The Rift Within the Black Mist, Metal and Stone Qi
In the valley below, black mist surged like a tide, and the White Bone Demon looked up at the sky through the malevolent fog.
When its eyes saw the stack of talismans radiating rich spiritual light in Lin Ying's hand, the soul fire in its eyes flickered violently, and its body froze in place like a statue.
As a demon in the Foundation Establishment Realm, it possesses greater intelligence than other Demon Beasts in the Foundation Establishment Realm, and is no less intelligent than humans.
Moreover, having spent many years in the secret realm, it had seen many cultivators and witnessed the power of talismans.
Seeing these talismans now, a big question mark slowly appeared in its mind.
After a moment of silence, its entire body trembled, and it hurriedly cried out, "Fellow Daoist! Fellow Daoist! It's a misunderstanding! It's a misunderstanding! I was just joking with you!"
It hurriedly rushed out of the black mist, its head peeking out. Although the white skeleton's face was expressionless and unable to express anything, its tone was very cautious, yet tinged with enthusiasm. "Hey~ Look at you, fellow Daoist, you really are... just kidding, don't get so excited! I didn't say I wasn't leaving!"
Lin Ying stared in surprise at the White Bone Demon peeking out, not expecting that the demon, which had just said it would let them in, would now change its mind.
Seeking advantage and avoiding harm, this White Bone Demon is quite intelligent.
Wenren Yu didn't think much of it. Hearing the White Bone Demon's words, she immediately laughed, crossed her arms, raised her chin, and looked down at the White Bone Demon: "Oh, little bone, I still prefer your arrogant attitude from earlier. Please change your attitude!"
The soul fire in the White Bone Demon's pupils flickered, and it felt a surge of resentment.
This human is so weak... If it weren't for that woman who appeared out of nowhere wielding a powerful weapon, would it be afraid of this weakling?!
Borrowing power from others? Pah!
It cursed inwardly, but still spoke cautiously, "This is no joke! I'm leaving now! I'll go first!"
Lin Ying paused for a moment, then asked, "Where did the black mist in the valley come from?"
Upon hearing this, the White Bone Demon scratched its smooth, skeletal head and said, "It emerged from a crevice at the very end of the valley. From the moment I gained consciousness, this crevice has been constantly emanating Yin Sha Qi."
Upon hearing this, Wenren Ge, who had been silent, seemed to ponder for a moment before asking, "Were you born in this valley?"
The White Bone Demon immediately nodded, then complained, "I've been peacefully absorbing Yin Sha Qi and cultivating at home, but every now and then, you humans come and disturb me."
Upon hearing this, Wenren Yu sneered and immediately said, "This valley actually contains the heritage of our human race, so how can it be considered your home? If you have the guts, return the human race's heritage to us!"
The White Bone Demon glared at her angrily, but then it saw the talisman in Lin Ying's hand and suppressed its anger, chuckling, "I wish I could, but this inheritance can't be moved. Besides, those who came before weren't after the inheritance; they just like to barge into other people's homes to see if there's anything good. You humans are all like that..."
The White Bone Demon's voice trailed off as he remembered the three others he was facing who were also human.
Lin Ying and the other two showed no expression, pretending not to hear.
Lin Ying then said, "Since you don't want to be our enemy, then leave. We'll be leaving in a few days, and you can come back then."
"Alright!" The White Bone Demon was not surprised at all.
It had previously encountered human cultivators it couldn't defeat and had to flee.
However, other places lack such a dense Yin Sha Qi, making cultivation too slow for it.
So after a while, it couldn't stand it anymore and secretly came back to take a look.
It then discovered that the human cultivator was no longer there.
It had encountered this situation two or three times, and thus understood that human cultivators who came to this world would probably leave on their own after a while.
Therefore, when it saw Lin Ying holding so many talismans, its first reaction was to run away.
The White Bone Demon, shrouded in a dark, malevolent mist, rose into the air.
It remained vigilant at all times, keeping a close eye on Lin Ying.
Whenever Lin Ying showed any inclination to use talismans, it would use its trump card to escape!
