And this was only in the central region of the Three Dense Forests, where he had been roaming. The roars from its depths, each one shaking the mountains and forests, were enough to make him turn back.
"I'm just a little short of nurturing another Enlightenment Glimmer."
Bai Yi swept his thoughts over the Dao-Deriving Mirror and saw that it was less than one-fifth of the way from gathering another glimmer.
A sudden, faint tremor made him swiftly turn his gaze toward the mountainside of Flying Stone Peak in the distance.
He peered into the distance and saw wisps of smoke and dust rising from the mountainside.
"An abandoned Vajra Crystal mining site?"
Bai Yi spread his Divine Sense and saw two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, cloaked in optical and stealth camouflage, rapidly approaching Flying Stone Peak.
When they reached their maximum range of six hundred meters, a live video feed appeared across Bai Yi's pupils.
On the mountainside, a Vajra Crocodile Turtle nearly four meters long let out low growls, its back covered in an ocher rocky shell and its four stout heads resembling those of giant crocodiles. Demon Qi surged around it.
Its feet stomped against the ground, and countless stone pillars suddenly thrust up from underground like sharp swords, repeatedly attacking the nearby squad of Rogue Cultivators.
Behind the Vajra Crocodile Turtle, a Vajra Crystal the size of a washbasin radiated waves of metallic aura.
"Vajra Crystal?! A piece this big!"
After locking the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle's camera onto it and carefully confirming what he saw, Bai Yi glanced at the remaining four or five kilometers of distance. The Azure Peak Sword slid from its sheath behind him, and he flew straight toward the mountainside on his sword.
On the mountainside
Guo Lin stared grimly at the Vajra Crocodile Turtle that had suddenly appeared, its Demon Qi powerful enough to rival a Qi Refining, Seventh Layer beast. He swiftly hurled an electronically imprinted Thunderclap Talisman from his palm.
As Spiritual Power surged into it, the talisman paper rose into the air above the Vajra Crocodile Turtle.
As its Runes stirred, a Yang Thunder as thick as an arm dropped out of nowhere and struck the Vajra Crocodile Turtle squarely on the head, shattering the Demon Qi barrier wrapped around it.
"Roar!"
Under the threat of the Yang Thunder, the Vajra Crocodile Turtle roared repeatedly, drawing on Rock and Earth Qi with the Demon Qi around it.
It raised its forelegs and stomped down hard. Sand and stones flew everywhere, and ripples like water waves spread across the ground. A young Rogue Cultivator failed to react in time; in an instant, his body was crushed to pieces under the weight of the Rock and Earth Qi.
Blood sprayed in every direction, splattering those around him.
"Use the Magnetic Heavenly Origin Lock to restrain it!"
Guo Lin roared as he pulled the Spirit-Gathering Electro-Optic Cannon from his back. The variegated Lightning-Type Spiritual Power in his body poured frantically into the cannon's charging unit.
As a gaunt man temporarily trapped the Vajra Crocodile Turtle with a chain-type magic artifact,
the charging lights all came on. Amidst the tremendous recoil, a beam of Spiritual Power mixed with electro-optic energy tore through the air, instantly slamming into the Demon Qi barrier that had formed around the Vajra Crocodile Turtle once more.
Boom!
Amidst a muffled blast, the Demon Qi barrier shattered in an instant.
Faced with a cannon shot powerful enough to grievously injure a Qi Refining, Sixth Layer cultivator, the Vajra Crocodile Turtle quickly tucked its head and limbs into its shell.
Its bloodline Demon Qi rose, and strange Demon Patterns emerged across its shell. Its Demon Qi swelled and condensed into layer after layer of Demon Power armor, which withstood the cannon shot by sheer force.
The smoke and dust cleared.
The Vajra Crocodile Turtle crawled out again. Tiny cracks in its shell sent it into an enraged roar, its eyes fixed on Guo Lin, who had been drained of Spiritual Power and collapsed to the ground.
Roar!
As the Vajra Crocodile Turtle let out a low growl, spikes of earth began forming around it.
The two middle-aged men and women beside it formed hand seals. As a frigid current swept past, droplets of water condensed from the void. They drew upon faint Dao Resonance and shaped it into two Water Serpents as thick as bowls, which struck down the forming earth spikes from either side.
