Ji Yuan walked leisurely to the mountainside. Looking down slightly, he saw the people fighting.
He was completely at ease with Zhao Yuansong and others. Although the four Moon Gazing Sect disciples were not weak in cultivation, unless they had some hidden trump cards, they would never be able to cause any harm to them.
Now, as he looked, it was exactly as he had predicted. Of the four Moon Gazing Sect disciples, only three remained, and each was injured, their auras unstable. Defeat was only a matter of time.
From the beginning, after they had knocked the Moon Gazing Sect disciples down the hillside, Zhao Yuansong and Wu Chengqing had joined forces and killed one of them with lightning speed, then severely injured another.
Afterward, under the combined attack of the four, the three Moon Gazing Sect disciples could only struggle to resist, focusing on their senior brother coming to their rescue.
However, the scene they were waiting for was destined not to happen. The handsome young man had already been slain, and even his corpse had turned to ashes, mixing with the soil under the flowing water.
After watching for a moment, Ji Yuan nodded slightly, thinking that the Nine Profound Sect was indeed a hegemonic sect in Feiyun Prefecture, and their cultivation of disciples was truly diligent.
Just from the fact that Zhao Yuansong and the other four, despite belonging to different inner and outer sects, could cooperate tacitly and use combined attacks to fight, one could see a glimpse of this.
In fact, the Nine Profound Sect's combined attack techniques for inner and outer disciples were dismantled from a supreme formation and made mandatory for all disciples of the sect.
Even servant disciples without cultivation were required to practice this method with their fellow disciples regularly.
After about half an hour, seeing that the fight on the hillside would continue for a while longer, Ji Yuan immediately leaped down and gracefully descended from the top of the slope.
As his toes touched the ground, he drew the Yuan Chen Whip wrapped around his waist without a word, then poured his magic power into it and fiercely whipped it forward!
The sound of air breaking instantly rang out. Zhao Yuansong and Wu Chengqing sensed it and immediately dodged to the sides. Then, in their sight, a blur of afterimages whipped past.
With a crisp 'snap,' a Moon Gazing Sect disciple was sent flying backward, his body breaking several large trees consecutively before crashing heavily to the ground, barely able to breathe.
Taking advantage of the momentary distraction of the two Moon Gazing Sect disciples, they both unleashed their full power. Whether it was sword shadows falling like mountain peaks or fierce winds howling like sharp blades, they immediately struck the already exhausted opponents, sending them flying.
"Let's fight!"
The two Moon Gazing Sect disciples exchanged glances, then gritted their teeth and roared.
They quickly formed seals with their hands, their auras surging, and the magic power within their bodies surged wildly. They were clearly about to unleash their desperate techniques.
However, at this very moment, with their minds entirely focused on the three in front of them, half a sword body suddenly pierced through their chests!
The sharp pain in their chests and the rapid depletion of their life force instantly caused their movements to falter. The magic power they had painstakingly gathered immediately poured out of their bodies.
"The one from above is finished?"
Wu Chengqing turned around, asking with inquiry but already knowing the answer in his heart.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan nodded. Seeing that Liu Donglai and Wang Xiaoxuan had already swept the belongings from the four Moon Gazing Sect disciples, he flicked his finger and shot out more than a dozen fireballs, burning the corpses there to ashes.
Although it wasn't the first time they had seen it, Zhao Yuansong and the others still twitched at the corners of their mouths, thinking that he was too cautious.
"You really didn't have to do this. Since these people have already been killed, destroying their bodies is a bit too much..."
Wu Chengqing spoke, but in the end, he could only sigh, clearly unsure how to comment on such behavior.
Only Zhao Yuansong's eyes flickered, lost in thought.
Unlike the former, he had walked the paths of the secular martial world and, due to his low cultivation, had never revealed his identity as an outer disciple of the Nine Profound Sect, thus experiencing many things.
Although Wu Chengqing had also traveled for several years, he was already at the second realm at that time and mostly acted as an inner disciple, encountering disciples of prestigious sects.
While he had accumulated considerable experience, compared to Zhao Yuansong, one had encountered the clouds on the mountain, and the other the mud in the ditch.
"How can you guarantee they are completely dead?"
Ji Yuan retorted, then said meaningfully, "Since it's a matter of life and death, all traces should be erased for one to be truly at ease. Otherwise, what if the other party masters some secret technique and returns one day?"
The principle of an open spear being easy to dodge, but a hidden arrow being hard to guard against, was not only prevalent in the secular world but even more so for cultivators.
Furthermore, due to the countless miraculous methods in the world, it was the most difficult to guard against completely, and one might be secretly harmed by enemies.
Therefore, once a grudge was formed, cultivators often fought to the death, even chasing for thousands of miles, as long as they could personally slay their opponent before their eyes.
"Let's go. Let's check other places to see if there are any other opportunities!"
Seeing Wu Chengqing lost in thought, Ji Yuan spoke.
Then, the five of them quickly returned to the mountainside and continued along the path, heading towards the summit.
"By the way, didn't you just stay in Qianyu City before? How do you have so much experience in the martial world?"
As they walked, Zhao Yuansong suddenly asked.
Hearing this, the other three also looked over with curiosity. They had heard about this young Taoist priest before.
In the inner sect, it was rumored that he came from a third-rate county town, where there were no famous sects or great mountains and rivers within hundreds of miles.
He seemed to have grown up in the county town, and if not for delivering luck to the Nine Profound Sect this time, he might never have left the county town for hundreds of miles.
How could such a young man, who had not seen much of the world, act so experienced?
At least in Zhao Yuansong's opinion, when he used to roam the martial world, he had only seen some veterans who had lived for decades make a habit of destroying bodies and cleaning up their tracks after killing their enemies.
