Chapter 498: Picking up a bargain?

Two days later, in a certain black forest.

Wang Changsheng moved like a blur, running quickly, his clothes ragged and tattered, looking somewhat disheveled.

Not far behind him, a large cloud of crimson followed closely.

Wang Changsheng summoned the Hanyun Bottle, which sprayed out a large expanse of white cold air. The cold air swirled and rolled, and five massive white ice pythons burst forth from it, pouncing towards the crimson cloud.

A large volley of crimson fireballs flew out from the crimson cloud, striking the five white ice pythons.

Booming explosions rang out, and a large expanse of white mist spread across the area.

A sharp whistling sound filled the air as thousands of slender white flying needles flew out from the white mist without warning. Some crimson light points fell from the crimson cloud, revealing themselves to be grotesque crimson mosquitoes. Each was the size of a watermelon, covered in light red patterns, and had a dark, inch-long venomous stinger protruding from its tail.

Wang Changsheng's luck was poor. He had been following Qingmingzi's map when he suddenly encountered a swarm of demonic mosquitoes. Among them were two low-grade tier-three demonic mosquitoes. He had personally witnessed a mid-grade tier-three demon beast being sucked dry by this swarm, turning into a mummified corpse.

He dared not provoke this swarm. If it weren't for his apprehension about a tier-three demonic bird, he would have fled by flying away.

He continuously manipulated the Hanyun Bottle, releasing white cold air to harass the demonic mosquitoes and hinder their pursuit.

Whooshing sounds filled the air as dense crimson fireballs rained down, blocking Wang Changsheng's path.

Wang Changsheng formed a hand seal, and the Hanyun Bottle spewed out surging cold air, transforming into a white ice shield several zhang tall, blocking his rear.

The white ice shield shattered like paper under the barrage of dense crimson fireballs. Roaring sounds continued, and flames surged.

Taking this opportunity, Wang Changsheng widened the distance, appearing dozens of zhang away.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, a swift river appeared before Wang Changsheng.

He formed a hand seal, and the Hanyun Bottle sprayed out surging cold air. A massive white ice flood dragon flew out from the white cold air, pouncing with bared fangs and claws towards the demonic mosquito swarm.

A large volley of crimson fireballs flew from the demonic mosquito swarm, striking the white ice flood dragon.

Loud rumbling sounds rang out as dense crimson fireballs engulfed the white ice flood dragon. A large expanse of white mist swept outwards, and rings of air currents rippled in all directions.

Before long, the white mist dissipated, and Wang Changsheng had also vanished. The river's surface had frozen over.

More than a hundred zhang below the river's surface, Wang Changsheng remained motionless, enveloped by a blue light barrier.

Half a day later, Wang Changsheng estimated the demonic mosquitoes had left, and only then did he slowly float to the surface.

Just as Wang Changsheng expected, the demonic mosquitoes had flown away.

Wang Changsheng let out a long sigh of relief. The Tianlang Secret Realm was indeed dangerous, even having tier-three demon insects.

He returned to the shore, took out his map, and examined it carefully. He wasn't sure where he was currently located.

Suddenly, a tremendous booming sound echoed.

Wang Changsheng was initially startled by the sound. His eyes darted around, and he then ran towards its source.

Inside a massive underground cave, a tall, thin old man in red robes was controlling a large red gourd, which spewed out a vast expanse of crimson flames to attack a huge blue toad. Three gleaming red flying daggers hovered around, seemingly searching for an opportunity.

The blue toad was about a zhang tall, its back covered in fist-sized bulges, making it appear extremely grotesque. On its forehead was a bell-sized blue eye.

A large, entirely crimson bird hovered in the sky. This spirit beast had three legs and some golden feathers on its head. It circled high above, occasionally releasing crimson fireballs to attack the blue toad.

The blue toad was a mid-grade tier-three demon beast, the red-robed old man was at the third layer of Core Formation, and the spirit bird was a low-grade tier-three spirit bird.

In the lower right corner of the cave, there was a cold pond over ten zhang wide. Inside the pond was an aquamarine lotus emitting a strange fragrance.

"Croak!"

