When the tall male cultivator led Qi Laoshi and the veiled woman into the underground spirit stone mine, his expression changed.

"What's wrong?" Qi Laoshi asked in a low voice, already noticing the change in the tall cultivator's face. It seemed his premonition was right. If they finally found the Celestial Sunflower Fine Gold, only to have it intercepted, it would be a truly heartbreaking loss.

The tall male cultivator said with a mournful face, "Someone has been here and took the Celestial Sunflower..."

Qi Laoshi's hands clenched into fists, veins popping out, trembling slightly, revealing his anger and frustration.

Not only Qi Laoshi, but the veiled woman also gasped softly, obviously filled with anger.

"Besides you three, who else knows about this place?" After a long while, Qi Laoshi asked again.

The tall male cultivator shook his head. "No one else. Only us three know."

If Mo Wuji were his accomplice, he would definitely curse this guy for being an idiot. If he were answering, he wouldn't say only a few of them knew. He would say that there was another person who knew, and he even knew where that person lived. That way, Qi Laoshi wouldn't kill him immediately but would ask him to lead the way.

Qi Laoshi and the veiled woman exchanged glances, both realizing that the tall cultivator was likely telling the truth. Qi Laoshi raised his hand and slapped out twice, tragically ending the lives of the man and woman, who hadn't even had time to enjoy the wealth the spirit stone mine would bring.

...

Less than a thousand miles from the swamp, Mo Wuji was also catching his breath in a newly dug cave dwelling. Carrying something that was several meters across, he had run this far, and even as a Spirit Building cultivator, he was exhausted.

Fortunately, this place was suitable for hiding. It was a dry riverbed. Even the shallowest part of the riverbed was over ten meters deep, and some parts were even dozens of meters deep. It resembled a canyon, but it was clearly not a canyon because the spiderweb cracks on the dry riverbed were large and clear.

It was evident that the river had dried up not too long ago; otherwise, these riverbed cracks wouldn't exist.

Mo Wuji chose a spot in the middle of the dry riverbank to dig a cave dwelling, like digging a cave in a cliff, safe and reliable. Moreover, some withered branches hanging down in front of the cave provided additional camouflage.

Mo Wuji even carried away all the fresh dirt he had dug out, planning to stay here for a while.

He chose to stay here for several reasons. First, he couldn't run far carrying such a large object. Now, his item was buried in a hidden location at the bottom of the dry riverbed. Second, he had just reached Spirit Building and had many spirit stones, making it the perfect time for cultivation.

Of course, most importantly, Mo Wuji didn't dare to go back for the time being. Even though he had reached Spirit Building, he feared being killed upon returning to the Heaven Asking Academy.

Since his wanted poster could appear in the market outside the Lost Heaven Ruins, it meant that Jin Jiuzhen indeed had powerful backers, and this powerful person suspected him in connection with Jin Jiuzhen's death. If he had his own backing, he wouldn't fear suspicion as long as he didn't leave any evidence.

The key issue was that he had no backing.

Besides these two issues, there was another point: this place wasn't far from the swamp spirit stone mine. Once he used up his spirit stones, he could return to transport more at any time.

This was just Mo Wuji's ideal plan. If he knew that Qi Laoshi had also come here, even if he had placed formation marks outside the spirit stone mine, he wouldn't dare to cultivate so close to the swamp.

However, a loss may turn out to be a gain.

Mo Wuji didn't know Qi Laoshi was coming, so he dared to cultivate so close to the spirit stone mine. Similarly, Qi Laoshi didn't know that Mo Wuji, after obtaining the Celestial Sunflower Fine Gold, not only didn't leave but dared to stay nearby and cultivate.

So, Mo Wuji continued his cultivation, and Qi Laoshi and the woman continued their search.

...

Whether for a cultivator or a researcher, time is the least valuable thing. Mo Wuji was both a researcher and a cultivator. Once he started cultivating, he completely forgot about his surroundings. At this point, he would probably only wake up if someone barged into his cave dwelling.

This was why Mo Wuji didn't dare to cultivate in the swamp spirit stone mine, and it was fortunate that he didn't cultivate there. If he had stayed there to cultivate, his bones would have already turned cold.

Mo Wuji poured out all the spirit stones from his storage bag. A hundred meridians circulating, the speed of absorbing spiritual energy was astonishing. With the spiritual energy nearby being extremely dense, Mo Wuji's cultivation was increasing almost every moment.

Two months later, he directly broke through the first layer of Spirit Building, advancing to the second layer. Five months later, Mo Wuji broke through the second layer again, advancing to the third layer. Eight months later, Mo Wuji broke through the early stage of Spirit Building, advancing to the fourth layer. With a hundred meridians opened, he faced almost no bottlenecks in cultivation at this low realm.

At this point, Mo Wuji woke up from his cultivation. He had no choice but to wake up because his spirit stones were all used up.

Mo Wuji really wanted to go to the spirit stone mine to transport some more spirit stones and continue cultivating. However, he missed Yan'er a bit. Eight months had passed. Shouldn't it be okay to go back and see Yan'er before coming out again?

Soon, Mo Wuji knew he was comforting himself. As long as he went back, there would definitely be danger. But if he didn't go back to see Yan'er, Mo Wuji wouldn't feel at ease.

