Chapter 45: Chapter 45 I am your Senior Brother, Li Changxiao

Three Nascent Soul True Monarchs halted in their tracks, standing at the forefront without rashly proceeding, but instead scanning the vast underground world with their eyes.

Meanwhile, Yang Ji was doing the same.

His gaze swept over, and various pieces of information appeared one after another.

[Levels one to ten, Glowing Insects, capable of releasing dazzling bright light instantly, can cause blindness.]

[Levels one to ten, Ancient Qiu Trees, can close together to form spear-like branches with extremely strong penetration force.]

[Levels one to ten, Devil-faced Mushrooms, can consume human souls.]

[Levels one to ten, Blue Fansy Herb, hallucinogenic.]

"Oh my, are all these plants and vegetation spirit-possessed?" Yang Ji marveled to himself, grateful that they were not too powerful and likely wouldn't cause much harm to the group.

However, he still quietly side-eyed and warned Mang Biao and the others, "These plants seem a bit strange, be careful."

"These mushrooms do look peculiar, I always feel like it's glaring at me." Mang Biao frowned, approaching a mushroom taller than himself with curiosity.

On the mushroom cap he was oblivious to, strange markings flowed, silently interweaving to form a ghost face.

The Ghost Face was within the cap, but its ghostly eyes turned, revealing a ferocious glint as if it could see Mang Biao standing underneath it.

These plants were somewhat magical, seemingly breathing in unison with the land, and their spiritual power fluctuations were expertly hidden, so much so that even Mang Biao, a Golden Core True Person, did not detect anything unusual.

Even the three mighty Nascent Soul True Monarchs had not pinpointed the specific issue, merely sensing an anomaly which caused them to hesitate.

At that moment, seeing the ghost face from the mushroom aiming for Mang Biao, Yang Ji reached out his hand, intending to give a warning, but just then, the ghost face from the mushroom cap moved like a wisp of green smoke, opened its ferocious mouth wide, and fiercely bit down on Mang Biao's head.

No external injuries appeared, and no blood splattered, but Mang Biao screamed in shock as if his soul had been stung.

But his reaction was swift; his body shook, and his protective True Qi burst forth, instantly shattering the ghost face biting his head into soul particles.

"Damn it, did this mushroom just bite me?" After a moment of stun, Mang Biao's face turned ashen, and amidst the curses, he swung his ax and cut the mushroom in front of him in two.

"Be careful, these plants are problematic!" The three Nascent Soul True Monarchs glanced at Mang Biao, instantly discovering the clue.

It was at this moment that countless Glowing Insects in the sky suddenly erupted into a dazzling bright light, blinding everyone with a flash of white, leaving them unable to see anything.

The next instant, those Ancient Qiu Trees, Devil-faced Mushrooms, and Blue Fansy Herbs all sprang into action, unleashing deadly attacks on the crowd in that split second.

Yang Ji, who was prepared for the assault of the ghost face turned into a wisp of green smoke heading for his head, remained calm. The Earth Spirit Fire emerged from his fingertips, turning into a tongue of flame that wrapped around the ghost face, burning it to ash in an instant.

Simultaneously, one of the Ancient Qiu Trees closed its sharp branches and thrust them towards his heart like a spear.

Deploying the Water Tracing Sword Technique, Yang Ji's Flying Sword in hand, he thrust it forward sharply, where the tip of the sword met the tip of the branch like a needle to wheat, clang, with the Flying Sword proving to be the victor, the Ancient Qiu Tree recoiled in pain.

In their perception, the group was not in disarray; those who descended as Qi Refining Cultivators were few and far between, mostly Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

With the warning from the three Nascent Soul True Monarchs, everyone showed exceptional combat readiness, and in a series of moves, they either repelled or cut down the Ancient Qiu Trees and Ghost Faces.

After five breaths, clarity returned to the world, and upon looking around, the group found to their surprise that the remaining Ancient Qiu Trees, Devil-faced Mushrooms, and Blue Fansy Herbs had uprooted themselves and scampered off.

The Glowing Insects also formed a cluster, howling as they flew into the distance.

The sight of these creatures fleeing was somewhat comical and frustrating.

