After the cursed grapefruit and white-haired roses painfully offered several precious, centuries-old medicinal herbs as an apology, Qingzhu, abandoning her previous domineering demeanor, suddenly patted her not-so-small chest, which bounced back, and stuck out her tongue, exclaiming, "Oh, oh, that scared me to death! Luckily they're gone!"

Then, disregarding all decorum, she plopped down in the chair and leaned back, refusing to get up. So, most of what happened earlier was just an act? This girl actually has a talent for acting?

"Sister Qingzhu, didn't you just defeat them? I'm so useless, I couldn't even help!" Li Yun said in confusion, feeling somewhat guilty.

Her complexion regained some color; she had been quite frightened just now.

Since beginning her cultivation journey, Li Yun had only increased her level, but had no combat experience whatsoever. Faced with this massive scene, she panicked. The battles between Qingzhu, Liu Meigui, and Baiyin all happened in an instant; she couldn't even see them clearly, but the immense pressure made her feel breathless even from afar.

"Shh!" Youzhu put a finger to her lips and shushed, then looked around before whispering, "Oh dear, that was dangerous just now, didn't you know?"

"I have a mid-level magic weapon given to me by my master, but I'm only level 28, while those two are both over level 30. The difference in strength is huge. Even if we fight with mid-level magic weapons, it will basically be a lose-lose situation. What if I hurt you?"

Li Yun was immediately moved. If Qingzhu hadn't pushed her away, she probably would have been hurt.

If she weren't around, Qingzhu might have fought back, but with her there, she was a burden, preventing Qingzhu from acting freely.

"It's all because I'm not good enough!" Li Yun said regretfully.

"Hehe, your cultivation speed isn't slow at all! I really don't know what good stuff Zhang Guodong gave you. In just three months, you've already reached the peak of level eleven. You'll be level twelve soon! This speed isn't slower than Senior Sister's cultivation speed back in the Great Elder's Cultivation Forest! However, it's fast in the early stages, but the speed of improvement slows down as you progress, which is normal!" Qingzhu said with a hint of envy. "Yunyun, I'll spar with you from now on. After you level up, you can cause trouble for that sissy!"

"Great!" Li Yun exclaimed happily. She couldn't have wanted this more! Without combat experience, one couldn't perform at their full potential in dangerous situations, which was a huge disadvantage. Some people couldn't unleash their true abilities, while others performed at 100%, and some even fought opponents far stronger than themselves—this showed just how important combat experience was.

Two explosions rang out from Peach Blossom Lodge, sounding very loud in the quiet night and carrying far, attracting the attention of most of the people in Jixing Village. Zhao Laoliu went to bed late. After making sure Yaya was sound asleep, he left the courtyard, only to hear two rather loud explosions. Startled, he didn't dare delay and immediately looked towards Peach Blossom Lodge.

But the night was pitch black, and he couldn't see what was happening on the other side. He quickly reported to Zhao Sanshun. Zhao Sanshun was just about to go to sleep when Zhao Laoliu told him that two explosions had come from Taoyuan Xiaozhu. Actually, he had heard them too, and was wondering about them when Zhao Laoliu arrived. Upon hearing this, Zhao Sanshun's sleepiness vanished instantly. He quickly got dressed and hurriedly led a group of villagers to find Taoyuan Xiaozhu.

Zhang Guodong and others have already integrated into Jixing Village. As the executive deputy village head and the village's financial patron, his importance to everyone is self-evident. If he were to encounter trouble or get into trouble, the people of Jixing Village would not stand for it.

"Did you bring your weapons?" More and more strong villagers gathered as they walked, all carrying sticks, and some of Qiangzi and his friends even brought air rifles.

"I've taken it; this stick is sturdy enough!"

I never expected the local people to be so fierce.

Village officials, including Zhao Sanshun, did not stop the villagers from acting on their own. They simply looked serious and quickened their pace toward the stone bridge.

"Third Uncle, Zhang Guodong's phone has no signal, I can't get through," Qiangzi said helplessly.

"Qiangzi, you take some men to the road at the village entrance, the rest of you go this way!" Zhao Sanshun waved his hand, directly assigning the men. He was cursing inwardly, wondering which bastard had the audacity to attack Taoyuan Xiaozhu.

I hope that the explosion doesn't kill anyone!

"Okay!" Qiangzi immediately accepted the order and led seven or eight strong young men towards the village entrance, not daring to waste any time.

"Third Uncle, we can't hear any cries for help over there either. I don't know who said it."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sanshun and the others felt even more alarmed. Murder to silence witnesses? This phrase terrified them greatly.

"Hurry up!" Zhao Sanshun shouted, increasing his speed once again.

