Yuan Ming turned around and returned to the cave, closing his eyes and sensing the situation of the two Soul Crows in the distance, his face showing surprise.

Inside the ancient castle where Bai Rong was, there were now three men and one woman.

Yuan Ming vaguely remembered that these four people were all members of this mission, but they chose to leave the team at the entrance of the Ghost Cry Gorge. Unexpectedly, they appeared again now.

It seems that these four people are together with Bai Rong, and they have other intentions for participating in the mission of the White Night Scattered Alliance. The mark left by this woman earlier may be to guide these people.

“Sang Yan, are you sure this is the place?” One of the four men in gray robes asked.

“Reporting to Elder Gutu, according to the description on that scroll, I found this place after searching for twenty miles west from the Snake King Cave.” Bai Rong respectfully said.

…

“Sang Yan! This Bai Rong is Sang Yan!” Yuan Ming trembled slightly when he heard their conversation.

The Third Cave Master had mentioned Sang Yan to him before. The condition for helping him refine the Qingyu Sword was to obtain the spiritual material, White Flame Essence Gold, from Sang Yan in the White Deer Hill. Unexpectedly, he encountered her here by chance.

“The Third Cave Master said that Sang Yan is a disciple of the Black Fire Sect. Is this gray-robed man also from the Black Fire Sect? Sang Yan calls him Elder, could it be that he is a Foundation Establishment cultivator hiding his cultivation level!” Yuan Ming became vigilant.

…

Inside the ancient castle.

“That should be correct. However, this black prohibition seems to be the Locking Yin Formation, which can automatically absorb Yin Qi and maintain the operation of the formation for a long time. This castle is filled with dense Yin Qi, which is constantly replenished. It may not be easy to break this prohibition.” Elder Gutu pondered.

“What should we do then? Are we just going to waste our efforts? We have spent a lot of spirit stones to resist the miasma of the Snake King Valley.” A black-clad young girl beside Elder Gutu said grumpily.

“Don’t worry, Junior Sister Nala. Elder Gutu is proficient in formations and prohibitions. He can rank in the top five in our sect. Breaking a small formation like this should not be a problem for him.” Sang Yan said with a smile.

“Stop flattering me. Who is your Junior Sister!” The black-clad young girl frowned slightly and retorted.

Sang Yan smiled and did not seem to care about the impoliteness of the black-clad young girl.

Behind Sang Yan stood a rough-looking man carrying a black knife, who seemed to be her bodyguard. His eyes flashed with anger as he took a step forward.

Beside the black-clad young girl stood a young man with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes. He also took two steps forward to protect the black-clad young girl.

“Stop fooling around. The important matter has not been accomplished yet. All of you, step back!” Elder Gutu shouted.

Sang Yan waved her hand, and the rough-looking man stepped back, while the young man with sword-like eyebrows beside the black-clad young girl also stepped back.

“Elder Gutu, although the Locking Yin prohibition is troublesome, with your attainments in formations and prohibitions, you should have already thought of a way to break it, right?” Sang Yan asked.

“If it was a Locking Yin Formation set up in recent years, I may not be able to break it. However, this prohibition seems to have existed for many years. Although it is still operating, the formation tools have begun to decay in many places, showing signs of instability. There should be a way to break it. Listen to my instructions…” Elder Gutu pondered for a moment and said so.

Sang Yan and the others were delighted and listened attentively. Then, following Elder Gutu’s instructions, they stood in different places outside the main hall, holding the white jade talisman given by Elder Gutu, and activated the spell.

Arrows of white light in the shape of arrows shot out from the jade talisman, containing faint runes, and hit the black prohibition.

This time, the black prohibition failed to devour the white light and trembled incessantly. It was obvious that strands of black Qi were constantly dissipating.

“It seems that Elder Gutu is quite accomplished in formations. I wonder who is more powerful, him or the masked woman who formed a formation in Black Rock City?” Yuan Ming thought to himself as he saw this.

