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Qing Xuanling took a deep breath, out of breath, and looked gravely at the cave entrance. "There's a second-tier monkey in that cave. It surely discovered the taming seal Sixth Sister placed in the tamed monkey's divine sea and attacked us. We collapsed the ceiling to escape, but I don't know how long that'll hold back a second-tier demonic beast..."
The faces of those who hadn't gone down into the cave filled with alarm.
Qing Ziyi's eyes widened as she grabbed Qing Xuanling's shoulders. "A second-tier demonic beast?! Are you sure?!"
Qing Xuanling nodded bitterly. "Yes—that beast even sent me a divine sense transmission while we fled. It could speak human language..."
Qing Ziyi's expression completely fell. "Haha… what trouble have we gotten ourselves into…"
She bit her nail harder than recommended and stared fearfully at the cave entrance. But suddenly, a spark of madness flashed in her eyes.
Qing Xuanling saw it and took a step back. "What are you thinking…?"
"Well, obviously—to finish the job you three didn't complete!" Qing Ziyi raised her voice as she pulled several talismans from her storage pouch. "Qing Hanlin, help me place these talismans on the cave's structural weak points. We're going to collapse it completely!"
"Let's see if that second-tier beast can dig through tons of solid rock!"
Qing Hanlin wasted no time. He quickly returned into the cave and struck specific points on the walls—without hesitation, having already taken the trouble to memorize the cave's weak spots while they were fleeing.
Qing Xuanling watched as Qing Ziyi placed her talismans on the marks Qing Hanlin had left. "What do these talismans do?"
"Mid-grade Red Point Talismans—almost high-grade," Qing Ziyi replied as she kept placing them. She'd already set nearly thirty. "It's a variation of the mid-grade explosion talisman I personally researched, which concentrates all explosive force into a single point. Thanks to that, these talismans have the power of high-grade ones."
Qing Xuanling's eyes widened. Talisman power corresponded directly to their grade—a high-grade talisman packed the punch of an advanced-stage cultivator's strike. So each of these talismans was as powerful as her own attacks.
She licked her lips. The destruction these talismans would unleash would be a sight to behold.
They kept descending until they reached the spot where Qing Xuanling had triggered the initial collapse. Qing Ziyi had no intention of giving the three-eyed monkey any easy way out.
Over two hundred meters separated the exit from their current position. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators and beasts skilled in earth-element techniques would struggle to tunnel through such a long, fully collapsed passage.
Qing Xuanling touched the fallen rocks that had saved her life. Behind them lay a beast of terrifying power. Just thinking about it made her soul tremble slightly. She pressed her palms against the stones and sighed to herself.
'Dangers truly lie where you least expect them… Hmm? Wait—what's this trembling…?'
Qing Xuanling frowned and pressed her ear uncertainly against the rock, closing her eyes. She listened intently—and her face darkened.
"Captain! The second-tier monkey is forcibly digging through the rubble!" Qing Xuanling pulled away from the rocks in alarm. "I sense it's not far—we must hurry!"
Qing Tanwei frowned and stepped forward, pressing her own hand to the stone. Her expression immediately turned grim. "Little Nine is right. The monkey's digging at incredible speed. It'll reach us in under five minutes…!"
"What a relief."
Unexpectedly, Qing Ziyi sighed in relief as she placed the last talisman she had left.
"If we're lucky, we might even bury that monkey along with the tunnel." She turned and headed back up. "Come on—we don't want to get caught in the explosions."
Their return was hurried, ensuring they wouldn't linger long enough for the three-eyed monkey to actually break through.
At the cave entrance, Qing Ziyi stopped and pulled out her brush, drawing golden strokes in the air.
The others watched anxiously, unsure what to do. Talismans had different activation methods—some required only a small Qi infusion, while others needed to be torn or even wetted.
So they wisely refrained from acting rashly and risking Qing Ziyi's plans.
She was quite pleased by their restraint and smiled as she finished writing two characters in the air: 'Phoenix Descends.'
"The Red Point Talismans, unfortunately, are quite delicate," Qing Ziyi explained bitterly. "They activate when burned—but ruin if ignited too quickly. I tried fixing that but couldn't, so I created a spell with just enough power to trigger them without damaging them."
Qing Xuanling's eyes lit up. No wonder Qing Ziyi hadn't asked them to help—only she could use her own talismans.
