Chapter 721: Chapter 721
After a slight dizzy spell, Shen Long appeared above a vast wasteland. The sky was alight with electric lightning, bolts of thick silver lightning crisscrossing across the sky, striking towards Shen Long.
His body was enveloped in an abundance of golden arcs, as if he was bathing in the midst of thunder.
The dense silver lightning fell upon him as if mud into the sea, simply disappearing.
His Divine Sense fully extended, Shen Long frowned and released the Hundred Eyes Cicada.
The eyes of the Hundred Eyes Cicada shone brightly with golden light, and it said, "There doesn’t seem to be any Formation or restriction here for now. There should be a control mechanism; this is merely a part of some restriction."
It had not yet taken human form. Shen Long would explain Formations and restrictions to it, to enhance its knowledge reserve.
Shen Long nodded, his body radiating Spiritual Light as he separated from Shen Peng.
Thick bolts of silver lightning descended, and as soon as they came within thirty feet of Shen Peng, they rushed straight towards him, merging into his body, and Shen Peng was unharmed.
Shen Long and Shen Peng walked forward with cautious expressions, while the Hundred Eyes Cicada took the lead in scouting ahead.
A vast expanse of green bamboo forest was shaken violently, with numerous cracks appearing on the ground. Bamboo stalks fell, stirring up clouds of dust.
Deep within the bamboo forest, Wang Changlei and Wang Changwei stood in a clearing, not far from the corpses of two entirely green mantises. Both had a frightening hole in their heads and no longer breathed.
"Don’t let these sixth-tier Monster Beasts delay us too much. We must get to the control mechanism ahead of the Bloodvine Clan Cultivators. Our great opportunity may very well lie there; we can’t let them get there first," Wang Changlei said with a grave voice.
For years, they had been searching for great opportunities in the Qinglian Archipelago. Passing nearby, they were drawn by the sound of the breached restrictions and saw the Bloodvine Clan Cultivators enter with their own eyes.
There was no time to send a message; they could only follow them in.
"This place is at the edge of the Qinglian Archipelago; it’s no coincidence that the Bloodvine Clan Cultivators are here. They must have received some information," speculated Wang Changwei.
"That’s unclear. Opportunities won’t wait for us indefinitely. Missing the chance to be the first is also possible; we absolutely can’t let the Bloodvine Clan Cultivators get there before us," Wang Changlei said, his voice heavy.
He collected the corpses of the two green mantises and left the place with Wang Changwei.
At the foot of a steep mountain peak with a steep rise, there was a huge cave. Bursts of booming sounds came from within, causing the entire mountain peak to crack open, smoke and dust filling the sky.
A Yellow Giant Ape, over thirty feet tall, flew out from amidst the smoke and dust, its body dripping with fresh blood.
"How far do you think you can run?" asked a cold male voice.
No sooner had the voice faded than a huge human-shaped image appeared in the sky, its body marked with blood-colored patterns.
The image’s right hand reached into the void, twisting and distorting it, and a blood-colored giant palm flashed out, striking towards the Yellow Giant Ape.
The Yellow Giant Ape was hit by the blood-colored palm and its enormous body sank into the ground. Before it could stand back up, the human-shaped image spewed out a ray of bloody light, which fell upon the Yellow Giant Ape.
It let out a piercing scream as its body visibly dried into a mummy.
Two men and a woman walked out from the dust. The leader was a man in a blood-colored robe with the build of a bear, all three with blood-colored patterns on their bodies, members of the Bloodvine Clan.
"A sixth-tier Middle Stage Vajra Ape is nothing more than that," said the man in the blood-colored robe coldly.
"Teng Kui, we should find the control mechanism quickly! Our actions in breaking the restrictions were too loud and must have attracted a lot of Human Cultivators," urged a voluptuous woman in a gold-line skirt.
"I know. We’ve used a Secret Talisman to inform Teng Guang; he should be on his way. It’s unclear whose cave dwelling this is, to contain a sixth-tier Monster Beast," Teng Kui said, frowning.
"Once we find the control mechanism, everything will become clear," said a man of medium height in a yellow shirt, speaking in a stern voice.
In the lower left corner of the cave, there was a blood-colored fruit tree about ten feet tall, its branches adorned with several dozen oval-shaped blood-colored fruits.
"First, let’s pick these Blood Apricot Fruits! Later, ask an Alchemist from the clan to refine them into Elixirs for consumption, which will have a better effect."
The man in the yellow shirt and the woman in the golden dress complied, taking care of picking the Blood Apricot Fruits and dealing with the corpse of the Vajra Ape respectively.
They moved the Blood Apricot Fruit tree away and left the area.
A vast and boundless dark forest was suddenly shaken by deafening thunder, as a massive silver thunderbolt shot up into the sky, flinging a great number of trees with its powerful blast wave.
Deep within the forest, chaos reigned; the ground emitted black smoke, and the air was thick with the scent of burning.
A giant scorched-black scorpion lay on the ground, lifeless.
Shen Long and Shen Peng stood not far away, their expressions indifferent.
"A sixth-rank Monster Beast scorpion! It seems that the cultivation resources here are quite plentiful," Shen Long said as he took out a green jade vase, gathered the scorpion’s Spirit Soul, and stored its body in the Spirit Beast Bracelet, planning to feed it to the Iron Tail Scorpion.
He released the Hundred Eyes Cicada, whose eyes shone brightly with golden light.
"No sign of Monster Beasts or Spiritual Medicine for now, this area was probably its territory," the Hundred Eyes Cicada voiced.
Shen Long nodded and moved forward with great strides, with Shen Peng and the Hundred Eyes Cicada following behind.
After more than two hours, the Hundred Eyes Cicada spoke, "Master, there’s a Golden Flame Lion undergoing Heavenly Tribulation to the northwest, attempting to break through to the sixth rank, and another Golden Flame Lion is acting as its guardian."
"Golden Flame Lion? Let’s go have a look," Shen Long instructed, heading northwest.
In a massive valley with pathways in all directions, a huge thundercloud floated in the high sky amidst flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder, while thick silver lightning bolts struck down one after another onto a giant golden lion.
The golden giant lion’s eyes were crimson, revealing a blazing flame within.
A much larger golden lion watched from a distance, its gaze fixed on the thunderclouds above.
As lightning flashed and thunder roared, more thunderbolts struck down, the light of the thunderstorm becoming dazzling, engulfing the entire valley.
The golden giant lion suddenly turned its head and looked toward the nearby forest, from which Shen Long and Shen Peng emerged.
The golden giant lion spoke in human language.
"A sixth-rank early stage Golden Flame Lion, you now have two choices, serve me or die," Shen Long said evenly.
"Serve you? With just you two?"
The Golden Flame Lion did not take them seriously.
"I said serve me, you’re not qualified to acknowledge me as your master," Shen Long replied coldly.
Shen Peng’s body shone with a brilliant lightning aura, and a giant Thunder Roc Image appeared in the sky, its body covered in golden arcs, as if bathed in thunder.
Fear flashed in the Golden Flame Lion’s eyes as it said, "I can serve you, but can you help my companion increase the Purity of Bloodline?"
"How come you can speak human language?" Shen Long asked.
"I’m not sure myself, perhaps it has to do with the Spiritual Medicine I consumed years ago!" the Golden Flame Lion responded.
"Let’s wait for your companion to finish the Heavenly Tribulation! As long as you truly serve me, I will not treat you unfairly," Shen Long declared gravely.