It was chaos, absolute chaos.
Facing a group of desperate thugs, Zhou Qianqian's face turned pale with fright, and she quickly took out a golden-yellow talisman from her storage ring.
But before she could cast her spell, several figures suddenly appeared in front of her.
"You..."
Before she could finish speaking, her body was tightly bound by ropes, and her dantian was sealed by the opponents, leaving her powerless.
The other Star Sect disciples were also beaten black and blue, their clothes stripped off, leaving only their undergarments.
Originally, Fang Yuan and the others wanted to rush over and grab Zhou Qianqian, which scared Zhou Qianqian terribly, and she shrieked, "Don't come over, don't come over!"
At the critical moment, Zhao Shijie and a few others stopped their actions.
"Wait a minute, she's a girl after all, you big oafs, don't tell me you want to take advantage of her?"
"What are you talking about, what are you talking about? We're all decent people, alright?!" Fang Yuan and Qin Hao loudly protested.
"Don't think I didn't see it, you two, and those bald guys, you were just flicking other people's little ding-dongs!" Huo Sichun rolled her eyes in disgust.
"Haha..." Fang Yuan and the others gave an awkward laugh, "We just wanted to see what was different about these NPCs."
"And?" Chen Shaocong asked curiously.
"They're very realistic," Qin Hao gave a thumbs up.
"Alright, stop talking nonsense." Zhao Shijie waved his hand and turned to look at Zhou Qianqian.
"Are you going to obediently hand over the treasures yourself, or should I let them search you?"
"No!" Zhou Qianqian shrieked, her lips trembling as she stammered, "Everything is in my storage ring, take it, just don't let them come over."
Zhao Shijie took off her storage ring and gave Huo Sichun a meaningful look, who immediately understood and thoroughly searched her.
"She's still wearing a treasure armor underneath."
Hearing this, Zhou Qianqian's face was devoid of color, and she looked at Huo Sichun with a crying voice, "Please, no..."
Seeing Zhou Qianqian looking like a pear blossom bathed in rain, Huo Sichun couldn't bear it, she wiped the tears from her face and said softly, "Don't worry, with me here, they won't dare to do anything reckless."
"Hmph, Sister Sichun, quickly move aside and let me strip off her treasure armor." Fang Yuan approached with a mischievous smile, scaring Zhou Qianqian so much that she collapsed to the ground and burst into tears.
"Wuwu..."
Huo Sichun was a bit speechless, she glared fiercely at Fang Yuan, then crouched down and spent some time comforting her.
But the more she tried, the harder Zhou Qianqian cried.
"Alright, alright, let her cry, let's divide the spoils first, hehe..." Fang Yuan shamelessly sidled up to Zhao Shijie.
The others also showed excitement and gathered around.
"Let's see what's inside..."
Zhao Shijie took out the storage ring, and just as he was about to open it, the storage ring suddenly shot up into the sky.
Everyone's expressions changed drastically, and they immediately grabbed their weapons, but after seeing who it was, everyone put down their weapons sheepishly.
Chu Huaian glanced at the storage ring, then scanned everyone, and couldn't help but frown.
"Hua Xia Sect disciples, listen to my command, assemble!"
Swish, everyone formed a square formation, looking straight ahead.
Chu Huaian landed in front of everyone, took out the storage ring, and asked, "Whose is it?"
No one answered, the scene was eerily quiet, only Zhou Qianqian was still quietly sobbing.
Those Star Sect disciples cried out loudly in distress, while the remaining Qingcheng Gang disciples huddled to the side, not daring to make a sound.
"So, this thing is ownerless then?" Chu Huaian raised an eyebrow and slipped the storage ring into his pocket.
Zhao Shijie and the others stared eagerly at Chu Huaian's actions, looking as if they wanted to speak but held back.
"Xian Ge, that... the storage ring was something we snatched..." Fang Yuan said weakly.
Chu Huaian glanced at him indifferently.
Fang Yuan's mind couldn't help but recall the scene of being hung at the mountain gate and whipped by Chu Huaian, his body involuntarily shivered, and he obediently shut his mouth.
"Zhao Shijie."
"Present!"
"Why are these people still alive?"
Chu Huaian pointed at the Qingcheng Gang disciples.
At these words, the faces of the more than thirty Qingcheng Gang disciples instantly turned pale, and their hearts pounded wildly.
The shadow of death enveloped everyone's hearts.
"Because I collected protection fees from them." Zhao Shijie pulled out more than twenty low-grade spirit stones from his pocket and handed them to Chu Huaian.
