Xuantian Immortal Cultivation Record

The cave entrance was about eight or nine feet high, with a small stream branching off from the river, flowing into the cave and producing a faint sound of running water. The cave was dark and devoid of light.

Zhang Yuanjing stepped into the cave. It was damp and cold inside, with a straight path extending downwards for about three hundred yards before leveling out and continuing forward. The path meandered, sometimes wide, sometimes narrow, sometimes high, sometimes low, with occasional sharp rocks jutting out, obstructing the way. It stretched for over fifty miles, piercing through the entire mountain, until the exit appeared bright white, indicating it led to another world.

Emerging from the cave, he found himself in a secluded mountain ravine, only about five or six yards wide. On either side, the mountains rose thousands of feet, with jagged rocks and no trees, allowing some light to filter into the ravine, enough to see.

A stream babbled down the ravine, winding its way downwards, its destination unknown.

Zhang Yuanjing did not fly, but instead used the Refined Yang Umbrella to conceal his aura, and strode forward, moving swiftly. After traveling for more than ten miles, the terrain suddenly changed, with the mountain walls receding to form an open area of several dozen miles. It was a swamp, overgrown with weeds and surrounded by gray mist.

In the swamp, several dark, long, oval-shaped monsters were slowly crawling.

On the bank of the swamp nearest to him, several cultivators stood on a large rock, watching the monsters. However, the monsters ignored them.

Zhang Yuanjing was more than ten miles away from them. With the Refined Yang Umbrella concealing him, he was not worried about being discovered. He chose a hidden spot and carefully observed the swamp.

After looking around, he noticed several spiritual herbs emitting a purple glow growing on a protruding rock face on the far side of the swamp.

His heart stirred, and he focused his divine sense into his eyes, staring intently. He found that the spiritual herbs were several feet tall, with loose branches and large, oval or oblong leaves. Bathed in sunlight, they shimmered with purple light, resembling Thousand Purple Dragon Radiance Grass.

No wonder the people from Burning Sun Mountain were willing to risk it, even knowing there were powerful demons in the swamp! Given the lushness of these Thousand Purple Dragon Radiance Grass, they were definitely more than mature specimens, at least a thousand years old, perhaps even older.

He shifted his gaze to the monsters in the swamp. He had heard of this beast before, a giant softshell turtle that lived in deep ravines, swamps, and shallow waters. Generally speaking, giant softshell turtles had very sensitive hearing but poor eyesight. If no sound was made, they would only be discovered within a few miles.

It was impossible to tell which type these giant softshell turtles were. The swamp was filled with poisonous gas. If this was exhaled by the beasts, then they were either Golden-Backed Turtles or Purple-Backed Turtles, both of which were quite troublesome.

There were five giant softshell turtles in the swamp, three in the mid-stage of the Monster Core Realm and two in the late-stage of the Monster Core Realm. However, since there was a transformed giant softshell turtle here, there must be a large spiritual node beneath the swamp, and there would certainly be many softshell turtle demons below the Monster Core Realm, most likely sleeping in the mud.

He pondered for a moment and decided not to approach for now. Since a transformed giant softshell turtle was hidden in the swamp, and this demon excelled at hearing, even if he tunneled underground with the Sky Shield, he could not guarantee that he would not be discovered.

After waiting for the better part of a day, the people from Burning Sun Mountain finally made their move. The burly man he had seen earlier and a middle-aged cultivator flew out on their swords, heading straight for the spiritual herbs.

Soon, the giant softshell turtles discovered the cultivators who had invaded their territory. Seeing that they were heading for the purple spiritual herbs, they all roared angrily.

The two late-stage Monster Core Realm giant softshell turtles dragged their heavy bodies, rapidly crawling more than ten yards across the swamp, then slammed their feet on the ground, actually leaping into the air, each crashing towards a cultivator.

In the sunlight, Zhang Yuanjing was able to discern the main features of the giant softshell turtles: their giant shells were golden, indicating they were Golden-Backed Turtles!

This type of turtle demon was slow-moving, but its head and neck were quick to react, with sharp teeth that could shatter the magical treasures of Core Formation cultivators. It could spew poisonous liquid and smoke from its mouth, which could corrode magical treasures and harm lives. Its giant shell had incredible defensive power, and ordinary magical treasures could hardly damage it.

Neither of the two cultivators engaged in a head-on collision. They spun their flying swords and returned to the edge of the swamp, standing in the air. The giant golden-backed turtles gathered, blocking the large rock where the purple spiritual plants grew, and confronted the two cultivators from a distance.

