Upon the rugged cliff face stood an iron tree.
Amidst the tangled vines and foliage clinging to it, a lurid, sinister blossom seemed to bloom.
Looking closely, however, it was no flower at all, but the flickering tongue of a colossal python.
"Black King, well done!"
Hearing Luo Chen's praise, Black King hissed softly twice, sounding quite pleased with itself.
Indeed, the Black-Gold Viper that had seemingly swallowed Luo Chen was actually an illusion created through Black King's shapeshifting.
Luo Chen had never been stingy toward the two demons at his side.
Whether magic treasures, medicinal pills, or practical spells, he imparted them freely.
The Breath Concealment Spiritual Art, which Luo Chen had relied on most frequently in his early days, had been taught to Black King and Tianxuan long ago.
Though their progress differed, Black King had shown astonishing talent in this regard!
Perhaps related to its awakened innate demonic art—the Devouring divine ability—Black King had long since cultivated the technique to a level comparable to Luo Chen's early Great Perfection. It possessed the wondrous ability to conceal its breath, hide its form, and borrow external matter to disguise its qi.
This was why Luo Chen had dared to send Black King alone to scout Purple Spirit Island back then.
Not only was Black King stronger than Tianxuan, but it was also far better at restraining its aura and camouflaging itself.
This time, Black King had kept its breath-restraining art constantly active while scouting this realm in advance.
Upon discovering the group of Tier 3 vipers, it had followed Luo Chen's orders, carefully gathering their aura to disguise itself as a Black-Gold Viper and blending into the brood.
It was just like when Luo Chen had disguised himself as a demon wolf to explore the Howling Moon Mountain Range years ago.
Moreover, Black King was serpentine by nature, giving it an innate advantage.
With that advantage, the subsequent scheme had been simple.
The moment Cave Master Moyun's itchy fingers got the better of him, Black King had stirred the Black-Gold Viper brood into a full-scale assault, driving the trio off course and directly into the territory presided over by the Tier 4 exotic beast, the Nine Yang Golden Eagle.
Yet Luo Chen's preparations clearly did not end there.
"Tianxuan, are you alright?"
From the spirit beast pouch came Tianxuan's soft cough.
"That golden eagle is demonic yet not quite a demon, nor does it resemble a wild beast, but it is extraordinarily formidable. Fortunately, I have cultivated the Ninety Thousand Li technique Master taught me to Great Accomplishment over the years. Otherwise, I might not have lasted until you all arrived."
"You have worked hard." After comforting her, Luo Chen asked again, "Can you still fight in the battle ahead?"
"I can!"
Receiving a clear answer, Luo Chen smiled with satisfaction.
It might seem somewhat callous, but exploring an ancient cultivator's ruins was fraught with mortal peril; Luo Chen had to mobilize every bit of power at his disposal.
To that end, he would not hesitate even if sacrifices had to be made.
Having confirmed the state of his two demons, Luo Chen turned his full attention toward his two companions locked in heated combat.
Confronting the Tier 4 golden eagle, Ding Yi and Cave Master Moyun were displaying their respective abilities.
First to catch his eye was Cave Master Moyun.
The man's sheer variety of methods was staggering.
Golden silk nets, razor-sharp flying swords, explosive single-use beads hurled one after another, along with countless banners, spears, and halberds.
While their rank might not be exceptionally high, their sheer volume was immense, and Moyun's relentless barrage repeatedly hindered the golden eagle's onslaught.
Luo Chen watched, dazzled and even astonished.
"Is Cave Master Moyun's magic power truly so vast? To think he can control so many magic treasures!"
Even if he was not controlling them simultaneously, wielding each of them with such proficiency was still shocking.
For that meant every single treasure had undergone a considerable period of refinement.
Furthermore, achieving such a feat required an exceptionally profound soul foundation.
In just a short time, Cave Master Moyun had unleashed seven or eight magic treasures against the golden eagle without showing any sign of flagging.
Han Zhan's voice sounded. "He likely hasn't refined every single one of those treasures. After all, even we Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn't waste so much magic power refining myriad treasures."
Luo Chen was puzzled. "Then how do you explain how he can manipulate so many treasures with a seemingly inexhaustible supply?"
