"Zhang, Junior Brother Zhang?"

The newly awakened Su Jingyao looked at Zhang Yuan in a daze, her eyes full of confusion.

But the next moment, she suddenly came to her senses: "Where are we?"

Su Jingyao evidently thought Zhang Yuan had taken her and made a run for it.

After all, the Rock Puppet was indeed too powerful.

Zhang Yuan laughed and said, "I’ve already defeated the Rock Puppet!"

"What?"

Su Jingyao was stunned, her beautiful eyes wide open, red lips slightly parted, giving off an air of innocent clarity.

She instinctively sat up straight: "Killed it?"

Just this simple movement caused the damaged robe Su Jingyao was wearing to bend, inadvertently revealing a hint of spring scenery.

Zhang Yuan saw this and hurriedly took off his own coat and handed it to her.

His clothes weren’t in great condition either.

But Zhang Yuan couldn’t just take out new clothes from the Storage Space and give them to Su Jingyao.

So he had to make do.

Su Jingyao was momentarily blank, but soon understood, her pretty face blushing instantly.

"It’s okay."

She didn’t take Zhang Yuan’s clothing, but instead quickly took out a Talisman from her pouch and slapped it onto herself.

A flash of spiritual light passed, and the robe Su Jingyao was wearing instantly repaired itself.

Though not as good as new clothes, the damaged areas were all seamlessly mended.

Quite miraculous.

Noticing Zhang Yuan’s surprised look, Su Jingyao shyly explained, "This is a Repair Talisman, it’s quite effective for fixing clothes and Leather Armor."

Zhang Yuan nodded, gaining a new understanding of the techniques of Daoist Cultivators.

"Oh?"

At this moment, Su Jingyao noticed the Yellow Crystal Stone wrapped in the Thousand Threads Net, her eyes suddenly shimmering with surprise: "What’s this?"

Zhang Yuan explained, "This dropped from the Rock Puppet."

"That’s right!"

Su Jingyao almost jumped up, excitedly saying, "This is the Rock Puppet Heart Crystal!"

The Rock Puppet Heart Crystal is the heart of the Rock Puppet.

However, the Rock Puppet is not an ordinary creature, but belongs to the category of Deceitful Monsters.

So its heart is also quite special.

The Rock Puppet Heart Crystal is the source of the Rock Puppet’s Strength, and is the most precious treasure on such a Deceitful Monster!

This thing can be used to create Profound Artifacts, and can also extract Evil Qi to refine an Evil Infant, making it incredibly valuable.

"I’ve read records about the Rock Puppet Heart Crystal in ancient texts."

Su Jingyao explained with shining eyes, "The bigger the size, the higher the quality, this one is so large, it should be of Sixth Grade level."

"Capable of refining a Sixth Grade Evil Infant!"

The giant worm Evil Infant they harvested earlier was close to Fifth Grade, and now they directly had a Sixth Grade one, Su Jingyao’s excitement was evident: "We’ll definitely be in the top ten this time!"

She and Zhang Yuan had obtained three spoils since entering the Cyan Profound Secret Realm.

Fourth Grade Evil Infant, Fifth Grade Evil Infant, and now this Sixth Grade Rock Puppet Heart Crystal, they were indeed going from strength to strength.

Such great harvest almost guaranteed a top ten spot in this year’s Nine Peaks Grand Competition.

Of course, this was just Su Jingyao’s judgment, not the final outcome.

Yet nonetheless, she was extremely happy, radiant and appearing a different person from before.

Zhang Yuan asked, "Then should we condense an Evil Infant now?"

Su Jingyao hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and said, "The Rock Puppet Heart Crystal is better than the Evil Infant, according to the sect’s rules, this can be handed in as one of the Grand Competition’s spoils, so it’s better to keep it."

She took the Rock Puppet Heart Crystal from the Thousand Threads Net, attached several Talismans to seal its power as quickly as possible.

Then she stored it into her pouch.

"So heavy!"

The weight of the Rock Puppet Heart Crystal almost made Su Jingyao embarrass herself on the spot.

Who would have thought this orange-sized Crystal Stone would weigh several hundred jin.

In the end, Zhang Yuan carried it.

The two returned to the Deserted Village together.

Passing by where the Rock Puppet collapsed, looking at the scattered stones and the toppled trees around, Su Jingyao recalled the intense and dangerous battle process, feeling a lingering fear.

At the same time, she held Zhang Yuan’s Strength in higher regard.

This time, they really chose the right Guardian!

Su Jingyao felt very lucky.

Inside the Deserted Village, the bonfire was rekindled.

At this moment, the darkness was quietly retreating, and faint morning light was filtering down through the gaps in the treetops, casting a peaceful and tranquil aura.

Zhang Yuan boiled a pot of hot water, and Su Jingyao produced healing Elixirs to share with him.

Both of them were injured from the battle with the Rock Puppet.

Su Jingyao’s Elixirs were highly effective, after Zhang Yuan took one, his internal injuries were almost healed in a short time.

He quietly opened the Divine Nest panel for a look.

Realizing his Qi and Blood Value had fallen by more than two-thirds.

Earlier, to deal with the Rock Puppet, he stored the underground boulders into Storage Space, consuming an extraordinary amount of Qi Blood.

But that was insignificant.

If not for Zhang Yuan coming up with such a move at the critical moment, they would never have defeated that powerful Deceitful Monster.

Unfortunately, this maximized use of Storage Space isn’t suitable for most opponents.

Yet the possibilities of Storage Space still need to be explored further!

Perhaps there are surprises waiting.

Zhang Yuan and Su Jingyao sat around the bonfire, sipping tea, chatting until daylight broke.

During this time, Su Jingyao didn’t ask Zhang Yuan about the process of defeating the Rock Puppet.

Sparing him a long explanation.

From this, Zhang Yuan sensed her intelligence and insight.

Adding a touch of admiration.

And likewise, Su Jingyao’s fondness for Zhang Yuan grew.

A subtle emotion emerged between the two, undefinable.

But neither mentioned it.

In the following days, Su Jingyao continued to stay in the Deserted Village, while Zhang Yuan searched the surrounding areas.

To gain more, seeking another Deserted Village would be the right choice.

But they both thought it unnecessary to stir up trouble.

After all, having three spoils in hand, their results were already assured; being too greedy could invite disaster.

Nevertheless, Zhang Yuan and Su Jingyao still harvested two Evil Infants.

Though of ordinary quality.

Better than nothing.

Besides the Evil Infants, there were other gains.

During his search, Zhang Yuan found several ginseng plants, lingzhi mushrooms, Huangjing and other precious old medicinal herbs.

An unexpected boon.

On the sixth day since entering the Cyan Profound Secret Realm, the two decided to return to the Secret Realm entrance.

Not waiting until the last day to leave.

The return journey was very smooth, following previous markers, they saw the tall stone gate before nightfall.

But what Zhang Yuan and Su Jingyao didn’t expect was an unexpected encounter near the entrance with a group of people.

Four men and two women, a total of six, three cultivators, three Martial Artists.

Among them was a Kun Cultivator, none other than Yuan Zishan!

This was truly a narrow escape from past enmity.

Yuan Zishan’s eyes flashed with surprise, then she smiled and said, "Little Sister Jing Yao, what a coincidence!"

Su Jingyao replied disdainfully, "Who is your sister? Don’t get chummy!"

Yuan Zishan’s expression immediately darkened, she murmured, "I, I was just concerned for you..."

She hadn’t finished speaking when the Guardian Martial Artist beside her stepped forward.

And shouted at Su Jingyao, "Apologize!"