Chapter 3400: Cold Flame Sect's Scheme

A towering peak stood, its summit leveled. Xu Xin and three others stood on the mountain, carefully investigating.

"Our luck is terrible!" a stocky old man in white robes frowned and said. "Someone got here before us and killed the Ice Dragon." They had entered the Myriad Spirit Ruins primarily to find the Seven-Blaze Golden Peaches, and secondarily to kill the seventh-tier Ice Dragon, but both objectives had failed.

"It's not a complete waste of time," Xu Xin instructed. "There are Ice Soul Divine Crystals here, though not in large quantities. Let's work together." If they could gather enough Ice Soul Divine Crystals to forge a top-grade Connecting Heaven Spiritual Treasure, the trip wouldn't be in vain. Xu Xin and the others began mining the Ice Soul Divine Crystals, creating a continuous roar.

A dense red forest stretched out, revealing numerous red trees. A mound of earth swelled up from the ground, moved over a hundred feet, and then stopped. Two men and a woman emerged from underground, covered in dirt and appearing somewhat disheveled.

"Finally, we shook them off," a graceful young woman in a blue dress breathed a long sigh of relief, patted her chest, and spoke with a tone of relief.

"Let's rest for a bit, then quickly head to our destination before someone else gets there first," a burly old man in a white shirt said in a deep voice. This was Bai Luan, a Mid-Integration cultivator, a hidden force of the Cold Flame Sect.

"The area where the Golden Crow Wood is located is heavily restricted," the young woman in the blue dress said dismissively. "It won't be easy to get through the barriers, especially with a seventh-tier Flame-Devouring Toad guarding the main path." Golden Crow Wood is one of the Ten Divine Woods. Cultivators from the Cold Flame Sect had received reliable information that a Golden Crow Wood that had grown for over 100,000 years was located somewhere in the Myriad Spirit Ruins, which is why they sent people to find it. A Golden Crow Wood over 100,000 years old is incredibly valuable; used as the core of a seventh-tier formation, it would significantly enhance the formation's power.

"That's not necessarily true. The map we found doesn't show the only path," Bai Luan said in a deep voice. "Let's not dwell on this. Let's rest and then continue our journey. Hopefully, we won't encounter any more high-tier seventh-tier beasts."

An endless yellow desert stretched out, with yellow sand swirling everywhere and fierce winds blowing. A deafening roar erupted, and a huge crimson firelight shot up into the sky, strikingly visible. From it, a red-glowing flying boat emerged. Wang Rumeng and five others stood on the red flying boat, their faces pale, looking visibly exhausted from mana consumption. They had traversed the desert, enduring attacks from restrictions, and under Wang Yong'an's command, they broke through a weak point in the formation.

The red flying boat slowly landed on the ground. Before them lay a continuous stretch of lush green mountains. Wang Zongque and the others disembarked and put away the red flying boat. They each cast defensive spells on themselves, released two giant wolf puppets to lead the way, and followed behind. Along the way, they encountered many low-tier demonic beasts, mostly fifth-tier. Wang Shenfeng dealt with them without Wang Zongque and the others needing to intervene.

Half a day later, they appeared outside a narrow valley. The valley was barren, with nothing but grayish-white stones on the ground, appearing unremarkable. The two giant wolf puppets entered the valley, while Wang Zongque and the others remained outside. After a while, a yellow mist emerged from the ground, covering most of the valley. A faint roar echoed, and the ground subtly trembled.

Wang Zongque formed a hand seal, and two loud wolf howls echoed. Two azure hurricanes appeared out of thin air, dispersing most of the yellow mist, revealing a faint image of a yellow giant over ten zhang tall. He formed another hand seal, and the two giant wolf puppets each shot out a thick beam of azure light, piercing the yellow giant's body. The two giant wolf puppets then retreated.

"A restriction! Let's go around it!" Wang Shenfeng suggested.

"This doesn't seem like a restriction inherent to the Myriad Spirit Ruins," Wang Yong'an analyzed. "The six of us almost got trapped and died crossing that desert, but two sixth-tier puppet beasts easily exited this restriction. That's impossible. It's more like a restriction set up by a cultivator that has been active for many years, significantly weakening its power."

"Yong'an, are you saying it's an ancient cultivator's abode?" Wang Yi'er said seriously.

"It's highly possible," Wang Yong'an replied. "We'll only know the specifics by entering and breaking the formation. To be safe, let me set up some warning puppets first. That way, if anyone approaches, we'll know." Wang Yong'an was quite cautious; otherwise, they wouldn't have discovered Cui Yao and the others last time. Warning formations also have tiers. Ordinary warning formations are easily detected, while advanced ones are quite valuable. Otherwise, Wang Yong'an would have brought multiple sets of advanced warning formations. Fortunately, the Wang family had warning puppets and warning talismans.

"I'll go set up the sixth-tier warning talisman formation!" Wang Rumeng volunteered. She had learned talisman crafting from Wang Ruyan and could create sixth-tier formation talismans. They divided the work, setting up warning puppets and warning talisman formations along their path and on both sides.

After setting up the warning puppets and talisman formations, Wang Yong'an, Wang Yi'er, and Wang Rumeng walked towards the valley, while Wang Zongque and the other two remained outside, ready to assist them at any moment. Soon, a large expanse of yellow mist emerged from the ground, engulfing most of the valley. A roaring sound echoed, and the ground trembled slightly. Less than a quarter of an hour later, accompanied by a loud bang, the yellow mist dispersed, revealing the figures of Wang Yong'an and the other two, their expressions excited. A stone wall on their right side glowed with a faint yellow light, and runes flickered, clearly indicating a restriction.

"It is indeed an ancient cultivator's abode," Wang Yong'an said excitedly. "Likely the final resting place of an Integration cultivator. We just don't know what's inside." They began breaking the formation.

A hundred miles away, two men and a woman slowly advanced. Their pace was not fast. Leading them was a young woman in a green dress with picturesque features, whose aura indicated she was a Mid-Integration cultivator. This was Mu Qing, from the Blood Whale Clan. The other two were also Mid-Integration cultivators. Mu Yu had led three of his clansmen to follow Wu Xue and others, to see if any precious treasures would emerge. Unexpectedly, an eighth-tier demonic beast was foraging. Several Wu Clan cultivators were killed, and Mu Yu was also devoured by the eighth-tier beast. They barely managed to escape.

A thick yellow light shot up into the sky, highly conspicuous. "It's not another eighth-tier demonic beast, is it?" Mu Qing frowned and said.

"We'll know if we go take a look," a burly man in a green shirt suggested. "Let's send a spirit beast first. If it's not an eighth-tier demonic beast, then we'll proceed." Mu Qing nodded, and with a slight flick of her wrist, a green light shot out, revealing an entirely green butterfly. She projected a wisp of her divine sense onto the spirit butterfly. The green butterfly flapped its wings gently and flew quickly into the distance.

Wang Yong'an and the five others stood in front of a cave entrance several zhang wide, their expressions solemn. They had broken the formation, but the disturbance was quite significant, potentially attracting other cultivators. Wang Yong'an released a green eagle puppet and a green wolf puppet, sending them into the cave. They found no anomalies and triggered no restrictions. Before long, they appeared inside a cavern about an acre in size. In the center of the cavern lay a humanoid skeleton, draped in a tattered green spiritual robe.