Chapter 74 Refining Whale Glue.
Seeing Wu Xuan's expressionless face, Ma Xiaotao assumed he was scared. She chuckled and said, "Don't worry, little brother Wu Xuan. This time, the main force will be the seven of us. You guys just need to assist."
"? Sister Xiaotao, I'm not afraid of any bandits," Wu Xuan pouted.
Ma Xiaotao chuckled, "Hmm~! I know you're not afraid! But this bandit is different. Nearly 90% of these bandits are Soul Masters, and they're extremely arrogant, giving themselves the team name 'Hand of Death.' In that vast mountainous region, just mentioning 'Hand of Death' or 'Messenger of Death' makes the local people turn pale."
Ma Xiaotao paused, then looked at the others and continued, "The mountainous region we're going to was formed by the collision of two continents more than four thousand years ago, hence the name Mingdou Mountain Range. It's rich in mineral resources, producing more than ten kinds of rare minerals. Therefore, the Star Luo and Sun Moon Kingdoms have been fighting endlessly over the Mingdou Mountain Range..."
"We've already informed the Star Luo Empire's garrison near the Mingdou Mountains before we set off. They'll provide us with detailed maps and accurate intelligence. If there are no problems, we'll depart at full speed. Keep your Surveillance Rings safe; you can only wear them when on missions."
Everyone indicated they were ready. Ma Xiaotao said, "Those of you with lower cultivation levels might slow us down, and we can't accommodate you. So, I'll take Huo Yuhao, Dai Yueheng, you take Wang Dong, Ling Luochen, and you take Xiao Xiao. Let's go."
Since Ma Xiaotao explained the surveillance mission, Elder Xuan hadn't spoken. Everything was under Ma Xiaotao's control. This reflected their trust in Ma Xiaotao's command abilities.
"I want Senior Sister Ma to lead me," Wang Dong suddenly said, then rushed to Ma Xiaotao's side with an admiring smile. "Senior Sister Ma, I admire you the most. Will you lead me?"
Ma Xiaotao was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll lead you. Dai Yueheng, you lead Huo Yuhao. Let's go." As she spoke, she lifted Wang Dong up under her arm and sped off.
Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen did the same, each carrying Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao, and accelerated forward.
Wu Xuan looked at the reserve team and smiled. "We don't have that privilege. Come with me! Second Soul Skill, Light Breeze!"
Wu Xuan raised one hand high, and a gentle breeze rippled around him, slowly attaching itself to the remaining members of the reserve team: Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan. In an instant, the three of them felt much lighter, and their speed was more than two or three times faster than before.
"Wow! Brother Wu Xuan, your second soul skill is simply a divine skill for traveling!" Xu Sanshi jumped up and down excitedly.
"Let's go! You call this a divine skill for traveling? Then let's race against the senior students in the inner academy and see who's faster!" Wu Xuan twisted his ankle and suddenly accelerated, sprinting away.
"Alright! Charge!" Xu Sanshi roared and also sprinted with all his might.
"..."
They traveled at breakneck speed until noon before stopping to rest. Even the inner academy students were breathing heavily.
Wu Xuan and the others looked fine, except for Xu Sanshi, who was panting heavily.
"You guys are pretty good! You have better stamina than us." Chen Zifeng looked at Wu Xuan and the others with some surprise.
Wu Xuan and the others just smiled and didn't explain much.
"Huo Yuhao, show us what you've got." Ma Xiaotao put down Wang Dong and said to Huo Yuhao with a slightly flushed face.
"Huh? Show us what?" Huo Yuhao asked in surprise.
Ma Xiaotao suppressed the heat in her body and said calmly, "What else could it be but cooking! I'm not good at it this time, but your skills are still pretty good."
"Okay, okay, I agree. Yuhao's barbecue is absolutely delicious," Xu Sanshi chimed in.
At this moment, everyone's attention was focused on Huo Yuhao. Even Elder Xuan was no exception. When everyone was traveling together, they couldn't see the old man, but now that they had stopped to rest, his image of taking a sip of wine and eating meat immediately appeared before everyone.
Huo Yuhao said somewhat awkwardly, "But, I don't have any ingredients. Actually, I can only make some simple dishes. I can't make anything too complicated. I do carry some seasonings with me."
"That's easy." Elder Xuan had appeared beside Huo Yuhao at some point, and his words startled Huo Yuhao.
"Yao Haoxuan, go find some firewood. Xiao Tao, you're in charge of starting a fire later. Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, you're tasked with catching fish. The more the better. Ling Luochen, Xixi, you two go catch some wild game. Gongyang Mo, you go with them too."
"Yes!" Except for Ma Xiaotao, the regular team members responded and left one after another.
"Wu Xuan, come with me for a moment." After the regular team members left, the fiery red light surging in Ma Xiaotao's pink eyes grew stronger and stronger.
"Okay." Seeing Ma Xiaotao's behavior, Wu Xuan immediately understood the reason and followed her into the depths of the forest.
After the two left, the expressions of the rest of the reserve team members immediately became strange.