There would be no immediate result in the castle for a while. Yuan Ming’s thoughts shifted, and he looked at the situation inside the Snake King Cave through another Soul Crow’s vision.

At this moment, Bai Ye and the others had already fought for a while and had entered the depths of the Snake King Cave.

With Bai Ye and Huan Shi, both Foundation Establishment cultivators, and everyone sticking together and steadily advancing, there were no casualties.

The space here not only did not shrink, but instead became larger. The surrounding miasma became more intense, and both the members of the White Night Scattered Alliance and the scattered cultivators gradually showed signs of fatigue, despite having the protection of the Obstacle-Avoiding Beads.

Yuan Ming’s Soul Crow was not a living creature and was not affected by the miasma, so it easily followed behind.

By this point, the number of Golden Flower Poison Pythons attacking from the surroundings had already decreased. The resistance encountered by the group was greatly reduced.

Bai Ye and Huan Shi’s expressions were not relaxed, but rather more serious.

“We should be very close to the Snake King’s nest. Don’t let your guard down. Stay alert!” Huan Shi shouted.

Before his voice fell, a low and hoarse roar came from the cave ahead, with a momentum that seemed to penetrate the soul.

The bodies of the Qi Refining cultivators trembled, and their faces turned pale.

The surface of the Soul Crow hiding in the back emitted scattered black light and trembled.”The roar carries a sonic attack that can actually harm the soul!” Yuan Ming hurriedly controlled the Soul Crow to retreat.

In his contemplation, a golden shadow flashed through the miasma ahead, and a thick, bucket-sized golden snake tail shot out, heading straight for the crowd, creating a hurricane that almost blew everyone away.

Huan Shi swiftly moved forward and stood in front of the crowd. He held a bronze shield in his hand, and a clash of green and golden light erupted.

With a loud bang, Huan Shi was pushed back several steps along with his shield, and the golden snake tail was also blocked.

“It’s the Golden Flower Snake King! Set up the formation!” Huan Shi shouted without waiting for his figure to stabilize.

The ten members of the White Night Scattered Alliance quickly formed a circle, inserting white flags into the ground, almost halfway in.

With a wave of his sleeve, Bai Ye shot out several formation discs, landing in various places within the circle.

Boom!

The ten flags rose up with dazzling white light, connecting with each other to form a circular white formation, enveloping the ten people within.

The five recruited scattered cultivators, seeing the power of the Snake King, were extremely frightened and instinctively retreated.

“Retreating will only lead to a dead end. Hide in the formation! The Golden Flower Snake King is a second-level fierce beast. Without relying on the formation, you won’t stand a chance!” Bai Ye shouted.

The already closed white formation made a sound and opened a passage.

The five scattered cultivators, in a panic, rushed towards the opening in the formation.

The dense miasma in front stirred, and a giant python, about forty to fifty zhang long, covered in golden scales, shot out from the poisonous miasma. The snake’s head, as big as a fight, spewed out a green venom, aiming at the five scattered cultivators.

Bai Ye took out a purple token and infused it with his mana.

The token suddenly emitted a burst of purple light, and large purple flames also emerged within the white formation, burning fiercely.

With a light shout from Bai Ye, a purple fire snake, about a zhang long, shot out from the formation and collided with the green venom.

The purple fire snake sizzled and disappeared, and the green venom was also scattered, splashing in all directions.

The sound of sizzling could be heard as large and small pits were corroded on the ground and stone walls.

A drop of the scattered venom happened to hit the head of one of the fleeing scattered cultivators.

The person’s head instantly melted into a sticky mud, and he died without even being able to scream.

Yuan Ming witnessed this scene and was secretly shocked and relieved that he didn’t greedily follow them into the adventure.

The toxicity of this Golden Flower Snake King was unexpectedly terrifying. It was much stronger than the venom of the Black Toad, and even Qi Refining cultivators couldn’t resist it at all.

