Qi Cultivation Starting from the Repair Panel

The sky was in full afternoon.

The river roared with surging waves, layer upon layer, and under the reflection of the sunlight, they shimmered with golden brilliance.

Every now and then, water demons would leap out of the water's surface, bursting forth with waves dozens of feet high and knocking down the birds in the sky.

As birds fell into the water, there wasn't a hint of struggle before they were devoured by the water demons.

Without cultivators to guard them, mortals could not possibly traverse such river environments.

Two figures swept across the sky, trailing a conspicuous rainbow behind them that, like a meteor's flame, remained strikingly visible even in broad daylight.

Chu Zheng looked down upon the Angry River beneath him, his pupils swirling with spiritual light. In his eyes, there were still many spirit veins hidden beneath the waters of the Giant Marsh.

After all, during ancient times, numerous sects thrived here, a fact likely known to the other sects as well.

However, the mining was incredibly difficult, and the payoff did not justify the effort, which is why no sects were willing to clear this land.

During his previous days at the Song Residence, Chu Zheng had also heard about changes in the situation of the Giant Marsh.

The spirit mines recently discovered by the Phantom Spirit Sect in this place were on an island, where mining was not very difficult. Otherwise, Qionglou would not have traded a high-quality divine weapon for it.

The situation in the Giant Marsh was chaotic, and with water demons rampant in the rivers, controlling the area would consume a substantial amount of qi strength. As a vassal, the Giant Marsh had to seek help from the Phantom Spirit Sect, who could not just ignore the plea.

Missions related to the Giant Marsh were thus greatly disliked by the disciples of the Phantom Spirit Sect due to the enormous danger they posed.

This was why the Phantom Spirit Sect had directly handed over this territory to Qionglou in the first place—it saved them the trouble.

"It seems like someone is following us."

Suddenly, Song Lingqing sensed something and her certainty wavered.

She stealthily glanced back and saw utterly nothing but emptiness, no sign of any figure whatsoever.

"I know."

Chu Zheng nodded slightly, his expression calm, "Two people, one at the mid Entry Dao Realm and one at the early Spirit Spring Realm."

The moment they left the marketplace, Chu Zheng had already noticed the two people following them. He didn't care what these people wanted; if they were looking for trouble, that was even better.

"A cultivator of the Entry Dao Realm?!"

Song Lingqing's expression tensed. In her mind, those of the Entry Dao Realm were on the level of Outer Sect Elders, with Celestial Foundations condensed within their bodies and mana so profound it utterly outmatched any Spirit Spring Realm cultivator.

With their current open strengths, dealing with a cultivator at the pinnacle of the Spirit Spring Realm was already somewhat strenuous, not to mention one in the mid Entry Dao Realm.

Even escaping with their lives would be problematic.

Regaining her composure, Song Lingqing thought seriously for a moment, her demeanor grave, "This likely isn't targeted at you."

Chu Zheng's Facial Transformation Technique, in her opinion, was mastered to perfection. Unless it was a Divine Infant Realm Great Cultivator who had fully refined Divine Sense, ordinary cultivators simply could not see through it.

Moreover, among the two pursuers, one was at the early stage of the Spirit Spring Realm, which made her think of Wu Taiyun, who had escaped from her control some time ago.

It was very likely that the Entry Dao Realm cultivator following them was drawn by the relics of Cheng Xuan that she had dealt with in the past.

For a moment, Song Lingqing felt a pang of self-blame. She had been a bit negligent and should have reminded Chu Zheng to leave that land of trouble earlier.

"Shall we split up? They are probably targeting me."

Song Lingqing intended to help Chu Zheng make an escape since the trouble was of her own making.

"Just the mid Entry Dao Realm, nothing to fear."

Chu Zheng rubbed his face, restoring his true appearance, and after scanning the surroundings to confirm that within a hundred miles there was nothing but barren islands, he stopped.

Song Lingqing also came to a halt, observing Chu Zheng's calm expression, yet she still felt unsure.

She did not doubt Chu Zheng's talent. To have cultivated to such an extent in less than a year was monstrous, but fighting across such a vast realm was indeed a stretch.

But in just a few breaths, two streaks of light arrived from the edge of the sky, halting a hundred yards away.

Chu Zheng looked over the Hidden Dragon List, found none whose aura matched these two individuals, and realized they had no relation to the Great Tournament of Ten Thousand Sects.

Song Lingqing held her breath, quietly sizing up the newcomers.

One was a middle-aged, stocky man clad in a light blue vestment robe and the other was Wu Taiyun, the one she had let slip away the day before.

Wu Taiyun's face looked somewhat pale, evidently his injuries had not fully healed.

His gaze fixed on Chu Zheng's face, confused, he immediately pulled out a portrait. After comparing Chu Zheng to it, his expression changed abruptly, filled with joy:

"Uncle Meng, this is the kid offered a bounty by the Hundred Demons Assembly!"

The middle-aged man with the surname Meng glanced at the portrait. His indifferent expression shifted to one of excitement, "This kid's head is worth seventy thousand high-quality spirit stones?"

What stood before them was not a person, but a spirit stone mine. Seventy thousand high-quality spirit stones, if exchanged for lower quality ones, would make seventy million. Even if they sold the entire Giant Marsh, it wouldn't fetch such a price.

Song Lingqing's expression turned, she blurted out, "Wasn't it fifty thousand? Why has it turned into seventy thousand?"

More spirit stones meant more powerful experts would be stirred up. Seventy thousand high-quality spirit stones could even make a major sect like the Phantom Spirit Sect thoroughly keen, enough to commit their full resources.

Chu Zheng was taken aback for a moment, glancing at Song Lingqing with slight surprise, "Wasn't it thirty thousand?"

Thirty thousand high-quality spirit stones were the figure he had learned from Song Lingfeng.

In just a few breaths, three different prices had emerged, with vast differences between them.

Quickly Chu Zheng came to realize that Song Lingfeng had no need to deceive him, and clearly, the bounty had changed hands several times, naturally leading to considerable markdowns.

Even the seventy thousand high-quality spirit stones might not be the true value of the bounty.