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

Chapter Sixteen: Planning! Following!

……

An hour later, deep in the Taiyue Mountains, in a secluded cave rarely visited by humans.

Zhou Ding's true form quietly appeared.

He communicated with his mind, and soon, the ground rippled slightly, and Xiao Jin's huge gray body silently emerged from the soil.

"Come on, try out your new skills." Zhou Ding's eyes were filled with anticipation.

First, we tested the ability to carry people underground.

Xiao Jin approached Zhou Ding, its body radiating an earthy yellow light that enveloped Zhou Ding as well.

Zhou Ding relaxed his body, cooperating with Xiao Jin's demonic power.

The next moment, he felt a lightness all over his body, his vision went dark, and he sank into the ground along with Xiao Jin.

Traveling underground felt quite strange. The heavy pressure of earth and rocks all around was cleverly dispelled by Xiao Jin's demonic power, forming a short passage.

The speed was indeed not slow, but Zhou Ding could clearly feel that with him, a living person, Xiao Jin's demonic power was being consumed at an extremely fast rate. With its current demonic power, even if it tried to escape at full speed, it could probably only maintain its speed for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, and the distance would be limited.

"That's enough! In a critical moment, this is absolutely the best way to catch someone off guard and escape!" Zhou Ding was very satisfied.

Back on the ground, test the effectiveness of the Black Spirit Claw.

Zhou Ding summoned the "Ink Scale Armor," a high-quality defensive magic weapon he obtained from Wanbaolou. He infused it with magic power, which activated a solid ink-colored light shield to protect his entire body. The light shield circulated, providing considerable defensive power.

"Little Jin, use thirty percent of your strength and try this Black Spirit Claw."

Little Gold let out a low growl, and its right forepaw flashed with dark light, striking out like lightning towards the ink-colored light shield.

"laugh--!"

With a soft sound, the ink-colored light shield, which was strong enough to withstand several full-force attacks from a Qi Refining Perfection cultivator, was easily torn open by the dark light claw blade as if it were thin paper!

The light shield fluctuated violently, and the spiritual energy dissipated rapidly. Although it was not completely broken, the effect of breaking through the defense had already caused Zhou Ding's pupils to contract.

"Great! It really can break the magical artifact's spiritual light!" Zhou Ding was overjoyed.

Originally, Xiao Jin's abilities were mostly geared towards support, reconnaissance, and escape, while his ability to engage in direct combat was his weakness.

Now that we have the Black Spirit Claw, our weakness has been instantly compensated for, and it has even become our trump card!

Combined with its earth-burrowing technique for stealthy attacks, its power is unimaginable!

After a series of tests, Zhou Ding was in an extremely good mood.

The feedback from this breakthrough to the Qi Refining Perfection stage far exceeded expectations.

Not only did his divine sense increase dramatically and his magical power become so refined that it gave birth to two drops of liquid true essence, but his clone, Little Gold, was also strengthened in all aspects and obtained a powerful offensive weapon like the Black Spirit Claw.

Strength is the only thing one can rely on to survive and make rapid progress in this cruel world of cultivation.

Now, he is filled with unprecedented confidence about the Blood Forbidden Land that will soon arrive, and even the long road ahead.

……

Time is like sand, slipping away silently.

Half a month has passed since Zhou Ding broke through to the thirteenth level of Qi Refining.

As the opening of the Crimson Forbidden Land drew nearer, the atmosphere on Xuankun Mountain became more and more tense and stagnant, like a fully drawn bowstring.

Most of the late-stage Qi Refining disciples I encountered on the road were in a hurry, with solemn expressions, and the air was filled with a sense of impending doom.

In the quiet room of the small courtyard, Zhou Ding slowly exhaled and inhaled, his aura flowing smoothly and freely, like the deep waters of an ancient pool, calm yet containing immense inner power.

After half a month of dedicated consolidation, his cultivation at the Great Perfection of the Thirteenth Level of Qi Refining has become completely stable and solid, with an unbreakable foundation.

In my divine sense, the two drops of liquid magical energy slowly swirled in the center of my dantian, like a stabilizing pillar, emanating a powerful aura that reassured me.

