Rong Jiaojiao's eyes lit up: "Thank you, Master. You have no idea how powerful the Three Talents Heavenly Thunder Soul-Destroying Array you researched was..."

After chatting for a while, Qing Xuanzi interrupted, "Alright, let's rest for today. We can talk about everything tomorrow."

"All right!"

Rong Jiaojiao pouted. All she did was come to her master's side and talk a little more. Why didn't her master want to listen?

The next day, when Rong Jiaojiao woke up, she saw that her master had already bought breakfast and returned. She immediately ran over and said, "Good morning, Master!"

Qing Xuanzi smiled and said, "Come, sit down and have breakfast. Your master has something to tell you."

Rong Jiaojiao sat down: "Master, what's wrong? Has the injury to your sea of ​​consciousness completely healed?"

"Alright, this is what I wanted to tell you. I'm going back to the Demon Sealing Formation to help exterminate the demon spirits."

Rong Jiaojiao asked worriedly, "Master, didn't you say you would go back in a year? Your consciousness is still intact, won't there be any problems if you go?"

Qing Xuanzi shook his head: "I've already fought a few battles, no problem."

Rong Jiaojiao pouted: "Once you go back, we might not see each other for several years."

Qing Xuanzi patted Rong Jiaojiao's head: "Wait, once the evil spirit falls asleep again, your master will accompany you to find resources so that you can grow up quickly and have the ability to protect yourself."

Rong Jiaojiao was deeply moved, and tears welled up in her eyes. She choked out, "Thank you, Master! Please take good care of yourself when you go to the Demon Sealing Formation."

Qing Xuanzi nodded: "Don't worry, I've prepared many talismans during my recovery period to protect myself."

For the next few days, Rong Jiaojiao stayed by Qing Xuanzi's side, following him wherever he went, just like when they were children.

Qing Xuanzi took her to exchange for talisman-making materials and prepared various pills for her.

During this time, I also explained to Rong Jiaojiao the parts of her cultivation that she didn't understand.

Five days later, Qi Lan came to visit.

Qing Xuanzi looked at the person who had suddenly appeared and asked, "Senior Qi, is there another mission?"

Qi Lan nodded: "There is a small oasis in the Xiliang Desert, with a small pond that has never dried up, not even during the drought ten years ago. That spring has sustained many people."

Qi Lan continued solemnly, "But some time ago, that oasis suddenly dried up, and the villagers who went to investigate disappeared one after another. The inspection team sent people to investigate, and the news they sent back said that they found abnormal blood energy fluctuations at the bottom of the pool."

"But then there was no news of the investigators, and they disappeared."

Rong Jiaojiao frowned and asked, "When are we going? Just the two of us?"

Qi Lan shook her head: "Let's leave now. I contacted Young Master Mo before I came, and they will be going together."

Rong Jiaojiao looked at her master, and Qing Xuanzi patted her head: "Be careful, your master will be waiting for you to come back."

Rong Jiaojiao hugged his arm: "Master, you must also be careful, and don't always rush to the front when something happens."

Qing Xuanzi chuckled: "I know, go!"

Turning to Qi Lan, he said, "Senior, I'm entrusting Jiaojiao to you!"

Qi Lan hummed in agreement, summoned his flying sword, and Rong Jiaojiao, carrying Zi Ling, leaped onto it. She only had time to wave goodbye to her master before Qi Lan's flying sword transformed into a streak of light, carrying Rong Jiaojiao as it streaked across the sky and disappeared into the distance.

Zi Ling stood on her master's shoulder, her purple fur billowing backward in the gust of wind.

"Senior Qi, shall we go directly to Xiliang?" Rong Jiaojiao asked after setting up the barrier.

Qi Lan tilted her head slightly: "Let's go and meet up with Mo Bai first."

After flying for about three or four hours, the mountains and rivers below gradually changed.

The verdant mountains beneath our feet were gradually replaced by the barren Gobi Desert, the yellow sand gleaming dazzlingly golden in the sunlight.

Rong Jiaojiao squinted her eyes, and after more than ten minutes, she saw several familiar figures standing on the sand dunes in the distance.

"We've arrived." Qi Lan's flying sword slowly descended.

Mo Bai was sitting lazily on a sand dune, toying with a golden compass in his hand. Upon seeing them, he immediately waved and said, "You've finally arrived! If you hadn't come soon, I would have been dried up by the wind."

Rong Jiaojiao jumped off the flying sword and found that in addition to Mo Bai and Mo Zhizhou, there were three unfamiliar cultivators: an old man wearing a gray Taoist robe, a young woman carrying a medicine box, and a tall man shrouded in a black robe.

"This is Daoist Shahe, a Mage-level cultivator, and a local guide from Xiliang," Mo Bai introduced, pointing to the gray-robed elder. "Liu Hanyan, a Geomancer-level cultivator, is a medical practitioner sent by the Pill Pavilion." Finally, pointing to the black-robed man, "And this is..."

“Night Owl, Celestial Master Realm.” The black-robed man’s voice was hoarse as he nodded slightly.

Rong Jiaojiao greeted everyone politely, but felt that this person was strange. Fortunately, she did not sense that he had any ill intentions towards her.

Qi Lan looked around at everyone: "How is the situation?"

The Taoist Shahe stroked his beard: "The oasis is just three miles ahead, but we just went there and didn't find any clues."

Rong Jiaojiao looked in the direction that Shahe Daoren was pointing, and saw a faint gray outline at the end of the yellow sand in the distance, slightly distorted in the heat wave.

“Strange,” Zi Ling transmitted to her, “I smell something rotten.”

Mo Bai put away the magic brush and patted the sand off his robes: "Let's go, while the sun is still high, let's hurry and take a look. Things in the desert won't be easy to deal with after dark."

The group walked forward, stepping on the loose sand.

Rong Jiaojiao noticed that Night Owl walked almost silently, and occasionally a cold metallic glint flashed beneath his black robe.

"Did you notice?" she whispered to Zi Ling, "that night owl's right hand..."

Zi Ling narrowed her purple eyes: "It's a mechanical arm, with runes engraved on it."

Stepping into the oasis, the scene before one's eyes is chilling.

The bottom of the dried-up pond was covered with cracks, but a strange dark red liquid seeped out of the cracks.

All the surrounding palm trees had withered, and their trunks were covered with claw marks.

Liu Hanyan crouched down, took out a silver needle from her medicine box, and inserted it into the crack: "This is not water, it's blood!"

"Watch out!" Several voices rang out at the same time.

The sand in the center of the pond suddenly collapsed, and a huge whirlpool was formed, engulfing several people at the same time.

"Retreat!" Qi Lan shouted sharply, and three golden talismans flew out from his sleeve, instantly forming a protective array under everyone's feet.

Rong Jiaojiao reacted quickly, grabbing Liu Hanyan who was closest to the vortex. At the same time, she made a hand seal to activate the Three Talents Heavenly Thunder Soul-Destroying Array. Purple lightning exploded on the sand, forcibly forcing back the spreading blood sand.

"Where is Daoist Shahe?" Mo Bai looked around, his expression changing drastically.

Night Owl's black robe billowed without wind, and his mechanical arms creaked and transformed into a long sword, its blade engraved with demon-suppressing runes. He said in a deep voice, "There's no time to save them, take care of the living first!"

Before the words were finished, dozens of tentacles formed from blood and sand suddenly emerged from the vortex, coiling towards the group like venomous snakes.

With a sharp cry, Zi Ling's body swelled up, transforming into a three-zhang-tall purple behemoth, tearing apart several tentacles with a single claw.