Upon hearing the old man’s words, the green-haired foreigner’s eyes flashed with a fierce light as he abruptly stepped forward, appearing ready to strike.
But at that moment, the lean and wiry man suddenly appeared beside the green-haired foreigner, whispering a few words in his ear as if to remind him of something.
The green-haired foreigner’s expression flickered between uncertainty and anger. After a moment, the murderous aura around him eased slightly as he coldly said, “Fine. Let’s first see what’s hidden in this valley. If it’s not the Spirit Mushroom Immortal, we’ll each go our separate ways. But if it is… heh…”
With a sinister chuckle, the green-haired foreigner completely ignored the old man and the woman, transforming into a streak of light alongside the lean man as they vanished into the demonic mist shrouding the valley below.
“Uncle Yan, what should we do? Should we really enter the valley with them?” the palace-robed woman asked after taking a deep breath.
“Of course we enter. The magic disk has reacted—how can we let this opportunity slip?” the old man surnamed Yan replied without hesitation.
“But those two…” the woman hesitated.
“If there’s no Spirit Mushroom Immortal inside, they won’t act recklessly. If there is, then we mustn’t back down. Otherwise, why do you think we took the risk to come here?” the old man said with a dark expression, shaking his head.
“You’re right. I didn’t think it through. We must search this valley thoroughly,” the woman gritted her teeth and agreed.
“Don’t worry too much. Though my old injuries haven’t fully healed, I prepared a special treasure for this journey. If we do find the Spirit Mushroom Immortal, as long as we don’t engage them head-on, escaping safely won’t be a problem,” the old man said confidently.
Given their relationship, the woman trusted his words completely. Her unease lessened, and she nodded without further protest.
With that, the two of them also transformed into streaks of light and flew toward the valley.
However, upon entering, Old Man Yan immediately noticed something unusual.
From the outside, the valley appeared ordinary, but inside, it was unfathomably deep. The upper half was filled with faint black demonic mist, while the lower half resembled an endless abyss. Even after descending over a thousand zhang with their magic treasures, they still couldn’t see the bottom.
This discovery both excited and alarmed the old man.
He was thrilled because such an unusual valley increased the likelihood of the Spirit Mushroom Immortal hiding within. Yet, he was also wary—the extreme depth and dense demonic mist would make exploration difficult.
With these thoughts in mind, Old Man Yan and the palace-robed woman each retrieved a disk-shaped magic tool and flew deeper into the valley.
Had the green-haired foreigner and his companion not been present, they might have split up to cover more ground. But now, they wouldn’t risk being picked off one by one.
Moving one after the other, they vanished into the faint black mist after a few flashes.
Meanwhile, deep within the valley, at the bottom of a gurgling stream, something dark and half-buried in the mud suddenly stirred. Two eerie green eyes snapped open, glowing with emotionless malice.
…
Tens of thousands of miles away from the valley, a giant toad several zhang tall, clutching a similar magic disk in its mouth, flew alongside seven or eight bizarre demonic beasts.
The toad’s bull-like eyes occasionally glanced at the disk in its mouth. Though its speed wasn’t particularly fast, its direction unmistakably led toward the valley.
Following closely behind was a hundredfold-enlarged, crimson demonic beast resembling a giant dragonfly, also holding a magic disk and muttering indistinctly.
“My lord, I truly sensed unusual fluctuations from that valley. But it’s the territory of that demonic crocodile. It’s ferocious—I might not be its match. That’s why I reported to you, so you could handle it personally.”
“Hmph, ‘might not’? You’d be swallowed whole if you went there. That demonic crocodile is just a step away from the Saint rank—even the three great lords avoid provoking it lightly. Are you absolutely certain the human magic tool reacted to that valley? If you’re wrong, don’t blame me for what comes after,” the giant toad rumbled, its tone dismissive.
“Rest assured, my lord. I checked over a dozen times—the human magic tool definitely reacted to that valley,” the dragonfly-like demonic beast assured, its compound eyes flashing.
“Good. If we truly find the Spirit Mushroom Immortal in that valley, your reward won’t be lacking,” the toad said indifferently, clearly not placing much hope in the report.
