I am in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have a demonic beast clone!

Chapter 147 Arrival!

The harvest of the Crimson Flame Seven-Leaf Orchid and the Dark Starfire Cloud Mushroom was like a shot in the arm for Zhou Ding's journey to the outer sea.

With the rare blue treasure, a level-seven demon core, and numerous materials, this adventure has already yielded a fortune.

However, this is not the end.

That strangely shaped island marked with the words "Heavenly Mirror," and the possible ancient cultivator's legacy there, still served as a distant lighthouse, guiding him to continue deeper into this vast and dangerous sea.

After slaying the Lava Fire Dragon and acquiring two top-grade spiritual herbs, Zhou Ding did not linger on the deserted island for long.

He piloted Little Gold and set off again, continuing his journey deeper into the outer sea, following the direction indicated by the ancient map.

With Xiao Jin's "Heavenly Hearing Technique" and its "Heavenly Eyes," the vast ocean is no longer an unfathomable mystery, but a treasure map hiding countless "points of light."

For the next two weeks, Zhou Ding's schedule was filled with both gains and battles.

He expanded the detection range of "Heavenly Hearing Technique" to its maximum, encompassing a three-hundred-mile radius of the three-dimensional sea.

He no longer flew blindly, but selectively explored the locations of those "bright" spots of light—especially cyan, dark cyan, and even the occasional flashing blue spots.

The extraordinary power of the "Heavenly Hearing Technique" was on full display at this moment.

At the edge of a deep trench, he discovered a piece of "sunken iron essence" buried under thick sea mud, radiating a deep blue-green light. It was the size of a washbasin and was a top-grade material for refining water-based and earth-based defensive magic weapons.

Near a scorching lava lake by an active volcano, he found a "Flaming Lotus from the Earth's Core" growing in the boiling magma. Although it was only about a thousand years old, the pure fire spirit power it emitted and its special "purifying" effect made its precious light reach a deep blue color, making it an excellent auxiliary ingredient for refining high-level fire attribute pills.

Furthermore, in a treacherous place filled with sharp reefs and turbulent currents, deep within the lair of a level six "Sawtooth Shark," a small clump of "Star Pattern Sand" was discovered. This is a strange refining material that can only be formed over tens of thousands of years at the confluence of specific stellar power and ocean currents. It contains weak spatial attributes and is a precious item for refining flying needle-type magical artifacts or increasing the flight speed of magical artifacts. Its precious light has reached the level of "blue"!

In addition to these rare materials and elixirs, Zhou Ding also "incidentally" acquired a considerable amount of monster materials.

With the help of the "Heavenly Hearing Technique" for early warning and detection, he can discover hidden monsters in advance and determine their type, level, and even general condition.

For level 5 and 6 demonic beasts, as long as they are not in groups or possess particularly strange and troublesome supernatural abilities, he and Xiao Jin can now deal with them with ease.

When encountering lone, weak level 5 demonic beasts, Zhou Ding sometimes doesn't even need Xiao Jin to take action. He can quickly kill them and take their demon cores and essence blood simply by relying on his own powerful physical body and pure magic power.

If it is a level seven demon beast, Xiao Jin will usually take the lead in attacking, while Zhou Ding will provide support from the side and use "Soul-Destroying Thorn" to interfere. Xiao Jin will use "Dark Light Claw" or simply crush the beast with physical strength. The battle will usually end within ten or so breaths, clean and efficient.

Of course, the alien sea is not an easy path.

He had also been besieged by several level-six demonic beasts, one of which even attracted the covetousness of another level-seven "Thunderwing Sea Roc" that was roaming nearby.

The battle was quite thrilling. The Thunderwing Sea Roc was incredibly fast, its attacks were imbued with lightning, and it excelled at high-altitude surprise attacks. Zhou Ding and Xiao Jin cooperated, fighting and retreating simultaneously. Zhou Ding used his powerful divine sense to interfere with its flight and perception, while Xiao Jin used the "Golden Armor Technique" to withstand most of the attacks. Finally, they seized an opportunity, and Zhou Ding's full-force "Soul-Destroying Thrust" briefly stunned it. Xiao Jin then unleashed the strongest strike of the "Dark Light Claw," narrowly managing to severely injure and force it back, without managing to leave it behind.

However, after this battle, Zhou Ding gained a clearer understanding of Xiao Jin's defensive capabilities and the destructive power of "Dark Light Claw," and also became more certain about his own strength.

