"Is this the Earth Spirit Mountain?"

In the mountain.

Ye Qingchen’s figure was swiftly darting through, the large protruding rocky forests perfectly concealing his traces. Besides the bare rocks, the first sensation upon entering was that of weight!

Extremely heavy!

Indeed, the weight inside Earth Spirit Mountain was at least several times, if not dozens of times, that of the outside world. Anyone with slightly weaker cultivation, upon stepping inside, would immediately be crushed into a pile of flesh by the mountain’s terrifying gravity!

"They didn’t pursue?"

Inside an unremarkable cave formed by a pile of chaotic rocks.

Ye Qingchen squinted his eyes, looking towards the sky.

He then saw Lin Tonghai and a few others suddenly stop outside Earth Spirit Mountain, showing no intention of chasing in. After Lin Tonghai whispered a few words with Li Shanchang, Li Shanchang suddenly flew away. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Is he going to find reinforcements, or is there another trick?" Ye Qingchen shook his head, dismissing the chaotic thoughts from his mind, "Forget it, healing comes first..."

His gaze shifted slightly, landing on his own body.

The earlier battle had left not a single unscathed part of his body. However, the powerful recovery brought by the Ancient Dragon Elephant Technique had healed most of his injuries, save for two fatal wounds.

One was on his shoulder!

This was caused by Chang Yuchun’s axe chop, nearly shattering his shoulder bone completely.

The other was on his chest!

This was pierced by Li Shanchang’s spear. Luckily, it missed the vital spots, but the injury was the most severe. The demonic qi entwined on the spear seemed unrelenting like a parasitic worm, continuously corroding Ye Qingchen’s body.

"Ugh!"

Gritting his teeth against the pain, accompanied by spurting blood, Ye Qingchen had already pulled out the spear from his chest.

Casually setting up a Hidden Qi Array, Ye Qingchen poured out a pill and swallowed it. Feeling the surge of medicinal power, he immediately formed a seal, guiding the power into his body.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!"

Amidst a faint sound, a flush appeared on Ye Qingchen’s face, and the black mist that originally shrouded his face gradually dissipated. At this moment, he could clearly feel his damaged body from the earlier battle rapidly recovering under the nourishment of the medicinal power.

This was the advantage of being an Alchemist.

If it were an ordinary cultivator, not to mention taking a year or two, it would take at least four to five months to recover.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Just as Ye Qingchen’s injuries were fully healed, his aura suddenly surged.

"Is this a breakthrough?"

Feeling the changes in his body, Ye Qingchen’s eyes suddenly brightened.

It must be known.

Since the last breakthrough, it had been several months. Although he was just one step away from entering the Celestial Venerable Eighth Layer, he originally thought it would take at least several more months.

Unexpectedly, this fierce battle provided an opportunity for a breakthrough.

Accompanied by a tumultuous surge of power, the starlight within Ye Qingchen’s body boiled like boiling water.

"Bang!"

In the midst of this boiling,

the aura instantly rose as if stepping onto a higher stage.

Whoosh!

Only to see the surging aura sweeping up a rolling whirlwind, directly sweeping towards the surroundings, shattering all the giant rocks nearby, crushing them into powder, forming a cloud ring, rolling and spreading.

The area around Ye Qingchen within a hundred feet was as if a typhoon had passed through.

"Finally succeeded!"

Ye Qingchen slowly opened his eyes.

Feeling the immense power within his body, Ye Qingchen clenched his fist.

"Celestial Venerable Eighth Layer!"

"I can go out and face them!"

Except for Lin Tonghai, who is a Human Immortal, whom he was unsure about, he had no fear of the other Half-Step Human Immortals!

"It’s said that there’s a Dragon Pearl hidden in Earth Spirit Mountain... But the mountain stretches for miles, and the terrain inside is complex. Finding it could take ages!"

Ye Qingchen secretly shook his head.

Earlier.

