Xuanling Sect was the first sect to announce its withdrawal from the sect competition.
Within three days, half of the hundred disciples of the Xuanling Sect who had entered the Gobi Desert had returned to the sect. Apart from the thirty disciples who had died in the Gobi Desert, there were still twenty disciples trapped there and unable to come out.
The Xuanling Sect leader had a solemn expression because his disciple Xuan Qingye had not come out.
Not only Xuan Qingye, but also Su Qing, the ancestor's disciple.
The two are among the best of the younger generation in the Xuanling Sect. If they were to perish in the Gobi Desert, it would be an enormous loss for the sect.
"Sect Leader, Protector Jiang hasn't returned either." Protector Qin and Protector Jiang were the closest of friends, and seeing Protector Jiang's soul lamp flickering, he was filled with worry.
"Why don't we go in and look again?" Shen Qinglai, the Protector, suggested.
Shen Qinglai knew a bit about the demonic cultivators in the Gobi Desert. He knew that those demonic cultivators were ruthless. If Protector Jiang and the others fell into the hands of the demonic cultivators, they wouldn't die immediately, but they would definitely suffer inhuman torture.
The sect leader shook his head slightly and said, "Let's wait a little longer."
The Xuanling Sect suffered the least loss, losing half of its cultivators and one Nascent Soul protector.
Other sects and cultivation families suffered even more.
Of the four major sects—Wuji Sect, Wuxiao Sect, Luoying Sect, and Tianyan Sect—less than a third of the hundred cultivators who entered the Gobi Desert have returned.
The soul lamps of the three Nascent Soul protectors of the Wuji Sect were all gone. The Wuji Sect leader looked the worst because the Wuji Sect had lost four Nascent Soul cultivators in the Gobi Desert!
Of the original eight Dharma Protectors, only four remain.
The ten great cultivation families didn't fare much better. The Yan family lost its patriarch, and other families also lost Nascent Soul patriarchs. It's likely that the status of cultivation families will be greatly reshuffled after they return.
Everyone looked at the Xuanling Sect. In this sect competition, the Xuanling Sect suffered the least losses, yet the sect leader still had a solemn face.
Who is it meant to be shown to?
However, the leader of Wuji Sect sneered inwardly. Although Xuanling Sect seemed to have suffered little loss this time, its two most talented disciples did not come out.
Su Qing and Xuan Qingye!
Hmph, two genius disciples are enough to influence a sect for hundreds of years.
Black Sand Lake in the Gobi Desert.
Su Qing and her group rested here for three months.
Su Qing and Shui Qingchen focused on refining pills, while Qiu Feiyang and Protector Jiang led the others in refining weapons. Since they didn't know how to refine pills or weapons, they focused on cultivation.
Su Qing and Xuan Qingye have both reached the peak of the Core Formation stage, and other Core Formation stage cultivators have also reached the middle stage thanks to Su Qing's pills.
Chu Yuncheng and Luo Shenmeng had both been stuck at the peak of the Core Formation stage for a long time, but now they noticed that their barriers were loosening.
Although the spiritual energy in the Gobi Desert is thin, there are spiritual veins underground in Black Sand Lake, so the spiritual energy here is relatively abundant. Therefore, the two began to cultivate in seclusion in order to break through.
Su Qing and Xuan Qingye had also reached a crucial moment in their cultivation, but Su Qing did not intend to go into seclusion at this time.
“North of Black Sand Lake, there is a Singing Sand Slope,” Su Qing said. “There, we should be able to find the Dan Ying (infant) for refining an eighth-grade Solidifying Infant Pill.”
The Solidifying Infant Pill is most suitable for cultivators at the peak of Core Formation and the early stage of Nascent Soul.
The most important part of this grade eight elixir is the nascent soul.
The Dan Ying is extremely rare, and its growth environment is extremely demanding. It can only be found in the purest places. It can help peak Core Formation cultivators awaken their innate skills when forming their Nascent Soul, and it can also help early Nascent Soul cultivators stabilize their innate skills.
