Chapter 203: Chapter 192: Ancient Strange Beast

Chen Ming glanced at Yu Haitang, who was sitting on the ground, and saw her shake her head slightly, indicating she didn’t know this person.

He raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, "Where is your sect leader and his wife?"

Xu Liangchen stood firm at a distance of about thirty feet, and seeing that Yu Haitang was fine, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "During the chaos just now, Old Monster Feng from the Ji Family suddenly ambushed Elder Yang, sparking a battle. It was the sect leader who sent me out of the fray, and I don’t know where they are now."

Chen Ming couldn’t determine whether what he said was true or false.

It was natural that there would be animosity between the four major factions and three families in Jiangzhou. In such a situation, it’s not impossible for someone to incite a battle.

He suggested, "There’s a fork in the road up ahead, why don’t we split up to look?"

Xu Liangchen rejected the suggestion, "The sect leader ordered me to protect Miss Yu, and I will not leave her side."

Seeing his determination, Chen Ming didn’t force him to leave, and openly said, "Honestly, I’m a suspicious person by nature. If Senior Brother Xu wants to follow, you’re welcome to, just please don’t stay too close to avoid misunderstandings."

"I truly am from the Cangyue Sect."

Xu Liangchen hurriedly said, "If you don’t believe me, I can demonstrate the sect’s swordsmanship."

"That’s not necessary." Chen Ming stopped him, "I don’t doubt your identity. It’s just that my friend is here, and it’s best if you don’t walk with us to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding."

Xu Liangchen instinctively glanced at the Blood Demon Sect disciple in black beside him and was persuaded by the reasoning, nodding, "Understood."

"Let’s go."

Without further delay, Chen Ming picked up Yu Haitang and headed deeper into the cave.

Deng Ziyang walked alongside him.

Behind them, Xu Liangchen followed several feet away.

...

There were four passageways within this cave.

After a brief assessment, Chen Ming headed towards the center-left path, where the ground was littered with Fire Bat corpses. The walls bore the marks of recent combat.

The further they went in, the more concentrated the Fire Element Power in the air became.

Chen Ming and Yu Haitang were unaffected, able to absorb the Fire Element Power directly, converting it into Gang Yuan and thus enhancing their cultivation.

Ever since he broke through to Third Grade, Chen Ming had developed a peculiar sensation, as if he had become the master of this cavern, able to easily manipulate the Fire Element Power in the air.

This sensation was quite extraordinary.

It felt like when his "Phoenix Dance of Nine Heavens" reached the fourth stage, making him feel like he could fly. Although he knew it was an illusion, it felt exceptionally real.

Deng Ziyang felt differently; his Fourth Grade cultivation made being in this environment extremely difficult. The "Blood Demon Technique" he practiced was naturally restrained by the vigorous Fire Element Qi.

Had it not been for Chen Ming shielding him from the Fire Element Qi, he would have long been unable to endure.

Following behind them, Xu Liangchen seemed rather at ease.

Chen Ming observed carefully, sensing that he might have Second Grade cultivation, which made him secretly vigilant.

If he truly was sent by the Cangyue Sect Leader to protect Yu Haitang, then fine, but if he harbored any ill intent, caution was necessary.

After about fifteen minutes, they encountered another large cave.

Chen Ming stopped because he heard the sounds of fighting; from the sound, it seemed to be some kind of reptile, and quite large.

"This beast is almost done for, aim for its eyes!"

An anxious voice came through.

With a thundering crash and a piercing wail, everything finally settled down.

Chen Ming recognized the voice as belonging to the Golden Robe Admiral from the Six Gates, accompanied by several others, judging by the commotion, all of them were strong fighters of the First and Second Grades.

Once they departed, Chen Ming entered the cave and saw a massive demon beast corpse on the ground that resembled a giant lizard. It was two to three meters tall, four to five meters long, with black scaly skin that glinted with cold light.

Yu Haitang suddenly said, "This is an Earth Fire Lizard, an ancient strange beast. I’ve read in books that this type of beast was believed to be extinct. Didn’t expect there to be one here."

Then she shook her head, "No, there must be more than one. The Earth Fire Lizard only lives for a few centuries at most. If they didn’t come here from the outside, there must be at least two to reproduce until now."

Chen Ming asked, "How powerful are these strange beasts?"

Yu Haitang replied, "An adult Exotic Fire Lizard is powerful enough to rival a First Grade. Their scales can resist a Martial Artist’s Protective Essence, and even a Divine Weapon can barely cut through. Plus, they possess immense strength, making them extremely difficult to deal with."

Chen Ming drew the "Mingfeng Sword" and struck its body, only to see sparks fly, leaving just a shallow white mark on its black scales.

Though he didn’t channel any Gang Yuan, the toughness of the scales was truly astonishing.

Suddenly, he became alert, "What’s that sound?"

Soon, several figures flew out from a side passage. It was the two Golden Robe Admirals of the Six Gates and the palace-clad girl Princess Mingyu, along with a few others.

