Chapter 4218: Ambush

Wang Changsheng, Wang Ruyan, and Wang Tunian walked slowly through a vast, boundless green bamboo forest, their faces etched with vigilance. Wang Tunian's eyes glowed with a dazzling yellow light as he surveyed the area ahead. The ground was covered with bamboo leaves several feet thick, suggesting that no cultivators had ventured there for many years.

A short while later, they emerged from the bamboo forest to find a continuous range of volcanoes stretching before them. The clouds in the sky were crimson, and the air was thick with the pungent smell of sulfur.

"About a million miles ahead, in a cave, grows a significant amount of Azure Flame Ganoderma! It's guarded by a transformed demonic beast," Wang Tunian announced excitedly.

Wang Changsheng nodded, and the three of them quickened their pace.

As they reached the summit of a steep peak, a volcano suddenly erupted, sending fiery lava shooting skyward. The molten rock rained down, instantly igniting the ground below. This did not faze them. Wang Tunian pointed to a giant valley in the distance and informed them, "Master, the Azure Flame Ganoderma is in the cave within that valley."

Wang Ruyan activated her Li Fire True Eyes to investigate and found no protective formations. Wang Changsheng expanded his divine sense but detected nothing unusual either.

"I'll go eliminate it!" Wang Changsheng declared.

Wang Changsheng transformed into a blue streak of light and flew towards the giant valley. Not long after, he landed inside the giant valley, where an astonishing heatwave immediately washed over him. A powerful gravitational force emanated from the ground, while a large expanse of crimson flames surged out simultaneously, heading straight for Wang Changsheng.

A brilliant white light erupted from Wang Changsheng's body. A white halo swept outward, freezing the ground completely wherever it passed and neutralizing the gravitational force. The crimson flames collided with the white halo and instantly turned to ice.

The void rippled, and a gigantic beast claw, wreathed in flames, materialized out of thin air, striking downwards towards him. Wang Changsheng's left palm glowed with a dazzling blue light as he struck out, shattering the gigantic beast claw.

A ball of crimson flame flared behind him, transforming into a brawny man in a red shirt, from whom a powerful demonic aura surged. Judging by his aura, he possessed the cultivation of a mid-stage Golden Immortal and wielded a red-glowing spiked club. He opened his mouth and spewed a stream of crimson flames that struck Wang Changsheng, engulfing his body. He then swung his red spiked club at Wang Changsheng.

A dazzling white light flared, and the flames instantly dispersed, revealing Wang Changsheng completely unharmed, without the slightest trace of burns on his body. He launched his right fist, which collided with the red spiked club, producing a clang of metal against metal. A white halo swept out, passing over the red-shirted man's body. He instantly froze, turning into a human-shaped ice sculpture. His eyeballs were still moving, indicating he was not yet dead. The red-shirted man had only minor mastery of laws and was utterly unable to counteract a perfected Ice Law.

Wang Changsheng punched the ice sculpture, shattering it into pieces. A spirit resembling a yak flew out of the body; he grabbed it firmly, and a dazzling black light emerged from his palm as he performed a soul search on it. After a moment, he took out a green jade bottle and placed the spirit inside.

The red-shirted man's true form was a Fire Rock Beast. It had successfully transformed into human form upon reaching the True Immortal stage, then acquired cultivation techniques from treasure hunters and diligently cultivated for many years, finally reaching the early Golden Immortal stage. It had attempted to leave the Myriad Immortal Continent but was trapped by the powerful restrictions, unable to depart. It had been cultivating in the volcano, unaware that the Myriad Immortal Continent's restrictions had just entered a weakened phase when Wang Changsheng arrived and eliminated it.

Wang Changsheng found a red storage bracelet on the corpse. He swept his divine sense over it and was greatly disappointed, as it contained nothing valuable, likely being the belongings of a deceased treasure hunter.

Wang Tunian and Wang Ruyan flew over. Wang Tunian opened his mouth and spewed a yellow glow that enveloped the Fire Rock Beast's corpse, sucking it into his mouth and swallowing it. Wang Changsheng flicked his sleeve, and Wang Yang and Wang Lin flew out.

"Come with me to harvest the Azure Flame Ganoderma!" Wang Changsheng instructed. Wang Tunian gestured and walked towards the nearby cave, with Wang Yang and Wang Lin quickly following.

After a while, they emerged. There were over a hundred stalks of Azure Flame Ganoderma; the oldest was over seven million years old, and even the youngest was over two million years old.

Wang Tunian's eyes glowed with a dazzling yellow light as he gazed into the distance. "About five million miles to the northwest," Wang Tunian reported, "an underground cave contains some Li Fire Ginseng, guarded by a transformed demonic beast."

Wang Changsheng nodded, and they headed northwest. They stopped in an open area, where a vast, boundless red bamboo forest lay before them.

"We must pass through this bamboo forest to reach our destination," Wang Tunian stated.

Wang Changsheng's divine sense detected faint fluctuations from a restriction above the bamboo forest. Wang Ruyan activated her Li Fire True Eyes to investigate the situation ahead. "There are some restrictions above the bamboo forest," Wang Ruyan confirmed, "Flying over it would easily trigger them."

Wang Changsheng expanded his divine sense, carefully scanning the bamboo forest, but found nothing unusual. They walked towards the bamboo forest, maintaining a moderate pace.

As they reached the depths of the bamboo forest, Wang Changsheng stopped. His right foot glowed with a dazzling white light as he stomped it heavily on the ground. A white halo swept out, instantly freezing the ground. The ice layer spread rapidly, and each red bamboo stalk began to freeze, turning into an ice sculpture. In less than ten breaths of time, the entire bamboo forest was frozen solid.

Wang Ruyan opened her mouth and emitted a blue sound wave that spread in all directions. Large numbers of frozen bamboo stalks shattered, and the ice surface also tore open, revealing many cracks. As the blue sound wave passed over a certain spot on the ground, the earth exploded, and three men and one woman flew out from underground. Their leader was a pot-bellied old man in yellow robes. The old man in yellow robes had a round face, small eyes, and a fair complexion. He had cultivation at the late Golden Immortal stage, while the other three were all mid-stage Golden Immortals.

They had used a treasure to conceal themselves, intending to ambush any cultivators passing through. However, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan proved exceedingly cautious. They had naturally discovered the Fire Rock Beast's lair, but their inaction was a ploy to mislead other treasure hunters. Treasure hunters who had just entered the Myriad Immortal Continent, having already slain a Golden Immortal stage demonic beast and obtained many immortal medicines, would surely lower their guard. Discovering another transformed demonic beast and immortal medicine at this point would easily make them drop their vigilance even further.

"A late-stage Golden Immortal dares to kill people and seize their treasures? They're clearly courting death." Wang Ruyan remarked. Her expression turned cold. She opened her mouth and emitted a blue sound wave. Unlike before, this sound wave emanated three types of law fluctuations.

"Perfected Laws! Retreat quickly," the old man in yellow robes cried out in alarm. He never imagined his luck would be so terrible, encountering a Golden Immortal who had cultivated laws to perfection. As they were about to flee, a powerful gravitational force materialized out of thin air, causing their bodies to plummet uncontrollably towards the ground.

The blue sound wave swept over them. The old man in yellow robes and the other three each conjured defensive immortal artifacts to resist, but it was useless. The blue sound wave passed through their bodies, and all four let out a miserable shriek before their bodies went limp and they collapsed.