White-Scale Prefecture, Water-Patrolling Yaksha

Gongshu Jing frowned slightly.

He had noticed it too, and instinctively felt that something was amiss.

But at present, the two from Beast Pavilion were attacking ferociously, and he dared not lower his guard in the slightest. Strictly speaking, the gap in strength between the three of them was not as vast as imagined.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Hao Wu flew straight to the side of the spirit vine, mobilizing the dharma power in his dantian. With a saber in one hand, he showed no mercy as he viciously slashed at Lu He's vital points.

At the same time, his other hand quietly reached toward the gourds on the vine.

Yet in the next moment.

Amid repeated clangs of metal striking metal.

The hand Hao Wu had extended suddenly froze.

He lowered his head and saw that his artifact saber seemed to have struck cotton, blocked by layers upon layers of mist-light that had appeared from nowhere.

Hao Wu instinctively poured dharma power into his artifact.

Dao patterns flowed across the blade, its edge blazing brilliantly as it instantly cleaved apart one strand of mist-light.

But before he could rejoice, the surrounding mist surged in at once, and the shattered mist-light healed at an outrageously rapid pace.

"What spell is this... No, this dharma power's aura is wrong too. A mid-grade method!"

In the instant he was stunned, Hao Wu had already been surrounded by the dark, gloomy mist.

The mist churned, heavy as mountains.

Hao Wu felt as though he had fallen into a terrifying mire. Every movement took immense effort; even activating his artifact had become difficult.

His heart immediately sank.

Years of wandering and fighting told Hao Wu—he was no match for the person before him!

Through the mist, he could only vaguely glimpse an indifferent pair of eyes, devoid of any emotion.

"At the very least, someone ranked one hundred and ten-something on the Golden Rankings!"

"Which team is this underhanded? They actually hid an existence like this. Could they have prepared him specifically for Gongshu Jing?"

Hao Wu felt like weeping without tears, but what greeted him was a mysterious treasure wheel wreathed in five-colored radiant threads, bearing overwhelming pressure.

Boom—

With a thunderous crash, Hao Wu was caught off guard and struck in the chest by the treasure wheel. He spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward like a kite with its string cut.

The violent commotion instantly drew the attention of the other three.

When they saw Hao Wu's miserable state, all their expressions changed as they turned toward the figure shrouded in mist.

But their attention was soon seized by what they caught from the corners of their eyes.

The rising water surface suddenly began to churn violently for no apparent reason.

Immediately afterward, a pitch-black iron fork shot out, wrapped in demon qi that blotted out the sky and covered the earth. Fast as lightning, it smashed the flying Hao Wu out of the cave and nailed him to a rock wall a hundred zhang away.

A shrill, piercing voice rang through the entire cave:

"Water-Patrolling Yaksha of White-Scale Prefecture is here! You human whelps, surrender at once, or be killed without mercy!"

From afar.

Deep within the floodwaters, a troop of humanoid creatures five zhang tall, clad head to toe in pitch-black armor and wielding all manner of weapons, rode the waves as they rapidly approached.

The moment they appeared.

A dazzling black radiant thread lit up between the brows of the creature at their head, then spread in all directions at tremendous speed.

Wherever the black radiant thread swept.

The surging waves were forcibly flattened, the air twisted, and even the spiritual essence spilling from the spirit spring became tainted with a dense, primordial Baleful Intent.

It was as though a terrifying domain of Sha Qi had formed on its own.

With only a single glance from afar.

"All humans must die! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

An intense urge to slaughter uncontrollably rose in Lu He's heart, and a faint crimson stain seeped into his eyes.

"Immaculate Heart Ape!"

He instinctively activated the White Ape Dao Diagram, only then regaining clarity.

"Will-light, heart-tides reflected upon the world—the unique ability of Crimson Palace Sea Secret Realm creatures in the middle Qi-Feeding Realm... This is clearly the outskirts of White-Scale Lake. How could Water-Patrolling Yaksha of such strength appear here?"

Lu He shuddered in alarm. Not daring to hesitate in the slightest, he once more manipulated the mist into a rope, looped it around the nearest green-skinned gourd, then turned and sprinted wildly toward the cave exit.

