Chapter 1326: Forbidden Barrier Blocking the Road

In a dense, dark forest, Wang Changsheng was buried halfway in the soil under a towering tree, only his head visible, his gaze fixed intently on the distance.

A white giant python was locked in fierce combat with two red giant scorpions. Thanks to its superior rank and formidable defenses, the white ice python was more than a match for the two red scorpions. Wang Changsheng hoped to be the fisherman who profited from the struggle; if the white giant python suffered heavy injuries, he would certainly seize the opportunity to kill it.

The two red giant scorpions continuously spat out colossal, vat-sized fireballs that struck the white python, sending flames soaring. However, a wave of white cold air quickly emanated from the fire, extinguishing the flames almost instantly. They opened their mouths and spewed a large cloud of red poisonous mist. As soon as it came within ten zhang of the white python, it was frozen by the white cold air, turning into chunks of red ice that dropped to the ground.

Two beams of white light shot towards the scorpions. They flapped the wings on their backs and dodged, but just then, a loud whooshing sound heralded a volley of countless white ice spikes. Despite their quick reactions, the sheer number of ice spikes overwhelmed them. Some struck one of the red scorpions, causing little direct damage, but the accompanying cold froze its surface with a thin layer of ice, significantly slowing it down.

A thick serpent tail descended from above, slamming into the scorpion and sending it flying backward to crash heavily onto the ground. Before it could recover, a thick white pillar of light descended precisely upon it. The red scorpion's body visibly froze, rapidly transforming into a colossal ice sculpture.

A piercing whistle sounded as a thick serpent tail descended from above and struck the ice sculpture. Boom! The ice sculpture shattered into pieces, and the red giant scorpion was instantly pulverized into a shower of blood, perishing on the spot. Witnessing this, the other red giant scorpion dared not linger. It flapped its wings and flew high into the distance.

The white giant python twisted its thick body and slithered back to its nest. Wang Changsheng felt a bit disappointed; mid-grade fourth-tier demonic beasts were indeed formidable foes. However, that was acceptable, as Wang Qingling should have succeeded in her task.

A small mound rose from the nearby ground, and Wang Qingling emerged from underground.

"Ninth Uncle, you were right," she said. "The pond water is fourth-tier spirit water." Wang Qingling took out a white jade bottle and handed it to Wang Changsheng.

They had discovered an Ice Serpent Fruit Tree growing in this cave, but it was guarded by a mid-grade fourth-tier demonic beast. Wang Changsheng alone was no match for it, so they had used Heavenly Moon Divine Water to lure two fourth-tier demonic insects into battle with the beast, creating an opportunity for Wang Qingling to harvest the spirit fruits.

Wang Changsheng took the white jade bottle, feeling a bone-chilling cold emanate from his palm.

"Excellent," Wang Changsheng said. "It wasn't for nothing that we went to all this trouble luring the Golden-tailed Fiery Scorpions. The wood demon was even injured, thankfully..."

Before Wang Changsheng could finish speaking, a deafening roar erupted.

"Oh no!" he exclaimed. "That beast discovered the fruit tree was stolen! Run!"

A brilliant yellow light flared around Wang Changsheng and Wang Qingling as they burrowed into the ground and disappeared.

In a hidden cave, Zhang Wuchen and Lin Yuzong sat cross-legged on the ground. Lin Yuzong's face was somewhat pale, and a horrifying bloody gash on his left arm exposed bone. A black giant bear, over two zhang tall, lay dead on the ground, its head severed by a sharp weapon.

Zhang Wuchen's body was enveloped in a shimmering silver glow, appearing to Lin Yuzong as if a silver moon hovered behind her. After a moment, the silver light around Zhang Wuchen dissipated, and she opened her eyes. She pressed her right hand towards Lin Yuzong's arm, and a large swath of silver light surged out, enveloping the wound. An astonishing scene unfolded: the wound healed at a visible rate.

"It's healed," she said. "A period of recuperation when you return will be enough, and there will be no lingering issues."

Lin Yuzong breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "The Silver Moon Restoration Art is truly incredible!" he remarked. "It's a pity it only heals external wounds. It would be even better if it could heal internal injuries."

"Hmph," Zhang Wuchen scoffed. "The Silver Moon Restoration Art is a unique secret technique of the Moon Palace; it's already impressive that it can heal external wounds. Besides, if you hadn't insisted on killing this mid-grade fourth-tier demonic bear, you wouldn't have been injured."

Lin Yuzong pursed his lips, about to reply, when he suddenly sensed something. "Fellow Daoist Wang and the others are coming," he said. "Let's go out!"

After putting away the black demonic bear's corpse, they walked out together. Outside the cave, an endless plain stretched before them.

A small mound rapidly moved towards them. Soon after, it stopped, and Wang Changsheng and Wang Qingling emerged from underground. There were simply too many fourth-tier demonic beasts in the Heavenly Void Grotto-heaven, a significant number of which were fourth-tier demonic birds, making earth-burrowing the safer travel method.

"Madam Zhang, Fellow Daoist Lin, are you alright?" Wang Changsheng noticed Lin Yuzong's poor complexion and asked with concern.

"It's nothing, just some flesh wounds," Lin Yuzong replied.

Zhang Wuchen glanced at the sky. "We've been in the Heavenly Void Grotto-heaven for quite some time now," she said. "Let's finish this quickly and leave here soon."

Wang Changsheng nodded. "According to the map, the Fire Qilin Beast's nest isn't far from here," he said. "Let's go!"

The four of them transformed into streaks of light, rushing northeastward at high speed.

After about fifteen minutes, they stopped outside a long, narrow red valley. Inside the valley were numerous giant pits and eerie, fiery-red stones. On either side of the valley rose two black mountain peaks, over a thousand zhang high. In the distance, two humanoid skeletons lay on the ground.

Wang Qingling released a small horse-shaped puppet beast, which walked towards the valley. As soon as the small horse puppet beast entered the valley, a sudden muffled rumble came from high in the sky, and several house-sized fireballs descended, successively crashing onto it. Boom! After a series of massive roars, the small horse puppet beast shattered into pieces and vanished without a trace.

"There's clearly a fire-attribute restriction here," Wang Changsheng calmly analyzed. "Those two cultivators tried to force their way through. The paths on both sides must be different." He then released hundreds of Gold-devouring Ants, which flew towards the black mountain peaks on either side.

Initially, there was no abnormality, but when they flew halfway up the mountain, several thick red lightning bolts suddenly struck down from the sky, hitting the Gold-devouring Ants. The Gold-devouring Ants were struck by the red lightning and instantly vanished.

"What's going on?" Wang Changsheng frowned. "Madam Zhang, haven't you been here before?" He continued, "Who knows what restrictions lie ahead? To insist on forcing our way through here would be gambling with our lives. If we're lucky, there'll be no problem, but if we're unlucky, those two corpses are a grim warning." On the way here, Wang Changsheng had asked repeatedly, but Zhang Wuchen hadn't mentioned any restrictions on the path.

"Don't worry," Zhang Wuchen explained, her tone sincere. "This restriction won't last too long; it will weaken in a few days. However, there's only an hour's window of opportunity. I calculated this precisely, which is why I dared to invite Fellow Daoist Wang to retrieve the treasure. We must be fast."