The burly man frowned and turned his head to transmit his voice to the others behind him. The poisonous gas in the swamp would at most allow them to hold on for half an hour, even with their cultivation levels. It was almost impossible to break through the defense of the five golden-backed turtles in half an hour.

A few breaths later, Zhou Tianbao and the young man surnamed Kuai launched a surprise attack from both sides, immediately drawing away two mid-stage Monster Core Realm giant softshell turtles. The two used powerful moves as soon as they attacked. The young man surnamed Kuai directly sacrificed three red-golden long swords, attacking in coordination, forcing the giant softshell turtle he was fighting to retreat into its hard shell, afraid to move. Zhou Tianbao first sacrificed two blue, glowing flying swords, freezing the giant softshell turtle attacking him into a ball with just a few slashes, and then sacrificed a gloomy, black judge's pen, forcefully attacking the late-stage Monster Core Realm giant softshell turtle on the left, drawing it away.

In this way, only two turtle demons were left blocking the purple spiritual objects, one in the mid-stage and one in the late-stage.

The burly man and the middle-aged cultivator were both late-stage Core Formation cultivators. Each attacked a giant softshell turtle, but they did not engage in a prolonged battle. They occasionally looked for gaps to rush towards the giant rock behind them, provoking the two turtles to roar repeatedly.

At this time, the fat cultivator finally made his move. He flew rapidly from the side.

The five giant softshell turtles were not stupid. Seeing this, they knew what the other party was planning. They all shook the golden shells on their backs, releasing a layer of light and energy in the shape of a large shield, blocking the attacks from above. Their snake-like heads stretched out, spitting black ink-like venom into the sky.

The four cultivators engaged in battle were all prepared for this, using their own methods to dodge or defend, but the attacks of the magical treasures they controlled became even more fierce.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the fat cultivator stepped into the air, crossed the swamp, and landed on the giant rock.

Seeing that the venom could not stop the enemy from seizing the spiritual objects, the five golden-backed turtles suddenly spewed out black smoke. This black smoke separated into strands, but did not attack the cultivators. Instead, it rose up and floated towards the purple spiritual herbs behind them, surrounding the spiritual objects, gathering but not dispersing, appearing extremely strange.

The fat cultivator was startled and quickly stopped, dodging the swirling black smoke.

"Use this gourd to collect the poison!" The young man surnamed Kuai threw the black jade gourd to the fat cultivator.

The fat cultivator took the gourd and simply used a suction technique. Sure enough, the poisonous smoke rolled and drilled into the gourd on its own. Before long, the poisonous smoke surrounding the spiritual plants thinned out.

However, the golden-backed turtles did not give up. Dark red poisonous smoke emerged from their golden shells, even denser than the black smoke just now. Zhou Tianbao and the others, who were quite far away, could also smell the nauseating odor of the poisonous smoke.

As for the fat cultivator, he could not bear the stench even more. Although he held his breath, his face was somewhat black.

"Come back, let Junior Brother Kuai go, use fire to burn it!" Zhou Tianbao said decisively.

The fat cultivator was relieved to hear this and quickly retreated to the side of the young man surnamed Kuai, returning the black jade gourd to him.

"Senior Brother Zhou, the Nine Yang Fire is too fierce, it will burn the spiritual plants!" The young man surnamed Kuai hesitated.

"Don't produce open flames, just use its heat. The poisonous smoke contains poison, refine it away, and there will be no danger!" Zhou Tianbao said urgently.

The young man surnamed Kuai nodded, flew to the vicinity of the spiritual herbs holding the gourd, and cast a spell. A ball of white flames flew out of the gourd, suspended above the smoke, spinning around, as if absorbing the poisonous smoke. After only a few breaths, the poisonous smoke faded in color, becoming a colorless and odorless gas, posing no threat.

The giant softshell turtles roared madly, and the swamp rumbled, as if giant beasts were lurking beneath. The people were startled, and Zhou Tianbao shouted, "Junior Brother Kuai, don't hesitate, quickly dig up the spiritual herbs!"

They poured their mana into their magical treasures, launching a fierce attack on the five giant softshell turtles. The five golden-backed turtles protected themselves with their hard shells, leaping up, releasing smoke while stretching out their heads to bite the cultivators.

The young man surnamed Kuai released a clear light with the jade scepter to protect himself, quickly dug out the most luxuriant spiritual herb, and stored it away.

Just as he was about to dig up the second plant, the entire swamp suddenly shook, and a low roar came from the ground, causing the spirits of the people to ache faintly. A moment later, a huge mass of black mud shot up from the center of the swamp, stretching out its limbs and head, its aura like a mountain. It was actually a giant golden-backed turtle, hundreds of feet in size.