"No... no, I'm exhausted..."
"All your axes are Demonic Law axes. I can't keep up with you."
The Spirit Core was breathing heavily, and a thin layer of sweat covered her forehead.
Jiang Yu reached out with one hand, scooped up the little girl, and then carried the Spirit Core on his back...
The three of them quickly made their way toward the Heavenly Burial Ridge.
The whole Six-Cornered Mountain Range was in turmoil. The peaks were collapsing one after another, and the area outside the ridge was in chaos. Only the central region, where the thunderstorm was raging, remained untouched.
They were lucky.
Jiang Yu and the others arrived at a stretch of rocky cliffs, where the terrain was rugged and uneven.
"Boom—!"
A beam of light pierced through the thick fog!
The demon girl Jiang Yu had captured and the Spirit Core were both trembling in his arms.
Only Jiang Yu remained calm.
This girl really could draw demons. They'd just come across another one.
The demon girl led the way, following the route marked on the map into the Heavenly Burial Ridge, where the terrain was treacherous.
"I've found a trace of the Water Element. As for anything else we find, I don't want a share."
"There are other resources marked on the map. Jiang Yu, you can take those for yourself."
The demon girl turned to Jiang Yu and explained.
The Spirit Core watched the girl with a somewhat strange look, then glanced at the ten-plus Demonic Law axes hanging from Jiang Yu.
The main reason was that she hadn't expected the demon girl to be so kindhearted.
The Demonic Law axes had been confiscated from the bandits, and everything they'd taken was supposed to be handed over.
After all, their family had paid a hefty price to hire them.
Jiang Yu nodded to show that he understood.
Just then, the sunlight shining on them was blocked by a dark shadow.
The demon girl looked up.
A giant bird demon, nearly five meters tall, spread its wings overhead! Its feathers reflected an icy gleam.
"Thunderwing Roc, get down here!"
The demon girl shouted.
Thunderwing Roc demons were much stronger than ordinary demons, because they had lived in this secret realm for too long.
At that moment, the giant bird demon swooped down, its sharp, hooked beak pointed at them!
It wanted to swallow the strange creatures that had trespassed in its territory.
But...
"Flames, set the sky ablaze!"
A flaming star, formed from forty-nine star-like sparks, suddenly appeared!
At the same time, a gigantic flaming palm, dozens of meters across, swept through the air!
The flaming palm crashed into the Thunderwing Roc, which had just swooped down. The two collided!
In an instant, flames scattered everywhere.
The Thunderwing Roc's feathers were all scorched black, but it still looked capable of fighting.
"Vines, bind it!"
The demon girl cried out. A thick vine burst from the ground and wrapped around the already-injured giant bird.
At the same time, Jiang Yu's fireball struck true.
He looked at the dying Thunderwing Roc and felt a little regretful.
If he'd had a fire-element Spirit Core when he first started cultivating, one hit would have killed the Thunderwing Roc. He wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble.
[Inner Core Vision increased by one.]
At that moment, the panel appeared to remind him. Jiang Yu opened it without changing expression.
[Water Elemental Talent: Harmony.]
Jiang Yu couldn't help smiling.
That meant he could now harmonize with six elements. If he could harmonize with seven, would he be able to communicate with divine beasts?
That Water Elemental Talent was truly incredible!
He didn't have this talent in his previous life. What was the point of harmonizing with elements back then?
Still, he'd thought about it for a moment and then let it go.
At least he didn't have to worry about being looked down on by those Thunderwing Roc demons anymore...
As the three went deeper into the ridge, Jiang Yu kept attacking.
He'd realized that this place was full of demons. He'd use ice-element Demonic Law to freeze them, then finish them off with a fire-element attack!
Along the way, he'd already killed more than three groups of demons.
The demon girl followed behind, quietly grumbling to herself.
Jiang Yu realized that his strength was completely different from what it had been when he'd first come here.
"Is Mingzhe Academy really that big?"
