Xuantian Immortal Cultivation Record

Beyond this mountain peak lay a field of jagged rocks, constantly monitored by the peaks on either side, and thus devoid of any significant demonic beasts.

"Senior Brother Lei" navigated through the rocks, reaching the base of the opposite peak.

He followed a mountain path upwards. After about a hundred steps, a massive boulder appeared, covered in moss. From his waist pouch, he retrieved a jade token and placed it in a crevice beneath the boulder, causing a cloud of mist to suddenly appear above the rock.

He removed the token, leaped lightly, and disappeared into the mist. Soon after, both the mist and the man were gone without a trace.

Zhang Yuanjing had already burrowed deep into the earth, shielding himself with the Source Stone, and was moving swiftly underground.

Fifty zhang below the surface, the power of the formation still fluctuated, but deeper than that, there was no protection.

Fearing to lose track of "Senior Brother Lei," he only descended to a depth of sixty zhang before stopping. He locked onto "Senior Brother Lei" with a wisp of his divine sense and tunneled into the mountain.

Initially, nothing seemed amiss. But soon, a rustling sound came from behind. He scanned with his divine sense and saw more than a dozen dark shapes following him. Judging by their size, they were the Carp Rats.

These demons were highly perceptive, especially sensitive to distant sounds underground. Therefore, he was not surprised that he had been discovered.

Now, he was in the form of a stone, so he did not worry about being recognized by the Carp Rats. Even a cultivator skilled in beast taming would find it difficult to extract clear information from these creatures.

However, he needed to be wary of Carp Rats at the Demon Core realm. Those creatures had considerable intelligence and likely had ways to communicate with the cultivators who tamed them.

Furthermore, what truly worried him were the strange insects. If there was a type of insect adept at moving underground, it would be difficult to deal with.

He tunneled forward for more than ten li, not moving quickly, because "Senior Brother Lei," after entering the mountain, occasionally ran into familiar cultivators. Some simply exchanged greetings, while others stopped to chat.

This delay allowed the dozen or so Carp Rats behind him to catch up. Fortunately, they were all at the Spirit Awakening realm, so they were not difficult to handle.

He first stopped in the earth, luring the Carp Rats to sniff at his scent. When they couldn't resist extending their claws to grab the Source Stone, he allowed a gap to open, sucking all the Carp Rats inside before closing the stone wall.

Inside the stone, Zhang Yuanjing unleashed his full mana, instantly suppressing the Carp Rats. He didn't kill them but collected them directly into his spirit beast pouch.

Then, he continued to track "Senior Brother Lei."

The Heavenly Demon Abyss's stronghold, from the outside, appeared to be a range of mountains, but inside, it was a large basin surrounded by mountains.

From the southern peak, a waterfall cascaded down into a large lake. On the shores of the lake were dozens of palaces and pavilions, resembling a sect's headquarters.

The northern side of the basin was a colorful dense forest, filled with the calls of birds. These were likely demonic birds that had strayed into the formation and been captured by the Heavenly Demon Abyss cultivators, now kept in the forest.

On the side of the forest facing the lake were several stone chambers. "Senior Brother Lei" headed towards that area.

Upon reaching this place, Zhang Yuanjing dared not release his divine sense to investigate extensively. Instead, he hid a hundred zhang below, attaching a wisp of his divine sense to a small tree near the stone chambers to observe the surroundings.

After about half an hour, "Senior Brother Lei" emerged from the central stone chamber and went to the adjacent one. Upon entering, the sound of voices could be heard.

Zhang Yuanjing only had a wisp of divine sense, so he couldn't capture much of the sound, only hearing vague, fragmented snippets, suggesting that "Senior Brother Lei" was exchanging pleasantries with someone.

Another hour passed, and "Senior Brother Lei" still hadn't emerged from the stone chamber. But Zhang Yuanjing heard movement in the earth above. It was a very subtle sound, very close to him.

He was startled and scanned with his divine sense, seeing a dark shape tunneling through the earth about thirty zhang diagonally above him, almost silently.

When his divine sense landed on the dark shape, it paused momentarily and then sped towards him, making a rustling sound.

