Chapter 81: Chapter 80: Aura
"Senior, I was wrong. Please, forgive my transgression..."
Qin Li and the others stared, dumbfounded, at the scene before them. The Celestial Level master, the Royal Family’s chief Great Tributor, whose presence had been so overwhelming just moments ago, now looked like an obedient child. His expression was so sincere it could have moved even the most heartless person.
"You may go. Do not harm the Spirit Beasts of Phoenix Lake and Phoenix Mountain again! Otherwise... Oh, and one more thing..."
Chen Yihan had been about to fly away, but upon hearing those words, he had no choice but to stand obediently in the lake and say, "Please instruct me, Senior!"
"I’ve taken a liking to these humans. You are not to force them to do anything! They wish to enter those ruins to search for treasure, and you will ensure their safety!"
’Are you kidding me?’
It wasn’t just Chen Yihan; even Qin Li and the others were dumbstruck. ’Since when are Super Spirit Beasts this nice?’ they thought. ’Do they rob the rich to give to the poor now?’
Fortunately, Chen Yihan had heard that Super Spirit Beasts all had their own strange quirks. ’If I’d known this would happen,’ he cursed inwardly, ’why did I have to come to shore and drag these people out? My meat shields are gone, and now I have four new masters to serve!’
’With their meager strength, how is entering the ruins any different from suicide?’
However, he didn’t dare utter a single word of dissent. He could only bow his head and reply in a subdued tone, "This junior understands."
"Mm, you may go!" The voice was filled with boundless disgust, as if just speaking to him was a disgrace.
Chen Yihan gave Qin Li’s group a deep, meaningful look. ’If you lot don’t know what’s good for you and actually think you can order a Royal Tributor around like a bodyguard,’ he thought, ’you’ll be the first ones I kill once we’re inside the ruins!’
Fortunately, Qin Li and his companions showed no intention of leaving with him. Chen Yihan slowly rose from the lake and began Cultivating to dry his clothes. He was an old man, over one hundred and thirty years old. Though the body of a Celestial Level Martial Artist was incredibly resilient, standing in the frigid lake water for so long without Cultivating was far from pleasant.
Bowing toward the pitch-black forest, Chen Yihan flew away. A moment later, he arrived above the Ancient Ruins, and his entire retinue immediately withdrew.
Clearly, they all felt that today was no longer suitable for entering the ruins and decided to wait until tomorrow.
After Chen Yihan left, deep within the dense forest, the White Fox Maiden finally let out a long sigh. A trace of exhaustion appeared in her nimble and beautiful eyes. If she hadn’t been injured, maintaining that aura would have been no problem. But she was heavily wounded, and that brief display had already exhausted her. Using the last of her strength, she said to Qin Li, "You, the young man. I can see your aptitude is the best. Eat the Black Water Kui Ox’s Inner Core. It will benefit you. As for the rest, you can deal with it yourselves!"
After speaking, she could no longer maintain her human form. Reverting into a white fox, she vanished into the dense forest like a phantom.
Qin Li and the others stood there, utterly dumbfounded. After a long moment, Leng Yao finally spoke, her face a picture of disbelief. "I’ve never heard of a Spirit Beast doing something like this—telling a human to eat the Inner Core of one of its own kind... This... this is unbelievable!"
Bu Yunyan, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly as surprised. She smiled. "What’s the big deal? They’re different species!"
"No. Among Spirit Beasts, even mortal enemies are extremely united when facing outsiders! Unless..." Leng Yao seemed to realize something, but then she shook her head and whispered, "Unless it’s to repay a debt of gratitude!"
"Repay a debt?" Qin Li frowned. "You mean that little thing? Impossible! It was just an ordinary animal!"
"Whatever the case, we’ve... struck it rich!" Hu couldn’t help but exclaim as he looked at the Black Water Kui Ox’s corpse. Then, with an incredibly serious expression, he said to Qin Li, "Qin, you should eat this Inner Core right away!"
Leng Yao chimed in, "I have a feeling that Royal Tributor won’t give up so easily! You should consume it and refine it right here. He won’t come looking for us again for a little while. Once you’ve fully absorbed it, we should leave this place! We’ve gained more than enough from this trip; there’s no need to risk entering the ruins!"
"How long can a Spirit Beast Inner Core be preserved?" Qin Li asked, looking at Leng Yao.
"One year!" Leng Yao answered without a second thought. "If you have a high-quality container, even ten years is fine! A Spirit Beast’s Inner Core is formed from the Essence of Heaven and Earth. Once removed, its Spiritual Qi will slowly dissipate, so it’s best to consume it within a year. But given the current situation, you should take it immediately. The worst that can happen is you agree to Chen Yihan’s demands and join the Royal Family, which isn’t that great a loss!"
"Forget it. I’m not eating it now. Leng Yao, let’s take out the Inner Core and collect the Essence Blood. Hu, skin the Black Water Kui Ox. The rest of you wait here on the shore. I’m going to take a look inside those ruins. If I’m not out by dawn, you all immediately return to the summit of this mountain. I have a hunch that something has been protecting us! Otherwise, we never would have made it this far. Wait for me there for one day. If I still haven’t come out, just go back. Leave the Cyan Dragon Kingdom and live in seclusion. Hu, don’t place any faith in Chen Yihan. In his eyes, we’re worthless!"
After speaking, Qin Li gave everyone a deep look and added, "As for the Inner Core... leave it with Leng Yao for now. If I don’t come back, you can refine it into an Elixir and sell it for a fortune!"
"No way!" Hu refused flatly. Although he was tempted by the idea of joining the Royal Family, what Qin Li said also made sense. He couldn’t stand the thought of letting Qin Li go on such a dangerous venture alone.
"I’ll go with you!"
"I’ll go too!"
"And me!"
Qin Li was touched. He smiled at them. "Just hearing you say that is enough. My strength... is beyond your comprehension. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine!"
As Qin Li spoke, his body seemed to become weightless. In an instant, he floated more than ten meters away, and in the next blink, he appeared over a hundred meters in the distance!
Hu and the others stared, dumbfounded and petrified. Not even the Celestial Level experts from before had displayed such a profound Light Body Technique!
How could they know? An Unparalleled Lightweight Skill turned into a combat technique—in the entire Celestial Essence Continent, his was one of a kind!
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I’d like to recommend another book, *Mastering the World*, Book ID: 1773612
*Mastering the World* by Daxuebeng
The past twenty years have been the most exciting two decades on the Wanxuan Continent. Experts were as common as clouds, and masters emerged one after another. Mystical secret realms and profound Holy Lands appeared endlessly, creating countless legends!
Xiao Yichen, a Low Level Xuan practitioner, gained nothing during these most brilliant twenty years in history, a fact he deeply regretted.
A chance encounter sent Xiao Yichen back twenty years in time!
He was overjoyed to discover that he was standing at the very beginning of the Wanxuan Continent’s most exciting twenty years!!
He made a vow!
In this life, he would break through to the pinnacle, look down upon all living things, and master the world!!!!
