Tang Li Xue became a bit depressed after she heard Instructor Mei Lan's words.

'Hopefully, it is not another cruel mission like the previous one. Slaying weak women, elderly people, children, and even babies really hurt my conscience so badly. I rather have the fight against the Evil Sects again rather than doing that.' Tang Li Xue prayed sincerely in her heart.

"But before I explain about our next mission... Little Xue, you said that you want to do something like a 'breakthrough in cultivation' or whatever it is. Where and when you want to do it? Do you want us to help you with something? You can say it to us now." Instructor Mei Lan said to Tang Li Xue.

Instructor Mei Lan's sudden change of topic made Tang Li Xue quite surprised.

"Eh? AH! That's right! I almost forget about that… Err... For the time, as soon as possible, of course. As for the place, maybe somewhere remote. I would become rather defenseless later, so I hope all of you can help to protect me at that time." Tang Li Xue said to Instructor Mei Lan and the others.

Yaya was the first to respond to Tang Li Xue and patted her chest to reassure Tang Li Xue as if she was saying: 'You can count on me for this.'

"Nyaaa~!" Little Loki did not do something exaggerating like Yaya. It still sat lazily on Tang Li Xue's shoulder and only patted Tang Li Xue's shoulder with its paw. 

Tang Li Xue giggled softly at them. 

She gently caressed Little Loki's furry head and Yaya's tiny head while thanked them.

"That is not hard. All of you follow me! We will head to the southwest for two hundreds of miles or so from here." Instructor Mei Lan said as she led them toward the southwest.

It did not take long for them to arrive at the place chosen by Instructor Mei Lan.

Tang Li Xue thought it would be the remote forest, but Instructor Mei Lan actually chose the valley near the river.

Even Bing Yi and Hei Yinghao did not get why Instructor Mei Lan chose this place.

Instructor Mei Lan giggled at her students' confused looks and explained: "All of you better do not look down on this valley! Do you all know that this valley is called Death Valley?"

"Death Valley?!" Tang Li Xue and the others exclaimed in surprise since the name of this place was so ominous.

"Yep, Death Valley! Because the underground of this place is filled with poisonous gas, and sometimes that poisonous gas would gush onto the surface. The poisonous gas is also quite dangerous. It is more than enough to kill any Demonic beast or Acupuncture Opening Stage Cultivator in one whiff." Instructor Mei Lan patiently explained to her students.

Tang Li Xue, Bing Yi, and Hei Yinghao immediately raised their guards to the maximum, and they started to look at their surroundings warily.

Instructor Mei Lan laughed at their sudden reaction and said: "You all do not need to worry. Do you remember how my [Sonar] ability works? With my [Sonar] ability, I can easily detect which spot is the safest, or which spot is the most dangerous one here."

Tang Li Xue and the others immediately realized Instructor Mei Lan's [Sonar] ability and sighed in relief.

Instructor Mei Lan led all of her students deeper into the Death Valley while kept using her [Sonar] ability to detect which spot would the poisonous gas gush out and avoid approaching that spot.

Instructor Mei Lan showed Tang Li Xue the safest place at the center of that Death Valley and told Tang Li Xue to do her business there while Instructor Mei Lan herself, Bing Yi, and Hei Yinghao would guard a few hundred meters around her.

Tang Li Xue nodded with a solemn expression at Instructor Mei Lan and sat in the lotus position at the place where Instructor Mei Lan showed to her.

Meanwhile, Yaya and Little Loki already jumped down from the top of Tang Li Xue's head and shoulder, then guarding by her right and left sides closely.

Actually, Tang Li Xue felt really nervous and unwilling to do it here. 

She would rather do it in her room at the Residential Building in the Myriad Foxes Academy than here, but she was afraid that her secret of having Dantian and could cultivate like a human before reaching Spirit Beast Rank would be revealed if she did it in her room.

'Sigh… Oh well, it is not like that I can back down after Instructor Lan brings me here. Let's begin now! Umm… Let's see… It seems I must choose my second Mythical Guardian Beast after Crimson Phoenix…' Tang Li Xue sighed and began to ponder carefully.

In order to breakthrough to Acupuncture Opening Stage, Tang Li Xue had to choose one of the four Mythical Guardian Beasts other than Crimson Phoenix which she already cultivated before.

Tang Li Xue did not have any skills or divine abilities with lightning elemental, so she immediately kicked the Azure Dragon of Lightning Elemental out from her mind for now.

In the end, Tang Li Xue felt really hesitant between the White Tiger of Wind Elemental or the Black Tortoise of Water Elemental.

