From the very start, the other three were shocked by Jian Xiaolou's performance—her speed in refining the crimson bead was actually faster than theirs. While they were barely halfway done, she was nearly finished, and her spiritual energy even flowed into their beads, stabilizing the entire formation.
If not for that, the queen ant might have already bitten a hole through the barrier.
But a second-rank beast with awakened intelligence wasn't so easy to subdue.
While it kept ramming and biting, it also began gathering its demonic energy. Its two long antennae crackled with arcs of electricity, buzzing zzzz before suddenly bursting with golden light—its surging power condensed into a sword of lightning that shot out wildly!
Swish!
It pierced straight through the barrier, leaving a hole in the array!
The electric sword, still crackling with thunder, shot forward at an alarming speed—aimed directly at Yuan Feiyu's face.
The electric arc carried the might of thunder. If Yuan Feiyu didn't dodge, he'd likely be injured. But if he did dodge, his portion of the array's power would vanish, and the queen ant would definitely break free.
Without hesitation, Yuan Feiyu dodged. The moment he withdrew his power, one of the four crimson beads dimmed.
Yu Xinrong and Gao Zhan were instantly alarmed. They quickly considered whether they should take advantage of Jian Xiaolou's delayed reaction to escape first. That way, once the queen ant broke free, it would target Jian Xiaolou first—buying them the time they needed to get away.
Their thoughts had barely shifted when the situation turned out far less dire than they'd expected.
Even though Yuan Feiyu had withdrawn, the formation continued to operate smoothly, and even repaired the hole blasted open by the lightning.
Naturally, Jian Xiaolou had taken over Yuan Feiyu's crimson bead.
Controlling two crimson beads at once was somewhat strenuous, but still within Jian Xiaolou's limits.
Now, even Yu Xinrong and Gao Zhan couldn't help but be shocked. If it were just about refining speed, that could be attributed to practice. But to control two beads simultaneously—this kind of multitasking wasn't something an average person could do.
With such outstanding talent, why had she only extracted one three-inch iron essence orb from the Heaven and Earth Spirit Furnace during the entry test?
The Golden Armored Queen Ant, which had launched a desperate final strike, was now completely spent. With the formation completed, it no longer stood a chance. In just a few moves, Yu Xinrong subdued it.
She used a Demon-Restraining Rope to tie up the queen ant tightly, slapped a Miniaturizing Talisman on its forehead, and tossed it into a spirit beast pouch. "We've had a good haul today. I know there's a Ring-Eyed Tiger nearby that's about to advance to second rank. Why don't we go take care of it together?"
The thrill of subduing a second-rank beast was enticing, and neither Gao Zhan nor Yuan Feiyu objected.
Only Jian Xiaolou declined, "My spiritual energy is a bit overdrawn. I won't join you this time. Once the queen ant is sold, Senior Sister Yu, perhaps you can pass the payment to Senior Brother Gao and have him bring it to me."
Gao Zhan nodded. "I will."
"You're really not coming?" Yuan Feiyu, seemingly forgetting he was the reason Jian Xiaolou had expended so much spiritual energy, tried to persuade her. "The Ring-Eyed Tiger's bones are quite valuable too."
"No, thank you." Jian Xiaolou knew when to stop, especially since she'd already earned a considerable sum. Besides, this time they were killing the tiger for its bones, not capturing it—she had no part to play in that. "Farewell, Senior Brothers and Sister."
She gave a polite bow and turned to leave.
Suddenly, Yu Xinrong shouted, "Who's there?!"
Everyone was startled—including Jian Xiaolou, who instinctively turned her gaze toward where Yu Xinrong was glaring.
But before she could process what was happening, a powerful surge of spiritual energy struck the back of her neck! The force shattered her protective aura and shot down her spine. With a series of cracking sounds, she collapsed to the ground like a stiff board.
"Senior Sister Yu, what are you doing?!"
Yuan Feiyu and Gao Zhan spoke in unison, completely stunned by Yu Xinrong's actions.
A thousand low-grade spirit stones was equivalent to ten mid-grade ones. Though not exactly pocket change, killing a fellow sect sister over a mere ten mid-grade stones seemed utterly outrageous!
The two men instantly activated their spiritual energy, forming a thin protective shield around themselves.
Yu Xinrong quickly said, "No need to be nervous, junior brothers. I didn't attack Junior Sister Jian over spirit stones."
Gao Zhan pressed his lips into a thin line and said sharply, "Junior Sister Jian bears you no grudge. If it's not for spirit stones, then for what?"
