Boundless Tower
Ruan Qingyu saw the points on the jade slip and immediately raised her eyebrows. This thing was really generous. The black bird leader she missed earlier wasn't such a big loss after all.
She quickly put the jade slip away and turned to look at the rankings on the Boundless Tower. Sure enough, her name suddenly appeared, rapidly surpassing hundreds of others to reach first place with thirty points!
At that moment, Liu Yan, Jin Chengcheng, and the others on the other two floors immediately noticed Ruan Qingyu's name and their faces lit up with joy.
Liu Yan cut off the vines that kept crowding towards her with a single sword stroke, and smiled with satisfaction: "Qingyu is really amazing."
Beside her was Xiao Ke, who had coincidentally been assigned to the same group. At this moment, the wind blades in her palms spun continuously, easily severing the surrounding vines.
He looked up at the light screen and muttered to himself, "I got incredibly lucky."
Liu Yan naturally heard these words, but luckily it was her own team that was spared, and what others said didn't bother her.
The light screen can display the rankings, which people in the wild can naturally see as well. However, many people are too busy to do anything else. From a certain cave, chirping and roaring sounds can be heard, and the moisture in the air continues to increase.
As soon as they landed, they fell into the crater. Even for a Golden Core cultivator, it would be difficult to climb out of the spiritually rich volcanic rock immediately.
Without further hesitation, Ruan Qingyu followed the direction the flock of black birds had flown. Since the sensations from all directions were identical, she decided to follow the fleeing birds.
Continuing onward, Ruan Qingyu calculated the time in her mind; she had spent at least half an hour on this journey. She still hadn't encountered a single demonic beast, which was not a good sign.
She vaguely sensed a strange smell. At first, she thought it was her imagination, until the fiery wings behind her unfurled, propelling her forward at an even faster speed.
Only then did they realize that a small group of demonic beasts were secretly fleeing at the front. The most aggressive of them all was a brown fox demon that was howling and rushing into the depths of the forest.
This fox demon appeared to have only Foundation Establishment stage cultivation. As it ran, it revealed a jade slip containing points. Ruan Qingyu, with her sharp eyes, immediately recognized that it was a jade slip containing two points.
Thinking that every little bit counts, Ruan Qingyu increased her speed again, rushing down from above. With a wave of her hand, she grabbed the demon fox, but did not rush to kill it.
After thinking for a moment, he simply patted the wutong zither hanging from his waist.
Wutong was not surprised at all: "Miss Ruan, just ask directly. This fox demon seems to have some intelligence."
Lowering her eyes, she carefully examined the fox spirit, which, even after being placed in her hands, was still struggling and turning over. Ruan Qingyu, you fox, lowered her head and whispered, "Tell me, how did you find me?"
If she hadn't sped up just now, she really wouldn't have known that this group of 'points' could know her whereabouts in advance. You have to know that she had been deliberately using a technique to conceal her aura all the way here.
But the commotion these demonic beasts had just made told her that it was all an illusion. Not only had she failed to conceal her presence, but she had also given herself away quite a bit.
The fox demon let out another mournful howl, and Ruan Qingyu, who was closest to it, couldn't help but frown.
Wutong's voice rang out at the right moment: "It said that you have the smell of the Corpse Dissolving Ground on you. Once you get that smell, it won't go away for at least half a month. It just so happens that the monsters not only dislike this smell, but are even afraid of it, which is why they run away as soon as they smell it from afar."
Removing the jade slip, Ruan Qingyu tossed the fox demon far away. The fox demon, having survived the ordeal, glanced at Ruan Qingyu, then fled even faster.
He raised his hand, pinched the sleeve, and sniffed it carefully. He could still smell that strange odor a moment ago, but now it was completely gone.
"Wutong." Ruan Qingyu's voice carried a hint of frustration.
The person being summoned replied helplessly, "Miss Ruan, I am currently in a spiritual state, and my five senses are actually inferior to yours."
In the end, Wutong subconsciously released her divine sense to scan Ruan Qingyu.
"Hmm?" Wutong was surprised and tried again, not believing it: "Miss Ruan, you do have a smell. It seems that the demon beasts are more sensitive to this smell."
Dry heaving in a spiritual state is a truly unpleasant experience, Wutong frowned.
"But if I'm really considered a demon beast, how come I can't smell it?" Puzzled, Ruan Qingyu hesitated and put her hand under her nose to sniff, but still couldn't find the same scent as before.
If this scent were to persist, her methods of gaining points would become even fewer. Ruan Qingyu frowned, her divine sense extending for hundreds of miles, and quickly located the place she was looking for.
With a gentle flap, the fiery wings carried the person and the wings thousands of meters away. A torrent of spiritual energy surged from the dantian, designed to supply the fiery wings to the maximum extent possible.
In the blink of an eye, Ruan Qingyu found herself at a stream. The stream was babbling, the current was calm, and the surface of the water was wide. It was perfect for a soak, and it would be even better if it could dissipate that strange smell.