Han Zhan pondered for a moment. "I have heard that Tianfan City once possessed an array called the Myriad Treasures Formation. It allows one to refine multiple magic treasures using a single portion of magic power, and at its pinnacle, it can supposedly bring hundreds or thousands of treasures under one's control. Such a technique is especially suited to wealthy individuals."
"Refining multiple magic treasures—even hundreds or thousands—with a single portion of magic power?" Luo Chen's eyelids twitched violently. Could such a wondrous formation truly exist in this world?
Over the years, he had acquired many powerful magic treasures. Constrained by his magic power, divine soul, and lack of energy to refine them, yet reluctant to sell them off, he had been forced to leave them shelved.
If he could master such a formation, wouldn't that mean...
For a moment, his heart stirred with temptation.
Han Zhan seemed to sense Luo Chen's longing and chuckled softly. "Banish the thought. Such a wondrous formation naturally comes with severe limitations."
"Oh?"
"First, anyone practicing this array must possess an exhaustive understanding of the magic treasures to be refined; ideally, they should be crafted with one's own hands. Second, once incorporated into the array, all treasures lose any opportunity for future advancement, and their innate might cannot be fully brought to bear."
Just hearing those two drawbacks made Luo Chen frown.
And upon hearing the third, Luo Chen dismissed the idea entirely.
"Finally, the Myriad Treasures Formation must be maintained continuously, and the magic power it consumes is by no means trivial. That Cave Master Moyun is well advanced in years yet still stuck at the seventh layer of the Golden Core realm; that may very well be the toll of maintaining this array over the long term."
Luo Chen sighed with a hint of regret.
Among the hundred arts of cultivation, anyone who attained true mastery in a craft was bound to have extraordinary talents.
Though he practiced weapon refinement as a secondary art, he certainly would not devote all his energy to it. The Myriad Treasures Formation was simply not meant for him.
After observing Cave Master Moyun a bit longer, Luo Chen shifted his attention to Ding Yi.
That style of prioritizing quantity over quality had no glaring weaknesses, but it also offered no clear strengths; it was not a path he would choose.
Yet Ding Yi's excessively monotonous combat style also made him frown.
From start to finish, Ding Yi had not invoked any other magic treasure, relying solely on that yellow gourd spitting golden sand.
Admittedly, the yellow gourd was of fine quality, at least a mid-grade or top-grade superior magic treasure.
Yet Ding Yi stood at the lofty ninth layer of the Golden Core realm and had roamed the cultivation world for centuries; how could he possibly possess only this meager repertoire?
"Is it that he doesn't want to, or that he can't?"
Luo Chen murmured to himself, eyes narrowing slightly as though trying to see right through Ding Yi!
It was Han Zhan who, after observing for a while, let out a soft sound of surprise.
"Luo Chen, have you noticed that ever since entering these so-called Thousand-Fathom Mountains, the creatures we've encountered have been rather bizarre?"
Luo Chen hummed in affirmation. "Of course they are strange. If they are demonic beasts, they possess no keen intelligence. Yet if they are wild beasts, they lack that immense physical constitution. Earlier, Ding Yi mentioned that these ruins are called the Demonfall Land, so I tried associating these exotic beasts with the rumored demon beasts, but they exhibit not the slightest trace of demonic qi."
Finally, thoroughly baffled, Luo Chen concluded, "Creatures like this—demonic yet not demonic, wild yet not wild, and not even demon beasts—I have never seen the like in my life."
"No!"
A decisive voice echoed.
"You may very well have seen them!"
Luo Chen was taken aback. "I have?"
Han Zhan said with a somber tone, "Both you and I should have seen them."
Luo Chen was bewildered. Keeping one eye on the colossal golden eagle wreaking havoc among the peaks, he frantically searched his memories for something similar.
Gradually, a familiar sensation actually began to surface.
He hesitated. "My second primal core... the Hidden Dust Sand?"
"Precisely!"
Now that Han Zhan had voiced this conjecture, he sounded all the more certain.
"Indeed! If I am not mistaken, the exotic beasts we have seen all along the way are wood and stone spirits, spirits of heaven and earth—just like the Hidden Dust Sand!"
