Leaving the cave system behind, Meng Lin soared through the sky, her robes billowing against the wind.

She glanced at the map in her hands and flew towards the distant mountains, all her surroundings were unfamiliar but she didn't falter.

The next blue spot was just a few miles away, located at the edge of a waterfall. The waterfall was colossal, falling from a cliff with a rumbling sound.

The large pool below was eerily quiet, similar to the cave system that she had just left behind.

Meng Lin descended onto a large rock that overlooked the waterfall, her eyes scanned the surroundings and she could sense something within her spiritual consciousness.

She closed her eyes and expanded her spiritual consciousness, pushing it outwards in a wave. It was then that she felt it, a crowd of beastly auras hidden within the nearby rocks. There was not one, not two, but thirty-one of these auras, each of them carrying the strength comparable to a rank 2 beast.

Meng Lin didn't waste time, with a swift movement she released an attack from the Hundred Unity Techniques, "Cyclone Palm."

Her palm pushed forward, and a cyclone of compressed spiritual energy exploded from it. The cyclone whirled and expanded, creating a barrier that distorted the air, trapping the hidden beasts within the vortex.

Boom!

In an instant, the cyclone burst outward, tearing apart the crowd of beasts hidden within the rock formation. The cyclone dissipated, leaving behind the torn remains of rock-like beasts that resemble a leopard.

Meng Lin stood on the rock, her eyes cold and focused. She did not pity the beasts.

Rather, she turned her attention back to the waterfall. She could already see the treasure within the waterfall, it was just like the previous treasure, a blue crystallized bead that was embedded within the bedrock of the large pool.

Meng Lin dived into the water, her body surrounded by a shield of spiritual energy. As she swam deeper towards the glowing blue bead, the water around her became colder and the light dimmer.

She could feel a powerful current trying to push her away, but she was unmoved. Her eyes were fixed on the crystallized bead, its blue glow illuminating the dark water around it.

Meng Lin reached out, her hand brushing against the smooth surface of the bead. It was cold, just like the water around her, but it was also pulsating with a powerful energy.

She could feel the energy surge outward as she carefully plucked the bead from its rocky resting place. The bead was heavier than it looked, but Meng Lin held it securely in her hand.

With a quick movement, she stored the bead into her storage ring, alongside the other treasures. That was four out of fourteen treasures found. She still had ten more to go.

Meng Lin looked at the Qiankun Treasure Map once again, her gaze falling on the next blue spot, she propelled herself upwards, breaking the surface of the water and taking in the fresh air.

Once again, she soared into the sky, leaving the waterfall and the pool behind.

Traveling for 10 minutes Meng Lin arrived at her next destination, a barren landscape, a stark contrast to the lush forests and waterfalls she had previously explored.

The barren landscape stretched out in all directions, the horizon was a stark line of desolation and emptiness. It was as if something had contaminated this place, filling it with quietness.

There was nothing that was living here, nothing except for a single colossal tree that towered over the barren landscape.

The tree was massive, its bark was as hard as steel, and it had no branches and stretched out in one direction, reaching the sky like an enormous pillar. The tree was so tall that its top was hidden amongst the clouds, making it impossible to see the peak.

However, it was not the tree that caught Meng Lin’s attention. It was the five individuals perched at the very top of the tree.

They had wings folded neatly at their backs, sharp talons replaced typical hands and feet, and their faces, while mostly human, were adorned with beaks and intense, raptor-like eyes like a crocodile. They all released the aura of a rank 3 beast with two of them at the peak stage.

“Ancient beasts” Meng Lin uttered, thinking back to her encounter with a half-rank 3 ancient beast that had a human form, the Lighting Tiger from the Ancient Spirit Beast Pagoda.

Her eyes narrowed as she wondered what to do, she wasn’t sure of the strength of these beasts but they should not be able to harm her if she entered the brute qi state.

Kree!!

A shrill woke her up from her thoughts as one of the hybrids, the smallest of the five, at the late stage unfolded its wings.

Woop!

It swooped down from the sky, faster than a falling meteor and its claws outstretched with its eyes filled with arrogance and contempt.

