Chapter 2124: Mutation

Deep in the mineral vein, the exotic beast lay in the stone cave, its eyes closed.

Suddenly, a melodious zither melody began to play.

The exotic beast opened its eyes, then quickly closed them again.

A quarter of an hour later, the zither music grew more intense, and the stone cave vibrated slightly.

The exotic beast let out a roar, its body enveloped in a brilliant green light, and it charged out.

Outside the mine shaft, Wang Ruyan played intently, sending out waves of shimmering blue sound waves that surged towards the mine.

The mine shaft shook gently. Wherever the blue sound waves passed, the air vibrated and distorted, and all the gravel on the ground shattered into dust.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, be careful, the exotic beast has burst out," Zheng Qiuyue's voice reached Wang Changsheng's ear.

Beneath Wang Changsheng's feet, countless blue water vapors emerged, forming a blue cloud that lifted him and Wang Ruyan into the air, soaring skyward.

The ground shook violently, and a powerful gravitational force suddenly appeared, pulling Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan uncontrollably downwards.

A series of rapid zither notes rang out, and a wave of shimmering blue sound waves swept forth.

With a thunderous roar, the ground split open, revealing an incredibly long and wide fissure.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan's spiritual light intensified, and their escape speed sharply increased.

The exotic beast burrowed out from underground, letting out an angry roar. Stones from the ground began to lift off, floating high in the air like stars.

All the stones flew towards Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan, converging midway to form a yellow mountain over a thousand zhang tall, which then crashed down upon them.

With a thunderous crash, the yellow mountain was pulverized by dense blue fist shadows, sending dust flying.

Just as the exotic beast was about to unleash other supernatural abilities, hundreds of five-colored spiritual lights burst from the ground, converging into a thick five-colored barrier that enveloped most of the valley.

The surface of the barrier was covered with countless mysterious five-colored runes, squirming like earthworms.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, Junior Brother Zhou, Fellow Daoist Ning, Fellow Daoist Wang, I'll leave this to you."

Zheng Qiuyue called out and flew towards the cave entrance.

Wang Changsheng followed closely. Wang Ruyan and the other three each held a glittering five-colored formation plate and simultaneously cast a spell into it.

Zheng Qiuyue held the Cave-Illuminating Pearl in her palm, flying through the mine shaft at an exceptionally fast pace.

The terrain of the mine was complex, and their divine sense was severely affected. After passing through one tunnel, dozens of other passages would appear before them.

With the Cave-Illuminating Pearl, everything went smoothly.

In less than twenty breaths, they reached their destination.

"Primordial Magnetite Divine Crystal!"

Wang Changsheng's gaze fixed on a crystal-clear ore embedded in the stone wall. As soon as they entered, they felt their bodies weigh billions of catties – this was the natural magnetic field created by the primordial magnetite vein.

A "crackling" sound emanated from Wang Changsheng's body as his skin glowed intensely blue, and the pressure on him eased.

Zheng Qiuyue slapped a continuously shimmering silver talisman onto herself, which transformed into a thick silver barrier covering her entire body, and she strode towards the primordial magnetite divine crystal.

Wang Changsheng took out the Glazed Spirit-Slaying Axe and chopped at the stone wall.

With a dull clang, sparks flew, leaving a shallow chop mark on the stone wall.

"Primordial magnetite isn't that easy to mine; otherwise, our predecessors would have exhausted it long ago," Zheng Qiuyue explained, taking out a golden, shimmering jade bottle, which exuded astonishing spiritual energy – it was clearly a mid-grade Sky-Reaching Spirit Treasure.

She cast a spell into it, and the golden jade bottle emitted a shimmering golden aura that enveloped the primordial magnetite divine crystal. Where the golden spiritual light covered, wisps of green smoke immediately rose.

The golden jade bottle immediately flared with brilliant golden light, and Zheng Qiuyue's face turned pale.

An oval crack appeared on the stone wall, widening steadily.

With a "crack," a fist-sized piece of primordial magnetite divine crystal fell off, its fractured surface incredibly smooth.

A massive roar came from outside, shaking the ground and the mountains, indicating a change.

"Oh no, something's happening outside!" Zheng Qiuyue exclaimed, her expression changing.

"We've obtained the primordial magnetite divine crystal. It's a bit small, but let's get out of here first," Wang Changsheng urged. "Don't be too greedy. Getting even one piece of primordial magnetite divine crystal is good enough. Divided into three shares, it's still quite a bit, and we can consider our mission accomplished."

Zheng Qiuyue nodded, put away the primordial magnetite divine crystal, activated the Cave-Illuminating Pearl, and looked outside. She was shocked to see a massive golden bird attacking Wang Ruyan and the others.

"A sixth-tier demon bird! Let's get out quickly!"

Wang Changsheng urged, "Plans don't always keep up with changes. If we had enough time, we might have been able to get more primordial magnetite divine crystals, but unfortunately, a sixth-tier demon bird has interfered."

Zheng Qiuyue and Wang Changsheng flew out at an exceptionally fast speed.

Outside the mine shaft, a colossal golden bird was attacking Wang Ruyan and the other three.

The golden bird had long tail feathers, a bald head, a pair of furry red bear claws, and a long beak resembling two chopsticks.

The golden bird flapped its wings continuously, sending countless golden blades sweeping towards them.

At the same time, shimmering golden gales swept across the ground, heading straight for them.

Where the golden gales passed, the air distorted, countless pieces of gravel shattered, and dust flew.

A golden giant ape, over ten zhang tall, swung its fists, sending countless red fist shadows sweeping towards the opponent.

With thunderous roars, shockwaves surged.

Some of the golden wind blades and golden gales struck the golden giant ape, emitting dull clangs of metal on metal.

A thick seven-colored barrier protected Wang Ruyan and the other three, blocking the attacks of the sixth-tier demon bird. Their faces were pale, and the spiritual power within them was rapidly draining.

The surface of the seven-colored barrier displayed seven different demon beast patterns: a golden carp, a red turtle, a yellow giant python, and so on.

The Six-Demon Spirit Guard Talisman, a sixth-tier defensive talisman, offered relatively strong defense.

They were controlling the formation to trap the exotic beast when a sixth-tier demon bird suddenly appeared. If not for Chen Yunlei promptly deploying the sixth-tier defensive talisman, they wouldn't have died, but they also wouldn't have been able to calmly control the formation to trap the sixth-tier demon beast.

"What's going on? Fellow Daoist Wang and the others still aren't out? They haven't run off, have they, leaving us behind to draw the demon beast?" Chen Yunlei frowned, his expression anxious.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, don't worry, my husband isn't that kind of person. Just hold on a little longer, I believe they'll be out soon," Wang Ruyan said with full confidence.

"Hmph, that's not necessarily true. A married couple is like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly their separate ways. I've seen many couples share prosperity, but few share adversity," Chen Yunlei remarked dismissively.

"This time, I'm afraid Fellow Daoist Chen will be disappointed."

A deep male voice rang out. No sooner had the words faded than Wang Changsheng and Zheng Qiuyue flew out from the mine shaft.

"Did you get the primordial magnetite divine crystal?" Chen Yunlei asked, his face full of anticipation as he looked at Wang Changsheng.

Zheng Qiuyue nodded and said, "We got it. Let's leave here first."