Over the course of half a month, Zhou Ding's storage bag contained five level-six demon cores, more than ten level-five demon cores, and a mountain of various demon beast essences and materials.

Furthermore, there are five rare materials and spiritual herbs that emit a blue or deep cyan light. Each of them, if brought back to Tianxing City, would be enough to cause a frenzy among Core Formation cultivators.

His practical experience, understanding of the habits of monsters, and adaptability in the complex environment of the alien sea have also been greatly honed and improved.

On this day, under a leaden sky, the dark blue sea stretched to the horizon.

Zhou Ding sat cross-legged on Xiao Jin's broad back, letting it fly smoothly through the air.

He unfolded the yellowed ancient map of "Heavenly Mirror" once again in his hand.

On the map, the dotted line extending from the direction of "Black Rock Island" is nearing its end. At the end of the dotted line, the outline of the strangely shaped island marked with the words "Heavenly Mirror" slowly overlaps with the gradually clearer view of the sea ahead that Zhou Ding senses.

"Based on the directions shown on the nautical chart and the ancient map, and considering the surrounding scattered islands—it should be about three hundred li ahead." Zhou Ding carefully compared the information and made a judgment in his mind. He gently patted Xiao Jin's back armor.

"Full speed ahead, target: that island ahead."

"roar!"

Xiao Jin let out a low roar, and the dark golden demonic light around him suddenly intensified. His flight speed increased by another three points, and he shot towards the northeast like a dark golden arrow tearing through the sky.

Three hundred miles is just a short distance for Xiao Jin at his current pace.

When a small black dot, slightly different from its surroundings, finally appeared on the ever-blue horizon, Zhou Ding's heart couldn't help but tighten slightly.

He straightened up, looked into the distance, and at the same time, his divine sense, like the most precise probe, took the lead and covered the location of the black dot.

The black dot rapidly enlarged, and its outline gradually became clear.

It was indeed an island, but it was much smaller than Zhou Ding had expected. It was only a few dozen miles wide from east to west and a little longer from north to south, about a hundred miles long.

The entire island has a strange grayish-white color, as if it were made of some kind of special rock. The island is flat and there are no particularly high peaks. From a distance, it looks like a huge skeleton floating on the sea, exuding an indescribable desolation, loneliness, and — ancientness.

When Zhou Ding's divine sense truly touched the island, he raised an eyebrow slightly.

"A level six demonic beast—and it seems there's only one?" In his divine sense, the life force on the entire gray-white island was pitifully thin. Only a powerful, cold demonic energy fluctuation, carrying a strong dual attribute of water and yin, lingered in the central area of ​​the island like a beacon in the night.

That demonic power had reached the peak of level six, seemingly only a hair's breadth away from level seven.

Apart from that, there were no other powerful demonic beasts or cultivators on the island, only some low-level, almost negligible insects and shade-tolerant plants.

"It seems that this demonic beast is the master of this island." If the Heavenly Mirror Hermit really left behind a legacy here, is this demonic beast a guardian? Or did it later occupy this place? Zhou Ding's mind raced, and he signaled Xiao Jin to stop in the air above the sea more than ten miles away from the island.

He did not rush to the island.

Although it was only a level six peak demon beast, in this place that might be the location of ancient ruins, any negligence could bring unexpected dangers.

He first used his "Heavenly Hearing Technique" to share his vision and carefully scan the entire island.

In the vision of "Heavenly Hearing Technique", the entire gray-white island presents a dull gray-white tone, representing ordinary rocks and barren land.

Only at the center of the island, where the level-six demonic beast resided, did a deep orange light emanate, signifying a threat. And deep beneath the area shrouded in that deep orange light, Zhou Ding's "gaze" suddenly sharpened!

There, deep within the hard rocks and soil, lies a sizable underground space, tightly encased in a complex array of restrictions!

The layers upon layers of profound and mysterious array restrictions themselves were emitting a faint yet incredibly pure deep blue light in the vision of the "Heavenly Hearing Technique"!

It was even more profound and refined than the "Star Pattern Sand" they had obtained before!

Moreover, inside the underground space enveloped by the restrictions, there seemed to be several brighter and more alluring lights flickering faintly, but they were blocked by the powerful outer restrictions, making it impossible to see clearly what they were.

"Array formation! Blue light! Underground space!" Zhou Ding's eyes flashed with brilliance, and he was overjoyed! It seemed that this place was most likely the destination indicated by the ancient map of "Heavenly Mirror," the place where the Heavenly Mirror Hermit might have left behind his legacy or treasures!