Yu Xinrong brushed her hand over the two star crystals hanging from her jade belt and said wistfully, "I'm about to reach Foundation Establishment, but I lack a Foundation Establishment Pill. According to inner sect rules, only a three-star artifact refiner is entitled to receive one for free."
At the mention of a Foundation Establishment Pill, a glimmer of light appeared in both their eyes.
Yuan Feiyu asked in confusion, "What does that have to do with Junior Sister Jian?"
"To become a three-star refiner," Yu Xinrong explained with a frown, "one must forge a high-quality human-grade spiritual artifact. That's no easy feat. Which is why… I need Starmoon Sand from within Prison Dragon Mountain."
The two gasped. Starmoon Sand—a high-quality smelting material.
This rare mineral was found only by the banks of Starmoon Lake, deep within the Prison Dragon Mountain.
"Senior Sister Yu knows a way to sneak into the mountain?" Yuan Feiyu blurted out in disbelief.
The only entrance into the mountain's interior was through a sealed tunnel—currently guarded by the Eastern Continent's Little Tyrant, Li Jianzhao. Just the thought of this notorious sadist made Yuan Feiyu's calves cramp up. If discovered, it wouldn't be out of the question to be stripped naked, paraded through the streets, and quartered by horses.
"I do. I know of a secret passage," Yu Xinrong admitted after some hesitation. Her eyes swept over the two, and she lowered her voice. "But… a third-rank beast currently occupies that route."
"Third-rank…"
The two were speechless. A third-rank beast meant Golden Core stage!
To cultivators at the Qi Refining stage like them, that level of power could snuff them out with a single breath.
"We clearly can't fight it head-on," Yu Xinrong continued coldly, "but I've learned that the beast is especially fond of two things: a Golden Armored Queen Ant in its egg-laying period, and the heart's blood of a young maiden. When we enter, we'll lure it away with the maiden's blood. On the way out, we'll use the ant."
By this point, Gao Zhan and Yuan Feiyu finally understood.
This woman was vicious beyond belief!
So it turned out that inviting them to capture the Golden Armored Queen Ant had been premeditated from the start. That outer sect disciple named Fang Hui was simply lucky—she had other duties that day and didn't make it.
But Jian Xiaolou wasn't so fortunate.
Gao Zhan's handsome face was now as dark as the bottom of a pot. "Senior Sister Yu, I hope you will think twice about this."
In a life-or-death moment, choosing to save oneself over others was understandable. But to use a fellow sect sister's life as bait just to extract some Starmoon Sand from Prison Dragon Mountain—he truly couldn't bring himself to do it.
Yuan Feiyu also hesitated. If it were any other girl used as bait, he wouldn't have cared much—but Jian Xiaolou…
Yu Xinrong gave another cold smile. "If it succeeds, I'll give each of you a low-grade Earth-tier spiritual artifact."
Why had she chosen these two as accomplices?
Because she had already investigated them thoroughly—both were selfish and unscrupulous types.
As for those Earth-tier artifacts… heh, like she'd ever let them live long enough to claim them.
Sure enough, Yuan Feiyu couldn't even form the word "no."
He let out a fake sigh, but a gleam of excitement flashed in his eyes. "Since it concerns Senior Sister Yu's fortune, of course I'll give my full support. Though it's a shame about Junior Sister Jian. I've always held feelings of admiration for her…"
Yu Xinrong, fully aware of his disgusting intentions, waved her hand impatiently. "Just hurry up."
Yuan Feiyu grinned and bent down to lift Jian Xiaolou.
But Jian Xiaolou had been pretending to be unconscious all along.
When Yu Xinrong struck her earlier, she'd even used a spirit-amplifying talisman to increase the power of her palm.
Unfortunately for her, Jian Xiaolou's physical body was far more resilient than she could imagine. That blow may have shattered her protective aura and numbed the spiritual points along her spine, but her body healed rapidly, and she had long since regained the ability to move.
Listening to Yu Xinrong's vile plan, her heart grew colder by the second.
How do people like this even grow hearts so twisted? To be so cruel and devious?
They claimed to walk the Dao—but what kind of Dao were they cultivating?
Were they not afraid that such evil thoughts would give rise to inner demons that would devour their own Dao hearts?
And now, as Yuan Feiyu's filthy hands reached toward her—Jian Xiaolou's arms felt heavier and heavier.
The weight of a killing intent rising within her.
Since coming to this world, it was the first time she had ever wanted to kill.