Mortal: I, Zhang Tie, started by joining forces with Han Li to kill a strategist.

Although the Yin Sha Zhi was quite valuable, Zhang Tie did not act rashly. Instead, he took a few steps back and moved away from the lake.

As everyone knows, spirit stones don't fall from the sky for nothing, and the more precious the spirit medicine, the stronger the guardian beast.

Zhang Tie became even more vigilant. He hadn't found any trace of the monsters along the way, and now it seemed they were probably all hiding near this small lake.

He carefully scanned the lake shore with his divine sense, but found no trace of any demonic beasts.

But Zhang Tie knew that there were definitely demonic beasts in this place. Even the Heavenly Star Wood was guarded by a level two demonic beast, the Scorpion-Tailed Beast. It was impossible for something of the Yin Sha Zhi level not to exist.

"Could it be hidden in a deeper part of the lake?!" Zhang Tie's gaze turned to the distant lake surface, activating his divine sense and spirit-seeking technique simultaneously.

Just then, Zhang Tie suddenly sensed something was amiss.

It wasn't in the lake in front of us, but on the rock wall directly above our heads to the right.

If Zhang Tie hadn't been using his spirit-seeking technique and divine sense to scan the area, he wouldn't have noticed the extremely slight movement above his head.

However, Zhang Tie did not look up. Instead, he pretended to be nonchalant and continued to stare at the lake. But his right hand had already secretly tightened its grip on the Golden Lock Ring, and his left hand could take out the Azure Gang Pagoda from his storage bag at any time.

The monster wasn't in the lake; it was perched on the rock face above, observing Zhang Tie's every move!

Thirty feet away, Songyang held his breath and focused his mind, the Concealment Pearl perfectly hiding his figure.

At this moment, Songyang shifted his gaze from Zhang Tie to the Yin Sha Zhi by the lake, his eyes filled with greed.

"A century-old elixir... this guy really did keep it hidden... this trip was worthwhile!" Song Yang's lips curled into a smile.

He naturally guessed that Zhang Tie's heightened state of alertness was due to guarding against lurking monsters.

"Let them fight! The fiercer the fight, the better. The more intense the fight, the better my chances!"

Songyang's gaze shifted back and forth between Zhang Tie and Yin Shazhi, calculating the best time to make a move.

...

By the lake, Zhang Tie made a move, pretending to be attracted by the Yin Sha Zhi, and slowly approached.

Just as Zhang Tie was only three zhang away from Yin Sha Zhi, he suddenly noticed that the commotion above his head had increased, and that guy was about to lose his temper!

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Tiemeng reached out and grabbed at the Yin Sha Zhi!

In that instant, a dark shadow shot out like lightning from a dark rock wall overhead.

It was a gray-black tongue covered with barbs, as thick as an average person's waist, and it moved so fast that it was almost impossible to see with the naked eye.

But Zhang Tie was prepared. He suddenly pulled back his outstretched hand, activated the azure light of the Azure Wood Shield to its maximum, and at the same time, he directly summoned the Locking Gold Ring in his hand.

The long gray tongue slammed directly into the Aoki Shinjuku shield, causing the blue light to vibrate violently. Zhang Tie used the force to retreat rapidly.

At the same time, the Locking Ring struck the tongue directly. The tongue recoiled slightly in pain, but no mark was left. Its defensive power was much stronger than that of the Scorpion-tailed Beast!

At this moment, Zhang Tie finally saw the attacker's full appearance.

On the rock face at the top, a giant toad was perched.

This toad is over ten feet long, covered with gray-black skin covered with bumps, almost blending into the rock wall. Its two huge eyes protrude and are a ghostly green, making it look particularly eerie. What is most frightening is its tongue, which is over five feet long, almost five times the length of its body!

Judging from its aura, the Netherwater Toad is a peak level two demonic beast!

Zhang Tie's heart sank; this guy was not easy to deal with.

The Netherwater Toad feeds on yin energy and often appears in places with abundant yin energy. The mucus secreted from its skin is highly poisonous, and its tongue attacks are extremely fast. Zhang Tie had already experienced this. It is one of the most troublesome of the second-level demonic beasts, much stronger than the cumbersome scorpion-tailed beast.

At this moment, the Dark Water Toad leaped down from the rock wall, landing with a dull thud. Its eyes were fixed on Zhang Tie, and it made a strange gurgling sound from its throat.

Zhang Tie didn't move, nor did the Dark Water Toad. The two faced off, neither making the first move.

