Yuan Ming shook his head regretfully as he played with the fiery red spirit stone.

Spirit stones can be roughly divided into five categories: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, based on the different types of spiritual energy they contain. This spirit stone is obviously a fire attribute spirit stone, while his cultivation technique, the Nine Elements Formula, is a wood attribute cultivation technique, so he cannot absorb the spiritual energy from it to assist in his cultivation.

Yuan Ming put the spirit stone back into the black pouch and took out the book, eagerly flipping it open.

This book must not be an ordinary book if it was hidden in a black pouch.

The pages of these books are not made of paper, but a soft white silk, which can preserve for a longer time than paper.

He opened the first page, and four big characters came into view: Blackwood Notes.

“Blackwood? This name sounds familiar… Could it be the Blackwood Master from the Fire Refining Hall that Chen Wan mentioned?” Yuan Ming suddenly remembered what Chen Wan had told him and paused flipping through the book. He continued searching on the corpse and quickly found a nameplate from the chest pocket of its robe, with the words “Blackwood” written on it.

“It really is the Blackwood Master.” Yuan Ming’s eyes lit up.

Blackwood is known as one of the most talented weapon refiners in the Biluo Cave for the past hundred years, and the value of the notes he left behind is definitely not low.

However, he did not expect that such a legendary weapon master would fall here without any explanation.

He was about to continue flipping through the Blackwood Notes when Huo Chan’er, who was playing inside the room, suddenly rushed over and jumped onto Yuan Ming’s shoulder, squeaking anxiously and full of fear.

Yuan Ming frowned and immediately put away the Blackwood Notes. A green light flashed in his palm, and the Green Fish Sword appeared. He scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes.

However, as time passed, there were no abnormal occurrences around him.

But Yuan Ming dared not relax at all and quietly walked towards the outside.

Along the way, Huo Chan’er’s spiritual perception was proven right multiple times. It was incredibly sharp, able to sense the aura of the Fire Jade Marrow even through two stone walls. It was definitely not something to be ignored.

Just as he was about to reach the entrance of the stone chamber, Huo Chan’er suddenly screamed again. Almost at the same time, a yellow figure leaped out from under his feet, and a long claw lightning-fast grabbed at his leg.

Yuan Ming didn’t expect the enemy to emerge from underground and hurriedly dodged to the side. The Green Fish Sword reflexively counterattacked, slashing towards the chest of the yellow figure.

The yellow figure’s movements were extremely strange. It easily dodged the slash of the Green Fish Sword, crashed into the nearby stone wall, and melted into it without any hindrance, disappearing without a trace.

Yuan Ming stumbled for a moment, and a long gash was cut on his right leg, oozing a lot of blood.

Although he had tried his best to dodge, he was still grazed by the claw of the yellow figure. Fortunately, the wound was not deep and did not affect his movement.

“It can easily penetrate the stone wall… Could that thing be an underground demon?” he thought to himself.

He had seen records of underground demons in the books. They had the ability to burrow underground and move freely in soil and stone. They were both offensive and defensive, especially difficult to deal with in the current environment.

It was said that underground demons only appeared deep in the Ten Thousand Mountains, so how could there be one in the Qianlu Lake area?

Yuan Ming didn’t have time to tend to his injuries and immediately rushed towards the outside.

Huo Chan’er crouched on his shoulder, anxiously looking around.

“Oh, how could I forget to use its power!” Yuan Ming suddenly had an idea and formed a hand seal.

At this moment, Huo Chan’er screamed again and looked towards the back.

Yuan Ming’s right hand, which was forming the hand seal, immediately pointed backward in the same direction that Huo Chan’er was looking.

A faint yellow light appeared on the wall to the left and back, and half of the body of the yellow figure demon emerged.

At the same time, a green light flashed under its body, and a sharp wooden spike appeared out of thin air, piercing into the abdomen of the yellow figure demon.

This demon belonged to the earth element, and wood restrains earth. The Wood Spike Technique easily broke through its body defense, tearing open a large wound.

The demon let out a miserable cry, and most of the yellow light on its body dissipated, revealing its true form.

It was a monster with a big head and a slender body, entirely earthy yellow. Its skin was exceptionally smooth, and its four claws were thin and long, with a hint of grotesqueness amidst its ugliness.

“It really is an underground demon!” Yuan Ming whispered to himself and formed another hand seal.

Two wooden spikes emerged and crossed, stabbing towards the body of the underground demon.

The underground demon’s body shrank, evading the pursuit of the two wooden spikes, and sank into the stone wall, disappearing without a trace.

Yuan Ming’s face turned cold, without the excitement of a successful strike. He continued to run towards the outside.

According to the records in the books, underground demons hold grudges. Although the Wood Spike Technique injured it just now, it may not have hit a vital spot. This demon might still be lurking nearby, so he must leave immediately.

During the rest of the journey, the underground demon did not attack again, and Yuan Ming quickly arrived outside, feeling slightly relieved.

Underground demons can move through the ground, and the more enclosed the environment, the more advantageous it is for them. Now that he was in an open area outside, the demon’s attack range was greatly reduced, so it was not as dangerous.

Huo Chan’er burrowed into Yuan Ming’s arms, raised its head, and let out a few low cries, trembling with fear.

