Fierce Battle with the Demon Lizard, Demon Eye

The Gold-Devouring Demon Lizard opened its massive maw and sprayed a stream of golden liquid toward Xu Yang. Xu Yang's expression shifted instantly; he threw a punch, the surging gale force shattering the golden liquid. As the droplets scattered in all directions, Xu Yang leaped backward to evade. A hissing sound filled the air as the golden liquid struck the ground, instantly corroding it into a pockmarked mess.

This was the signature skill of the Gold-Devouring Demon Lizard—Corrosive Gold Liquid. It possessed immense corrosive power, capable of melting gold and dissolving iron with terrifying efficiency. Having dodged the assault, Xu Yang lunged forward, raising his hand to strike at the lizard's head.

Simultaneously, a small black seal rapidly expanded, smashing toward the lizard's hindquarters. The crimson flying sword—the Crimson Flame Sword—also danced through the air under the control of Xu Yang's divine sense, seeking an opportunity to strike the lizard's vitals.

With a thunderous boom, Xu Yang's right hand collided with the lizard's claw. Immediately after, the lizard's thick tail whipped upward with a sharp crack, swatting the black seal away and sending it crashing into the ground nearby.

Xu Yang let out a muffled grunt as his divine sense jolted; he had suffered a minor backlash. Fortunately, it was not severe, and he quickly recovered.

The lizard seized the opportunity to swipe its claws at Xu Yang, immediately forcing him onto the defensive. Furious, Xu Yang recalled the small seal and engaged the lizard in close combat. For a time, muffled, thunderous explosions erupted continuously within the grotto, the battle turning incredibly intense.

After fighting for a while, Xu Yang gained a profound understanding of the lizard's strength. It was roughly at the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm, and its attacks were laced with wisps of Devilish Qi. With the aid of this energy, it was capable of contending with a peak-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Fortunately, Xu Yang's Iron Body did not fear the slight erosion of the Devilish Qi, rendering one of the lizard's major trump cards useless and forcing it to rely solely on its mid-stage strength. As Xu Yang practiced both physical and spiritual cultivation, his combat prowess was formidable, allowing him to fight the lizard to a standstill.

Having gauged the lizard's strength, Xu Yang's confidence surged. His movements shifted, and he suddenly leaped backward, exiting the fray. He then channeled the Indestructible Golden Body Art with all his might, and a black wall of energy about an inch thick appeared around his blue-black body.

This energy wall was known as the Iron Wall, a divine ability Xu Yang had gained after his Iron Body broke through to a new level; its defensive capabilities were immense. So-called divine abilities were skills automatically acquired after mastering top-tier cultivation techniques.

Although divine abilities were diverse, they were generally extremely powerful and would continue to grow in strength as the cultivator's cultivation level increased. Ordinary cultivation methods could not produce divine abilities; only the most supreme techniques could unlock such unique powers.

After manifesting the Iron Wall, Xu Yang put away the Indeterminate Ring and engaged the lizard once more. This time, he focused entirely on offense, raining punches down upon the lizard's head. A series of dull thuds echoed as Xu Yang struck the creature's skull over a dozen times, instantly shattering the scales on its head and drawing a stream of blood.

The lizard shrieked, frantically swiping its claws at Xu Yang, but they were blocked by the Iron Wall before his body. Seeing that the Iron Wall completely neutralized the lizard's attacks, Xu Yang was overjoyed and raised his hands to smash down on the lizard's head with all his might.

For a time, the lizard was battered into a daze, falling into a disadvantageous position. Suddenly, the lizard raised its tail and whipped it hard at Xu Yang, knocking him away. It then sprayed a stream of Corrosive Gold Liquid toward the airborne Xu Yang.

Xu Yang's expression changed drastically; he hurriedly summoned the black seal, enlarged it, and intercepted the Corrosive Gold Liquid. Although his Iron Wall divine ability had strong defenses, he was not entirely certain it could withstand the liquid. If hit head-on, the situation would likely be dire.

In mid-air, the Corrosive Gold Liquid struck the black seal, causing it to hiss and smoke. Visibly, a large chunk of the seal was corroded away, rendering it completely useless. This pained Xu Yang deeply, as it was the only seal-type magical artifact he possessed.

After landing, Xu Yang felt a lingering fear, his heart filled with both terror and rage. One slip-up had nearly cost him his life and resulted in the loss of a magical artifact. He looked up at the lizard, only to freeze in surprise; taking advantage of Xu Yang dealing with the liquid, the lizard had turned and was crawling toward a small cave.

By now, it had already entered the cave. Xu Yang's expression shifted, and he hurriedly lunged forward to follow. Scanning the interior, he immediately spotted the lizard crawling toward the Demon Eye. He leaped forward, landing in front of the creature to block its path.

Fearing the lizard might spray the Corrosive Gold Liquid again, Xu Yang didn't wait for it to open its maw; he lunged forward and struck at its head. The lizard angrily extended its right claw to swipe at Xu Yang's arm, but Xu Yang ignored the attack and slammed his fist into its eye.

With a pop, the lizard's eye was crushed. The creature shrieked, its massive tail whipping out to knock Xu Yang back. It sprayed a stream of Corrosive Gold Liquid at him, but Xu Yang dodged instantly. He then flicked his divine sense, and the Crimson Flame Sword, which had been circling the area, darted toward the lizard's open mouth.