The protective array's restrictions could reach the level of blue precious light, its profoundness and power were unimaginable, which also indirectly confirmed the extraordinary nature of this place.

"Let's deal with that gatekeeper beast first, then we can slowly figure out how to break the formation," Zhou Ding decided. This peak level six beast was perched above the entrance to the formation, clearly the biggest obstacle.

Without further hesitation, he signaled Xiao Jin to conceal most of his aura and land silently on the edge of the island.

He also used a concealment technique, blending his figure and aura into the environment, and like a ghost, stealthily made his way towards the monster's stronghold in the center of the island.

On the island, the ground is a hard, grayish-white sandstone that feels cold to the touch.

The vegetation is sparse, consisting only of some low, shade-tolerant shrubs with grayish-black leaves.

The air was filled with a faint, salty, and decaying smell, and the spiritual energy was quite thin, which explained why no other powerful life forms were willing to settle here.

As they approached the central area, the cold, chilling demonic power became increasingly clear. Zhou Ding's divine sense had already "seen" the full form of the demonic beast.

It was a ferocious giant python, over twenty zhang long, covered entirely in thick, grayish-white bone armor with dark blue frost patterns!

The giant python's head was triangular, with a pair of curved, dark blue horns, and its vertical pupils were cold and ruthless, like ancient ice.

Its body was mostly coiled in a slightly sunken grayish-white rocky area, as if it were asleep or guarding. Its aura had reached the peak of level six, and its demonic power was cold and piercing, seemingly possessing a strange quality that could freeze the soul.

A level six demonic beast, the "Mysterious Ice Yin Scale Python"!

"The Xuanbing Yinlin Python is skilled in ice and yin attribute supernatural powers, has considerable defensive capabilities, and its cold poison can damage the soul—it's rather troublesome." Information about this beast flashed through Zhou Ding's mind quickly.

However, it's just "somewhat troublesome".

He no longer concealed himself, and his figure suddenly appeared a hundred feet away from the Xuanbing Yinlin Python. At the same time, he released the spiritual pressure belonging to a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator without any concealment!

"hiss--!"

Almost the instant Zhou Ding revealed himself and released his spiritual pressure, the cold vertical pupils of the coiled Xuanbing Yinlin Python suddenly opened, and two pale beams of light flashed by!

It was clearly extremely sensitive to scents, instantly locking onto the uninvited guest that had trespassed into its territory.

Startled and enraged by its territorial instincts, it let out a sharp, piercing screech, its massive body suddenly standing upright, bringing with it a chilling gust of wind!

Without any further probing, the Xuanbing Yinlin Python opened its massive maw, unleashing an enormous, deathly white, and extremely cold frost breath that swept across a hundred feet in an instant, like a roaring glacial torrent, towards Zhou Ding!

Wherever it passed, the air froze, thick layers of ice formed on the gray-white ground, and the temperature plummeted!

Faced with this terrifying breath that could instantly freeze a cultivator in the early stage of Core Formation, Zhou Ding remained calm and did not even take a step back.

With a thought, a flash of light appeared at the opening of the spirit beast pouch at his waist.

"roar--!"

A colossal figure, shimmering with dark gold, reappeared, exuding a primordial ferocity, and stood in front of Zhou Ding!

It's Xiao Jin!

"Hiss hiss hiss!"

The pale, frost-covered breath struck Xiao Jin's dark, gilded scales squarely, exploding into a shower of ice crystals and white mist!

The terrifyingly low temperature caused the surrounding air to groan under its own weight, and the ground quickly froze into a thick layer of ice.

However, when the cold mist dissipated and the scene inside was revealed, for the first time, a clear look of horror appeared in the cold vertical pupils of the Xuanbing Yinlin Python!

Little Gold's massive body remained firmly in place, its dark gold scales covered only by a thin layer of rapidly melting frost; the scales themselves showed no signs of being frozen at all!

After advancing to level six and being tempered by the top-grade demon blood stone, Xiao Jin's physical defense has reached an unbelievable level.

The frost breath of a mere level six peak monster could not cause any real damage to it, and it was even difficult to make it feel cold.

"Hiss?!" The Xuanbing Yinlin Python seemed somewhat incredulous, but its instincts and ferocity drove it to attack again.