“Look at how scared you are. But it’s understandable. First, there was the Four-Eyed Golden Ape, then the Black Crow, and now an underground demon appeared. It’s indeed better to leave early!” Yuan Ming gently stroked the fur on Huo Chan’er’s head and also had the intention to retreat.

Although this mist-shrouded island was full of dangers, it also highlighted its mystery. Especially with the appearance of the Blackwood corpse, it made him curious and eager to explore. Unfortunately, his strength was still too weak, so he could only wait for an opportunity in the future.He retraced his steps along the chilly creek, quickly returning to the black pine forest he had been in before.

Yuan Ming hesitated for a moment, deciding not to return the same way he came.

If he took the same route, he would likely encounter the giant black crow and the four-eyed golden monkey again. He didn’t want any unnecessary entanglements with these two creatures, preferring to avoid them if possible.

Yuan Ming carefully recalled the situation after arriving on the island, and reluctantly determined that this black pine forest should also be on the edge of the island. Walking in the opposite direction of the chilly creek should also lead him to the edge of the island.

He followed his own judgment, and the black pine forest gradually thinned out. The sound of rushing water could be heard, and he quickly arrived at the lakeside.

Yuan Ming’s face relaxed, and he immediately dispelled the fur spell. He found a dry place to sit down, and while he circulated the Nine Yuan Jue to recover his mana, he considered his escape plan.

He still had ropes on him, so making another raft was not a difficult task. The trouble was the black water creature that could launch thunder and lightning attacks. He always felt that the creature was still lurking near the island, waiting for him.

At this moment, Yuan Ming suddenly opened his eyes and looked at a pine tree next to him.

However, there was nothing there.

“That’s strange, I clearly felt something there just now…” Yuan Ming muttered to himself, suddenly thinking of a possibility.

“Silver Cat, is that you?” He stood up and asked.

The surroundings were silent, with no response.

“I know you’re nearby, can you show yourself?” Yuan Ming cleared his throat and said sincerely.

Although he didn’t know why, the Silver Cat had always been mysteriously following him and should be nearby now. This cat had extraordinary abilities, and if it could assist him, it would be much easier to leave this place.

Apart from the sound of water and wind, there was still no other movement.

Yuan Ming gave a bitter smile, knowing that this was the Silver Cat’s way of refusing to help. He didn’t continue to call out, but sat down again and continued to circulate the Nine Yuan Jue to recover his mana.

After a while, he stood up and summoned the Green Fish Sword, cut down a few black pines, trimmed the branches and tied the ropes, and quickly made a new raft.

Yuan Ming didn’t put the raft into the water, but stored it in the black storage bag. Then he summoned the incense burner to rise into the air, trying to ascend as high as possible, and then flew away with all his strength.

The wind whistled in his ears, and the white fog was cut into a trail. He quickly flew a distance of seven or eight miles.

When he got here, Yuan Ming’s face turned pale. He slowly descended and stopped a few feet above the lake.

He took out the raft from the black storage bag, gently dropped it into the lake, and then floated down, panting slightly.

Having flown so far, Yuan Ming’s mana was almost exhausted, and his body was extremely weak. He wished he could fall asleep right away, but now was not the time to rest.

He forced himself to cheer up, took out a pole, and carefully propelled the raft, quickly moving forward.

This was the escape plan that Yuan Ming had thought of after much consideration: first use the incense burner to fly as far as possible, and then escape on the raft.

If it had been before, this method would not have worked. The storage bag given to him by the Three Caves Master couldn’t fit a raft. It was only after he got the storage bag from Master Blackwood that he had this escape plan.

This method was very risky. If the black water creature saw through it, he would have almost no power to resist. But he had no other way and could only take a risk.

Yuan Ming quickly propelled the raft, his heart pounding, always paying attention to the movements around him.

Time passed bit by bit, and the black water creature never appeared. His tense nerves gradually relaxed. He continued to move forward for a dozen miles, confirmed that the black water creature would not appear, and then stopped the raft and sat cross-legged to recover his mana.

As soon as his mana was restored, Yuan Ming immediately put the raft into the storage bag and continued to fly into the sky with the incense burner.

Half a day later, it was completely dark.

Somewhere on the shore of Qianlu Lake, a raft was quickly approaching and slowly docking.

“I finally made it out.” Yuan Ming jumped ashore and let out a sigh of relief.

This search for the Bishui Stone, which he thought would be an easy task, had turned out to be full of twists and turns.

Yuan Ming shook his head and quickly left.

Tens of feet away from Yuan Ming in the lake, a round, black object the size of a millstone emerged. It was smooth and had two large green eyes, looking like the head of some aquatic creature. Several black tentacles were visible in the surrounding lake water, paddling hard and quickly approaching the shore.

If Yuan Ming were here, he would recognize at a glance that this was the black water creature that had been chasing him.

However, the ferocious light in the black water creature’s eyes was gone, replaced by a look of confusion, as if it had been mind-controlled.

On top of the black head sat a small silver figure, the Silver Cat.

The black water creature quickly swam to the shore, and the Silver Cat jumped lightly and silently landed on the shore. Its heterochromatic eyes shone brightly in the night, looking in the direction Yuan Ming had left.

The black water creature trembled, and the confused look in its eyes suddenly disappeared. It looked at the Silver Cat in fear, then immediately dived into the water and disappeared.

(End of Chapter)