Chapter 40

"I am Cai Sirui, a disciple of the Kunshan Sect. I have come here on the orders of the elders to escort you all to the burial ground."

Yes, the people who came were disciples of the Kunshan Sect, a total of ten. The disciple who spoke was the person in charge of their trip and also their captain.

While speaking, Cai Sirui subtly observed the group and politely inquired, "May I ask who your team leader, Liu Qingqing, is?"

"I am."

Today, Liu Qingqing wore a light blue long dress, the fabric of which was as light as smoke. She wore a thin gauze overcoat, as thin as a cicada's wing, as if shrouded in morning mist. She looked like a fairy in a painting, a sight to behold.

Cai Sirui was somewhat surprised, not expecting that the team leader would be this relatively young-looking woman.

He wasn't too curious. Since she could become the captain, she must have some extraordinary abilities. He only needed to complete his task, pick up the group, and safely reach the burial ground together.

"Is there anything else you need to pack? If not, we won't waste any more time and will set off immediately."

After the two teams boarded the Kunshan Sect's ark, they gave brief self-introductions and then dispersed.

It was just a brief encounter; there was no need to delve too deeply into the details.

"Wow, Senior Brother Cai, their captain looks so young. It's said that the Huashan Sect's captain is the one who wins the competition. She must be very strong. She's incredibly talented, but she's nothing special."

Once they were out of sight, Hu Xiaohu boldly spoke up.

Cai Sirui didn't deny it, but he was more concerned about another person: "Don't you guys think that disciple named Lin Zhu looks familiar?"

Hu Xiaohu thought about it seriously, but couldn't come up with a solution. At the time, everyone had just casually mentioned their names; it wasn't like they really intended to get to know each other or get to know each other better. Once they reached their burial place, they would all go their separate ways, so why waste time?

If fate allows, we will meet and get to know each other again.

“Hey, Junior Brother Cai, look at how young he is and his cultivation has already reached the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm. If you want to claim kinship, just do it. Why make excuses? How vulgar of you.”

The speaker was named Wei Ye, who was over two hundred years old and had just reached the Nascent Soul stage of cultivation. However, cultivators have a much longer lifespan than ordinary people, and he took good care of himself, so he looked like he was only in his fifties or sixties.

The Kunshan Sect's competition was open to anyone below the Nascent Soul stage. He was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage at the time, but lost to Cai Sirui, who was at the late Nascent Soul stage, by a single skill, and ended up as the runner-up in the competition. He was never satisfied with that.

Adding to his displeasure, he had just broken through to a higher level before the trip, which made him even more resentful that Cai Sirui, a mere Nascent Soul cultivator, had taken the position of team leader.

The captain's position should rightfully belong to him. After all, Cai Sirui is no match for him in terms of seniority or cultivation. He only won a competition by chance. Why should he be the captain during the training period?

The more he thought about it, the more indignant he became. When he saw that the man was trying to strike up a conversation with the group of people whose cultivation was at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, he couldn't help but step forward and mutter to himself.

To be fair, in his opinion, those people were all very young, but their cultivation levels were all incredibly high, especially the captain, who looked to be only in his early twenties and had already reached the Nascent Soul stage.

Thinking of this, he felt a surge of jealousy.

Talent, talent, what good is talent? If he had such talent, he would definitely be stronger than them, and he wouldn't have taken more than two hundred years to break through to the Nascent Soul stage and remain unknown in the world.

Liu Qingqing's talent was comparable to that of her junior brother who was translated as "the youngest Nascent Soul cultivator" back then. But no matter how powerful she was, she still ended up falling into demonic ways and being hated by everyone, wasting her great talent.

Let those who are more talented than me enjoy their glory, and wait and see what their fate will be. The best way to cultivate oneself is to be down-to-earth and work hard step by step, just like I am.

Thinking of this, he felt a sense of relief. He glanced at Cai Sirui with his arrogant eyes and left with a few people he was on good terms with.

"What a load of nonsense, he's crazy." Peng Qingyi rolled her eyes as she watched Wei Ye's departing figure.

"Alright, Junior Sister Peng, there's no need to pay attention to this kind of person. Even the captain didn't say anything, right, Senior Brother Cai?" The man who spoke didn't forget to wink at Cai Sirui.

"Stop, stop, stop! You peacock, don't flirt with your senior brother! In ancient times, you'd be drowned in a pig cage!" Hu Xiaohu couldn't stand it whenever he saw Yan Xiao flirting with someone of the same sex. It was just too much to bear. And this guy just loved doing it. It was infuriating for the little tiger. He couldn't stand it at all.

Cai Sirui sighed, realizing that none of the people in this group were reliable. He silently turned his gaze to Wenjing, who had remained silent.

When the captain looked over, Wenjing became a little nervous. She was a rather introverted person and didn't dare to express her own thoughts, so she usually tried her best to minimize her presence and did whatever others told her to do.

Seeing that Cai Sirui was staring at her, she had no choice but to answer slowly and softly, "Yes... it feels a bit like someone."

"Who?" Cai Sirui pressed, feeling that this was important. The other three also looked over.

Wenjing quickly shook her head: "I can't remember now."

"Alright, alright, stop asking. Go back and rest. We'll talk about it when you remember. Let's all go."

Seeing that Wenjing's face had turned pale with nervousness, Peng Qingyi quickly dismissed everyone.

Wenjing is just too timid. Although she is a formidable fighter, she is afraid when interacting with people. Over the years, she has been unable to change this trait, which has really caused her a lot of worry.

