Chapter 448: Winds Rising and Clouds Surging

"Why leave? All of you, stay."

Qu Ling chuckled softly, raised her jade hand, and casually flicked her finger as if it were nothing.

A streak of silver light shot out, blurred, and vanished without a trace. The next moment, it appeared above the three nascent souls—a hollow silver vial.

A silver radiance shot from the bottle's mouth, instantly enveloping the three nascent souls.

Where the silver light touched, the void immediately became oppressively heavy.

The three nascent souls, caught in the silver glow, felt as if mired in mud. Red light flickered wildly on their surfaces, but they could not move.

Xu Yangzi's nascent soul showed a fierce expression on its tiny face, opened its mouth, and spat.

A blood-red small blade shot out, slashing down toward its own head like lightning.

Rip!

The nascent soul was instantly split in two. One half immediately ignited, turning into a small figure of crimson flames, with countless red runes dancing within.

The flame figure swung both arms violently, grabbed the surrounding silver light, and tore at it fiercely.

With a "rip," the silver light was torn open, creating a gap.

The other half of Xu Yangzi's nascent soul shot out through the gap. The blood-red blade trembled, then shattered, transforming into a mass of blood light that wrapped around this half-nascent soul.

The half-nascent soul's speed suddenly increased severalfold, blurring and disappearing into the distant sky.

Seeing this, Qu Ling's eyes showed a hint of surprise, but it was too late to intercept.

She didn't mind, however. Pointing her finger, the silver vial glowed brightly, and with a "whoosh," it sucked in the other two nascent souls.

Rumble!

The white iceberg shattered, and the white giant serpent's head, carrying the storage artifacts of the True Flame Sect members, eagerly presented them to Qu Ling.

The goddess swept her divine sense over the storage artifacts, nodded slightly, waved her hand to collect them all, then patted the serpent's head and said softly:

"You did well today."

The white giant serpent's huge eyes showed a fawning expression, nodded at Qu Ling, then twisted its massive body, turning into a white light that flew into a small white pouch at Qu Ling's waist.

The green giant silkworm also flew over, turning into a green light that vanished into another pouch on Qu Ling.

Qu Ling's form flickered, and the next moment she appeared on the back of the distant golden beetle.

"Are we moving on?" The golden beetle opened its mouth and surprisingly spoke human language, its voice crisp and youthful.

"Those three just escaped with their nascent souls. Among you three, you are the fastest. Little White and Little Green both acted; why did you stand by?" Qu Ling's eyes flashed coldly as she spoke.

"Just three Golden Immortal nascent souls. With your abilities, stopping them would be easy. There was no need for me to intervene." The golden beetle paused, then chuckled disdainfully.

"Hmph! Don't think that just because you were once a Dao insect, you can disobey me. I saw your potential and invested heavily in nurturing you. Don't be ungrateful!" Qu Ling said coldly.

The golden beetle buzzed in acknowledgment, but it was clearly perfunctory.

Anger flashed in Qu Ling's eyes, but she seemed unusually tolerant toward the golden beetle and quickly suppressed her fury.

"Move on." She exhaled lightly and spoke, her voice already calm again.

The golden beetle said no more. Golden light flickered on its body, and its massive form turned into a golden beam, shooting forward with incredible speed.

Qu Ling sat down, her gaze falling on the green gourd in her hand.

She formed hand seals and pointed. Green light flashed at the gourd's mouth, and the eight-sided red banner sprayed out, landing in her hand.

A hint of excitement appeared in Qu Ling's eyes.

"What's so special about a broken gourd?" The golden beetle buzzed.

"This treasure cannot be compared to ordinary immortal artifacts! A Profound Heaven treasure, born of heaven and earth, contains supreme divine abilities. It is a true innate immortal artifact. There are few in this realm, and most have long been claimed. This gourd has grown here for countless years, and the laws it nurtures are the deepest secrets of this realm. It is far beyond ordinary Profound Heaven treasures! I have only comprehended one of its abilities, and it is already so powerful. Once I return and delve deeper, there will surely be more wonders." Qu Ling's tone was calm, but if one listened closely, a trace of excitement could be heard.

"Hehe, so this unremarkable gourd is so extraordinary. Impressive, impressive." The golden beetle's two golden eyes rolled as it buzzed.

"Regardless, coming here was the right choice. With this Profound Heaven treasure, the Taiyi Pill is mine! Once I advance to Taiyi and comprehend this treasure's mysteries, even reaching for Da Luo is not impossible. If you stay loyal to me, you will not lack benefits." Qu Ling said excitedly, the last words directed at the golden beetle beneath her.

"Then I thank you in advance." The golden beetle seemed indifferent, speaking flatly.

Seeing this, Qu Ling's brow furrowed again.

"Ungrateful!" She snorted, then ignored the golden beetle and continued examining the green gourd in her hand.

Suddenly, Qu Ling's expression shifted slightly, and her gaze turned to the mouth of the green gourd.

The entire gourd was emerald green, as if carved from jade, but the color near the mouth was noticeably lighter, indicating it was not yet fully mature, with a slight flaw.