No, he still had to go back. It had been almost a year since he came out this time, and he didn't know if Yan'er was doing well. Besides Yan'er, there were also Fei Bingzhu and others. He had promised Fei Bingzhu to go to Heaven Asking City to take care of him. Now that he had joined the Heaven Asking Academy for a year, he hadn't gone to see Fei Bingzhu yet.

Mo Wuji made up his mind and was about to go out when suddenly a whistling sound fell from the sky. The whistling sound landed directly on the dry riverbed. Mo Wuji quickly walked to the entrance of the cave and carefully looked out, finding a long sword with a small section broken off.

In the next moment after the sword fell, a young man covered in blood rushed to the riverbed and picked up the sword.

Then another person rushed down, this person with a head of silver hair and extremely white skin, looking like he had the potential to be a pretty boy. The magical treasure in his hand was a Dragon Bone Claw, with five blue and shiny claw tips that made people feel uneasy.

"Ren Tianxing, tell me the location, and I'll give you a quick death," the silver-haired man landed in front of the bloodied young man and said with a cold tone.

"Hahaha!" The young man named Ren Tianxing laughed heartily, "Shao Guangjing, what are you? Ren Tianxing is not someone who can be threatened. Not to mention you, even if the Sect Master of your Bi Luo Sect comes, I won't even look at him."

Mo Wuji was actually familiar with the Bi Luo Sect. He had a grudge with a guy named Shao Feng from there. This guy was also from the Bi Luo Sect and also surnamed Shao. He wondered if he had any relationship with that Shao Feng.

As soon as the name Shao Guangjing of the Bi Luo Sect was mentioned, Mo Wuji instinctively stood on Ren Tianxing's side.

Ren Tianxing? This name seemed familiar too.

That's right, Mo Wuji finally remembered. When he left the Heaven Asking Academy, he went to the mission hall of the Heaven Asking Academy. At the entrance of the mission hall, there was a Heaven Asking Ranking, which displayed the ranking of the strong who climbed the Heaven Asking Steps. He remembered that the guy ranked first was named Gou Zihan, and this Ren Tianxing was ranked third.

Being ranked third in the Heaven Asking Academy should be very strong, yet he couldn't beat a guy from the Bi Luo Sect?

The man named Shao Guangjing said coldly, "Since you want to die, then I will grant your wish."

As he spoke, he raised the Dragon Bone Claw in his hand, and the chilling light brought a hint of the aura of death.

Mo Wuji was a little puzzled. It was clear that Shao Guangjing was confronting Ren Tianxing, so why could he feel the aura of death? Had his strength and perception become so strong after reaching the middle stage of Spirit Building? Could he sense that Shao Guangjing had murderous intent towards Ren Tianxing?

Ren Tianxing was not afraid, reached out and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said disdainfully, "Shao Guangjing, once I advance to the Nascent Soul Realm, I can beat a whole nest of trash like you by myself."

Mo Wuji suddenly understood that this Ren Tianxing had not yet advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm, while Shao Guangjing was already a Nascent Soul Realm expert. Ren Tianxing had not advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm, so he should be in the late stage of Transcendental Mortal. For a Transcendental Mortal cultivator to be able to fight a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator to this extent was not just good; it was amazing.

"Go to hell..." Shao Guangjing's Dragon Bone Claw swept out several chilling shadows, shooting out.

In that instant, Mo Wuji understood what was happening. This Shao was not trying to kill Ren Tianxing at all but was going to kill him first. No wonder he felt a murderous aura; that murderous aura was not directed at Ren Tianxing but at him, Mo Wuji.

Mo Wuji was glad that he had noticed the murderous intent early and was also glad that he had advanced to the middle stage of Spirit Building. Otherwise, he would have definitely died from this attack.

Mo Wuji leaned to the side while mobilizing his Yuan energy to wield the Heavenly Machine Staff. He knew the horror of the Dragon Bone Claw, and merely dodging it was useless. Because if the Dragon Bone Claw didn't kill him, it would turn back again. It was better to strike first and intercept it.

"Clang!" The Heavenly Machine Staff was struck with sparks, and a violent Yuan energy surged over. Mo Wuji was sent flying, slamming into the wall of the cave he had dug out, spitting out a mouthful of blood on the spot.

The Nascent Soul Realm was truly powerful. Mo Wuji didn't bother wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth and wielded the Heavenly Machine Staff again, hitting the Dragon Bone Claw that had just turned back.

"Clang!" Yuan energy collided, and the violent force splashed out, collapsing half of Mo Wuji's cave dwelling. Mo Wuji's legs were buried in the dirt, and the power of the Dragon Bone Claw was once again partially deflected.

Seeing that the Dragon Bone Claw was about to temporarily give up on him and fly back, Mo Wuji instead took the initiative to rush up and swung the staff out again, smashing it towards the Dragon Bone Claw. After ambushing him, did it think it could just leave so easily?

Almost at the same time as Shao Guangjing made his move, Ren Tianxing also made his move. When Shao Guangjing saw Ren Tianxing move, he sneered in his heart. A mere Transcendental Mortal cultivator wanted to take advantage of him? After his Dragon Bone Claw killed the ant on the side, it would fly back and he would have the opportunity to knock Ren Tianxing away again.

(The first update is here, asking for monthly ticket support. Please forgive me if the next two updates are delayed because I am out today.)