In a flash, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) quickly condensed a spiritual energy sphere and hurled it at the enormous mutated cow. With a *bang*, the cow was sent flying over ten meters by the spiritual energy sphere, crashing hard into a large tree. It then fell to the ground at extreme speed, kicking up countless dust and leaves, and never moved again.
Chen Feique, the sparrow demon on the ground, also scrambled to his feet upon seeing this and, with a hint of fear, said to her, "Many thanks for your help, Fellow Daoist Bai!"
Glancing at the other's name tag, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) smiled and replied, "You're welcome, Fellow Daoist Chen. We help each other! It's just that during such a dangerous moment, why didn't you crush your teleportation stone and escape first?"
Chen Feique blushed, stood up, and walked to the side to pick up the teleportation stone that had been swallowed by the grass. After carefully placing it in his embrace, he answered, "At first, I didn't want to end the trial so early. Later, my teleportation stone was knocked away, so I didn't have time..."
"Fellow Daoist Chen, I'll share a saying from our Senior Brother Hu Wantong with you: 'Where there's life, there's hope.' It's more important to preserve our lives!"
After speaking, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) walked directly forward, took out a small knife from her waist, and slit open the cow's belly. She extracted the beast yuan stone and placed it properly in her small bag. She dared not reveal her spatial artifact here, as it wasn't a treasure every demon could afford.
After dealing with everything, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) took out the "Compendium of Spirit Beasts" and flipped through the details about the cow. Only then did she turn to the other two fairies from the "Feathered Palace" and say, "This one should have been a Five-Eyed Giant Bull. They say when all five eyes fix on you, you'll be instantly petrified and unable to move for two breaths. You were petrified by it just now, weren't you!"
Chen Feique now understood what had happened to him and felt even more fortunate to have encountered Fellow Daoist Bai. His gratitude deepened even further. If he had been stepped on by that cow's hoof, he would have almost certainly lost his life.
For the next hour, the three girls voluntarily moved together. However, they encountered no other demonic beasts after that, leaving them unsure if it was good or bad luck. Not encountering any might mean they would fail the trial if time ran out, but it certainly guaranteed their safety.
The three demons entered a small grove of trees. The surroundings were quiet, not a sound to be heard. Suddenly, a Red Flame Rat darted out from each of the four directions – front, back, left, and right – spewing a barrage of fireballs at them.
The first to be burned by a fireball was Hua Dieyi, who let out a scream and began frantically patting her burning hair.
Following closely, Chen Feique and Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) were also surrounded by fireballs. Although these fireballs were small, once ignited on the body, they were difficult to extinguish. Chen Feique was busy blocking attacks from all sides and had no energy to attend to others.
Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) first cast the first level of "Qi Cultivation in the Body" to give herself a protective shield, then condensed spiritual energy and hurled it at the Red Flame Rats. However, these four rats were incredibly agile, often spitting a fireball and then changing positions, making precise attacks difficult.
After condensing five spiritual energy spheres, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) managed to kill two Red Flame Rats. The remaining two continued to spew fireballs at them. Seeing that Bai Qiushui's defense was strong, they cleverly shifted their main attack to the other two demons. For a time, the air was filled with Hua Dieyi's screams and Chen Feique's exclamations.
Just then, a sword energy tore through the sky, slaying a Red Flame Rat that was about to sneak attack Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang). It turned out there was another Red Flame Rat hidden at the scene, lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity.
Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) then blasted away the third Red Flame Rat and turned around to find that Yan Qinghuai had arrived.
However, it was not a time for pleasantries. Yan Qinghuai merely nodded to her before continuing his attack, slicing the last Red Flame Rat in half at the waist.
After resolving all the Red Flame Rats in the vicinity, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) turned with a smile, intending to greet him.
But before she could speak, Hua Dieyi, who had finally extinguished the flames on her hair, cut in with a sweet voice, "Brother Yan, thank you for saving me again!"
Hearing the word "again," Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) wondered if Yan Qinghuai and Hua Dieyi had a history. So, as she cut open the Red Flame Rat's belly to collect the beast yuan stone, she tilted her ear to listen to the gossip.
"Who are you?" was all she heard Yan Qinghuai ask in a clear, cold voice.
Hua Dieyi choked, her face instantly flushing red. With teary eyes, she asked, "Brother Yan, have you forgotten me? I'm Hua Dieyi from your arena during the initial assessment! Didn't you break the hands of that seagull demon who played dirty for me back then?"
"Oh, I don't recall! And it wasn't for you!" Yan Qinghuai replied, then turned away from Hua Dieyi, running a few steps to dig out the beast yuan stones from the remaining two Red Flame Rats.
At this moment, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) had also finished her task. She walked over with a beast yuan stone, intending to give it to Yan Qinghuai. To her surprise, he handed the beast yuan stone to her first: "Bai Bai, these are all for you!"
"I already have enough, three pieces. You keep them!" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) tried to ignore Hua Dieyi's resentful gaze.
"I have ten pieces at my place, so you keep them! Didn't you say good friends should share?" Yan Qinghuai looked at her again, his big eyes glistening.
"Alright, alright! Then I'll accept them!" She found it hard to refuse such innocent, puppy-like eyes.
Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) accepted all the beast yuan stones. Turning to face Chen Feique and the others, she was about to say something when Hua Dieyi, with a stiff tone, said, "Fellow Daoist Bai, we hunted this Red Flame Rat together. It's not right for you to keep the beast yuan stones all to yourself!"
Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) silently withdrew her hand, which had been about to distribute the beast yuan stones, and turned to feign disbelief, asking, "May I ask what contribution you made? A sonic scream attack?"
Hua Dieyi was on the verge of tears again. She turned her head to look at Yan Qinghuai with shame and anger, "Brother Yan, please speak justly. The three of us agreed to cooperate. How can she hoard the beast yuan stones alone after hunting the demon beast!"
"Are you talking to me? But I don't even know you, so why do you keep calling me Brother Yan?" Yan Qinghuai replied expressionlessly. He then turned his gaze back to Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang), "Moreover, when I arrived, I only saw Bai Bai hunting. I didn't see you two contribute anything! How can you have the nerve to ask for beast yuan stones?"
Hua Dieyi couldn't believe it. "How can you be so biased towards your friend? Brother Yan... Yan Qinghuai, don't be fooled by this white rabbit spirit's appearance; her heart is black!" She then looked at Chen Feique, "Fellow Daoist Chen, say something!"
Chen Feique looked bewildered. "We never said we were teaming up. I'm just following Fellow Daoist Bai because she saved me. And during the Red Flame Rat's attack just now, we really didn't contribute anything. How can you reasonably assume Fellow Daoist Bai should share the beast yuan stones with us?"
"You... you're all ganging up on me!" Hua Dieyi, seeing that everyone agreed she was in the wrong, became enraged and turned to leave the scene, only to discover...