Then, Zhou Qing slowly stood up, finally revealing a smile on his face as he looked at his senior brother and second senior sister, who had been guarding him for half a year.

Before he could speak, the old hen flapped its wings and jumped onto his shoulder, which he casually held and stroked in his arms.

"Xiao Qing, you’re impressive," Luo Lingling said with her arms crossed and a raised eyebrow, smiling. "Now you even have the aura of the Spirit Severing Realm. It looks like next time we’ll have to call you Old Ancestor Zhou—no, it should be Old Demon Zhou."

"Old Demon Zhou?" Zhou Qing was taken aback.

Luo Lingling blinked and said, "That’s right."

She counted on her fingers, her eyes sparkling mischievously:

"In the Dark Sea, you single-handedly fought nine Divinity Transformation Perfection cultivators, refining countless Jieyun Thieves, leaving no bones behind."

"In the Blood Maple Forest, you first slaughtered six Divinity Transformation Perfection members of the Nangong Family, along with twenty Divinity Transformation Realm cultivators."

"In the Ancient Beast Wilderness, even more impressively, you single-handedly slashed twenty Divinity Transformation Perfection cultivators, enduring the Spirit Severing Split Soul undaunted, and then you wiped out their direct disciples and elders with a backhand—"

She stepped closer, her red lips slightly parted: "Decisive and meticulous, ruthless towards the enemy, combined with your refining methods..."

"What else could you be but an old demon?"

Zhou Qing: "..."

The Ghost Mastiff, holding a long spear, said in a deep voice, "Don’t listen to your senior sister’s nonsense. No matter what, you will always be our junior brother, the direct disciple of Little Spirit Peak in the Taiqing Sect."

"Boss, you don’t get it," Luo Lingling smiled slyly.

"Nowadays, Xiao Qing is our Junior Sect Leader. In the sect, all the senior uncles and the direct disciples call him that."

The Ghost Mastiff scratched his head, showing a rare bit of obstinacy: "Anyway, I don’t care, I just want to call him junior brother."

A hint of amusement flashed in his eyes, "Especially when I can call someone at the Spirit Severing Realm my junior brother in the future, that’s pretty impressive."

Zhou Qing chuckled wryly, "Stop teasing me. We haven’t even gotten there yet."

"Isn’t it just a matter of time?" Luo Lingling patted his shoulder, "Reaching the Spirit Severing Realm smoothly with Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, let alone being the unprecedented Four Flowers Gathering at the Crown!"

The Ghost Mastiff looked at Zhou Qing, then suddenly stepped forward and saluted solemnly: "Junior brother, this time it’s your senior brother’s fault for dragging you into this again."

Zhou Qing quickly helped him up, saying, "Senior brother, what are you doing?"

Luo Lingling pouted, "You’re making it so formal. Look at me, when have I ever been polite with Xiao Qing?"

The three of them exchanged smiles, and the tense atmosphere of the past half year finally dissipated.

"Oh right, since your injuries have healed, lend a hand!"

Zhou Qing waved his hand, and more than twenty storage bags poured out with a clatter, piling up in the center of the cave mansion.

These were the belongings left behind by the cultivators of the Nangong Family, including many treasures.

Zhou Qing planned to sort them out and carefully check for any tracking marks.

Those that were not needed were to be sold to Duobao Trading House in exchange for spirit stones to use for a breakthrough.

In this regard, Luo Lingling was highly experienced.

The three of them immediately got to work.

After half a day of busy work, everything was finally sorted out.

To Zhou Qing’s surprise, six top-grade wood-attribute spirit stones and several spirit stones of the other five attributes were found.

Over six hundred top-grade spirit stones were found, most of which were from Nangong Lu’s storage bag.

The rest, like the lifebound magical treasures, rare spirit medicines, and various materials, amounted to a large pile, comparable to a small mountain.

After all, these were the lifetime collections of Divinity Transformation Realm Perfection cultivators.

"Just right for reforging several sets of three-color masks." Zhou Qing’s eyes were as sharp as an eagle as he picked out several rare "Thousand Illusions Crystal Stones" and "Concealment Profound Iron" from the spoils.

"Give me a few more days!"

Before the words were fully spoken, eight thousand spirit seals orbited him like a galaxy, and as the seals circulated, the materials began to melt and reform, sketching the outline of masks in the air.

Luo Lingling and the Ghost Mastiff exchanged a glance, seeing the shock in each other’s eyes.

However, they didn’t ask much. In cultivation, who doesn’t have their own fortuitous encounters?

Seven days later, nine masks hovered in the air, three for each person, ready to change at any time to avoid suspicion.

And once worn, even the Divine Sense of the Spirit Severing Realm couldn’t see through them.

"Let’s go deal with the spoils!" Zhou Qing wore one of the masks, and his presence instantly vanished.

The figures of the three, along with the chicken, quietly left the cave mansion, speeding towards the bustling Inner City of the Imperial City...