In the end, it was the Dark Water Toad that made the first move. With a push of its legs, it shot towards Zhang Tie's location at an extremely fast speed, as if it had been given a spring.

"This guy moves so fast!!!"

Zhang Tie was startled and quickly used the Locking Gold Ring to block, while taking out the Azure Gang Pagoda with his left hand at the same time!

The Dark Water Toad wanted to devour the creature that had invaded its territory, while Zhang Tie was unwilling to give up the century-old Yin Sha Zhi. A great battle was about to break out!

However, both sides consciously kept their distance from the Yin Sha Zhi to avoid it being destroyed in the aftermath of the battle!

In the distance, Song Yang saw Zhang Tie fighting with the Netherwater Toad. His eyes lit up immediately, though he was shocked that Zhang Tie had so many top-tier magical artifacts.

But the most important thing right now is that Yin Sha Zhi!

Song Yang clung to the rock face, moving stealthily toward the lakeside. The Concealment Pearl was remarkably effective, completely masking his presence and making almost no sound as he successfully bypassed the area where Zhang Tie and the Dark Water Toad were fighting.

Not far away, Zhang Tie unleashed the Azure Gang Tower to blast away the approaching Nether Water Toad, completely unaware of Song Yang lurking in the shadows.

Song Yang got closer and closer to the Yin Sha Zhi, soon reaching a distance of one zhang. He glanced at Zhang Tie and Ming Shui Chan, and seeing that no one was paying attention to his position, he reached out and grabbed the root of the Yin Sha Zhi, pulled it out sharply, and put it into his storage bag!

"Got it!" Songyang was overjoyed and turned to run.

The moment Song Yang made his move, Zhang Tie and Ming Shui Chan immediately sensed something was wrong.

The man and the beast suddenly turned their heads and saw that the rock where the Yin Sha Zhi was located was empty.

While he was fighting with the Dark Water Toad, someone took the opportunity to steal the Yin Sha Zhi!

"who!!!"

Zhang Tie frantically scanned the area with his divine sense, but found nothing. The guy only revealed a trace of his aura when he made his move, which Zhang Tie vaguely felt was familiar!

Someone actually plotted against him, treating him like a praying mantis?

Meanwhile, the Dark Water Toad also discovered that its treasure had been stolen!

"Coo-coo-"

The Dark Water Toad let out a deafening roar, the sound waves echoing through the deep ravine. Zhang Tie felt a jolt to his soul and a wave of dizziness wash over him.

This guy can even use soul attacks!

At this moment, the Netherwater Toad was completely enraged. Its eyes turned from dark green to blood red, as if it had fallen into some kind of berserk state. Zhang Tie was shocked. The three top-level magic artifacts could be used at any time, and the six array flags were also ready at any time.

But what happened next was beyond Zhang Tie's expectations. The Dark Water Toad did not attack him. Instead, it pushed off with its legs and rushed towards the outside of the deep ravine!

What's going on here? Could it be that the Dark Water Toad can find the thief who's secretly lurking in the shadows?

Zhang Tie's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly followed!

...

At this moment, in the deep ravine, Songyang seemed to have used some kind of escape technique, rushing towards the outside of the ravine.

At this moment, Songyang's face was full of a smug smile.

"Zhang Tie, you can fight that Netherwater Toad slowly. It's best if they both suffer heavy losses. As for this Yin Sha Zhi, I'll gladly accept it!"

Song Yang was extremely fast, and the Concealment Bead was still effective, completely hiding his presence. He was confident that even if Zhang Tie chased after him, he wouldn't be able to find him.

However, he overlooked one thing: the Dark Water Toad had guarded the Yin Sha Zhi for a hundred years and was extremely sensitive to its aura. After the Yin Sha Zhi was broken, the aura it emitted was like a bright lamp in the dark night, and it was so clear to the Dark Water Toad that it could not be clearer.

Just as Songyang was about to run out of the abyss, a gust of wind suddenly came from above.

Song Yang looked up abruptly, and a huge black shadow descended from the sky, crashing directly in front of him.

"boom!"

The ground was smashed, creating a shallow crater. Debris flew everywhere, and Song Yang quickly dodged, but he also got a clear look at what was in front of him.

"The Dark Water Toad!!!"

"Isn't this guy locked in a fierce battle with Zhang Tie? What's he doing here!"

However, Song Yang quickly noticed something was wrong. The Netherwater Toad in front of him seemed to be a size larger than the one he had seen before, with a body length of nearly two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters). It exuded the aura of a level three demon beast and was staring intently at his spot, causing Song Yang's face to turn pale instantly!

"Two...two?"