These so-called spirits of wood and stone, spirits of heaven and earth, were a rare and bizarre kind of being.
Born without souls or bodies of flesh and blood, they were stubborn stones, flowers and trees, or perhaps mountain streams, burning flames, or gentle breezes.
Through the passage of time and the infusion of spiritual energy, they eventually developed sentience, giving rise to beings resembling demonic beasts.
To distinguish them from demonic beasts with flesh and blood, cultivators called them spirits, monsters, and ethereal souls.
For instance, the second primal core in Luo Chen's qi sea had originally been a pearl spirit evolved from a pearl in the sea.
Upon death, it reverted to its true form: an enormous pearl.
Comparing this to the exotic beasts in the Thousand-Fathom Mountains... the Golden Melon Mosquitoes were actually Golden Melon Pebbles; the Iron-Grinding Black Ants were Iron-Grinding Ash; the Clear Deer were Clear Light Sand...
Luo Chen swallowed hard and looked toward the golden eagle.
"Then is this Nine Yang Golden Eagle essentially Nine Yang Gengjin?"
"That should be right. You heard that junior earlier—this beast craves solar fire qi and feeds on gengjin ore veins. And so-called Nine Yang Gengjin is itself a mutation of gengjin, earning the name 'Nine Yang' from absorbing massive amounts of solar fire qi."
Having received Han Zhan's confirmation, Luo Chen felt a chilling dread seize his entire body despite his sudden clarity.
A wave of cold rose straight to the crown of his head.
Across the tens of thousands of li of the Thousand-Fathom Mountains lay over a thousand kinds of mineral veins. If every mineral vein had a corresponding exotic beast guarding it, wouldn't that mean these mountains harbored over a thousand varieties of spirits!
Moreover, they were not limited to just one or two individuals; they likely appeared in swarms.
"You've got to be joking... How could so many different races of spirits be gathered in a single place?" Luo Chen's scalp tingled, reluctant to accept reality.
Han Zhan fell silent as well.
Right at that moment, the battle outside reached a fever pitch.
The battlefield of the two men and the eagle had shifted across several locations.
Slithering with its massive body, Black King followed along within a manageable distance.
Boom!
With a deafening crash, the Nine Yang Golden Eagle flapped its wings, blasting aside the boundless golden sand.
The sand, which had previously proved unstoppable, posed no threat whatsoever to the golden eagle.
With a shrill screech, the golden eagle dove straight toward Cave Master Moyun.
It was blazingly fast, darting like an arrow shot from a bow.
Cave Master Moyun waved his hands repeatedly, sending several flying swords to block its path, but to no avail.
Seeing this, he gritted his teeth and slapped the back of his head.
Opening his mouth, he spat out a miniature furnace.
Suspended in midair, the miniature furnace swelled with the wind.
Not only that, but vast quantities of white flames surged from its mouth.
The moment the white flames appeared, the void itself seemed about to melt.
Clearly, this was a source true fire Cave Master Moyun had refined; it was also thanks to this flame that his weapon refinement craft had reached such heights.
The white flames spread across the void, transforming into flocks of birds that swooped toward the golden eagle.
However!
The Nine Yang Golden Eagle merely opened its beak and inhaled, drawing countless tiny fiery birds straight into its gullet, only bolstering its ferocious aura.
At the sight of this, Cave Master Moyun turned deathly pale.
"It's no good! Even the five elements' mutual restraint can't overcome it!"
Before his words finished, the golden eagle was already upon him.
With a resounding boom, it slammed Cave Master Moyun deep into the unyielding earth.
Had the fire-spitting furnace not shielded him, that single strike might have ended Cave Master Moyun's life then and there.
Up in the sky, Ding Yi, clutching the gourd under his arm and slapping it frantically, experienced a sudden shift in expression.
"Idiot! I already told you it feeds on solar fire qi. Even if it is metallic in nature, how could it fear your White Cloud Vast Flame?"
Right then, the Nine Yang Golden Eagle turned its vicious eyes upon him.
"Damn it!"
Ding Yi took a deep breath, glanced in a certain direction, and then abandoned the yellow gourd without hesitation, clapping his palms together.
"Ignite!"
