The Houtu Plateau was forever a sea of yellow earth, desolate and barren.
Yet it was said to be the place where earth-qi ran thickest, nurturing countless strange beasts skilled in wielding earth-elemental power.
The Earth-Rock Dragon Beast, for example, was the most terrifying creature on the Houtu Plateau. Its defense was monstrously powerful. Even a Heavenly Human Realm cultivator of the same Sky-Ruling grade could hardly break through the defense of an Earth-Rock Dragon Beast. As long as its core remained unharmed, it could recover in an instant.
Because of this, many martial artists were unwilling to come here to train, despite the extraordinary value of an Earth-Rock Dragon Beast's spirit core.
In a vast basin at the heart of the Houtu Plateau, powerful Earth-Rock Beasts gathered in great numbers. Any cultivator who ventured in would have almost no chance of making it out alive.
But today, something was very strange. Earth-Rock Beasts could usually be seen roaming everywhere, but not a single one was in sight.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The ground shuddered again and again, as if the earth itself were pulsing. Sand and stones trembled across the surface.
The Earth-Rock Dragon Beasts that had just wandered over immediately fled, as though something terrifying were near.
The ground shook, the ripples spreading like waves across water as they sought their source.
In the center of the basin stood a man. He seemed almost one with heaven and earth, energy rippling through his body as if vibrating in time with the pulse of the ground.
His body trembled, and the earth followed suit, rippling outward from him. The disturbance reached hundreds of miles in every direction.
High in the sky, Ling Cangyan stood silently, watching the figure in the middle of the earth. Excitement flickered in his eyes.
"He's