Behind the group followed another person, Lan Hua. She had come out after hearing the commotion in the village. Upon hearing that something might have happened at Peach Blossom Abode, she became extremely anxious and immediately called Li Yun.

I thought I wouldn't be able to get through, but after ringing twice, the call actually went through.

"Is this Li Yun? There was an explosion at Taoyuan Xiaozhu. Are you all alright?" Lan Hua asked anxiously.

"An explosion?" Li Yun was taken aback when she received Lan Hua's call. She then understood what it meant.

"Ah, yes, it was an explosion, but it was just a sound from watching a movie; the sound system wasn't turned up properly. It wasn't real. Qingzhu was there too!"

The sound coming from the speakers?

Fortunately, Li Yun was quick-witted and didn't mention the gas tank explosion.

We chatted for a few minutes before hanging up.

Lan Hua finally understood; it was a false alarm. Seeing her third uncle and the others carrying sticks and weapons, she quickly jogged after them. She hoped they wouldn't frighten anyone.

"Blue Flower, what are you doing here?" Someone frowned when they saw Blue Flower running up from behind. Fighting is a man's job; in the dark of night, isn't a woman just causing trouble?

Only then did the group step onto the stone bridge, outside the Iron Thorns.

"No, I called Li Yun online. They're fine. It's just that the sound system isn't working properly, causing the movie to play," Qingzhu said hurriedly to Lan Hua.

"What? An explosion sound from a movie?"

They exchanged glances. Zhao Sanshun paused for a moment, then walked inside. He frowned and said, "It's best to take a look!"

"Yes, what if something really happens, and we get taken hostage?"

When Zhao Sanshun and the others arrived at the courtyard of Taoyuan Xiaozhu, Li Yun and Qingzhu had already come out and turned on the lights in front of the courtyard, but the lights inside the courtyard were off. The two were somewhat guilty. The courtyard had been in a mess due to the collision of the magical artifacts, and they couldn't leave the lights on. They didn't want anyone to notice anything amiss and have trouble explaining themselves.

Soon after, Qiangzi arrived with the villagers.

After hearing Li Yun's thanks and explanation, no one thought much of it. Seeing that it was just a false alarm, Zhao Sanshun breathed a sigh of relief, gave a few words of advice to be careful, and then led everyone away.

"How are we going to clean up this yard? We should really squeeze more money out of them. Look at all the flowers and plants, the fence is all broken, ugh! It needs fixing!" Qingzhu sighed. "Hey, where are Erhei and Erqing? Cowards! Did they just run away?"

“Sister Qingzhu, Erhei and Erqing are right next to me without internet, and Liu Meigui and Baiyin… went back to their hideout!” Li Yun said, startled.

When Liu Meigui and Baiyin appeared, Erhei and Erqing immediately stood guard beside Li Yun as if facing a formidable enemy, never leaving her side. However, they were simply too weak, and were completely disregarded by Liu Meigui and Baiyin.

"Ugh, those two stinky guys! All that 'benefits' I usually give them!"

Qingzhu usually gives Erhei and Erqing a lot of "benefits", but when it comes down to it, they only protect Li Yun and not her. I feel a little resentful!

"Hehe, Sister Qingzhu, don't be angry. You often bully them and don't give them good things like crystals. You should give them more benefits!"

Qingjiu was immediately discouraged upon hearing this.

Li Yun was sometimes really willing to give Erhei and the others crystals. Although she didn't give them many, it was already quite remarkable that she would do this for Erhei and the others who weren't yet demon beasts.

Early the next morning, Xuan Qingxuan and Qin Lina returned to Peach Blossom Abode.

Eager to claim credit, Qingzhu recounted how Liu Meigui and Baiyin had come to cause trouble. Xuan Qingxuan's face darkened with a mixture of satisfaction and schadenfreude. She inquired about the details, but then her anger flared. Qingzhu possessed intermediate-level magical artifacts. And not just one; she knew. If Liu Meigui and Baiyin came again, Qingzhu would at least not lose, and might even have a chance to win. Intermediate-level magical artifacts were no ordinary artifacts; the difference in their levels was like a chasm, far more powerful than elementary-level ones.

However, Xuan Qingxuan could not tolerate the fact that some of the younger generation had come to Peach Blossom Abode intending to kill and rob it.

However, Liu Meigui and Baiyin, the two senior siblings, had already disappeared without a trace, and even if Xuan Qingxuan wanted to teach them, she couldn't find them.

We can only discuss this after Zhang Guodong finishes his cultivation!

Xuan Qingxuan knew that Zhang Guodong had a way to contact Liu Meigui; the communication talisman contained Liu Meigui's mental imprint. However, another month passed.

When Zhang Guodong walked out of the second-floor room, it was a gloomy afternoon, and it looked like it was going to rain.