Outside the Boundless Tower, Cihang watched helplessly as Ruan Qingyu stepped onto the Water King and walked towards the center of the river. After thinking for a moment, he decided to give his junior sister some extra help, and a white mist appeared, quietly obscuring the water curtain where Ruan Qingyu was.
The other elders exchanged glances but said nothing. As long as they weren't directly interfering with the outcome of the match, they could pretend to be blind.
Ruan Qingyu, sitting in the river, was naturally unaware that someone had covered for her because she had caught someone's eye. Even if she did know, she wouldn't see anything to hide.
Knowing she was participating in a competition, she naturally couldn't take off all her clothes. Instead, she entered the water fully clothed, using her Cleansing Technique several times.
She repeatedly scrubbed her clothes in the flowing stream, finally stopping, satisfied. If there was still a lingering smell, she would pretend she didn't know.
Since there are no more demonic beasts around, there must be other places where the jade slips are located.
As her thoughts raced, Ruan Qingyu stepped onto the stones beneath her feet, preparing to walk towards the shore. In an instant, a whirlpool suddenly appeared in the calm water behind her, spinning so fast that it whipped up a strong wind on the surface.
Ruan Qingyu turned her head to look, her spiritual energy surging around her as she flew towards the shore with all her might. However, the vortex was so powerful that it pulled Ruan Qingyu back and forth, and they ended up stuck in mid-air.
With their ankles still submerged in the river, eddies gradually formed around their ankles, expanding to create a greater attraction.
Within her consciousness, Wutong's voice sounded somewhat urgently: "This demonic beast must have been hiding for a long time. If it had come quietly, you and I should have discovered it long ago."
"Are you sure it's a demonic beast?" Ruan Qingyu asked in return, and divine fire suddenly burst forth from her palm, which she threw into the vortex below her ankle.
Instantly, the water exploded like fireworks. Ruan Qingyu, pulled along by the other end, lost all attraction and crashed heavily towards the shore.
Fortunately, just as she was about to fall to the ground, the fiery wings on Ruan Qingyu's back flapped rapidly, lifting her up. Only then could she calmly look at the water, where she saw the Phoenix Divine Fire gradually covering the entire area.
Amidst the rising steam, Ruan Qingyu did not detect the presence of the demonic beast. Could it have escaped?
Unseen by her, a whirlpool suddenly appeared in mid-air. It was created by the rising water vapor spreading to the shore, and its immense suction force swallowed the unsuspecting Ruan Qingyu whole.
After regaining her footing, Ruan Qingyu could only hear the continuous sound of water droplets falling. The surrounding light was an eerie, dim yellow, and the thing that had carried her away had a fishy smell.
However, this place not only had a stronger fishy smell, but also a sour and foul odor. Ruan Qingyu couldn't help but pinch her nose and extend her divine sense outwards.
The scene before her was the same as where she was now, with dim, yellowish light spilling all around. She could hear the constant sound of dripping water, but Ruan Qingyu couldn't see any flowing water nearby.
She reached out to the surrounding rock face, then quickly withdrew her hand. Ruan Qingyu frowned as she looked at the rock face, and the next moment she felt it rise and fall as if breathing.
Ruan Qingyu closed her eyes and enveloped herself with spiritual energy. When she reached out again, the touch was still warm.
What kind of stone is this? It's not made of volcanic jade, yet it carries a temperature. Ruan Qingyu knew that there were many flint stones in the world that were transformed from fire spirit energy, but none of them resembled the rock wall in front of her.
Staying here means I can't get out, not to mention that the strange events just now were caused by that river. Maybe I was swept into the underground river, which is why I'm here.
Ruan Qingyu followed the rock face forward, the sound of dripping water growing clearer. Was she about to find a water source? A surge of excitement filled Ruan Qingyu as she walked towards the direction from which the dripping sound was loudest.
Since there's a water source, there must be an exit. Thinking this, Ruan Qingyu's face relaxed a little, but this relaxed expression only lasted for a moment.
Even under the dim yellow light, it was still clear that the flowing water was not clear, but a thick, reddish-brown liquid.
The constant sound of dripping water was actually from the yellow liquid dripping from the very top of the river, from the center where the source was completely obscured.
Suddenly, Ruan Qingyu clutched her chest and gagged. The smell here was truly foul and unbearable. Cultivators, with their heightened senses, felt as if they were being submerged in sewage.
Looking left and right, it was still the same path she had come from, all black and red rock walls. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that the other rock walls, like her location, had narrow paths leading to them.
This time, however, Ruan Qingyu hesitated about whether to continue.
As Ruan Qingyu considered the situation, she realized that Wutong had been silent for a long time. She tried calling out to it several times, but still received no response.
Filled with doubt and unease, Ruan Qingyu sensed that she still had about 70% of her spiritual power remaining. She secretly circulated her spiritual power to ensure that she could mobilize it to protect herself at any time.
The Phoenix Divine Fire was currently staying obediently in her dantian. Since she didn't need it for the time being, Ruan Qingyu simply let the divine fire lie dormant, waiting for a backup plan.
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