Only after the White Bone Demon flew several kilometers away from Lin Ying and was sure it wouldn't be attacked did it transform into a black rainbow and flee at full speed into the distance.
Watching the White Bone Demon depart, a hint of regret surfaced in Wenren Yu's heart.
She always seeks revenge; if she had so many third-tier talismans, she would definitely kill this White Bone Demon!
But since Sister Yingying wasn't going to do anything, she couldn't say anything.
She looked at Lin Ying and smiled, "Sister Yingying, let's go downstairs!"
Wenren Ge calmly replied, "Be careful. If that White Bone Demon comes back to ambush us again, we'll be in danger. Besides, we don't know if there are any other demons or monsters in this black mist."
Lin Ying had the same thought, and she nodded. "Yes. Be careful."
She took out a third-tier talisman and used it. The next moment, a pale white light shield fell from the sky, enveloping all three of them and transforming into a thick light shield to protect them.
Then, Lin Ying said gently, "Go down."
With the protection of a third-tier light shield Law Technique, Wenren Ge and Wenren Yu felt much more at ease, and they followed Lin Ying into the black mist.
The black mist affected the range of their Divine Senses.
However, because Lin Ying used a lot of rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures to enhance her Divine Sense, her Divine Sense strength is now almost comparable to that of an ordinary Early Golden Core cultivator. Otherwise, she would not be able to control three Supreme-Grade Spirit Artifacts at the same time.
Therefore, even though her Divine Sense was suppressed, Lin Ying was still able to clearly perceive everything within a 300-meter radius using her Divine Sense.
While using her Divine Sense to observe her surroundings, she led the Wenren Ge and Wenren Yu sisters deeper into the valley.
"This way, follow me."
Wenren Yu paused for a moment, then asked curiously, "Sister Yingying, can you observe the surroundings? We can only use our Divine Sense to detect a radius of about twenty meters."
Lin Ying nodded. "Mm."
Wenren Yu and Wenren Ge exchanged a glance, both revealing a hint of envy.
Both of them were at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, two minor realms stronger than Lin Ying, who was at the Early-stage Foundation Establishment. However, their Divine Senses differed considerably.
However, they could understand to some extent that a young lady like Lin Ying possessed resources that ordinary cultivators like them could not even imagine. She probably had used countless treasures to enhance Divine Sense, the kind that even if they sold themselves, they couldn't afford.
It's normal for someone to have such a powerful Divine Sense.
Lin Ying led the two sisters through the valley and soon saw bones scattered everywhere on the desolate ground, some of them the bones of Demon Beasts, and others the bones of humans.
I wonder if it was that White Bone Demon that killed them.
Because these skeletons were in this area filled with Yin Sha Qi, their bones had been stained with a grayish-black color.
As they went deeper, the number of skeletons decreased, but the dark, malevolent mist grew increasingly dense.
Even Lin Ying's Divine Sense was compressed to about two hundred meters. As for the Wenren sisters, Wenren Ge and Wenren Yu, their Divine Sense was almost as limited as their eyesight.
Because the black fog was so thick, one could only see about five meters ahead.
Soon, Lin Ying saw a black crack that was about 100 meters long and three or four meters wide.
The crack lies in the earth, connecting to one side of the mountain wall, and wisps of black mist emanate from within, making it impossible to see what's inside.
However, when Lin Ying sensed the black crack, she felt a chill run down her spine and her heart tightened, as if she had encountered something terrifying.
Her instincts told her that the crack was extremely dangerous.
Lin Ying immediately stopped paying attention to the cracks, while remaining vigilant for any potential mutations.
Soon, Lin Ying spotted two Golden-Thread Lingzhi growing on a platform on the side of the mountain wall.
Inside this platform, there is a cave that exudes a faint metallic aura. The dim yellow light appears particularly faint in the black mist, but it does fall on the Golden-Thread Lingzhi.
Lin Ying then understood why the Golden-Thread Lingzhi could grow in such a place.
She gazed at the cave, lost in thought. Perhaps that was the legacy the White Bone Demon had spoken of?