The Back World.

In front of a dark, towering spire, a man and a woman stood side-by-side.

Both possessed exquisitely refined features, as if meticulously crafted by Nüwa herself.

These two were none other than Qiao Yu and An Liya.

After Yang Xiangdi was dragged away by Dai Si Yu, Qiao Yu gave him an "I can't help you" look before entering the Back World with An Liya.

With a wave of Qiao Yu’s hand, a sky-blue orb flew from the spire towards them.

"The Soul Cleansing Lake instance will randomly match teammates. If we don't end up together, just go straight through the Soul Cleansing Rainforest and meet me at the lake," Qiao Yu instructed.

"Okay," An Liya nodded.

Then, the sky-blue orb expanded, enveloping Qiao Yu and An Liya.

When Qiao Yu opened his eyes again, he was already in a humid rainforest, overgrown with green vines.

After so long, Qiao Yu felt a sense of nostalgia upon re-entering the Soul Cleansing Lake instance.

The first time he entered, he was just a novice scrub. Now, he was at the peak of the King rank, just one level away from stepping into the Emperor rank.

With another spatial distortion, Qiao Yu’s five other teammates for this run appeared beside him.

To Qiao Yu's surprise, An Liya had actually been matched with him.

Standing at the very front was a petite figure wearing a pink hoodie, blinking large eyes in wonder at her surroundings.

"This is the Soul Cleansing Lake instance, said to wash away all negative statuses? Why can't I see the lake?"

"Little sister, you don't understand!"

A somewhat balding man, who otherwise seemed quite steady, stepped forward and explained with great consideration.

"To reach Soul Cleansing Lake, you have to pass through the Soul Cleansing Rainforest first. Looks like you didn't buy the instance guide!"

"Uncle, do you have a guide?" the girl asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Of course! Such a dangerous instance like Soul Cleansing Lake requires thorough preparation!"

The man raised his head proudly, a lecherous glint flickering in the corner of his eye as he glanced at the petite girl.

"How about this? Everyone just sticks with me, Wu Qiang. I, Wu Qiang, guarantee I’ll lead you all safely to Soul Cleansing Lake!"

"Okay, Uncle, you have to protect Sisi, okay?"

The girl playfully stuck out her tongue before standing behind Wu Qiang.

The remaining man and woman exchanged a look and quickly followed suit.

It was then that Wu Qiang noticed Qiao Yu and An Liya standing to the side.

Of course, Wu Qiang completely ignored Qiao Yu; his gaze was fixated on An Liya's long, snowy-white legs.

"Damn, I jumped the gun!"

Wu Qiang thought to himself, regretting his decision. This foreign chick was way hotter than that Sisi or whatever!

He immediately put on a warm and friendly face. For a middle-aged man like Wu Qiang, knowing how to read people was a basic skill.

"Young brothers, why don't you join me as well? I, Wu Qiang, will ensure your safety. I believe I'm the only High-rank here, right?"

Wu Qiang finished speaking, raising his head slightly in self-satisfaction. With his High-rank strength, he was invincible in a D-grade instance.

As expected, Wu Qiang's words caused exclamations of surprise from the three behind him.

Sisi and the others were only Mid-rank. Having the High-rank Wu Qiang willing to take them along was a stroke of good fortune.

However, Wu Qiang waited for a long time without An Liya even glancing at him.

An Liya had always been aloof and cool, only becoming cheerful in front of Qiao Yu.

In front of other men, she remained the unattainable goddess.

"Not bad, not bad, you're indeed the only High-rank. You're a one-of-a-kind scorpion," Qiao Yu said with a grin.

Qiao Yu wasn't lying to Wu Qiang. He and An Liya were both King-rank, so Wu Qiang was indeed the only High-rank present.

"Right?" Wu Qiang’s smugness increased upon hearing that. "Then both of you should follow me!"

"Also! You've all read the rules of the Soul Cleansing Rainforest, right? Remember them! Otherwise, if you break the rules, even the gods won't be able to save you!" Wu Qiang instructed, narrowing his eyes.

"Okay, Brother Wu Qiang!"

Sisi's voice was extremely soft and cute, making Wu Qiang’s bones feel like they were turning to jelly.

After learning that Wu Qiang was a High-rank, she changed her address from "Uncle" to "Brother," and her gaze towards him was almost syrupy.

If there weren't other people present, Qiao Yu suspected they might start hooking up right then and there.

Qiao Yu said with a somewhat sinister tone, "I heard the evil spirits in the Soul Cleansing Rainforest are extremely terrifying and can even possess people. Aren't you afraid?"

"What's there to be afraid of? With me, Wu Qiang, here, no demons or monsters will dare to run rampant! What, are you scared?"

Wu Qiang glanced sideways at Qiao Yu, then at An Liya, a sneer tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Women were all drawn to strength. Once the girl saw how useless this pretty boy next to her was, she would obediently throw herself into Wu Qiang's arms.

"Scared?" Qiao Yu's expression was very sincere. "Of course, I'm not scared! I'm especially strong!"

Hearing this, the others sized Qiao Yu up.

Although he looked handsome, there wasn't a trace of an expert's demeanor about him, with a hint of mischievousness.

He also looked very young, at most in his early twenties. How could someone like that be especially strong?

"You? You're not even High-rank, and you say you're especially strong?" Wu Qiang sneered. "Buddy, I understand wanting to show off in front of a woman, but why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror? If you're especially strong, then I'm the Jade Emperor descended from the heavens!"

"Hahahaha!"

The others burst into laughter at Wu Qiang's words, looking at Qiao Yu as if he were a clown.

Qiao Yu turned to look at An Liya, shrugged helplessly, and sighed.

"I really rarely tell the truth. I finally opened up for once, and no one believes me."

An Liya couldn't help but laugh, rolling her eyes at Qiao Yu.

The others were also amused by Qiao Yu.

"Buddy, with your talent, it's a pity you're not a comedian! It's a great loss to the comedy world!"

Xu Nan Kai clapped his thigh in admiration. As the other male in the group, he naturally didn't have any good feelings towards Qiao Yu.

There was no helping it; handsome men would be ostracized by other men in an unfamiliar environment. This was something everyone could relate to.

With Qiao Yu stirring things up, the atmosphere of this temporary team became much livelier.

Qiao Yu also learned that the last woman in the team was named Wang Baochuan.

After walking for some time, the sky gradually darkened.

"Let's set up camp and rest! We'll start a campfire. The Soul Cleansing Rainforest is more dangerous at night than during the day! We'll travel again when it's light!"

Wu Qiang began to issue orders, clearly taking on the role of the team's leader.

Sisi and Xu Nan Kai immediately obeyed Wu Qiang's words, scrambling to gather firewood.

Then, with a flick of Wu Qiang’s hand, a cluster of flames emerged from his hand, instantly igniting the firewood.

Seeing the campfire lit, Wang Baochuan volunteered.

"Then I'll go dig up some wild vegetables. I'm very good at digging them up!"