It was hundreds of meters away but it was closing in fast. Meng Lin, however, did not panic, rather she looked toward the other four beasts, one of them was looking at her and the others were completely ignoring her presence, instead gazing at something within the tall tree, as if waiting for something.

Meng Lin felt a little annoyance at the thought of lowly beasts ignoring her presence, but she knew she had to focus on the immediate task.

“Mirror reflection”

She unleashed all her spiritual energy, which exploded outwards in a tidal wave, forming a translucent shield within the 20-meter radius surrounding her.

The human hybrid flying beast did not stop as even though they were dozens of meters high it did not fear the shield and continued its dive with a piercing screech.

A few seconds and It arrived before the 20-meter mark, colliding with the spiritual energy in a single rush.

Peng!!

A shockwave formed as the beast found its momentum completely broken. It bounced back from the recoil and Meng Lin also wobbled back a step, “wow” she couldn’t help but exclaim, not in her defense but in the strength of this creature.

One had to know that she had gotten way stronger than when she first broke through to the middle stage of the Gold Core Realm, she was confident in winning against those of a higher stage just with her normal qi alone.

Yet even after using a technique, she was still forced to use up 10% of her gold Qi reserve just to stabilize the impact and was not able to even reflect it, and this beast was probably the weakest of the five.

Kree-Aaar!!!

From the human hybrid, a chilling shrill was let out as its body glowed before bursting into a splendor of orange light.

When the light subsided, in the place of the humanoid hybrid stood a majestic griffin, its body 5 meters tall, Its feathered wings flapped powerfully in the wind, its sharp talons and beak glowed with a powerful heatwave and it let out another shilling"Kree-Aaar,"

its powerful voice echoing through the barren landscape, with an almost tangible intensity to it - a blend of an eagle's shriek and a lion's roar, it drew the attention of one other griffin while the other three stayed the same.

“Heh…”

Despite the impressive transformation, Meng Lin remained calm, letting out a chuckle at the display before her.

The griffin, noticing Meng Lin’s laugh, began to spread its massive wings. Its talons, once ordinary and bird-like, ignited with an intense, searing flame. The fire enveloped its claw entirely, casting an ominous glow over the area.

With a powerful beat of its wings, the griffin launched itself at Meng Lin, its flaming claw outstretched.

Its speed seemed to have been doubled as the moment it beat its wings, it was already upon Meng Lin, who felt the air itself ripple with the heat of its attack.

However, Meng Lin was long prepared as she raised her hand and pointed a finger at the griffin, invoking the last and most devastating technique from the Hundred Unity Techniques, "Heaven’s Punishment."

From her fingertips, a threatening aura spread across the sky as a bolt of energy, crackling with immense power, emerged from her fingertip, targeting the transformed griffin.

The dark barren landscape around them illuminated with an even bigger blinding light as the bolt of energy spurt out and made contact with the flaming claw.

Rumbling!!!

The two forces clashed in mid-air, creating an explosion of energy that ripped through the immediate surroundings.

Kree!

A painful shrill came out of the griffin's beak as its claws ripped apart, Meng Lin's bolt of energy tore through the griffin's flaming claw before heading straight towards its head.

Reacting quickly, the griffin disappeared and appeared a few hundred meters away with its talon a mangle of blood and flesh.

Meng Lin’s eyes narrowed as she didn’t even notice how the griffin disappeared and reappeared, it was instantaneous, which leds her to assume that it was a teleportation ability.

The griffin's once majestic form was now marred by the bloody ruin of its talon, but its eyes still glowed with an intense, fiery determination. It let out a low growl, its wings flaring open as it prepared to launch another attack.

In contrast, Meng Lin was the picture of serenity, her gaze steady and cold. She watched as the griffin began to glow once again, this time the fiery light enveloping its entire body.

Spurt!!

All of a sudden, from the glowing body of the griffin, blood splashed out as its once mighty chest was hollowed with a gaping hole.

Meng Lin was unsurprised at the sight as she spoke in a cold voice “My attack hadn’t finished yet”