I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 192 Ancient Beasts
Chen Ming glanced at Yu Haitang sitting on the ground, only to see her shake her head slightly, indicating that she did not recognize him.

He raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, "Where are your sect's leader and wife?"

Xu Liangchen stopped three zhang away and, seeing that Yu Haitang was still alright, finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "In the chaos just now, that old monster Feng from the Ji family suddenly attacked Elder Yang, which triggered a melee. It was the sect leader who sent me out of the battle, and now we don't know where they have gone."

Chen Ming couldn't tell whether what he said was true or false.

It's impossible for the four major factions and three powerful families in Jiangzhou to be on good terms; they have many grudges against each other. Under such circumstances, it's not impossible for someone to instigate a chaotic war.

He said, "There's a fork in the road ahead. How about we split up and look for it?"

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

Seeing his words, Chen Ming didn't want to send him away directly, so he said frankly, "To be honest, I'm a very suspicious person. Senior Brother Xu can come along if he wants, but please don't get too close to avoid misunderstandings."

"I really am a member of the Azure Moon Sect."

Xu Liangchen became anxious upon hearing this, "If you don't believe me, I can demonstrate the sword techniques of our sect."

“No need,” Chen Ming stopped him. “I don’t doubt your identity. However, my friend is here, so it’s best if you don’t walk with us to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.”

Xu Liangchen glanced subconsciously at the Blood Demon Sect disciple in black beside him, convinced by this reason, and nodded, "I understand."

"Walk."

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 at a distance of several feet.

……

There are four passages inside this cave.

After a quick assessment, Chen Ming walked towards the left side of the middle, where there were many fire bat corpses on the ground. The walls were covered with traces of the recent battle.

The further you go in, the denser the fire elemental energy in the air becomes.

Chen Ming and Yu Haitang were completely unaffected; on the contrary, they were able to directly absorb the fire elemental power and transform it into qi, thereby improving their cultivation.

In fact, ever since he broke through to the third rank, he has had a strange feeling, as if he has become the master of a cave dwelling and can easily control the fire elemental power in the air.

This feeling is amazing.

It's like when he reached the fourth level of his "Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens," he felt like he could fly. Although he knew it was an illusion, it felt strangely real.

Deng Ziyang felt differently. He was only at the fourth rank of cultivation, and it was extremely difficult for him in this environment. His Blood Demon Technique was naturally countered by the masculine fire elemental energy.

If Chen Ming hadn't shielded him from the fiery energy, he would have succumbed to it long ago.

Xu Liangchen, who was following behind, seemed quite relaxed.

Chen Ming observed carefully and sensed that he was a second-grade cultivator, so he became secretly wary.

If this person is truly as he claims, sent by the Cangyue Sect Master to protect Yu Haitang, that would be good; but I fear he may be a person with ulterior motives.

This has to be guarded against.

About fifteen minutes later, another large cave appeared before us.

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

"This beast is dying, attack its eyes!"

An anxious voice came from behind.

With a deafening roar and a piercing scream, the noise finally subsided.

Chen Ming recognized the voice; it belonged to Lord Jin from the Six Doors. With him were several other people, all of whom, judging from the commotion just now, were first- or second-rank experts.

After those people had gone far away, Chen Ming entered the cave and saw the corpse of a huge monster lying on the ground. It looked like a large lizard. It was two or three meters tall and four or five meters long, with a layer of black scales on its skin that gleamed coldly.

Yu Haitang suddenly said, "This is a fire lizard, an ancient mythical beast. I've read about it in books, and they say that this kind of beast has long been extinct. I didn't expect there to be one here."

He shook his head again, "No, there must be more than one. These fire lizards live for at most a few hundred years. If they didn't come from outside, there must have been more than two to have reproduced to this day."

Chen Ming asked, "How strong is this kind of beast?"

Yu Haitang said, "Adult fire lizards are comparable to first-grade warriors. Their scales can withstand the qi of a martial artist, and even divine weapons cannot cut through them. Moreover, they are incredibly strong and extremely difficult to deal with."

Chen Ming drew his "Phoenix Singing Sword" and slashed at it. Sparks flew, and only a faint white mark was left on the black scales.

Although he did not use his internal energy, the toughness of these scales was truly astonishing.

Suddenly, his expression hardened. "What was that sound?"

Then, several figures flew out from the passageway beside them; they were the two golden-clad admirals from the Six Doors and the palace-dressed Princess Mingyu. Besides them, there were several other people.

These people didn't even glance at them before they darted into another passage and disappeared.

"run!"

Chen Ming could feel the ground shaking, clearly indicating that a huge creature was rushing towards them. Without hesitation, he grabbed Deng Ziyang and ran.