"Everyone, be cautious, something is off here. So many spirit-possessed creatures, yet hidden so well," True Monarch Chihuo frowned slightly.

"Let's move on!" True Monarch Nankui took the lead and walked on.

With the absence of the obstructing vegetation, the way was clear for the group, but soon another obstacle presented itself.

A stone forest stood before them, with stout stone pillars erect on the ground like chess pieces.

Yang Ji glanced over and saw [Formation, Protective Array.]

"Protective Array?" As he murmured to himself, he saw True Monarch Nankui leap up and throw a punch forward.

A huge fist of Spiritual Power shone brilliantly, unleashing a boundless force that slammed into the stone forest.

However, with a hum, a semi-transparent protective shield rose from the stone forest, nullifying his attack.

Realizing this, True Monarch Nankui's brows knitted even more, "There's a protective restriction; my attack did nothing."

"There's a Spatial Restriction on the outside, and now a Protective Restriction here, both beyond the reach of a Nascent Soul True Monarch's power. I wonder what high being dwells here. Are we to leave or stay?" True Monarch Chihuo looked sideways and asked.

"If there's truly a high being here, and the Cave Mansion has been destroyed by the earthquake, surely they won't remain indifferent," said True Monarch Nankui, turning his gaze to True Monarch Ling Gu.

True Monarch Ling Gu hesitated for a moment, then took a step forward, bowed, and called out, "Canglan Sect's Ling Gu seeks an audience with the senior!"

"Nanyuan Sect's Nankui seeks an audience with the senior!" True Monarch Nankui stepped forward and bowed as he called out.

True Monarch Chihuo also stepped forward and shouted, "Changqing Sect's Chihuo seeks an audience with the senior!"

Seeing their actions, those behind followed suit, bowing slightly and showing their respect.

As they bowed, Yang Ji continued to gaze forward, past the [Stone Forest], but found no information of a high being nor any danger.

Still, he kept silent.

Thirty breaths later, the three Nascent Soul True Monarchs slowly rose, exchanged glances, and began to form their Spiritual Light Clones, heading toward the stone forest.

Boom!

Those stone pillars suddenly came to life, moving rapidly and chaotically, constantly blocking the path of the Spiritual Light Clones.

"This is an automatic triggering array, once someone steps on that land, the array will activate," Ling Gu looked for a while and said, "Luckily, it's just pure protection and interception without attack. This might be simply a gateway, not wanting people to barge into the forbidden area behind. It seems the expert who set it up must be a person of good virtue."

"What about those attacking plants? How do you explain that?" Nankui frowned.

"Those should just be native plants living underground. The fact that they've all turned into spirits probably means a senior who lived here in the past refined them with a special technique to guard the door," guessed Ling Gu.

"I think so too. This expert's strength must be very formidable. If they really wanted to keep guardian creatures, their power wouldn't be so weak," Red Fire said immediately, "In that case, let's go deeper into the stone forest. The stone forest is in a chaotic state with no discernible pattern, we'll have to find our own way through. Whether we can get in or not depends on our own fate."

"A spiritual clone advances forward; the stone pillars will block the way, but when the clone retreats, the pillars will automatically make way. There should be no dangers inside the stone forest; everyone can give it a try," Ling Gu said, as he stepped into the stone forest together with True Monarch Nan Kui and True Monarch Red Fire.

The others exchanged glances and then followed them into the stone forest.

In a moment of contemplation and for the sake of safety, Yang Ji still turned his head to Mang Biao and said, "Follow me!"

Mang Biao was startled for a moment but followed suit.

Inside the stone formation, the movement of the stone pillars was constant, and everyone needed to find a way forward through the shifting gaps to pass through the stone forest.

Often one person would pass through, but if the next person tried to follow their footsteps, the nearby pillar would move to block the way.

It was like checking tickets for a high-speed train, one ticket per person at the entrance.

But if you were quick enough, two could slip through on one ticket.

At this moment, seeing Yang Ji set off first, Mang Biao hurriedly stuck close behind him.

Just as everyone had entered the stone forest for about three breaths' time.

