588: Jiang Lu's thoughts

"Then please wait a moment, Miss Jiang."

He Dong immediately raised his hand and whispered a few instructions to an Adjutant beside him. The Adjutant nodded at once, turned around, and left quickly.

In just a short while, the Adjutant returned, carrying a heavy metal tray in his hands, and walked up to them quickly.

On the tray, several items were neatly arranged. They were all loot seized from those Bandits. Without exception, they were all the most common Storage Pouches in the cultivation world, along with a polished Storage Ring. Faint traces of turbid Qi still lingered on the pouches' openings and the ring's body.

Jiang Lu recognized these things at a glance. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she already guessed some of the other party's intentions.

Seeing this, He Dong immediately wore a kind smile. He gestured toward the items on the tray and spoke in a friendly tone.

"Miss Jiang, take a look. Surely these things should be able to resolve your urgent need."

As for why He Dong's attitude toward Jiang Lu and those Bandits was so vastly different, the reason was simple.

Jiang Lu was a Golden Core Disciple of the Lingxiao Immortal Sect and, moreover, someone from a top-tier Sect in the Central Region. She was the highest-status local they could currently come into contact with. How could her value be compared to those mountain Bandits?

Keeping her would allow them to gather secrets of top-tier forces and test the world's rules and the combat power of Cultivators. It was beneficial in every way.

While those Bandits were also Golden Core Stage Cultivators, once their information was squeezed dry, they were useless. Naturally, they ended up being executed for research.

If those Bandits knew this in the afterlife, they would probably be so furious that their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering would occur. They could only curse their bad luck for not being born with a prominent status, resulting in such a world of difference in treatment.

Seeing this, Jiang Lu did not refuse. She leaned over and slowly picked up the storage Magic Treasures from the tray one by one. Her fingertips lightly touched the pouch openings and the ring's surface as she focused her mind to investigate the contents within.

Fortunately, unlocking storage Magic Treasures in the cultivation world only required a Divine Soul imprint and did not need Spiritual Qi to activate. Furthermore, the owners of these Magic Treasures were all dead. Otherwise, given her current state of depleted Spiritual Qi, even if a mountain of gold and silver were placed before her, she could only look on and sigh.

"None... still none..."

She searched three Storage Pouches and one Storage Ring in succession. Inside were mostly various looted treasures, but there wasn't even a single Medicinal Pill that could replenish Spiritual Qi, nor were there any Spirit Stones. A trace of disappointment flashed across Jiang Lu's brow.

Not until her fingertips touched the last dusty, worn-out Storage Pouch did a faint medicinal fragrance finally drift out the moment her Divine Soul entered.

"I finally found it!"

Jiang Lu was overjoyed.

Inside the pouch lay a round, translucent white Medicinal Pill. It was the most common Qi Gathering Pill in the cultivation world. Although its grade was low, it was a basic Medicinal Pill that could truly replenish Spiritual Qi. It must have been a piece of private loot hidden away by some bandit, and now it had benefited her instead.

Without a second thought, Jiang Lu immediately crushed the pill bottle, took out the Qi Gathering Pill, and tilted her head to swallow it.

The Medicinal Pill melted upon entering her mouth. A gentle medicinal power flowed down her throat into her Dantian, instantly transforming into thin strands of meager Spiritual Qi that slowly nourished her parched Meridians and Dantian.

In just a moment, her body recovered about one percent of its Spiritual Qi. It wasn't much, but it was barely enough.

But with this hard-won Spiritual Qi, should she stake everything on a desperate resistance against this group of mysterious strangers, or suppress the panic in her heart and obediently cooperate with them?

On the surface, this seemed like a difficult choice, but Jiang Lu's fingertips hanging by her side tightened slightly. She had already made her decision.

Never mind this bit of Spiritual Qi that she had barely managed to gather—which didn't even amount to ten percent of her combat power—even if she were in her peak Golden Core Stage state with full Spiritual Qi and a steady Sword Heart, she would never dare to act rashly in this place.

This was deep within the Forbidden Ground, a dangerous place that even the ancient records of her Sect only dared to mention briefly with great secrecy. And the group of people before her were clearly a mysterious force entrenched here.

What made Jiang Lu's heart sink even more was that she had focused her perception several times, yet she couldn't capture the slightest Spiritual Qi fluctuation from He Dong and the others.

This was by no means ordinary.

From the Qi Refinement Stage onward, Cultivators have Spiritual Qi circulating throughout their bodies. Even if they deliberately restrain it, there will inevitably be a faint aura leaking out. There were only two possibilities for them to be so "trace-less."

Either they were truly a group of Mortals who had not stepped onto the path of cultivation, with only mundane blood and Qi in their bodies.

Or, their cultivation already far surpassed hers as a Golden Core Stage Cultivator. The difference in Realm was like clouds and mud, and their Spiritual Qi was restrained like a vast sea, making it impossible for her to peer into it.

A very faint, bitter curve appeared at the corner of Jiang Lu's mouth. She leaned toward the latter possibility without any hesitation.

How could Mortals dare to set foot deep within the Forbidden Ground? And how could they so calmly trap a Golden Core Cultivator here and ask her to show her techniques with such nonchalance?

"Miss Jiang? Is it all right now?"

He Dong's voice sounded at the right time. He still wore that smiling expression, but there was no genuine warmth in his eyes. His tone was flat, yet it carried an undeniable certainty.

Jiang Lu took a deep breath, suppressed her surging thoughts, and hid the wariness and resentment in her eyes. She slowly looked up, her voice calm and steady, yet unable to hide a slight lack of confidence.

"Yes. With the replenishment from that Medicinal Pill, I have now recovered some Spiritual Qi in my body."

As she spoke, she stepped toward the direction of the nearby training ground.

Seeing this, He Dong and the others did not look surprised. Instead, they exchanged a tacit look and backed away, maintaining a sufficient distance while still forming an invisible circle of encirclement. Their gazes fell heavily on Jiang Lu, seemingly scrutinizing her, yet also waiting for something. The atmosphere around them quietly became solemn.

Jiang Lu walked to the center of the training ground and stood still. She no longer looked back at the gazes behind her. With a flip of her palm, a pale green spiritual light flashed, and a Three-foot Green Blade was held firmly in her hand.

This was a Low Grade Spirit Treasure sword. A faint Spiritual Qi flowed over the blade, and the edge was sharp.

As for the Top Grade Spirit Treasure she had obtained by Opportunity, unfortunately, before she could fully refine it and establish a mental connection, she was pursued and fled all the way here. Naturally, she couldn't use that Top Grade Spirit Treasure. Now, she could only rely on this Low Grade Spirit Treasure.

Her fingertips lightly stroked the cold spine of the sword, feeling the faint Spiritual Qi on the blade and its weak resonance with the Spiritual Qi in her body. She sighed inwardly, focused her mind, and prepared to demonstrate her most powerful sword technique.

Although she couldn't fathom the intentions of these people or guess what purpose they harbored, Jiang Lu knew better than anyone that she could only survive by maintaining her value.

She had recognized the origin of the storage Magic Treasures on the tray at a glance.

The owners of those Magic Treasures were the very Bandits who had been abducted along with her.

Now that the Divine Sense on the Magic Treasures was gone, it went without saying that those vicious Bandits had already become dead souls.

If she also lost her utility value, her end would surely be the same as those Bandits, resulting in her death and the end of her Dao, without even the slightest room for resistance.