“What if the other party wants to escape?” The green-shirted elder pointed to the right side. “See that man there? It’s said that his speed is unparalleled. If they are all like him, we would have no chance to catch them.”
“Eh?”
“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!”
They looked to the right at the same time and saw a man with light-colored wings on his back floating at a low altitude about a kilometer away.
Who else could it be but Shi Fenghou?
“Young man…” Elder Nu opened his mouth and planned to speak.
The green-shirted elder added, “They are in the same gang.”
“Ha.”
Shi Fenghou gave half of a sneer. Then, his voice fluttered across the distance, saying, “How dare you morons make trouble for Zhang Hanyang?”
“What did you say?”
Elder Nu was stunned for a moment. Then, his eyes were burning with anger. “How could you, a mere Elixir Realm cultivator, have the nerve to mock us?”
“How ignorant!” Shi Fenghou blurted out.
He flapped his wings and rapidly went away.
“No kidding! Those five people are all Yuan Ying Realm masters. They probably have some aces up their sleeves. I’d better run away when I still can.”
“Whoosh!”
Without a word, Elder Nu leaped up, ready to chase after Shi Fenghou. However, a second later, all he could see was Shi Fenghou’s shadow…
He immediately gave up. Time was running short. It was meaningless to try to hunt down an unconcerned person at this time.
“Then what should we do?” one of the five asked.
“I have a way.”
An item appeared in the green-shirted elder’s right hand. It was a strand of black hair. He slowly said, “I know a method to locate them. This strand of black hair belongs to an Elemental Elf. With it, I can quickly find the Seventh Princess of the Elemental Elf Clan. Since those people came in here with the Seventh Princess, there is a high chance that they are still together.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and find her,” another of them said.
“So if we get the first sixth-tier treasure, can I have it?” the green-shirted elder said with a smile.
The other four immediately fell silent.
Two seconds later, Elder Nu nodded, “I think it’s fine.”
“Second that!”
The other three nodded.
No one went on to discuss who would take the second one. The five-person squad was actually a fragile alliance. They themselves would fight over treasures if they obtained any.
After receiving everyone’s reply, the green-shirted elder nodded with satisfaction.
“Shadow Searching!”
He made an incantation gesture with his left hand. Suddenly, two wisps of golden light floated out from his index and middle fingers and entered the black hair in his right hand.
“Whoosh!”
The strand of black hair turned into a ball of golden flames and slowly dissipated.
But the energy raging in front of the green-shirted elder directly entered his eyes, which turned his pupils golden.
“Over there!”
“Let’s go!”
“Whiz, whiz, whiz, whiz, whiz!”
The five people quickly flew toward the depths of the swamp at an extremely low altitude.
But just as they moved…
Suddenly, they heard an angry roar of a wild beast coming from the right side.
“Huh?”
They turned their heads, only to see a fierce-looking mouse-dragon at the Yuan Ying Realm Early-Stage chasing after Shi Fenghou.
He was dashing in their direction.
“Ha-ha-ha, take my Meteor Egg!”
As Shi Fenghou approached, he swiftly launched an attack.
A dazzling ball of light was racing at them.
“Do you wanna die?”
Elder Nu’s brows furrowed. He waved his hand and shattered the opponent’s attack.
Yes, he shattered it.
However, after the outer layer of energy was cracked, he found that what he shattered was just an egg.
“Grrr! Grrr!”
From behind came the mouse-dragon’s furious growls.
The five instantly cottoned on.
They all looked infuriated.
“Goodbye.”
Shi Fenghou sneered and quickly escaped in the opposite direction.
Instead of continuing to chase after Shi Fenghou, the mouse-dragon darted straight toward the five people.
“Bang! Whack! Bang! Boom…”
Facing this strange beast in the Yuan Ying Realm, the five fought for a whole five minutes before forcing it into a retreat.
“Damn it!”
“I’ll kill him if I see him again!”
“Hurry up. We’re still far away from them. I can feel it,” urged the green-shirted elder.
The five began to fly again.
Five minutes later–
“Grrr!”
Another roar came over from afar.
“Kill!”
Seeing Shi Fenghou’s figure, Elder Nu could no longer hold back his anger. He rushed straight toward him, preparing to kill him.
But Shi Fenghou had learned a smart trick.
When Elder Nu was still a good distance away, he decisively fired a streak of golden light.
Yet, Elder Nu also learned his lesson. “I won’t touch the egg you tossed at me. Instead, I will only attack you!”
Elder Nu was indeed determined. He was willing to waste several minutes to finish this brat off.
However…
“Crack!”
The egg was smashed when Elder Nu came closer, the sticky liquid spraying all over the ground.
“What? How dare you plan to rob me of the egg I snatched?” Shi Fenghou snarled.