A rumbling noise came from the path they had come from, and everyone turned to look back, their faces instantly changing. Searᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"It's demonic beasts. I didn't expect that the beasts, seeing the spirituality reaching for the heavens, would also want to come in for a share," someone remarked.

"There's a Demon King inside!" The crowd saw three masses of black demonic Qi rolling towards them and were startled.

Only a Demon King could transform into a mass of demonic Qi capable of flying. Without hesitation, everyone rushed toward the front of the stone forest to escape; otherwise, they would face a fierce battle with the demonic beasts.

The demonic beasts lunged in from behind, commanded by the Demon King, and surged into the stone forest en masse.

Yang Ji looked at the information displayed: "Left", "Right", "Left", "Forward"...

All the way unobstructed, he managed to break out of the stone forest swiftly.

However, Mang Biao, lost in a moment of distraction, was blocked off inside the stone forest.

As the demonic beasts rushed in, a great battle soon erupted within the stone forest.

In the midst of observation.

Whizz!

A black scorpion the size of a millstone, perhaps lucky, suddenly rushed out of the stone forest and flicked its tail hook at lightning speed aiming to strike him.

"It's actually a Level Ten Black Water Scorpion!" Yang Ji's eyes narrowed, not daring to be careless, he immediately wielded his sword to defend, unleashing the Water Tracing Sword Technique in an instant. A whirlpool of sword energy formed, directly blocking the giant scorpion's tail hook.

Still, the tremendous force transmitted made him stagger back two steps.

Clang, clang, clang!

The Black Water Scorpion kept attacking, its tail hook like a spear constantly lunging at Yang Ji.

For a while, Yang Ji was on the defensive, continuously being pushed back, and was inwardly shocked: "This Level Ten Demon Beast is indeed formidable; I can only hold it off with the Water Tracing Sword Technique, and I'm still at a disadvantage."

Without hesitation, his eyes flashed and he unleashed the Sword Intent of Fire.

With one strike of his sword, the sword qi spread like wildfire, engulfing the Black Water Scorpion. With a scream, the beast was shredded to pieces by the sword qi in an instant.

Just then, a handsome and unrestrained man in white burst out from the stone forest.

With spiritual light swirling in his eyes, seeing Yang Ji slay the Black Water Scorpion with a single strike, he was taken aback at first, then a mysterious smile appeared on his face.

The young man was a Golden Core True Person. Yang Ji saw that he was tagged with "Interested" above his head, and he couldn't help frowning inwardly.

Before he could react, the man flashed him a grin, and attacked with his sword.

Yang Ji was startled and prepared to defend, but Mang Biao suddenly burst out of the stone forest. Seeing someone making a move against his companion, he was instantly enraged and swung his axe to attack.

"Dare to hurt my little brother? You're seeking death!"

The man raised an eyebrow, glanced at Mang Biao, then his Flying Sword darted out, a burst of Sword Light pushing Mang Biao back with force.

Mang Biao was stunned, his heart sinking with shock: "This man is formidable; I'm no match for even a single strike of his sword. Who is he?"

The moment Mang Biao moved, Yang Ji had already retreated.

But the man, having knocked Mang Biao away, appeared unwilling to let him go and made a killing strike from mid-air towards him.

"Why is this guy attacking me?" Yang Ji was utterly puzzled. With the sharpness coming towards his back sparking an urgent alert, he had no choice but to turn around and mount a defense.

"Block with your strongest strike, or you'll die by this sword of mine!" the man shouted.

Yang Ji let out an angry shout, his body erupting with sword qi. In an instant he performed the Sword Intent of Fire, his sword qi dominant, overwhelming the space in a ferocious attack.

"Indeed, it's the Gui Cang Sword Technique!" seeing this, the man blocked the incoming sword qi with a single strike, then stood upright with his sword, turning to Yang Ji with a grin and called out, "Little junior brother!"

"Little junior brother?" At this call, Yang Ji was perplexed, but seeing that the man no longer held hostility, he relaxed and asked with furrowed brows, "Who are you, senior?"

"Senior?" The man looked surprised, breaking into easy laughter and said, "I'm your senior brother, Li Changxiao!"