It abandoned its long-range breath attack, and its massive body suddenly leaped forward like a white lightning bolt, carrying a chilling wind and a fishy smell. It opened its huge mouth, which was filled with sharp, icy teeth, and bit down hard on Little Gold's neck!

At the same time, its thick snake tail, like a steel whip, lashed fiercely at Xiao Jin's lower body with a whistling sound!

However, Xiao Jin neither dodged nor avoided, and did not even use the "Golden Armor Technique".

It let out a low roar and pounced forward, engaging the Xuanbing Yinlin Python in close combat in the most savage and direct way!

"Boom! Bang! Crack!"

The dull thuds of impact, the scraping of scales against bone, and the cracking of ice echoed continuously.

Xiao Jin's sharp claws tore through the bone armor on the Xuanbing Yinlin Python's body, leaving deep wounds and splattering dark purple demonic blood.

However, the bites and tail strikes of the Xuanbing Yinlin Python were like tickling Xiao Jin, at most leaving a few white marks on its scales, and could not even break through its defenses.

Xiao Jin's terrifying power caused the Xuanbing Yinlin Python to tremble violently with each impact, its bone armor to crack, and its demonic power to become chaotic.

After only a few exchanges, the Xuanbing Yinlin Python was completely at a disadvantage, only able to parry and utterly powerless to retaliate.

Its proud ice armor defense and chilling demonic power appeared so fragile in the face of Xiao Jin's unreasonable physical strength and power.

"Hiss!" The Xuanbing Yinlin Python finally felt the fear of death.

It let out a terrified screech and suddenly spat out a mouthful of dark blue blood mist containing its natal cold poison, forcing Little Gold to pause slightly. Then, its massive body twisted violently, and it was about to flee towards the sea not far away! It couldn't win, it had to escape!

But just as it turned around, its demonic power focused on escaping, and its mind relaxed, Zhou Ding, who had been standing by like an observer, moved again!

The Soul-Destroying Needle silently shot out from the ancestral aperture between the eyebrows!

"laugh!"

The massive body of the Xuanbing Yinlin Python suddenly stiffened, its fleeing movements abruptly halted, and its cold, vertical pupils instantly lost focus.

Although both were at the peak of level six, their spiritual strength was clearly far inferior to that of the previous Lava Fire Dragon. Under Zhou Ding's spiritual attack, which was comparable to the late Nascent Soul stage, they were stunned for a longer period of time!

"roar!"

Seizing this excellent opportunity, Xiao Jin suddenly extended its right forelimb, which had been gathering momentum. The "Black Light Claw," shrouded in dark light, was like the Grim Reaper's scythe, fiercely slicing through the Xuanbing Yinlin Python's relatively vulnerable vital point!

"Pfft!"

A dark blue stream of demonic blood shot into the sky! The ferocious head and body of the Xuanbing Yinlin Python were almost completely torn apart by this claw!

The cold, demonic power and vitality quickly dissipated.

"Boom!" The enormous snake body crashed heavily onto the frozen ground, twitched a few times, and then remained still.

Another peak level 6 demonic beast has fallen.

Zhou Ding stepped forward and skillfully took out the demon core, collected the essence blood, and peeled off the more valuable bone armor and unicorn horn.

After doing all this, he turned his gaze to the slightly sunken rocky area where the Xuanbing Yinlin Python had originally been coiled.

Within the vision of the "Heavenly Hearing Technique," the core node and entrance of the complex array of restrictions radiating a deep blue light seem to be hidden beneath this rocky ground.

He waved his hand to clear away the rubble and ice chips on the surface, revealing the smooth, grayish-white rock surface below.

On the rock surface, some extremely ancient, dim, and almost integrated fine carvings could be faintly seen. If he hadn't carefully sensed with his powerful divine sense and known that there was an array here, he probably wouldn't have noticed them at all.

"It really is here." Zhou Ding squatted down, gathered magic power at his fingertips, and gently brushed over the ancient engravings.

A faint but incredibly profound array fluctuation emanated from the engravings, connecting with the massive underground restriction he perceived with his divine sense.

He did not rashly attack or force his way in. This array's restrictions could emit a deep blue light, indicating that its level was extremely high. Even if it had weakened over the years, it was by no means something that could be broken by brute force.

Once its counterattack or self-destruct mechanism is triggered, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Zhou Ding calmed himself down, sat cross-legged on the edge of the rocky ground, closed his eyes, and focused all his attention on sensing and deducing the ancient formation in front of him.

