Chapter 224

At this moment, about two hundred miles away from here, four cultivators from the Carefree Sect were sitting in a circle around a magic array, waiting. Outside, a yellow magic array firmly protected them within.

"Senior Sister Cheng, Senior Brother Li and the others have only been inside for three days; it will be at least a few more days before they come out. Should we go for a walk nearby to see if we can find one or two spiritual items?"

A younger-looking cultivator with a long face asked the young woman who was leading the group.

The woman surnamed Cheng shook her head at him and said with a stern face, "I advise you to put that thought away. You've been here the whole way; where have you seen any spiritual items nearby? If you want to find spiritual items, you would have to go into the Inner Valley.

You must remember, our main task now is to guard this entrance to the Inner Valley. If something goes wrong here and affects Junior Brother Li and the others while they are retrieving items inside, everyone will have to face the punishment of the Law Enforcement Hall when we return to the sect."

Seeing that the woman remained unmoved, the young cultivator with the long face could only nod helplessly and retreat to the side.

At the same time, in a valley several hundred miles across on the other side of the array, the Carefree Sect cultivators who had entered were currently besieging a massive Golden-Armored Giant Turtle. All sorts of colorful spells, magic treasures, and talismans were flying through the sky.

This Golden-Armored Giant Turtle stood over ten zhang tall, and its shell was covered in a layer of golden armor, making it practically impervious to blades and spears. The attacks from the Carefree Sect group were like scratching an itch to it, posing no real threat.

Li Yungong unleashed a powerful Fire-Thunder Technique he had been preparing for a long time, striking the giant turtle, but he couldn't help but frown slightly when he saw it only take a few light steps back to steady itself.

After regaining its footing, the Golden-Armored Giant Turtle let out a roar and charged at the Carefree Sect group again. Although it wasn't very fast, its body was extremely tough; several Carefree Sect cultivators were sent flying over ten zhang away, vomiting blood, after just being lightly brushed by it.

"This monster's strength isn't very high, but its skin is truly tough. Junior Brother Li, let's withdraw for now and prepare the Monster-Hunting Array before we come back." Seeing Li Yungong still wanting to press the attack, the elder surnamed Chen hurriedly advised him.

The Golden-Armored Giant Turtle before them had already reached the third rank. Although it was a monster generated within the secret realm, its intelligence and strength were far inferior to a true Golden Core monster king from the outside world, but it still posed a threat to a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

After several failed attacks, Li Yungong had no choice but to put away his magic treasure, agree to the elder's suggestion, and lead all the Carefree Sect members to temporarily retreat from the area.

Strangely, unlike the monsters in the Outer Valley, this Golden-Armored Giant Turtle did not choose to pursue the retreating Carefree Sect cultivators; it only chased them for half a mile before turning back to its original spot.

On the other side of the valley, Liu Zongping and the Star Sect cultivators were also having a headache as they looked at a black giant python several dozen zhang long not far away.

After entering the Inner Valley, they found that there were far more monsters here than in the Outer Valley. Along the way, they had already killed at least a dozen second-rank monsters and one third-rank monster. Now, to continue forward, they had to kill this extremely troublesome black giant python head-on.

The black giant python was also a third-rank monster. Not only was it powerful, but it could also spew a cloud of toxic smoke to confuse its enemies. Just moments ago, a Star Sect cultivator had been careless and died at the hands of this giant python, which made the other Star Sect cultivators fear this monster even more.

The other sects, such as the Spirit Hidden Sect and others, were no different. In the Inner Valley, there were many magic arrays to enter through, but once inside, what one could obtain basically depended on luck.

Those with good luck would encounter weaker monsters along the path they took, and the path would have more spiritual items. Those with bad luck would run into troublesome monsters as soon as they entered, making it difficult to take even a single step forward, and they might even lose their lives there, let alone obtain any spiritual items.

Although everyone took different paths, the final meeting point was in the very center of the Inner Valley, and the greatest goal of everyone who entered the Inner Valley was, without exception, there.

Seeing that Song Qingming had broken the restriction outside, Fire Phoenix went directly to the stone platform to confirm once more that the restriction on it had been completely unlocked.

"You did well. Later, when we get inside, if you see any spiritual items you want, you can tell me directly; consider it your reward."

"Ah! Isn't it enough to help you break the restriction and open this array? Do I still have to go in with you?" A look of confusion appeared on Song Qingming's face.

Fire Phoenix blinked and chuckled, "I just heard from those who were going to enter the Inner Valley that there are many good things inside, including many spiritual items that can assist your human race in Core Formation, so I just asked you."

"I can only guarantee that if you follow me in, you will definitely have an easier time obtaining the spiritual items inside than they will. Of course, you can also stay here and wait for me. This isn't a task assigned to you; you can choose for yourself. I keep my word."

"Do you really keep your word?"

Hearing Song Qingming's words, Fire Phoenix did not answer him, but just smiled, narrowed her eyes, and turned to walk toward the black entrance on the stone platform.

Half an hour later, in a canyon, Song Qingming looked at the few second-rank monsters appearing ahead and was just about to ask Fire Phoenix if they could go around them.

Fire Phoenix took out a pitted, ugly-looking black pill from her storage bag and said to him:

"This is a special elixir refined by our monster race. After you take it, your aura will be covered by the aura of the monster race. As long as you don't move around recklessly, these low-rank monsters shouldn't actively attack you for a short time."

"There is such a good thing? Then many thanks, Senior!" Song Qingming picked up the pill and took a look. He found that the pill looked very strange and indeed did not look like any ordinary elixir he had seen. Bolstering his courage slightly, he swallowed it without hesitation.

Having dealt with Fire Phoenix so many times, Song Qingming could also feel that although she had a somewhat strange temper like some high-rank human cultivators, she was generally trustworthy and would not go back on her word.

After all, his life and the entire Song family were basically already firmly in her grasp. For Fire Phoenix, there was really no need to go to the extra trouble of playing tricks on this.

After taking the black pill, Song Qingming clearly felt that his body was gradually emitting a very strong, fishy stench, just like an ordinary monster, which made him feel very uncomfortable.