Junior sister, keep forbear for a while, I almost become invincible as soon!

Compared to this Elder’s actions, his decision to have a King Tao cultivator fight Li Qi was quite merciful. Had it been someone else, they might have directly slain him, offering no chance at all.

Li Qi’s face turned pale.

The Elder smiled. "Our Golden Sun Sect won’t bully you. You can choose any one of these thirteen individuals. If you can defeat your chosen opponent, the Golden Sun Sect will write its name on this blank paper. If not, please leave."

Li Qi glanced over them again. His eyelids twitched as he sensed the fluctuations of their internal energy. His heart turned bitter.If his master had been willing to impart the cultivation methods and allow him to cultivate, he might have already stepped into the Divine King Realm by now. Then he wouldn’t have to suffer oppression from mere King Tao cultivators.

Just then, the Earth Chicken emerged from somewhere. Head high and chest puffed out, she strode in with an arrogant air. "Very good, not bad at all. Letting a King Tao cultivator battle my disciple is indeed a rare opportunity for tempering."

Huh?

Everyone was stunned.

Hearing the Earth Chicken refer to Li Qi as her disciple, their expressions turned odd.

Is Li Qi her disciple?

Does that mean this chicken is Chen Pingping?

What breed of chicken is this? Why can it speak? Is it a Demon Beast? Or from the Demon Race?

"Little Master!" Li Qi took a deep breath.

"Don’t panic, kid," the Earth Chicken smiled. "Your master has always been able to defeat opponents far beyond his cultivation level, and so can you."

She began to realize Chen Pingping’s original intention. The Solar Saint Body needed tempering.

Immediately, she flapped her wings, pointing towards a young man—a cultivator at the Second Heaven of the King Tao Realm.

With Li Qi’s current strength, although he hadn’t yet stepped into the King Tao Realm, his foundational accumulation and Solar Saint Body were enough to defeat an early-stage King Tao cultivator. If he couldn’t even defeat him, then the Solar Saint Body was worthless.

The Earth Chicken revealed a smile and stepped aside.

The members of the Golden Sun Sect narrowed their eyes, smiles playing on their lips. They were quite confident in their young King Tao cultivator.

After all, Li Qi was only at the Supreme Mystery Realm.

However, the battle had just begun when Li Qi raised his hand. A skill descended, imbued with majestic Dharma and immense Power Path, severely wounding the Golden Sun Sect’s King Tao cultivator.

What?!

The crowd was dumbfounded.

HAHAHA!

The Earth Chicken cackled. "Li Qi, my boy, well done! Truly worthy of being my disciple."

Chen Pingping was responsible for teaching cultivation, imparting techniques, and Daoist principles, while she was in charge of teaching Arrays, seals, and forbidden arts. Thus, she could be considered half a master.

Having spent a long time with him, the Earth Chicken had grown increasingly fond of Li Qi. Although he was somewhat straightforward and a bit foolish, with an IQ far below hers, he possessed the Solar Saint Body! If she passed the Ancient Phoenix’s heritage to him, given time, he could undoubtedly carry it forward and make it flourish. If Li Qi were lucky enough to achieve Tao Verification and become an Emperor, she could then boast about having once taught a Great Emperor.

He had severely wounded a King Tao cultivator with a single strike.

The members of the Golden Sun Sect were so aghast they nearly spurted blood.

Li Qi took a deep breath, accepted the white paper, and called out, "Senior!"

"You’re lucky you encountered young Li Qi. If that bastard Chen Pingping had come, the outcome would likely have been very different," the Earth Chicken said, glancing sideways. That bastard wouldn’t bother reasoning with you. Don’t want to sign? Fine. Would you like the Golden Sun Sect to be annihilated? That’s Chen Pingping’s usual style.

The Great Elder, speechless, said, "Our Golden Sun Sect’s Sect Leader is not present. Therefore, I will write the name."

"Thank you!" Li Qi said with a smile.

"May I ask, are you in the Supreme Mystery Realm?" the Great Elder inquired as he wrote.

"Yes!"

Someone in the Supreme Mystery Realm can so easily wound a King Tao cultivator?

The Great Elder’s mouth twitched. He was unwilling to say more. Since their King Tao cultivator had been defeated, then defeated he was. After writing "Golden Sun Sect," he departed with a flick of his sleeves.

Meanwhile, the Earth Chicken also hurriedly made her escape. Because while Li Qi confronted them, she and Mao Qiu had broken into the rear of the Golden Sun Sect. She could swear, she had only intended to ’borrow’ some Spiritual Medicine. But Mao Qiu had gone berserk, completely devouring Spirit Pills, cultivation methods, Divine Weapons, and numerous other powerful foundational resources.

「City of Extinction.」

Huh?

