However, before she could use it, she was killed by Mo Qi.
The Five-Colored Pagoda fell out again.
Everything was just that coincidental.
Mo Qi used the Five-Colored Pagoda to capture Zhen Zhen's soul, then stepped forward to pick up Zhen Zhen's corpse and flew away with the Teng Long.
On Yaochi Peak, Mo Qi placed Zhen Zhen on the ice bed. Misty vapor lingered, making Zhen Zhen's originally pale face seem to have a trace of vitality.
Zhen Zhen's eyes were tightly closed, as if she were asleep, so peaceful, so serene.
At this moment, Mo Zhen Zhen ran in, initially shouting, "Brother, you're back, why didn't you come find me?" Upon seeing Zhen Zhen lying on the ice bed, she immediately quieted down, tiptoed to Mo Qi's side, and after just one glance, couldn't help but exclaim, "This sister is so beautiful!"
Then she reached out and touched her nose, and immediately cried out in surprise, "She's dead?"
Mo Qi shook his head, "She's not dead. I can save her. When I'm not on Yaochi Peak, you must help me look after her."
Mo Zhen Zhen nodded solemnly, "Don't worry, Brother, I will definitely help you look after her."
Mo Qi leaned down and gently kissed Zhen Zhen's lips.
Mo Zhen Zhen blushed and immediately covered her eyes with her hands, peeking through her fingers.
At this moment, the artifact spirit flew over from somewhere, still circling Zhen Zhen.
Mo Zhen Zhen cheered, "What is this thing? It's so cute." As she spoke, she opened her arms to pounce on the artifact spirit. The artifact spirit nimbly dodged, and Mo Zhen Zhen missed. She got up and pounced again, missing again. Finally, she had to give up.
Mo Qi then asked her about her cultivation progress. Zhen Zhen frowned and said, "It's so difficult. I haven't awakened my divine sense yet. Can you help me?"
Mo Qi handed her a Spirit-Boosting Pill and patted her head, saying, "Don't rush, take your time."
Mo Zhen Zhen obediently said "Oh" and then said, "Then I'll go cultivate." With that, she turned and left.
With still some time left before the three-month deadline, Mo Qi went everywhere to find ingredients for refining the Soul-Returning Pill. The ingredients he could find were quickly gathered, leaving only a few extremely rare and scarce ones that could only be found slowly. During this time, he did not neglect his own cultivation, often guided Zhen Zhen's cultivation, and refined some pills when he had time.
Using the Demon-Binding Rope as a base, he refined a "Bursting Pill." With his meticulous refining, he felt this "pill" was even more powerful than the ones he had refined before.
Pharmacist Lai visited a few times and told him about Xue Nu's origin and current whereabouts: "Xue Nu is from a cultivation family in the Qiong Lu Realm. She joined our Divine Pill Sect to cultivate ice and snow divine abilities. Now that she has achieved her goal, her family has taken her back."
Mo Qi was a little surprised, "I heard that the Qiong Lu Realm itself is a world of ice and snow. Then their ice and snow divine abilities should be very powerful. Why did they still come to the Divine Pill Sect to learn ice and snow divine abilities?"
Pharmacist Lai glared at him, "What's with that expression? Are you looking down on people? Our Divine Pill Sect's ice and snow divine abilities are a unique school, with their own distinct competitiveness. Their reputation in the cultivation world is well-known. Let alone the Qiong Lu Realm, even the vast southern sea of Hong Meng and the Eastern Continent, many people come here by reputation."
Mo Qi repeatedly apologized, "This junior was blind and ignorant. This junior deserves to die."
Pharmacist Lai laughed heartily, "Actually, it's not that miraculous. I'm just saying that. In fact, I also know they came for our ice and snow divine ability summoning technique. But I know she will leave after learning the summoning technique. Moreover, the ice and snow divine ability summoning technique is one of the core skills of our Divine Pill Sect and cannot be easily taught. Therefore, I specifically instructed Han Bing not to teach her the summoning technique. Perhaps her family lost patience, or they realized we would never teach her the summoning technique, or for some other reason, but a few days ago, her family came and said they wanted to take her back. I told them Xue Nu was not in our sect, so they went to find her themselves. Later, Xue Nu sent a message saying she was going back with her grandfather. I figured her family must have found her and taken her back directly."
Mo Qi suddenly understood. If Xue Nu only came to cultivate the summoning technique, then her return at this time was logical, as she had already mastered the ice and snow divine ability summoning technique.