It was a Carp Rat in the early stage of the Demon Core realm!

Zhang Yuanjing's heart sank. Dealing with a Demon Core realm Carp Rat was easy for him.

However, the Heavenly Demon Abyss stronghold was above him, and he didn't know how many Core Formation cultivators were gathered there. Any significant disturbance would be detected. He had no problem protecting himself, but it would be difficult to complete the task assigned by True Person Tong.

After a moment's thought, he drove the Source Stone downwards, quickly reaching a depth of two hundred zhang.

The Demon Core realm Carp Rat tunneled down about one hundred and fifty zhang, gradually slowing down.

After resting for a quarter of an hour, seemingly unwilling to give up, it descended another ten zhang or so. It seemed to have reached its limit and could no longer move, so it planned to tunnel upwards.

At this moment, Zhang Yuanjing's divine thought moved, and the Source Stone immediately sped upwards, directly towards the Carp Rat.

The Carp Rat had initially considered itself the hunter, but it hadn't expected the prey to attack. Startled, it mustered its remaining strength and darted upwards, wanting to reach a shallower layer of earth as quickly as possible.

A depth of one hundred and fifty zhang was somewhat overwhelming for it.

When it came to tunneling through the earth, the Carp Rat was no match for the Source Stone. Before it could ascend twenty zhang, the Source Stone had caught up.

The rat demon opened its mouth and made a 'lili lili' sound, perhaps summoning its companions or sending a message to the cultivator who had tamed it.

Zhang Yuanjing cursed inwardly, opened a crack in the Source Stone, and manipulated the Jade Spirit Snake to bind the rat demon. Then, he drove the Source Stone to descend rapidly, stopping only after reaching a depth of two hundred zhang.

The earth pressure here exceeded the limit that the rat demon could withstand. Within three breaths, its bones were cracking all over its body. After a few more breaths, its head shattered, and its internal organs were destroyed, and it died.

After killing the demon, Zhang Yuanjing didn't dare to hide there any longer and tunneled towards the direction of the great lake.

He had originally wanted to track "Senior Brother Lei" to see how the Heavenly Demon Abyss cultivators tamed the demonic birds. If there was a Core Formation grandmaster skilled in spirit control, he would seize the opportunity to kill him. If that happened, the tens of thousands of demonic birds would lose their controller and likely fall into chaos.

If they were relying on strange insects, it was likely related to Lin Huan, and he would naturally have to find him and kill him first.

Now, he had to first consider concealing his tracks so as not to be discovered. That way, when Yu Tianwan led his forces to attack, he could take the opportunity to control the sound transmission array and prevent the cultivators here from sending messages to the several Nascent Soul True Persons.

From north to south, it was only a little over ten li, and he arrived quickly. He slowly ascended to a depth of seventy or eighty zhang, sending a wisp of his divine sense upwards.

It was a beautifully decorated palace chamber, brightly lit, with several people talking inside.

Zhang Yuanjing dared not investigate the cultivation levels of the people. He simply attached the wisp of his divine sense to a wooden stump in the corner of the wall, concentrating his spiritual power to eavesdrop.

"Senior Brother Du, I heard that the hidden stake in Flowing Cloud City has sent a message that Yu Tianwan is coming here with dozens of Core Formation cultivators. Is that true? Is the Xuan Tian Sect not afraid of losing Flowing Cloud City?"

"Junior Brother Zhu, your information is quite accurate! I only heard about this from Elder Qi this morning, and you already know!"

"Hehe, after all, it's a matter of life and death, so how could I not inquire more!"

"Old Zhu, put your mind at ease. This time, we've tamed so many demonic birds. When the Xuan Tian Sect's Core Formation cultivators arrive, we'll release them all together. How many of them will be left? We won't need to be cannon fodder!"

"Old Tian, don't be so optimistic. What kind of sect is the Xuan Tian Sect? It's one of the top ten sects in the Southern Domain, with tens of thousands of years of inheritance. They have three divine spiritual treasures! Can't they find some treasures to deal with these dumb birds! I think we should be careful. Life is our own. Senior Brother Du, do you think the True Persons of the Demonic Abyss will come to oversee the battle?"