His powerful divine sense was like the most precise carving knife, carefully touching and analyzing the Daoist principles and spiritual energy flow patterns contained in those ancient array patterns.

Thanks to his years of studying the "Tianyuan Array Canon" with Xin Ruyin, and with Xin Ruyin's careful guidance, Zhou Ding's array skills have long surpassed those of his predecessors, especially in the area of ​​breaking and analyzing ancient arrays, where he has gained considerable expertise.

Although the formation before us is profound and complex, and many of its principles are quite different from those of the mainstream formations today, it is full of ancient charm. However, the way of formations, no matter how it changes, always has its basic logic and core hub.

Time slipped away quietly as Zhou Ding focused intently on his deductions.

One day, two days —

Sometimes he would furrow his brow and use his finger as a pen to sketch out the illusory images of some of the array patterns in the air; sometimes he would close his eyes and ponder, simulating the various changes and possible solutions of the array in his sea of ​​consciousness; and sometimes he would get up and carefully walk around the rocky ground, using specific methods to stimulate or test certain inconspicuous rocks or engravings, observing the subtle reactions of the array.

This ancient formation was even more ingenious than he had imagined.

It is not a single defensive or offensive formation, but a comprehensive restriction that combines concealment, protection, trapping the enemy, and may even contain spatial teleportation or testing mechanisms.

Furthermore, due to its age, some of the array bases and spiritual energy circuits have experienced natural attenuation, shifting, or even damage, resulting in a significant reduction in the overall power of the array. However, this has also caused some previously seamless structures to develop subtle flaws and weak points.

What Zhou Ding had to do was to find these "flaws" that had appeared over time, and without triggering the core counterattack mechanism of the formation, use skillful means to break through them and open a safe passage to enter.

This was an extremely time-consuming and mentally taxing process. Fortunately, Zhou Ding possessed a powerful spiritual sense, a long lifespan, and ample patience.

It took a full three days and three nights.

On the evening of the third day, the afterglow of the setting sun gilded the gray-white desert island with a faint golden edge.

Zhou Ding, who was sitting cross-legged beside the rocky ground, slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were bloodshot and his face was tired, but deep in his pupils, there was a clear understanding of everything and a sharp glint of relief.

"Found it—three blocked spiritual energy channels caused by natural rock strata shifts, one auxiliary array eye that failed due to the erosion of yin and cold power, and—a tiny gap between the core protective array and the outer concealment array caused by uneven energy supply—" Zhou Ding muttered to himself, his voice hoarse but full of confidence.

He stood up and walked to several specific locations on the rocky ground. He made intricate hand seals, channeling pure magical power into the rocks beneath his feet or into certain invisible nodes in the air, following specific frequencies and trajectories.

As he moved, the smooth, grayish-white rock surface beneath his feet began to tremble slightly, emitting a low hum. The ancient, previously dim carvings began to glow faintly, like a sleeping galaxy being illuminated one by one.

The light flowed and formed a more complex and mysterious array of phantom images, which slowly rotated in mid-air.

Zhou Ding's expression was solemn, his movements becoming increasingly rapid, and the incantations he used becoming more and more sophisticated. He was guiding and clearing the blocked pathways, temporarily isolating the malfunctioning array eye from the influence of the blockage. Most importantly, using his own magical power as a guide, he skillfully "pried open" the slight gap between the core protective array and the outer concealment array, briefly amplifying it to form an unstable "door" that could only be passed through by one person at a time!

"Buzz—!"

As the final incantation was cast, the swirling array in mid-air suddenly stopped. Then, the center of the array slowly collapsed inward, like ripples on water, forming a twisted light gate that could only accommodate one person and emitted a soft white light!

Inside the portal, one could vaguely see downward steps and even denser spiritual energy fluctuations.

"It's done!" A gleam of joy flashed in Zhou Ding's eyes, but he did not let his guard down.

He first used his divine sense to carefully probe the inside of the light gate, confirming that there was no obvious danger or trap fluctuation. After waiting for a few breaths and seeing that the light gate was stable, he took a deep breath, gestured to Xiao Jin who was guarding the side, and then stepped into the light gate that was emitting a soft white light without hesitation.

Little Gold let out a low growl, and immediately afterward, its massive body shrank and disappeared into the light gate without any hindrance the moment it touched it.

After the two entered, the portal flickered slightly a few times before slowly closing and dissipating.

The tremors in the ground ceased, and the ancient markings returned to their dull state, as if nothing had ever happened.