The blue toad let out a strange roar, and a large expanse of white cold air emanated from its body, causing the surrounding crimson flames to flicker wildly and extinguish.

With dull 'thudding' sounds, the bulges on its back burst open, and a large quantity of foul-smelling green liquid shot out, spraying towards the red-robed old man. At the same time, it opened its mouth and spat out hundreds of white ice cones, which rained down overwhelmingly on the spirit bird.

The spirit bird flapped its wings fiercely, quickly increasing its distance, and the hundreds of white ice cones struck empty air.

Outside the underground cave, Wang Changsheng stood behind a towering tree, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Worried about being discovered, Wang Changsheng did not use his spiritual sense to scout the cave's interior. However, he was certain that high-level cultivators were hunting a demon beast inside.

With his cultivation at the first layer of Core Formation, he might not gain any advantage.

Wang Changsheng hesitated for a moment, intending to leave. Just then, a deafening roar erupted, shaking the ground.

Before long, a man's scream came from inside the cave.

Wang Changsheng's expression tightened. It seemed the high-level cultivator had been killed by the demon beast.

After a while, the cave returned to silence, as if nothing had happened.

Wang Changsheng's face showed a thoughtful expression. He released his spiritual sense, sweeping it towards the cave, but found nothing. Clearly, the demon beast understood concealment techniques and had hidden itself.

He hesitated for a moment, then released two tier-two puppet beasts to go ahead, following behind them.

Even if the tier-three demon beast had killed the cultivator, it wouldn't have much demonic power left, so he might be able to pick up an advantage.

The cave was somewhat dark and damp, with green moss growing on the stone walls on both sides.

After walking over a hundred steps, a massive grotto appeared before Wang Changsheng.

There were a dozen large pits on the ground, two of which were still steaming. In addition, a large number of white ice cones were stuck in the ground. In the lower right corner of the cave was a cold pond over ten zhang wide, containing an aquamarine lotus. The edges of the pond were frozen, and a gleaming red gourd lay scattered in a corner.

Looking at the pond, Wang Changsheng analyzed that the demon beast was likely hidden within the cold pond and specialized in ice-elemental supernatural abilities.

Wang Changsheng raised his hand, and a blue gourd shot out, instantly expanding in size. It sprayed a blue radiance, covering the cold pond, and a large quantity of cold, white-misted pond water surged into the blue gourd.

A dark shadow suddenly shot out from the cold pond, piercing through the blue gourd in a flash.

The dark shadow circled once and then darted straight towards Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng raised his hand, and a large amount of fine yellow sand flew out. It spun rapidly, transforming into thousands of slender yellow flying needles, which struck the dark shadow with a sharp whistling sound.

With dull 'thudding' sounds, the dense yellow flying needles were repelled, turning back into a large amount of fine yellow sand. However, thirteen yellow flying needles, glowing with a faint yellow light, struck and pierced through the dark shadow. These were precisely the Nine Bends Spirit-Slaying Needles.

A shrill scream rang out, and Wang Changsheng clearly saw the true form of the dark shadow: it was a long, red tongue, as thick as an adult's arm.

Wang Changsheng formed a hand seal, and the fine yellow sand spun rapidly, transforming into a massive yellow blade. It sliced into the dark shadow, and a red tongue several zhang long fell to the ground.

The water in the cold pond violently churned and boiled, and a large quantity of cold water shot out, splashing towards Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng formed a hand seal, and the massive yellow blade transformed into a yellow shield, blocking before him.

With sounds like popping beans, the yellow shield completely blocked the cold water, and its surface froze over.

A gigantic blue toad flew out from the cold pond. It had a single eye, its back was covered in bulges, and its belly was swollen. However, there were several blood marks on its abdomen and several long blood marks on its back.

Its aura was somewhat weak; after all, it had just fought against a Core Formation cultivator and was not at its peak.

"A mid-grade tier-three demon beast!"

Wang Changsheng's brow furrowed slightly. Normally, he would have fled immediately, but this mid-grade tier-three demon beast had just gone through a fight and seemed somewhat weakened. Wang Changsheng naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip away.