Without even glancing at them, these people dashed into another passage and disappeared.

"Run!"

Chen Ming felt the ground quaking, clearly a massive creature was charging their way. Making a swift decision, he grabbed Deng Ziyang and ran.

He chose another passageway, and as he entered, he looked back to see an "Earth Fire Lizard" even larger than the previous one coming at them at full speed.

This strange beast was enormous in size, yet incredibly fast.

Fortunately, it did not chase after them but went after those Six Gates people instead.

Chen Ming felt a bit regretful. Such a beast, comparable to First Grade, if they could kill it, how much experience points would that be!

As he was thinking this, suddenly a noise came from the front.

He looked up and saw four or five people desperately fleeing towards him, looking like they were escaping from something.

What was chasing them?

Just as this thought flashed through Chen Ming’s mind, a blaze of fire appeared behind those people, countless golden flames rushing towards them.

No, that wasn’t fire—it was finger-sized luminous ants, thousands of them stacked together, flowing like flames.

"Whoa!"

Without thinking, Chen Ming turned and ran back, this time not holding back, he fled at full speed.

What could make those First Grade and Second Grade experts flee so desperately must be incredibly terrifying.

Yu Haitang exclaimed, "It’s Golden Flame Ants! Run, their golden flames specifically break Protective Essence."

With a swish.

Chen Ming had already passed by Xu Liangchen, escaping at the fastest speed back to the previous cave. Coincidentally, several other people were also running out from another passage.

His scalp tingled a bit, this damned place was unbelievably dangerous.

No wonder the Sea Suppression King from back then couldn’t obtain the key, the forces he had couldn’t deal with the various strange beasts in here.

Chen Ming didn’t keep fleeing but stayed inside the cave, ready to escape down the passage they came from if anything went wrong.

Clearly, he wasn’t the only one with this thought, soon seven or eight people had gathered around him.

Fortunately, after everyone escaped, the massive swarm of "Golden Flame Ants" didn’t follow them out but shrank back slowly at the edge of the passage.

Out of the strange beasts encountered so far, Chen Ming found the "Golden Flame Ants" to be the most terrifying. Mainly because of their sheer numbers, and their golden flame was a natural counter to martial artists.

...

Whoosh!

Just then, a man in black walked out from the passage, it was that Senior Brother Zhu from the Blood Demon Sect. His scarlet eyes rested on Deng Ziyang for a second, then swept through the cave, quickly assessing the situation.

Thus, he didn’t rush to strike.

Chen Ming’s heart skipped a beat, he came so fast.

Deng Ziyang transmitted, "As long as I’m not dead, he can’t refine the Blood God Pearl, having to distract himself to suppress it, he can only use at most fifty percent of his strength."

Chen Ming thought, even with only fifty percent strength of a First Grade, I still can’t defeat him now.

At this point, an elder proposed, "Everyone, as it stands, if we don’t deal with these creatures, it’s impossible to proceed further. Stop conserving your strength. Let’s all strike together and kill them."

This proposal was unanimously agreed upon by those present. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"What do you think?"

The elder then asked Senior Brother Zhu of the Blood Demon Sect.

He nodded slightly and said, "Okay."

Currently in the cave, three strange beasts had chased them out: one "Earth Fire Lizard," a giant snake with three clusters of blue flames on its head, and a monkey with its fur ablaze.

Immediately, the dozen or so people present split into three groups, attacking simultaneously.

Among these thirteen people, aside from Chen Ming and two others, all were First Grade and Second Grade experts. Now not holding back, with a single strike, those three fearsome strange beasts were slain on the spot, without the slightest chance to retaliate.

Especially the five First Grade experts, the fatal blows all came from them.

It felt like the five of them could take down this strange beast solo.

Chen Ming recalled that before entering, that Six Gates man in red robes had said it only took three First Grades working together to obtain the key, seems like it was true.

That implies Six Gates had long acquired intelligence on this cave estate. However, the "Profound Fire True Skill" was split into three, no one could cultivate to Grade Four, hence no entry until now.

The question is, where did Six Gates get this information?

Chen Ming had no time to think deeply, only feeling a chill on his back. He didn’t even have to turn his head to know it must be that First Grade from the Blood Demon Sect.

"What a pity, the Cangyue Sect people aren’t here. Otherwise, there’d be no need to fear him."

Thinking this, he saw the Six Gates people emerge from one of the passages, clearly having dealt with the "Earth Fire Lizard."

Golden Robe Admiral’s gaze fell on Chen Ming, looking somewhat surprised, "You’re not dead?"

Chen Ming replied, "Thanks to Admiral’s luck. Could you tell me if you’ve seen Sect Leader Ling and his wife of the Cangyue Sect?"

"You went the wrong way, they didn’t take this passage."

"That’s really unfortunate."

Golden Robe Admiral continued, "However, the passages here are interconnected, each can lead to the final core. Why not join us?"