If she chose the White Tiger, her elemental affinity with wind would boost so greatly. 

Her time in [Divine Possession] mode with Yaya will extend longer, and she would probably also become much stronger in that form.

But if Tang Li Xue chose Black Tortoise, her elemental affinity with water would increase significantly.

The martial arts trained by the user were always tightly related to their martial soul.

From that fact, Tang Li Xue could conclude in certain that Her [Golden Winged Serpent] would certainly grow so much stronger if she cultivated the Black Tortoise part of the [Four Mythical Guardian Beast Art]!

"Black Tortoise will increase my water affinity and my defense, while White Tiger will increase my wind affinity and my speed. Sigh… what a hard choice?!" Tang Li Xue murmured in frustration while rubbed forehead and pondered carefully.

Choosing White Tiger was actually much practical because Tang Li Xue was usually fought in [Divine Possession] mode with Yaya, but she did not want to rely on Yaya too much.

Tang Li Xue gritted her teeth and determined her choice: "Whatever! I must learn all the parts of the [Four Mythical Guardian Beast Art] in the end! Which one I choose first is not really that important! So, I will choose the Black Tortoise first!"

Ding!

[Do you want to comprehend Four Mythical Beast Art (Black Tortoise) with cost 210 Deity Coins? Yes/No]

Tang Li Xue glanced at her current Deity Coins in her window status… 631 Deity Coins left.

She took a deep breath and said in her mind: 'YES!'

After the system reduced the 210 Deity Coins from her window status, Tang Li Xue instantly understood the Black Tortoise part in the [Four Mythical Guardian Beast Art] as if the fog which covered some parts of her mind had been cleared out.

Tang Li Xue took out some mid-tier spirit stones from her space pouch and put them right in front of her.

These mid-tier spirit stones were produced by her own martial soul, the [Golden Winged Serpent], with its [Refining Spirit Energy] unique skill after Little Loki hatched from its egg. Tang Li Xue was slowly saving them up for her next cultivation breakthrough.

"All right! These mid-tier spirit stones should be more than enough, right?! I only consumed less than a tenth of the mid-tier spirit stone when I breakthrough to Qi Condensation Stage after all! Okay, let's begin!" Tang Li Xue murmured as she took one of the mid-tier spirit stones.

Tang Li Xue started to lick the mid-tier spirit stone in her grasp just like before since she was afraid of getting choked to death because the size of each mid-tier spirit stone was even a bit bigger than her fist.

The mid-tier spirit stone melted bit by bits like candy or ice cream, and the steady stream of warm spiritual energy began to flow into Tang Li Xue's body. 

The warm spiritual energy was immediately converted into EXP by Tang Li Xue's system.

[Exp Gained!]

[Exp Gained!]

[Exp Gained!]

…..

Tang Li Xue also started to operate the Black Tortoise part of the [Four Mythical Guardian Beast Art] according to what in her mind.

Just like the Crimson Phoenix part of [Four Mythical Guardian Beast Art] must be cultivated in the very hot place full of fire and Yang element, this Black Tortoise part must be cultivated in a place with so much water like ocean or river.

But just like how the Flame of Pride helped her before, this time her own martial soul, the [Golden Winged Serpent] was the one who helped her!

RRROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRR~!!!

The deafening roar resounded through the entire part of Death Valley as the giant golden-winged serpent summoned out on its own!

Tang Li Xue was still busily operating her cultivation, so she did not have any free time to control her [Golden Winged Serpent], but her martial soul, the majestic [Golden Winged Serpent], already knew what it must do to help its master.

[Summon Rain]!

Drip… Drip… Drip…

The rainwater started to drip from the sky!

It only took a few seconds for the drizzle to turn into heavy rain with the [Golden Winged Serpent]'s unique skill to summon the rain!

The image of the tranquil but steady Black Tortoise began to form in Tang Li Xue's mind when she used the energy from mid-tier spirit stone to cultivate the Black Tortoise part of Four Mythical Guardian Beast Art].

All the rainwater was stopped and floating on the mid-air as the faint groaning sound of tortoise from time to time. 

Tang Li Xue's [Golden Winged Serpent] also started to roar in excitement as if it happily greeted the Black Tortoise.

BBBWOOOOOOSSSHHH~!!!

All the water around Tang Li Xue began to swirling with her as the center!

Not long after that, all the water in Death Valley also began to swirling with Tang Li Xue as the center!

In a few minutes, all of that water formed the transparent figure of Tortoise groaning onto the sky.