“Ma Guniang, we also want—no, the three of us are also willing to follow Ma Guniang to join the Demon Suppression Division, explore the secret realms of the Four Provinces, and achieve the Great Dao at an early date!”
Lyu Dongfang was thick-skinned, and knowing that Ma Guniang was not a tyrannical or bloodthirsty person, he immediately acted sharp. He dragged Hu Manni and Liu Guansheng down with him, kneeling with a loud thud.
“You see, dealing with mortal matters is such a hassle. If you don't mind, and if you're short on people to run errands or pour tea... what do you think of the three of us?”
Hearing the words “pour tea,” Hongluo, who was sitting next to Nan Zhi, shot them an angry glare.
Lyu Dongfang was not afraid at all.
The elders in his family always said that although he usually seemed a bit silly, his ability to seize an opportunity and climb up was second to none.
A path to heaven was laid right in front of him; only someone whose brain had been kicked by a donkey would push it away.
“Oh, so it is the boy who begged for medicine.”
Ma Guniang finally directed some of her attention to the three of them, seemingly recalling their identities. After a long moment, she let out a soft chuckle and said:
“You are quite thoughtful, but my Demon Suppression Division does not just accept anyone. If you three are interested, work under Qin Yue and cultivate diligently. If you make contributions in the future, this old woman might consider it.”
With that, she waved her sleeve again, and three pills slowly drifted down.
“Thank you, Ma Guniang! I will go through fire and water, risking life and limb, and I will absolutely not fail your trust!”
“Thank you, Ma Guniang!”
Lyu Dongfang and Liu Guansheng had expected to be rejected, but they had not anticipated this unexpected pleasant surprise. They hurriedly caught the pills and stored them close to their bodies.
—Having witnessed the power of these pills in the secret realm, they naturally knew they were life-saving medicines.
Although they did not get the same treatment as Qin Yue, they had at least secured a promise, hadn't they?
Hu Manni clutched her pill, suddenly pursing her lips uncomfortably, hesitating to speak.
Sitting above, Ma Guniang's gaze drifted over, carrying a hint of pressure:
“What is it, little girl? You have been silent this whole time. Could it be that you are unwilling?”
The pressure was immense.
“No, please let me explain, Senior.”
Hu Manni clutched the pill and quickly said:
“I dare not deceive you, Senior Ma. My Ma family and the Hu family share the same roots; we rise and fall together. Right now, the fox immortal enshrined by our family elders has... has already joined Qingmeng Mountain, under the lineage of the Mountain Lord.
This junior is naturally a thousand, ten thousand times willing to join the Demon Suppression Division, but I just do not know...”
—She did not know the relationship between the Demon Suppression Division and the Mountain Lord, but she understood that if she took this pill today without telling the truth, there would likely be endless trouble in the future.
A flash of understanding crossed Qin Yue's eyes.
Lyu Dongfang and Liu Guansheng, who had been grinning foolishly, opened their mouths so wide they could have fit a duck egg inside.
This was also the first time they had heard this news.
The Mountain Lord of Qingmeng Mountain in Xiangxi was someone they were all familiar with.
Initially, they had thought the Hu family was unlucky. On their trip to the south, their old guardian spirit had been heavily injured, and they had even lost two little fox pups.
Who would have thought they were actually so shrewd!
They had long since clung to another giant, thick thigh!
This was like everyone else lying flat peacefully while the Hu and Ma families were secretly overachieving behind their backs, and the other clueless fools were still whispering about them behind their shoulders:
“Oh, the Hu and Ma families are finished.
We can kick them while they're down!”
—Honestly, hopefully no one on the outside had tried to make a move on the Hu family during this time, or else they would be absolute idiots.
Thinking of the news from the south—that mysterious white mist that had floated over the southwest region for an entire month, and Xixiang, which had almost been completely slaughtered—the two of them shuddered in unison.
“You mean that white-furred biao in the Southwest Circuit? What a coincidence. It is actually still alive. When I heard a few days ago that it had awakened, this old woman thought it was just a rumor.”
Ma Guniang casually tapped her teacup lid:
“You do not need to worry about that. It has a stiff, stubborn personality and is entirely focused on cultivation. Even if it knows your Ma family has connections with the Demon Suppression Division, it will not say anything.”
Since things had been laid out so clearly, if they still didn't accept this delicious pie, their brains really would have been kicked by a donkey.
The three of them immediately bowed respectfully. Turning around, they privately began addressing Qin Yue as “Senior Sister” with the utmost respect.
...
