An old man dressed in the robes of the Yaoguang Holy Land, bathed in the dim holy light, had his chest pierced by a hideous bone spear wreathed in black energy, pinning him to the stone wall. Blood flowed down the wall, and his life was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind.
He gripped a broken Holy Light Sword tightly in his hand, its tip piercing the heart of his enemy.
His opponent was a tall, powerful Ancient Races with bluish-gray skin and a single horn on his forehead.
Half of the Ancient Races's body was burned to charcoal by the holy light, and its heart was pierced by Broken Sword, from which black blood gushed out.
But he did not die immediately. His single eye burned with madness and resentment as he stared Yaoguang at Elder Yaoguang, making a hissing sound from his throat.
One hand was gripping the Broken Sword piercing his chest, seemingly trying to pull it out, while the other hand was gathering the last of his divine power.
It transformed into a jet-black claw, slowly reaching for Elder Yaoguang's head, intending to perish together with him.
The two sides had clearly just gone through a fierce battle, ultimately resulting in mutual destruction.
Elder Yaoguang's eyes were unfocused; he was on his deathbed.
The Ancient Races expert was also at his limit; the light from his condensed claws flickered erratically, and his movements became slow.
"Tsk tsk, it's an elder from the Yaoguang Holy Land, Half-Step Great Power in the Immortal One, actually fighting this Ancient Races to this extent."
Black Emperor transmitted his voice, his dog eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Looks like there's no hope. This is perfect for us!"
Did you see the bracelet on that Ancient Races member's hand?
It gleamed with a ghostly light; it was at least made of Xuan Nether Iron!
And that breastplate at his waist, though cracked, is made of " Netherworld Cold Jade," which can withstand attacks on the soul—it's a valuable item!
Duan De's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he urgently transmitted his voice.
"Quick! Grab the things before he's completely dead!"
Once he dies, some bloodline restrictions might be triggered or dissipate, which wouldn't be good!
Ye Fan was also tempted; the wealth of a Mighty Figure from a holy land and an expert from an Ancient Races must be immense.
He looked at the Black Emperor:
Are you confident? Don't let them bite you in a last-ditch counterattack.
"Don't worry! Watch me!"
Black Emperor was full of confidence. It signaled Ye Fan and Duan De to get ready, and then its paws moved quickly in the air, outlining several twisted ancient array patterns with concealment and paralysis effects.
It carefully manipulated the array patterns, casting a net-like motion, silently enveloping the Ancient Races who was still struggling, trying to deliver a final blow.
The Ancient Races expert Divine Capital completely focused on preparing for the final blow and resisting the erosion of the holy light within his body. Coupled with his severe injuries and impending death, his spiritual senses had greatly diminished, and he was completely unaware of the approaching danger.
Just as his dark, sharp claws were about to touch Yaoguang's forehead,
"Buzz!"
The pale gray array patterns suddenly contracted like a spider web, instantly disappearing into his body.
The Ancient Races expert's body stiffened abruptly, a hint of astonishment and rage flashing in his single eye, and the sharp claws he had gathered instantly dissipated.
He wanted to roar, but found that he couldn't even make a sound. His divine power was frozen, and only his eyeballs could barely move, filled with resentment and bitterness.
"Now!"
The Black Emperor let out a low shout.
Duan De darted out like a nimble ball of flesh, his target clear!
His technique was extremely skillful, like a master butcher dissecting an ox, as he pried it off, while simultaneously removing the breastplate with his other hand and stuffing it into his pocket.
Ye Fan was quick as well; he took a step forward and arrived in front of Elder Yaoguang, who was nailed to the wall.
The elder stared at him with cloudy eyes, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he only spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs, his head lolled to the side, and he was completely lifeless.
Ye Fan sighed inwardly and quickly put away his broken Broken Sword, which, though broken, still radiated a pure holy light.
This Broken Sword is made of excellent material and contains pure holy light power; perhaps it can be studied or reforged.
The Black Emperor stood upright, its dog paws gleaming with dark light, and slammed them directly at the head of the Ancient Races, who was imprisoned by the formation and could only move his eyeballs.
