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The demonic flood dragons had manifested. The four holding the black dragon talismans felt the demonic energy radiating from the black flood dragons and were thoroughly astonished and shocked. Demonic energy of this kind was exceedingly rare in the world; though small in quantity, it was pure to the extreme, comparable to ancient demonic energy. One could only wonder what manner of expert was capable of sealing demonic energy into spirit talismans. Among the demonic cultivators they had encountered before, none had possessed demonic energy so pure. As the black flood dragons coiled before them, they even had the illusion that they were about to be corrupted by the demonic energy. Secretly alarmed, the Liu couple and the others dared not hesitate. They hurriedly followed Xiang Yi's instructions, urging the black flood dragons to pounce toward the iron chains before them. "Roar!" The black flood dragons roared wildly. Tension written across their faces, the Liu couple and the others struggled mightily just to restrain the beasts. *Boom!* Almost simultaneously, the four black flood dragons lunged at the iron chains. *Clatter, clatter...* The iron chains shook violently as the black flood dragons threw their entire bodies forward, coiling tightly around the chains while surging demonic energy billowed from their bodies to engulf them. The flood dragons' true forms were, in truth, composed purely of demonic energy. The iron chains had originally overflowed with heavenly thunder, turning into lightning chains, but now they were submerged in demonic energy. From the outside, only demonic energy was visible, with flickers of silver light flashing from within from time to time. Yet as the demonic energy grew heavier and denser, not even the heavenly thunder could burst forth. This completely enraged the restrictions upon the iron chains. The chains vibrated madly as lightning flashed and thunder roared. *Rumble!* In an instant, everyone's ears buzzed; they could hear nothing but earth-shattering thunderclaps. The demonic energy began to show signs of instability, bulging outward in relentless surges, clearly caused by the restrictions on the iron chains. The heavenly thunder had erupted, yet for the moment it could not pierce through the demonic energy, held firmly imprisoned inside. These four black flood dragon talismans had truly suppressed the restrictions on the iron chains! Yet it was blatantly obvious that such containment could not last. Under the battering of the heavenly thunder, the demonic energy depleted at an astonishing rate, thinning out rapidly and soon to be completely exhausted. Xiang Yi glanced at the lightning chains. Seeing this, an anxious look crept into his expression. He whispered something to the fat man in luxurious robes, and the two suddenly poured their power forth together. The jade cone struck the ancient divine platform's restriction, screeching with a tooth-grating whine. Black light clashed against golden rays, neither yielding to the other in a deadlocked struggle. With Xiang Yi and the fat man in luxurious robes exerting all their strength, the jade cone abruptly spun at high speed. The black light converged toward the center, focusing all its force on a single point of the golden light. As the jade cone shifted, ripples continuously coursed through the golden light, and its brilliance began to dim. Xiang Yi thought to himself that this was his chance. His tiger eyes widened in a glare, and he bellowed, "Break!" *Crack!* The jade cone suddenly exploded, and the remnant black light stabbed in completely like sharp swords. The golden light fractured in response, finally tearing open a gaping hole. Delight flashed across Xiang Yi's face. Daring not delay, he pushed off the ground with force, flickering into view directly in front of the golden light. The golden light writhed as the ancient restriction was already automatically mending itself. Looking through the golden light, the full view of the ancient divine platform inside was visible. Sure enough, the golden light was merely the manifestation of the ancient restriction. The divine platform itself was exceedingly plain, built from simple stacked stones without so much as an engraved mark upon them. Though the ancient restriction was breached, its damaged portions still held extraordinary might. Xiang Yi knew full well that their ability to break through was not because of their own great strength, but thanks to these strange spirit talismans. With a shuddering heart, Xiang Yi steeled his resolve and charged inside. Outside the ancient divine platform, everyone watched Xiang Yi's actions with bated breath. Once the mission was completed, they could get away. Because Cultivator Pan had turned traitor, they had lost some time, but fortunately the mission had proven rather straightforward, so they hadn't actually spent much time and still had plenty to spare. After charging in, Xiang Yi stepped onto the first tier of the divine platform's steps. The four iron chains shook even more violently. Heavenly thunder fell like rain, and the thinning demonic energy showed growing signs of collapsing, yet aside from that, no other unusual phenomenon occurred. The ancient divine platform remained silent and still. Xiang Yi glanced upward, then quickly sped toward the top of the platform. At that moment, the others suddenly turned their heads in unison toward their rear, all of them catching the roars of vicious beasts. The emergence of the divine platform had already caused quite a stir, and suppressing the iron chains just now had set off eruptions of heavenly thunder, which had undoubtedly alerted even more vicious beasts. However, the beast horde was far smaller in scale than expected. A quick turn of thought revealed the reason: the melee Cultivator Pan had stirred up earlier had drawn many of the nearby beasts away. Realizing this, everyone broke into delighted smiles, feeling their burden greatly lightened. "Roar!" The first vicious beast barged into view, resembling a male lion. Its earth-shaking roar rivaled a sonic divine ability. Cultivator Liu's gaze darkened slightly. A bell appeared in his palm, and with a gentle shake, a crisp chime rang out, sending visible rings of ripples spreading outward. The chiming was not loud, but the moment it sounded, the beast's roar was abruptly suppressed. Infuriated, the beast spread its limbs, brandishing razor-sharp claws and fangs, preparing to pounce. Just then, the bell's ripples touched its flesh. With a soft *poof*, the beast's eyes bulged abruptly, and two streams of blood spurted out before it crashed heavily to the ground, utterly devoid of breath. Save for its eyes, there wasn't a single scratch on its entire body, yet it had dropped dead on the spot. Similar scenes played out in other directions as a large pack of beasts closed in. The five cultivators hunted the beasts while maintaining the spirit talismans, secretly keeping an eye on Xiang Yi's movements. Xiang Yi had already reached the top of the ancient divine platform. He crouched down, examined it for a moment, and retrieved an object from his mustard seed bag. The others below could not see clearly, but it seemed to be yet another spirit talisman. Holding the object in his palm, Xiang Yi aimed it at the center of the platform and muttered incantations under his breath. Black qi welled up in his palm, then immediately drew inward. Immediately afterward, Xiang Yi let out a low shout, turned his palm over, and pressed down hard against the ancient divine platform. *Buzz!* The ancient divine platform trembled. Xiang Yi withdrew his hand and looked down nervously. Seeing that nothing else was amiss with the ancient divine platform, a smile surfaced on his face. He sped down the platform, darted out of the restriction, and called out, "The mission is complete! Fellow Daoists, prepare to withdraw!" Astonished by his words, the others looked up at the top of the ancient divine platform. "Just like that, it's done?" None of them had seen Xiang Yi take any treasure from the platform; if anything, he seemed to have left something behind. To their surprise, the final step had encountered no unexpected setbacks and was accomplished with absolute ease. After arranging for so many people to brave the Purple Mist Deathland and uncover the ancient divine platform, was it not to retrieve a treasure? Xiang Yi chuckled. "How difficult did you all expect it to be? The Merchant Alliance surely arranges tasks according to our cultivation levels. They couldn't possibly expect us to venture into a perilous ground accessible only to a Nascent Soul Patriarch. Fall back carefully, then release the black flood dragon talismans. The heavenly thunder on the lightning chains will naturally help us slaughter the vicious beasts." "Fellow Daoist Xiang has a point." Cultivator Liu looked greatly relieved, a relaxed smile appearing on his face. After a brief consultation, the group slowly fell back. Once they had put some distance between themselves and the chains, someone called out, "Release!" Without looking back, they dashed outward, regrouped without pausing, and headed straight toward the exit of the Purple Mist Deathland.