Hah!
Zhao Yunxiao let out a chuckle as he lay there looking at the extraordinarily beautiful dusk sky.
They finally managed to take down the Peak Essence Physique realm sky lion!
Wait a minute; now was not the time to rest!
"Here, Junior Martial Brother Zhao," Nie Hanchang appeared at his side, helping the exhausted Zhao Yunxiao get back to his feet.
"Thanks..." Zhao Yunxiao had to suppress the urge to groan in pain as his entire body ached just from the simple action of standing.
That single exchange with the sky lion had really messed up his body!
He might have successfully opened the Mind Gate, but there was definitely a lot more to work on with regard to his physique...
Zhao Yunxiao stepped forward and scanned the sky lion's carcass with his spiritual sense. After confirming that there was nothing amiss, he quickly stored it away in his spatial pouch to prevent any further deterioration of the carcass.
Nie Hanchang didn't think much of it as this was in line with their agreement. Then again, he would not have cared about it even if they had not made such an agreement in the first place.
"You are truly amazing, Junior Martial Brother Zhao," Nie Hanchang remarked.
"Haha, what are you talking about? You are the amazing one, Senior Martial Brother Nie," Zhao Yunxiao laughed. "If not for your ridiculous offensive power, how could things go this smoothly? That last arrow... not to mention the Essence Physique realm, perhaps even the Origin Core realm senior martial brothers and sisters would be hard pressed to defend against it!"
"...Is that so?" Nie Hanchang answered.
"Of course! I knew I could count on you to deliver on your promise!" Zhao Yunxiao patted his shoulder.
"I'm glad you feel that way," Nie Hanchang nodded with a faint smile. "Now then, shall we return?"
"Return? What do you mean?" Zhao Yunxiao revealed a look of confusion. "We are not done yet!"
"Are we not?" it was Nie Hanchang's turn to be confused now.
"Of course not!" Zhao Yunxiao pointed towards the collapsed rock structure in the distance. "We have to take care of the remaining cloud lion, and also search their lair! While sky lions and cloud lions are not known for hoarding treasures, there are always exceptions!"
"I see," Nie Hanchang smiled. "Let's do it then."
"I'll lead the way. Let's hurry before the cloud lion escapes!" Zhao Yunxiao popped a minor recovery pill before rushing off.
Nie Hanchang did not follow immediately, complex thoughts running through his mind as he stood there watching Zhao Yunxiao's departing back.
Did Zhao Yunxiao not realise that at that final moment, even an ordinary energy of arrow would probably have done the job?
The whole point of charging up a powerful arrow of energy was to break through the sky lion's water defence. However, Zhao Yunxiao had already succeeded in stripping the sky lion of its defence, leaving it wide open.
No, there was no way that someone like Zhao Yunxiao wouldn't have noticed something like that. There was no doubt about it – just like the case with the Grand Annihilator, Zhao Yunxiao was trying to play down his contributions yet again.
But why?
Was Zhao Yunxiao trying to hide his capabilities to guard against him? No, he would not have even agreed to take down the sky lion if that was the case.
In that case, was Zhao Yunxiao trying to lift his spirits by overstating his contributions?
Nie Hanchang clenched his fists in determination.
Amazing?
An Advanced Essence Gathering realm cultivator stripping the Peak Essence Physique realm sky lion of its defence using brute force... how could he ever be considered the amazing one here?
To think that he had allowed himself to be depressed over something like love. What a joke!
Rather than wasting his time and energy on something like that, he had to focus on getting stronger. Much, much stronger!
He had to prove himself to Zhao Yunxiao, so that the latter would finally be able to trust and rely on him as a peer!
With a renewed resolve, Nie Hanchang dashed after Zhao Yunxiao.
Fortunately for them, the remaining cloud lion had not moved far from the rock structure despite the collapse of the latter. Not only was its leg already injured, but it also seemed to have been confident that the sky lion would emerge victorious, thereby deciding to wait there for its return.
Unfortunately for it, what lay at the end of its wait were two gods of death who took its life without hesitation.
After keeping away the cloud lion's carcass, Zhao Yunxiao and Nie Hanchang split up to search through the debris of the rock structure. But even after a detailed search, all they found were some half-eaten carcasses, most of them already starting to rot. Crushed under the collapsed rock structure, there was literally nothing usable.
That said, Zhao Yunxiao was not too disappointed.
He already knew that these spirit beasts did not have the habit of keeping treasures in their lairs. Anything found would be a bonus, but he would not complain if they did not find anything either.
After dismantling the arrays that they had set up in the woods and retrieving the array materials, the duo finally made their way back to the sect grounds. By the time they returned, the sky was already dark.
"Are you sure you are all right?" Nie Hanchang asked worriedly.
"Yeah, this is nothing," Zhao Yunxiao waved him off nonchalantly. "I just need a good night's rest and I will be fine come morning! More importantly, I will process the haul from today and give you your fair share once I am done. It might take a few days though."
