Chapter 816: Inner Valley Road

Volume 6: Heavenly Spiritual Treasures

A small, brown, rocky hill on the western side of Demonfall Valley was home to two figures—one seated, one standing—at its summit.

The seated figure was a benevolent-looking old man in white robes, while the standing figure was dressed in splendid robes with a tall crown, his long beard reaching his chest.

They were none other than Elder Lu Weiying of the Heavenly Extremes Sect and Marquis Nanlong.

Marquis Nanlong stood five or six zhang in front of Lu Weiying, his hands clasped behind his back. He appeared calm as he gazed into the distance, yet a faint flicker of anxiety was visible in his eyes.

"Brother Nanlong, there's no need to be so anxious. That person likely teleported to a more remote location, so it will naturally take him more time to arrive. Didn't we see him enter the formation and get teleported in ourselves?" Lu Weiying, who was seated on a large boulder, resting his eyes, seemed to sense Marquis Nanlong's impatience and suddenly spoke.

"That's true, but you also know that Demonfall Valley is fraught with dangers, and some cannot be overcome by powerful abilities alone. We absolutely cannot do without him for this trip. Otherwise, we might have come to Demonfall Valley in vain," Marquis Nanlong sighed, turning his head with a hint of helplessness.

"The Extreme North Primordial Light is one thing; it absolutely requires the Two-Sided Ring to pass through. But is that Fire Toad Beast truly so formidable? Otherwise, after we acquired the ring, why would we insist on bringing this person along?" Lu Weiying opened his eyes, unable to resist complaining.

"I haven't personally witnessed its power. However, in Venerable Cang Kun's posthumous notes, this beast is indeed described as terrifyingly formidable. It's best to find a cultivator whose cultivation method counters this beast to deal with it. Otherwise, even if we could defeat it, it wouldn't be easy, and we might suffer a significant loss of vitality. In such a perilous place, I don't want to give anyone an opportunity," Marquis Nanlong explained, his brow furrowed.

"Brother Nanlong has a point. It seems that after the incident on the Mulan Grassland, Brother Nanlong has become even more careful. However, I have seen descriptions of Fire Toad Beasts in some ancient texts. This ancient beast wasn't particularly well-known in ancient times. According to those records, it shouldn't be difficult to deal with. But since Venerable Cang Kun mentioned it, perhaps the one in the valley is a mutated Fire Toad," Lu Weiying pondered briefly before stating his judgment.

"Mutated? That's somewhat possible. However, I think it's more likely due to this beast having no natural enemies in the valley and cultivating for an exceptionally long time," Marquis Nanlong didn't entirely agree with the elder's view.

"Things have come to this point; there's no use saying anything more. That Fire Toad must be eliminated. And the path leading to the Fire Toad Beast is filled with Extreme North Primordial Light. No one unprepared can pass through there. We don't need to worry about that ancient cultivator's remains being discovered first by someone else," Lu Weiying said leisurely, closing his eyes again.

Seeing the elder's unhurried demeanor, Marquis Nanlong smiled faintly. Just as he was about to say something more, his expression suddenly changed. He quickly turned around and looked up at the sky.

In the distance, a blue light flickered in the air, followed by a blue rainbow slowly flying towards them.

"It's him; he finally arrived." Marquis Nanlong, who was quite familiar with Han Li's遁光 (escape light), immediately recognized its owner. A look of joy appeared on his face.

Upon hearing this, Lu Weiying quickly opened his eyes and stood up.

It seemed that despite his outwardly calm demeanor, this elder of the Heavenly Extremes Sect had also been anxious for some time.

The blue rainbow seemed very cautious, its speed not particularly fast. After a good while, the escape light reached the space above them.

The blue light retracted, revealing a cloaked figure gently floating above the two men, looking down at them.

"Is that you, Fellow Daoist Han?"

After a quick divine sense scan, Marquis Nanlong found that his divine sense could not penetrate the greenish-blue cloak. He looked surprised and spoke hesitantly.

"What, Fellow Daoist, have you made an appointment with someone else besides me?" Han Li lightly chuckled, touching the cloak on his head. At the same time, his gaze shifted, glancing at the elder surnamed Lu.

Lu Weiying also noticed the unusual nature of Han Li's cloak but maintained his usual expression.

"Fellow Daoist Han, you jest. Brother Lu and I have been waiting for you for quite some time." Upon confirming it was indeed Han Li's voice, Marquis Nanlong breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he found Han Li's cloak a bit strange, seeing that Han Li didn't wish to discuss it, he didn't press further. None of the three were indecisive individuals, so they immediately began discussing the matter of eliminating the Fire Toad Beast.

To reach the Fire Toad Beast, they first had to enter the Inner Valley.

The "Inner Valley" was actually a large area in the center of Demonfall Valley, re-enclosed by even more powerful ancient restrictions.

However, this time, there wasn't just one passage to the Inner Valley.

Simply circling the entire Outer Valley, one could easily find over a dozen passages of varying sizes.

Yet, all these passages were heavily restricted. To pass through them, one either had to meticulously break each restriction or face severe consequences by attempting to force their way through.

These ancient restrictions were incredibly powerful and unforgiving. As long as they weren't attacked, they remained dormant, but once provoked, they would retaliate mercilessly.

