Chapter 371

The four took turns piloting the flying boat to head north. Because they were all cultivators with similar cultivation bases and rarely had the opportunity to sit together, they naturally exchanged some cultivation insights, and the few soon became familiar with each other.

Compared to the two Xiaoyao Sect disciples, Gao Yuyao and Duan Xueyi, who had relatively high status in the sect, Fang Wuqian was quite similar to Song Qingming—both were ordinary immortal cultivation family cultivators from the State of Wei. His speech was more straightforward than the two of them, which made Song Qingming have a bit more favorable impression of him.

The reason Fang Wuqian was invited by Duan Xueyi was also because Duan Xueyi had once done him a great favor. Plus, this was also a rare great opportunity for him, so Fang Wuqian naturally didn't want to miss it.

After traveling north for about a thousand miles, the flying boat had already gone deep into the Fuyun Mountain Range. On the way, they would occasionally encounter some low-tier demon beasts like flying birds harassing them. In order not to alarm those high-tier second-tier demon beasts, the group didn't choose to kill these demon beasts but tried their best to drive them away so they wouldn't get close to the flying boat.

After the flying boat went deep into the Fuyun Mountain Range for about three thousand miles, there were many high-tier demon beasts of the second tier and above, and few cultivators would set foot here. In order to avoid the attention of those high-tier demon beasts, the group could only slowly lower the speed of the flying boat and carefully pass through the territories of these high-tier demon beasts.

After traveling like this for another four or five days, and after the flying boat crossed several high mountains, a large river ten-plus zhang wide appeared before them.

Gao Yuyao, standing on the flying boat, saw this river and hurriedly said loudly: "Senior Sister Duan, wait a moment. The place recorded in the hairpin seems to be in this vicinity."

Hearing Gao Yuyao say this, the few on the flying boat all stood up instantly and looked at the large river below.

"According to the records, this cave dwelling is below a water pool on the north side of the Jinshui River. After we walk a distance forward, let's all go down together to see if there are any places that look relatively abnormal."

After crossing the Jinshui River that Gao Yuyao mentioned, the flying boat arrived at a swampy area filled with water pits everywhere. The range of this swamp was very large, adding up to several dozen li in radius.

After the group got off the flying boat, each chose a direction and then began to disperse to the surroundings to look for the water pool Gao Yuyao mentioned.

What was somewhat strange was that after the group searched a circle, until they gathered at night, they didn't even find a large water pool; they were all small water pits only one or two zhang in radius.

Although some of these water pits were bottomless, compared to the large water pool ten-plus zhang wide that Gao Yuyao mentioned, the gap was truly too far, and it was fundamentally impossible to regard them as a water pool.

"Fellow Daoist Song, could it be that this vicinity was set up with a hidden formation by that senior, which is why we can't find that water pool?" Seeing that everyone had returned empty-handed, Duan Xueyi hurriedly asked Song Qingming, who was on the side.

Song Qingming shook his head and replied: "Currently, I haven't seen anything abnormal. However, there are many formations in the cultivation world. Whether there is truly such a brilliant formation that can deceive all of us is hard to say. We still need to check carefully. Fairy Duan, rest assured, if there is truly a hidden formation covering that water pool, searching a few more times will reveal the abnormality."

After deep night, this swampy area near the river began to drift with pervasive white fog, which soon blurred the scene around the group. Song Qingming, who was meditating, suddenly felt a strange movement coming from the fog with his external spiritual sense, and he hurriedly opened his eyes.

Song Qingming just wanted to look around, but discovered that Duan Xueyi, who was sitting opposite him, had actually discovered this trace of strange movement a step ahead of him. At this moment, she had also opened a pair of bright eyes and was carefully observing the fog beside her.

Ever since he practiced the Soul-Devouring Art given to him by Feng He, Song Qingming's spiritual sense had become about twice as powerful as that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators. For so many years, he hadn't seen any Foundation Establishment cultivator whose spiritual sense could be on par with his current one. In his heart, he had even more curiosity about this Duan Xueyi, wondering what kind of spiritual sense cultivation technique this woman had practiced.

The movement in the fog was getting closer and closer to the group. Before long, Gao Yuyao and Fang Wuqian, whose spiritual senses were weaker, also discovered the movement in the fog one after another and were awakened from their meditation.

Just as the group was carefully observing the surroundings, a hissing sound suddenly rang out in the fog, followed by several huge red eyeballs suddenly appearing in the fog. Two giant demon crocodiles with huge bodies opened their giant heads from the fog and lunged at the four.

These two demon crocodiles had huge bodies, a good several zhang long, and were clearly demon beasts of the second tier or above. Behind them, there were more than a dozen pairs of blood-red eyes following, only these eyes looked smaller than the two giant crocodiles in front.

Seeing that the two second-tier demon crocodiles were not coming with good intentions, Song Qingming and Fang Wuqian, who had long been prepared, looked at each other and immediately intercepted these two demon crocodiles, one on the left and one on the right.

Although these two demon crocodiles had huge bodies, they were only second-tier low-quality demon beasts. In front of Song Qingming and Fang Wuqian, two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, they couldn't pose any threat at all and were soon suppressed to the side by the two.

After the dozen-plus demon crocodiles followed up, before they could start to launch an attack, they were turned upside down by Gao Yuyao using a purple ribbon magic tool, and they fundamentally couldn't get close to the surroundings of the few.

Seeing the three who had already made a move, there was fundamentally no need for her own help. Duan Xueyi used a feather fan and fanned directly toward the front, immediately fanning away most of the fog that was affecting the group's vision, revealing those low-tier demon crocodiles that were still at a loss in the fog.

Seeing that these people were not easy to provoke, those demon crocodiles that hadn't approached yet hesitated for a moment, then slowly retreated backward and began to scatter and flee.

Those two second-tier demon crocodiles soon also couldn't defeat Song Qingming and his companion and died unwillingly in the hands of the few.

After killing the last demon crocodile, the sky had also gradually brightened. Fang Wuqian looked at the corpses all over the ground and said somewhat puzzled: "Strange, when searching during the day, I didn't find these demon beasts. Where did they suddenly pop out from?"

"It doesn't look like they came from elsewhere. Their lair should be in those water pits. Let's go over and take a look together in a while and we will know." Duan Xueyi looked at those water pits in the distance and replied to him thoughtfully.

After the few cleaned up the corpses of the two second-tier demon crocodiles, they followed the tracks of the low-tier demon crocodiles fleeing and soon arrived beside a bottomless water pit.

Duan Xueyi looked at the surroundings carefully, then smiled and said: "I finally know why we couldn't find that water pool before. It turns out the entrance to this cave dwelling is below these water pits."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 372 =====