Zhenru clearly underestimated the extent of the "care" that the Qingxuan Dao Sect, or rather the Qingxuan Sect Master, had for her.

When Liang Qiuling's group returned to the sect, the Qingxuan Sect Master was terrified after hearing their report and immediately ordered Qin Yue to go find Zhenru.

Liang Qiuling and the others were unaware that the person who was causing them trouble came from the Upper Realm, something the Qingxuan Sect Master knew very well.

However, in order to avoid arousing suspicion, the sect could not allow a powerful ancestor to protect Zhenru, as that would only make things more suspicious.

Aside from having Qin Yue, who knows the inside story, follow along, the only other option is to have the ancestors stir things up even more in the Solid Spirit Realm.

Aside from her own friends, Zhenru had limited trust in everyone else and was unaware of all that the Qingxuan Sect Master had done behind the scenes. She was only slightly surprised when Qin Yue appeared, but she did not object to Qin Yue following her.

Are you going to find the essence of the Golden Crow?

Qin Yue was a very intelligent person. Although the Qingxuan Sect Master and Zhenru deliberately avoided talking to others, he could still easily guess some of the clues by connecting what he knew.

Knowing the importance of the matter, Qin Yue didn't say it directly, but rather transmitted it telepathically to Zhenru.

Zhenru turned her head to look at him, didn't say much, but nodded.

Qin Yue became happy.

Does this mean they consider themselves friends?

"I'll help you!"

Zhenru smiled wryly, half-jokingly saying:

"Help me? Do you know how precious that thing is?"

"That's a priceless treasure that everyone wants. My former cousin was prepared to drain my lifeblood and take my life in order to obtain it!"

Qin Yue's attention was diverted, and he frowned, saying:

"The clan elder sister you're talking about, could she be that idiot who tried to stop you from leaving the ancient secret realm teleportation array?"

"How can you compare me to her? The true path of cultivation is too long, and a friend who can walk with you for a long time is very rare."

"As for the treasure that everyone desires, I can ascend even without it. If it is indeed my destiny, I will naturally not refuse it."

Zhenru just smiled, said nothing more, and continued on his way in silence.

Perhaps there really is some kind of unseen force pulling us together.

Originally, the pace of travel was very leisurely and aimless.

Then, I don't know from which day it started, but the speed of Zhenru's journey increased without him realizing it, and the speed became faster and faster, almost to the point of forgetting himself.

"Wait, wait! Too...too fast! Have you decided on the direction yet?"

Hearing Qin Yue's breathless voice, Zhenru finally snapped out of that state.

Seeing Qin Yue's spiritual energy depleted and his completely exhausted appearance, Zhenru was startled.

How can a cultivator traveling be like an ordinary person chasing a fine horse?

"Sorry, I was so focused on getting there that I forgot I had someone following me."

Qin Yue pinched his philtrum and rolled his eyes, too lazy to argue with Zhenru, and steered the conversation back to the main topic.

"You've been traveling in such a hurry these past few days, as if someone is leading you. Do you have a clear direction now?"

Zhenru paused for a moment, then carefully recalled the feeling of traveling. It seemed like she felt a pull, but it wasn't like she was sensing something.

After being awakened by Qin Yue, Zhenru tried to find the connection to the Golden Crow's essence blood again, only to be shocked to discover that she had none at all.

Upon closer reflection, she realized something was amiss.

That drop of golden crow blood essence already possessed self-awareness and was inherently avoiding her, so how could she possibly sense it so easily?

But what about that strong feeling of being pulled along before?

That can only mean that someone did it intentionally, no, someone with vital essence did it intentionally.

It's not about guiding her to find her essence and blood, but about making her drift further and further away from it.

That's why when you're caught up in it, it feels like you're being led around, but once you break free, you can't feel a thing.

Very well, she had already obtained four drops of true essence from the nine drops of Golden Crow essence blood, yet she was tricked by only one drop of essence blood, leaving her unsure whether to be angry or amused.

"No, we went the wrong way."

Zhenru took a deep breath, turned around and walked back, but this time she tried her best to conceal her aura and hide part of her body in the Golden Crow Space.

They walked back for a while, and sure enough, the false sensation of being led by someone did not reappear.

However, Zhenru also failed to sense the aura of the Golden Crow's essence blood.

"How can we get that sentient being to show itself?"

After several trials and tribulations, Zhenru and Qin Yue, working together, managed to hunt quite a few high-level demonic beasts and acquire a considerable amount of treasures from various dangerous places.

But unfortunately, Zhenru's most important goal still did not come to fruition.

After another fruitless trip, Qin Yue, to comfort Zhenru, suggested taking her hunting Phoenix Blood Chickens.

"Come on! That thing's meat is so delicious, you'll want to eat it again and again!"

"If that thing weren't so hard to catch, I would have treated you to a meal a long time ago."

The adult Phoenix Blood Chicken is a Nascent Soul stage demon beast with little combat power, but it is very famous in the Solid Spirit Realm because of its exceptionally delicious meat and difficulty in catching it.

It can be considered a fine gift for a monk to give to his relatives and friends.

"However, everything has its weaknesses. No matter how difficult it is to catch the Phoenix Blood Chicken, there is one thing that can easily catch it—Phoenix Blood Grass."

As Qin Yue spoke, he flipped his hand and took out a spiritual plant with purple leaves and flowers that resembled phoenix feathers, and shook it at Zhenru.

After saying this triumphantly, Qin Yue prepared to find a place to put the spiritual herbs.

Zhenru's eyes lit up when she looked at Qin Yue.

That's right! Why didn't she think of that?

"I see!"

Upon hearing Zhenru's voice, Qin Yue stopped and asked, puzzled:

"You know what? You know how to catch chickens?"

Zhenru smiled mysteriously, in a good mood, and said to Qin Yue:

"Eat one of the chickens you caught first, and then I'll tell you."

Qin Yue narrowed his eyes and raised his eyebrows, guessing what was going on. After chuckling softly, he focused on catching the Phoenix Blood Chicken.

An hour later, Qin Yue kept his word and indeed let Zhenru enjoy the delicious Phoenix Blood Chicken.

Perhaps because a solution had been found, Zhenru was in the mood to savor the taste of Phoenix Blood Chicken and indeed found it to be quite different from the meat of other demon beasts.

After erasing the last trace of life from the scene, Qin Yue picked his teeth, tilted his head, and looked at Zhenru, saying:

"Now you can tell me, right? What's the method?"

Zhenru kept everyone in suspense, then smiled mysteriously and said:

"It's the same method you used to catch the Phoenix Blood Chicken."

"Oh? Is there something in the Golden Crow's essence blood that makes it deliver itself to your door?"

Zhenru didn't answer again, but just smiled at Qin Yue, then raised her hand and slapped her heart meridian. Qin Yue, who had been grinning just a second ago, almost had his eyes pop out of his head.

"You, you, you, really. You always seem so carefree, but when you do something, it's all big and scary."

Zhenru reached out and pushed away Qin Yue, who was trying to help her up. Her lips were a little pale, but she smiled in good spirits:

"It's nothing, just a drop of heart's blood."