
"Yes! Yes! I have something!"
Brother Zhang, the leader, was the first to react. Ignoring his disheveled state, he scrambled to pull out a large pile of items from his Storage Ring.
"M-Milady! This is everything I own! A few bottles of Second-Grade Qi Recovery Pills, and this Third-Grade Defense Talisman, itâs all for you! I beg you, be merciful!"
The other Array Masters, as if waking from a dream, quickly followed his example. They took out all their most valuable treasures and piled them in front of Gu Yuexi, their faces plastered with fawning, pleading smiles.
Are you kidding? How could they dare hold anything back in the face of absolute power? That would be courting death, wouldnât it?
Gu Yuexiâs gaze swept over the scattered pile of elixirs, talismans, and materials, finally settling on a few bottles of blue pills that emitted a rich medicinal aroma.
Vein-Protecting Pills! And Second-Grade ones at that!
This was exactly what she needed most right now!
Cultivating the Ten Thousand Beasts Melting Furnace Technique placed an immense strain on her meridians. With these few bottles of Second-Grade Vein-Protecting Pills, she would have enough to cultivate without worry all the way to the Peak of Second-Grade!
At last, a trace of satisfaction appeared on Gu Yuexiâs face.
She didnât speak. With a casual wave of her hand, she collected everything on the ground into Liu Mingâs Storage Pouch, then waved them away.
Brother Zhang and the other seven Array Masters, as if granted a great amnesty, scrambled to their feet and hurriedly fled.
âWe survived...â
âWe really survived!â
They exchanged glances, each seeing in the otherâs eyes the relief of having survived, along with a hint of indescribable complexity.
This Gu Yuexi...
Decisive in killing, yet clear about her grievances and gratitude.
She killed Liu Ming because he had tried to kill her.
She didnât kill them because they had never shown her any hostility. In a way, they had even done her a great favor by draining the lake.
Such a temperament, such a code of conduct... it was nothing like that of a teenage high school student!
"Brother Zhang... we..." one of the Array Masters began, his heart still pounding with fear, wanting to say something.
"Shut up!" Brother Zhang immediately hissed, cutting him off. "Everything that happened here today, you keep it buried deep inside! If anyone dares to breathe a single word of this outside, donât blame me for forgetting weâre classmates!"
He knew very well that someone like Gu Yuexi was an existence they absolutely could not afford to provoke.
Being able to buy back their lives with money today was already a stroke of immense luck.
If they dared to go out and gossip, next time, they probably wouldnât be so lucky.
Hearing this, everyoneâs heart grew cold. They all nodded to show they understood.
...
ăMeanwhile.ă
Chu Sheng had no interest in that little "tip" from earlier.
While Gu Yuexi was "transacting" with the Array Masters...
...he had already flapped his wings and landed beside the charred corpse of the Ink Jade Profound Turtle.
Although most of the huge creatureâs flesh had been blasted beyond recognition by the lightning, some parts were still relatively intact, radiating a dense fluctuation of Qi Blood.
Chu Sheng wasnât picky. He plunged his crimson [Melt Heart Demon Spike] fiercely into a relatively intact piece of turtle leg meat.
SZZZâ
A vast and pure surge of Qi Blood Power instantly poured into his body!
[Ding! Host has absorbed 17.8 Qi Blood! Current Total Qi Blood is 483!]
[Digesting blood. Estimated time: 20 minutes! Estimated gain after digestion: 3.5 Evolution Points! Estimated Total Evolution Points: 72.4!]
âNot bad, not bad! This single bite is almost as good as when I sucked the blood of that High-Level Bloodline cub!â
Chu Sheng felt the surging power within him, feeling absolutely delighted.
Even if its bloodline was only Low Level, the quality and quantity of Qi Blood from a Second-Grade Middle Stage Demon Beast was truly incomparable to a First-Gradeâs.
He silently calculated in his mind.
His Total Qi Blood had now reached 483 points. He was only 17 points away from the 500-point mark!
âAfter these twenty minutes, once I finish digesting this batch of blood, Iâll take another bite. As long as I can absorb another 17 points or more...â
â...then wonât I have gathered the 500 Qi Blood Value needed for the fourth evolution?!â
Wuhu! Liftoff!!
Chu Sheng was so excited he rubbed his little hands together.
...
(PS: The past few days have been 5,000-word Chapters. Today I released three Chapters, almost 7,000 words. Thank you all for your support!)