“Swoosh!”
With that said, he ran away in another direction.
This time, the beast following Shi Fenghou was a giant red hawk.
When it saw this, it chased after Shi Fenghou. But to its surprise, Shi Fenghou ran too fast and quickly disappeared into the dense forest.
Therefore, the giant hawk flashed its cold eyes at Elder Nu and the other four people.
“I… Buddy Hawk, he framed me. I didn’t touch your egg.”
Elder Nu was so angry that his palm went numb. Nevertheless, he did not want to continue fighting against the giant hawk at the Yuan Ying Realm Early-Stage. This thing was not easy to deal with. Once one became its target, it would take a long time for one to shake it off.
“Yowl!”
The giant hawk cried.
The hawk streaked across the sky and swiftly flew toward them. The energy on its wings was overwhelming.
“Shit!”
The five all felt like losing it.
They were forced to fight.
Bang! Wham! Bang! Whack! Bang…
After a good 10 minutes, the giant hawk’s left wing was injured. It was not until this moment that it flew off to the higher sky to slowly recover. Even so, its eyes were still locked on the five people.
“I’m gonna kill him! I’m definitely gonna kill him!”
Elder Nu gritted his teeth.
For so many years, he had never been played like this.
“Surely we must kill him, but now isn’t the time. Let’s move quickly. That strand of black hair can only function for a limited time. If we can’t locate them before the time is up, all our efforts will be in vain,” the green-shirted elder said briskly.
“Let’s go!”
Having no time to talk it out, the five of them immediately flew toward the depths of the swamp.
Ten minutes later.
“Grrr! Grrr! Grrr!”
Their faces darkened the moment they heard the roars.
“Change direction!” shouted the green-shirted elder.
The five of them fled in a different direction.
“Ha!”
Three minutes later, Shi Fenghou appeared in a distance behind them, asking, “What are you running away from?”
“You say who is running away?” Elder Nu turned around and bawled angrily. His eyes had even turned red in fury.
“Isn’t it because you saw me that you turned tail? Otherwise, why did you abruptly change your direction?” Shi Fenghou said with a serious face.
“We turned tail because we saw you? Why should we flee when we saw a mere Elixir Realm cultivator?” Elder Nu stopped short.
Having been provoked by an ant-like existence that he could crush at will, Elder Nu could no longer hold back his wrath.
“You go first. I’ll catch up in a sec!” said Elder Nu.
Then, he looked at Shi Fenghou with a horrific smile and remarked, “I’ll kill you first.”
“Clatter!”
Shi Fenghou’s heart skipped a beat.
“Well, never mind. I’ve attracted three Yuan Ying Realm spirit beasts here. I guess this is enough.
“It’s just a small favor I can do for Zhang Hanyang.”
Shi Fenghou laughed and fled quickly toward the right side.
Elder Nu chased him for a minute. When he lost track of the target, he stopped dead and ridiculed, “He is still too young and naive.”
After that, he turned around and quickly flew back to meet up with his companions.
This time, Shi Fenghou didn’t mess with them. It was mainly because he couldn’t find any suitable spirit beast to pester them. If he provoked a really horrible strange beast, he himself might be killed before he realized it.
“In less than an hour, we should be able to get there,” said the green-shirted elder.
“Good, there is still enough time. I hope those people are with that princess of the Elemental Elf Clan,” Elder Nu said calmly.
“We hope so, too.”
As they got increasingly closer, the five became steadily more silent. Their faces were also more and more solemn.
As Yuan Ying Realm masters, it was normal for them to remain calm before a battle. It could be said that they had all turned on their combat mode.
No one knew about their arrival except Shi Fenghou.
On the other side of the margin of the swamp.
Half an hour ago.
“Coo.”
Tiny Tot’s figure became smaller and smaller. Eventually, it resumed the form of a penguin again. It burped and patted its belly with its wings. Then, it bounced its way to Mengmeng, shrank to an even smaller figure, and slid into Mengmeng’s schoolbag to sleep.
“Woo? Woo, woo, woo.”
Dahei was saying, “Third Brother, you’re too full. Your stomach is bigger than usual.”
It reached out and patted Tiny Tot’s bulging belly several times.
“Huh?”
Mengmeng watched this in a daze. She gave Tiny Tot several gentle pinches, and then rubbed Dahei’s head, saying, “Well, let Tiny Tot sleep.”
“Woo.”
Dahei adjusted its posture and pulled its head back into the schoolbag.
“Mengmeng, wh-what is Tiny Tot? Just now, it seemed to be… very powerful,” Nina asked under her breath.
Even with her many years of experience in the Cultivation World, she still couldn’t understand what kind of creature Tiny Tot was.
