Chapter 702 703: Spatial Disorder

What in the world is this monster?

Everyone stared, dumbfounded. Calling the mantis beast a living creature was a stretch, as it had no flesh or blood. Yet to call it a puppet was also inaccurate, as it bore no arrays or runes. It was like a jade statue of a Demon Beast that could move and fight, very likely a special life form, similar to the King of Gravel.

Realization dawned on Ye Xuan. No wonder he couldn't sense the slightest hint of a soul from the mantis beast. The creature wasn't a Demon Beast or a Profound Beast at all. 'How could it possibly have a soul?'

"Sect Master, do you need our help?"

The Langxie Sect's experts quickly looked toward Yu Xiuneng.

Yu Xiuneng replied dismissively, "No need. This beast is strong, but I can handle it."

From the start of the fight until now, although Yu Xiuneng had been bloodied and taken some injuries, they weren't serious and were in no way life-threatening.

If he, the great Sect Master of the Langxie Sect, needed help to kill a mere monster like this, it would be a true disgrace.

BOOM!

Potent energy surged as Yu Xiuneng and the mantis beast clashed once more.

No matter how he injured the mantis beast, it would rapidly reform and recover, just like the King of Gravel.

Finally, Yu Xiuneng used his cone-shaped artifact to blast the mantis beast into pieces. He then continuously crushed and obliterated them with Profound, grinding every fragment to dust until the mantis beast was truly defeated.

"That mantis beast had some incredible defense," Yu Xiuneng said, his expression grave as he rejoined the group.

In terms of combat power, the mantis beast was fearsome but only equivalent to a Tier Eight Second Layer Martial Emperor, so it wasn't exceptionally strong. Its defense, however, was terrifying. Its entire body seemed to be forged from Profound Iron, and it felt unkillable unless completely annihilated.

"Indeed. Its body was like iron and stone, and it possessed the same kind of invulnerability as the King of Gravel. Unless it's completely dispersed, it's very difficult to kill."

Everyone nodded in agreement, but they didn't look particularly worried.

They had all seen the mantis beast's strength. It was roughly equivalent to a Peak of Tier Eight Second Layer Martial Emperor. One-on-one, quite a few people present had the power to defeat it.

The only terrifying part was its defense. But even with its astonishing defense, it wasn't truly immortal. It could be slain as long as it was smashed to pieces.

"Let's go."

After a moment of recuperation, Yu Xiuneng's minor injuries healed easily, and the group immediately set off again.

After the appearance of the mantis beast, everyone became much more vigilant.

SWISH!

The group hadn't gone far when a green shadow suddenly shot out from the dense forest beside them. The shadow was incredibly fast, its movement creating a faint spatial fluctuation, almost like teleportation. It instantly burrowed into the body of an elder from the Helian family, too fast for anyone to react.

"AH!"

The elder let out a blood-curdling scream as his entire body suddenly exploded, turning into a cloud of blood mist that dissipated into the air.

The green shadow shot out from the blood mist again, lunging toward another elder from the Helian family.

This elder, terrified by the previous scene, had already raised his protective Profound. The Profound formed a light barrier that enveloped him, its surface glittering with flickering runes.

KRAK!

The green shadow slammed into the barrier, instantly tearing a hole in it. Its movement also paused for a moment.

Only then did everyone see that the green shadow was a green snake, no bigger than a chopstick. Its entire body was a translucent green, like a piece of green agate.

Seeing his protective Profound nearly shatter, the elder was startled. The battle saber at his waist was suddenly unsheathed, striking at the green snake like a bolt of lightning.

With a swish, the green snake saw this and hastily turned. A ripple of spatial energy flashed, and it instantly dodged the saber's strike, about to flee into the dense forest.

"Die!"

Patriarch Helian Yue roared from the side. The longsword at his waist flashed out, and a blue arc of light brushed past the green snake's body like a cool breeze, instantly slicing it in two.

WHOOSH!

The two halves of the severed snake's body suddenly swelled, transforming from the size of a chopstick into two massive, nearly ten-meter-long sections of a snake's body that crashed to the ground.

"What kind of Demon Beast is this?"

Everyone stared, dumbfounded. It had originally been only the size of a chopstick, but after being killed, it had suddenly turned into a giant python over ten meters long.

Unlike the earlier mantis beast, this green snake was clearly a real Demon Beast with flesh and blood. However, the aura it radiated was only at the Tier Seven Demon King Level.

"Damn it."

The Helian family had lost a Tier Eight Second Layer elder, leaving the Helian Clan Leader furious.

'Is this... the ancient Demon Beast, the Sumeru Snake?'

Ye Xuan was secretly astonished. When he saw the small green snake, he immediately recalled a record from an ancient bestiary.

It was said that in ancient times, there was a type of Sumeru Snake whose size could change at will—as small as a mustard seed or as large as a mountain.

When it became extremely small, its defense would become very fragile, but its attack power would become terrifyingly strong.

And when it became extremely large, its defense would be astonishing, but its attack power would not be as strong.

