Somewhere in Lava Canyon, a hidden teleportation array located in a mountainside suddenly flashed with light, teleporting two cultivators, one fat and one thin, who were the two Nascent Soul elders from Myriad Manifestation City.
"Fellow Daoist Spirit Crane, there's still plenty of time. Why are we rushing to enter this place? It won't be easy for those few to enter the sixth level. Why don't we wait and see, and teleport in after they've fought?"
Realist Spirit Crane merely glanced at his companion upon hearing the tall, thin youth's voice, and gave a wry smile.
"Although our Myriad Manifestation City has the authority to supervise the Heaven Abyss Secret Realm, there are many old fogeys here this time, and even a few demon kings have come. We must be careful. This time, I brought the replica of the Scarlet Fire Cauldron from Myriad Manifestation City. Although it's not as powerful as the genuine Five Elements Cauldron, if we use secret methods to refine it in the Lava Canyon, absorbing a large amount of fire spiritual energy, its power can be unleashed to sixty percent of the genuine Fire Element Cauldron in a short time. When we really fight, we'll have a trump card."
"Speaking of which, Brother Feng, if you had also brought the replica of the Black Cauldron from your Sacred Demon Sect, we two joining forces wouldn't fear these old fogeys."
"Brother Spirit Crane, it's not like you don't know. Although many elders in Myriad Manifestation City come from the Ten Great Sects, once we hold a position in Myriad Manifestation City, we can only hold idle positions in our respective sects, and our say is limited. I can't get my hands on the Black Cauldron of my sect." The tall, thin, pale-faced youth shook his head helplessly.
"Alas, Brother is right. Myriad Manifestation City is the number one immortal city of our human race, but its situation is also awkward. The Ten Great Sects interfere a lot, but they are also quite exclusive. If it weren't for the demon forces, it's debatable whether Myriad Manifestation City could even exist. The original intention of establishing our Myriad Manifestation City was to suppress the turbid aura of the desolate region. Fortunately, we have some understanding of the formations here and can control some of the restrictions. As long as these old monsters don't enter the last level, we can also contain them to some extent."
Realist Spirit Crane looked melancholic as he shook his head and walked out first. The pale-faced youth's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he sneered as he followed closely behind.
"There are many high-level fire beasts in Lava Canyon. This time, I'll trouble Brother Feng to protect me while I refine the Scarlet Spirit Cauldron."
"Of course."
As they spoke, they quickly left the stone mountain where the teleportation array was located.
...
Meanwhile, Zhang Ling stopped in an area of black rocks, looking at a petrified skeleton at his feet. Half of the skeleton's body was crushed under a large black rock, leaving only one hand exposed.
He had inadvertently discovered the skeleton while passing by this place.
Ordinary skeletons were naturally not worth paying attention to, but the skeleton at his feet was holding a white jade pendant in its hand. He had inadvertently scanned it with his divine sense and discovered that the jade pendant was actually a magical treasure, so he stopped.
Carefully scanning the jade pendant in the skeleton's hand, sensing the icy power emanating from it, it was also an ice-attribute treasure.
With a wave of his hand, Zhang Ling retrieved the white jade pendant. The jade pendant was only the size of a palm, and it was carved with a carp covered in scales and with dragon horns on its head.
This seemed to be an Ice Carp Beast, said to be a fish beast with true dragon blood. If its cultivation reached a certain level, it could transform into a true dragon.
At least three hundred years had passed, and this was also a place of scorching sun. Yet, the jade pendant could still emit icy power, so the materials used must be very rare.
Zhang Ling was overjoyed. He tapped the jade pendant with one hand, and as spiritual power was injected, the jade pendant turned a faint blue, and the icy aura emanating from it became even denser. He unceremoniously wore the jade pendant on his waist, which could increase his resistance to fire spiritual power.
Then, he looked at the skeleton at his feet. Zhang Ling stomped on the ground with one foot, and with a flash of yellow light, the surrounding earth and rocks churned, burying the skeleton within. Since he had taken this person's jade pendant, he would bury the person's bones.
Afterward, Zhang Ling no longer lingered and continued to rush forward.
As he went deeper, the surrounding fire spiritual power became even denser. It had been more than half a day since he entered Lava Canyon, and his own spiritual power consumption was not small. If he stayed here for too long, the spiritual power in his body would gradually be worn away.
During this time, he also encountered some fire-attribute wild beasts, but fortunately, he had not encountered any high-level wild beasts, so he easily avoided them.
He traveled swiftly and a period of time passed.
Two days later, a series of loud crashes came from somewhere in Lava Canyon.
Hundreds of huge scorpions, their bodies entirely red, scurried along, stirring up a cloud of red dust, madly chasing after several black shadows running in front.
Suddenly, the black shadows in front stopped, and a firelight lit up, shooting out twenty to thirty huge fireballs, which crashed into the scorpion swarm, instantly burning more than a dozen scorpions to death.
For a time, the scorpion swarm was in chaos.
The black shadows in front turned their heads and ran forward again. If one got closer, one could see that they were a dozen black tigers, each more than ten feet tall, with some spiritual patterns flashing on their bodies, looking mighty and extraordinary.
However, as these tigers moved, there was a clanging sound of metal colliding. On closer inspection, these black tigers were not real flesh and blood, but puppet beasts pieced together from blocks of black profound iron.
Every time the black tiger puppets ran for a distance, they stopped and turned their heads in unison, firelight lit up in their mouths, and they shot out a series of huge fireballs. After destroying some giant scorpions, they ran forward again.
Zhang Ling sat on a black tiger puppet, looking ahead expressionlessly.
The group of fire-red scorpions chasing closely behind him were a group of Fire-Patterned Scorpions with third and fourth-order strength. He had encountered several groups of them in the past half-day.
He didn't want to waste too much spiritual power in this place, so he directly released more than a dozen black tiger puppets, which could serve as a means of transportation and contain these Fire-Patterned Scorpions.
The black tiger puppets were second-order puppets, with strength equivalent to second and third-order demon beasts. Moreover, they were a type of puppet refined with fire-attribute materials, which could release many fire-attribute attacks. At the same time, they moved very quickly. As long as the spirit stones driving them were continuous, he didn't have to worry about being caught up by the Fire-Patterned Scorpions behind him.
He commanded the puppets to contain the scorpion swarm while continuing on his way.
Half a quarter of an hour later, the Fire-Patterned Scorpions were constantly consumed by the fireballs released by the puppets, and a large portion of them were destroyed. A sharp cry was emitted from the scorpion swarm, and then these large scorpions stopped chasing him and scattered in a rush. Before long, they disappeared without a trace.
This was the fourth wave of scorpions he had dispersed. Zhang Ling waved his hand and put away several black tiger puppets, leaving only three puppets behind. One was used for transportation, one was used to explore the path ahead, and one was left behind to prevent other dangers.
As he continued to move forward, Zhang Ling estimated that he was already in the central area of Lava Canyon. He thought that in another day or two, he would be able to cross this area.
