Somewhere in the jungle … a sturdy blue-robed man with a ferocious-looking face was holding a twenty-feet-long black iron stick. He was fighting against a twenty-feet-long black tiger. It seemed that they were evenly matched. Moreover, there was a foot-tall red ginseng behind the black tiger. It was exuding a strong medicinal fragrance.
The blue-robed man shouted loudly after a short while. Then, his body swelled up. Then, the black iron stick in his hand emitted a dazzling black light. Then, it pounded on the black tiger's head.
"Bang!" The black tiger's head burst open. Then, white brain matter and black blood sprayed out. More than half of it splashed on the blue-robed man's body.
However, the blue-robed man didn't care about the bloodstains on his body. He quickly walked forward. Then, he took out a longan-sized black ball from the black tiger's corpse. Then, he walked towards the red ginseng.
… …
Five disciples of the Supreme Purity Palace stood in a pile of black rocks at the foot of a dark mountain. They were staring at a cave that wasn't far away from them.
A middle-aged Daoist priest was walking in front of them. He carried a long red sword on his back. In the middle of the group were two young women with graceful figures. Both of them had spirit beast bags hanging on their waists. The two people at the back were Wang Xuan and Song Jie.
"Is the thousand-year-old Scarlet Flame Flower in this cave?" The middle-aged Daoist priest raised his eyebrows and asked.
"That's right. According to what our Master said, when she entered the secret realm 200 years ago, she found an 800-year-old Scarlet Flame Flower in this cave. However, there was a Three-Eyed Flame Tiger guarding it. After so many years, the Three-Eyed Flame Tiger has probably already advanced to the Four-Eyed Flame Tiger. I wonder if the Scarlet Flame Flower is still there," said a yellow clothed woman as she nodded.
"If it's still there, then we'll pluck it. If it isn't, then we'll kill that Three-Eyed Flame Tiger. With the five of us joining forces, a Four-Eyed Flame Tiger isn't enough to be a threat," said the middle-aged Daoist priest with confidence.
"Haha, now that I think about it, exchanging information with each other and joining forces to hunt and kill demon beasts is a wise move. The Senior and Junior Brothers of the other Branch Lineages would surely never have imagined that we would join forces to annihilate demon beasts," said a blue clothed woman with a sweet smile.
"Since we're able to enter the secret realm to pluck spirit herbs, then our strengths are absolutely not something an ordinary late-stage Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator can compare to. But this secret realm only opens once every 100 years, and the spirit energy of heaven and earth is so dense. The demon beasts within the secret realm are surely far from something the demon beasts in the outside world can compare to. If the five of us join forces, then not only will we be able to pluck even more spirit herbs, we'll also be able to increase our chances of survival," said Wang Xuan slowly with a light smile.
"Senior Brother Wang is right. Even though a total of 30 Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators have entered the secret realm, the secret realm is abnormally ferocious. In the past, less than 15 people were able to leave the secret realm alive, and no matter how many spirit herbs we pluck, it's only possible if we're able to walk out alive." Song Jie nodded in agreement.
"Alright, let's quickly go in! Let's seize the opportunity before the sky darkens and finish this as soon as possible to rush to the next location, "urged the middle-aged Daoist.
Wang Xuan and the other three did not object to this and the five of them walked into the cave together.
Not long after, a few loud noises came from the cave, followed by a deafening roar of a tiger. However, a series of explosions followed, and the roar of the tiger gradually weakened. All kinds of loud noises and explosions came one after another, completely drowning out the roar of the tiger, and it never sounded again.
An hour later, Wang Xuan and the other four walked out of the cave. Their faces were slightly pale, but all of them looked excited.
This couldn't be blamed, as it was rather exhausting for them to deal with a fourth grade demon beast by themselves with their individual strengths. But when the five of them joined forces, they'd easily killed the fourth grade Three-Eyed Flame Tiger. According to this speed of development, once they left the Secret Realm, all of their storage pouches would be filled with a large amount of spirit herbs and spirit materials.
It wasn't long before the five of them vanished in the nearby dense forest and vanished without a trace.
… …
Wang Changsheng didn't know the situation of his fellow disciples. Presently, he only wanted to hurry over to Skysnow Mountain Range and pluck that 1,000 year Snowcloud Ginseng for his Master.
All along the way, Wang Changsheng relied on his numerous talismans and Xiao Hei to easily deal with demon beasts below the fourth grade. If he encountered a fourth grade demon beast or an enormous group of demon beasts, Wang Changsheng would use the Shadowescape Talisman to go around it.
Wang Changsheng's luck wasn't very good. After seven days, apart from a pile of second and third grade demon beasts' materials, he didn't manage to pluck many spiritual herbs. Among them, the oldest one was only 800 years old. He didn't even manage to pluck a 1,000 year old spiritual herb.