'That green snake was clearly the Sumeru Snake from the ancient bestiary. A Sumeru Snake over ten meters long, given the aura its body displayed, should be at the Tier Seven Demon King Level. To think that after shrinking to its smallest size, it could instantly kill a Peak of Tier Eight Second Layer Martial Emperor... that kind of attack power is simply heaven-defying.'

After that, the group proceeded with even more caution. However, the dangers in this dense forest were too well-hidden, and no matter how careful they were, they inevitably suffered some losses.

Sometimes, they would see a Demon Beast merely the size of a palm, only for it to suddenly transform into a mountain with extremely powerful attacks, catching them completely off guard.

At other times, what appeared to be an ordinary vine would instantly transform into a terrifying plant-type Demon Beast and bind them.

What startled everyone even more was that all the Demon Beasts here possessed a unique mastery of space. Even Tier Seven Demon Beasts seemed able to control the void, making them impossible to guard against.

Coupled with the pervasive poisonous mists in the dense forest, after one day, nearly every major power had suffered losses and heavy casualties.

Of course, their gains were also quite substantial.

Nearly every family had obtained quite a few treasures.

Ye Xuan blended into the crowd and never made a move, but his perception of danger was even sharper than that of Tier Eight Third Layer Martial Emperors like Xiao Wuji.

Therefore, every time he sensed danger, he would secretly guide the Xiao, Xu, and Lin families to a position further away from the threat.

And every time he sensed a treasure, he still wouldn't act himself, but would subtly lead the three great families to the location where the treasure would appear.

For every treasure the three great families obtained, they had to give him a thirty percent share. As for the pitiful Zhou family, they had to give him a seventy percent share.

In other words, Ye Xuan could obtain at least half of the treasures without having to do a thing.

Furthermore, whenever Ye Xuan felt it was time to distribute the spoils, he would do so immediately. 'After all, if all the treasures are left in the hands of these four families, what happens if they die, or just refuse to pay up?'

Under Ye Xuan's guidance, the three great families thrived.

At first, the other major powers didn't pay much attention, but gradually, some people started to notice something was off.

Along the way, the other powers all had members who perished, but among the three great families from Celestial Capital Prefecture, while some were injured, not a single one had fallen.

Moreover, thinking back carefully, it seemed that these few families had also obtained the most treasures that the group had discovered.

Thus, the various families began to observe them secretly. In the end, they were shocked to discover that the one responsible for all this was Ye Xuan, who was guiding them from the shadows.

Once again, the major powers were utterly shocked by Ye Xuan.

They even began to secretly watch Ye Xuan's every move, trying to glean some information from his actions.

"Hm?"

After advancing through the dense forest for nearly two days, Ye Xuan suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK!"

A purple streak of light shot out from the dense forest ahead. Before anyone could react, Ye Xuan had already moved forward to meet it, letting the Little Purple Mink land on his shoulder.

'That little thing.'

The gazes of the experts from the major powers flickered slightly.

They clearly remembered that the Little Purple Mink had left on its own right after they entered the dense forest. They never expected that after two days, not only had it not perished, but it seemed even more full of life.

Its purple fur was shiny and full of luster, and it was brimming with energy. Its aura was deep and vigorous, a clear sign that it had obtained great benefits in the dense forest.

This made everyone thoughtful. 'The Little Purple Mink doesn't seem that strong, and we know very well how dangerous this forest is. A lone Tier Eight Third Layer Martial Emperor might not even survive in here. How did this little creature manage to stay alive all this time by itself?'

"SQUEAK SQUEAK!"

The Little Purple Mink held a Storage Ring in its paw, dancing with excitement on Ye Xuan's shoulder while pointing at the forest ahead and squeaking about something.

When Yu Chi Bugong, Helian Yue, Qiu Gong, and the others saw the Storage Ring in the Little Purple Mink's tiny paw, they were first taken aback, then a hidden look of greed appeared in their eyes.

"Master Xuan Ye, what is your Spirit Pet saying?" Xiao Wuji asked from the side, confused.

Ye Xuan frowned and said, "The Little Purple Mink means that there seems to be some danger up ahead that it can't get past."

Ye Xuan knew the Little Purple Mink's temperament better than anyone. It would never have returned unless it had run into some kind of problem.

Danger?

Everyone's expressions grew slightly solemn. After everything they had been through, they no longer had the slightest bit of contempt for the Little Purple Mink on Ye Xuan's shoulder.

"Let's go, we'll take a look!"

Everyone flew forward. After only half an incense stick's time, they all stopped in their tracks, their faces turning incredibly grim.

The dense forest before them had not ended, but the space ahead was constantly fluctuating, like the surface of a lake rippled by a gentle breeze.

"Spatial distortion."

Everyone's hearts sank.

As Tier Eight Martial Emperors who had mastered certain spatial principles, they were all too familiar with this phenomenon. Its appearance meant only one thing: the space ahead was extremely unstable and had fallen into disarray.