"Before I started cultivating, whenever I was bored, I would go to the tea house at the end of the street and listen to the storyteller talk about the outside world."
Ji Yuan pondered for a moment, a touch of emotion appearing in his eyes.
At that time, what he yearned for most was the world where immortals flew through the air and knights wielded their swords. He always imagined that one day he could become one of them.
The few of them looked at each other, but they did not expect such an answer, and for a moment, they were speechless.
"Most of what storytellers say is made up."
After thinking for a moment, Zhao Yuansong decided to remind him, fearing that he would truly take it as gospel.
However, Ji Yuan blinked and said matter-of-factly, "Of course, I know that. Only children believe it all!"
He looked at the other party with suspicion, not understanding why he suddenly brought this up.
Seeing this, the people beside him couldn't help but laugh, causing Zhao Yuansong's mouth to twitch, his expression quite helpless.
A quarter of an hour later, they had approached the summit, which was the mountainside before the peak collapsed.
Although they had passed through several places that had turned into ruins over the long river of time, they had not found any opportunities. Either they had never existed, or they had been taken by other cultivators long ago.
And as they neared the summit, still some distance away, they could already hear a rumbling sound and feel surges of violent magic power fluctuations.
Ji Yuan and the others looked at each other, then immediately hid in the nearby woods, doing their best to conceal their auras and quietly heading towards the summit.
As soon as they approached, they saw more than ten cultivators fighting each other. All sorts of Daoist techniques and divine abilities were endless, and magic artifacts flew through the air, leaving a mess in their wake.
Just a glance made even Ji Yuan's scalp tingle, because the cultivators fighting at the summit were at least at the middle stage of the second realm!
Who would have thought that among only a few dozen cultivators, there would be more than ten in the middle stage of the Spirit Sealing Realm?
Ji Yuan even estimated that there were still some cultivators in the middle stage of the Spirit Sealing Realm hiding in the dark, and they would not act rashly unless they felt they had a great chance of winning!
"What is it that is worth them fighting so fiercely for?"
A thought suddenly crossed his mind, and he looked towards a certain direction.
In the center of the ruins at the summit, a broken furnace cauldron the size of a fist hovered in mid-air. The cauldron, which was more than half broken, emitted rays of light, and dense spiritual energy emanated from it.
Ji Yuan gazed intently and then, through the broken body of the cauldron, saw that the liquid filling more than half of it was circulating with a radiant glow.
In just a moment, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, and the expressions of disbelief appeared on the faces of those beside him.
This was because the liquid in the half-broken cauldron was actually pure spiritual energy condensed!
Such pure spiritual energy, even a single drop, was worth more than ten low-grade spirit crystals, and far superior in purity.
The spiritual liquid in just half a cauldron was worth an astronomical sum, enough to sustain a small sect's resources for decades!
However, soon, Ji Yuan shifted his gaze to the partially broken cauldron, clearly realizing that the true treasure of this place should be this item.
A cauldron capable of holding such spiritual liquid was obviously no ordinary item. Moreover, the fact that the spiritual liquid condensed within it without dispersing was enough to show its value.
Even making a bold guess, it was likely that the spiritual liquid had been condensed by this item over the long years!
If this were the case, the value of this item would be immeasurable. For individual cultivators, although precious, it was not something they absolutely had to have.
But for sects with a long history, the value of this item was comparable to several high-quality magic treasures, and even surpassed them!
"If this item can condense spiritual liquid, and once it is handed over to the sect, I will never have to worry about any resources for the rest of my life!"
Wu Chengqing couldn't help but exclaim. Even with his composure, excitement couldn't help but appear in his eyes at this moment.
In contrast, Zhao Yuansong was more composed. Having experienced the ways of the martial world, he had seen many great opportunities before his eyes, and countless people had rushed towards them like moths to a flame, only to gain nothing and lose their lives.
"The problem is, how do we safely take this item away from a group of cultivators in the early to middle stages of the second realm?"
He emphasized the word 'safely.'
Upon hearing this, they fell silent. This was almost an impossible task for them.
Even among the inner disciples of the Nine Profound Sect, the top thirty-six, or even the top ten prodigies, could at most contend with several cultivators of the same realm at the same time.
Facing the attacks of a dozen or twenty cultivators of the same realm, and still being able to escape with valuable treasures, even throughout the entire Great Yu Dynasty, one would be considered a monstrous existence.
And such people, even in hundreds of years of history, only appeared a handful of times!
Not to mention that in addition to more than a dozen or twenty cultivators in the middle stage of the Spirit Sealing Realm, there were also a greater number of cultivators in the early stage of the Spirit Sealing Realm. A group of people working together to unleash a few spells could kill a cultivator in the late stage, or even peak stage, of the Spirit Sealing Realm!
"What a pity. It seems we are fated to have no connection with this item."
Wu Chengqing shook his head, saying with some regret, "If we could get this item and hand it over to the sect, let alone a few important places, perhaps even the legendary forbidden lands could be entered at will."
As his voice fell, Ji Yuan's eyes suddenly lit up, and he turned his head sharply, asking with great seriousness, "Really?"
Hearing this, Wu Chengqing was stunned and nodded subconsciously, stating that he was not exaggerating.
In fact, if this item could truly condense spiritual liquid, no matter how long it took, for sects with a history of hundreds or thousands of years, its value would be immeasurable.
It would be comparable to a cultivator of the Golden Core realm in its benefit to the sect!
If it could be handed over to the Nine Profound Sect, not only would they have inexhaustible resources, but they would also get a quota to enter the legendary forbidden lands!