The ark is large and has separate rest rooms. For convenience, unless there are special circumstances, two people share a room. With monsters roaming outside, they can help each other if they encounter any danger.

Once inside the room and the door closed, she was completely cut off from the world, and the noise around her instantly subsided. Peng Qingyi said to her earnestly, "Wenjing, you're over a hundred years old, how come you're still the same as before? You haven't improved at all, and you get nervous when you talk to people?"

"You can't do it this way, especially in our current team missions. Lack of communication will cause a lot of trouble."

Wenjing remained unmoved after hearing this, looking at her earnestly: "No, I'll listen to the captain, there won't be any trouble, and besides, you're here."

Peng Qingyi was truly exasperated: "That's what you say, and you can do whatever you're told, but many times, you still need to express your own ideas."

"Just like now, the captain felt that there was someone in their group who looked familiar, but none of us remembered him, but you did. In this kind of situation, you can take the initiative to say it."

"Whether it's right or wrong, good or bad, you're just expressing your own thoughts. Besides, I can't be with you forever. What if one day I get held up and can't be by your side anymore?"

After thinking for a moment, Wenjing nodded seriously.

Sigh.

Peng Qingyi sighed silently in her heart. She nodded in agreement, but whether she could actually do it was another matter. After all, Wen Jing would always just nod and leave it at that every time this topic was discussed.

Over the years, she has gotten used to it.

The two were born in the same village before they began cultivating, and later became disciples of the same master, cultivating and growing up together, practically inseparable.

Wenjing has always been like this since she was a child, and you only feel relaxed when speaking in front of her.

She was a chatterbox and an impatient person. The two had completely opposite personalities and could never get along. However, she considered herself older than Wenjing and treated her like a younger sister. So, she often indulged Wenjing and helped her adapt to life here. More than a hundred years have passed in this way.

Wenjing's inability to mature is partly her fault, but she is really worried about her and her attempts to persuade her have been unsuccessful. She can only remain in this dilemma, with no better solution in sight.

Another group of people were more focused on discussing the strength of Liu Qingqing's team.

They didn't deliberately conceal their cultivation levels; when their cultivation levels were roughly equal, even a small spell would reveal their abilities.

Apart from one Golden Core cultivator, the remaining eight are split evenly between Nascent Soul and Out-of-Body stages, with several unfamiliar faces. Moreover, judging from their average age, they are probably under a hundred years old. It seems that this group of disciples from the Huashan Sect are all very strong, and the upcoming sect competition will be quite exciting.

The ark continued its journey, and upon reaching its destination, the group parted ways.

The Burial Grounds are vast. Wen Wan and her group's goal is to slay a Nascent Soul demon beast deep within the Burial Grounds, retrieve its demon core, and return to report.

"Lin Zhu, are you still going to join us?" Liu Qingqing asked without any politeness.

Even He Si and the others didn't understand why he would come to the burial ground.

At first, he said he wanted to recuperate and have someone to look after him, but during the few days he rested at the teahouse, he ate the pills that Junior Sister Wen gave him like candy, and his injuries had almost healed by now.

Only Liu Qingqing knew that Lin Zhu's injuries were healing faster than usual, perhaps because he had fallen into demonic possession.

The burial ground is no joke. The other party's identity is not simple. Rather than being distracted by the risk of being betrayed, it would be better for the other party to be sensible and leave on their own.

"Alright, my oath to Heaven still stands. I wish you peace."

Lin Zhu said something that only Wen Wan and Liu Qingqing could understand before leaving.

Even though the team leader had already told him to leave, he wasn't shameless enough to continue following them.

The injuries have healed, and the malevolent energy within my body has become obedient. This trip was definitely worthwhile.

As for the Jiao Dan, he could only pin his hopes on Wen Wan. She possessed a top-grade spiritual wood furnace with spiritual patterns, and given her innate special abilities, she might be able to refine the pill he desired.

Wen Wan felt immense pressure as she kept the dragon pill.

She already felt bad for Lin Zhu about the Crystal Bottle incident, and now she's giving her the Dragon Core to refine. What if she messes it up? She's just a half-baked alchemist!

"Everyone's already gone, what's wrong, Junior Sister Wen, are you reluctant to leave?" Seeing that Wen Wan was still in a daze and hadn't followed, Fan Kaiyu asked cheekily.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Even if Junior Sister Wen is taken by a pig, she shouldn't be taken by him." Liu Qingqing was the first to object, since the other party was a demonic cultivator.

"No, ahhh, Senior Sister Liu, are you serious?" Wen Wan snapped out of her daze and became agitated upon hearing this: "Does she have to choose someone to flatter her?! Can't I be beautiful on my own?! I'm so addicted to cultivation, I can't pull myself out. I'm going to cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness and beat them all up!"

The group of people, joking and laughing, walked deeper into the burial ground.

After walking for a quarter of an hour, black mist began to swirl around them. The further they went, the thicker the mist became, and the more solemn their expressions grew. The relaxed atmosphere from the beginning was gone, and they finally realized that the trial had begun, and danger was on its way.

Amidst a thick black mist, a rhombus-shaped gemstone floated in the center, radiating an alluring light.

Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to it, and they couldn't help but approach and touch it.

Finally... just as Yu Liang was about to touch it.

"Don't touch it!" Wen Wan regained her senses in time and shouted sternly.

The group of people instantly realized what was happening, their faces turned grim, and they quickly moved away.

This rhombus-shaped stone has the power to disturb one's mind.

Then, getting too close, before anyone could figure out what was going on, Zhu Jianbai was hit again and touched the gemstone with lightning speed, leaving no time to stop him.