Maoqiu was busy and full of energy when Zhang Yiyi suddenly shouted, causing its small body to tremble unconsciously, thinking that they might be facing some great danger.

However, it was clear that it had completely guessed wrong.

"Maoqiu, I seem to have forgotten something important," Zhang Yiyi said, frowning and feeling a bit guilty.

"Squeak! You just forgot a little thing; it's not a big deal. I thought we were about to get into a big fight!" Maoqiu rolled its eyes at Zhang Yiyi, looking displeased.

Seriously, it clearly remembered that apart from itself, there wasn't anything particularly dangerous in this mountain range. When Zhang Yiyi suddenly called out, it thought there might be something wrong with its judgment.

"It's been three days; I actually completely forgot about Zheng He and the others!" Zhang Yiyi's voice grew softer, realizing that she hadn't expected collecting some rare materials would take so long.

It was only when she was about to wrap things up that she recalled Zheng He and the others, wondering how they were doing now. After they entered the lotus pond that day, Maoqiu had directly used a spatial spell to take her away, so she had no clue what had happened to them. But they were all Golden Core cultivators, so a group that large shouldn't have encountered any major issues, right? She just didn't know whether that third one, Zhu Qing, had found them or whether he was alive or dead.

While she was thinking, the communication talisman that Zheng He had left her suddenly moved.

After checking the talisman, Zhang Yiyi dared not delay any longer in the mountains.

"Maoqiu, I received their urgent communication talisman; I need to hurry and find them. You handle the remaining good items here, and once you're done, wait for me by the lotus pond," she instructed before taking off on her sword toward the lotus pond.

Since the two of them had already signed a contract, as long as they were not too far apart, they could sense each other's locations and communicate with their minds, which was more convenient and faster than using communication talismans. Therefore, Zhang Yiyi was not worried about being unable to find Maoqiu after they parted ways.

Maoqiu was fully focused on scavenging rare materials and had no objections, waving its small paw to indicate that Zhang Yiyi should just go and take care of her urgent matters.

Looking back at Maoqiu from her flying sword, its silly and adorable appearance made Zhang Yiyi smile.

Fortunately, Maoqiu had said that adult spatial thunder beasts looked completely different from their cubs; otherwise, she could hardly imagine how ferocious and mighty a beast could be, intimidating everyone around it.

...

On the other side, Zheng He and the others were truly having a hard time, feeling like they were living through years in a single day.

Three days ago, when they went down the lotus pond with Zhang Yiyi, they had just reached the bottom when they realized that Zhang Yiyi had inexplicably disappeared without a trace. Before they could find her, they were suddenly knocked unconscious by a dark current.

When they woke up, they found themselves in a small bamboo house on the opposite side of the lotus pond.

However, had they known that this small bamboo house contained a trace of the divine consciousness left by Jia Fang before his ascension, and that it was indeed the favorite cave of Senior Jia and Senior Chen, Zheng He felt he definitely wouldn't have come to endure this kind of suffering.

Only after witnessing it did they realize that this legendary cultivator was indeed a big pervert, as even the divine consciousness he left behind took pleasure in torturing these intruders.

For the past three days, they, including Zhu Qing, who was knocked here first by the dark current, had not a single uninjured piece of skin on them.

As soon as they caught a breath, they would be driven by Jia Fang's divine consciousness to fight against the two puppet warriors with Nascent Soul power he had left behind, over and over again.

If it were just normal fighting, it wouldn't have been so bad. After all, there were so many of them, and they had quite a few magical treasures in hand. Facing two puppets with Nascent Soul cultivation but no intelligence, they should still have had a fighting chance.

But that shameless Jia Fang had sealed their spiritual power, so as soon as they started fighting, they couldn't use any treasures or spells. They could only rely on their physical bodies to endure the beatings like ordinary mortals.

Indeed, that scene was too tragic; Zheng He didn't dare to recall it too much.

Anyway, whenever they could catch their breath and were exhausted, Jia Fang's divine consciousness would unleash the puppets again, continuing the endless game of tormenting them without mercy.

"Senior, are you sure this is just a test for us?"

After learning that they still had a companion who hadn't entered the small bamboo house, Zheng He was forced by Jia Fang's divine consciousness to send an urgent communication talisman to Zhang Yiyi, who had been left behind three days ago and didn't know where she was.

At this point, he had long regretted it.

What if Jia Fang didn't keep his word? Even if all six of them came together to accompany the two puppets, oh no, it should be more accurate to say that they were just preparing to take a one-sided beating. What if Jia Fang watched them until he was thoroughly entertained and still didn't let them go?

If that happened, the urgent communication talisman he sent wouldn't save them but would instead drag another companion into suffering with them.

"Bullshit! What identity do you think I have that I would lie? If I wanted your lives, do you think you could still be alive now?"

Although Jia Fang was only a trace of divine consciousness left before his ascension, he could communicate with his main body in the upper realm, so he naturally spoke in a commanding tone.

Tsk tsk, a bunch of little brats, came to his and Su Xin's place to snatch their treasures and cause chaos; he was going to teach them a harsh lesson.

If it weren't for Su Xin always telling him to be merciful and not to argue with the younger generation, he would have already sent these little brats to their doom.

However, out of consideration for Su Xin, he could spare them from death, but the living punishment was unavoidable. He wouldn't let the puppet warriors beat them until they couldn't even recognize their parents; otherwise, he wouldn't be called Jia Fang.

"Well then, senior, how long will this test last?"

Before Zheng He could ask again, Zhu Qing, panting and looking miserable, cautiously inquired.

He had arrived the earliest and had taken the most beatings.

Although it seemed like they all had no spiritual power during the fights, his physical fitness was the worst among them, so he naturally received the most severe beatings.

If it weren't for the fact that the two puppets always left them with their lives, he wouldn't know how many times he would have died.

"You talk too much! When the time comes, I will naturally let you go. But I'll remind you again: the premise of leaving is that all your companions must be gathered together!"

Jia Fang snorted and shot Zhu Qing a condescending glance.

Are today's juniors really that pathetic? How did they even manage to cultivate to the Golden Core stage? They were simply asking for a beating.

"Ah, ah, ah! What if our companion has already had an accident? What should we do?"

When Zhu Qing heard this, he was so scared that his soul almost flew away. He couldn't care less about the pain on his body and was on the verge of breaking down.