“Oh, Tiny Tot’s other name is Ancient Cursed Roc,” Mengmeng answered, carrying her schoolbag on her shoulders again.
“Roc, roc… roc?”
Nina’s pupils abruptly contracted.
She had never heard about the Ancient Cursed Roc, but she knew what kind of noble and horrible existence the roc was.
“Mengmeng, is, is your spiritual pet a roc?”
Nina’s outlook of the world collapsed.
“A roc could be kept as a spiritual pet?
“Gosh, this must be a joke!”
“Yes.” Seeing Nina’s shocked expression, Mengmeng giggled and said, “It’s not that surprising. Tiny Tot is an Ancient Cursed Roc. It’s very powerful. But now, it’s too young. It’s still growing, so it’s not super powerful yet. I also have Dahei. It’s King Kong.”
“King… Kong?” Nina’s face changed again.
“Little Hei is just a dog. But it is the strongest black dog in the world, and it runs very fast,” Mengmeng added.
“Ancient Cursed Roc, King Kong, and a black dog are their pets.
“Who in the world are they?”
Princess Nina had a strong feeling that had she not known where they were from, she would have definitely assumed that they came from an advanced Star Area. These pets were all legendary creatures. Now that they appeared right before her eyes, they immediately caused her to fall into a trance.
“No wonder the overlords in the depths of the swamp has retreated. It turns out that Tiny Tot is an Ancient Cursed Roc.” Nina slightly shook her head in amazement.
“It still needs time to grow before it becomes the kind of roc in your imagination.”
Seeing Nina’s dazed expression, Zhang Han smiled and looked off into the distance. “Come on, let’s go to the right and see what is there. If we find nothing special after we run a circuit of the swamp, we can go to explore the depths of the swamp. There should be something good there.”
“If we go to the depths of the swamp and get some treasures, will the overlords inside take action against us?” Dong Chen asked.
“No, their will has just dispersed. They wouldn’t reappear during our stay. Besides, they never care about what they don’t need,” Zhang Han replied.
“Phew, good, that’s good.” Dong Chen patted his chest in relief.
Just now, he was really terrified. That oppressive aura made him profoundly understand that how small and insignificant he was.
Zhang Han didn’t make comments on that subject.
Probably only those in the God Transformation Realm could release that kind of pure oppressive aura. However, the overlords in the swamp only managed that because their Yin Spirits had merged with the swamp, which played up their power to this extent.
Their true strength was not really that remarkable.
“Let’s go.”
Zhang Mu also nodded.
Thus, the group headed to the right.
The fog continued to permeate this place.
“Cool Breezes!”
Zhang Han took out the top-grade crystal stones again and formed a formation. Breezes whistled around them and blew away the fog.
When Nina saw this, her face stiffened a little.
She was screaming in her head, “How extravagant!”
“Daddy, the withered grass under our feet seems to become softer and softer.” Mengmeng suddenly looked at her feet.
It felt like the withered grass was floating on the water.
“There’s mud beneath the grass,” Zhang Han answered. “But the layer of the withered grass is five meters thick, which is the result of years of accumulation. It’s quite solid. It should be no different from walking on the earth.”
At this point, Zhang Han hesitated for a moment before continuing, “My daughter’s observation is quite thorough now. Very good. The withered grass has some ability to isolate the soul sense. In this case, it’s best to launch a few attacks at the withered grass to see what’s underneath it. It’s always safer to feel out the way now and then. In fact, there are many rotten corpses under the withered grass. Although they can’t go up to the ground, their number is quite large. If there is a gap in the grass, you may see some of them. The rotten corpses look rather disgusting, so I advise you not to.”
“Let’s stay away from this place.”
Zi Yan looked a little sick. She already had a feeling of nausea when she pictured the decayed bodies in her mind. Thus, she pulled Zhang Han to the edge of the land.
Nina knew what the rotten corpses were. Her expression became a little awkward. Then, she and the two Elf clansmen followed Zi Yan and left in a hurry.
The others slowed down a little.
“I’m no longer that vigilant when I’m with Han.”
Zhang Mu touched his forehead and sighed. “You guys go ahead. I’m gonna go there and have a look.”
“I’ll go with you,” Zhang Guangyou said. “I haven’t seen anything like that either.”
“I…” Mu Xue looked hesitant. She was a little scared by the idea of rotten corpses lying under the ground. But she was also curious about it. Thus, she felt rather conflicted.
In the end, except for Zhang Han’s family of three and Nina’s group of three, everyone else stood behind Zhang Mu and Zhang Guangyou.
“Try it.”
Zhang Mu and Deep Flame looked at each other and attacked the same spot at the same time.
“Kaboom!”
A three-meter-long and half-meter-wide crack appeared on the layer of wet withered grass.
The muddy water inside was exposed.