It was no wonder he ran so fast.

In this world.

For the first three levels of the Qi-Feeding Realm, prodigies could still challenge those above their level with treasures or high-grade inheritances.

But once one's cultivation broke through the fourth level of Qi-Feeding and opened up the Crimson Palace Sea, their strength would undergo earthshaking changes.

It was no exaggeration to say that before Crimson Palace Sea cultivators, no number of third-level Qi-Feeding cultivators held the slightest meaning.

Wherever will-light extended.

Those below the middle Qi-Feeding Realm were all ants.

In the blink of an eye, Lu He had vanished from the cave, leaving only a shout that echoed without end:

"Brother Chen, the wind's tight—run!"

Hearing this.

Chen Zhengchu clenched his teeth fiercely. Intense pain shot through him, instantly restoring his senses.

At this moment, he had been frightened out of his wits. How could he dare linger? He no longer cared about the extraordinary treasure gourds either, pouring out all his dharma power and transforming into a fleeing streak of light as he fled madly outside.

"Chen Zhengchu, we're fellow disciples! How could you join outsiders in setting me up like this? Have the dogs eaten your conscience?!"

Standing where he was, Xu Yang looked at Chen Zhengchu's fleeing back, then toward the direction in which Lu He had disappeared. Only then did realization dawn on him, and he could not help roaring in fury.

His voice was filled with bitter resentment.

Yet no matter how fierce his rage was, it could not overcome the fear in his heart.

He did not dare delay, hurriedly circulating all the dharma power in his body as he fled for his life toward the cave exit.

Behind Xu Yang.

A trace of unwillingness flashed through Gongshu Jing's eyes. He gritted his teeth and snorted coldly, his body moving as he transformed into an afterimage and chased after Lu He.

Just then.

Boom—

A massive hand condensed from demon qi, almost solid in form, reached across a distance of a hundred zhang and viciously grabbed at Gongshu Jing, who was at the very rear.

Along its path, the hard stone walls shattered like tofu, turning into vast clouds of powder.

Outside the cave.

As Lu He fled, he decisively took out spirit gold and replaced the Summon Mist as Soldiers Art on the Myriad-Dharma Marvelous-Insight Treasure Wheel with the Wave-Treading Body-Escape Art.

In an instant, the treasure wheel spun madly. His entire body was enveloped by dense rippling water, and his speed soared as he transformed into a dazzling streak of escape light.

While fleeing.

As Lu He passed Hao Wu's corpse, he flicked his wrist. Mist swept past swiftly, silently taking the man's artifacts, iron fork, and storage pouch in one go.

He wasted nothing at all.

Several days passed in succession.

The flood within the caves had yet to recede.

Water-mansion demon soldiers patrolled everywhere, their auras terrifying.

Traces of brutal slaughter were everywhere. Corpse after corpse had been casually piled up by those demon soldiers, rotting and stinking.

Fortunately, the Water-Patrolling Yaksha that had appeared that day were not numerous, and all remained in the depths of the karst caverns.

Relying on the Summon Mist as Soldiers Art to conceal his figure and aura, Lu He carefully circled in hiding all the way toward the exit of the subterranean karst caverns, encountering no danger.

Along the way, he came across no fewer than seven or eight spiritual essence nodes.

Some sent spiritual light soaring into the heavens; some concealed the remains of ancient beasts; some even gave off faint fluctuations from embryonic artifacts. Every one of them was enough to drive outside cultivators mad.

Yet he could only watch helplessly, not daring to make a move.

If his aura leaked and drew the demon soldiers into a siege, forget obtaining treasures—he himself would be buried here.

The only good news was that Lu He had stumbled upon a vast patch of blood marrow flowers and gathered a full two liang of blood sand.

This day.

Not far from the cavern exit.

Lu He crept into a secluded cave, took out medicinal pills, and prepared to recover his dharma power.

Suddenly.

"Cough, cough... Brother Lu?"

An exceedingly weak voice came from behind a pile of rubble.

Lu He's gaze sharpened. The mist stirred slightly, revealing Zheng Jingren covered in blood, his clothes tattered beyond recognition, curled up in a corner with an aura so weak it had nearly reached its limit.