Chapter 1627: Slaughter
As for Xian Xian, she was also quite astonished, but she quickly returned to her senses as she said, "Indeed, Senior Han; this is not somewhere we should stay for longer than we have to. Perhaps there could be other devilish beasts lurking in the nearby area, so it's best that we get away from here as quickly as possible."
Yue Zong finally recovered from his stunned stupor upon hearing this, and he quickly nodded in agreement.
Thus, the three of them continued onward.
After that, they only flew for less than an hour before emerging from the thin mist, finally departing from that unsettling area.
The three of them then continued without pause on their journey.
Unbeknownst to the three of them, at the same time as they left the misty region, a streak of silver light shot forth from the distance before stopping in front of the sea of thin white mist.
The silver light faded to reveal a petite humanoid figure with a pair of pointy ears a long furry tail that was wagging gently behind her.
The beautiful woman looked around before making a hand seal while chanting something, and the ball of silver mist suddenly erupted from within her body, then transforming into runes that quickly spread in all directions.
The silver runes disappeared into thin air in the end, and a hint of elation appeared on the woman's face. "This is definitely the right direction! If I recall correctly, those mutated Human-faced Vultures recently settled here. They possess the bloodline of the Golden Crow and they're subordinates to Xue Bi, so they won't be easy to deal with. That's a good thing; at the very least beings won't be able to get out of this place easily."
Within that in mind, silver light appeared around her body, and she flew directly into the mist.
Over two hours later, silver light faded at the location where Han Li had slain the devilish birds earlier, and the woman revealed herself again.
She gently sniffed the air in the area, upon which a hint of bewilderment flashed through her eyes. She then made a hand seal and repeated the same process from earlier, following which the bewilderment in her eyes grew even more pronounced.
After pondering the situation for a while, she suddenly raised her head that let loose a long cry that was akin to the roar of a tiger, but also similar to that of a dragon.
Even after maintaining her call for a long while, the surrounding area still remained completely silent, and there was no response to her cry.
Thus, her voice came to an abrupt halt, and she furrowed her brows tightly.
A short while later, she shook her head and departed from this place. The direction that she was advancing toward was identical to the route that Han Li's trio had taken.
...
Within a certain obscure col in deep in the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges, thousands upon thousands of devilish beasts of different types had gathered, both in the air above and on the ground below.
The largest of those beast resembled small mountains, while the smallest were only around a foot in size each.
At the center of the area surrounded by these devilish beasts was a huge rock that was several hundred feet in size.
There was a devilish beast that was several tens of feet tall perched atop the rock, and it was none other than the giant toad named Ju Chu.
However, this devilish beast's body had shrunk down drastically compared to its original size, and it was looking rather mundane among this vast gathering of devilish beasts, among which many were far more menacing in appearance.
The giant toad was perched motionlessly on the giant rock, seemingly waiting for something.
The thousands of other devilish beasts in the surrounding area were all starting to grow quite impatient, but they were also willing themselves to remain calm.
A short while later, the devilish beasts in the air suddenly parted to open up a path for a massive bat with golden patterns all over its body. The bat swooped down from above before folding is wings against its body, then stopping in front of the giant toad.
"Master, the time has come, and we've gathered everyone that we could!"
"Alright, in that case, let's set off. Let me reiterate the objective of this operation; kill all of the outsiders who have ventured into these mountain ranges, and secure the formation-plate-like treasures that they're holding. After that, find this immortal zoysia using those formation plates and offer it to Master Tie Mo. The one who finds the immortal zoysia will be given a handsome reward," the giant toad instructed in a concise manner.
All of the devilish beasts gathered in the col had already attained intelligence, and after hearing these instructions, they immediately set off. Some of them flew away into the air while others burrowed deep into the ground, and all of them traveled toward the outskirts of the mountain ranges.
The giant toad itself also leaped away to join the search.
However, unbeknownst to all of the devilish beasts present, there was a black shadow lurking within an ordinary-looking grey cloud that was hanging tens of thousands of feet above the col.
The black shadow had a pair of flashing crimson eyes, and it was appraising everything unfolding down below in a cold manner.
Only after all of the devilish beasts had left the col did it fly out from the cloud, thereby revealing itself to be a large crimson parrot.
The parrot circled around in the air before suddenly self-detonating into a cloud of blood mist amid a dull thump.
There was a crimson rune within the body of the parrot, and it disappeared in a flash.
At the same time, within a stone chamber situated deep underground in an area where multiple formations had been set up, a crimson-robed man who was meditating on a bed suddenly opened his eyes.
The man's face as deathly pale with a big mouth and a sunken nose, as well as a pair of dark brooding eyes.
"What is that Tie Mo plotting at a time like this? Our patriarch is about to awaken soon, yet they're deploying so many beings to kill outsiders? And what is this immortal zoysia? It must be something quite important, seeing as he's deployed almost all of the high-grade devilish beasts under his command to search for it," the man murmured to himself in a hesitant manner.
Moments later, he suddenly clapped his hands together twice, and the stone door of the chamber swung soundlessly on their own.