Regardless, as long as she was safe, that was good.
"Is the summoning technique that powerful? I feel it's just average. Is it that attractive?" Mo Qi asked, puzzled.
"It depends on what kind of snow beast you summon. Those with low cultivation summon low-level snow beasts. As their cultivation increases, the summoned spirit beasts become more powerful. When they reach a certain cultivation level, they can summon ancient snow beasts or even primeval snow beasts. At that time, you can deal with a loose immortal without lifting a finger. Do you think that's attractive?" Pharmacist Lai said.
"In that case, it is indeed very powerful." Mo Qi's heart was filled with longing, and he couldn't help but feel eager to try.
Seeing Mo Qi lost in thought, with a hint of loneliness in his eyes, Pharmacist Lai immediately said, "Uncle-Master, don't worry. If Xue Nu leaves, I'll find another one for you. Our Divine Pill Sect has plenty of beautiful female cultivators. Besides Yaochi Peak, other peaks also have female disciples. At that time, I'll also follow Zhong Gui and hold a beauty pageant throughout the sect..."
Mo Qi remained silent, just staring at him coldly.
Pharmacist Lai left dejectedly. He hadn't gone far before he turned back, lowered his voice, and acted like a thief, "Uncle-Master, regarding our pills, should we still sell them to Ling Xiao Sect at cost price?"
Mo Qi glared at him, "Why shouldn't we sell them? Do you have any objections?"
"No, aren't you with Ling Xiao Sect..."
"What does that have to do with you?"
Pharmacist Lai left dejectedly again.
Finally, the three-month deadline arrived. Ten people arrived at Bei Jiu Guan as agreed and gradually assembled outside the city gate. Xue Nu and Qi Zhi Mei were missing. Shi Siyao and Lu Xiaoyue had actually brought Hong Cheng back. Afraid that Hong Cheng would escape, Shi Siyao tied him up securely with a magical artifact rope. Hong Cheng still appeared forgetful, asking questions like "Who are you?" and "Where am I?" as he walked.
Three people from the Shen Wu Sect joined forces with Gu Ping to capture a demon from the Southern Sea and brought him over in a magical artifact bottle.
Mo Qi regretted it at this moment. If only he hadn't been so impulsive to go and seize the soul of Taoist Skeleton. If he had used the Five-Colored Pagoda to capture Taoist Skeleton, it would have counted as a contribution. But now, after all his efforts, it was all in vain.
Shi Siyao displayed her foolishness to the extreme. Upon seeing Mo Qi, she repeatedly said thank you. Mo Qi felt even more awkward. He had originally intended to mislead her, but instead, it turned out to be fortuitous, achieving her success. He could only repeatedly say, "You're welcome."
Pei Ruxue occasionally glanced at Mo Qi. When Mo Qi looked at her, she immediately turned her head and looked elsewhere.
Mo Qi smiled and transmitted his voice to her, "How strong do I need to become before I can come find you, Aunt Pei?"
Pei Ruxue pondered for a long time and replied, "When you are no longer easily injured."
"Will you grow old by then?"
"Go to hell!"
"I want to die with you!"
"I can't be bothered with you!"
A moment later, the envoy from the Qiong Lu Realm stationed in the Northern Region and people from the Four Great Sects of the Northern Region arrived. The envoy announced the completion of the tasks for the ten people and their destinations after entering the Northern Region.
To Mo Qi's surprise and excitement, he, Ba Dun, Pei Ruxue, and Wu Siqi were all listed on the merit roll. The Four Great Sects jointly submitted a merit for "obtaining evidence of Shen Gui Sect's collusion with overseas powers." Additionally, Fang Buyi helped Mo Qi and Wu Siqi submit a merit for eliminating a traitor.
The allocation results were: three people from the Shen Jian Sect entered Tai He Sect, three people from the Shen Wu Sect entered Zhong He Sect, two people from the Shen Dan Sect (Mo Qi and Wu Siqi) entered Zheng He Sect, and two people from the Shen Dun Sect entered Bao He Sect. All contributions were calculated into their respective contribution values, and contribution value spirit stones were distributed by their respective sects on the spot.
Hong Cheng was taken back to the Northern Region by the Northern Region envoy for treatment, and the demon from the Southern Sea was also taken back to be dealt with.