"I've actually been in there for two months!" Zhang Guodong exclaimed with a confident smile. He had been so immersed in the environment that he was rapidly increasing his physical strength that he had completely lost track of time. Only when the gravity field in the stone house no longer had a noticeable effect on him did he awaken from his cultivation and leisurely stroll out of the stone house.

The gravity outside the stone house made Zhang Guodong feel incredibly fragile again, and he had no choice but to stop after only a few steps. It seemed that this gravitational field existed throughout the entire space, becoming stronger the deeper one went into the center of the river. Clearly, if we understand it this way, the gravity inside the stone house was at the lowest level in this space!

This deduction was somewhat disheartening, but it also invigorated Zhang Guodong. It indicated that his training in the gravity field would not stop at the stone house.

The environment outside the stone house astonished him even more. It seemed both incredibly far away and incredibly close, a vast, ethereal space obscured by wisps of illusory currents, making it impossible to distinguish reality from fiction. It bore no resemblance to the first level.

"Boom!"

Before he could even appreciate the sound, a sudden booming sound instantly deafened him, and his head began to buzz. It took him a while to recover, and he quickly plugged his ears to feel a little better.

The shock didn't stop there; Zhang Guodong wondered if he was seeing things. The river he had seen reflected in the sky above the Mountain and River Peaks outside had actually appeared here. The river was incredibly vast, its black waters surging and roaring deafeningly, as if countless monstrous beasts were struggling within it, a sight that shook the very soul. Moreover, the black river, like a celestial river, had no source and no end in sight. As one approached the center of the river, large tornadoes and whirlpools frequently appeared, like streaks of black lightning connecting to the sky, the rumbling sound making it seem as if the only sound in the space was this deafening roar.

The violent aura emanating from that explosion of heaven and earth was so powerful that it soared into the sky and penetrated the upper levels. Zhang Guodong couldn't help but swallow hard, trembling with fear. So powerful! Is this the power of heaven and earth? It seems that humans are simply no match for it.

Zhang Guodong initially thought this space would be very quiet, but he didn't expect that the stone house had completely blocked out all sound!

Upon closer inspection of the stone house, Zhang Guodong was once again dumbfounded. The stone house was actually carved from a single piece of spatial jade, but it emitted a continuous, undulating power. The room itself had a volume of three hundred cubic meters and weighed over a hundred tons!

Extremely luxurious, extremely shocking.

What is Space Jade? It's the most advanced material in the cultivation world, used to construct all spatial arrays. It's extremely precious and rare! The fact that there's such a huge piece here completely shattered Zhang Guodong's confidence.

The person who built this nine-story pagoda must have been unimaginably wealthy! To use such a massive piece of spatial jade to build a stone house, merely serving as a gravity field? Extravagant! Utterly extravagant! What a waste of precious resources. When he returned to the outside world, he was already smug about the small amount of spatial jade he had teleported; compared to what he saw now, it was nothing!

Zhang Guodong felt a pang of heartache; he couldn't very well tear down the stone house, could he?

He considered the idea for a moment and then abandoned it. He wasn't familiar with the second floor and dared not tamper with it. Who knew if demolishing the stone house would trigger a chain reaction?

It's never a bad thing to be cautious.

In short, this second layer of the environment was incredibly impactful for Zhang Guodong, but upon reflection, it also ignited his confidence. With such an environment, given time, it would be impossible for him not to become powerful in the future.

Having finally swallowed hard, Zhang Guodong began to observe, hoping to find other valuable materials on this second level. Unfortunately, apart from the incredibly hard, blue-green ground, it was completely clean and offered no other clues. He figured he'd have to explore to the bottom of the river, but Zhang Guodong immediately gave up. Let alone reaching the riverbank, the river was far too dangerous.

Zhang Guodong found no signs of life in the river. With such violent forces of nature at play, how could a river be easily subdued?

In this space, the spiritual energy was ten thousand times denser, and the gravity varied. Apart from that, Zhang Guodong did not reproduce any useful information.

After a while, Zhang Guodong exited the second level. The exit was smooth, just like the first level; he simply moved on and was out.

I was surprised to find that two months had passed in the blink of an eye when I came out!

This is probably the longest he has ever spent cultivating.

His stomach rumbled; he was hungry. Zhang Guodong rubbed his stomach and went downstairs.

But Zhang Guodong looked around and couldn't find anyone there. Even Xuan Qingxuan wasn't there. He was the only one in the entire Peach Blossom Abode. Frustrated, Zhang Guodong called Li Yun.

Unexpectedly, quite a few things had happened outside while she had been away for two months. Li Yun and the others had been invited and were currently having dinner at the Jiahao Hotel.