"What's going on? Are Xiaotao and Wu Xuan on good terms? Beibei, do you think that kid Wu Xuan might be having an affair with Senior Xiaotao?" Xu Sanshi seemed to have noticed the gossip and whispered in Beibei's ear.
"Shut your mouth. If Sister Xiaotao hears you, even your turtle shell can't protect you." Beibei looked at Xu Sanshi beside her with a look of disgust.
Xu Sanshi was instantly startled, quickly covering his mouth and looking fearfully in the direction Ma Xiaotao and Wu Xuan had left.
On the other side, Ma Xiaotao and Wu Xuan stopped after confirming they were far enough away from the crowd.
Ma Xiaotao sat cross-legged on the ground, and without needing prompting, Wu Xuan activated his first soul skill, Gathering Spirit Wind.
A gentle breeze entered her body, and Ma Xiaotao let out a comfortable groan before entering a meditative state.
Wu Xuan continued using his first soul skill, constantly calculating the interval between his last suppression of the evil fire. Unbeknownst to him, more than a month had passed.
According to the calculations of Elder Xuan and the others, clearing away the evil fire should allow for at least two months of uninterrupted health. Now, it had only lasted a little over a month; it seemed that without the evil fire's torment, Senior Sister Xiaotao's cultivation was truly diligent!
"Hmm—"
More than ten minutes quickly passed, and Ma Xiaotao reopened her strange pink eyes. Then, feeling refreshed, she stood up and stretched, her slightly exaggeratedly curvaceous figure clearly visible before Wu Xuan.
Wu Xuan glanced at it and immediately turned his head away. He and Ma Xiaotao had only known each other for a short time, so he naturally wouldn't do anything that would cause misunderstandings.
Seeing Wu Xuan turn his head away, Ma Xiaotao felt a pang of disappointment.
"Sister Xiaotao, can you do me a favor?" Wu Xuan said, taking out a dark, unsightly object from his soul tool.
"What favor? As long as it's within my power, I'll do it without hesitation." Although somewhat disappointed, Ma Xiaotao readily agreed.
Wu Xuan handed the object to Ma Xiaotao: "Sister Xiaotao, I have a piece of ten-thousand-year whale glue here. Can you help me refine it?"
"Is this really ten-thousand-year whale glue?" Ma Xiaotao took the dark, unsightly ten-thousand-year whale glue, her face showing doubt.
"Yes!" Wu Xuan nodded.
Ma Xiaotao didn't hesitate any longer. Phoenix flames rose up, and under the scorching heat of the flames, the dark whale glue began to change color, a faint golden light emanating from its body, finally turning into a dark golden, translucent gelatinous substance.
"This ten-thousand-year-old whale glue is of good quality. Do you need me to protect you?"
"Thank you very much, Sister Xiaotao."
Wu Xuan nodded, took the whale glue, sat cross-legged, and swallowed it in one gulp.
The whale glue initially had a strong fishy smell, but it quickly turned into a warm current that flowed into his limbs and bones, making Wu Xuan feel comfortable all over.
With Wu Xuan's strong physique, the medicinal power of the ten-thousand-year-old whale glue was quickly refined. Under the passive protection of the Spirit Gathering Wind, the heat in his body was also cleared away in an instant. At this moment, Wu Xuan felt that apart from his body surface being a little hot, everything else was normal.
So the two chatted casually as they returned to the team.
By the time the two returned to the team, the regular team members had already returned one after another.
It has to be said that the elites of Shrek Academy were absolutely capable in completing the mission. At this moment, a lot of firewood was placed in front of Huo Yuhao, and Huo Yuhao also found some stones nearby to build a temporary stove.
Gongyang Mo, Xixi, and Ling Luochen brought back two rabbits, two pheasants, and a plump roe deer.
Soon, the rich aroma of meat filled the air; the game had all turned a uniform golden brown, and drops of fat sizzled as they fell into the fire—it was at this moment that the fragrance was at its most intense.
Everyone ate with smiles on their faces, and after resting, they resumed their journey.
Although the rest time was a bit long, an hour later they finally arrived at the border between the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire. Ahead, a large military camp blocked their path.
Dai Yueheng put Huo Yuhao down and entered the camp alone. Soon, everyone understood why Dai Yueheng had been so mysterious that morning.
They didn't enter the camp, but Dai Yueheng borrowed over a dozen military-grade flying soul tools from it.
For a soul master to fly, besides possessing a flying martial soul, they had to wait until their cultivation level broke through to the seventh ring.
However, with the rapid development of soul tools, flying soul tools first appeared in the Sun Moon Empire. Their emergence caused immense trouble for the neighboring Heavenly Soul Empire and Star Luo Empire. Both countries practically exhausted their national resources, using captured flying soul tools as a blueprint to develop similar devices.
Naturally, flying soul tools can only be used by soul masters. Their cost is extremely high. Generally speaking, only soul masters with at least a fourth ring cultivation level can use them. The military is also equipped with relatively few, after all, the number of soul masters with a fourth ring or higher is extremely rare!
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