Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

The aura was thick with the stench of blood, violent and ferocious. The four miners behind Li Yuan were instantly turned pale and their legs went weak, almost unable to stand.

One miner even collapsed to the ground, his crotch soaked.

"waste!"

Zhong Yuanzi glanced at him disdainfully and gestured for the guards to lift him up.

Even Li Yuan felt a sense of irritation. The jade pendant given to him by Leng Ningshuang in his bosom emitted a cool sensation, instantly clearing his mind.

"Go in," Zhong Yuanzi said coldly.

The monks shoved and pushed the five miners, forcibly driving them into the bronze gate.

Li Yuan secretly glanced back and saw Leng Ning Shuang standing outside the door, nodding slightly at him.

He gave them a knowing look and then stepped through the door.

"Bang!"

The bronze door slammed shut behind him. Li Yuan looked around; behind the door was still the mine shaft.

But it was completely different from the outside. The cave walls were covered with a layer of dark red substance, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood. A thick, pungent stench made it almost suffocating.

Scattered on the ground were some white bones, some of which looked like human skeletons, while others belonged to some unknown creature.

"Awooo!"

A low roar came from the depths of the cave.

The monks shoved the five miners as they walked deeper into the cave.

"roar--!"

Just as we rounded a bend, a deafening roar suddenly erupted, causing rubble to fall from the cave ceiling and the ground beneath our feet to tremble slightly.

The roar contained boundless rage, utterly violent, as if it wanted to tear everything to shreds.

"ah--!"

One of the miners screamed in terror, his legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Get up! You piece of trash!"

A monk impatiently kicked him, pulling him up from the ground. "Hurry up! Don't dawdle!"

The miners were pale and trembling like leaves, but under the monk's whip, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue forward.

Li Yuan mingled in the group, head down, trying his best not to attract attention.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared ahead, and the view opened up before them. Li Yuan squinted and adjusted his eyes for a moment before realizing that they had actually walked out of the cave and arrived at a deep valley surrounded by cliffs on all sides.

The valley is quite large, with sheer cliffs on all sides, over a hundred feet high, smooth as a mirror, as if cleaved by a giant sword.

The ground at the bottom of the valley was paved with smooth bluestone slabs, which were engraved with dense runes, forming a huge array.

At each of the eight positions of the formation, a black array flag was planted, with intricate runes embroidered in silver thread on the flag, emitting faint fluctuations of spiritual energy.

At the center of the formation, a monster was trapped, and Li Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted.

The monster was as big as an adult rhinoceros, covered in dark silver scales, and its head resembled that of the legendary Qilin, with a pair of curved horns on its head, the tips of which shimmered with a ghostly blue light.

Its limbs were thick and powerful, and its sharp claws were deeply embedded in the stone slabs of the ground, leaving deep scratches. In its pair of blood-red eyes, there was no reason, only boundless rage.

Li Yuan frowned slightly. Strange, he couldn't sense any living creature's aura on that monster.

It had no breath, no heartbeat, no body temperature; it was like a sculpture made of metal, yet it was indeed moving, roaring, and crashing.

"Buzz!"

The nameless sword suddenly trembled with excitement, emitting an emotion akin to pleasure.

Li Yuan was startled and suddenly realized that the monster in front of him was not some kind of demon beast, but a golden vein earth beast born from the fusion of spiritual veins in the mine and the underground gold energy over tens of thousands of years.

It is said that this golden-veined earth beast has innate attributes, is extremely hard, impervious to water and fire, and is full of spiritual energy, making it an excellent material for refining immortal artifacts.

In an instant, Li Yuan understood why the Xuanqi Sect wanted to trap it here. The aura of this golden-veined earth beast was clearly not yet fully mature, but the Xuanqi Sect did not want to wait any longer. They had somehow found this evil blood sacrifice technique to hasten its maturity.

However, they underestimated the strength of this golden-veined earth beast. Li Yuan estimated that it eventually lost control, lost consciousness, and was left with only boundless slaughter, killing everyone.

"roar--!"

The monster let out another deafening roar and slammed into the edge of the formation. A pale golden light screen lit up and then flickered a few times, clearly indicating that it had withstood a considerable impact.

The monster was bounced back, rolled on the ground, got up again, and began to frantically ram the light barrier once more, seemingly tireless and impervious to pain.

Zhong Yuanzi walked to the edge of the formation, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked at the monsters that were charging wildly in the formation with greed in his eyes.

"Don't waste your energy." His voice carried a smug joy. "This Heavenly Gang Locking Yuan Formation was set up by the sect leader himself. With your current strength, you can't break through it."

"Stay put and wait for the right time. I will refine you into an unparalleled immortal weapon. At that time, the Xuanqi Sect will become the most renowned weapon sect on the continent, and my name, Zhong Yuanzi, will surely be recorded in history!"

"Hahaha……"

He laughed triumphantly, and the monster seemed to understand him, charging even more frantically.

It opened its enormous mouth and let out a deafening roar, spewing out a dark red flame that slammed into the light screen.

The light screen trembled violently, emitting a hissing sound, as if it might shatter at any moment.

Zhong Yuanzi's expression changed slightly. He took two steps back, then coldly snorted, "Stubborn fool! Men, prepare a blood sacrifice!"

Several cultivators shoved and jostled the five miners, terrifying them so much that they knelt down and begged for mercy: "My lord, spare our lives! My lord, spare our lives!"

The cultivators ignored them and pushed them to the edge of the formation.

Zhong Yuanzi formed hand seals, chanted incantations, and a faint light shone from his hands as he gently pointed towards the formation.

A beam of light pierced through the array's core, opening a crack in the array from the outside. In that split second, Li Yuan made his move.

This is the moment he's been waiting for.

Just as Zhong Yuanzi opened a corner of the formation and prepared to send the miners into it, Li Yuan suddenly attacked, slashing at his back with a knife.

He had been preparing for this strike for a long time, and he was going all out, gathering all the power he could currently mobilize. Starlight and the flames of Silence intertwined and swirled on the blade, dazzling and eye-catching.

However, Zhong Yuanzi was a powerful expert at the early stage of the Transformation Realm. Even though the incident was sudden, his reaction was extremely fast. At the critical moment, he dodged to the side and avoided a fatal blow. Li Yuan's blade grazed his ribs, tearing his Daoist robe and leaving a shallow bloodstain.

"court death!"

Zhong Yuanzi was both shocked and furious, and slapped Li Yuan with his palm.

Having landed a successful blow, Li Yuan had already retreated, dodging the enraged palm strike. At the same time, he shouted fiercely at the monsters in the formation, "Why aren't you charging out yet!"

Although the monster was not very intelligent, its instincts were extremely sharp. Seeing that Zhong Yuanzi was attacked and the formation had cracked open, it immediately seized the opportunity and charged forward.

"boom--!"

A deafening roar.

Under the monster's full-force charge, the array shattered like glass, and fragments of pale golden light scattered and dissipated into countless points of light in the air.