With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

After the two groups of people had completely gone far away and disappeared from sight, everyone gathered around the tree-shaped nest.

Most of the people present had never actually seen what the nest looked like before the contract was signed, so it seemed quite ordinary at the moment.

It was just a jade-like tree, its surface shimmering with a hazy white light. Some exquisite treehouses could be vaguely seen on the tree, and a few tiny figures holding bows and arrows climbed up and down among the branches.

This is a third-rate lair. Although it is not top-tier, it still means that a territory can be granted, which is enough to support a family or force for hundreds of years.

After some deliberation, Ning Wuji stepped forward and pressed the essence blood from his palm onto the nest. After a simple ritual, the contract was successfully completed.

As for why Ning Wuji made the contract, firstly, this nest was originally a spoil of war that Ning Wuji won in a martial arts competition.

Secondly, before setting off, the sect leader had instructed that if a nest was discovered, it would be best for Elder Ning to personally make a contract with it. After all, he was the strongest and most likely to bring the nest out of Thunder Swamp alive.

Similar things have happened before, when a disciple of a higher status preemptively contracted the nest.

As a result, in the subsequent battle to explore Raize, although he was heavily protected by his fellow disciples, he ultimately died due to insufficient strength, causing the newly acquired nest to be destroyed as well.

Therefore, since then, the strongest member of the team has usually been responsible for contracting nests.

After the contract was completed, with a thought from Ning Wuji, the jade tree slowly floated into the air, its size continuously shrinking until it finally transformed into a stream of light and entered Ning Wuji's body.

Everyone was overjoyed. They had taken down a third-rate stronghold without bloodshed or any casualties.

Adding to the spiritual treasures obtained when killing the Water Ape, this trip to Thunder Swamp can be considered quite successful, even though we haven't found a high-grade nest yet.

Although the team aimed for high-grade nests, everyone knew that the probability was very small. After all, it had been 200 years, and the Sword Sect had not yet managed to contract a nest for the day after tomorrow.

It should be noted that although Lei Ze has many nests and spiritual treasures, it is by no means that it can always yield results. In previous explorations, there have been times when it took three whole months to get nothing.

To be on the safe side, the group immediately retreated back into the dense forest, constantly clearing away any traces as they moved to avoid being followed by the two groups ahead.

It wasn't until a day later that everyone relaxed their vigilance a little and continued to follow Elders Liang and Ning as they searched deeper into the area.

Over the next ten days or so, it seemed that the Sword Sect's two previous successes had squandered all their accumulated luck, and the group gained nothing more.

The initial enthusiasm sparked by the gains in the first two rounds gradually cooled and subsided during this tedious search.

This is actually the norm for Razer's explorations; most of the time, they arrive full of expectations and leave empty-handed.

On this day, the group was resting by a stream.

Suddenly, a deep rumbling sound came from afar, followed by swathes of trees falling down in the distance, a truly astonishing sight.

Just as everyone was filled with doubt and uncertainty, an elder responsible for keeping watch from a high vantage point flashed down from the treetops, his face grave as he shouted in a low voice, "Retreat! A herd of Moon Rhinoceroses is charging towards us!"

Before the words were even finished, a group of enormous creatures broke through the dense forest barrier, snapping trees as thick as bowls in half and sending wood chips flying everywhere they went.

These giant beasts were extremely robust, with a shoulder height of about ten feet and a body length of nearly two feet, their bodies covered in bulging muscles.

They resemble rhinoceroses in appearance, with their bodies covered in thick horn armor and a single, sharp horn on their heads, which is now faintly glowing with a milky white light.

Lin Ye's gaze sharpened as he recognized it as a post-natal demonic beast called the Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros. This beast not only possessed thick hide and astonishing defense, but its impact force was also incredibly powerful.

Aside from relying on its massive body to charge and trample, its truly troublesome method lies in the single horn on its head.

They are adept at absorbing moonlight at night to accumulate energy. Once attacked by an enemy, they will shoot out beams of extremely fast moonlight rays from their horns, with a power that is in no way inferior to the full-force attack of a martial artist.

Because it needs to absorb moonlight at night and needs to look up at the moon, it is named the Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros.

Looking at the Moon-Gazing Rhinoceroses rushing out of the dense forest one after another and approaching menacingly, everyone suddenly realized that this stream was probably the regular drinking spot for these monsters.

The Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros has a very strong sense of territory and clearly mistook the group for enemies invading its territory, launching a fierce expulsion.

No one dared to be negligent. They immediately channeled their inner strength, turned around, and retreated swiftly along the stream to the other side, trying to create distance.

However, this group of moon-gazing rhinoceroses numbered more than a dozen, relentlessly pursuing and relentlessly chasing after them.

Fortunately, the ancient trees in the dense forest were towering and their branches were intertwined, which greatly limited the speed of the giant beasts, making it difficult for them to catch up for a while.

However, the Moon Rhinoceros was enormous and had an astonishing stride, and even though everyone had tried their best to escape, they still couldn't shake it off.

Seeing the critical situation, Ning Wuji and Liang Feiyu, the two Supreme Elders who were running at the forefront, exchanged a glance, slowed down, and turned around to meet the first few Moon Gazing Rhinos that rushed over.

As Lin Ye ran for his life, he couldn't help but look back.

Using the tree canopy as cover, Ning and Liang leaped onto the back of the Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros at the front, striking the same giant beast's vital points with a palm strike and a sword strike in succession.

However, the Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros only let out a fierce roar, and its thick keratinous layer trembled slightly. It actually withstood the blow and still showed no signs of falling.

At the same time, the single horn on the heads of several Moon-Gazing Rhinoceroses behind them suddenly lit up, and several milky-white rays shot out, heading straight for the two elders.

The two had no choice but to retreat hastily, leaping gracefully off the giant beast's back and weaving through the dense forest, desperately dodging the pursuing rays.

The two elders ultimately failed to lure away the entire group of demonic beasts.

During the fierce battle, Liang Feiyu's arm was accidentally grazed by a ray. Although he was not seriously injured due to the protection of his internal energy, he still felt a slight pain from a bone fracture in his arm, which significantly hindered his movement.

At this moment, everyone's breathing became increasingly heavy, especially Lin Ye and another second-rate true disciple.

After all, he was only a second-rate martial artist with limited internal energy reserves and his physical strength was already nearing its limit; he was almost unable to hold on any longer.

"We can't keep running like this! The terrain ahead is unknown, and if we run into other monsters, the casualties will be even greater. Everyone, scatter and run to reduce our visibility!"

Seeing the situation becoming increasingly dire, Liang Feiyu made a decisive decision and ordered everyone to disperse and break through the encirclement.

The Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros is a typical social monster that relies on collective action. Now that everyone has scattered, they have suddenly lost their unified target.

In addition, Ning and Liang turned around to harass and provoke him from time to time, successfully diverting most of Wangyuexi's attention to these two acquired martial artists.

With their combined skill and agility, while they might not be able to defeat the thick-skinned Moon Rhinoceros head-on, their speed in a race would definitely leave it far behind.

Upon hearing this, the crowd had no other choice but to grit their teeth and flee in different directions for their lives.

As Liang Feiyu had predicted, although a few Moon-Gazing Rhinoceroses still chased after the scattered disciples, the vast majority of the demonic beasts had already gathered together and tightly entangled him and Ning Wuji.