"Su Qing!"

Just then, Su Qing heard someone call her name. She turned her head and saw Han Chen waving at her.

Han Chen and Su Qing had once gone to the back mountain for training together, so they were somewhat familiar with each other.

"Junior Sister Su Qing, you've already reached the seventh level of Qi Refining?"

Since his training in the back mountain, Han Chen has been in seclusion and has not yet reached the Foundation Establishment stage. Now that Qi Refining stage disciples can enter the secret realm for exploration, Han Chen will naturally not miss this opportunity to gain an opportunity.

"Senior Brother Han Chen." Su Qing was quite happy to see a familiar face.

"Come, come, let me introduce you." Han Chen said, pulling over a boy who looked about fifteen or sixteen years old with a baby face.

"This is Jiang Cheng from Biyun Peak. He is Protector Jiang's nephew."

Is he related to a Nascent Soul cultivator? He's definitely a second-generation cultivator.

"Jiang Cheng, this is Junior Sister Su Qing. You should know her name, right?" Han Chen introduced her to Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng's eyes lit up immediately.

“Junior Sister Su Qing, I’ve collected all your talismans and pills,” Jiang Cheng said. “I’ve been learning to draw talismans and refine pills recently, but I haven’t been very successful. I’ll have time to ask Junior Sister for guidance when we enter the secret realm this time.”

"Senior Brother Jiang Cheng, you're too kind."

Jiang Cheng took something out of his storage space and said, "Junior Sister Su Qing, this is a gift for us to meet. Please accept it and don't be offended."

Su Qing took it and saw that it was actually a demon crystal of a fifth-order demon beast.

The ice-attribute demon crystal is icy cold to the touch, and inside, there are specks of white fluorescent light, like snowflakes, sealing a small ice fox that looks lifelike and almost sentient.

Su Qing was immediately captivated by it. If this demon crystal were inlaid into her sword, the power of her Falling Snow sword would likely increase to another level.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Jiang Cheng." Su Qing said, taking out a jar of pills from her storage space.

In the Xuanling Sect, everyone uses small porcelain bottles to store pills, with ten pills in each bottle.

Su Qing refused; she used a jar, a jar of a hundred pills!

"This is a jar of Rejuvenation Pills. Senior Brother, you can eat them like candy," Su Qing said.

Jiang Cheng took it, opened the jar, and his eyes lit up.

This is a huge jar of Rejuvenation Pills, the kind with two hundred pills in a jar. They're selling like hotcakes on the forum. He only managed to buy a dozen or so at a high price, and he hasn't been able to bring himself to eat them yet.

"Junior Sister Su Qing, that's wonderful." Jiang Cheng carefully put the jar away.

"Hmph, they're just some ordinary spirit-restoring pills, yet you treat them like treasures."

A girl of about fourteen or fifteen years old walked over with a disdainful look on her face. She was pretty, but her expression was too arrogant.

Jiang Cheng pursed his lips and said, "Bai Xintong, what I do is none of your business."

Han Chen whispered in Su Qing's ear, "She is Protector Bai's younger sister, Bai Xintong."

White Protector's sister?

This White Protector has already cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage, yet he has such a young younger sister?

However, those who cultivate themselves have very long lifespans.

Successfully establishing the foundation will extend one's lifespan to two hundred years; successfully forming the core will grant a lifespan of five hundred years; and after forming the infant spirit, the lifespan will reach two thousand years.

So, it's understandable that Protector Bai has a younger sister.

"Bai Xintong is merely a dual-elemental cultivator of water and fire, and was taken in by Protector Bai at Misty Peak," Han Chen said. "She and Jiang Cheng were betrothed since childhood."

oh!

Su Qing looked at Jiang Cheng and Bai Xintong meaningfully.

So they're childhood sweethearts, a pair of bickering lovers.

Jiang Cheng and Bai Xintong had already started arguing. Jiang Cheng was so angry that he threw out a talisman, which landed right on Bai Xintong's shoulder.