……

On the southern slope of Xuankun Mountain, nestled among lush bamboo groves, lies a secluded courtyard, more than twice the size of Zhou Ding's small courtyard, and with a noticeably richer spiritual energy.

This is Lu Mingyuan's residence.

On this day, the courtyard gate creaked open, and Lu Mingyuan, dressed in a brocade blue robe, walked out with a calm expression.

He held an inconspicuous blue jade bottle in his hand, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force he exerted.

Sunlight fell on his handsome yet slightly gloomy face, reflecting a fleeting struggle and ruthlessness in his eyes.

He glanced back at the tightly closed courtyard gate, a cold and complex smile curving his lips.

"Junior Sister Qiaoqian... don't blame me. If you have to blame someone, blame the cultivation world for being too realistic. If I can form a good relationship with Junior Sister Xuan'er and receive the strong support of Ancestor Hongfu, my future path of cultivation will be smooth sailing... Consider your Foundation Establishment Pill as a token of my brother's goodwill."

After saying that, he no longer hesitated, carefully put the jade bottle into his storage bag, then summoned a magnificent silver flying shuttle, leaped onto it, and transformed into a streak of silver light, speeding straight towards the outside of the Yellow Maple Valley gate.

Just as he ascended into the air on his magical artifact, less than a hundred feet away from the courtyard, a pair of tightly closed eyes, gleaming with a faint golden light, suddenly opened!

It was Xiao Jin, who had been lying in wait for a long time and had almost blended into the surrounding soil and rocks!

……

"Finally... I'm out the door!"

Inside the courtyard of Xuankun Mountain, Zhou Ding, who had been distracted by his clone's senses, had a glint of light in his eyes.

He abruptly stood up, walked into the courtyard, and gazed at the rapidly receding silver light in the south, a cold smile playing on his lips.

Since his breakthrough, he has summoned Xiao Jin back from the Spirit Eye Spring and used its earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a type of magic that allows it to move underground) and 地听术 (earth-listening technique) to secretly lie in wait deep underground near Lu Mingyuan's courtyard, monitoring him day and night for more than half a month.

During this period, Lu Mingyuan lived a secluded life, occasionally interacting with Chen Qiaoqian or other scions of prominent families, but he never left Xuankun Mountain.

Today, the fish finally couldn't resist swimming out of the safe harbor.

Opportunities are fleeting!

Without hesitation, Zhou Ding communicated with Xiao Jin, who was lurking underground, and he immediately and silently moved to a hidden spot outside Zhou Ding's courtyard.

Zhou Ding put it into his spirit beast pouch, then rode the willow leaf shuttle and flew straight towards the gate of Yellow Maple Valley at a speed that would go unnoticed.

Zhou Ding landed in a secluded forest near the mountain gate and quickly released Xiao Jin.

Little Gold let out a low groan, its body flashing with a yellowish-brown light, and instantly sank into the ground and disappeared.

Zhou Ding, like any other disciple going out on business, paused briefly at the mountain gate before turning back to Xuankun Mountain.

His physical body cannot leave easily, lest it arouse suspicion, but Xiao Jin's "eyes" and "ears" are enough to carry out tracking and surveillance for him.

Deep underground, Little Gold, like a keen-sensed fish, locked onto the unique magical energy fluctuation belonging to Lu Mingyuan in the sky, maintaining a safe distance and closely following him.

Thanks to the greatly enhanced range of the Earth Listening Technique and the keen perception of spiritual energy fluctuations, Lu Mingyuan's movements were still clear even from several miles away.

About an hour later, the Earth Listening Technique reported that Lu Mingyuan's aura had merged with another gentle spiritual energy fluctuation in the sky above a dense forest about twenty miles away from the mountain gate.

"Chen Qiaoqian!"

Zhou Ding's heart skipped a beat.

As expected, Lu Mingyuan's target was her!

The two auras lingered in the dense forest for a moment, during which there was a brief but intense collision of spiritual energy, but it quickly subsided. Then, the two streaks of light rose together and flew deeper into the Taiyue Mountains.

"Did they succeed? Or is Chen Qiaoqian temporarily subdued?" Zhou Ding guessed, controlling Xiao Jin to accelerate underground and keep up closely.

Lu Mingyuan chose a rather remote route, rarely visited by people.