The situations of Qi Zhi Mei and Xue Nu had already been reported to the Divine Dun Sect and the Divine Pill Sect. The Four Great Sects then decided to grant four more spots to the Four Great Sects of the Nine Divine Realms, allowing them to conduct another round of selection and choose the best candidates for the training list.
Seeing Lu Xiaoyue enter Tai He Sect, Mo Qi, while the groups had not yet separated, transmitted his voice to Lu Xiaoyue, "Can you help me inquire about someone? I want to know her current situation."
After a long pause, Lu Xiaoyue replied, "Who?"
"Her name is Xiao Cong'er," Mo Qi said.
"Is she a woman?" Lu Xiaoyue frowned.
"Yes, what's wrong?"
"Lecher, lustful fellow!"
"No, I just want to know if she is safe." Mo Qi said.
"Do you believe that reason yourself?"
"I'm not sure if I have other thoughts, but what I want to know most now is whether she is still alive and safe."
"You don't even want to hide it anymore?"
"Forget it, if you don't want to help, then so be it."
Wu Siqi and Mo Qi were led by a beautiful female cultivator into the territory of Zheng He Sect. The beautiful female cultivator was named Jin Yan. She was clearly a bit arrogant and aloof towards the two of them along the way. To many of Mo Qi and Wu Siqi's curious questions, she would occasionally reply, but most of the time, she pretended not to hear, creating an awkward silence. She didn't feel awkward, but Mo Qi and Wu Siqi felt extremely embarrassed.
Mo Qi looked closely. This girl had about seventy to eighty percent beauty. Her mouth, eyebrows, and eyes were all delicately shaped, but her complexion was poor, her skin was rough, and there were crow's feet at the corners of her eyes. Furthermore, there were several spots on both sides of her nose, and a few pimples on her cheeks and forehead. She was clearly not a peerless beauty, yet she insisted on putting on the demeanor of an ice-cold beauty, so naturally, others kept their distance.
Therefore, later on, Wu Siqi and Mo Qi also ignored her. They talked and laughed with each other, acting as if she didn't exist. Jin Yan felt neglected and excluded, appearing awkward for a moment.
A moment later, Jin Yan led the two to a hilltop and said, "We've arrived."
Arrived? Mo Qi and Wu Siqi looked around in unison. Zheng He Sect shouldn't be on a small hill, should it? Shouldn't there be rows of houses, with red walls and green tiles, exuding grandeur? But there wasn't a single tile or brick in sight, let alone houses.
While they were hesitating, Jin Yan gave each of them a sound transmission spirit stone, then took out a map. The map depicted all the territories under the jurisdiction of Zheng He Sect, with a circle in the middle, which was the area of Yu Xia Mountain and the surrounding mountains belonging to Zheng He Sect. Jin Yan pointed to the area outside the circle, "You are only allowed to move within this area and cannot cross the boundary. Once there is a mission, we will notify you through the sound transmission spirit stone."
Mo Qi felt a million 'grass-mud horses' galloping through his mind. This so-called training, let alone outer disciples, not even registered disciples could be considered. At best, they were rogue cultivators within the territory of Zheng He Sect, or even lower in status than rogue cultivators. Rogue cultivators possessed absolute freedom, but now, their activity range was strictly limited.
Mo Qi immediately felt like he had been deceived.
"Is it too late for us to turn back now?" Mo Qi was almost crying.
Jin Yan looked at him calmly, "You can go back now, but the Qiong Lu Realm will record this against you. No one can say for sure what impact it will have on your future."
As Mo Qi hesitated, Wu Siqi asked, "How long do we have to stay here before we can go back without any repercussions?"
"Three years, at least three years."
Fortunately, three years was not a very long time.
Mo Qi looked at the map again and noticed there were quite a few marketplaces within the activity range. He immediately had an idea. He had money. As long as he bought a house in the market and spent his days refining pills, he could get through these three years.
Seeing that the two seemed to have understood what she had explained, Jin Yan put away the map and made a gesture as if to fly away.
Mo Qi suddenly felt that as their liaison, he would need her help in many places in the future, so it would be better to build a good relationship with her. Thus, he immediately called out to her, "Miss Jin, please wait."
Jin Yan looked at him with some impatience, "Is there anything else?"
Mo Qi took out a Youth-Restoring Pill and a Skin-Beautifying Pill from his storage bag and handed them over, "Miss Jin, these two pills, when used together, have the effect of beautifying the face and skin. Why don't you try them?"