126: Chapter 126 He really is a big shot.

These "big fish" are definitely key targets, so naturally, they won't be playing hide-and-seek like ordinary Disciples.

However, just as he was stroking his chin and pondering.

Suddenly, he saw an afterimage flash through the dense ancient forest in front of him, followed immediately by three Profound Rank Top-Grade Battle Puppets rumbling in pursuit.

"I'm rich!"

Judging by their auras, those three Profound Rank Top-Grade Battle Puppets and the fleeing figure were undoubtedly all Core Disciples!

Chun Xiaobai's eyes lit up immediately, and he followed silently.

Rumble!

The fleeing figure ahead seemed to have reached the end of their rope; they suddenly turned around, whipped out a stack of yellow Talismans, and slammed them fiercely at the three pursuing Battle Puppets!

Accompanied by a series of deafening explosions, blinding firelight burst forth upon the three Battle Puppets.

The terrifying energy shockwave directly cracked the armor of one of the Battle Puppets, causing the runes engraved on it to flicker, and its movements became sluggish.

"Hiss!" "Third-grade Explosive Talisman!" "Damn, this guy is truly a rich man!"

Chun Xiaobai immediately locked onto the wobbly Battle Puppet.

This Battle Puppet had clearly had its core Formation damaged by the third-grade Talisman, causing issues with its mobility.

"I'll start with you!"

Chun Xiaobai activated Heaven-Treading Step, his figure ghost-like as he closed in. With Sky-Tearing Hand, he ripped open the crown, dove inside, and used Heaven-Sealing Finger to Seal the acupoints—the entire process was completed in one smooth motion!

Afterward, he took aim at another Battle Puppet that was preparing to Seal off the escape route of the figure ahead and flashed toward it.

His actions were spotted by the fleeing Core Disciple.

The Disciple was overjoyed and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Junior Brother! Take down these three Battle Puppets, and I, Lu Yunfei, will give you top credit! I will definitely ask the Alliance envoy to reward you!"

"Hmm? Lu Yunfei?!"

Chun Xiaobai, mid-dash, paused abruptly upon hearing the name, then grinned from ear to ear.

"I'm rich! I've run into a big fish!"

But he didn't rush to act; after immobilizing the Core Disciple inside the current Battle Puppet, he aimed for the last one.

The Disciple inside the third Battle Puppet saw that things were going south and immediately controlled the Battle Puppet to turn and run.

Unfortunately, his movements were still a bit slow.

Chun Xiaobai used Shrinking Ground to an Inch, flashed onto its crown, completed his practiced routine, then climbed back out and dusted off his hands.

By now, Lu Yunfei finally saw the "savior" who had suddenly appeared.

He was wearing a tight-fitting night-suit and a black hood that revealed only his eyes; his shifty gaze looked suspicious at first glance.

Lu Yunfei was stunned for a few seconds, then cleared his throat and, feigning composure, gave Chun Xiaobai a thumbs-up.

"So it is a Senior Brother from the Black Cloud Sect, not bad, not bad."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he grabbed a handful of Speed Talismans from his robes, intending to stick them onto his legs.

However, before he could take a step, he suddenly found his body stiffening, and his vision plunged into darkness.

"Done!"

Chun Xiaobai withdrew his Heaven-Sealing Finger, chuckled, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and casually threw him into the cockpit of one of the Battle Puppets.

Afterward, he gathered up the unlucky fellows from the other two Battle Puppets and tossed them in as well.

Only then did he pilot the top-grade Battle Puppet, which was slightly crippled from the Talisman explosion, and wobbled forward.

Chun Xiaobai didn't rush to dive deeper into the battlefield; instead, he prepared to deal with the fat fish he had just caught.

Because these Core Disciples were worth more the further in one went.

"Why?"

Because those who could survive until the end were the strongest, and naturally, the wealthiest.

This trial war was, to put it plainly, big fish eating small fish, small fish eating shrimp; those who survived in the end were all plump, well-fed big-headed fish!

And big-headed fish, naturally, were the fattest fish.

Chun Xiaobai piloted the "crippled" Profound Rank Top-Grade Battle Puppet, slowly making his way back toward their base.

He hadn't expected his luck to be this good.

On the way, he actually encountered three more dying Core Disciples and five top-grade Battle Puppets searching for Alliance Disciples.

Sticking to the principle that a thief never returns empty-handed, he naturally took them all.

When he returned to the cave, the previous hostages had already been stripped clean by Fang Yuan and Xiao Zhang, but all the loot was in the hands of Bai Jiner, the housekeeper.

Seventeen people, seventeen Storage Rings looted.

"Storage Ring?"

Chun Xiaobai handed the newly caught fat fish to Fang Yuan and took the seventeen Storage Rings Bai Jiner handed him, but after fiddling with them for a long time, he found he couldn't open them at all.

"Great King, these Storage Rings have Divine Sense imprints; they need to be removed by the owners before they can be opened. If you force them open, the contents will collapse into the dimensional void and be lost."

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, Chun Xiaobai's face darkened on the spot.

These Core Disciples were not like those weak ordinary Disciples; to get them to unlock their treasures, he had to first break their Seals.

No one knew what skills these guys had up their sleeves.

The most critical thing was that these Core Disciples all had life-saving marks; once they activated them, they would inevitably be tracked by those Elders.

"Doesn't that mean these things can't be opened right now?"

Seeing his crestfallen expression, Bai Jiner quickly comforted him: "Great King, actually... there is another way."

"What way?" Chun Xiaobai grabbed Bai Jiner's shoulders and asked eagerly.

Bai Jiner's pretty face flushed, but she didn't dodge, letting him hold her as she explained slowly.

"I heard there is a secret technique; as long as one masters it and their cultivation is one full Realm higher than the owner of the Divine Sense imprint, one can forcibly refine it without damaging the space inside the Storage Ring."

"What?!"

Chun Xiaobai was dumbfounded. One full Realm higher than them?

Doesn't that mean he has to Cultivate to the Golden Core Stage?

But the problem was, with his body that was like a gold-swallowing beast, he couldn't open these Storage Rings, couldn't get the Spirit Stone resources inside, so what would he use to reach the Golden Core Stage?

Wasn't this a catch-22?

"Damn it! No, no!" Chun Xiaobai clawed at his forehead, his face dark as he asked, "Besides this, is there any other way?"

Fang Yuan also walked over and shook his head, saying: "Great King, there isn't."

"A Storage Ring and a Storage Pouch are completely different concepts."

"Storage Rings are crafted using extremely rare Void Stones, with spatial Formations engraved by an Artifact Refining Great Master. Their value lies in their anti-theft properties and stability, far surpassing any Storage Pouch."

"Damn it, doesn't that mean all our hard work was for nothing?!"