"Pfft!"
Like a watermelon shattering, the Ancient Races's powerful warrior, already at his limit, had his head explode instantly under the Black Emperor's finishing blow, scattering red and white matter everywhere, and his remaining life force completely dissipated.
Black Emperor disgustedly shook the filth off its paws, then its dog eyes gleamed as it began to search the headless corpse of the Ancient Races's powerful figure.
Soon, it pulled out a strange crystal, about the size of a baby's fist, from the animal skin inner armor close to its body. The crystal was ice-cold and seemed to have a black vortex swirling inside.
"Hehe, ' Nether Baleful Soul Crystal '! Good stuff!"
Top-grade materials for crafting soul-type magical artifacts can also aid in cultivating some Yin-attribute secret techniques!
Black Emperor happily put away the Soul Crystal.
The whole process was clean and efficient, taking only five or six breaths from the start to the end of the looting.
"Hurry! This place is no place to stay!"
Ye Fan whispered, sensing that several more auras were approaching in this direction, likely drawn by the final burst of energy from earlier.
Without lingering, the three of them, having not yet explored the treasures within the Bitter Sea, vanished swiftly from the deathly-filled cave and disappeared once more into the complex secret passages.
Only after confirming that it was temporarily safe did the three of them slow down their pace.
"Hehe, a great start!"
Duan De Depang's face lit up with a smile, rubbing his hands together.
"A Mighty Figure from a sacred land and an Ancient Races —their wealth is enough for us to digest for a while!"
We'll count them slowly once we get out!
Black Emperor also proudly raised his head:
"When I make a move, it never fails!"
This is called "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!"
Although Ye Fan felt he had gained a good amount, he remained mostly calm.
This is just a small glimpse into the battle for Purple Mountain; the real dangers and opportunities lie ahead.
He clenched his fist, feeling the surging blood and qi within his body, and gazed more firmly at the increasingly clear and profound Daoist voice emanating from the depths of the passage.
"Let's go, we're still a long way from the depths, there's more ahead."
During the rest of their journey, they encountered two more similar "escaped fish".
One instance is in a naturally formed stalactite cave, where a disciple of the Central Continent Great Sect whose primordial spirit had been shattered by some kind of sonic technique was discovered.
Besides the source and elixirs, the harvest also included a jade slip recording a rare sonic killing technique, which the Black Emperor happily accepted, claiming he would research a targeted "human-pet whistle."
Another place was even more dangerous. As they passed through a narrow section of road riddled with cracks, a mangled corpse suddenly fell from above. Judging from the clothing, it belonged to the Northern Plains Golden Family.
When the corpse fell, it triggered an unstable and broken restriction nearby, unleashing several sharp sword energies, which Ye Fan blocked in time with the Xuanhuang Qi descending from the Cauldron of All-Things Mother Qi.
From the corpse, they found a palm-sized, incredibly heavy piece of " White Tiger Geng Metal " that exuded a sharp metallic aura.
It was a top-grade auxiliary material for forging the Holy Sword of Attack, and Ye Fan put it away.
Although these gains cannot compare to the ultimate immortal materials, each item is a treasure, enough to attract the attention of many cultivators.
The fact that Black Emperor was able to obtain these spoils so "easily" in the treacherous Purple Mountain was entirely due to his familiarity with the secret passages.
And the fierce battle outside drew almost all of that attention.
"Hehe, that's what you call making a fortune quietly."
Duan De stroked the several newly acquired treasures in his arms, his smile so wide it almost disappeared into his eyes.
"Those idiots outside are fighting tooth and nail, while we just follow behind and pick up the scraps. How comfortable!"
"Don't get cocky, you fatso."
Black Emperor pursed his lips, but his dog face was full of pleasure.
"The closer you get to the core, the less of this kind of 'windfall' you'll receive; the real test is yet to come."
Cheer up, everyone!
After these few small "harvests," the three became more vigilant, but their morale also soared considerably.
I highly recommend " Shrouding the Heavens: Yuanshi of the Myriad Heavens "! Get straight to the exciting parts.