Eternal Life: I Can Control My Essence Qi-Chapter 116 - 111: Northern Expedition Team

Three days hastily passed.

At the exit of the canyon, over a hundred cultivators gathered in one place, various escape lights danced, creating a tremendous spectacle.

Just as Zhang Yao arrived at the exit of the canyon, he saw Chen Qingju standing at the forefront, like a crane among chickens.

"Hmm?"

Zhang Yao’s expression changed slightly upon noticing Chen Qingju speaking with a beaming smile; three other Qi Refining Cultivators stood beside her,

obviously the three Qi Refining Perfection Cultivators Chen Qingju referred to.

"I wonder what schemes this woman is plotting..."

Zhang Yao withdrew his gaze, cautiously blending into the crowd, secretly observing his temporary comrades.

In the northbound team of over a hundred, most were late-stage Qi Refining, with a few in the middle stage.

As for the Qi Refining Perfection Cultivators, there were only four, having teamed up for joint action, attracting considerable attention.

Moments later:

The nearly 150 cultivators heading north had mostly arrived, with many urging the few organizers.

Those organizers put away their banners, cast their gaze towards Chen Qingju, revealing explorative intent.

"As expected, she is indeed the real leader of this northbound team."

Zhang Yao squinted his eyes, unsurprised at the realization.

Previous northbound teams were generally led by the one with the highest cultivation.

Chen Qingju arriving first undoubtedly seized the initiative, allowing her to openly observe applicants and select the ’companions’ she needed.

The three Qi Refining Perfection Cultivators were all persuaded by her, so naturally, nobody competed with her for this position.

"Could this woman be an inside agent for those Tribulation Cultivator groups?"

Zhang Yao had some doubts, secretly speculating.

Yet if his guess were correct, it could be a good thing for him; by keeping an eye on Chen Qingju, it wouldn’t be hard to trace the leader of the Tribulation Cultivators she was working for.

"Too bad there’s one missing..."

At the front of the crowd, Chen Qingju withdrew her gaze, regretting silently.

She had actually noticed Zhang Yao,

but back then, his refusal was too firm, and she didn’t bother making further futile efforts.

After shifting her focus, she discussed with the three Qi Refining Perfection Cultivators, making the final preparations before departure.

Moments later:

"Set off!"

Upon Chen Qingju’s command, she, along with the three Qi Refining Perfection Cultivators, initiated their escape light and flew side by side.

Over a hundred Qi Refining Cultivators, maneuvering their escape lights followed behind them like a grand procession, making an impressive spectacle.

"Rumble..."

The escape lights streaked across the sky, clouds billowing endlessly.

The escape lights of over a hundred Qi Refining Cultivators varied in speed, but most of the late-stage cultivators moved at a similar pace.

The lead Qi Refining Perfection Cultivators deliberately slowed down to coordinate with the main group’s actions.

Even so, some middle stage Qi Refining Cultivators soon began falling behind.

Their differences in cultivation left the middle stage cultivators frantically fleeing, yet still gradually dropping from the group.

Many cultivators watched indifferently, focusing only on their own escape lights.

Some middle-stage cultivators, disheartened, returned home; others, driven by unwillingness and a fluke mentality, kept trailing far behind.

"With such weak cultivation, crossing this final desolate zone is nearly a death sentence..."

Zhang Yao shook his head inwardly, ignoring the ones falling behind, continuing northward with the main group.

Shortly after:

The escape lights of a hundred plus cultivators soon crossed the Lu Kingdom’s border, entering a boundless desolate zone stretching to the horizon.

A sense of barren desolation rushed forward, causing many cultivators to solemnly take out spirit stones, holding them in their palms, continually absorbing and refining spiritual qi, replenishing magical power.

The leading Qi Refining Perfection Cultivators did the same.

Because of the presence of Tribulation Cultivator groups, the desolate zone was rife with dangers, requiring even those with profound magical power to remain perpetually cautious.

"Boom..."

A hundred beams of escape light journeyed northward, traversing the flat, desolate land, evoking a sense of temporal and spatial stasis.

But for the shifting position of the sun, changing light and shadow, one might mistake the progress as simply treading in place.

No one in the troupe of a hundred spoke, each focused solely on flying, continuously refining spiritual qi and restoring magical power, without the slightest pause.

After flying for over a dozen hours:

Most of the hundred-plus late-stage and perfection Qi Refining cultivators appeared fatigued, exchanging the spirit stones in their hands numerous times.

The qi veins around them have a limit; Qi Refining Cultivators are not perpetual motion machines and cannot infinitely restore magical power with spirit stones.

Having flown through thousands of miles of the desolate zone, they were reaching most people’s limits. If they continued another thousand or two, late-stage Qi Refining cultivators wouldn’t replenish magical power fast enough to match consumption, risking spiritual qi dissipation and magical power backlash.

"Everyone, be careful!"

Leading the group, Chen Qingju suddenly shouted:

"We’ve entered the last 500 miles!"

"At any moment, those Tribulation Cultivator groups could ambush us; stay vigilant!"

This proclamation left all the cultivators guarded, each displaying vigilance.

Some drew magical artifacts to hand; others quickly swallowed elixir pills, their eyes sweeping around, preparing for a stand-off.

No one could dwell long in the desolate zone, and the Tribulation Cultator groups’ dens at Da Li Border constantly monitored any movement in the zone, ready to strike.

Under normal circumstances, even Qi Refining Perfection Cultivators could only sense spiritual qi disturbances within a few dozen miles; beyond that, they were oblivious.

But in the desolate zone, any faint spiritual qi ripple could travel like a pond’s ripple hundreds of miles, evading no detection.

Ten miles, twenty, fifty...

The cultivators accelerated their escape lights, nervously flying while monitoring the horizon for changes.

"Boom!"

Moments later, a distant soaring sound pierced the air, altering many cultivators’ expressions.

Lifting their eyes, they saw a massive wave of escape lights surging from the north, northeast, and northwest, rushing with intimidating momentum.

A mere few dozen miles to a late-stage or perfection Qi Refining Cultivator was but an instant.

"So many Tribulation Cultivators!"

Zhang Yao was inwardly shocked.

He had thought the desolate zone’s Tribulation Cultivators would be no more than ten-person groups, yet he hadn’t anticipated the largest among these three groups being over thirty strong.

What chaos has the Da Li Cultivation Realm descended into to spawn this many Tribulation Cultivators?

"Such numbers!"

"Damn it! This is bad!"

"Run! Quickly run!"

The northbound cultivators instantly descended into chaos, almost instinctively breaking off from the team and scattering to escape.

The Tribulation Cultivators lurking at the border were all ruthless, law-defying magical battlers; directly battling them promised little chance of victory.

Now is the time to flee; if delayed and more Tribulation Cultivator groups arrived, escape would become impossible!