The group traveled quickly on their magical instruments, but it still took them a whole day to reach their destination. They stopped at the foot of a rocky mountain full of gray and white boulders.
As soon as they landed, they saw an extremely dazzling yellow light flying towards them from the horizon.
The yellow light circled above them a few times before dissipating, revealing a figure. This person appeared to be in their thirties or forties, but was shorter than an adult, appearing somewhat thin. They wore a dark yellow fur coat, resembling a wealthy merchant.
This person first stared at them expressionlessly, then looked at Huang Ying.
An astonishing spiritual pressure emanated from them, causing Zhang Ling and the others' expressions to change.
"Huang Ying greets Elder Chen!"
Huang Ying stepped forward without hesitation and bowed deeply to the elder, showing great respect.
"Junior disciples pay respects to Senior."
Standing behind, the others immediately recognized the person's identity and stepped forward to pay their respects. A Core Formation stage cultivator was not someone they could afford to neglect.
"Haha, you've done well this time, bringing these helpers in a timely manner. How is the formation practice going? That fifth-order demon beast has considerable power and is about to break through to the sixth order. Do not be careless!" Elder Chen narrowed his eyes, scanning the group with his small eyes, speaking slowly.
"Elder, rest assured. My fellow cultivators are already familiar with the Golden Rock Sealing Spirit Formation and are ready to set up the formation to trap the demon."
"Good! As long as you help me kill the demon beast, I will give you the Cold Jade Pills. Afterwards, I will reward each of you with ten thousand spirit stones. But let me be clear, if you fail because of your incompetence, you know the consequences." Elder Chen's eyes flashed, scrutinizing Zhang Ling and the others one by one.
"Senior, rest assured, we will do our best!"
Hearing Elder Chen's threatening words, the five people had different expressions, but after hesitating for a moment, they shouted in unison.
"Very good." Elder Chen seemed extremely satisfied with their attitude, nodding slightly.
"The demon beast's nest is over two hundred miles from here. You can set up the formation here. Tomorrow morning, I will be fighting the demon beast nearby and will lure it over. Then, it will be up to your abilities. Alright, tell them about the demon beast we are going to deal with. And be mentally prepared."
"Yes."
After speaking, a yellow light shone on Elder Chen's body, transforming into a spiritual light that flew into the sky, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.
"This person seems to be cultivating earth-attribute techniques as well."
Watching Elder Chen leave, Zhang Ling thought to himself. He had sensed a powerful earth spiritual force from this person. He turned his head to look at the others, and everyone, including Huang Ying, breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, Qinghuo Shangren, who had been mostly silent along the way, stroked his gray beard and asked, "Fairy Huang, I haven't heard of this Elder Chen before. Could he be a newly promoted high-level cultivator from the Lan Cao Hall?"
"It seems you are all very interested in Elder Chen. To be honest, I don't know much about this elder either."
"However, Elder Chen is indeed a guest elder recently recruited by Lan Cao Hall in the past twenty years. He has been a Core Formation cultivator for many years and has considerable strength. He was originally a rogue cultivator in Wanxiang City. He seems to have agreed to be a guest elder for Lan Cao Hall in order to refine a magic weapon."
"Oh, refining a magic weapon? Could it be that this senior is collecting spiritual materials for refining his natal magic weapon? I've heard that it's not easy for high-level cultivators to refine magic weapons, and it often takes decades," Hong Shan asked with great interest.
"I don't know about that. Alright, let's not inquire too much about Elder Chen's affairs. We just arrived here, so let's talk about the demon beast first."
Huang Ying shook her head and patted the storage bag at her waist. A fist-sized, pitch-black round bead flew out, flashing and settling in mid-air.
"Image Retention Bead."
Seeing this object, everyone focused their attention on the Image Retention Bead.
"That's right, this is an Image Retention Bead. It was accidentally discovered and recorded by a Lan Cao Hall disciple on this Purple Mist Island."
A green light flashed in Huang Ying's hand, and a spiritual light struck the Image Retention Bead. Immediately, the black bead spun around, releasing a layer of black mist, which quickly condensed into a black light curtain. The light and shadows flickered a few times, and some images appeared.
The Image Retention Bead recorded a valley-like place with some tall ancient trees growing inside.
Suddenly, a yellow tornado swept in and instantly reached the valley. As the yellow wind dissipated, a monster seven or eight zhang tall, covered in black armor, appeared. This monster was also ten zhang long overall, looking like a giant pangolin.
"Earth Armor Beast."
Qinghuo Shangren looked at the Image Retention Bead and muttered after seeing the picture.
Zhang Ling was also secretly shocked. The Earth Armor Beast was an earth-attribute demon beast with considerable strength. According to the records, the strength of adult Earth Armor Beasts was mostly between the fourth-order demon beasts, and it was rare to break through to the fifth order.
But the Earth Armor Beast on the Image Retention Bead was so huge that it was definitely a high-level demon beast.
At this moment, the picture on the Image Retention Bead changed. A yellow light flashed on the Earth Armor Beast's body, transforming into a yellow light that crashed into a stone wall. Then, its huge body disappeared into the mountain wall. But the stone wall remained intact.
Seeing this, the image recorded by the Image Retention Bead disappeared.
"Earth Tunneling Technique."
Zhang Ling's heart tightened. He was very familiar with this escape technique. He had previously had a talisman treasure that could perform this technique, which had helped him avoid many dangers.
Among the five elements escape techniques, the earth tunneling technique is the easiest to cultivate, but not everyone can master it.
It is said that these five elements escape techniques were simplified from the ancient escape techniques by cultivators. The full name is actually called the Lesser Five Elements Escape Technique. The true five elements escape technique is not a simple escape technique supernatural power, the mystery of which is not something that small cultivators like them can know.
The five elements escape techniques circulating in the cultivation world now all belong to the Lesser Five Elements Escape Technique, but even so, the simplest earth tunneling technique is listed as a fourth-order spell, which only high-level cultivators can master.
Of course, there are many talented people in the cultivation world. Based on this method, there are many simplified versions, such as the Earth Penetration Technique and Earth Movement Talismans sold in the market. Or some special magic weapons can also perform this escape technique, but they can often only travel within a hundred zhang distance underground, and any deeper will lose their effectiveness.
Moreover, the effect is greatly reduced in some rocky areas. If it is not used properly, it is common to be trapped in the underground soil and rocks.
Only by mastering the Lesser Five Elements Earth Tunneling Technique can one travel at a depth of thousands of zhang underground. This depth is sufficient to hide oneself and prevent cultivators' divine sense from detecting it.
