With his Dark Vision, Gu Zheng could clearly make out the faces of the phantoms.

Evil Spirits!

Dozens, hundreds, even thousands of Evil Spirits had appeared out of nowhere.

They swarmed him from all sides, completely surrounding him.

SHWING!

The Celestial Frost Blade left its sheath. As Gu Zheng’s Divine Wondrous surged, he unleashed a single slash.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

The Sword Gang formed a line before splitting into nine distinct streams.

SLICE! SLICE! SLICE!

"GYAAAAH~!"

Amid shrill screeches, the two-hundred-odd Evil Spirits closest to Gu Zheng were instantly shredded, their bodies torn to pieces before dissipating into nothingness.

Yet in the next instant, other Evil Spirits immediately filled the cleared space.

Each Evil Spirit’s eyes glinted with greed as they stared at Gu Zheng, as if he were the most delicious delicacy in the world.

SWISH!

Gu Zheng swung his blade. The Sword Gang fanned out, once again slaying nearly three hundred of them.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The Evil Spirits from the rear surged forward to fill the gap, continuing to surround him.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

One slash after another.

With every slash, two to three hundred Evil Spirits were annihilated.

But the number of Evil Spirits never seemed to diminish, as a continuous stream surged forth to follow him.

WHOOSH!

Gu Zheng activated his Wandering God Falcon Feather and dashed forward, all the while swinging his blade to cut down the Evil Spirits.

Just as he flew over a slightly taller sand dune, the pursuing Evil Spirits suddenly halted, refusing to advance any further.

Hmm?

Gu Zheng noticed this and stopped as well, surveying his surroundings.

There had to be a reason for the Evil Spirits to stop.

Either there was a Demon Fiend nearby that suppressed them, or there was something special in this area that had the same effect.

Gu Zheng didn’t sense the aura of a Demon Fiend.

Nor did he find anything special—aside from the slightly taller sand dune right in front of him.

’Is the object under the dune?’

Gu Zheng activated his Eyes of Golden Flame to scan the sand dune, but no Illusion Realm or Illusion Technique was blocking his sight.

The dune was nothing but yellow sand.

BOOM!

Gu Zheng immediately slashed down. The Sword Gang formed a line and crashed onto the dune, carving out a massive gash.

Innumerable grains of sand shot high into the air, filling the sky.

BOOM!

With another slash, he struck the edge of the gash, completely blasting the top of the dune away.

This revealed a stone disk at the bottom. It was entirely black, shaped like an irregular circle with complex, natural patterns on its surface, and it flashed with a purple light.

The entire disk was just under twelve meters in diameter, and its thickness was...

"Wait!"

Suddenly, Gu Zheng’s eyes narrowed. "Is this an Earth Spirit Cover?" he asked in astonishment.

The so-called Earth Spirit Cover was a type of Heaven and Earth Wondrous Stone.

When activated, this type of wondrous stone could release a powerful sealing energy.

It could, for example, seal a Tunnel Between Two Realms!

That’s right. The Earth Spirit Cover contained the power of the Rules of Heaven and Earth. It wasn’t a large amount, but it was enough to seal a Tunnel Between Two Realms.

A Heavenly Spirit Cover, an even more powerful wondrous stone, could completely block off a Tunnel Between Two Realms, severing the connection entirely.

However, both the Heavenly Spirit Cover and the Earth Spirit Cover were exceptionally rare and peerless treasures.

One might not encounter the former even once in ten thousand years.

The latter was similarly scarce.

Finding one here was an incredible stroke of luck.

Moreover, this Earth Spirit Cover was the perfect size to seal the tunnel at Lu Shou Pit.

The Tier-2 tunnel at Lu Shou Pit was also just over ten meters in diameter.

SWOOSH!

Gu Zheng opened his Storage Pouch. His Divine Wondrous surged, and using Absorption, he pulled the entire stone disk inside. Luckily, the space in this confiscated Storage Pouch was large enough.

It would never have fit in his Storage Leaf.

"SCREEE~!"

"HISS!"

As soon as the Earth Spirit Cover was in his Storage Pouch, the Evil Spirits swarmed him again from all directions, their eyes full of desire as they screamed incessantly.

SWISH!

His Divine Wondrous enveloped the Celestial Frost Blade as he slashed.

SLICE! SLICE! SLICE!

The Evil Spirits in his path were cut down in droves, shattering and dissipating.

Gu Zheng burst into a sprint, flying toward the mouth of the tunnel.

Any Evil Spirit that attacked from the sides was slain with a single slash.

SLICE! SLICE! SLICE!

He cut a swath through them as he flew.

Several minutes later, Gu Zheng arrived back at the tunnel entrance and leaped down into it.

The pursuing Evil Spirits stopped at the edge, circling the entrance as they shrieked and roared.

Only after Gu Zheng had passed through the tunnel and vanished did the Evil Spirits let out one last, frustrated roar before slowly retreating.

...

「Lu Shou Pit」

On the high wall.

"Oh, Lord Gu, you’re finally back."

Gao Liezhan rushed to greet the returning Gu Zheng, his tone a mixture of worry and exasperation. "Lord Gu, if you hadn’t returned soon, I would have had to take my men down the tunnel to go settle accounts with that Yellow Wind Demon." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"I apologize for making you worry, Lord Gao. The Yellow Wind Demons that rushed out of the tunnel have all been eliminated."

Gu Zheng motioned for Gao Liezhan to follow as he flew down toward the simple Command Headquarters below the wall.

Once inside the room, he closed the door, took out a Crystal Ball that could block sound and auras, and activated it.

"Lord Gu, what is this for?"

Gao Liezhan watched Gu Zheng, confused.

"I found an Earth Spirit Cover in the Demon Realm," Gu Zheng said calmly, looking at Gao Liezhan. "That’s why I took so long to return."

"Oh, an Earth Spirit Cover... I see. You must have been delayed because... Wait!"

Gao Liezhan suddenly snapped to attention, his eyes wide. Staring at Gu Zheng in shock, he exclaimed, "Lord Gu, what did you just say? An Earth Spirit Cover? You mean an Earth Spirit Divine Stone!?"

"That’s right."

Gu Zheng glanced around the room. It was spacious enough.

SWOOSH!

He opened his Storage Pouch, and the entire stone disk emerged, settling onto the floor.

The formless aura, the unique patterns... Gao Liezhan stared, dumbfounded after just one glance.

"Is... is it really an Earth Spirit Divine Stone?"

Gao Liezhan’s voice trembled slightly. "This... this is wonderful!"

Gao Liezhan’s breathing grew ragged, and his face flushed with excitement.

"With this Earth Spirit Cover, we can seal the tunnel at Lu Shou Pit!"

"Lord Gu..."

"Don’t worry," Gu Zheng said gently. "Since I’ve shown it to you, it means I intend to use it to seal the tunnel."

Earth Spirit Divine Stone was the original name for the Earth Spirit Cover.

It had earned the name "Cover" because of its ability to seal tunnels.