In a quiet courtyard.

In the study, Qing Muling finished drinking the spirit wine in the jade cup, lowered his head and continued to read the book in his hand. There was still a pile of books on the desk.

The information recorded in these scrolls is about various monsters and creatures outside the city, as well as many special products and resources in Linzhou. They have always been stored in the warehouse of the Lord’s Mansion. Some of the more important content is still classified. If ordinary disciples want to read it, they have to exchange it with merits and contributions.

Of course, with the order from Senior Sister, Qing Muling effortlessly obtained all the information he wanted to read. As for the required merits, they were naturally deducted from the merits accumulated by the two Senior Sisters.

“Qing Senior Brother, the ‘Azure Sea Tide’ you wanted is here.”

Jin Xia, an inner disciple, stood at the door with a tray inlaid with gold and jade, softly reporting.

“Well, bring it in.”

Qing Muling looked up and found that this girl was from Senior Sister’s side, so he nodded.

Jin Xia walked in with the tray and gently placed it on the table in front of him. In the tray was an exquisite white jade wine pot, with a capacity of at most two or three liters.

Qing Muling poured himself a cup, the pale blue liquor emitted a mellow fragrance. As he sipped it slowly, he could faintly hear the sound of the sea waves in his ears, and the majestic spiritual energy surged into his meridians and organs like rolling tides.

“The taste is good, but the quantity is a bit small. Bring two more pots, and also bring some snacks and side dishes for drinking. Don’t bother bringing the ones that are too bad!” Qing Muling calmly ordered.

“Uh… okay!”

Jin Xia nodded blankly, feeling a bit distressed. This high-grade spirit wine was not cheap. In the market outside, a small cup was worth at least a hundred medium-grade spirit stones. Otherwise, it would have to be exchanged with merits in the warehouse. Ordinary core disciples simply couldn’t afford to drink so openly.

Therefore, all the expenses that Qing Muling had now were all counted on the accounts of the two Senior Sisters.

They paid for Qing Muling out of their own pockets, taking care of all his clothing, food, housing, and various expenses. They didn’t mind, and they didn’t want this Junior Brother to mind either.

So Qing Muling now enjoyed the “support” of the Senior Sisters with peace of mind, enjoying the free ride and feeling justified.

After a while, Jin Xia returned with the wine and food.

After she left, Qing Muling began to enjoy the food and wine, while also thinking about the matter of going out of the city for training. Of course, Third Senior Sister, Qi Yalan, was not here at the moment, so he had to wait for her to come back before setting off together.

Outside the courtyard.

Twelve inner female disciples with cold expressions stood on the steps, their spiritual weapons shimmering with a faint cold light. Behind them stood a long row of tall and sturdy Daoist puppets, each of them wearing heavy armor and looking as strong as bears, blocking the main gate tightly.

A group of Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace disciples stood three feet away from the steps, confronting them with unfriendly expressions.

“Do you know who I am?”

“How dare you stop me? Aren’t you afraid of provoking the anger of Elder Xingyun?”

“I just want to have a chat with Junior Brother Qing. We are all core disciples of the sect. He wouldn’t refuse to see me, right?”

“You are not even core disciples yet, but you dare to stop me? Just because Senior Sister is behind you? Acting so arrogantly, does she really think she is the successor of the sect?!”

Various accusations, threats, and temptations were heard one after another, but the female disciples guarding the gate remained unmoved, not allowing anyone to pass. The aura emanating from them was heavy and solemn.

“Sisters, what are you trying to do?”

Jin Xia’s voice came from inside the gate. “This is Senior Sister’s temporary dojo. If you insist on barging in without permission, do you think the rules of the sect are just for show?”

Seeing her appear, several female disciples below became excited and started talking to her all at once, obviously knowing each other before.

Jin Xia smiled ambiguously. “I didn’t see you all care so much about Senior Sister before. Now, everyone is rushing over to please her just because Junior Brother Qing is here?”

“Senior Sister has ordered that Junior Brother Qing is in seclusion and should not be disturbed by any outsiders. Sisters, you don’t need to worry about it.”

After she said this, the disciples below the steps looked displeased.

A beautiful and delicate woman, like a precious jade, said coldly, “I am also a core disciple of the sect, and my status is equal to Senior Sister’s. Why shouldn’t she let me see Qing Muling?”

Jin Xia sneered, “Yes, we are all core disciples, but if you want to question Senior Sister’s decision, wait until your cultivation surpasses hers before saying such things!”

Core disciples were also divided into different levels, and the standard for this division was the level of cultivation. Although disciples with higher cultivation couldn’t do whatever they wanted to disciples with lower cultivation, their status and the level of attention they received from the higher-ups in the sect were definitely different.

The woman’s eyes became colder, and her hand rested on the hilt of her sword at her waist. “You are just an inner disciple. Do you dare to speak disrespectfully to me? Do you really think I won’t do anything?”

Jin Xia smiled without changing her expression: “Of course, I dare not offend Senior Sister Longxin. It’s just that Senior Sister has already said that anyone who dares to intrude, regardless of their status, will not escape severe punishment, even the core disciples!”