While healing, he had already scanned the surroundings with his spiritual sense. The substantial gravity of Earth Spirit Mountain greatly limited his ability to search the entire mountain in a short time.

"What’s that?"

Just as Ye Qingchen was preparing to leave, he suddenly felt a strange power flooding from the depths of the cave.

He extended his spiritual sense inward and felt that deep within the cavern, there was a faintly powerful force.

"Could it be?"

Ye Qingchen squinted his eyes and immediately headed towards the depths of the cave.

As he ventured deeper, the space within the cave gradually expanded.

At the same time.

The pressure also grew stronger, so much so that it felt like walking carrying a mountain. But Ye Qingchen paid no mind and directly opened a protective shield to withstand the gravity as he continued forward.

The further he went, the greater the gravity became, seemingly endless. Any Celestial Venerable entering would be crushed alive. Along the way, Ye Qingchen even saw stains of dried blood.

Clearly.

These were the remains of cultivators who ventured here and were crushed by the gravity.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The terrifying gravity was omnipresent, making the protective shield full of cracks, and eventually, the gravity even penetrated the shield, causing his bones to crunch under pressure.

Just as Ye Qingchen was about to feel he couldn’t hold on, the cave suddenly opened up, revealing a large stone chamber.

The stone chamber was empty, with only a yellowish-brown orb suspended mid-air.

"As expected, it’s here!"

Ye Qingchen’s heart leaped, showing a look of ecstasy.

Of course.

This was not a real Dragon Pearl, but a Demon Bead. Among demon beasts, aside from dragons, snakes, turtles, and clams, all produce demon beads. These beads are naturally the essence of a demon beast’s cultivation.

However, such demon beads are extremely rare. Once a demon beast dies, its cultivation returns to the heavens and earth, and the demonic energy within the bead dissipates completely.

Back then, when Ye Qingchen went to the Western Regions and slew a dragon turtle in the sea, he obtained a Turtle Bead.

"I don’t know if this is a Dragon Pearl or a Jiao Bead, but it contains very powerful earth-element energy... perfect for my cultivation of the ’Heaven-Repairing Fragment’!"

"Once mastered, my odds against Lin Tonghai will be even greater!"

With this thought, Ye Qingchen hesitated no longer, directly taking the Demon Bead and sitting down to cultivate. Although it couldn’t fully complete the ’Heaven-Repairing Fragment’ in one go, it was enough to enhance his defenses to a higher level!

...

In the mountainous region a few hundred miles outside Xuanhu Mountain.

Lu Yanwu and Kong Jing stood atop a mountain, their faces full of worry as they gazed ahead.

"What should we do? That Lin Tonghai is a Human Immortal expert, and besides him, there are six Half-Step Human Immortals! So many people chasing Ye Qingchen, how can he possibly escape?"

At this thought, Kong Jing’s face turned ashen.

Beside her, Lu Yanwu’s complexion was also somewhat pale. Staring into the distance for a moment, she suddenly gritted her teeth and said, "With Mr. Ye’s methods, he definitely won’t be so easily caught by them! I’m heading back to Taotian Palace for reinforcements!"

As she spoke.

Lu Yanwu was already rising swiftly, but just as she flew into the air, her form suddenly froze, unable to move in the sky!

"Who?"

This shocking scene caused Lu Yanwu, eager to return to Taotian Palace, to change her expression dramatically.

Kong Jing was also taken aback, suddenly looking up.

There, in the void, a figure suddenly appeared, a man in a black robe with a ferocious expression. As he appeared, his eyes fell directly on Lu Yanwu.

Facing the astonished pair, he grinned grimly and said:

"Haha, didn’t expect Mr. Li to return, did you?"

"It’s you?"

Seeing the newcomer, both Lu Yanwu and Kong Jing involuntarily narrowed their eyes.

The one who came was none other than Li Shanchang, one of those who had previously pursued Ye Qingchen!