There are currently four Core Formation Peak cultivators in the team. If they can refine an Eighth Grade Infant Solidification Pill, it will be extremely beneficial to their combat power.
Furthermore, both Shui Qingchen and Qiu Feiyang are early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, and stabilizing their innate skills is also very urgent for them.
“Protector Jiang, let’s go together,” Su Qing suggested. “There are a lot of sand scorpions at Mingsha Slope.”
"Sand scorpion?" Protector Jiang's eyes lit up immediately.
They used a lot of black skull bones to refurbish their magical artifacts this time, but Protector Jiang felt it was still lacking.
If we could have sand scorpions, that would be even better.
Although the sand scorpion is not a high-level monster, only a fifth-tier demon beast, its poison hook is a good material for refining weapons. In particular, Protector Jiang's magic weapon is a soul-locking hook. If it can be integrated with the sand scorpion's poison hook, the soul-locking hook can activate the fire poison attribute.
"Alright!" Protector Jiang was already eager to try.
“Protector Jiang, the ordinary sand scorpions of Mingsha Slope are nothing to fear, but the Sand Scorpion King is a ninth-tier demon beast,” Su Qing reminded him.
“Nothing to fear.” Protector Jiang’s eyes shone even brighter. The poisonous sting of the ninth-tier demon beast Sand Scorpion King—wasn’t this tailor-made for his magic weapon?
Xuan Qingye naturally wanted to go along as well, so the three of them left Black Sand Lake together and headed towards Singing Sand Slope.
Because of the presence of the Poisonous Scorpion King, demonic cultivators have never set foot in Mingshapo.
However, Su Qing had been here in her previous life, where she not only obtained the Dan Ying (infant) but also her natal magic weapon, the Xuanbing Han Sword.
The Xuanbing Cold Sword was not actually compatible with her fire-attribute spiritual root from her previous life, but it was suitable for Xuan Qingye.
Therefore, she planned to retrieve the Xuanbing Cold Sword from Mingsha Slope and have Protector Jiang reforge Xuan Qingye's Shattered Moon Cold Sword.
As for Su Qing, she planned to take out the other Fiery Crimson Sword from Mingshapo.
The Xuanbing Cold Sword and the Liehuo Crimson Flame Sword were the two swords suppressed under the Mingsha Slope. Su Qing had just taken out the Xuanbing Cold Sword when she alarmed the Sand Scorpion King. At that time, she was only at the peak of the Core Formation stage and was no match for the Sand Scorpion King.
After a few rounds, Su Qing was seriously injured. If she hadn't escaped quickly, she probably would have lost her life at Mingshapo.
Now that Su Qing has Protector Jiang leading the team, it would be incredibly easy for her and Xuan Qingye to retrieve the sword while Protector Jiang holds off the Sand Scorpion King.
"Is this the Singing Sand Dunes?" Protector Jiang frowned slightly.
The sand here is blown down by the wind, making a whistling sound, which sounds like the sounds of two armies clashing on an ancient battlefield, fighting and wielding weapons. But these sounds seem to become distant under the influence of the wind.
Suddenly, a poisonous scorpion emerged from the desert. Su Qing raised her hand and unleashed a palm strike, causing the scorpion to tremble and die.
However, immediately afterward, five poisonous scorpions attacked the three of them.
Protector Jiang raised his hand and unleashed five fireballs.
The fireball landed on the scorpion, instantly burning it into a lump of charcoal.
It has to be said that the combat power of the Nascent Soul stage is indeed strong. Although both are Heavenly Fire, Protector Jiang's Heavenly Fire attack power is stronger.
"Protector Jiang, the Scorpion King is on Mingsha Slope. Let's go down there to find Dan Ying."
As Su Qing spoke, a crack appeared on the ground; she had used a ground-crack talisman directly.
Su Qing and Xuan Qingye landed underground at Mingsha Slope. Xuan Qingye then discovered that the underground had already been dug out by the sand scorpions, and this place was actually the sand scorpion's nest!
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