She took out a palm-sized, purple jade token surrounded by green mist and shook it, her voice turning cold: “This is the token of the Supreme Sect Master. Senior Sister, if you want to do something, it’s best to think twice!”

“You…”

The expressions of the disciples below suddenly changed, and their momentum weakened.

If they could still rely on their numbers to cause trouble earlier, it was now impossible to continue to make trouble. Offending Senior Sister and offending the Supreme Sect Master were two completely different things. Not to mention them, even the high-ranking and influential core elders did not have the confidence to openly question the authority of the Supreme Sect Master.

In the end, the core disciple Longxin flicked her sleeve and left in anger, leaving the other disciples to disperse reluctantly.

Half an hour later, a sword aura, tens of thousands of feet long and resembling a rainbow, descended from the clouds and hovered slightly before landing in the courtyard where Qing Muling was.

As the sword aura dissipated, the elegant and graceful Qi Yalan appeared, her round and slender jade legs moving gracefully as she walked into the gate.

Qing Muling smiled and pointed to a pot of spirit wine on the table, “Is everything settled? Then let’s set off later. This is for you.”

Qi Yalan nodded and picked up the wine pot to pour herself a cup, leaving the rest in front of Qing Muling. “This thing is not very useful to me anymore. You should drink more of it. It will benefit your cultivation.”

Qing Muling did not refuse and stored the spirit wine in the Space Bracelet.

After Qi Yalan finished drinking, she reached out and hugged his waist. With a slight thought, a dazzling sword aura enveloped the two of them as they soared into the sky, breaking through the protective barrier of the city and disappearing into the horizon in an instant.

The scenery changed before Qing Muling’s eyes, and when his vision returned to normal, he found himself in mid-air hundreds of miles away, with the familiar city reduced to a tiny dot at the edge of his vision.

“How is it?” Qi Yalan asked with a smile. The two of them were now standing on a flying sword, but the size of the sword was a bit small, so Qing Muling had to stand close to his senior sister’s voluptuous and hot figure and be held by her to maintain his balance.

Of course, the reason why Qi Yalan was willing to hold him was only to prevent Junior Brother from accidentally falling, and not because of any other thoughts. She was very certain that she really didn’t think too much.

The familiar fragrance came faintly, and through the smooth fabric, the amazing elasticity of her fair skin could be felt, a wonderful feeling that couldn’t be described in words.

The sky was gloomy, and below was the dark earth. The surroundings were empty, without any signs of human presence, exuding a desolate and silent atmosphere, with a pungent smell in the air.

The vast ground was not completely devoid of life. Countless strange and unknown weeds and trees grew, and occasionally, hoarse and low roars could be heard from a distance.

A mysterious mist, black and red intertwined, spread over the surface of the earth, about thirty zhang thick, enveloping the vegetation and creatures from the underground demon realm. It had a serious effect of distorting and interfering with the divine sense of cultivators. If cultivators below the True Person Realm did not travel in groups, it would be extremely dangerous in such a place.

Under the erosion and nourishment of this mysterious mist, all the creatures on the earth had become extremely ferocious and bloodthirsty. They not only regarded human cultivators who intruded as enemies, but also constantly fought and killed each other. The defeated ones would be treated as food by the victors without any hesitation.

Several dozen miles away, a terrifying and ugly demonic tree, over two hundred zhang tall, roared as it tightly entangled a python as thick as a water bucket. The branches covered with suction cups tore apart the python’s hard scales, sucking and devouring its flesh and blood essence bit by bit, until only an empty python skin hung on the treetop.

Qing Muling quickly judged that the environment here had been completely polluted by demonic energy and had become a paradise for those demonic creatures. It was no longer suitable for humans or other normal creatures to live.

Floating in the clouds, with Qing Muling’s current cultivation level, he could occasionally see the remnants of certain ruins on the wilderness and by the riverside. The scale of some cities was extremely magnificent, and one could imagine how prosperous this piece of void land used to be.

“What a pity!”

Qing Muling sighed softly, “Is there really no chance for it to return to its original state?”

Qi Yalan shook her head gently, “It’s very difficult. Look at this vast land, the mountains, rivers, and deep forests have all been completely occupied by the creatures from the underground. It’s not easy to exterminate them, let alone after killing them, we still need to purify the remaining demonic energy, which is something our sect is not capable of.”

Perhaps in some super Dao Lineages, there were hidden treasures that could change the world and reverse the situation, capable of purifying the demonic energy of an entire continent and restoring it to a fertile land suitable for the prosperity of all living beings. But the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace definitely did not have such treasures.

“Let’s go down and take a look.” Qing Muling suggested.

“Alright.”

Qi Yalan agreed and controlled the flying sword to descend, hovering in the air about thirty zhang above the mist-covered ground.Seemingly sensing the presence of strangers, the fog below suddenly began to churn and boil. Dozens of crimson lightning bolts shot out, heading straight for the two of them.