Venerable Cang Kun, confident in his mastery of formations, had studied them for several days before completely giving up.

While it wasn't impossible to break them, it would simply take too long for him alone.

Later, Venerable Cang Kun had gone to great lengths, and with a stroke of luck, he discovered another secret path filled with Extreme North Primordial Light.

This passage was extremely hidden and not easily discovered, but the Extreme North Primordial Light within it was sufficient to kill any unsuspecting cultivator who entered.

However, with the Two-Sided Ring, entering the Inner Valley should now be an extremely easy task.

After a brief discussion, Han Li and the two immediately ascended into the air without any rest, preparing to fly towards the Inner Valley.

But as soon as they took flight, Marquis Nanlong slapped his storage bag, pulled out several small bells of various colors, a few inches in size, and hung them on his waist.

Han Li was momentarily stunned by this sight and looked at Marquis Nanlong with some surprise.

"These are sensory bells. If there's even a slight anomaly in the spatial fluctuations wherever we go, the bells will ring on their own. While they can't predict all spatial rifts, they can warn us of most of them," Marquis Nanlong explained briefly when he saw Han Li's curious expression.

Han Li nodded, his heart stirring. The three transformed into three streaks of escape light and flew away from the small hill.

As they flew towards the center of the valley, those few bronze bells indeed proved quite effective.

Whenever a spatial rift appeared, the bells would immediately emit a clear, jingling sound, allowing the three to notice it early and prevent them from accidentally crashing into it.

However, most of these rifts were traceable or appeared as faint anomalies. For truly invisible spatial rifts, these bells were still unable to provide a warning.

Han Li knew this clearly because he had used his spiritual eyes on the way and spotted a hidden rift not far from their side. The three escape lights brushed past it, and the bronze bells remained perfectly still, without any alarm.

Seeing this, Han Li gained some understanding.

However, as Marquis Nanlong said, having these bronze bells indeed made things much more convenient.

Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying could also move more freely, increasing their escape speed by at least a few points.

Since the three were lucky enough to avoid any hidden rifts on their path, Han Li naturally didn't need to give any warnings and was content to remain silent.

Thus, the three proceeded safely.

After more than half a day, they appeared outside the Inner Valley, in front of an unfamiliar mountain range.

This mountain range consisted of over a dozen small peaks extending continuously, forming a miniature mountain range spanning dozens of miles.

Behind this mountain range, a expanse of crimson light obscured the sky, appearing eerily bizarre.

"That's the Inner Valley. Those crimson lights are extremely powerful restrictions. Absolutely do not provoke them, or you'll lose a layer of skin even if you don't die," Marquis Nanlong warned immediately, seeing the scene for the first time yet speaking as if he were an old hand.

Han Li narrowed his eyes, gazing at the crimson lights for a few moments, his expression unreadable.

These crimson lights were so strange that even if Marquis Nanlong hadn't warned him, he wouldn't have rashly charged into them.

However, these ancient demonic cultivators were interesting, having laid down layer after layer of powerful restrictions in Demonfall Valley. He truly wondered what this valley was originally used for. Why was its defense so strict? Could it have been a prison or a cage?

For some reason, such a strange thought arose in Han Li's mind, but he immediately chuckled and dismissed it.

What kind of monster would require such a large valley as a cage? That was simply impossible. Most likely, this place was still an important stronghold of ancient demonic cultivators!

Han Li speculated in his mind.

At this moment, Marquis Nanlong led the elder and Han Li into the mountain range, flying directly towards the area between two peaks.

Upon reaching that spot, Marquis Nanlong raised a hand, and the three stopped, slowly descending to the ground.

With a glance, the area ahead appeared normal: green grass, rocks, giant trees, and vines—nothing seemed out of place.

"This is it. This place shouldn't look like this normally, but Venerable Cang Kun cast an illusion before he left, concealing the passage entrance. That's why the entrance isn't visible. I'll break the illusion first," Marquis Nanlong said calmly, a hint of excitement on his face.

Then, with a flick of his sleeve, a white jade pendant flew out from his cuff and hovered above his head after a single rotation.

A low incantation emerged from Marquis Nanlong's mouth. He formed hand seals and struck the jade pendant above his head with various colored magic formulas.

All the magic formulas vanished instantly, absorbed cleanly by the jade pendant. Then, a dazzling white light appeared, and with a slight tremor, the jade pendant emitted a clear ringing sound.

With a loud shout from Marquis Nanlong, a large expanse of white ethereal light burst forth from the jade pendant, sweeping towards everything in front of them.

Below, a bizarre scene unfolded.

Wherever the white ethereal light passed, all the rocks and trees twisted and tore apart like a painting, then shattered and vanished within the light.

After a clear chime, the white mist quickly retracted, swiftly shooting back into the jade pendant and disappearing.

Before Han Li and the other two, an unfamiliar landscape had replaced the previous one.

(Sweat, the closer it gets to the end of the month, the more things pile up. Last night, something happened at a relative's house, and I helped out until midnight. This chapter is from last night. I'm just getting it out now, so I apologize everyone! For readers with monthly passes, at this crucial final moment, I hope you can all lend a hand. Regardless of the ranking, I sincerely thank you all!)