“Grrr!”
There seemed to be something wriggling in the muddy water.
“Hiss!”
All of a sudden, Mu Xue’s face froze when she saw a decayed corpse’s head popping out from the muddy water. The next moment, she and Jiang Yanlan bolted off as if a monster were after them.
A dozen seconds later.
Everyone else scurried back with a strange look on their faces.
“Let’s go.”
Seeing this, Zhang Han shook his head in amusement.
They continued to travel forward. This time, they walked on the edge of the withered grass. On their left, they could no longer see the edge of the swamp.
In this way, they headed forward. When the energy of the formation created by the crystal stones faded, everyone found that the surrounding fog had also become very thin.
“Splash!”
Ten minutes later, they heard the sound of running water.
“Is there a river ahead?”
Looking bewildered, Zhang Guangyou asked, “How could there be a river in such a large swamp?”
“In this boundless world, there is no lack of strange things. We’ll know when we see it,” Zhang Han replied.
Thus, everyone quickened their pace.
When they got closer, what they saw made them put on an awestruck look.
“A waterfall?”
Ahead was a small canyon. Above it, there was a clear river running down the steep side, forming a large waterfall. There was no river under the waterfall, only a pool of stagnant water. The waves risen by the falling water spread for dozens of meters before they dissipated. Other than the waves around the waterfall, the pool was as smooth as the surface of a mirror.
As for the source of the waterfall, no one could see it. But they could tell from the direction of the running water that it originated from the swamp.
“There is a saying that makes good sense.”
Gazing at the clear water, Zhang Han slowly said, “When the water is too clear, there is no fish. If you are not sure about the situation you’re in, you should be particularly careful. For example, the clear water in front of you is actually poisonous.”
“The water is poisonous?” Dong Chen’s expression froze. “How poisonous is it?”
“It’s not a big deal. Ordinary people will turn into dead bones the moment a drop of it falls on them. The Elixir Realm cultivators can survive in it for about 10 minutes. The water is called the Final Clear Water. It’s not extremely toxic, but its poison is long-lasting. One can’t see it with naked eyes, but one’s soul sense can somewhat distinguish it from normal water,” Zhang Han replied. “It’s not very troublesome for us.”
After that, Zhang Han suddenly looked to the right and slowly said, “We can circumvent small troubles like this, but there are some troubles that will voluntarily come to us.”
“Voluntarily come to us?”
Everyone’s faces changed slightly. They followed Zhang Han’s gaze and looked to the right in unison.
From dozens of meters above the forest, five figures a kilometer away were rapidly flying toward them.
When they were 500 meters away, everyone could see that the faces of the five people were lit with excitement.
When they were 300 meters away, Elder Nu spoke, “Hahaha, great, great! You are all here. That saved us a whole lot of trouble.”
“Elder Nu? Ren Xun, Cai Xiang… They’re all in the Yuan Ying Realm!” Nina exclaimed in a low voice.
“What? Five Yuan Ying Realm masters?”
Hearing this, everyone was alarmed!
If it was only one Yuan Ying Realm master, they could still handle the situation. However, five Yuan Ying Realm masters had appeared at the same time. From their looks, the group could tell they were here to deal with them. How could the group not be taken back?
“Princess Nina, you are our blessing.”
The green-shirted elder said with a smile, “We thought after we found you, we would find them through you. But we didn’t expect that you were all together. For us, it’s really a pleasant surprise.”
“What do you want?” Nina asked with a frown.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Elder Nu said with emotion, “We are here to pass on the news. That young man is Zhang Hanyang, isn’t he? He is very bold and insightful. He killed Hu Bin on this land. That’s not something ordinary people can do.”
“So?” Zhang Han was not surprised to see them. His expression hadn’t changed at all. He asked calmly, “Are you here for sixth-tier treasures? How many do you want?”
“I have to say that you have a pair of keen eyes,” the green-shirted elder said in a slightly surprised tone. “Since you are so cooperative, we can save a lot of time. Let’s cut to the chase. You can leave as long as you give each of us one. In addition, we can also tell you a piece of very important news.”
“What’s the important news? Is it that the Tiger Talisman Royal Family has besieged the secret realm?” Zhang Han said casually.
“Oh?” Elder Nu raised his eyebrows slightly. “It seems that you’ve already guessed it.”
“Then, we can cut the crap and skip to the key part. Just do as you’re told and don’t make us hurt you.” The green-shirted elder sneered. “Hand over five kinds of sixth-tier treasures and you can live for a while longer. During the few hours you have in the secret realm, you can think of ways to survive. If you say no to us, you will all die now.”
“All you want are sixth-tier treasures, right?” Zhang Han clapped his hands and said, “Then let’s show them our sixth-tier treasures and let them pick what they want.”
