She looked down at the heavy wicker basket, her eyes crinkling with laughter, "But the harvest is definitely worth the risk."

Qing Xuanzi continued, "The lightning power contained in this demon core is extremely pure. When combined with the Thunder Pattern Grass to refine the Heavenly Thunder Tempering Pill, it can help cultivators enhance the flexibility of their meridians."

Rong Jiaojiao's eyes lit up, and she said to Yue Ling, "Yueling, did you hear that?"

Yue Ling nodded: "I understand, Master. I'll go refine it after everyone rests."

Zi Ling asked telepathically, "Where should we go next to steal spirit herbs?"

Qing Xuanzi chuckled, "Truly, one is influenced by one's surroundings."

Rong Jiaojiao was displeased: "Master, who are you saying is Mo?"

Qing Xuanzi still smiled and said, "I am Mo!"

Yue Ling chimed in, "So we're all black..."

Haha~~

Everyone was amused. After they had laughed enough, Yue Ling instructed Zi Ling to fly a little lower so that it could better sense the treasure.

In the days that followed, the beasts of the rainforest were frequently raided, and the entire rainforest was filled with fear and unease, with the monsters seeing danger everywhere.

Zi Ling frequently brings back feedback from the beasts.

"Have you heard? The Ironback Bear in the north had its century-old royal jelly stolen!"

These are the words of a spotted squirrel huddled in a tree hole, shivering.

"That's not all!" the pangolin under the tree whispered back. "The poisonous toad in the eastern swamp even had its most treasured thousand-year-old poison pearl stolen, and now it's so angry it's spewing poisonous mist in the swamp!"

...

Meanwhile, the culprits were hiding in a cave where the Moon Spirit had helped conceal their presence, counting their spoils.

Various spiritual herbs, demon cores, and rare treasures were piled up into a small mountain, and the colorful spiritual energy intertwined, making the entire secret realm shimmer with light.

"Master, look!" Yue Ling presented a crystal-clear bead as if it were a treasure. "This is a poison-repelling bead that I swiped from a poisonous toad. If you put it in your mouth, you will be immune to all poisons!"

Rong Jiaojiao took the bead and suddenly noticed something moving inside it.

She leaned closer and her expression changed drastically: "Yue Ling! How come there's a little toad in here?!"

"Huh?" Yue Ling was also stunned. "I didn't notice, I just saw it was glowing..."

Qing Xuanzi sighed, "This isn't some kind of poison-repelling bead; it's clearly the egg of a poisonous toad!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the bead suddenly began to vibrate violently.

A dark green beam of light shot into the sky, piercing through the stone cave and soaring into the heavens!

"Oh no!" Zi Ling exclaimed, her hair standing on end. "That's the tracking mark of the mother toad!"

Sure enough, a loud "croak" came from afar, shaking the entire cave.

Through divine sense, a poisonous toad the size of a small mountain was hopping and leaping toward them, causing a large section of the ground to collapse with each leap.

"Move quickly!" Rong Jiaojiao hurriedly made a hand seal.

Just as everyone was preparing to evacuate, the poisonous toad suddenly opened its mouth and spewed out a cloud of dark green poisonous mist, which instantly enveloped the entire mountain.

The rocks sizzled and corroded in the poisonous fog, turning into a pool of black mud in the blink of an eye.

Qing Xuanzi's expression changed drastically, and the flying sword in his sleeve was drawn with a "clang," creating a barrier of sword energy around everyone.

But the poisonous fog was still slowly eroding the sword light.

In a moment of quick thinking, Yue Ling pulled out an ancient bronze mirror from the pile of spoils: "Master, try this!"

Rong Jiaojiao took the ancient mirror, and the mirror surface suddenly emitted a bluish light, reflecting all the poisonous mist that came at her.

The poisonous toad was backfired on by its own poisonous mist and immediately let out a painful "croaking" sound.

"A great opportunity!" Zi Ling spread her wings and soared into the sky with everyone.

However, they hadn't flown far when a huge golden claw suddenly emerged from the clouds ahead—

"It's the Golden-Winged Roc!" Qing Xuanzi exclaimed.

It turns out that the stolen "poison-avoiding pearl" was a treasure that the Roc was preparing to use to nourish its offspring.

At this moment, its golden pupils burned with rage. "These two-legged beasts dare to steal what it has its eye on. Today, I will tear them apart."

With a poisonous toad behind them and a golden-winged roc in front, the group was in dire straits.

Just at this critical moment, Yue Ling suddenly pulled out a golden feather from her bosom.

"What is this?" Rong Jiaojiao's eyes widened.

"I accidentally pulled it when I was stealing something last time..." Yue Ling chuckled and shook her feathers.

Surprisingly, upon seeing the feathers, the Golden-Winged Roc suddenly retracted its attack stance and tilted its head to examine the group. The Poisonous Toad, however, ignored the warning and pounced again.

A cold glint flashed in the roc's eyes, and its sharp claws lashed out at the poisonous toad like lightning. The two giant beasts immediately grappled, causing the mountains to crumble and the earth to split.

"Run!" Qing Xuanzi seized the opportunity to summon his flying sword and escape.

As soon as everyone left the battlefield, they heard a deafening explosion behind them.

After escaping to safety, Rong Jiaojiao looked at Yueling seriously: "From now on, before taking anything, you must first confirm three things: first, whether it is alive; second, whether it has an owner; and third, whether it is something we can defeat."

Yue Ling nodded sadly, then her eyes suddenly lit up: "Master! That toad egg is glowing!"

The "poison-repelling bead" was trembling slightly in Rong Jiaojiao's palm, and fine cracks appeared on its surface.

With a "snap," a small toad, its body crystal clear and as smooth as jade, hatched from its shell and nuzzled affectionately against Rong Jiaojiao's fingers.

"This..." Qing Xuanzi exclaimed in surprise, "It's the legendary Jade Toad! Once it matures, it can cure all poisons, a treasure that alchemists dream of!"

"Jiaojiao, quickly make it your owner."

Upon hearing this, Rong Jiaojiao immediately used her spiritual power to force out a drop of essence blood and placed it on the forehead of the jade toad.

The blood droplet was instantly absorbed, and contract runes connecting her soul to the little toad appeared on its back.

"I'll call you Yuling then." She gently stroked the jade toad's cool back, and the little guy responded with a "gurgle" sound, then suddenly spat out a colorful bubble.

The moment the bubbles burst, everyone felt refreshed, and even the fatigue from the battle seemed to lessen considerably.

Qing Xuanzi said, "Everyone, hurry up and rest, and leave this forest, otherwise the roc will catch up with us."

Yue Ling was playing with two demon cores, looking very distressed. "We've been in the rainforest for almost a year now, and we still haven't found the jade marrow. What are we going to do about Master's natal weapon?"

Rong Jiaojiao comforted her, "Don't rush, I'm still far from the Earth Master realm, we'll find it slowly."

Yue Ling shook her head: "It's not too late. In at most another year, Master will definitely be able to break through to the late stage of the Profound Master Realm."

"We're getting closer to perfection in the later stages. Once we reach perfection, we'll need to break through. At most, it will take ten years. I believe Master will definitely be able to break through. We need to prepare early."

Rong Jiaojiao shook her head: "It's not that easy. The reason why I'm breaking through to the late stage so quickly is because of the help of the Spirit Marrow Liquid. It won't be so easy from now on."

Yue Ling, however, looked serious and counted on her fingers, saying, "Master, don't forget, we still have Xuan Frost Jade Dew Grass, Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Pills, plus these demon cores..."