"Better than all top-grade Spirit Stones by several times!" Zhou Qing exclaimed.

Then he looked at the glowing points on the map, his gaze coldly sweeping into the distance.

"Who will be the next lucky one...?"

...

Deep within the Ancient Beast Wilderness, Nangong Lu stood on the Three-color Array Map, his dark robe flapping fiercely.

In front of him, a bronze ancient mirror floated, its surface rippling like water, clearly reflecting the images of the Ghost Mastiff and the masked woman resting against the rock wall.

"The ’Sky-Gazing Mirror’ bestowed by my master is indeed extraordinary."

Nangong Lu lightly brushed the mirror’s surface with his fingertip, and three ancient runes abruptly flared up, "Threefold Spirit Locking Array—Activate!"

"Boom!"

The earth trembled within a hundred-mile radius, and pillars of blue, white, and black light soared skyward, weaving into a spiritual cage that sealed off every inch within a thousand miles.

In the cave, Ghost Mastiff suddenly opened his eyes, the Black Scale Spear already in his hand.

Luo Lingling’s face was pale, her fingertips trembling slightly: "My Nascent Soul will take at least ten days to condense another Paperman."

"They won’t fall for the same trap twice," Ghost Mastiff said in a deep voice, "Send word to the junior brother, say we’ve had an epiphany and need to close off for a while."

Luo Lingling shook her head: "Forget it, Xiao Qing is sharper than any of us now. The more we say, the more suspicious he’ll become."

She paused, her voice lowering, "His talent and future... worth our lives to protect."

"I understand." Ghost Mastiff tightened his grip on the spear, "Without him, you and I would have died long ago in Taichu Dojo and Blood Maple Forest; living till now is a bonus."

Luo Lingling chuckled lightly: "It’s just a pity... we’ll never see Xiao Qing ascend to Spirit Severing."

"Life is full of regrets." Ghost Mastiff’s gaze was resolute, "At least this time, you have me, your senior brother!"

Luo Lingling laughed again, determination flashing in her eyes: "They will definitely use us to lure the junior brother into a trap."

"Especially since I called them big fools; they’re doomed to die. I’ll prepare to self-destruct, I don’t want to suffer."

"After I’m gone, remember, I’m the senior brother!" Ghost Mastiff interrupted firmly.

Luo Lingling paused, then laughed again: "I know, you always wanted to be ahead of me since childhood."

She took a deep breath, "But now is too early for this talk. You protect me while I try the Realm; maybe there’s a slim chance."

Before her voice faded, she sat cross-legged, a faint blue light enveloping her.

Ghost Mastiff gripped the spear tightly, vigilantly guarding ahead.

...

Meanwhile, Nangong Lu stood with folded arms at the array’s heart, watching as eight cultivators arrived one after another, frowning slightly: "Where are the others?"

Though the array had locked onto this area and could even see their images, this region was vast, with many similar spots, making it hard to find immediately.

"Replying to the Taoist, they sent word that they are rushing here at full speed," an elder bowed in response.

Nangong Lu nodded slightly, but his gaze grew increasingly grim.

But after waiting a while longer, no one else arrived, tightening Nangong Lu’s frown.

"Snap!"

In the next moment, Nangong Lu suddenly raised his hand, slapping his forehead heavily, producing a sharp sound.

Yet the corner of his mouth slowly curled into a strange smile.

"Careless..."

He slowly turned, excitement flashing in his eyes, then looked toward the distant, dark forest.

"I thought that after rescuing Ghost Mastiff, you would leave," Nangong Lu’s voice carried a hint of mockery, "Was planning how to torture them to lure you out..."

He suddenly laughed aloud: "Unexpected, so unexpected! You’ve been next to us all along!"

The laughter abruptly stopped, Nangong Lu’s expression suddenly turned grim: "This time, I was negligent, granting you the chance to pick us off one by one."

"Hopefully, they’re only trapped... if they’re all dead, I won’t be able to explain to the master."

Upon hearing this, the remaining eight instantly reacted, their expressions changing drastically, quickly becoming defensive, warily glancing around.

"Rustle..."

Deep in the dense forest, dry leaves moved on their own, as a figure stepped into the air. Under the moonlight, a grotesque chicken-head mask coldly gleamed, a rusty Broken Sword trembled lightly in his hand, faintly rolling with Thunder Arc.

"Are you referring to... them?"

Zhou Qing raised his hand with a wave, and twelve blood-stained Storage Bags floated in mid-air, gently swaying in the night wind.

"This... This is impossible!" an elder exclaimed in disbelief, eyes wide.

Nangong Lu squinted his eyes, revealing a look of regret on his face: "What a pity... but it’s fine."

He suddenly grinned: "As long as my Nangong Family has Spirit Slash Great Power, there will be as many Divinity Transformation Cultivators as you want!"

"Especially those of Great Perfection, eager to hear my master’s teachings, to strive for that threshold."

At this point, his gaze locked onto Zhou Qing’s mask with a pathological excitement: "As for you... Don’t take off the mask yourself."

He licked his lips, "I want to tear it off personally, and hang it in the most prominent place in the cultivation room!"

"Heh..."

A disdainful cold snort sounded from beneath the mask.

No wonder danger was sensed from this individual; unexpectedly, he was the disciple of the Nangong Family’s Spirit Severing Great Power.

But so what, after killing the first Nangong Family’s Divinity Transformation Perfection member, there was already no going back.

Moreover, there must be unimaginable benefits on this person!

"Big fool!" Zhou Qing imitated the second sister, raising a middle finger at him.

"Seeking death!"

Nangong Lu’s eyes surged with killing intent, directly charging forward, neither fancy spells nor techniques, only the purest killing intent!

"Don’t interfere, he’s mine!" Nangong Lu roared, and in the next instant, he was in front of Zhou Qing.