106: Chapter 106 Exploring the Ruins, Encountering the Demon Race Again, Slaying Them All and Seizing the Key

Leaving the ancient teleportation array ruins plaza, Ye Qing did not go far.

He landed in a hidden pile of rubble at the edge of the basin, set up a simple concealment Restriction, sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing, and simultaneously sorted through what he had just comprehended.

The structure of the ancient teleportation array was now clear in his mind, but the absence of the core hub was the biggest obstacle.

"heart of the void" or a "star source crystal" of the same Rank—such treasures were rare and hard to find.

Large Spiritual Veins or massive amounts of star source crystals as energy sources were equally tricky.

"However, if I can modify that dark silver metal base obtained from the altar, and then use my own Nascent Soul magic power and the power of the Cave Heaven World as a guide, perhaps... I can barely replace the core hub to perform a short-distance, directional teleportation?"

Ye Qing pondered the possibility in his heart, a glimmer flashing in his eyes.

This move carried significant risk, but it was worth a try.

Just as he was deep in thought, his Divine Sense suddenly captured a trace of extremely faint, familiar Demonic Qi fluctuations coming from the northwest of the basin.

It flashed and vanished; had he not reached the Nascent Soul Stage with sharp Divine Sense, it would have been nearly impossible to detect.

"Yao Race? Still lurking nearby?"

Ye Qing raised an eyebrow.

When he had previously unleashed his Nascent Soul pressure, those lurking Demonic Qi had clearly retreated. Yet now, they appeared again quietly. Could it be they were unwilling to give up, or... did they have other schemes?

He pondered for a moment, restrained his aura, and his figure seemed to merge into the shadows as he quietly sneaked toward the direction of the Demonic Qi fluctuations.

The northwest of the basin was an area that was even more shattered and filled with craggy rocks, with deep, bottomless fissures covering the ground. Gray-black mist was exceptionally thick here, severely obstructing vision.

Like a ghost, Ye Qing moved silently through the rubble and mist, and soon locked onto his target.

It was a temporary camp hidden in a crevice between two huge collapsed rocks.

Outside the camp, sophisticated concealment and warning Demonic Techniques were set up. Had his Divine Sense not been powerful, and had he not been familiar with the Demonic Qi of that golden-eyed Yao Race Young Lord, it would have been nearly impossible to discover.

Inside the camp, there were four figures.

The leader was actually a Late Golden Core Stage Yao general, whose appearance was somewhat similar to that golden-eyed Young Lord. He was also wearing a dark gold robe, but his face was older and his eyes were more sinister.

The other three were a Middle Stage Golden Core, an Early Stage Golden Core, and a Foundation Establishment Perfection Stage wolf-demon, all with fierce auras, clearly the elites of this Yao Race squad.

At this moment, they were gathered around an unfolded beast-skin map, talking in low voices with solemn expressions.

"...The Young Lord has fallen, the Sacred Fruit has been stolen, and now even that ancient teleportation array has been occupied by that Human Race Nascent Soul! How can we answer to the Great King when we return!"

The Late Golden Core Stage old demon's voice was hoarse, carrying suppressed anger and anxiety.

"Elder, that Human Race Nascent Soul's strength is unfathomable. Even the people from the Tianxing Sect and Liuyun City have bowed their heads. We... are likely not his match."

The Middle Stage Golden Core Yao general looked troubled.

"Hmph! A head-on confrontation is naturally impossible. But the mission entrusted by the Great King must be completed!"

A flash of ruthlessness crossed the old demon's eyes. "According to reliable information, the core hub of that ancient teleportation array was not obtained by the Tianxing Sect or Liuyun City, but fell into the hands of those scorpion demons in the 'Black Wind Cave'! They want to swallow it alone and use it to threaten the Great King!"

"Black Wind Cave? That group of poisonous creatures that only know how to hide underground?"

The Early Stage Golden Core Yao general asked in surprise.

"Exactly. They think they did it without anyone knowing, but they don't know that the Great King has long planted spies among them."

The old demon sneered, "That core hub is currently hidden deep within the Black Wind Cave, guarded personally by that Third-Rank peak 'Ink Jade Poison Scorpion'. The true goal of our trip was never that ancient array, but that core hub!"

"Once we get the core hub, we will look for an opportunity to cooperate with the Great King's methods. We may not be unable to snatch back control of the ancient array from that Human Race Nascent Soul!"

Ambition and calculation flickered in the old demon's eyes.

Ye Qing, hiding in the dark, heard everything clearly, and his heart stirred.

"The core hub... is actually in the hands of the Yao Race, and not in the Young Lord's team, but in some 'Black Wind Cave'? This is an unexpected gain."

He had originally been worrying about how to find the core hub, never expecting to obtain such key information from these few Yao Race members.

"Since that's the case, then I can't blame myself."