The lizard quickly snapped its jaws shut. The Crimson Flame Sword struck its scales, sending a shower of sparks flying. The lizard swiped its claw to knock the sword away, then immediately brought its claws together and began digging rapidly into the ground. Within moments, a large hole appeared, and the lizard dove into the earth, vanishing from sight.

Xu Yang dodged the Corrosive Gold Liquid and turned back to look at the lizard, only to see a dark, gaping hole; the lizard had tunneled underground and escaped. Seeing the creature flee, Xu Yang felt bitter resentment. He had lost a mid-grade magical artifact and still let the beast get away—this was a massive loss.

Fortunately, the Demon Eye had not been taken, or he truly would have been spitting blood. Thinking of this, Xu Yang turned and approached the Demon Eye to examine it closely.

The Demon Eye was only the size of a dragon's eye, perfectly round and pitch black. It was releasing wisps of Devilish Qi; once it assimilated all the spiritual energy in the vicinity, this place would become a new demon lair, turning into a prime cultivation ground for demonic practitioners.

Fortunately, the Demon Eye had not formed long ago, and the area had not been fully assimilated. As long as he removed the Demon Eye, the Devilish Qi here would be like water without a source and would naturally lose the power to spread.

In the cultivation world, besides sources of Devilish Qi like the Demon Eye, there were also sources formed from spiritual energy. They were the same type of treasure, differing only in the power they radiated. Such treasures were divided into three grades: Eye, Spring, and Vein, with each grade further split into upper and lower tiers.

The Demon Eye Xu Yang had discovered was a lower-tier one. Even so, if a Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator were to obtain it, they would surely be ecstatic.

With a Demon Eye, a demonic cultivator was essentially carrying a massive supply of Devilish Qi with them, which could greatly increase their cultivation speed. When the demonic power in their body was depleted, they could also recover it rapidly. It could be said to be a supreme treasure in the eyes of demonic cultivators.

These pieces of information flashed through Xu Yang's mind, and he was quite satisfied. Over the past six months, he had memorized the entire Treasure Appraisal Catalog, and his increased knowledge allowed him to recognize these spirit beasts and the Demon Eye.

After studying the Demon Eye for a moment, Xu Yang took out an empty Qiankun Bag and placed the eye inside. He had not learned spells or formations, so he naturally could not seal the Demon Eye, leaving him no choice but to store it in the empty bag to prevent its Devilish Qi from contaminating his other belongings.

After putting away the Demon Eye, Xu Yang scanned his surroundings to ensure nothing had been missed, then walked quickly toward the exit. Passing the giant Demon Bat, Xu Yang casually collected it into his Qiankun Bag, intending to sell it to the sect in exchange for resources.

When Xu Yang emerged from the underground grotto, the sun was already setting. The evening glow bathed the cliffs in a deep crimson. Looking at the magnificent sunset on the horizon, Xu Yang let out a long breath, his mood lightening.

Since it was getting late, Xu Yang decided to stay the night at the farmhouse where he had previously resided and return to the sect the next day. When he arrived, the two elderly residents had already left. Clearly, they had used the money Xu Yang left behind to seek refuge in a nearby town.

Xu Yang pushed the door open, entered the house, and rested for the night. Early the next morning, he took flight on his sword and headed back to the sect. By the time he returned, it was already dusk. He did not delay and headed straight for the External Affairs Hall.

At a counter inside the hall, Xu Yang took out his identity token and handed it to the disciple opposite him, saying, "I am here to submit a mission. Please help me verify it." The disciple took the token, scanned it, and said, "You accepted a yellow-tier mission. No one has completed it yet; you may submit it."

Xu Yang took out a jade slip and handed it over, saying, "My investigation results are written inside. You can take a look to see if it counts as completing the mission. If not, I can provide some physical evidence."

The External Affairs Hall disciple took the jade slip and examined its contents. Upon reading them, his expression changed drastically, and he asked Xu Yang, "Is this truly the case? You haven't falsified this, have you? This matter is of great importance. I must report this to my superiors. Could you wait here for a moment?"

Xu Yang nodded and replied, "This matter is absolutely true. I can wait here; go ahead!" Hearing Xu Yang's response, the disciple immediately stood up and walked quickly toward the inner hall.

Xu Yang waited in place for a while before seeing the disciple emerge from the inner hall and approach him. "Greetings, Senior Brother. My name is Lin Heng. Please follow me to the inner hall; the Deputy Hall Master is waiting to see you."

Xu Yang nodded quickly and said, "Please lead the way, Junior Brother Lin. My name is Xu Yang." Lin Heng nodded at Xu Yang and led the way toward the inner hall.

Entering the inner hall, Xu Yang looked up and observed that the furnishings were simple and ancient. It was very quiet, with no one else moving about. He followed Lin Heng directly into a quiet room. The space inside was not large, and in the center sat an old man of about sixty years.

The man had a ruddy complexion, white hair and beard, and eyes that shone with vitality. He wore simple linen robes and was dressed very plainly. Seeing him, Lin Heng immediately stepped forward and said respectfully, "Deputy Hall Master, Senior Brother Xu has arrived. If there is nothing else, this disciple will take his leave."

The old man glanced at Lin Heng and said, "Mm! You may go. I will summon you if I need anything." Hearing this, Lin Heng bowed and walked out of the room.

The old man then turned his gaze toward Xu Yang. Seeing him look his way, Xu Yang stepped forward two paces, bowed, and said, "Disciple Xu Yang pays his respects to the Deputy Hall Master."