Looking at the wrapped spirit stones, Chu Huaian's eyes flickered with uncertainty, and he sighed softly in his heart.
"Never mind, let them go."
Upon hearing this, the Qingcheng Gang disciples felt as if they had received a great pardon and rushed down the mountain in a panic.
At this moment, only the Star Sect disciples remained.
Since they chose to let the Qingcheng Gang members go, the matter of the spirit vein would be discovered sooner or later, and killing the Star Sect disciples would only cause unnecessary trouble.
However, to be safe, Chu Huaian still decided to keep Zhou Qianqian as a bargaining chip for negotiations with the Star Sect.
He had just scanned Zhou Qianqian's information: the little princess of the Zhou Kingdom, a direct disciple of the Star Sect, and a top-grade fire spirit root.
The Star Sect would absolutely not stand idly by for a disciple with such a powerful background.
And since the Hua Xia Sect had just annihilated the Qingcheng Gang, the Star Sect would definitely send people to demand an explanation; rather than enduring humiliation, it would be better to kidnap Zhou Qianqian.
If they dared to act recklessly, he would tear up the ticket!
Having sorted out his thoughts, Chu Huaian waved his hand, throwing all the Star Sect disciples out.
"Everyone aboard the flying ship, back to the Sect!"
"Yay, we're going home!"
"Xian Ge, can we borrow this flying ship to study for two days?"
"Xian Ge, that girl is crying again..."
"Xian Ge, can we have that ring back..."
Everyone chattered excitedly as they boarded the flying ship, Chu Huaian was getting a headache from the noise, so he quickly hid inside the cabin and piloted the flying ship towards the Hua Xia Sect.
Along the way, everyone stood excitedly on the deck, overlooking the vast landscape below.
"It's so beautiful..." Huo Sichun said with emotion.
"One day, I will roam the heavens and earth, and become the most unrestrained Sword Immortal!" Lin Ye stretched out his hand and shouted with soaring ambition.
"I, Fang Yuan, will definitely become a Demonic Cultivator feared throughout the entire cultivation world!"
"I, Ye Wuyai, will one day cut down the Heavenly Gate with my sword and explore the demeanor of an immortal!"
"I, Qin Hao, only seek immortality!"
"I, Qin Zhenhua, am a man destined to become an Immortal Venerable!"
...
Everyone shouted freely on the deck, letting out all their emotions.
Zhao Shijie's lips curved into a faint smile, and a hint of envy flashed in his eyes.
His life would soon wither.
In the corner, Zhou Qianqian stared blankly at this group of people.
Each person harbored dreams in their hearts, dreams that were distant and seemingly unattainable, making them sound laughable.
But she couldn't bring herself to laugh, because she felt the emotions of this group of people, those were heartfelt and grand declarations.
"What kind of sect is the Hua Xia Sect, after all?" Zhou Qianqian huddled, muttering to herself.
The hundred-kilometer journey took less than ten minutes, and everyone had already arrived at the Hua Xia Sect.
Boom—
The flying ship slowly descended, landing on the open ground of the Sect.
Jiang Xiaoxiao immediately ran over, curiously looking around.
Luo Xi stood at the entrance of the Library Pavilion, waving towards everyone.
"Sister Luo Xi, I've missed you so much, come here for a hug..."
Fang Yuan jumped off the flying ship, opening his arms and running towards Luo Xi.
Bang—
Before he could even get close to the Library Pavilion, he was blasted away by a lotus flower, his whereabouts unknown.
"Xiao Xiao, I'm back." Chen Shaocong immediately ran to Jiang Xiaoxiao, but was met with a roll of her eyes.
"Senior Sister, hug..."
Huo Sichun smiled and opened her arms, pulling Jiang Xiaoxiao into a hug, spinning a few times, then throwing her out.
"Hehehe..." Huo Sichun laughed with her hands on her hips.
Jiang Xiaoxiao steadied herself, glaring playfully at Huo Sichun.
Zhou Qianqian, standing on the deck, looked at the laughing crowd, a hint of envy flashing in her eyes.
This was the first time she had seen such a harmonious sect.
What surprised her even more was that although this sect seemed a bit simple, the spiritual energy contained within was even richer than that of the Star Sect.
And those rows of unique houses, they were so beautiful...
Chu Huaian did not restrict Zhou Qianqian's freedom, he even helped her unlock the seal.
But before he left, he instructed Huo Sichun and Jiang Xiaoxiao to take good care of Zhou Qianqian, with the only requirement being that she must not leave the Hua Xia Sect.
It was from this moment on that Zhou Qianqian's life completely changed...