Actually, Yu Zhen also felt that Qi Yu dared to do it.
However, Qi Yu had too many tricks when it came to making money.
After pondering for a long time, Yu Zhen couldn't help but wink in Feng Si Qian's direction.
Feng Si Qian understood immediately and drew up a contract in black and white.
Qi Yu waved her hand and signed her name.
The contract was officially established.
Yu Zhen stood up, "Alright, alright, we've discussed all the important matters. Hurry up and get what you need. Everyone only takes what they need, don't be greedy and take too much."
Qi Yu wasn't particularly concerned and let everyone take what they wanted.
After everyone had taken the talismans and elixirs they needed, Qi Yu suddenly took a deep breath and, with a bang, transformed back into her original form... a round mirror.
Then, she shone it on the boxes in front of them one by one.
Soon.
The boxes visibly reduced in number, becoming two, then three, and gradually stacking on top of each other.
Ming Lou stood there with his mouth agape, stunned, "You can do that?"
"Of course, it's that simple!" With that, Qi Yu patted the dirt off herself, closed the treasure vault door, put away the key, and turned to leave.
All Elements Forest.
When Qi Yu and the others arrived, Qi Feng and his group were already queuing.
Several demonic cultivators were present around them.
Qi Feng stared at the Frost Condensing Diagram in his hand, initially wanting to comfort himself by thinking, "Although I spent a lot of money, at least I got this thing."
However, when Qi Feng turned and saw Qi Yu and the others holding identical Frost Condensing Diagrams, having exchanged them for entry passes, and preparing to enter the All Elements Forest, Qi Feng finally broke down.
He pointed at Qi Yu and shouted angrily, "That thing in his hand is fake! It's fake! The real one is in my hand."
"Big brother, can you have some discernment? The Frost Condensing Diagram has an upper and a lower scroll. You're holding the upper scroll, and I'm holding the lower scroll. Both of ours are real and don't conflict with each other, alright?" Qi Yu rolled her eyes.
Qi Feng was completely bewildered, "...What do you mean? Are you saying that this thing in my hand, this thing that cost me so much money, actually has a lower scroll?"
Qi Yu nodded, "That's right, but our Myriad Scrolls Pavilion only auctions the upper scroll, not the lower one. You bought this diagram yourself; no one forced you. So, we are conducting business honestly. Don't slander us."
Qi Feng was so angry he felt like spitting blood.
Qi Yu gave him her back and openly walked in.
Inside the forest.
As soon as Qi Yu and the others entered, they felt a powerful spiritual energy rushing towards them.
Qi Yu instinctively tilted her head back and took a few steps back.
Qi Nian opened his hands and absorbed the spiritual energy, watching it gradually coalesce into a ball. He looked surprised, "Is this Pure Spiritual Energy?"
Pure Spiritual Energy was the spiritual energy emitted from the spiritual springs within the All Elements Forest.
Spiritual springs were usually guarded by stone dragons.
The leakage of Pure Spiritual Energy now indicated that someone had attacked the spiritual spring, and the stone dragon had likely surrounded the area.
Just as Qi Yu made this judgment, a dragon's roar suddenly came from not far away.
Ming Lou's hand trembled, and he almost dropped his artifact, "Holy crap, did that mountain just come back to life? That's terrifying!"
"That's a dragon's head," Qi Yu said, then stepped onto her artifact and turned to flee, moving faster than a rabbit.
Ming Lou came to his senses and followed with everyone else.
Li Yu drew a formation on the ground as he flew on his sword.
As soon as Qi Yu saw the Demon Exorcism Grand Formation Li Yu was drawing, she immediately understood his intention. Without waiting for Li Yu to instruct her, she ran to the southeast to take her position.
Ming Lou stood in the opposite direction.
Holding their spiritual artifacts, the group activated the formation and retreated together, instantly expanding it.
Meanwhile, Feng Si Qian and Feng Ming Xi took advantage of this time to lure the roaring stone dragon into the formation.
Si Qing used magic from behind to drive it away.
The stone dragon appeared difficult to deal with, but in reality, once they mastered the trick and sealed it back, it posed no threat.
Li Yu retracted the formation.
The powerful spiritual energy indeed began to recede.
To avoid wasting this surge of Pure Spiritual Energy, everyone tacitly sat on the ground and began meditating and breathing.
Qi Yu closed her eyes, transformed back into her original form, and gradually ascended into the air. Her mirror body, illuminated by the moonlight, spun and shimmered, finally swirling like a vortex and absorbing all the Pure Spiritual Energy in the air into her dantian.
As the spiritual energy was absorbed, Qi Yu's mirror body became smoother and smoother.
It shone brightly in the air, like a second moon.
Everyone's gaze was drawn to the scene before them.
They stared in a daze.
After closing her eyes, Qi Yu entered a meditative state. Her original form automatically formed a protective shield for self-preservation, emitting rings of light.
After an unknown amount of time, Qi Yu opened her eyes again.
She retracted her original form and returned to the crowd, feeling full of power. The golden core within her circulated rapidly, emitting a golden glow, and had visibly grown by another ring.
Sensing this, Qi Yu's expression changed slightly. She turned to Li Yu and Yu Zhen and said, "I feel like my cultivation has advanced another level. I've gone from the late stage of Golden Core to the very end of Golden Core."
The very end of Golden Core meant that Qi Yu's cultivation would stagnate for a considerable period.
Only after enlightenment would she transcend the tribulation and become a Nascent Soul cultivator.
For ordinary cultivators, this was a mere step away.
But for Qi Yu, whose inner demons had not yet been eradicated, it was dangerous.
The thought of her inner demons acting up during the tribulation was unimaginable.
Li Yu frowned, thinking left and right, still worried.
He pulled Qi Yu closer and lightly tapped her forehead with his index finger.
The next moment, Qi Yu clearly felt her cultivation being forcibly suppressed back to the late stage of Golden Core by Li Yu.
Qi Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
It felt like a teacup about to fall off a table, but someone with quick reflexes pushed it back to the center of the table.
Although she would eventually have to face advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, at least the time had been significantly delayed.
She hoped they could find some useful method in the All Elements Forest this time.
Si Qing formed a hand seal and placed it on her forehead. Her spiritual sense, avoiding Li Yu and Yu Zhen, subtly drifted to various places.
After a while, Si Qing lowered her hand and mysteriously pulled Qi Yu aside, lowering her voice to discuss:
"Sister, I actually know of a sacred object that can expel inner demons. I just tested the surrounding area with my spiritual power and found that such an object is nearby! How about we go look for it together? Just the two of us."
Si Qing looked expectant.
"...What sacred object? And why do only the two of us have to go?" Qi Yu looked at Si Qing curiously, "Is it that mysterious?"