“Not many, just about a hundred or so!”

Lin Yijun felt almost like a question mark was about to appear above her head. “Elder Qin, are you serious about this?”

Qin Ruqing nodded affirmatively. “Absolutely serious! If you don’t believe me, open the storage pouch and take a look.”

Over a hundred spiritual artifacts were no small number and were crucial at the moment.

Lin Yijun opened the pouch and her eyes sparkled.

The artifacts Qin Ruqing provided weren’t top-tier; most were basic and commonly seen, not crafted in the style of the Western Ridge.

However, the quantity was substantial—there were over a hundred and ten items.

Lin Yijun tightened the pouch’s opening, suppressing her delight, and sincerely thanked Qin Ruqing. “Elder Qin, your generosity is truly commendable.”

Qin Ruqing waved it off with a righteous air. “I’m doing this for the Mysterious Heart Liquid.”

Lin Yijun’s eyes gleamed. “If we succeed in obtaining the Heart Liquid, it will be distributed according to contributions. With the artifacts Elder Qin has just provided, you’ll surely get the lion’s share of the Liquid.”

Qin Ruqing listened eagerly. “That’s very good.”

Following Qin Ruqing, Qirong and the others also approached.

Qirong grinned at Lin Yijun. “Miss Yijun, we have some more artifacts. Do you still need them?”

Lin Yijun smiled broadly. “The more artifacts, the better!”

So, Qirong contributed over fifty more items, and Lu Wei handed over about thirty.

These three treasures from the Qin family didn’t just hoard spirit stones—they also had quite a collection of defensive artifacts.

Without sufficient defensive means, their family wouldn’t let them leave home.

Lin Yijun felt these people were truly heaven-sent to assist her.

As she watched the others contribute so generously, she couldn’t help but eagerly anticipate the final arrival of one more person.

This person was Tang Zifeng, the champion of the alchemy competition.

He must have many spiritual artifacts in his possession.

But Tang Zifeng looked at her and said, “I don’t have any artifacts to offer.”

Lin Yijun’s smile froze for a moment. “Friend Tang, are you joking? As the champion of the alchemy competition, how can you not have any spiritual artifacts?”

Tang Zifeng replied seriously, “I do have spiritual artifacts, but I can’t hand them over. Each artifact I possess is precious, just like your Nine-Segment Whip that uses nine empty spirit stones. Are you willing to part with your whip? If not, then I’m also unwilling.”

Qin Ruqing chuckled. “Haha, Tang, you’re really pushing it.”

Sure enough, Lin Yijun’s face stiffened as she looked at Tang Zifeng, her complexion alternating between pale and blue.

As Tang Zifeng’s former subordinate who remembered the shame of the Forging competition well, she knew she had been criticized by Master Minghua for using nine empty spirit stones and only achieved a mediocre grade.

Now Tang Zifeng was bringing up old wounds—not to mock her, but to what end?

Qin Ruqing quickly stepped in to defuse the tension. “Miss Yijun, we’re in this together. Altogether, our team has nearly reached two hundred artifacts. We don’t necessarily need the few artifacts Tang Zifeng has.”

Indeed, Lin Yijun thought about her upcoming major plan.

Setting up the Fuyu Demon-Subduing Formation was the top priority now.

Other matters could be discussed later.

So she forcibly suppressed Tang Zifeng’s intentions and began discussing the next steps.

How to set up the formation, how to attract the Purple Thunder Beast, and how to lure it into the formation… Qin Ruqing seemed to agree, listened attentively, occasionally offering small suggestions to patch up the loopholes in their plan.

By the time the four of them could finally be alone, it was already dark.

Several camps were set up around this dense forest canyon, all belonging to prominent families.

Qirong, grilling fish on the side, asked, “Sister, can that Subduing Formation really capture a Golden Core Stage demonic beast?”

Qin Ruqing found grilling fish even simpler.