This was understandable.
After leading a group of mid-to-high-rank demonic beasts out of the Demon Gold Mountain Range, they had slaughtered most of the Spirit Realm intruders and used the stolen magic disks to search for the Spirit Mushroom Immortal—yet found nothing. The disks had reacted over a dozen times, but each was a false lead.
Thus, the toad held little expectation for this latest venture.
It even began considering where to search next if this valley yielded nothing.
The other high-rank demonic beasts trailing behind also seemed listless after days of fruitless hunting.
Distracted, the toad and its group failed to notice a wisp of blood-red mist following them from about ten miles behind.
Within the mist flickered an almost imperceptibly faint, slender figure.
…
Han Li and the Crystal Clan woman left the mountain range where the demonic ape had resided. The rest of their journey proceeded smoothly, encountering no further obstacles. In just five days, they covered most of the distance and arrived at the patch of thin mist where they had slain the human-faced vultures.
Despite their urgency, they slowed their flight upon seeing the mist, exchanged a few cautious words, and carefully entered.
Han Li’s expression remained neutral, but his eyes glinted blue as he clutched two sparkling spirit stones, continuously absorbing their pure spiritual energy.
Though he couldn’t meditate properly to recover his magic power while traveling, the copious rare pills and top-tier spirit stones had restored most of his depleted reserves over the past few days.
However, the repair of his Vajra Fata Dharma Form was negligible.
Still, this was enough to ease Han Li’s mind. At least he now had some confidence if they encountered powerful demonic beasts.
Yet when his spiritual sense occasionally brushed against a pitch-black spirit beast ring in his sleeve, a trace of frustration surfaced.
The Soulcry Beast, which had displayed astonishing power before, remained unconscious.
His spiritual sense confirmed that the beast had recovered most of its depleted energy and stamina—a testament to its remarkable resilience. But when he attempted to rouse it through mental communication, there was no response.
Were it not for the unbroken spiritual link, he might have thought it dead.
Of course, Han Li wasn’t entirely without means to awaken it. But after some consideration, he decided against forcing the issue.
From his experience, when spirit beasts entered such deep slumber, it was usually for evolution or self-protection—both processes best left undisturbed.
Given his reliance on the Soulcry Beast, especially after its recent transformation, he resolved to let it wake naturally.
With this decision, Han Li set the matter aside and turned his focus inward.
Within his dantian, a golden-glowing Nascent Soul with a faint cyan hue sat cross-legged, its tiny hands clasped around a silver fireball.
The fireball, however, was peculiar.
Amidst the silver flames flickered strands of milky-white fire, while faint silver runes pulsed within.
A faint smile touched Han Li’s lips.
The milky-white flames were, of course, the trace of Golden Crow True Fire absorbed from the human-faced vulture.
The ability of his Spirit Devouring Heavenly Flame to assimilate other spiritual fires and energies, evolving in the process, was truly remarkable. He couldn’t help but wonder how formidable it might become in the future.
Satisfied that the flame was steadily refining the Golden Crow True Fire without issue, Han Li withdrew his spiritual sense and refocused on their surroundings.
The mist-covered area was vast, but as they flew through, no demonic beasts ambushed them.
It seemed the human-faced vultures had been the only high-rank inhabitants. With their abrupt extermination, no others had moved in yet.
Thus, their return journey was unimpeded.
Familiar with the route and unhindered, they traversed the mist in half a day, emerging at its edge.
But the moment Han Li’s azure streak exited the mist, it halted mid-air. The light dissipated, revealing his pale face.
Before him, just two to three hundred zhang away, howling black winds swirled around hundreds of mid-to-high-rank demonic beasts.
At their forefront stood a humanoid demonic beast—broad-shouldered, with massive black horns, clad in dark iron armor. Its upper body resembled a human’s, but its lower half was covered in coarse black fur. It stared at Han Li in surprise.
Opposite the beast, fifty to sixty zhang away, a silver-armored man stood atop a blood-red chariot, his expression grim as he faced off against the demonic horde.
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