Underground Passage

The Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpion King had died, and the numerous Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions that had lost their leader immediately fell into chaos. Without anyone to command them, their formation was thrown into disarray.

As the last First-order Demonic Scorpion was killed, the many Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions that had not even reached First-order Magical Beast rank completely broke down. The hierarchy among Magical Beasts was strict. Having lost their leader and command, they were suppressed by the higher-tier aura of the Desert Rock Serpents and scattered in every direction.

After pursuing them for a while, the Desert Rock Serpents gave up the chase at Qingling's call. Yan Qingshan and Qingling then briefly dealt with the corpses of the many Magical Beasts where they stood.

Ordinary Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions had not even reached the First-order and were truly worth very little, almost nothing. Only their venom had some use, so Yan Qingshan collected the venom glands from their tail stingers, including those of the First-order Demonic Scorpions and the Second-tier Demonic Scorpion King.

Of the nearly twenty First-order Demonic Scorpions, only three possessed Magic Cores. This ratio was extremely low even among First-order Magical Beasts. It could only be said that this species truly had little potential. Fortunately, the Second-tier Demonic Scorpion King had yielded a Second-tier Magic Core.

This was rather good luck. A Second-tier Earth Attribute Magic Core close to Third-tier quality was extremely valuable. However, Yan Qingshan did not keep these four Magic Cores for himself. Instead, he gave them to the Rock Serpent King and the three First-order Rock Snakes that had contributed the most, allowing them to devour them.

Though Rock Snakes possessed the Stone Attribute, the Stone Attribute was considered a mutated branch of the Earth Attribute. Their energy conversion rate was high, and Desert Rock Serpents regularly absorbed Earth Attribute energy as well, allowing them to make the greatest use of these Magic Cores.

Advancement was far more difficult for Magical Beasts than for humans. After reaching adulthood, their strength grew very slowly. Without humanity's talent for cultivation, they could only continuously accumulate energy and slowly grow through the foundations built up over long years.

Of course, high-level Magical Beasts with the bloodline of superior Magical Beasts grew much faster, but most Magical Beasts advanced by gradually accumulating energy.

There were not many ways for Magical Beasts to accumulate energy. One was arduous cultivation over time. Another was finding precious spirit herbs rich in energy and devouring them. The last was for Magical Beasts to slaughter one another and consume the corpses of the defeated.

Magical Beast corpses contained considerable energy, but that energy was even more violent and chaotic than that within Magic Cores. Ordinary people could not make use of it at all, but Magical Beasts possessed powerful bodies and could consume it directly. Though the conversion rate was not particularly high, it was still much faster than arduous cultivation.

In this battle, all the ranked Magical Beasts of the Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpion clan had been slaughtered by Yan Qingshan and the Rock Snakes, while large numbers of Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions had also died. More than a hundred corpses had been left behind, while over twenty Rock Snakes remained. To them, this was a magnificent feast.

The sight of Magical Beasts feeding was truly bloody, and the Rock Snakes whose intelligence had yet to awaken did not even spare their fallen companions. Qingling's little face turned pale when she saw it.

"Qingling, take me to where the Demonic Scorpion King appeared."

Yan Qingshan placed the collected materials into his Storage Ring, walked over to Qingling's side, and spoke softly. Qingling jolted, turned her head, covered her little mouth, and hurriedly followed Yan Qingshan away.

"Young Master, at the time, I was leading the Rock Snake pack through this desert as usual, searching for possible underground passages.

"But when we arrived here, the Rock Serpent King had only burrowed in for a short while when there was a huge disturbance below. Then that Second-tier Demonic Scorpion King rushed out.

"Before this, although we had encountered Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions and other underground Magical Beasts, I had brought thirty Rock Snakes with me. Most Magical Beasts would simply flee when disturbed.

"Only the Demonic Scorpion King that appeared here was the leader of the entire Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpion clan. After we woke it, it summoned many Demonic Scorpions over. That was why..."

Qingling led Yan Qingshan to a sand pit with obvious traces in the northern part of the sandy terrain. "Young Master, look. It's here."

Yan Qingshan looked at the slightly sunken patch of sand before him. At the bottom of the depression was a Cave Entrance that was steadily shrinking. The dark opening at its lowest point was less than a foot wide, and faint heat rose from within.

"This Cave Entrance is very deep, and Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions like dry heat. They often burrow underground following heat sources. Perhaps they opened up an underground passage somewhere!"

Yan Qingshan vaguely formed a guess. Beneath this desert should be the birthplace of the Green Lotus Core Flame. During the period when this Heavenly Flame was being nurtured, the underground magma lake here had been extremely active and had erupted several times.

The magma spreading through the underground activity had formed some quartzite cavities and passages below. This was why Xiao Yan had discovered so many branching underground paths after entering the depths.

These underground cavity passages were buried deep beneath the earth and were generally difficult for people to discover. After all, humans dug with specific purposes in mind, and they would give up after a period without results. Magical Beasts were different. At times, they relied on instinct and intuition to seek benefit and avoid harm.

Yellow Sand Demonic Scorpions liked dry heat but did not enjoy basking directly under the sun on the surface. They often traveled beneath the desert sands in search of heat sources. It was perfectly normal for them to accidentally open up a cavity passage.

