Qin Xuan didn’t mind at all that Ji Boying wanted to try riding Xingyi.

"Of course you can. But this Demon Horse is quite wild. Junior Brother Ji, you’ll need some skill to tame it."

Qin Xuan laughed heartily from atop Xingyao.

Ji Boying eagerly pounded his chest. "Don’t worry, Master Demon Child! Taming this horse will be a piece of cake!"

With a flying leap, he landed securely on Xingyi’s back and grabbed the reins.

"Come on, let’s go for a ride... Hyah!"

CRACK!

The whip cracked down hard on Xingyi.

In pain and fury, Xingyi bucked. The single horn on its forehead flared with starlight as it threw Ji Boying, sending him sprawling into the dirt.

Wei Qingyi doubled over with laughter. "Senior Brother Ji, it looks like your riding skills aren’t quite as masterful as you claimed!"

Ji Boying scrambled to his feet, a pathetic sight. He was inwardly shocked.

’How strange. Why couldn’t I use even a sliver of my Demonic Essence just now?’

Meanwhile, Qin Xuan suddenly asked, "You two, do you know what’s become of the other Star Mansion Cultivators from the Circulation Realm?"

At the mention of this, the expressions of both Wei Qingyi and Ji Boying darkened.

Wei Qingyi sighed. "Ai, what news is there to tell? They’re either dead or scattered. Most died in the first round of the Vermilion Bird Grand Competition..."

Qin Xuan frowned slightly.

"As Star Mansion Cultivators, we should be unrivaled among our peers in this realm. Even if we can’t match up to those Tribal Saint Sons, passing the first round shouldn’t have been an issue."

"So how did so many die?"

Wei Qingyi shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Senior Brother Liu, there’s something you don’t know. We were all forced into this Vermilion Bird Grand Competition. Those bastards from the Demon Race drove us into the Ancient Wilderness Battlefield and placed a Qi Mechanism suppression on us."

"Our Life Star Cultivation is completely suppressed. We’re lucky if we can even beat the natives of the same realm."

Understanding dawned on Qin Xuan.

’No wonder Wang Qianru and Gan Tang looked so pathetic back then.’

But Ji Boying chimed in, "That’s not the whole story! I’ve got some huge news!"

Qin Xuan said, "Let’s hear it."

Ji Boying lowered his voice. "I heard that Shen Fairy from Daqian was discovered to possess the legendary Taiyin Star Essence constitution. A reclusive Venerable Divinity Transformation from the Vermilion Bird Star Domain took a liking to her, accepted her as a True Disciple, and let her bypass the trials straight into the final round!"

"There’s also Prince Xiao Dinglan of Daqian. He caught the eye of a Nascent Soul Daoist Monarch and is currently battling it out in the Liu Tuzhang Secret Realm..."

’Shen Xiyue?’

A flicker of excitement lit up Qin Xuan’s eyes. ’I’ve finally found you!’

’This means that as long as I can contact Shen Xiyue, I can return to the Holy Sect!’

Just then, a group of native Cultivators from the Jingmu’an Secret Realm spotted them.

The approaching party consisted of five people, all clad in Cyan Wood Armor and exuding a potent aura of vegetation.

The leader, an arrogant-looking young man wielding a massive Wood Core War Axe, shouted.

"Humans... and a Centaur? I am Muu Rong. Why have you trespassed in my Cyan Beast Hunting Ground! Hand over your Soul Essences and get out!"

Qin Xuan’s eyes went cold at his words. He couldn’t be bothered to waste his breath.

He unleashed the [Beidou Star Art - Pojun Chapter], his body transforming into a streak of starlight as he charged straight at Muu Rong! 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Has Senior Brother Liu gone mad? How dare he attack first?"

Seeing this, Wei Qingyi and Ji Boying assumed that Qin Xuan was also under the Qi Mechanism suppression.

However, they quickly realized something was off.

"Senior Brother Liu seems to be at full strength!" Ji Boying’s eyes lit up.

The Jingmu’an Cultivators excelled at Wood Element Techniques and close-quarters combat.

But under Qin Xuan’s overwhelmingly powerful assault, they were forced into a steady retreat.

A moment later, Muu Rong was run through by a sword.

Qin Xuan slew the other four as well, seizing all of their Soul Essences.

...

"Insolence!"

Before a Water Mirror in the Well Mansion Jing area, a Nascent Soul Daoist Monarch wearing a Cyan Wood Daoist Robe, a faint image of antlers above his head, slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet, bristling with rage.

"A mere human junior! How dare he slaughter my clansmen in my Jingmu Secret Realm... This monster deserves to die!"

However, the words had barely left his mouth.

When he saw Qin Xuan, along with Wei Qingyi and Ji Boying, immediately go on another killing spree in the Jingmu’an Secret Realm.

Qin Xuan absorbed one Starfire Essence after another.

"Damn it! That monster dares to break the rules of the Grand Competition! I’ll capture him myself!" shouted another Nascent Soul Daoist Monarch.

However, he had just gotten to his feet and managed to pinpoint Qin Xuan’s location...

...when he saw Qin Xuan activate the Teleportation Array. With a flash of light, he vanished again!

The next moment, he appeared in the Zhang Yue Deer Secret Realm.

The Nascent Soul Daoist Monarch was so furious his hair and beard seemed to stand on end, his rage utterly uncontrollable.

He immediately dispatched the Saint Child of the Zhang Yue Deer Secret Realm to apprehend Qin Xuan.

...

「Zhang Yue Deer Secret Realm.」

An eternal night reigned here. A clear, cold moon hung high in the sky, bathing everything in its pristine light.

Strange, glowing plants that pulsed with soft moonlight grew upon the ground. The air was cool, and the distant calls of deer echoed from time to time.

"Look, over there! A herd of Demon Deer!" Ji Boying exclaimed.

"I hear Deer Blood is incredibly restorative. I’ve got to try some this time!" Wei Qingyi declared, rubbing his hands together in eager anticipation.

With Qin Xuan around, his courage had grown considerably.

The Cultivators of the Zhangyue Deer Division were slender and agile, with delicate features and slightly pointed ears. They were dressed in moon-white robes.

"Luu Mingxu of the Zhangyue Deer Division! Intruders, halt!" the leading Demon Cultivator from the tribe bellowed.

A torrent of sword light and thunder was their only answer.

Qin Xuan threw a punch, and Luu Mingxu’s body instantly exploded.

Ji Boying and Wei Qingyi also went on a rampage. Using some unknown method, they forcibly prevented the Zhang Yue Deer Demon Cultivators from escaping.

They even began to skin them on the spot and drink their Deer Blood!

...

Before the Water Mirror.

A beautiful woman in a Moonlight Immortal Skirt, her temperament as cold and distant as the moon itself, now wore a murderous expression. Her slender hands were clenched into tight fists.

"Damn it! How are these Cultivators any different from Demon Disciples? Where in the world did they spring from? Are they trying to get themselves killed?!"

This beautiful woman was none other than the Nascent Soul Daoist Monarch of the Zhangyue Deer tribe.