A woman with an elegant figure wearing a crimson palatial dress strode in through the door, but there was a layer of crimson mist that concealed her facial features.
"Greetings, Father!" The woman extended a graceful curtsey after making her way over to the man.
"Xue Ying, have Tie Mo and Duo Yan arrived at the earth palace yet?" the man asked.
"Not yet, Father." The woman's voice was a little low, but it was a relatively pleasant voice nonetheless.
"They still haven't made it? Looks like there really is something amiss, then," the crimson-robed man mused with a contemplative look in his eyes.
"Have you received some news, Father?" the woman asked in a curious voice.
"I have, indeed. All of Tie Mo's subordinates have been deployed," the man replied in a slow choice.
"What? All of them? Could it be..." The woman was quite startled to hear this.
"It's not what you think. They've all been deployed to the outskirts of the mountain ranges, and they're preparing to kill all of the Spirit Realm beings who have ventured in this place," the man explained with a shake of his head.
"They want to kill all of the Spirit Realm beings? Why is that?" The woman was rather confused to hear this.
"This is why I summoned you here. They seem to be searching for something called an immortal zoysia, but the holy patriarch's awakening is imminent, so I can't leave this place. As such, I want you to find out what the situation is in my stead, and inform me immediately if you find some useful information," the man instructed as a cold light flashed through his eyes.
The woman's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this, but she still replied, "Yes, Father."
After that, she backed out of the chamber in a respectful manner, and the stone door swung shut of its own accord.
Meanwhile, the crimson-robed man heaved a faint sigh before closing his eyes to meditate again.
...
In the air above a grey forest on the outskirts of the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges, a Deity Transformation cultivator was controlling three red flying sabers as he battled two devilish beasts that resembled black bears.
Not only were these devilish beasts several tens of feet tall, they were able to unleash countless claw projections by swinging their paws through the air, and those claw projections clashed with the flying sabers amid a string of loud clangs as a fierce battle ensued.
This Deity Transformation Stage being was only barely able to ensure self-preservation in the face of these fierce attacks, but in the next instant, a peculiar cry suddenly rang out in the distant sky, following which a black cloud drifted forth.
This was a pack of hundreds of horned black birds.
One of them was around 10 feet in length a pair of green eyes that were emitting a sinister light.
The Deity Transformation Stage being was absolutely petrified upon seeing this, but he was unable to do anything aside from manipulating his three flying sabers with all his might in the face of the two giant bears.
All of a sudden, the three flying sabers flew back toward him before transforming into three streaks of light that shielded his body within.
However, following a strange cry from the devilish bird leading the pack, the rest of them flew forth in a frenzy. The flying sabers were only able to slay a dozen or so of these devilish birds before they were torn to shreds.
Even the giant bear-like devilish beasts weren't spared as they were also eaten by this pack of ferocious birds.
In the end, one of the birds suddenly opened its beak to expel a formation plate, and their leader's eyes lit up with elation upon seeing this as it opened its peak to blast forth a burst of light, which drew the formation plate into its stomach.
After that, it led the pack of devilish birds toward another direction.
...
In the air above a small mountain, five leopard-like devilish beasts were attacking a yellow light barrier that had enshrouded the mountain's summit.
Grey devilish Qi was erupting from the mouths of the devilish beasts, causing the light barrier to tremor incessantly, and below the light barrier, there were two foreign beings each wielding a flag with all their might. Despite the fact that they were doing their best to maintain the light barrier, it was clearly on the brink of collapse.
...
Elsewhere, above a stretch of empty land, the elderly man with the Yan surname and the pale-faced young man were flying through the air as quickly as they could as two streaks of light.
Behind them, a strange green cloud and a gust of fierce black winds were giving chase in hot pursuit.
As the two drew closer and closer, the elderly man's heart sank, and he gritted his teeth as he suddenly flipped his hand over to produce a slightly worn-out golden talisman.
He chanted something before raising the talisman, and a ball of piercing golden light that resembled a scintillating golden sun appeared amid a resounding boom.
Golden light radiated in all directions, creating a marvelous spectacle that also forced back all of the devilish Qi in the surrounding area.
The green cloud and the gust of black winds were also forced to stop in their tracks as a result.
Moments later, the golden light vanished, yet the two men up ahead had also disappeared without a trace.
Similar scenarios were unfolding all throughout the outskirts of the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges.
Most of the foreign beings who had entered the mountain ranges had been killed by devilish beasts, and only a small number remained.
All of the beings who had survived up to this point were naturally quite powerful, and after realizing that there seemed to be an abnormally high number of high-grade devilish beasts that were appearing in the area, all of them went into hiding and became extremely cautious.
The devilish beasts that had obtained the tracking formation plates from the beings that they had slain all began to search through the outskirts of the mountain ranges.
However, strangely enough, none of the remaining Spirit Realm beings nor the devilish beasts had even caught a single glimpse of this immortal zoysia.
At this point, after a few days of travel, Han Li's trio was finally close to their destination.