However, Wang Changsheng didn't regret his decision. According to his current speed, he should be able to reach Skysnow Mountain Range in another five days. As long as he could pluck the 1,000 year Snowcloud Ginseng, he would be able to freely search for higher aged spiritual herbs. With his current ability, as long as he didn't encounter a large group of demon beasts, he shouldn't have any problems.
At this moment, Wang Changsheng was lying on a pile of rocks, looking into the distance with a serious expression.
Following Wang Changsheng's gaze, he could see tens of demon apes playing around at the top of the mountain. This was a group of Steel Arm Apes. There weren't many of them, only around 30 of them. The Ape King was a golden giant ape that was three Zhang tall, emitting a strong spiritual energy fluctuation.
Wang Changsheng was currently at the waist of a tall mountain, while the group of Steel Arm Apes were at the top of the mountain. If he wanted to pass through the mountain, he would have to pass through the living quarters of the Steel Arm Apes.
Wang Changsheng took out a Fleeing Shadow Talisman and slapped it on his body. His body turned into a faint shadow, swaggering towards the group of Steel Arm Apes.
Four hundred meters, three hundred and fifty meters, three hundred meters, two hundred and fifty meters …
As Wang Changsheng got closer and closer to the Steel Arm Apes, he became more and more nervous, not even daring to breathe loudly.
Not long after, Wang Changsheng walked into the living quarters of the Steel Arm Apes.
The golden giant ape was lying on a huge rock with both of its eyes closed, lazily staring at the sun. Around it, there were tens of gray demon apes that were lazily staring at the sun. A few smaller demon apes were currently playing around at the entrance of the cave. From the looks of it, they didn't notice Wang Changsheng.
Wang Changsheng didn't dare to be careless and carefully walked forward. He didn't dare to make the slightest bit of sound, fearing that he would startle the group of demon apes.
Suddenly, the golden giant ape opened its eyes, sniffed a few times with its nose, then turned its head to look at Wang Changsheng's location and let out a strange cry.
The tens of gray demon apes all stood up and looked towards Wang Changsheng's location. A few of the gray demon apes grabbed at the ground, and with a flash of yellow light, a twenty-foot long yellow spear appeared in their hands.
With a flick of their wrists, several twenty-foot long yellow spears left their hands and shot towards Wang Changsheng.
Wang Changsheng had already stopped when the golden giant ape let out the strange cry. Seeing the yellow spears flying towards him, he knew that he had been discovered.
He only saw his right foot lightly tap on the ground, and his body flew back a few feet.
"Peng, peng," several yellow spears pierced into the place where Wang Changsheng was originally standing. If his reaction had been a beat slower, his body would have been pierced by the yellow spears.
Since he had been discovered, he could only force his way through.
Wang Changsheng raised his right hand, and a thick stack of Great Wind Saber Talismans left his hand, transforming into tens of blades that were ten feet long. They covered the sky and covered the earth as they shot towards the tens of Steel Arm Apes.
The speed of the giant wind blades was extremely fast. In just a few flashes, they had arrived in front of the Steel Arm Apes.
A series of blood-curdling screams rang out, and seven or eight Steel Arm Apes of the first rank fell into a pool of blood, their heads separated from their bodies. The giant wind blades struck the bodies of the golden giant ape and the gray demon ape, but with a "peng, peng" sound, the giant wind blades dissipated and disappeared.
Seeing the Steel Arm Apes lying in a pool of blood, the golden giant ape let out an angry roar. However, before it could react, tens of huge fireballs the size of water tanks smashed towards them with an unbearably high temperature.
The golden giant ape's furry right foot stomped on the ground fiercely, and the surroundings shook. A yellow mud wall that was several Zhang tall and a foot thick rose from the ground.
The gray demon ape followed suit, stomping their right feet on the ground one after another. Tens of yellow mud walls rose from the ground, blocking in front of them.
With a loud "boom", the tens of huge fireballs collided with the yellow mud walls and exploded one after another, turning into roiling flames that engulfed the yellow mud walls.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Wang Changsheng used the Water Treading Subtle Steps and quickly ran into the distance.
Wang Changsheng hadn't run very far when he heard the sound of something piercing through the air behind him. He was startled, and his lips moved a few times. A layer of golden light appeared close to his body. Immediately after, he stomped his right foot on the ground fiercely, and his body quickly retreated to the right.
Just as Wang Changsheng's front foot left, a series of "peng peng" sounds could be heard. Tens of yellow spears flew towards him, stabbing into the ground where he originally stood. More than half of the spears were buried in the soil. If Wang Changsheng was hit by the spears, even with the protection of the Gold Sun Spirit Armor, he definitely wouldn't be in a good state.