The giant red fish swam incredibly fast. Combined with traveling downstream, the journey that had originally taken Nan Zhi over forty days was actually cut in half.
Qin Yue was already a hardworking cultivator. Having received the Snake-Bear Pill, she cultivated day and night in this pitch-black underwater environment.
The 《Small Twelve Bone Forging Method》 was originally the basic cultivation technique of the Demon Suppression Division. It tempered the bones and muscles with one's own noble righteous qi and condensed the blood qi, making it perfectly suited for the public servants of Great Xia.
Whenever Qin Yue cultivated, a faint mist would rise from her head, her pores would open wide, and the popping sounds of her joints could even be heard from within her body.
Seeing this, Lyu, Hu, and Liu grew even more envious, which only strengthened their resolve to find the secret realms of the Four Provinces as soon as possible and strive to join the Demon Suppression Division.
Nan Zhi was, of course, more than happy to see this.
The spiritual energy in the real world had been depleted for too long. Cultivation texts were lost or fragmented, and magic treasures and pills had completely lost their spirituality, making them less useful than simple clubs or health supplements.
Without the secret realms of the Four Provinces, according to the progress of the real world's Spiritual Resurgence, no one would be able to reach the Foundation Establishment stage for at least a hundred years.
But this speed was far too slow.
The vast land of the Four Provinces had shattered and scattered across various parts of Great Xia. Now, with the Spiritual Resurgence, the influence of the secret realms on reality was growing deeper.
If they did not accelerate their cultivation pace and raise the overall cultivation level of Blue Star, once the great demons and monsters from the secret realms came knocking on their door, what difference would there be between Blue Star cultivators and toddling Teletubbies?
She had to find a way to make the world realize the impact of the secret realms on reality.
Nan Zhi flicked the fishing rod in her hand and pulled up a three-meter-long, mung-bean-colored turtle.
—She had seen this turtle several times.
It had a round head, cross-eyes, a bulging pea-green shell, and a very long tail that trailed in the water, looking like a snake from a distance.
Every time she fed the red carp with spirit beast pills, it would swim over to scrounge some crumbs.
Of course, the consequence of doing so was being treated as a ball by the red carp, which would slap it hundreds of meters away with its tail.
But the fellow refused to give up. In the middle of the night, it would silently catch up again, using its head to nudge the Water-Repelling Curse barrier on the giant fish's back.
It possessed human-like intelligence. It would even bite fish and shrimp to death and toss them onto the fish's back. It wasn't greedy either; it just lay outside the shield, waiting to scavenge some leftovers when the giant red fish ate.
It was so humble that Nan Zhi didn't even have the heart to drive it away.
Hongluo liked it immensely and would feed it spirit herbs every day.
—Nan Zhi had given her the storage bag issued by the Demon Suppression Division to make it easier for her to carry her own things.
This creature was called a “Flower-Shelled Snake-Tailed Turtle.” It was said to possess one-ten-thousandth of the Ao fish bloodline. It had a very thick hide and could grow to the size of a whale upon reaching adulthood.
It was likely one of the descendants of the spirit beasts from the secret realm back then.
She didn't know if this cross-eyed turtle wanted to follow them out of the secret realm. It didn't seem to harbor any malice; it was just timid. Whenever Nan Zhi glanced at it, it would dive into the water and refuse to come out.
Only after two hours would it leisurely paddle through the water, popping up from who-knows-where, and quietly climb back onto the fish's back.
However, while it feared Nan Zhi, it was highly aggressive toward other creatures.
Sometimes, she would see it sneak off to steal meat from clams, only to get its head clamped by the shells, crying out in pain.
Coupled with its highly comedic cross-eyes, it was practically the Husky of the water.
Qin Yue had a soft spot for this little guy. Especially after consulting Nan Zhi and learning that its hide would become incredibly thick when it grew up, she immediately sought an opportunity to form a contract with it.
Now that she had a nominal “disciple,” Nan Zhi wasn't stingy either. She casually threw her a few bottles of spirit beast pills so the person and pet could cultivate their bond.
Perhaps in the future, Qin Yue could grow into a major combat force for the real-world Demon Suppression Division.
Of course, Nan Zhi had an even more secret motive.
She hoped the authorities would realize that the Demon Suppression Division was a friend, not an enemy, and return the favor. In the future, whenever a secret realm appeared, they would give her more consideration.
...
The giant red fish swam for seventeen days. Finally, the waterway suddenly opened up. The water-repelling shield ascended, and the familiar land appeared before their eyes. The Mother River still flowed gently.
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