"Qingling, let's bring the Rock Snakes over first!"

Yan Qingshan tried scraping at the area around the cave, but the slightest movement caused the surrounding yellow sand to shift, burying the Cave Entrance a little more.

Yan Qingshan knew that even with a target, he alone would have to spend a great deal of effort to reach the underground. Fortunately, he had made preparations beforehand.

"Little girl, this time you've rendered a great service to your young master!"

Beside Yan Qingshan, the girl in the green dress was crouching by the Cave Entrance just like him. Yellow sand clung to many places on her body, yet her delicate little face carried a happy smile.

Yan Qingshan smiled and affectionately scraped the girl's nose, making the little beauty blush shyly. Her appearance became even more charming.

Qingling's little face showed a hint of shyness. Then she mischievously blinked at him. "Young Master, how are you going to reward Qingling, then?"

"A reward?"

Yan Qingshan pretended to stroke his chin as he sized up the girl, whose body had developed rapidly now that her nutrition had caught up. "How about rewarding Qingling by having her warm Young Master's bed tonight?"

"Young Master is so awful! I'm ignoring you!"

Qingling was still only a young girl after all. How could she withstand such teasing? Her cheeks flushed crimson as she covered her little face and ran away.

Yan Qingshan watched the girl run off with a chuckle, then chased after her mischievously. "Little girl, if Young Master catches you, you'll obediently warm my bed tonight... Hahaha..."

"Young Master is awful... Ah..."

Qingling's shy voice carried a hint of laughter. The two chased and played amid the boundless yellow sands, their silver-bell laughter lingering within the howling Sound of Wind.

Before the underground sand pit, Yan Qingshan drove a deep wooden stake into a yellow earth slope more than ten meters away and tied a rope around it. At the sand pit, Qingling directed the satiated Rock Snake pack as they widened the Cave Entrance.

One Rock Snake after another charged about, using Stone Attribute magic power to stabilize the sandy passage. Before long, an entrance more than half a meter wide appeared where the depression had originally been.

"Qingling, remember to hold me tight later!"

Yan Qingshan walked to the Cave Entrance, one hand gripping the rope and the other holding a Moonlight Stone. Qingling jogged over to his side and wrapped herself tightly around him, pressing against his chest. Her pair of lively, enchanting green eyes stared at his face as she actually fell into a daze.

"Little girl, don't be nervous!"

Yan Qingshan lowered his head, lightly kissed Qingling's forehead, and smiled. He then tightened his grip on the rope. Qingling directed the Rock Serpent King and the Rock Snakes to clear the way before them and guard their rear. With a leap, the two entered the pitch-black underground passage.

Within the dark passage, Yan Qingshan kept his balance by pulling on the rope. He held the Moonlight Stone in one hand while also shielding Qingling.

The two continuously slid downward through the passage. The glowing Moonlight Stone illuminated the path ahead, helping them avoid the hazards of the uneven terrain.

Before and behind Yan Qingshan and Qingling were roughly ten Desert Rock Serpents each. The Second-tier Rock Serpent King led the way at the front. Having devoured the Demonic Scorpion King's corpse and Magic Core, its strength was continuously transforming, and it already faintly possessed the aura of a Third-tier Magical Beast.

The end of this underground passage was a slope nearly a hundred meters below ground. After sliding down for nearly three minutes, Yan Qingshan pushed off with the tips of his feet and shot forward. With a muffled thud, he landed steadily while holding Qingling.

Yan Qingshan gently set Qingling down, raised the Moonlight Stone, and walked forward. More than ten passages stretched into darkness beyond sight, and seven or eight of them carried faint hot winds.

"Have every Rock Snake go take a look. Once they find a passage that's extremely, extremely hot, have them return!"

Yan Qingshan briefly used his keen Soul Perception to sense the surroundings, but the auras around them were mixed and chaotic, making them truly difficult to distinguish.

Searching them one by one would also waste time. Fortunately, Yan Qingshan had brought helpers. He had Qingling command the Rock Snakes to scout the paths and return once they encountered extreme heat.

"Mm!"

Qingling nodded lightly and blinked her eyes. Three tiny green dots silently emerged around her emerald pupils.

Qingling's command was quickly received by the Rock Snakes. Of the more than twenty Rock Snakes, aside from the Second-tier Rock Serpent King that remained behind to protect Qingling, the rest swiftly slithered into the various passages.

Within the pitch-black passage, two human figures and more than ten snake shadows slowly traveled through the darkness by the light of the Moonlight Stone. Along the way, apart from the faint rustling caused by footsteps and slithering snakes, there was almost complete silence.

In the dark and profound passage, time seemed to have no meaning. As they went deeper, after traveling roughly five hundred meters, a faint hot wind blew toward them.

"Finally... we're... almost there..."

Yan Qingshan was drenched in sweat within the underground passage. After turning another corner, red light unexpectedly appeared at the end of the passage ahead.

His voice was hoarse and dry, and his entire body looked as though he had been soaked in water.

The Fire Attribute suppressed the Wood Attribute far too greatly. Fortunately, he cultivated a Profound-tier High-grade Cultivation Technique, and he had previously refined his Dou Qi specifically while also tempering his body for a long time. Otherwise, with only the cultivation of a Dou Zhe, it would have been impossible for him to reach this place.