"Roar~~~~" Two wolf-like monsters howled in unison before they separated, one charging to the front while the other circled behind the group.

These two beasts evidently possessed intelligence, as they were extremely wary of the flying swords and dared not confront the humans head-on. It seemed they were waiting for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack when the four humans were off guard.

Seeing the two monstrous and ferocious creatures prepare to strike from both front and back, potentially catching their human targets unprepared, Wang Xiaoqiang's thoughts flashed, and he absorbed one hundred of the two hundred Spiritual Springs surrounding his body. A vast amount of Spiritual Energy radiated from him, and he formed it into a hand blade, striking towards the wolf-like monster at the rear. Instantly, a crescent-shaped Spiritual Energy Sword slashed forth from his hand.

The monster could see the flying swords but couldn't detect the Spiritual Energy Sword, which silently cut into the beast...

Crack!

It immediately severed the monster's forelimb, and the creature let out a piercing howl. However, it didn't fall to the ground; instead, it remained standing on three legs, its eyes flashing with confusion, wariness, greed, and hatred.

Wang Xiaoqiang didn't want to give it a chance to catch its breath. He thrust a Spiritual Energy Spear, piercing the monster's body and flinging it away.

The three Taiyi Sect disciples, on guard against the monster in front, couldn't help but glance back when they heard the agonized wail of the other creature. They caught sight of Wang Xiaoqiang launching the beast into the air. With a slight push of his hand, the monster, weighing about four to five hundred pounds, lifted off the ground and was sent flying. Then, with a thud, it crashed heavily onto the ground, lying silent, presumably dead.

What kind of spell technique had Wang Xiaoqiang used? It was so formidable!

As the three turned their heads, the wolf-like monster in front seized the opportunity to attack, skillfully evading the flying swords and pouncing forward. Despite its large size, it was not cumbersome in the least. With a single leap, it turned into a gray shadow. It aimed for Mochong at the very front and bit down on his leg...

Ah~~

Mochong let out a shrill scream. With a thought, his flying sword swooped down on the monster latched onto his right leg. Simultaneously, Ling Qiyan and Ye Qingcheng also came to their senses and controlled their swords to slash at the monster. As the flying swords struck, a ring of green light emanated from the wolf-like creature's body, withstanding the attack and repelling the swords—not at all as vulnerable as the previous tiger-headed, snake-bodied monster.

That the beast could resist the flying swords shocked the three Taiyi Sect members. Seeing Mochong's leg still in the giant maw of the creature and that it seemed intent on dragging him away, they didn't dare to delay. Clenching the spell tightly in their hands as if gripping a mountain, they simultaneously made a downward cutting gesture...

Their three flying swords struck the wolf-like monster again, still unable to break through the green light enveloping it. However, they managed to prevent it from dragging Mochong's body away successfully.

As the stalemate continued, Wang Xiaoqiang launched another Spiritual Energy Spear at the wolf-like creature...

Boom!

The Spiritual Energy Spear, unstoppable as it was, first blasted through the green light surrounding the monster's body, then pierced through its torso, pinning it to the ground.

"Woah!~"

The wolf-like monster let out a mournful and unwilling cry, loosening its jaws at last, allowing Mo Qi's leg to break free from its massive bite.

But what was once a healthy limb was now a mangled mess of flesh and blood.

"Ah~" Mo Qi clutched his leg, wailing in pain. The sorrowful look on his face as he inspected his mutilated leg revealed him to be a self-pitying person.

After dealing with the two beasts, a brief silence fell over the scene, and the three sect disciples looked somewhat dazed. Only the soft whimpering of Mo Qi could be heard...

Upon realizing that there were no more monsters, Wang Xiaoqiang unleashed a stream of Fire Element Spiritual Energy, setting the wolf-like monster's corpse ablaze to provide light and warmth. He then said to the three, "This place is not safe to linger in. You should quickly absorb some Spiritual Energy."

While saying this, the hundred Spiritual Springs within Wang Xiaoqiang's body continued to expand and contract, beginning to absorb the rich Spiritual Energy at the bottom of the pit.

The three Taiyi Sect disciples, cautious as they were, did not immediately sit down to perform breathing techniques. Instead, they released their Divine Sense quietly to explore their surroundings, checking for any hidden monsters. They didn't discover any new monsters, but they did find a "strange person."

This "strange person" was Wang Xiaoqiang. They realized that Wang Xiaoqiang, who just a moment before had been at the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage, had suddenly risen to the Golden Core Stage. They all looked at Wang Xiaoqiang with astonished eyes; then Ling Qiyan, as their leader, stepped forward with a respectful fist salute and said, "Senior, we have been disrespectful..."

Wang Xiaoqiang felt a bit awkward at the sight, suddenly remembering that during the fight with the monster, he had absorbed a hundred spiritual springs into his body,

With a total of one hundred and twenty-eight Spiritual Springs, the Spiritual Energy was vast—his internal Spiritual Energy Amount equivalent to that of a cultivator in the Golden Core Stage. His realm far exceeded that of the three people beside him. In the Cultivation Realm, hierarchy is determined by cultivation base rather than age. Although among the four, Wang Xiaoqiang was the youngest, his Golden Core Stage cultivation base meant the three Foundation Establishment cultivators could only look up to him, treating him as a senior. How could they presume to call him a 'Daoist friend'?

For example, if Wang Xiaoqiang was not a friend but an enemy at that moment, he would only need to wave his hand to kill all three instantly. This was also why Ling Qiyan seemed to inexplicably call Wang Xiaoqiang 'Senior' and apologize. The main reason was out of fear of Wang Xiaoqiang's cultivation base, concerned about accidentally offending him and getting killed in an instant.