The characters Qing Ziyi drew suddenly glowed as a tiny phoenix formed, wreathed in warm tongues of flame. Qing Ziyi glanced at it briefly before snapping her fingers.
The small phoenix flew into the cave, sending miniature fire gusts toward the talismans!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!...
Explosion after explosion echoed within the cave. The blasts weren't massive or devastating, but their thunderous power shook the very ground—proof of their concentrated power.
As if to demonstrate, the cave entrance began violently trembling.
Qing Xuanling watched in awe as the entrance collapsed entirely, leaving only a jagged mound of rubble on the mountainside where the entrance stood.
"How effective! Those Red Point Talismans really are magical!"
Qing Ziyi shook her head. "It was mostly Hanlin's help. My talismans only worked so well because they were placed on the cave's structural weak points. Without that, even a hundred more talismans wouldn't have brought this cave down."
Everyone stared at Qing Hanlin in surprise. The ability to accomplish such a feat was undoubtedly astonishing and unique.
Qing Xuanling stroked her chin thoughtfully.
'No technique alone could achieve something this precise—it must be a divine talent or special physique. As I suspected, none of the members of the university's first team are ordinary! They might all possess divine talents or special physiques!'
The idea of ten people in the same generation all having special talents or physiques was staggering. But reality was even more absurd—these ten individuals were less than three years apart in age!
It was clearly a sign of a golden age for the Qing clan.
Qing Xuanling smiled excitedly. The thought of being a key figure in the Qing clan's golden era thrilled her.
No one noticed Qing Xuanling's expression; instead, they began discussing their harrowing experience.
"Luckily we discovered that second-tier demonic beast," Qing Wentian said, hugging himself as he shivered. "I don't even want to imagine what would've happened if we hadn't trapped it down there…!"
It wasn't hard to guess what would've occurred. Clearly, the Qing clan members would've become lunch for the Dawn Wild Monkeys.
Qing Ziyi shook her head and looked at Qing Xuanling. "Did you find anything special down there? Like why a second-tier monkey appeared? The Dawn Wild Monkeys' bloodline shouldn't allow such cultivation."
Qing Xuanling didn't hide what she knew and explained everything she'd seen—including the Sacred Flame. Everyone was stunned to hear of such a fire's existence.
"To think such a flame exists in this world…!" Qing Muyu's eyes filled with longing. "Damn, we have to come back later. I need to at least touch that flame with my own hands!"
Others reacted less intensely but were still deeply excited by such a treasure—especially Qing Ziyi.
"A Foundation Treasure! That Sacred Flame could elevate any force to Foundation Establishment level!" Even she, usually indifferent, couldn't help clenching her fists. "If we secure this treasure, the Qing clan will take another giant leap within a hundred years!"
She looked beyond the youths under her command. Though she hadn't known of the Sacred Flame's existence before, Qing Xuanling's words alone revealed its significance.
While a 5% to 10% purity increase in fire spiritual roots sounded modest individually, the effect would be transformative at scale. Not to mention—the Sacred Flame also enhanced physical bodies.
If the Qing clan obtained it, every member's talent would rise collectively!
Qing Ziyi's gaze turned deadly as she stared at the collapsed cave. She turned to Qing Xuanling and the others, her eyes cold.
"You understand you can't speak of anything that happened here, right?"
Qing Xuanling's expression flickered for an instant before she shrugged. "What are you talking about? Weren't we just hunting a pack of vampire wolves?"
The others gave similar responses with perfectly normal expressions.
Qing Ziyi nodded in satisfaction. "Good—you're clever. Only sharp minds survive in this world. Now, let's rejoin the rest of the platoon. We can't delay much longer—we're very close to the spiritual mine."
Everyone's faces turned solemn. Though they'd escaped the Dawn Wild Monkeys without a fight, the battle for the spiritual mine would be different. A fierce confrontation awaited them.
Qing Xuanling tightened her grip on Memory's hilt. Though she hated to admit it, she was nervous. This was her first official large-scale battle. It was only natural to worry about everything that could go wrong.
'Calm down. No matter the situation, my job won't change. I just need to swing this sword of mine.'
Qing Xuanling's heart hardened as she followed Qing Ziyi, heading back to the platoon. Today was the third day—they had to reach the spiritual mine tomorrow. There was no more time to waste.