Black Toad Ridge was named for the vast numbers of Black Cloud Toads that lived there. It was shrouded in miasma year-round, with venomous insects and beasts everywhere. Several spirit herbs rarely seen elsewhere also grew here, drawing many high-level cultivators to hunt demon beasts and gather herbs.
Most cultivators operated around the outskirts of Black Toad Ridge. Fifth-rank demon beasts roamed its depths, and there were even rumors of sixth-rank demon beasts, though no one had ever encountered one.
Deep within the mountain range lay a long, narrow valley. Clear traces of fire scorched the valley floor, while the stone walls on either side bore marks of corrosion.
Han Changming stood within the valley, his brow tightly furrowed. The Amethyst Flying Scorpion crouched nearby.
He had come seeking Earth Crystals and had wandered through Black Toad Ridge for over a month. He had captured quite a few fourth-rank Spirit-Seeking Earthworms, but none contained an Earth Crystal. Clearly, the Spirit-Seeking Earthworm Li Niansheng had sold him had only happened to swallow an Earth Crystal. It had been a chance occurrence.
Just then, the Amethyst Flying Scorpion suddenly let out a shrill, piercing hiss. Its tail stinger rose high as it assumed the posture of one facing a formidable enemy.
Han Changming seemed to sense something. He viciously stomped his right foot against the ground.
The earth trembled and the mountains shook. The ground abruptly tore apart, opening a thick fissure over a thousand zhang long and more than ten zhang wide. More than a dozen hilltops split cleanly in two.
A yellow centipede emerged from underground. Its shell was covered in numerous distinct scars, and there was a fist-sized bloody hole near its tail, as though it had been struck by a sharp weapon.
It was a fifth-rank high-grade Earth