Using her golden lotus, she suspended the fish in mid-air, evenly cooked, without even needing to turn it over herself.

“I don’t know. It should work though. We’ve used nearly three hundred spiritual artifacts. Even if it’s just a pure explosion, it’ll definitely make some noise. If a Golden Core Stage demonic beast stands obediently and lets them explode around it, it might actually end up severely injured.”

Lu Wei and Tang Zifeng chuckled, and Qirong smirked.

At the Golden Core Stage, would a demonic beast really be foolish enough to stand there and let itself be blown up?

“Do we need to do anything else?” Qin Ruqing asked as she finished grilling the fish, letting the fire drift over without blowing on it, and began eating the fish leisurely, lying against a tree.

If an outsider saw this scene, their jaw would drop.

“Didn’t we already do our part? We handed over almost two hundred spiritual artifacts. Isn’t that enough? If they succeed, based on our contributions, we should get the most Mysterious Heart Liquid.”

Qirong was taken aback. “Is it really that simple?”

“Well, why wouldn’t it be?” Qin Ruqing finished eating a fish and burped contentedly.

Lu Wei tore off a small piece of fish and stuffed it into his mouth, chuckling quietly.

It was amusing to tease Qirong like this.

Tang Zifeng said, “He thinks you haven’t done anything bad or caused any trouble. He’s just not used to it.”

Qin Ruqing patted her stomach and sighed. “Am I the kind of person who causes trouble? Don’t worry, I definitely won’t cause any trouble this time. As long as others don’t mess things up, I’ll patiently wait for my share of the Mysterious Heart Liquid.”

Qirong looked at her skeptically, unsure whether to believe her or not.

Would she really stay out of trouble this time?

But indeed, Qin Ruqing didn’t cause any trouble this time.

Recently, Lin Yijun and her group had been busy setting up the formation and preparing to capture the Purple Thunder Beast.

Lin Yijun couldn’t see through Qin Ruqing’s cultivation level, but the Qin family’s reputation in the Western Ridge was indeed resounding.

Hence, she had also wanted to invite her to help.

However, Qin Ruqing declined outright, “I can hand over a few artifacts, but if it’s to battle a Golden Core Stage demonic beast, count me out.”

Qin Ruqing’s expression revealed genuine fear. “That’s a Golden Core Stage beast. Once it goes berserk, none of us can handle it. I’m not a local of the Western Ridge, and I only came here to cooperate with the Celestial Bureau. I’m not going to risk my life for this.”

Qin Ruqing’s performance made Qirong and the others cringe; they didn’t believe a word of it.

However, Lin Yijun, surprisingly, believed her without much hesitation.

She felt this was normal.

The Golden Core Stage demonic beast was far beyond their level, and if not for the Fuyu Demon-Subduing Formation, the collective manpower and the explosive power of the artifacts, they wouldn’t dare attempt this.

Even so, there was still immense risk involved.

Lin Yijun felt that not everyone could be as outstanding as herself in terms of family background, talent, and strength.

It wasn’t arrogance but rather her environment that reminded her of her own excellence.

This Elder Qin, judging from her cultivation alone; she’s just got a good appearance.

I don’t even know how she became an elder.

I suppose she was favored at home, plus she’s quite clever, so she was allowed to take up the position of elder.

This was indeed unusual.

But there are plenty of unusual things in this world.

Lin Yijun certainly couldn’t investigate everything, so she stopped inquiring further about Qin Ruqing.

And so, three days later, these people’s plan began like this.

Among them, Lin Yijun, with the highest cultivation level, provided the formation diagram for the Fuyu Demon-Subduing Formation and attracted the Purple Thunder Beast.

The main deployment and control of the formation were handled by the previous Western Region Buddhist disciple, who was most proficient in formation techniques.

At least one senior Qi-refining expert from each family was sent out.

After enhancing their strength with auxiliary spiritual artifacts, they stood at different positions within the formation to assist in its operation.

