Chapter 1853: Five-Level Demon Beast

Liu Yunfeng was drenched in sweat, completely baffled as to why a group of Golden-winged Soul-devouring Scorpions had appeared here. The last time the Liu family sent people to explore this place, they hadn't found any Golden-winged Soul-devouring Scorpions!

"When our Liu family sent people in last time, there were no Golden-winged Soul-devouring Scorpions here at all! Every word I say is true; if I utter a single lie, may I die a terrible death."

To save his life, Liu Yunfeng could only swear.

"What I want is a reasonable explanation. There aren't more restrictions ahead, are there?" Cheng Xiaotian suppressed the anger in his heart and asked in a deep voice.

"They might have migrated from somewhere else. It's very normal for demonic insects to change their nests, isn't it?" Liu Yunfeng said, somewhat nervously. This explanation was barely plausible, as demonic insects or beasts indeed migrate their nests.

Wang Qingshan looked at True Immortal Xuanling, who quickly explained, "Last time, when we came in with the Liu family cultivators, there truly were no Golden-winged Soul-devouring Scorpions here. They must have migrated from somewhere else."

"Generally speaking, demonic insects or beasts don't just migrate casually. Either they were threatened, or their original territory couldn't meet their needs. Send someone into the cave to check. If there are high-grade poisonous herbs or toxins inside, that would be fine, but if not, I'm afraid there's a fifth-tier demonic beast here." Bai Ling'er said objectively; the demon race was most familiar with the habits of demonic insects and beasts.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, so many of our people have died; it's your turn to contribute," Cheng Xiaotian said with a cold face.

Wang Qingshan didn't refuse. He flipped his palm, and a small golden mouse appeared in his hand; it was a third-tier Twin-eyed Mouse. Wang Changsheng had a fourth-tier Twin-eyed Mouse, and it had many descendants. The Wang family cultivated a large number of Twin-eyed Mice. When they set out for the Thousand Gourd Realm, Wang Qingshan and other high-tier cultivators all carried a third-tier Twin-eyed Mouse, primarily to search for spirit herbs.

The Twin-eyed Mouse let out a strange "squeak," jumped to the ground, and burrowed underground.

After less than half an hour, the Twin-eyed Mouse burrowed out from underground and climbed back into Wang Qingshan's hand.

"There are some special poisonous substances in the cave. This might be why the Golden-winged Soul-devouring Scorpions were attracted," Wang Qingshan explained.

"Special poisonous substances?" Cheng Xiaotian frowned, skeptical.

"You'll know once we go in." Wang Qingshan was unconcerned and strode towards the cave. Cheng Xiaotian and the others hesitated slightly before following him.

The cave was damp and gloomy, with multiple entrances extending in all directions and complex terrain, but this was nothing to them.

After a quarter of an hour, they appeared in an underground cavern about an acre in size. In a corner, there was a pond tens of feet wide, containing some light golden liquid that emitted a sweet and fishy smell.

"This is Ten Thousand Poisons Paste! No wonder that group of Golden-winged Soul-devouring Scorpions appeared here." Bai Ling'er suddenly realized. Ten Thousand Poisons Paste was a naturally formed spiritual item, extremely poisonous, and an irresistible temptation for venomous insects.

"You didn't find the Ten Thousand Poisons Paste last time?" Cheng Xiaotian asked curiously.

"We only discovered the Nine-Yang Golden Glaze Fruit Tree while chasing a certain demonic beast. We had only confirmed that this cave had no demonic beasts and hadn't even had time to explore it again when you arrived," Liu Yunfeng explained. The Liu family had explored it a total of three times. The first two times resulted in heavy losses, while the third time yielded the most, with the discovery of a Nine-Yang Golden Glaze Fruit Tree. They hadn't even had time to harvest the Nine-Yang Golden Glaze Fruit when the demon race attacked. As for the cave's situation, Liu Yunfeng only knew that there were no demonic beasts inside; he hadn't expected a group of Golden-winged Soul-devouring Scorpions to migrate there.