"Don't worry about it and take your time. I am not in need of it at the moment," Nie Hanchang said. "If you are sure that you are fine, then I will be returning for now."
"Yes, yes, I am fine!" Zhao Yunxiao assured. "See you tomorrow then!"
After making sure that Nie Hanchang had left, Zhao Yunxiao did so as well. However, his destination was not his residence. Instead, he headed straight for Huang An's residence.
"Senior Martial Brother Zhao?" Huang An answered the door in surprise before letting out a sigh of realisation. "Where? And how bad is it?"
"A few areas, but it's not that bad," Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. "Just a little tending to and I will be on my way."
"If it truly only required a little tending to, you would have done it yourself instead of coming to me," Huang An saw through him in an instant. "Come in and let me take a look."
"It really isn't a big deal," Zhao Yunxiao insisted as he walked in. "So, don't go telling on me to your Senior Martial Sister Gu."
"You know I won't, but I really will start telling her if you don't stop putting yourself in danger!" Huang An chided.
"What's that? I remember that someone lost my spatial escape talisman not too long ago, so I had to fight to earn it back," Zhao Yunxiao commented while pretending to rub his chin in contemplation. "Has that person already forgotten that she owes me a favour?"
"...Fine!" Huang An pouted.
***
Zhao Yunxiao did not spend too long over at Huang An's residence.
His injuries might not be considered severe, but they were not exactly easy to deal with either. Because they were mainly internal in nature due to overstraining himself, so there was a limit to what Huang An could do for him in one night. In the end, she could only help to suppress the superficial symptoms while prescribing medicines for long-term recovery.
After that was done, Zhao Yunxiao hurried back to his residence.
He did a quick cleanup of his equipment before carefully laying out the haul of the day.
A black-clawed ivory serpent, a green flash jaguar, and three more monsters at the Primary Essence Physique realm.
Four cloud lions and finally, the sky lion.
The differences between each species meant that different methods of processing were required, which complicated things a little. Thankfully, apart from the black-clawed ivory serpent, their physical structures were still rather generic in nature.
Zhao Yunxiao made small incisions on each of these carcasses before hanging them up on steel chains, allowing their blood to drain into special containers below. If he really wanted to, it was not impossible to force the blood out within a short period of time. However, doing so might result in unnecessary damage to the inside of the carcass, so he would rather do it the old-fashioned way.
At the same time, he set up a simple array to slow down the decomposition of the carcasses.
Even if it was only for a day, he wanted to keep damage to these precious commodities to as low a level as possible.
Only then did he finally pop a Winterwarmth Pill, entering deep meditation as he retired for the night.
***
Despite his injuries, Zhao Yunxiao kept to his usual routine of getting up early for practice.
As the number of techniques he possessed slowly increased, so too did the amount of time required to practise them all. He was well aware of his mediocre talent and was thus unwilling to neglect any technique under the guise of prioritising others. If he did that, he was sure that these neglected techniques would quickly end up useless. After all, he was no genius who could easily adapt to different situations without making prior preparations.
Therefore, he could not help but find himself getting up earlier and earlier just to complete his practice routine.
Nevertheless, he did not find it tiring at the very least.
On the other hand, he actually felt revitalised every time, especially when he discovered areas in which he might have improved. As long as improvements could be seen, this amount of work was hardly worth mentioning!
That was the case for today as well. In fact, he had to wake up exceptionally early today just to complete his practice routine in order to not be late for the first schedule of the day.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it the only schedule of the day.
Meeting of the Great Symbols – this was an annual event where members of the Four Great Symbol Sects would gather for a friendly exchange of pointers and network, as well as to share any intelligence face-to-face.
At the same time, the four factions would also take this opportunity to formulate a joint plan for the Duyuan Martial Meet.
To the sect disciples, the most exciting part would still be the announcing of those who had been selected to attend the Duyuan Martial Meet, with the largest selection criteria being each disciple's recent performance within the Four Symbols Mystic Realm.
All disciples who had been selected to attend the Duyuan Martial Meet would draw great attention and admiration, as being allowed to represent the sect essentially meant that they were the top elites that stood above all others!
Every year, the four sects would take turns to host the Meeting of the Great Symbols. When it was being hosted by the other sects, the Black Tortoise Sect would usually send a large entourage to attend. However, it was inevitable that not all outer disciples would be able to take part.
Fortunately, this year happened to be the Black Tortoise Sect's turn to host the event. And since it was being held at Purple Plum Mountain, the outer disciples were all allowed to spectate and widen their horizons.
While it was not mandatory, no one would give up on this golden opportunity to watch the elites of all four sects, and Zhao Yunxiao certainly was no exception.
In order to face the sky lion with all he had, Zhao Yunxiao had been forced to dispel the earthen clone that he had left in the sect. After sending a fresh earthen clone to the Sect Library, he left early for the Clear Thoughts Pavilion, where he patiently began his wait for the others to arrive.