A coldness flashed in his eyes, and he no longer hid, walking slowly out of the shadows.

"Who?!"

The Late Golden Core Stage old demon reacted extremely quickly. The moment Ye Qing appeared, he suddenly looked up and shouted sternly, while a bone blade that was as black as ink and exuded a foul stench appeared in his hand.

The other three Yao generals also instantly became on guard, Demonic Qi rising, their fierce gazes locking onto Ye Qing.

When they saw the person who had arrived was the green-robed Cultivator who had displayed Nascent Soul pressure at the ancient teleportation array plaza, the fierceness on their faces instantly turned into boundless fear and despair!

"Nascent... Nascent Soul!"

"How is this possible! How did he find this place!"

"Run! Run quickly!"

The Foundation Establishment Perfection Stage wolf-demon was the first to collapse, screaming as he turned to transform into an escape light.

"Want to run?"

Ye Qing didn't even look at him, but pointed like a sword and lightly slashed in the direction of the wolf-demon's escape.

Swish. A soft sound. The wolf-demon's body, along with his escape light, was silently cut into two in mid-air, the cut as smooth as a mirror. He couldn't even let out a scream before falling as a corpse.

"Fight him to the death!"

The Middle Stage Golden Core Yao general's eyes were splitting with rage. He roared, his body's Demonic Qi surged, revealing a half-Yao form. Holding a heavy wolf-tooth club, he smashed down at Ye Qing's head with the force of ten thousand jun!

"Ant."

Ye Qing didn't even raise his hand; he just narrowed his eyes, and an invisible Nascent Soul pressure, like a physical object, slammed into the Yao general.

The Yao general's forward momentum suddenly stalled, his seven orifices bled, the light in his eyes quickly dissipated, and his massive body fell to the ground with a bang, all aura gone.

The Middle Stage Golden Core Yao general had been crushed to death by the Nascent Soul pressure!

The remaining Late Golden Core Stage old demon and the Early Stage Golden Core Yao general were in total despair.

The Early Stage Golden Core Yao general's legs went weak, and he knelt to the ground, his voice trembling: "Senior... Senior, spare my life! We are willing to surrender! We are willing to offer all our treasures! Just beg you to spare my life!"

The Late Golden Core Stage old demon's face was as pale as paper, and his hand holding the bone blade was trembling. He knew that in front of a Nascent Soul Cultivator, running or resisting was futile.

"Spare your life?"

Ye Qing looked at them indifferently. "Weren't you just discussing how to snatch back control of the ancient array from me?"

Hearing this, the old demon completely abandoned any hope and smiled miserably: "Your Excellency really heard it all. Since that's the case, kill or carve as you please! I only hate that I am not strong enough to avenge the Young Lord!"

"Avenge? Your Young Lord was indeed killed by me."

Ye Qing said lightly, "So what?"

Deep-seated hatred erupted in the old demon's eyes, but there was more powerlessness and despair.

Ye Qing didn't bother with them anymore and raised his hand to grab at the air.

An invisible force instantly restrained the Early Stage Golden Core Yao general and pulled him in front of him.

"Speak, where is the Black Wind Cave? Where exactly is the core hub hidden? How many guards are in the cave? What traps and mechanisms are there? Say it, and I will give you a quick death."

The Early Stage Golden Core Yao general was scared out of his wits. Like beans spilling from a bamboo tube, he confessed everything he knew about the location, terrain, guard distribution of the Black Wind Cave, and the hiding spot of the core hub.

Ye Qing listened quietly. After confirming that what he said was true, he casually shook his hand, killing him.

Then, he looked at the last remaining Late Golden Core Stage old demon.

"Do you have any last words?"

The old demon knew he was going to die, so he calmed down instead and said coldly: "Although you are strong, there are many strong experts in my Yao Race. Now that you want to seize the core hub that our race obtained with great difficulty, the Great King will never let you go! When the Great King finishes his seclusion, that will be your death day!"

"Too much nonsense."

Ye Qing pointed like a sword, and a streak of Chaos Sword Qi swept across the old demon's neck.

The old demon's head flew into the sky, his face still retaining resentment and unwillingness.

Thus, all four Yao Race elites were executed.

Ye Qing waved his hand, taking all the Yao Race's corpses, Storage Pouches, and Magical Artifacts into the Cave Heaven World to be digested.

Then, he looked toward a direction outside the basin.

"Black Wind Cave... core hub..."

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and his figure flickered, turning into an imperceptible streak of light that shot into the sky, speeding toward the direction the Early Stage Golden Core Yao general had confessed.

Inside his body, the twenty-thousand-zhang Cave Heaven, the Earth Vein Star Sea, and the Chaos Nascent Soul sat in the Dantian, breathing in and out Chaos Infant Essence, providing a continuous stream of support for the upcoming battle for the treasure.