Qinghua focused and saw a mass of blue-black mist, like ink. It had no real substance, but its strange facial features were visible.
It was neither fully human nor fully beast, radiating an unsettling aura reminiscent of the demonic cultivators she had encountered in her previous xianxia world.
Sensing Qinghua's gaze, the mist immediately floated before her, looking at her with greed, and laughed maniacally:
"I should be thanking you. Without your help, I wouldn't know when I could escape the oppression of that old relic, the Beast God. Whatever you want, I'll try to fulfill it."
It circled Qinghua a few times, clearly confident it had the upper hand.
"No, I'm not here for you, so I have no need for your help!" Qinghua naturally didn't want to waste words on such a malicious being.
"You stubborn female! People only remember the contributions of the Beast God, but what about me? I contributed too! Just because history is written by the Beast God, he can arbitrarily erase my past?"
Qinghua quietly listened and discreetly transmitted to Bier: Keep an eye on that ghostly thing. If it makes a move, incinerate it completely. No mercy.
"Do you think I'm lying?" Seeing Qinghua remain silent, Chongtian felt slightly dissatisfied at her disregard.
"No, no. I find your words very reasonable. I'm just quietly listening to your glorious deeds!" Temporarily flattering him wasn't a problem; she just needed to figure out the origin of this mist.
"Even if the Beast God is the victor, he is now nothing but a handful of dust. But I am different. I can use the staff to achieve immortality. Will you be my servant, to serve me faithfully forever?"
With that, Chongtian assumed a condescending posture, staring at Qinghua, waiting for her reaction.
Qinghua frowned. This so-called "Chongtian" had an audacious mouth, daring to speak such delusions—she felt as if he were trying to trample her face in the mud.
Sensing Qinghua's unwillingness, Chongtian lunged at her—but Bier intercepted him immediately.
Watching Chongtian being incinerated by Bier, Qinghua smiled faintly: "It's a pity. You're not worthy of my service. I think you'd better reunite with your old companion."
Provoked by her words, Chongtian, losing all composure, blurted out his true intentions:
"I originally wanted to possess you, but you have a protective treasure. Unfair, heavens! Stop burning me, and I'll tell you about the treasures in the Beast God's relics…"
Seeing his fake pleading, Qinghua remained unmoved and signaled Bier: Keep burning. Don't hold back. This one is faking it.
Feeling his soul being scorched, Chongtian noticed his attempts to siphon the beastmen's devotion via the staff fading. He started cursing loudly:
"How dare you treat me like this! If I die, you get nothing. Hmph, don't think you can leave unscathed. Only I know the safe exit…"
While making these threats, he silently counted in his mind, thinking that a clever person wouldn't want him dead right now. As long as he survived, he could find a chance later.
But Qinghua, acting as if she hadn't heard, continued her fatal strike. In the last few seconds before he disappeared, she calmly said:
"I already know all your memories. Why should I fear?"
She was a good person—at least her enemies would understand their fate before dying.
Qinghua had exploited the moment when Chongtian's mental defenses were weakest, decisively obtaining all his memories. She had no fear of his last-minute pleas.
"Bier, enter the labyrinth first. Burn a circle inside with the extraordinary flame; there are traps left by Chongtian." Qinghua knew from his memories that there were several black-energy traps inside.
"Got it. I'll handle it, don't worry." Bier set off confidently.
Qinghua was deeply grateful for Bier's help. She now treated these two little ones like family, no longer viewing them merely as investments for early spiritual stones.
Following the steps from Chongtian's memories, Qinghua opened a secret door, revealing the Beast God's greatest treasure—a drop of the Beast God's essence blood.
Thirty thousand years ago, Chongtian had been suppressed by the Beast God in this labyrinth, though he had obtained an evil technique.
Using the technique, Chongtian gradually siphoned the endless devotion of the beastmen to the Beast God, gaining power. Once he had manipulated suitable candidates, he could break the seal.
He intended to possess Qinghua's body, but as a soul, he could not absorb the Beast God's unique essence blood left in the world.
Qinghua handed this essence blood to Xiaotian. Bier didn't need it, and Qinghua herself would have wasted it. Only Xiaotian could maximize its potential.
Xiaotian, in the space dimension, teared up with gratitude and swore: I will protect Sister and Bier properly. Thanks to Bier's intervention, I've gained this rare opportunity.
Xiaotian would spend time absorbing the essence blood and would not appear for a while.
Over the next ten-plus years, Qinghua traveled the world with Bier, transplanting any remarkable plants she found into her space. With robots tending them, cultivation was convenient.
As for Bai Youran, Qinghua occasionally observed his "exciting life" via holographic projection.
For everything else, Qinghua no longer intervened—too much interference might allow others to exploit the situation.