“Boom!”
A huge roar sounded, followed by a rolling wave of hot Qi, which knocked over all four remaining people, including the Disciple at Qi Refining Peak.
When they opened their eyes again, they could only see the burning forest, the terrifying cracks on the ground, and the shattered body of the tiger Yao Beast.
The tiger Yao Beast, which had been so aggressive just now, now had only a small part of its body left, its head completely gone, blood and flesh splattered everywhere, and several limb fragments flew dozens of meters away.
The remaining corpse was slowly burning, its fur covered in scorch marks.
“It’s Grand Elder!”
The Disciple at Qi Refining Peak exclaimed, then searched around.
Among the Qingfeng Sect’s Elders in charge, only Grand Elder was from the Fire Phoenix Sect, and only he was skilled in fire-attribute spell arts.
To instantly kill a third-grade Yao Beast, this was something only someone at Spirit Nurturing Late Stage could do, not to mention Grand Elder, who was already at the Soul Transformation Stage.
The remaining few people, hearing this, also reacted one after another, searching for Grand Elder’s figure, momentarily forgetting their two companions who had just fallen.
However, unfortunately, they saw nothing; they didn't even know where Grand Elder had made his move from, and Grand Elder seemed to have left after making his move, not even inquiring about their condition.
As for the two Disciples who had fallen, they were now sitting on the ground, panting heavily, feeling as if they had survived a catastrophe.
Just now, they truly thought they were going to die.
If Grand Elder hadn't intervened, they would certainly have perished here.
The two embraced each other, both feeling relief in the other's breath.
These two were Dao Companions, and the remaining few people were also aware of this. This was why the male Disciple, even though he hadn't run far himself, was willing to help.
“Something’s not right…” one of them suddenly murmured, “Why would Grand Elder appear here?”
The others also had this doubt.
Even if he had detected a powerful Yao Beast threatening the Qingfeng Sect Disciples, he shouldn't have arrived so early.
They hadn't even entered the inner area yet.
“Wait, that person who ran away just now, why do I feel a bit familiar?”
Another person stroked his chin, recalling carefully. After a while, he snapped his fingers.
“I remember now, didn’t we meet the Sect Leader before entering the mountain? He should also be in the mountain now, don’t you think that figure just now looked a lot like him?”
The remaining few nodded thoughtfully.
“It seems so.”
“So, Grand Elder appearing here wasn’t a coincidence at all?”
The few looked at each other, feeling as if they had found the answer.
No wonder Grand Elder didn't even bother to show up, leaving directly.
Presumably, he went to protect that Junior Brother named An Chen.
“We, this can be considered basking in the glory of that little Junior Brother.”
The Disciple at Qi Refining Peak gave a bitter smile, then shook his hand.
“Alright, everyone, take a break. Heal your injuries if you have any, rest if you’re tired, replenish your Qi if you’re low. I don’t want to stay in this forest any longer. Let’s try to return to the Sect tonight and sleep in our own beds!”
Meanwhile, An Chen didn't know what was happening behind him. Although the people behind him were gone, and neither humans nor Yao Beasts had caught up, An Chen still dared not stop, fearing that he would be caught by that third-grade Yao Beast.
As a mere Cultivation level four, encountering such a Yao Beast would only result in him being trampled into meat paste.
An Chen dared not gamble and could only keep running. Yao Beasts were tall and had long legs, and An Chen worried that if he stopped, the Yao Beast would catch up in a few seconds.
Even after reaching the inner area, An Chen did not stop.
Running all the way back to the Sect was the safest option.
An Chen knew that someone was definitely following to protect him, perhaps Grand Elder, but what if Grand Elder was slow to act?
He kept running and running until his Qi was almost depleted, then An Chen stopped to rest for a while.
“You brat, you can really run!”
As An Chen was panting, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind him.
“Grand Elder.”
Before even fully turning around, An Chen had already bowed.
“You’ve already learned Qingyun Step? You seem quite proficient.”
“Yes, Sect Leader personally taught me for a long time that day, and that’s how I learned.”
Actually, he wasn't taught much; it was mainly An Chen practicing on his own.
But flattering the Sect Leader wouldn't hurt.
“Hey.” Grand Elder suddenly leaned in a bit and said, “Did that guy really kick you down?”
An Chen’s mouth twitched.
“Yes…”
Grand Elder clicked his tongue, raised a hand, and summoned a fiery red big bird.
“Let’s go. Don’t run anymore. I’ll take you flying back to the Sect.”
“Thank you, Grand Elder… But there were also several Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters being chased by that Yao Beast just now, I wonder if they…”
“Don’t worry, I dealt with the Yao Beast, they’re fine! You brat, you’re quite kind-hearted!”
Grand Elder pulled An Chen onto the bird’s back.
Actually, he could have stopped An Chen much earlier, telling him to stop running.
But he wanted to see how An Chen’s current abilities were.
To his surprise, An Chen’s Qingyun Step was almost perfect; he had run so far without making any mistakes, thus running both fast and far.
Grand Elder took An Chen back to the Sect. At An Chen’s request, Grand Elder dropped him off at the entrance of the Hanging Reward Hall.
At this time, many Disciples who had completed their tasks came to the Hanging Reward Hall to collect their rewards. Seeing Grand Elder bring An Chen back, they all stopped to watch.
However, after Grand Elder dropped him off, he rode his bird away, heading back to his Immortal Cave. As for An Chen, he walked into the Hanging Reward Hall on his own.
“Junior Brother, how was your harvest?”
The Disciple at the counter was the same one from when An Chen took the task. Seeing An Chen return, he asked with a smile.
An Chen didn’t say much, silently taking out Xuan Yin Flower, seven star grass, and other spiritual plants from his qiankun bag, piling them on the counter.
The things he collected weren’t particularly precious, but the main advantage was the large quantity.
Looking at the items An Chen took out one by one, the Disciple’s mouth slightly opened.
It was very difficult for a newcomer to have such a harvest.
When An Chen took out the Scarlet-Eyed Snake’s corpse and inner core, he was completely dumbfounded.
This little Junior Brother actually killed a Yao Beast???
Was this something a newly initiated Disciple would do?
He still remembered that the first time he hunted a Yao Beast, he was at Qi Refining Stage five, and he hunted a first-grade Yao Beast with a team.
That was several months after he had joined the Sect.