Ten Thousand Poisons Paste was extremely poisonous, perfectly suited for luring venomous insects. Wang Qingshan and the others each took some Ten Thousand Poisons Paste, with Wang Qingshan and Cheng Xiaotian taking the majority.

After leaving the cave, they continued forward. This time, they all heightened their vigilance.

Half a day later, they stood at the foot of a towering peak that pierced the clouds. The mountaintop was shrouded in mist, making it impossible to see clearly what was within. Cheng Xiaotian fully extended his divine sense and scanned the peak several times. Fairy Ziyue used her spirit eyes to observe the situation on the peak. Neither of them found any abnormalities.

Fairy Ziyue released two ape-like puppet beasts to walk ahead. They followed behind, about a hundred zhang apart.

After crossing the mountain, a colossal valley, crisscrossed with paths, appeared before them. A light golden fruit tree grew in the center of the valley. The tree was over ten zhang tall, its leaves were red, and its trunk golden. More than ten light golden fruits hung from the tree, each with nine red patterns on its surface, emitting a strange fragrance. The ground was covered with moss-covered stones, and no signs of demonic beasts were seen. Fairy Ziyue used her spirit eyes but also found no trace of demonic beasts.

"That's strange; last time we came, there were demonic beasts guarding it!" Liu Yunfeng was utterly bewildered.

Fairy Ziyue performed a hand seal, and the two ape-like puppet beasts strode towards the Nine-Yang Golden Glaze Fruit Tree, their speed not fast. Time passed little by little, and Wang Qingshan and the others' gaze was fixed on the two ape-like puppet beasts.

As they approached within ten zhang of the Nine-Yang Golden Glaze Fruit Tree, a piece of golden bark suddenly flew out from the trunk, instantly piercing the heads of both ape-like puppet beasts. A golden flash, and a five-zhang-long golden lizard crawled down from the tree trunk. The golden lizard had golden-red eyes, a row of sharp golden spikes on its back, and four scythe-like golden claws beneath its belly. Its body blurred, suddenly turning grayish-green and blending in with the ground.

"A fifth-tier Rainbow Lizard!" Liu Yunfeng exclaimed, his eyes filled with terror.

The Golden-winged Soul-devouring Scorpions were probably driven out by the Rainbow Lizard. As for the demonic beasts originally guarding the Nine-Yang Golden Glaze Fruit Tree, they were naturally annihilated by the Rainbow Lizard.

The Rainbow Lizard let out a sharp, piercing shriek, causing everyone's heads to buzz. Liu Yunfeng's legs turned to jelly as a thick, long golden tongue shot out, sweeping past them, attempting to pull them all into the Rainbow Lizard's mouth. Wang Qingshan reacted quickly, summoning the Azure Lotus Karma Fire to protect the five of them. When the golden tongue touched the Azure Lotus Karma Fire, a puff of green smoke rose, and it instantly retracted. Seizing this opportunity, Cheng Xiaotian and Bai Ling'er reacted, turning into two streaks of light and soaring away.

The two demon cultivators and Liu Yunfeng were swept back by the golden tongue into the Rainbow Lizard's mouth and disappeared. The Rainbow Lizard let out a joyful hiss.

Fairy Ziyue flipped her hand and took out the Fire Sparrow Fan. With a gentle wave, rolling flames surged out, striking towards the Nine-Yang Golden Glaze Fruit Tree. The Rainbow Lizard naturally wouldn't comply. Its golden tongue shot out like a golden spear, striking towards the rolling flames.

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, the flames shattered, scattering across the ground. The Nine-Yang Golden Glaze Fruit Tree remained unharmed. Wang Qingshan quickly summoned the Qian-Guang Shadow Shuttle, jumped onto it, and performed a hand seal. The Qian-Guang Shadow Shuttle transformed into a streak of white light and soared away.

Cheng Xiaotian and Bai Ling'er quickly transformed into two streaks of light and soared away. However, they hadn't flown far when a powerful gravitational force suddenly emanated from underground, causing their bodies to plummet uncontrollably towards the ground.