He chose a different passage. As he entered, he glanced back and saw an even larger "fire lizard" rushing towards him. This strange beast was enormous, yet incredibly fast.

Fortunately, it didn't chase after them, but instead went after the people from the Six Doors.

Chen Ming felt a little regretful. If he could kill such a beast that was comparable to a first-grade beast, how many experience points would he have gained!

Just then, a sound came from ahead.

He looked up and saw four or five people rushing towards him in a panic, as if they were fleeing for their lives.

What is it that's chasing them?
Just as this thought flashed through Chen Ming's mind, he saw flames appear behind these people, and countless golden flames surged towards them.

No, that's not flame—it's thousands upon thousands of glowing ants, each the size of a fingertip, piled together like flowing flames.

What the hell!

After thinking for a moment, Chen Ming turned around and ran away. This time, he didn't hold back and fled at top speed.

What could make those first- and second-grade experts escape in such a sorry state must be something absolutely terrifying.

Yu Haitang exclaimed, "It's Golden Flame Ants! Run! Their golden flames are specifically designed to break through protective qi."

Swish.

Chen Ming had already passed Xu Liangchen behind him and escaped to the cave he had just left at top speed. Coincidentally, several other people also ran out of another passage.

His scalp tingled; this godforsaken place was incredibly dangerous.

No wonder the King of Zhenhai didn't get the key back then; the power he had was simply insufficient to deal with the various strange beasts inside.

Chen Ming did not flee again, but stayed inside the cave. If things went wrong, he would immediately escape to the passage he had come from and retreat directly.

There were clearly many people who shared his thoughts, and soon seven or eight people had gathered around him.

Fortunately, after everyone escaped, the massive number of "Golden Flame Ants" did not chase after them. They slowly retreated to the edge of the passage.

Chen Ming felt that among the various strange beasts he had encountered so far, the "Golden Flame Ants" were the most terrifying. Mainly because there were so many of them, and the golden flames emanating from them were a natural enemy of martial artists.

……

Whoosh!
Just then, a man in black walked out of the passage. It was Senior Brother Zhu from the Blood Demon Sect. His scarlet eyes lingered on Deng Ziyang for a second before scanning the cave, and he had already figured out the current situation.

Therefore, he did not rush to make a move.

Chen Ming felt a chill run down his spine; they arrived so quickly.

Deng Ziyang transmitted his voice, "As long as I am not dead, he will not be able to refine the Blood God Pearl. He will have to focus on suppressing it, and he can only exert 50% of his strength at most."

Chen Ming thought to himself, "Even a Rank 1 fighter with only 50% of their strength can't beat me right now."

At this moment, an old man suggested, "Gentlemen, it seems we can't continue without dealing with these beasts. Let's stop trying to conserve our strength and kill them together."

The proposal was unanimously agreed upon by everyone present.

"how do you feel?"

The old man then asked Senior Brother Zhu from the Blood Demon Sect.

He nodded slightly and said, "Okay."

Three strange beasts have emerged from the cave: a "fire lizard," a giant snake with three clusters of blue flames burning on its head, and an ape with burning fur.

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

Of these thirteen people, apart from Chen Ming and two others, all of them were first- or second-rank experts. At this moment, they no longer held back and with a single move, the three terrifying beasts were killed on the spot without any chance to fight back.

In particular, the fatal blows from the five first-rank officials all came from their hands.

It feels like all five of them could easily take down this beast alone.

Chen Ming recalled that before he came in, the red-robed man from the Six Doors said that as long as the three of them joined forces, they could obtain the key, and it seemed that this was indeed the case.

So, the Six Doors had already obtained information about this cave dwelling. However, because the *Mysterious Fire True Technique* was divided into three parts, no one had been able to cultivate it to the fourth rank, which was why they hadn't been able to enter.

The question is, where does the Six Doors get its intelligence from?

Chen Ming didn't have time to think it through; he just felt like he was being pricked by thorns. He didn't even need to turn around to know it must be that Rank 1 Blood Demon Sect member.

"It's a pity that the people from the Azure Moon Sect aren't here. Otherwise, we wouldn't have to be afraid of him."

He thought to himself that when he saw the Six Doors and others walk out of one of the passages, they had obviously dealt with the "Fire Lizard" as well.

Lord Jin's gaze fell on Chen Ming, his expression somewhat surprised, "You're actually not dead?"

Chen Ming said, "Thanks to Lord Jin, may I ask if you have seen Sect Master Ling and his wife of the Cangyue Sect?"

"You've gone the wrong way; they didn't take this route."

"That's really unfortunate."

Lord Jin added, "However, the passages here are all interconnected, and each passage leads to the final core. Why don't you come with us?"

(End of this chapter)