The four Metal Gods left behind to guard Luo Qing were all staunch supporters of Ancestor Hun Xing.
After Luo Qing left the cave dwelling, Hun Xing's Divine Servant, the White Gold God, immediately questioned him on the spot:
"Scarlet Fire, the mountain lord has treated you well. Why did you deceive those above and below, hiding your cultivation progress?
"You even broke through to Golden Immortal during the campaign against the ferocious beasts at Hundred Gods Mountain! Scarlet Fire, what exactly are you planning?"
Luo Qing looked at the four Metal Gods surrounding him—two low-grade Innate Gods and two Nature Spirits—and smiled.
Luo Qing said with a half-smile, "Old Bai, aren't you well aware of what I intend to do? Why bother asking me?"
The White Gold God's expression shifted slightly. He immediately shouted angrily at Luo Qing.
"How dare you, Scarlet Fire! You actually dared to betray Hundred Gods Mountain and the mountain lord. Fellow Daoists, join me in suppressing this man. We'll wait for the mountain lord to return and deal with him!"
"Heh!"
Luo Qing bared his teeth in a grin. He did not continue explaining or reveal the truth.
These four, including Old Bai, were unquestionably Hun Xing's die-hard loyalists. No matter how much he said, they could never betray Hun Xing.
In the end, the truth would still have to be settled through combat.
As soon as the White Gold God finished speaking, he and the other three Metal Gods each took out an Innate Treasure Mirror.
The four Treasure Mirrors stood at the four cardinal directions, instantly transforming the side hall where Luo Qing stood into an otherworldly space.
It was even more ingenious than the Five Elements Arena Luo Qing had refined.
It not only sealed the surrounding space, but also expanded the entire area by more than a thousand times.
The vast space was large enough for five Metal Gods to fight freely.
This was also because the White Gold God feared that fighting within the core cave dwelling would destroy it and cost the lives of the other four Five Elements Metal Gods.
"Scarlet Fire, it's still not too late to surrender. Once we start, don't blame us for showing no mercy." The White Gold God gave Luo Qing one final warning with a dark expression.
"Stop wasting your breath!"
Luo Qing replied indifferently. Including Old Bai, the four Metal Gods consisted of one late-stage Metal God and three mid-stage Metal Gods.
Although Luo Qing had only just broken through, he possessed several Acquired Spiritual Treasures.
Would Old Bai and the others, as Hun Xing's trusted confidants, really have no Acquired Spiritual Treasures to use?
No matter how one looked at it, Luo Qing seemed to have no chance of victory at all.
"Attack!"
Old Bai was a decisive man. Seeing that Luo Qing refused to submit, he shouted loudly.
He immediately brought out a seal-shaped Low-grade Acquired Spiritual Treasure and sent it crashing down toward Luo Qing.
At the same time, the other three mid-stage Metal Gods each revealed a Low-grade Acquired Spiritual Treasure and attacked Luo Qing.
Luo Qing thought to himself, Just as I expected!
The mountain lord Hun Xing truly was not lacking in Acquired Spiritual Treasures. Fortunately, he had not pinned his hopes on a few Acquired Spiritual Treasures.
The profound light of the Earth Mystic Robe on Luo Qing's body burst forth, forcing the four Divine Treasures to stop outside his body.
Luo Qing was the key to Hun Xing's transformation of his Foundation. Old Bai and the others did not dare to truly go all out and kill him.
As a result, Luo Qing neutralized the attacks of all four Divine Treasures with a single defensive robe.
Having used his Treasure Robe to block their attacks, Luo Qing did not remain idle.
His pair of Azure Dao Eyes constantly scanned the surroundings and the whole of Hundred Gods Mountain.
"So that's how it is!"
Now that Luo Qing had reached the Golden Immortal realm, the might of the Eye of the Great Dao had risen another level.
He quickly discovered the secrets of the Treasure Mirror space.
Although this Treasure Mirror space was vast, it was constantly shrinking.
Once it shrank to its limit and Luo Qing still had not escaped, he would be suppressed by the four Treasure Mirrors.
Four top-grade Innate Treasures were more than enough to suppress a Golden Immortal.
After seeing through their plan, killing intent spread through Luo Qing's eyes. He looked at the four of them as though they were already corpses.
"If you have no further tricks, then you can go die!"
"What?"
Old Bai cried out in astonishment, thinking that something was wrong with his ears.
A turtle trapped in a jar actually dared to boast so arrogantly.
Before Old Bai could mock Luo Qing, he saw five colors flash across Luo Qing's body: red, white, azure, black, and yellow.
The red radiance settled above Luo Qing's head, while the other four colors suddenly scattered.
They shot toward the four Metal Gods.
After sensing the aura within the profound light, Old Bai instantly cried out in fear:
"An Innate Spiritual Treasure?"
In a panic, Old Bai used a defensive Acquired Spiritual Treasure on his body and immediately turned to flee.
He had witnessed the might of Innate Spiritual Treasures many times in the Central Primordial Era. How could a mere late-stage Metal God like him withstand one?
The white Gold Spiritual Ring struck Old Bai. Cracks immediately appeared on the defensive Acquired Spiritual Treasure covering his body.
What comforted Old Bai was that it had at least blocked the Divine Treasure's attack.
His escape speed increased further, and in the blink of an eye, he was about to leave the Treasure Mirror space.
Unfortunately, before Old Bai could rejoice, a voice like a death sentence rang in his ear.