Behind him, the demon girl also opened her small mouth and started chatting with Jiang Yu.
She was rather curious about Mingzhe Academy. After all, she'd be a new student there next year.
"Dongling Academy is huge. I haven't even been to the main campus yet."
Jiang Yu thought for a moment before answering.
Beside them, the Spirit Core was focused on the green disk in her hand. She was using it to detect the demons' tracks.
The three of them worked together, and soon arrived at the center of the Heavenly Burial Ridge.
Before them stood a dark gray mountain. Jiang Yu looked at the strange sight in front of him.
It was a sunken basin, with a giant cocoon hundreds of meters tall at its center.
The strangest thing was that the cocoon was wrapped in countless vines.
The Water Elemental treasure was right on top of it!
It was an incredible sight. If not for the Demonic Law axes, Jiang Yu might have thought he was dreaming.
"I'm going to absorb it. Jiang Yu, please watch over me."
The demon girl clasped her hands together and said.
"Of course. It's yours."
Jiang Yu answered without hesitation. After all, she had paid a fortune for it.
After giving her instructions, the demon girl took out a protective charm from her family and entered the cocoon.
She steadily drew closer to the Water Elemental treasure.
The demon girl's eyes were full of longing.
If she could get it, her family would surely value her more!
She didn't want to be the family's sacrificial offering!
With that determination, the demon girl stepped forward.
Jiang Yu stood atop a small hill and looked around.
The Spirit Core set up a device that looked like a heavenly pillar, planting it firmly in the ground.
According to her, it could detect the movement of demonic energy nearby.
Jiang Yu was startled. He focused all his attention on the spirit realm.
The consciousness space was completely silent.
The small dark shadow had transformed into an unfathomable black hole, greedily absorbing energy from all around.
Jiang Yu looked around the virtual plane and thought:
This plane only has one small shadow. How strange.
As far as he knew, most planes that could be entered contained many different species.
Even the famous Great Academy Plane hadn't been described as a place inhabited by only one species.
Thinking of that, he looked forward to what would happen when the small shadow successfully broke through.
"Drip! Drip! Drip!"
A piercing alarm rang, startling Jiang Yu out of his reverie.
The Spirit Core hurriedly pointed in a direction.
"There's a disturbance in the Demonic Law energy over there."
Jiang Yu looked toward the rugged mountains.
"Boom!"
With a loud clap of thunder, a tall, imposing figure appeared.
Three more figures followed behind him.
Of them, Jiang Yu was most familiar with Bai Zang.
At that moment, he looked extremely savage, as if he wanted to devour Jiang Yu alive.
Bai Zang glared at Jiang Yu and roared:
"Jiang Yu! You made me look everywhere for you! Let's see how you escape this time!"
Bai Zang waved his hand, motioning for the others to shut up. Then he sneered:
"Oh? There's actually a rare, naturally born Spirit Core here. Though I can't use it, it'll still fetch a good price."
"Xibao, watch yourself. Jiang Yu's crafty and likes to deceive people."
Bai Zang swung his arm and said coldly:
"Just break his limbs!"
Bai Zang strode toward Jiang Yu's companions, unable to suppress his excitement.
"Jiang Yu, your time is up!"
After all, Bai Zang was a Demonic Law expert, with more than enough Demonic Law energy at his disposal.
And Fang was a rare heart-element Demonic Law expert!
He wanted to see how Jiang Yu would turn the tables.
Once Jiang Yu was dead, wouldn't the Mu family's young lady be his for the taking?
At that thought, Bai Zang burst out laughing.
"Kid, get down on your knees and beg! You'll regret ever crossing me!"
The man who'd been watching coldly sneered at Jiang Yu.
Then two demonic beasts appeared.
The air filled with flying dust. A towering, five- or six-meter-tall rock giant rose up from the ground.
The other was a small snake, its body covered in blue scales that gleamed with a cold light.
"Both Demonic Law beasts are huge!"
The Spirit Core covered her mouth and exclaimed!
Before you continue