As for the others, their role was to continuously supply spiritual power to the main controller of the formation and temporarily take over when the controller’s stamina waned.

Qin Ruqing and the others lay on the treetops, watching as the Fuyu Demon-Subduing Formation took the shape of a hexagram.

At each point of the hexagram stood a group of people.

Lin Yijun stood in the center of the hexagram, activating the formation.

She wore a red robe and had a tall and graceful figure.

At first glance, her demeanor and aura resembled Qin Ruqing’s in some ways.

But this feeling didn’t stand scrutiny; aside from one point, it highlighted the stark difference between the two.

The curves of Lin Yijun’s chest surged, while Qin Ruqing, still quite tactfully…

Qin Ruqing watched as the hexagram formation lit up and murmured, “Don’t say, this formation is quite well done.”

After watching for a while, her attention quickly wandered.

For some reason, Qin Ruqing glanced at a certain spot on Lin Yijun and then at her own, revealing a frustrated look.

Lu Wei lay beside her, noticing her actions, and comforted her with understanding, “Sister Qingqing is still young, with plenty of room to grow.”

Qin Ruqing pursed her lips.

Oh, oh, but she built the base, her figure has basically settled, and what else is there to grow?

Behind her, Qirong stuck out his head. “Big Sister, what are you talking about? Why can’t i understand?”

Qin Ruqing pushed his head away, “Say things that men shouldn’t listen to. You two just close your ears.”

Qirong sighed, and Tang Zifeng had been silent throughout.

He didn’t know why, but his Adam’s apple was rolling around, and his eyes wandered for a while.

Underneath them, Lin Yijun finally started the formation, preparing to lure the Purple Thunder Beast.

This was the most dangerous step in the plan, and when discussing it earlier, Lin Yijun had volunteered to take charge, earning admiration from the crowd.

After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, a beast roar suddenly came from the direction of the canyon waterfall ahead.

Following that, the entire forest seemed to erupt, with birds and beasts constantly taking flight.

It was becoming increasingly clear where the commotion was coming from.

These people became nervous indeed.

The main controller of the formation, called the hidden cultivation Western Region Buddhist, had a round Buddhist bead floating around his neck, faintly emitting golden light.

The sweat on his forehead dripped down, occasionally swallowing his throat, murmuring in his mouth, unsure if he was chanting or praying.

The booming sound grew louder and louder.

Even from Qin Ruqing’s perspective, Lin Yijun was already poised to use the wind and fire wheels at her feet.

This sister was really stepping on the “wind and fire wheels,” with her feet truly stepping on two

identical spiritual artifacts.

The artifacts spun, emitting golden light.

She also held a purple talisman in her hands, its characters glowing.

Clearly, relying on the dual enhancement of accelerated artifacts and talismans, she barely managed to keep ahead of the Golden Core Stage demonic beast.

Qin Ruqing had sharp spiritual awareness due to her powerful cultivation, and she could see far.

By the time everyone sensed Lin Yijun’s movements, both she and the demonic beast had already arrived at the entrance to the Narrow Gorge.

Yes, their plan was to lure the beast into the gorge.

Once the Fuyu Demon-Subduing Formation was activated and the 300 spiritual artifacts self-destructed, even if it couldn’t kill the Golden Core Stage demonic beast, it could cause the collapse of the surrounding gorge.

By then, with rocks tumbling down, even if the beast didn’t die, it would be trapped in the gorge for a while.

However, while the plan sounded beautiful, its execution revealed that the operational difficulty was too great.

After all, the demonic beast wasn’t foolish enough to be lured wherever they wanted.

Initially, after chasing it for a while without success, they became annoyed.

Watching this human seem to have a very purposeful intention to lure it into the gorge, the Purple Thunder Beast unexpectedly stopped at the entrance.

It refused to go in!

Lin Yijun gritted her teeth, cursing under her breath.

This demonic beast was too intelligent; it had sensed the danger in advance and was unwilling to enter.