"Freeze!"
Old Bai, a late-stage Metal God, was instantly frozen at the edge of the Treasure Mirror space. His face still carried the joy of escaping alive.
Only a trace of fear flickered in his pupils.
No matter how hard he struggled or urged his magical treasure, it did not move in the slightest.
Old Bai had relied on his profound cultivation and defensive Divine Treasure to block the Gold Spiritual Ring's strike.
But the other three Metal Gods were not so fortunate. They did not possess defensive Acquired Spiritual Treasures.
With a single strike, three Innate Spiritual Rings annihilated their bodies and spirits.
Afterward, Luo Qing used the top-grade Treasure Artifact Fire Spirit Ring to control the four Innate Spiritual Rings, combining them into the Five Elements Spiritual Ring.
The Five Elements Spiritual Ring, comparable to a mid-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, possessed powerful restraining abilities. It immediately suppressed Old Bai.
"What a pity!"
Looking at the suppressed Old Bai, a trace of regret flashed through Luo Qing's eyes.
Old Bai was Hun Xing's staunchest confidant. No one knew how many arrangements Hun Xing had entrusted to him.
Luo Qing did not dare risk capturing Old Bai alive.
The Five Elements Spiritual Ring rotated in a slight crosswise motion. The White Gold God, frozen in the air, immediately lost all vitality and turned into clusters of ashes that vanished within the Treasure Mirror space.
"Innate Spiritual Treasures truly are incredibly powerful!" Luo Qing praised.
After the four Metal Gods died, the five Acquired Spiritual Treasures they left behind went into Luo Qing's possession.
With another wave of his hand, the four ownerless Innate Treasure Mirrors also fell into Luo Qing's grasp.
Although these four Treasure Mirrors were merely top-grade Innate Treasures, their wondrous uses were endless. Even Luo Qing could not help but regard them with newfound respect.
Daring not remain at Hundred Gods Mountain for long, and unable to bother plundering the treasures within the mountain, Luo Qing shot into the sky and prepared to leave Hundred Gods Mountain immediately.
"From now on, the sky is high and the birds can fly freely, and I can enjoy endless..."
Just as he was about to take one step out of Hundred Gods Mountain, Luo Qing could not help happily muttering to himself.
But after taking only half a step, the joy on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a gloomy expression.
"Sigh! I knew things wouldn't be that simple!"
With a lament in his heart, Luo Qing turned around and returned to Hundred Gods Mountain. In the blink of an eye, he was back in front of the core cave dwelling.
Just as he was about to leave the territory of Hundred Gods Mountain, an indistinct Great Dao sensation descended.
Ancestor Hun Xing was already nearing Hundred Gods Mountain. He could not escape!
Fortunately, Luo Qing had not placed all his hopes on this escape plan.
Standing before the core cave dwelling, Luo Qing looked toward the side hall where his four "senior brothers" were located.
He smiled faintly. Whether it worked or not would now depend entirely on fate!
Luo Qing flashed forward without triggering any restrictions and appeared before a Metal God who was a mid-grade Wood-element Innate God, suppressed into a state resembling a stone statue.
Over the years, aside from improving his cultivation and refining artifacts, the thing Luo Qing had done most was study the restrictions and formations in the core region of Hundred Gods Mountain.
The mountain lord Hun Xing truly deserved to be called a Grand Unity Golden Immortal from the Central Primordial Era. He had established a grand formation throughout the entire core cave-dwelling region.
The Five Elements Tribe did not possess anything like this. The Grand Unity Ancestor of the Five Elements Tribe probably did not understand it either.
After ten thousand years, Luo Qing had thoroughly studied the entire formation. He could even secretly seize control of it without anyone noticing.
Standing before this pitiful "senior brother," a trace of pity flashed through Luo Qing's eyes.
"Fellow Daoist, I imagine you hate that old thief Hun Xing to the bone as well!
"Now that the five Five Elements Metal Gods are complete, you should know what fate awaits you.
"How will you choose?"
Luo Qing spoke calmly, without the slightest hint of temptation or intimidation.
As soon as he finished speaking, an almost imperceptible ripple emerged from the stone statue.
"Good! Rest assured, Daoist friend. As long as I do not die, I will send your remnant spirit into reincarnation."
After giving his promise, Luo Qing instantly vanished from the cave dwelling.
He visited each of the four cave dwellings in turn. As expected, all four of the pitiful "senior brothers" hated Hun Xing to the bone.
They were dignified mid-grade Innate Gods who should have had brilliant futures.
Yet now, they had been deceived by their master and raised like livestock, waiting to be slaughtered at will. How could they not hate him?
"Hun Xing, if you refuse to leave me a path to survival, then don't blame me for burning both jade and stone with you!"
A cold glint flashed through Luo Qing's eyes. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a flame and flew out of Hundred Gods Mountain, fleeing toward the boundless Primordial Wilderness.
Unfortunately, just as Luo Qing had sensed, that was exactly what happened.
After flying less than ten thousand li, Luo Qing was instantly knocked out of his fire-escape state.
The pressure of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal immediately locked onto Luo Qing, rendering him completely immobile.
"Foolish child, my good disciple, why are you running? Wouldn't it be better to merge with your master and ascend the Great Dao together?"
As the ethereal voice rang in Luo Qing's ears, Ancestor Hun Xing's figure appeared before Luo Qing.
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