Murders and treasure looting in the Cultivation Realm are not uncommon!

Draw sword and kill over a trivial dispute or even kill without any reason at all happened frequently.

Although they did not have any valuable items on them, there were still flying swords, especially Ye Qingcheng's Jade Crystal Sword, rare in this world and with tremendous power. Even a cultivator in the Golden Core Stage would covet it. However, she was wrong. Wang Xiaoqiang wasn't of that cruel disposition. At this moment, he was just feeling slightly embarrassed, casually waving his hand, almost as if saying to Ling Qiyan, and to Ye Qingcheng in particular, "It's okay, please don't call me senior, it would make me feel old. Just call me Daoist friend, or if you don't mind, just call me Little Qiang, that sounds the friendliest..."

Ling Qiyan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. It seemed that this "Senior" was a very approachable person. At that moment, Ye Qingcheng was watching Wang Xiaoqiang with eyes full of reverence, really wanting to call him Little Qiang, but she didn't dare to.

Wang Xiaoqiang stepped towards Mo Qi, who lay weakened on the ground with his legs a bloody mess, and asked, "Don't you have any healing medicine?"

Mo Qi grimaced in pain and said, "I had some, but I used it all up while chasing the Rigid Zombie!"

Hearing this, Wang Xiaoqiang sighed, seeing him in such a state, even Sword Control would be difficult, so he flicked his finger, and a stream of Wood Element Spiritual Qi shot towards Mo Qi's injured leg.

Although they couldn't see the Wood Element Spiritual Qi, the three of them were no ordinary people and knew that Wang Xiaoqiang was healing Mo Qi. They had never seen such profound skills before; even their master, the Taiyi Immortal, was probably unable to heal from a distance!

Half a minute later, Wang Xiaoqiang withdrew his hand and said to Mo Qi, "Try standing up..."

Mo Qi nodded, tried to stand, and found that he could, without feeling any pain.

Such a profound healing technique!

Ling Qiyan, Ye Qingcheng, and Mo Qi were all amazed. Mo Qi looked at Wang Xiaoqiang gratefully and said, "Thank you, Senior!"

Wang Xiaoqiang nodded indifferently and said, "Alright, I'll keep watch. You guys go ahead and absorb the Spiritual Energy."

Before descending into the pit, Mo Qi had disliked and rejected Wang Xiaoqiang, yet Wang Xiaoqiang did not bear a grudge and healed him. This left a very good impression on Ling Qiyan and Ye Qingcheng and deepened their trust. Happy at the suggestion, they nodded, put away their Flying Swords, and sat down to breathe and absorb the Spiritual Energy.

To avoid competing with them for Spiritual Energy, Wang Xiaoqiang didn't release all of it; he allowed the hundred external Spiritual Springs to continue absorbing Spiritual Energy.

In the pitch-black night, the hundred Spiritual Springs shimmered with five colors, expanding and contracting as they absorbed the Spiritual Energy.

The reason the Spiritual Energy in the bottom of the pit was denser than above was due to the leaking of Spirit veins beneath the ground. However, this was not like natural gas that could be used endlessly. Moreover, as time passed, it would gradually dissipate into the air. Additionally, monsters hidden in the pit were constantly absorbing it. So the already limited Spiritual Energy, with its natural dispersion, human and monster sharing, and most importantly, Wang Xiaoqiang's hundred Spiritual Springs sucking vigorously, left no Spiritual Energy in less than half an hour.

Seeing the Spiritual Energy disappearing swiftly, the three Taiyi Sect members stood up somewhat regretfully. They were curious to see that Wang Xiaoqiang had not sat down to absorb the Spiritual Energy, thinking him foolish. They assumed that with the dense Spiritual Energy in the pit vanishing so fast, it must be Wang Xiaoqiang, a Golden Core expert, who was also absorbing it. After all, higher-level cultivators refine and transform medicine power and absorb Spiritual Energy faster than those of lower levels. But surprisingly, Wang Xiaoqiang was not absorbing, and they laughed at him inwardly for his foolishness. They knew that in the End of Dharma Era, nature's spiritual energy was scarce, and Spiritual Energy was foundational to all Dharma. The scarcity made the path of cultivation exceptionally difficult. Encountering a Heavenly Pit with a leak of Spirit veins beneath was a tremendous opportunity, something they would risk their lives for by descending to the pit's bottom. Yet Wang Xiaoqiang just stood there, ignoring the abundant Spiritual Energy, foolishly.

Ye Qingcheng felt sorry for Wang Xiaoqiang at this point and, forgetting his cultivation base, reprimanded him with a glance, saying, "Ignoring such dense Spiritual Energy and not absorbing it, Senior, you are really foolish..."

Little did she know that Wang Xiaoqiang's hundred Spiritual Springs, like a hundred suction machines, had accounted for ninety percent of the pit's Spiritual Energy. If she had known this, she wouldn't have called Wang Xiaoqiang foolish; instead, she would have thought him harsh.

Wang Xiaoqiang, of course, couldn't disclose the matter of the Five Elements Spiritual Spring to them. He just smiled lightly and spread his hands, saying, "The cake is only so big. If I take my share, you would have much less... right?"

Wang Xiaoqiang's perfunctory words struck the three with surprise. They knew human nature tends to be selfish, and even more so among those in cultivation, where sentimentality is often discarded in the contest for Spiritual Energy resources. Yet they hadn't expected to meet such a selfless individual. He seemed so great, so endearing, although Mo Qi remained convinced Wang Xiaoqiang was naively foolish, Ling Qiyan and Ye Qingcheng found Wang Xiaoqiang's foolishness endearing!(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)

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