here the Wu family lived. After Master Wu passed away due to illness, there was an additional vacant position. They observed three days of mourning before burying him. Because Miss Wu was young and th...This time, Lian Ri's trip outside the sect was primarily to complete a mission assigned by her sect. Even though she is the Sect Master's daughter, she is not exempt from this duty. Additionally, there are some things she needs to acquire officially, such as martial arts techniques, Soul-Stealing Silk, and spirit marrow.

As a former monk, she knew very well that the cultivation of monks was like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you retreat. It was a process of competing with fate itself, impossible to be smooth sailing all the way. While secluded training could enhance one's cultivation level, growth through experience was always more rapid.

So Lianyi spent three days time passing through Qiao Zuzu's trial assessment, earning the defensive magic weapon her father had prepared for her. Then she was put into a Qi Refining team and smoothly left the sect.

This time, Lian Yi didn't conceal her cultivation level, but she disguised her face, transforming it into that of an ordinary and pretty female cultivator. Neither outstanding nor unattractive, she simply looked like someone you would see everywhere.

She joined a squad of four, led by Qiao Hao (hao), a cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage. He was a descendant of a branch family of the Qiao clan and a magic cultivator with considerable ability. He often took on leading missions, making him an experienced veteran. He was specifically chosen by Qiao Qianshan for this squad.

The remaining three were, Zhao Mingyu, at the early stage of foundation building, a sword cultivator; Xiao Shanhe, at the middle stage of foundation building, a talisman cultivator; and Sun Lanlan, also at the middle stage of foundation building, a talisman cultivator. Adding Lianshui, there were three men and two women.

Qiao Hao was considered quite mature, already fifty years old. In the cultivation world, he was a prominent figure. He introduced Lian Yi and everyone else to each other. This time, Lian Yi used the alias "Eileen," which was her name spelled backward.

"Hello, fellow brothers and sisters. My name is Eileen. This time I'm participating in the trial with all of you, hoping to learn a lot from each of you."

The ripple politely said.

"Senior Brother Qiao, her cultivation level is so low. Isn't she just following our team to complete missions"

Sun Lanlan directly asked.

They weren't strangers to this kind of person. They would claim to team up with them, but when danger arose, they would run faster than anyone else. When it came time to divide the task points, however, they wouldn't want to lose out.

Before Qiao Hao could speak, Feng came out from Lian Ri's arms and gave Sun Lanlan a meow, baring its teeth as if to show displeasure.

Lián Yī also didn't get angry, and said with a smile:

"I am a cultivator, this is my spirit beast Whirlwind, he is a mutated black tiger, now he is at the second level."

Son Lanlan's eyes lit up after seeing the whirlwind. Those who can afford to raise spirit beasts are either powerful cultivators or those with good fortune.

This is especially a mutated black tiger. It looks like only the size of a kitten, but don't underestimate its physical strength. At least it can fight with a cultivator in the later stages of foundation building, making it a powerful helper.

"Ellen, your spirit beast is so cute."

Sun Lanlan's attitude took a 180-degree turn, her voice even trembling slightly, which made the three male cultivators beside her feel uncomfortable.

But Ripple smiled back.

"You know, I think my little whirlwind is really cute, and he's not just cute, he's also very capable. He would never hold anyone back."

"Alright then. You wouldn't believe this, but we once took a mission with a male cultivator joining our team. He was even more emotional than me, a female cultivator! And the worst part is, when there was danger, he was the first one to run."

Sun Lanlan finally found an opportunity to vent, rambling on about that terrible mission.

The ripples also cooperated very well, occasionally showing expressions of "I can't believe it," "Too embarrassing for a male cultivator," and "That's exactly right." The two female cultivators chatted back and forth happily.

The remaining three looked at each other and directly threw out the flying boat. The five of them boarded the flying boat and flew towards Bianxia City, their mission destination.

Having boarded the flying boat, Lian'ri and Sun Lanlan had already established a preliminary friendship. Then Qiao Hao gave each of them a jade slip containing the mission details and explained it.

"This time, we received a missing persons request. It was an SOS message from the Lord of Biàn Xiá Chéng. Because this city is very far from our Wǔ Yùn Sect and belongs to a more remote city affiliated with the sect."

Before us, there were two teams in the early stages of development who had taken on this mission. However, both teams went missing, and the mission points increased, raising the threshold for accepting the task. I took on this mission, you guys first take a look at the specific mission content.

At this time, ripples had already swept over the jade slip with divine sense, understanding the task content.

Simply put, sometime starting from an unknown point in time, people began to vanish without a trace in Bianxia City. There was no discernible pattern, affecting both men and women, but mainly cultivators. As the number of missing cultivators increased, so did their cultivation levels.

At first, the Lord of Biancheng didn't take it seriously. However, the situation became increasingly severe, with even Foundation Establishment cultivators disappearing on the streets. Only then did he panic and immediately sought help from the Wuyun Sect. The sect assigned some disciples to the task, but both teams vanished without a trace.

The City Lord of Bian dared not hide the truth and immediately sent a message, requesting assistance from the sect once again. That is why they had this mission.

"Senior Qiao, have the previous two teams figured out how these people disappeared Was there anything unusual before they vanished Who did they come into contact with"

After reading, Sun Lanlan came up with three consecutive questions.

"No, according to the city lord, these people disappeared the day after they arrived."

Joe Hao said helplessly.

"So it seems we have no useful information at hand now."

Lian Yi narrowed her eyes and said.

"That's to say, once you enter Bianxia City, you have to rely on yourselves."

Joe nodded.

Suddenly, Zhao Mingyu, who had remained silent all along, spoke up.

"I think the city lord is problematic."

After watching, Xiao Shanhe kept pondering. Upon hearing Zhao Mingyu's words, he immediately agreed:

“I think Zhao's younger brother’s suspicions are very reasonable.”

"In that case, the five of us had better not travel alone. Each trip should have at least two people."

As the captain, Qiao Hao needs to make timely judgments to prevent the whole team from getting into danger.

At our flying vessel's speed, it would take at least a month to reach Bianxia City. We should take turns controlling the flying vessel and conserve our energy so we can deal with any unexpected situations.

Yes, Master Qiao.

Everyone agreed that this was routine procedure for an out-mission squad. It's just that Lianri, this oddball, broke the norm this time. After flying in the airship for five days, she directly broke through from the early stage of Foundation Establishment to the middle stage.

Everyone wasn't too surprised either, at a glance they knew the young girl had reached the critical point of breakthrough. They lowered their flying vessel and waited for the ripples to break through before continuing on their journey.

Then, the day before arriving in Biansha City, Lianyi broke through again, reaching the later stage of Foundation Establishment in one fell swoop. This left Sun Lanlan and the others somewhat disoriented. Was it so easy to advance a rank

Only Qiao Hao knew the truth. His cousin must have obtained a fortuitous encounter to break through so smoothly. He hadn't seen her practicing all along using spirit stones instead of sitting cross-legged and absorbing spiritual energy like them, struggling all the way.

"Eileen, didn't you conceal your cultivation"

Sun Lanlan asked straightforwardly.

"No! (I just covered my face.)

"

However, I had taken a spirit fruit before I left. I guess the spiritual energy inside the fruit wasn't fully absorbed by me. Now that it's been absorbed, along with my cultivation using spirit stones, I was able to successfully advance my level."death, only Ma Tao still had a breath left. She directly ransacked the room for all the food and warm clothes and blankets, then opened the bedroom window and froze Ma Tao to death alive."Ruthless!"Th...