The white-robed girl, though possessing a face of innocent purity, now wore a solemn expression. Her entire body was enveloped in a strange silver radiance, making her appear all the more mysterious and uncanny!
Most surprising of all, the white-robed men and women following behind her all looked trembling and fearful. Not a single one whispered or muttered among themselves, and the gazes directed at the girl's back were filled with reverence!
And the haughty woman who had appeared at the sandy grounds along with her cultivation partner were also among them. But the arrogance on their faces had vanished without a trace. Like the others, they didn't dare even breathe too loudly, appearing exceptionally meek and obedient!
Suddenly, the leading elf-like girl halted in her tracks. The entire procession behind her naturally stopped as well.
Not far ahead, the passage opened up into a spacious area, revealing a deep green pool of water. At the center of the pool, several black rocks jutted above the surface, and upon them grew over a dozen luminous, jade-like spirit mushrooms — extraordinarily eye-catching!
"Is this the place?" The elf-like girl studied the pool with interest for a moment before asking crisply without turning her head, her voice especially sweet and delicate.
"Yes, Grandmaster! The peak-tier demon beast Azure Water Crocodile hides within this pool. During previous forbidden ground herb-gathering expeditions, one of our sect's disciples was devoured by this beast. However, another managed to escape with their life!" A slightly older female disciple from among the Concealed Moon Sect's followers stepped forward and bowed respectfully to the elf-like girl.
"Mm. Understood. Step back."
The elf-like girl gave her orders with an air of authority, revealing a capable demeanor wholly mismatched with her age.
She then turned to address the others behind her:
"Prepare yourselves! Once I lure the Azure Water Crocodile to the surface, you will use the newly refined joint-attack secret technique — the Yin-Yang Attraction Technique — striking in pairs. With killing power equivalent to a Foundation Establishment stage disciple's full-force strike, eliminating this beast should pose no difficulty whatsoever. After that, we move on to the next peak-tier demon beast's lair to continue harvesting these spirit medicines that no one has dared to collect before!"
The girl's voice was soft, yet brimming with confidence. After hearing her words, neither the male nor female disciples showed any expression of doubt — all agreed readily.
Seeing this, the elf-like girl turned around. Her cherry lips parted slightly, and a thumb-sized pink ring slowly floated out from her mouth. It swelled in the wind, transforming in the blink of an eye to the size of a human head, emitting a low hum. Its radiance was dazzling, and its spiritual resonance was extraordinary!
From the manner of the ring's appearance, the radiance it emitted, and the vast spiritual power it contained, one could be absolutely certain this was a genuine treasure.
Could this girl truly be a Core Formation stage cultivator?
Before long, deep within this underground cavern over a dozen zhang below the surface, a tremendous boom rang out first, followed by several low bellows resembling the bellowing of water buffalo — the roars filled with fury. But almost immediately, a cascade of rumbling thunder followed, causing the low growls to intensify briefly before rapidly weakening. Then came continuous explosions and crashing sounds, finally drowning out the roars entirely until they were heard no more.
Several hours later, the elf-like girl emerged from a hidden cave entrance with the Concealed Moon Sect's male and female disciples. Every disciple behind her wore a look of excitement, their faces beaming with joy.
This was hardly surprising. The opportunity to slay a first-tier peak demon beast was not something these Qi Condensation stage newcomers could easily encounter. Now, with minimal effort, they had killed that terrifyingly ferocious Azure Water Crocodile. How could they not be thrilled?
Of course, had the elf-like girl not used her ring treasure to block the demon beast's main attacks, they could never have concluded the battle without a single casualty. That was why the gazes directed at the girl's back grew ever more reverent!
The girl, however, paid no heed to the looks from the disciples behind her, walking ahead with the same indifferent expression. Slaying a first-tier peak demon beast seemed to be no great matter to her at all!
Moments later, this group of Concealed Moon Sect disciples disappeared into the surrounding dense forest without a trace.
...
And so, in other locations, the events of various sects' disciples slaying demon beasts and claiming spirit medicines continued to unfold. Occasionally, conflicts erupted over the spirit medicines as well.