Chen Pingping’s eyelids twitched. Why do I suddenly have such a bad feeling? he wondered.

The place was utterly quiet, so silent that not even a breeze could penetrate it.

Hongxiu, Zhuge Wushuang, Mo Wuwei, and other high-ranking members of the Wuji Sect also began to enter seclusion.

Nearby, the Emperor Spirit was still planting Spiritual Medicine. After all, out of tens of thousands of plants, only about 5,000 had been planted so far. It felt like it was collapsing internally. However, its taming progress had increased to 18%.

Chen Pingping looked quite pleased.

There was also an idle Jiang Ni’er, carefully studying the structure of a Spiritual Medicine. I wonder what it would taste like stir-fried? she mused.

「Day by day, time slipped away.」

In a blink of an eye, more than half a year passed.

Among the Wuji Sect’s over 1,000 disciples, more than half achieved significant breakthroughs. Out of 300 Supreme Mystery Realm cultivators, at least 50 advanced to the King Tao Realm. Of the original dozen or so King Tao Realm experts, several also broke through to the Imperial Path. The sect’s overall strength had increased significantly.

「Elsewhere.」

Mao Qiu was running wild.

The Earth Chicken could swear once again, she truly only wanted to "borrow" Spiritual Medicine! Every time Mao Qiu arrived at a faction’s sect or family headquarters, it would vanish in the blink of an eye. By the time it resurfaced, that faction, sect, or family’s treasury would have already been plundered.

Mao Qiu’s strength was undisputed.

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In half a year, Li Qi had visited more than 50 minor factions—all very small—and collected their "names" one by one. The accompanying Earth Chicken also had a substantial harvest. So far, a total of 3,800 Spiritual Medicines had been "borrowed," ranging from Grade Two to Grade Eight.

Only after Li Qi left did these 50-odd minor factions realize their stores had been raided. Each one was infuriated, brimming with killing intent, and eager to hunt down the chicken and Li Qi. But the man and the chicken were too cunning. They would hide after each "job," laying low until the commotion died down before seeking their next target.

However, as time passed, word of the duo’s nefarious deeds spread throughout the entire region.

"What a trash Wuji Sect!"

"That shameful villain Li Qi—a con artist, a swindler, an arsonist, a robber—he commits every evil imaginable! He even cavorts with widows and preys on everyone from 80-year-old grandmothers down to 10-year-old girls! He’s a demon!"

"He’s like a rat scurrying across the street; everyone wants to beat him!"

"A scumbag! Trash! A degenerate! A shameless brat!"

These 50-odd minor factions had initially wanted to avoid causing a major stir, so their pursuit of the man and chicken duo had been relatively quiet. But now the situation had changed. To their astonishment, they discovered that they weren’t the duo’s only victims—in fact, more than 50 factions had been targeted.

And so, one day, they gathered and decided to launch a crusade against the Wuji Sect.

When Li Qi heard the news, he was startled.

Initially, he was kept in the dark and had no clue what was happening. Only after the Earth Chicken led him in one desperate escape after another did Li Qi gradually understand the truth. He was utterly dismayed. All he had wanted was to collect the names of the various factions; he never intended to make enemies of them! But the Earth Chicken’s outrageous actions...

Li Qi felt like vomiting blood. "Little Master, how could you do this?"

The Earth Chicken glanced at him and stated earnestly, "Let me make one thing clear: this has nothing to do with me."

Li Qi’s eyes widened. "It wasn’t you?"

The Earth Chicken glanced at Mao Qiu and said, "You can doubt my strength, but you cannot doubt my integrity."

"Most of these minor factions have Lords! Now they’re joining forces to crusade against the Wuji Sect!" Li Qi said, his face pale. "Little Master, you must return those cultivation resources to them immediately!"

"Are you a blockhead?" the Earth Chicken retorted, raising an eyebrow. "I told you, it wasn’t me."

But...

The Earth Chicken snorted coldly, offered no explanation, and strode away.

Left behind, Li Qi opened his mouth slightly. He felt he should follow, but a sliver of reason held him back; he didn’t believe he was in the wrong.

If each of the 50-odd factions dispatched even one Lord, such an alliance crusading against the Wuji Sect would undoubtedly spell utter disaster.

What... what should I do? After the Earth Chicken left, Li Qi felt utterly lost. He looked around, unsure how to save the Wuji Sect from this predicament.

He felt incredibly frustrated. The mission his master had given him wasn’t even complete, and now he had brought disaster upon the Wuji Sect. Little Master had left him too.

Li Qi took a deep breath. An idea suddenly surfaced: he had to find Uncle Xiaoyu.

Yes!

During his half-year of roaming the various corners of the Southern Diaspora, he had inadvertently heard that Guang Xiaoyu and Zi Ji were in Fairy Valley.