"It seems I picked it too early. If I had waited tens of thousands of years... but it's fine. Once I return, I can find some spiritual soil and liquid to nurture it for a million years, and it should be acceptable." Qu Ling sighed inwardly.

She had discovered this green gourd in a medicinal garden. Upon finding it, she was overjoyed. Although she knew it was not fully mature, after some consideration, she immediately picked it.

Picking the gourd before it was fully mature would inevitably have some adverse effects, but she naturally could not bear to let it grow here for tens of thousands of years, not knowing if she would have another chance to take it.

Thinking this, Qu Ling closed her eyes and began forming hand seals.

Streams of silver light entered the gourd, and a faint green glow appeared on its surface.

...

Above a stretch of continuous red peaks, a group of cultivators flew past—the Cangliu Palace group.

Their escape lights connected, forming a blue rainbow like a giant dragon, shooting forward with incredible speed.

The red peaks below were covered with lush vegetation, including many spiritual herbs and plants, some emitting powerful spiritual energy fluctuations that could be clearly sensed even from midair.

The Cangliu Palace members, especially the True Immortal realm cultivators, kept glancing downward with covetous eyes.

But Luo Qinghai, flying at the front, showed no intention of stopping, not even lowering his head, flying straight ahead.

Seeing this, the others naturally could not stop to seek treasures.

"Palace Master, we don't seem to need to rush so much. The spiritual herbs below are quite extraordinary; some are even useful to us." The white-faced scholar beside Luo Qinghai couldn't help but say.

"Junior Brother, say no more. I have my reasons." Luo Qinghai glanced at the white-faced scholar and said slowly.

"Yes." The white-faced scholar was taken aback, then said no more.

...

The Northern Frost Immortal Palace group was now standing before a blue palace.

Faint treasure light emanated from within the blue palace, clearly containing many good things.

The Northern Frost Immortal Palace members looked at the palace with greedy eyes.

"Go in, but you only have a quarter of an hour. After that, we leave immediately." Xiao Jinhan said with his hands behind his back, giving orders indifferently.

"Yes." The Northern Frost Immortal Palace members acknowledged and immediately flew inside.

Xiao Jinhan stood at the palace entrance, not entering, gazing into the distance with flickering eyes, as if contemplating something.

...

In a gray sea of clouds, a gray flying boat was speeding forward like a ship riding the wind and waves.

Within the gray clouds, black lights flickered like black lightning, striking at the gray boat from time to time, but all were blocked by a light screen on the boat.

A group of gray-robed figures sat cross-legged in the cabin—the Fuling Sect members.

Feng Tiandu's tall, gaunt figure sat cross-legged in the center of the cabin, with the others forming a circular formation around him.

Gray light emanated from everyone, as if they were performing some secret technique.

After a long while, Feng Tiandu suddenly opened his eyes, his brows deeply furrowed.

"How is this possible? I can no longer sense the two Separation Spirit Chains. Where has that person gone..." He looked contemplative, muttering to himself.

...

In a certain void within the immortal mansion, a mass of red light was darting through a vast sea of clouds like wind and lightning, covering no less than ten thousand li in the blink of an eye.

Within the red light were two figures—a black-bearded old man and a woman in a yellow dress, namely Hu Yan Dao Ren and Yun Ni.

The two wore solemn expressions, silent, merely forming hand seals to drive the escape light forward.

...

Above a swamp, the group of Nanli tribe cultivators was surrounded by a flock of yellow earth-colored strange birds.

These birds were four to five zhang in length, with green fleshy growths on their heads, sharp beaks, and claws, looking extremely ferocious.

The birds were not particularly powerful in cultivation, but they were numerous—several hundred—and incredibly fast.

Although the Nanli cultivators were far stronger than the birds, they were still entangled here, seemingly unable to advance.

...

By now, the various factions had been in the Minghan Immortal Mansion for some time, having penetrated deep into various parts of the mansion, each encountering opportunities or misfortunes.

Those with deep fortune naturally obtained many treasures; those with extremely bad luck had fallen here in great numbers.

The Minghan Immortal Mansion, silent for countless years, was once again stirring with winds and clouds.

In the Endless Sand Sea, a mass of green light sped forward—the Qingyuan Flying Boat.

Han Li stood at the bow, blue light flickering in his eyes as he scanned the surroundings.

Lu Yuqing stood beside him, holding the jade slip map.

The redness on their faces had now disappeared, returning to normal, indicating they had found the Water Spirit Land according to the map and neutralized the fire poison in their bodies.

Although leaving the Water Spirit Land would cause them to be poisoned again, as long as they carefully planned their route and followed one Water Spirit Land after another, there would be no major problems.

The eerie fire poison that made others fear the Endless Sand Sea was hardly a threat to them.

Now, the two had reached the depths of the Endless Sand Sea, not far from the passage location.

Suddenly, Han Li's gaze sharpened as he looked to the right front.

A patch of green appeared in the distance, seemingly another oasis.