Next, they pulled several Magnetic Storm Grenades from their waists, pulled their safety pins, and hurled them all at the Vajra Crocodile Turtle.
As the grenades exploded, the gaunt man beside them looked grave. Spiritual Power surged through him, and a chain flashing with electric light wound out from his hand like a serpent.
Guided by the man's Divine Sense, the chain precisely wound around the Vajra Crocodile Turtle's stout limbs and heads.
"It's restrained!"
Seeing the gaunt man succeed, Guo Lin and the others had just shouted excitedly when a terrifying Demon Qi, far more powerful than before, erupted from within the Vajra Crocodile Turtle.
Murky yellow Demon Qi battered the chain, and it snapped with a crisp crack.
The First-Tier Middle-Grade magic artifact chain shattered outright.
"So this is the might of Late Qi Refining..."
Seeing that they had nearly exhausted their methods, Guo Lin and the others gazed at the Vajra Crystal behind the Vajra Crocodile Turtle with unwilling eyes.
That washbasin-sized Vajra Crystal would be worth at least five hundred thousand Spirit Value if they took it out. More importantly, their scan had detected a faint fluctuation hidden inside it.
Just as Guo Lin was ordering the Armed Mechanical Dogs to move in and buy them time,
the Demon Qi around the Vajra Crocodile Turtle swelled violently, and cracks spread like a spiderweb as the earth trembled.
Sand and stones flew through the air. Rocks imbued with Demon Qi shot like blades, chopping down the surrounding trees and engulfing the gaunt man, who had no time to retreat.
With the earth thrusting up and sand and stones whirling around him, the gaunt man held on for only a few breaths before being stripped to White Bones, his flesh and blood splattered across the ground.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
The sand and stones, nearly blotting out the sky, engulfed them all in an instant.
Just as Guo Lin and the other two were falling into despair, the swirling sand and stones that had been tearing everything apart suddenly stopped. Then, under their astonished gazes, a brilliant Sword Light came whistling in.
With a single sword strike, it severed the tornado of Demon Qi. The Sword Light then wheeled back and cut the jutting earth spikes in half.
"Do your best to keep this demon turtle restrained."
The low voice brought the three of them back to their senses. They turned and saw a figure in a White Garment, surrounded by the blue glow of sword blades, standing before them.
Bai Yi glanced at the nearby corpse reduced to White Bones and furrowed his brows slightly.
He had hurried as fast as he could, but he was still a few breaths too late.
It wasn't out of personal kindness. He was worried that without the gaunt man, the other three might not be able to restrain the Vajra Crocodile Turtle even a little.
Bai Yi swept his gaze over the three who remained. All of them were at the Qi Refining, Fourth Layer, and carried an array of technological equipment. The middle-aged man and woman had even each undergone two Prosthetic Implants.
Their cultivation of Daoist Arts was poor. There probably wasn't a single one of them who had cultivated a Daoist Art to Dao Resonance Minor Accomplishment.
Otherwise, with their technological weaponry, they wouldn't have lasted less than two minutes.
"Hold it off for thirty seconds, or die."
At the sight of the figure who had suddenly appeared, Guo Lin and the others instinctively focused their Divine Sense and gazes on the Azure Edge Sword circling around Bai Yi.
Beneath the gentle breeze, blue Sword Light flickered, and Dao Resonance drew the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to swirl around the blade...
"At the very least, his Sword Art has reached Dao Resonance Major Accomplishment!"
The three exchanged glances, then, without much hesitation, took several pills from their pockets and swallowed them.
Afterward, they used their Terminals to order several Armed Mechanical Dogs to harass the Vajra Crocodile Turtle, then charged at it again in a triangular formation.
After all, among Rogue Cultivators, strength was respected. If Bai Yi hadn't suddenly appeared, they would probably have been stripped to White Bones by the sand and stones just like the gaunt man.
With that first sword strike, Bai Yi had already saved their lives.
What's more, to them, the Sword Light that swallowed its sharpness and gave rise to Dao Resonance was far faster than the Vajra Crocodile Turtle.
They had no confidence that they could withstand an edge like that of the first Sword Light.