The next instant, his spherical, bloated body began to tremble violently.
Waves of flesh rolled across his entire frame.
Amidst that tide-like surging, an illusory silhouette slowly drifted forth.
Looking closely, it resembled an umbrella, or perhaps a mushroom.
Once this phantom condensed, Ding Yi's body shrank dramatically, leaving him looking no different from an ordinary man.
Agony contorted his face, yet a flicker of pleasant surprise shone in his eyes.
"This should be enough."
With a thought, the umbrella-shaped silhouette enveloped the massive golden eagle nearby.
"Reveal your true form!"
With a fierce roar, Ding Yi clapped his palms hard.
Whoosh!
The giant umbrella snapped shut in an instant!
With a mournful shriek, the golden eagle plummeted from the sky and crashed into the earth.
When the dust cleared, Cave Master Moyun stared at the millstone-sized golden ore on the ground, completely dumbfounded.
"Nine Yang Gengjin? Such a massive chunk?"
Not only was it huge, but its luster was warm and pale, devoid of any yellow-gold tint—an absolute peak grade!
If this material were forged into an offensive magic treasure, it would create the sharpest weapon under heaven!
His entire body began to tremble with excitement.
"Fellow Daoist Ding, look..."
Cave Master Moyun looked up, only to find that Ding Yi paid no heed to the fallen eagle's true form. Instead, Ding Yi's eyes burned as he stared intently at a certain spot.
His palms remained clasped together, not relaxing in the slightest.
"Demonic Lord Qingyang, get out here!"
A thunderous voice rolled across the land like a tidal wave.
Cave Master Moyun froze. Hadn't Demonic Lord Qingyang already perished in the maw of a snake?
Following Ding Yi's gaze, he looked in that direction as well.
Across the jagged, rocky terrain, a colossal silhouette slithered forward rapidly in a zigzag pattern.
As it moved, its form and appearance shifted continuously.
Black scales, white belly, a single horn, vertical pupils—it was none other than Demonic Lord Qingyang's spirit pet, Black King, which had been reared in the depths of Penghu Lake.
And atop the horned python's head stood a red-robed Daoist, his robes fluttering in the wind.
Facing Ding Yi's insolence, the red-robed Daoist showed neither joy nor sorrow; he simply crooked his fingers and formed an incantation gesture.
An aura akin to heavenly majesty radiated outward from him.
Cave Master Moyun's expression shifted erratically. Rapidly piecing things together, he seemed to understand something.
He hurriedly shouted, "Demonic Lord, we are companions who should be working together! Why turn against each other?"
"Companions?" Luo Chen glanced at him and sneered. "I fear our true companion, Ding Yi, already died back in Liwangtian."
"Isn't that right, Taisui!"
The moment the word 'Taisui' left his lips, Luo Chen soared into the sky, hurtling straight toward Ding Yi.
Cruelty flashed in Ding Yi's eyes as he clapped his hands together.
In midair, the giant umbrella phantom reappeared!
It descended over Luo Chen, preparing to snap shut.
Yet halfway through closing, it was held apart as if by an invisible force.
Ding Yi gritted his teeth, and what little fat remained on his frame began to tremble once more.
As he exerted his power, the invisible force shielding Luo Chen revealed its true form—it was an overwhelming surge of crimson magic power!
"A domain?" Ding Yi's expression changed slightly.
Luo Chen, however, uttered a low cry.
"Come forth!"
In the next instant, the sword casket on his back resonated.
Seven sharp swords flashed like shooting stars, hovering behind him with a resonant hum.
Not only that:
A long banner flew into the sky. Amidst surging black mist, ghost kings emerged one after another, shrouding the surrounding hundred li.
Luo Chen did not strike often, but when he did, he unleashed his full might.
Within the billowing black mist, Luo Chen fully deployed the Senluo Fire Prison.
Behind him, the Seven Fiends Swords hummed, their tips angled upward and pointed straight at Ding Yi, whose face was pale as death.
"Since I, Luo Chen, have come to this Demonfall Land, I will naturally explore it thoroughly. But an inhuman creature like you is someone I simply cannot trust."
"Right here and now, I will eliminate this threat once and for all!"
Chapter 660