Just as Bai Xintong was about to remove it, the talisman suddenly burst into flames with a bang, followed by a strong stench.

Su Qing quickly held her breath.

This is a fart charm she drew herself; she knows better than anyone how intoxicating the smell of this is.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Cheng quickly took several steps back and pinched his nose. Poor Bai Xintong hadn't even reacted before her face turned green from the stench.

"Jiang Cheng! I'm going to kill you!" Bai Xintong covered her nose and stomped her feet in anger.

Han Chen pinched his nose and said, "Junior Sister Su Qing, once you enter the secret realm, you must stay away from these two."

He was a little slow to react and became an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire.

The secret realm is thousands of miles away from the Xuanling Sect. This time, all those exploring the secret realm are Qi Refining stage cultivators, and the Xuanling Sect has long prepared flying vehicles for them.

The enormous, suspended magical artifact was pulled by fifty cranes, making it a veritable aerial crane chariot.

Besides Protector Jiang and Protector Bai, five Core Formation stage elders accompanied them this time. Su Qing didn't expect that her master, Shui Qingchen, was among them.

Shui Qingchen saw Su Qing nod slightly and beckoned her over.

Su Qing walked over, and Shui Qingchen was very satisfied, saying, "Your cultivation is only at the seventh level of Qi Refining, so I didn't want you to go on this secret realm mission. But your sword technique has already reached the third level, and you've already accepted the mission, so I can't stop you. This storage bag contains some life-saving items; take it."

"Thank you, Master." Su Qing gratefully accepted it.

When she arrived at the Xuanling Sect, she felt that Shui Qingchen was too good to her.

Compared to him, the sect leader of the Cloud Sword Sect in my previous life was simply unworthy of being a teacher.

Su Qing took the storage bag and scanned it with her divine sense, and was immediately shocked.

Shui Qingchen had prepared so many pills for her, including not only cultivation pills but also pills to enhance combat power, many healing pills, and a considerable number of antidotes. Some were grade three pills, and some were grade four pills.

Besides pills, Shui Qingchen also prepared a lot of talismans, including third-grade teleportation talismans, third-grade explosive talismans, as well as sword energy, lightning balls, and fireballs sealed in the talismans—talismans that could attack as long as they were thrown.

Although Su Qing could refine most of these pills herself, and she could also draw these third-grade talismans herself, and she had prepared quite a few in her storage bag, she still carefully put these talismans away. They were a gift from her master, and this was a testament to her master's kindness to her. Su Qing felt warm inside.

Shui Qingchen's extra talismans turned out to be the Vajra Shield, a full twenty of them.

The Vajra Shield, a fourth-grade talisman, was something Su Qing had originally wanted to draw a few of, but due to insufficient cultivation, she ran out of spiritual energy before she could finish drawing them and failed.

Besides the elixirs and talismans, there was also a magical artifact.

Soul-capturing bell!

This Soul-Capturing Bell is inlaid with several fifth- and sixth-tier demon crystals. Even if it encounters a demon beast comparable to a Core Formation stage cultivator, it can be stunned by the Soul-Capturing Bell.

Su Qing felt that with these, she could probably roam freely in the secret realm.

"Once you're in the secret realm, make sure you stay close to your senior brothers and sisters," Shui Qingchen instructed. "Yu Kui, take good care of your junior sister!"

A boy, about fifteen or sixteen years old, emerged from behind Shui Qingchen.

"Yes, Master!"

Yu Kui is an inner disciple of Shui Qingchen, possessing dual fire and wood spiritual roots, and has reached the peak of the Qi Refining stage.

"Senior Brother Yu Kui."

Yu Kui nodded, took out a small porcelain bottle, and said, "Junior Sister, this is a youth-preserving pill that I refined. I'm giving it to you."

Youth-preserving elixir!

Su Qing's eyes suddenly lit up.

Which woman wouldn't want to stay young forever?

Su Qing also wanted to refine the Youth Preservation Pill, but the materials for it were so hard to find that she reluctantly gave up.