"I don't know what you're talking about. There are no divine beasts here."
Chu Xiyin took a step back, summoning the treasure artifact her father had given her before he left. It was a highly destructive artifact, capable of a single strike that even a cultivator in the Three-Day realm could not dodge.
Seeing Chu Xiyin summon the artifact, the others' expressions changed drastically, and they retreated one after another.
"Fellow Daoist Chu, we were merely curious about the appearance of a divine beast, we meant no harm." Ye Tianling, who spoke first, had a venomous glint in his eyes.
Even if Chu Xiyin had contracted a divine beast, as long as she died, they would still have a chance to contract it anew.
As long as they hadn't left the secret realm, what did it matter if one or two sect disciples died?
Even if Chu Xiyin was the senior disciple of the Xuanxin Sect, if she contracted a divine beast, she wouldn't have to fear the sect not protecting her.
"I told you, I did not contract a divine beast," Chu Xiyin was furious. The divine beast she had obtained had been snatched away, and she was being blamed, yet she had no way to explain.
"Fellow Daoist Chu, you are the only one here, and the traces of the contract haven't dispersed yet, this..." Mei Ji looked at Chu Xiyin's face, her voice drifting over.
It was clearly her. Who would believe her words?
"Fellow Daoist Chu, since you have obtained the divine beast, you should at least leave some of these spiritual herbs for us," Qin Wuhuai, a disciple of Zhaoyang Mountain, looked regretfully at the spiritual herbs in the medicinal field. They were less than a hundred years old, and it was evident that the herbs here had been harvested.
As soon as Qin Wuhuai spoke, everyone looked towards the medicinal field not far away. There was still a faint medicinal fragrance in the air, but not a single spiritual herb over a hundred years old could be seen. Their gazes towards Chu Xiyin became even more veiled.
As Qin Wuhuai said, they could find a way to snatch the divine beast, but the spiritual herbs should be shared among them. They couldn't let the Xuanxin Sect gain all the advantage.
"By the time I arrived, the spiritual herbs here had already been harvested," Chu Xiyin watched the increasing number of sect disciples, her heart filled with anxiety. She had to leave.
"Humph, the grand formation here is your Xuanxin Sect's formation disk, and there's the aura of your blood essence after the contract. You tell us this has nothing to do with you?"
A disciple of Renyan Sect looked at Chu Xiyin grimly, his eyes like he was looking at a dead person.
Everything in the Hengtian Secret Realm was ownerless. Whoever snatched it, it was theirs.
Just as Chu Xiyin was about to explain, a grand formation descended from the sky. Everyone immediately unleashed their spiritual energy to resist. Chu Xiyin's arm was pulled, and she instantly vanished from everyone's sight.
"Senior Sister, are you injured?" Su Qian looked at his Senior Sister, who had left alone, his eyes cold.
His master had told him to enter the secret realm to protect Chu Xiyin, but a few days ago, she had avoided him and left on her own.
"No, thank you, Junior Brother." Chu Xiyin slumped to the ground, filled with regret. Why hadn't she taken Su Qian with her to search for the divine beast egg?
Thinking of the divine beast egg, Chu Xiyin waved her hand, and a very ugly crawling creature appeared not far from her.
"Master, Master, hug me..." The crawler, thrown out, felt dizzy. Sensing its master's aura, it immediately turned its head, trying to crawl towards Chu Xiyin.
Chu Xiyin felt a wave of disgust, wishing she could kill it. With that thought in mind, Chu Xiyin acted, thrusting her long sword towards the crawler's head.
"Senior Sister, no!"
Su Qian, seeing the disgusting thing that appeared before them, was stunned at first. Seeing Chu Xiyin's movements, he immediately stepped forward to stop her.
"Senior Sister, you are bound by a soul contract. If you kill it, you will be seriously injured."
"I don't want to carry such a disgusting thing." Chu Xiyin felt she was about to go mad. Who could tell her why she had signed a contract with such an ugly creature?
"Senior Sister, this is a divine beast."
The Hengtian Secret Realm's great treasure has appeared, everyone knows this. Su Qian was not foolish. When he found Chu Xiyin, he knew she had left him to search for the divine beast.
"How could it possibly be a divine beast?" Chu Xiyin looked at Su Qian as if he were an idiot. Others thought she had contracted a divine beast, and she couldn't explain. Su Qian had seen it himself, so why did he still think this was a divine beast?
"Divine beasts can transform. Their appearance when they are just born is not their true form." Su Qian looked at the eye-sore crawler before him, his mouth twitching. It was too ugly. "I can't discern its rank."
Chu Xiyin took a deep breath, but still couldn't hold back and shouted, "I told you, this is not a divine beast, the real divine beast was stolen!"
Su Qian's eyes moved, he didn't quite believe her words.
"Senior Sister, why didn't you summon it then to prove what you were saying?"
Su Qian had arrived much earlier. He had witnessed Chu Xiyin being cornered by those sect disciples. If she hadn't acknowledged it as a divine beast, why didn't she bring it out sooner?
"It's too disgusting." Chu Xiyin's face turned pale. If she brought out such a disgusting creature, she would become a laughingstock of the entire Xuanyuan Continent.
She didn't want to be a laughingstock.
"Senior Sister, we will be in great danger during this time. Let's hide first. When we return to the sect, we'll let the Sect Master decide." Su Qian subtly glanced at the crawler. He couldn't discern its rank. Perhaps, it was a divine beast.
Chu Xiyin stared resentfully at the crawler, which had already shrunk into a ball. The humiliation today was all brought by this thing. Once they returned to the sect, she would dissolve the contract and tear it into pieces.
The crawler on the ground felt the killing intent from its master and trembled continuously.
Su Qian merely cast a cursory glance at this.
His mission was to protect Chu Xiyin. He didn't care about anything else.
Thinking about the days ahead, he reckoned everyone would be searching for Chu Xiyin, wanting to snatch the divine beast and spiritual herbs. His expression grew solemn.
On the other side.
"Weiwei, we're safe now."
For safety's sake, Chu Lingwei flew for a day with Feng Ming before stopping at a cliff.
"Yes, there are still a few days before we leave the secret realm. Let's go find some more spiritual herbs." Chu Lingwei had obtained the White Jade Soil, which could accelerate the growth of all spiritual herbs. She wanted to transplant all the spiritual herbs from outside into her spatial dimension.
"Okay, I'll listen to Weiwei."
Feng Ming and Chu Lingwei had signed a soul contract, which made her extremely happy. She playfully clung to Chu Lingwei.
"Let's go, I'll take you somewhere."
Chu Lingwei had signed soul contracts with both of them. Unless they died, the contracts would not be broken. They had a long path of cultivation ahead of them, and they would surely discover the spatial dimension.
With a slight movement of her body, she was already inside the spatial dimension.
"Weiwei, you've come in."
As soon as the two of them entered the spatial dimension, a boy about three or four years old ran towards them. His chubby body looked like it could fall at any moment.
"Who are you?"
Feng Ming was greatly alarmed and jumped in front of Chu Lingwei, blocking the boy's enthusiastic approach.