The surroundings were quiet, like the calm before a storm.
As soon as Xia Qingqing and her group stepped into the depths of the Earthly Fiend Forest, they were attacked by a swarm of red bats.
Mu Yuankai's expression changed: "They are Blood Bats. Everyone be careful not to get bitten. Their teeth are highly poisonous."
The poison of the Brahma Blood Bat cannot be easily neutralized by a third-grade detoxification pill; at least a fifth-grade detoxification pill is required.
However, fifth-grade pills are not cheap. They do missions to earn points and spirit stones, so they can't possibly work hard to complete a mission and then lose money.
Fortunately, although the number of Blood Bats was large, their strength was not great. The five of them worked together and soon took care of all the Blood Bats.
Xia Qingqing had used up most of her superpowers, so she quickly took out a crystal core to replenish them.
Meanwhile, Meng Jiayu and the others began picking up the corpses of the Blood Bats that had fallen to the ground.
The teeth and blood of these Brahma Blood Bats are valuable. The teeth can be used to refine artifacts, while the blood can be used to draw talismans. Whether you keep them for yourself or sell them for spirit stones, they are both good options.
Next, they encountered some poisonous creatures such as snakes, scorpions, and spiders.
Xia Qingqing was puzzled. Could this forest be full of such things? Are there no real monsters?
Lu Jiaojiao explained, "The environment here is not suitable for monsters, but it is perfect for these poisonous creatures."
"The lake where the Netherworld Lotus grows should be just ahead. Everyone, be on high alert," Mu Yuankai warned solemnly.
After saying this, Mu Yuankai took the lead and approached the lake. He was the only one among the people present who had reached the Golden Core stage. Although he had only recently broken through to the Golden Core stage, it was a qualitative leap compared to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Xia Qingqing looked into the distance and saw a gray lotus growing in the center of the lake, shrouded in a faint mist, which looked a little eerie. This was probably the target of Lu Jiaojiao and the others' mission this time - the Nether Mist Lotus.
Mu Yuankai flew towards the Netherworld Lotus, raising his hand to pluck it, but the next second something unexpected happened. A pitch-black poisonous toad pounced on him, shooting out a stream of venom from its huge mouth.
Mu Yuankai was prepared and decisively abandoned the Netherworld Lotus, retreating to a safe position.
The venom spit out by this poisonous toad is highly corrosive; even a tiny bit will instantly corrode a person's skin, and a large amount can even turn a person into a pool of blood instantly.
Seeing this, the others immediately rushed over to help. Lu Jiaojiao anxiously instructed Xia Qingqing, "Sister Qingqing, stay here and don't come over."
Although Xia Qingqing's strength is indeed impressive, the Poison Toad is also very dangerous. This is a sect mission that they took on, and it has nothing to do with Xia Qingqing. There is no need for her to take the risk with them.
"Yes, yes, please be careful too," Xia Qingqing said with concern.
Lu Jiaojiao smiled confidently: "Don't worry, my senior brothers and sisters are all very capable. Dealing with a toad is definitely no problem for them."
Besides Lu Jiaojiao, the other three are also personal disciples of the other peak masters of Xuantian Sect, and their strength is naturally not bad either.
Xia Qingqing waited silently to the side, watching Mu Yuankai, Liu Xinjia, and Meng Jiayu entangle the Poison Toad together, while Lu Jiaojiao went to pick the Netherworld Lotus. Their teamwork was extremely tacit.
After picking the Netherworld Lotus, Lu Jiaojiao turned and ran away. The Poison Toad, seeing that the Netherworld Lotus it had guarded for so long was gone, was so angry that it swelled up into a ball and made a shrill, unpleasant screech.
He didn't care about Mu Yuankai and the other two anymore, and turned around to chase after Lu Jiaojiao.
However, Lu Jiaojiao has a flying artifact prepared for her by her parents, which is far beyond the reach of a Golden Core stage demon beast.
She deliberately slowed down, making the poisonous toad think it could catch up, and then immediately sped up again once it caught up, keeping it hanging like that.
Mu Yuankai, who was left behind, took the opportunity to use his flying artifact to leave with the others.
They hadn't gone far from the Earthly Fiend Forest when they saw Lu Jiaojiao waiting there.
"Junior Sister Lu, are you alright?"
"Jiaojiao, are you alright?"
Lu Jiaojiao shook the box in her hand: "What could possibly happen to me? We've already got the Nether Mist Lotus, let's hurry back."
On the way back, Lu Jiaojiao remembered what Xia Qingqing had mentioned about the monster meat and suggested that Mu Yuankai take a detour to the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest.
The journey wasn't very long, and Mu Yuankai and his two companions had no objections.
In the Forest of Ten Thousand Beasts, Lu Jiaojiao led Xia Qingqing to catch several Green Thread Oxen, enough for her to eat for a long time. They also caught some other low-level demon beasts with good meat.
After returning to the sect and completing the mission, Xia Qingqing suggested treating Lu Jiaojiao's senior brothers and sisters to a meal.
She went out simply to broaden her horizons. Although she didn't hold anyone back, she was still grateful that those people didn't mind her being a nuisance and even went on a detour to the Forest of Ten Thousand Beasts for her sake. She should treat them to a meal as a token of her appreciation.
The meal was set up in Lu Jiaojiao's courtyard.
Xia Qingqing prepared beef hot pot and barbecue, and Mu Yuankai and his two companions could smell the aroma even before they entered the courtyard.
Meng Jiayu licked his lips: "What delicious food did Fellow Daoist Xia make? It smells so good!"
"Why don't we go in and take a look?" Liu Xinjia quickened her pace and couldn't wait to run into the yard.
When Xia Qingqing saw the three of them coming over, she said with a smile, "Please feel free to take a seat."
Liu Xinjia swallowed hard as she smelled the aroma emanating from the pot, but then looked at the raw meat and vegetables on the table and wondered, "These things...aren't they all raw?"
“Yes, this is a new way of eating, like hot pot,” Xia Qingqing explained.
Lu Jiaojiao immediately nodded: "That's right, this is how it's eaten in Qingqing's hometown, it's super delicious."
Xia Qingqing explained and demonstrated how to eat hot pot, and then prepared the sauce for everyone: "Once it's cooked, you can put it in your bowl and start eating."
The meat of Qinglu beef is naturally very tender; it can be eaten after being briefly blanched in boiling water.
Dip it in Xia Qingqing's special sauce, and one bite is pure bliss.
"Phew, this is so delicious!" Meng Jiayu didn't care that the meat slices were too hot to handle; he blew on them twice and put them in his mouth.
Although Mu Yuankai didn't say anything, you could tell how good the hot pot was just by how fast he picked up the food.
Xia Qingqing quickly ate something to fill her stomach before heading to the barbecue grill next to her to start preparing the skewers.
After marinating the meat skewers, brush them with oil and place them on the charcoal fire. Sprinkle with salt, turn the skewers over, and finally sprinkle with cumin powder and chili powder when they are almost done.
She handed the grilled skewers to the group: "Try them first and see how spicy they are. If you like it spicy, I'll add more chili."
Meng Jiayu nodded vigorously: "It's so delicious, but I think we could add some more chili."
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