The remaining four scattered cultivators were terrified and used all their strength to rush into the white formation like the wind, and the opening in the formation immediately closed.

“Swift!” Bai Ye’s eyes relaxed as he activated the token in his hand.

The purple flames within the formation surged, shooting out a large mass of purple flames, making crackling sounds as they burned, heading towards the golden snake head.

The golden snake head seemed to be wary of the purple flames and dodged, avoiding this attack.

Huan Shi, beside him, also had a purple token in his hand, which he waved towards the purple flames.

The purple flames spread in the air, forming a giant purple fire net several zhang in size, enveloping the huge snake head.

Sizzling sounds of burning could be heard as the golden snake head was burned with black bloodstains, emitting painful screams. It opened its mouth and spewed out a green venom.

The venom was highly corrosive, and the purple fire net couldn’t withstand it. It was corroded, leaving a large hole and collapsing.

The golden snake head shook its head, opened its blood-filled mouth, and let out another dragon-like roar towards Bai Ye and the others.

This roar was much more powerful than before, causing ripples in the air in front of the snake’s mouth.

Yuan Ming was startled and didn’t have time to continue watching. He immediately controlled the Soul Crow to turn around and fly away.

However, before he could escape far, the residual shockwaves of the roar’s sonic attack shook the Soul Crow violently. Its body trembled intensely, and a large amount of black energy overflowed from its body, almost turning it semi-transparent. Fortunately, it didn’t completely collapse.

Yuan Ming felt his head go blank, and the vision transmitted back by the Soul Crow quickly became blurry.

He didn’t have time to think too much and took advantage of the next wave of sonic attacks not yet appearing. He quickly controlled the Soul Crow to retreat from the Snake King’s cave and returned it to his sea of consciousness.

At the same time, another Soul Crow flew out from his forehead and returned to the depths of the Snake King’s cave.

He still wanted to grasp the situation of the battle over there in a timely manner, even if it meant paying the price of some damage to his soul.

After doing all this, Yuan Ming suddenly thought of something and called the Soul Crow guarding outside the cave to come in.

He controlled the Soul Crow to possess the Black Toad, took out the Earth Travel Talisman and Storage Ring, and handed them to the Black Toad. Then, he activated the Earth Travel Talisman.

A layer of yellow light appeared on the Black Toad, and with a “pu” sound, it burrowed into the ground and disappeared, heading towards the Snake King’s cave.

…

The Soul Crow flew back to the depths of the Snake King’s cave, cautiously reaching the place where it had previously hidden, and looked ahead.

Green mist had appeared in the air ahead, mixed with the miasma of this place, making the vision even narrower, and everything around seemed somewhat blurry.The green poisonous fog carried a sour, stenchy smell, clearly indicating its deadly toxicity. The ground and stone walls were corroded and pitted, and the body of the fallen rogue cultivator from before had been completely dissolved, leaving only a puddle of sticky fluid.

Within the green poisonous fog, the formation set up by the Baiye Alliance had already collapsed. The ten white flags had all been destroyed, with fragments scattered all over the ground.

The ten members of the Baiye Alliance who had been hiding within the formation, along with four rogue cultivators, had all fallen dead. Their bodies were nearly half melted, their skin turning into a strange, ghostly green.

Of the group that had entered, only Baiye and Huan Shi were still alive, currently engaged in a fierce battle with the Snake King using their magical instruments.

However, both of their cheeks were tinged with a faint green, indicating that they too had been poisoned by the snake. Their movements were much slower than before.

“The Baiye Alliance went to such great lengths to come here and slay the Snake King, they must have been fully prepared. How could they have suffered such a disastrous defeat!” Yuan Ming found it hard to believe. Between the release and recall of his soul crow, it had only been half an incense stick’s time, yet the situation had taken a drastic turn for the worse.

But then, his gaze suddenly hardened.

He was shocked to find that something seemed off about the Snake King that Baiye and Huan Shi were fighting. It didn’t seem to be the same one as before.

(End of Chapter)