73: Accident

He Jingyao approached the woman in pink at this moment, a fawning expression on his face, and pulled her aside to transmit a message to her:

“Cousin, have these three go collect the Purple Mist Grass. Once they’re done, we’ll find an opportunity to send them on their way.”

The female Cultivator in pink then nodded in satisfaction.

Led by He Jingyao, the group arrived at a dormant Volcano Crater. The temperature here was extremely high. The two female Cultivators had to activate their Spiritual Shields to block out the external heat.

Seeing this, He Jingyao told the two female Cultivators to wait at the Volcano Crater. He then led Lin Feng and the other five down into the Volcano Crater. All six were Qi Refining Cultivators. Although they couldn't fly like Foundation Establishment cultivators, with the enhancement of the Light Body Technique, their bodies were as light as a feather. They descended by using the protruding rocks on the rock walls of the Volcano Crater, their figures flickering as they went down.

Just before reaching the scorching magma below, there were several caves. He Jingyao arrived at one of the caves and led the way in, with the other five Cultivators following him in a single file.

Upon entering this cave, the six had to activate their defensive Spiritual Qi shields to resist the heat wave coming from below. As they went deeper, the temperature inside the cave dropped slightly.

The group followed He Jingyao further into the cave. In the cave, near an area with bubbling magma, there was purple Spiritual Plant.

There were actually over a hundred stalks of Purple Mist Grass here. Lin Feng took a rough look and noticed that the Purple Mist Grass here was two to three times larger than usual. He estimated that these Spiritual Plants all had a medicinal age of forty to fifty years. Purple Mist Grass with a medicinal age of forty to fifty years was worth ten times more than ordinary Purple Mist Grass.

He Jingyao’s spirits lifted at the sight of so much Purple Mist Grass, and he instructed Lin Feng and the other two to go pick it.

The other two Middle Stage Qi Refining Cultivators, seeing so much Spirit Medicine, immediately rushed over to pick it, disregarding everything else. However, Lin Feng did not move at this moment. With so much Spirit Medicine here, Lin Feng did not believe that He Jingyao would be so kind as to let the three of them pick it.

Just as the two approached the magma pool, two streaks of flames suddenly erupted from the magma bubbles. The two who rushed over also sensed the danger and quickly activated their Spiritual Qi shields to resist the attack.

The two simultaneously called out to He Jingyao and the others for help. Seeing the two ambushed, He Jingyao waved his hand and, with his two subordinates, simultaneously called upon Lin Feng to attack the magma pool.

Lin Feng followed behind, feigning the use of a spell attack. Since Lin Feng was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he tried his best to control the power of his spells. Under the attacks of the four, two Fire Beard Turtles leaped out from the magma.

These two Fire Beard Turtles possessed the strength of Peak first-rank Yao Beasts. Attacked by the four, they immediately abandoned their opponents and leaped towards He Jingyao and the others. He Jingyao’s face changed drastically at the sight. He hadn't expected there to be two Peak first-rank Yao Beasts in this cave. Although the strength of the group was Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivators, it was impossible for them to simultaneously contend with two Peak first-rank Yao Beasts in this place.

He Jingyao knew about this place from two Middle Stage Qi Refining Cultivators who had informed him that there was Purple Mist Grass here. At that time, when he encountered those two, they were injured. He managed to extract the secret of this place from them. He initially used his two subordinates, who knew about this place, to trick Lin Feng and the other two.

What he hadn't expected was that there were two Peak first-rank Yao Beasts here. He had originally received information about only one. Now, he regretted killing those two back then without clarifying the information about this place.

These two Fire Beard Turtles, utilizing the magma in this place, fought with the group for a long time. The result was the death of the two Qi Refining Cultivators who had run to the back of the magma pool, and the retreat of the remaining four to the cave entrance.

However, just as the four had escaped to the cave entrance, the two Fire Beard Turtles, after devouring the two Qi Refining Cultivators, chased the four to the cave entrance. He Jingyao then gave Lin Feng an order to block the two Yao Beasts, and using the Light Body Technique, he climbed up towards the Volcano Crater.

Lin Feng snorted inwardly, seeing He Jingyao flee alone. He had only come here with He Jingyao to investigate whether there was any news of Fire Beard Turtles. Facing the two pursuing Fire Beard Turtles, Lin Feng was not flustered. He flickered, using the advantage of his movement technique to flexibly dodge the Yao Beasts' attacks in the narrow cave.

Although the two Fire Beard Turtles were powerful, they struggled to gain an advantage under Lin Feng's clever maneuvering. Lin Feng dodged attacks while observing his surroundings, confirming that He Jingyao had fled with his three subordinates and the two women.

Lin Feng planned to settle scores with He Jingyao and the others later. After confirming that they had left, Lin Feng no longer hid his strength, revealing his Foundation Establishment Realm power. Both of these Yao Beasts were fire-attributed Yao Beasts. Lin Feng did not use a Spiritual Artifact, but easily killed the two Fire Beard Turtles with his blood-colored hairpin.

Lin Feng skillfully handled the corpses of the two Fire Beard Turtles. He collected the valuable parts of the two Yao Beasts into his Storage Pouch, intending to refine them into Medicinal Pills or Magical Artifacts in the future.

After dealing with the Yao Beasts, Lin Feng did not leave immediately. After collecting the Purple Mist Grass, he began to meticulously search the cave. He wanted to know if there were other valuable treasures here, or clues about the Fire Beard Turtle.

After a thorough search, Lin Feng discovered traces of Fire Beard Turtles having lived in the deeper parts of the cave.

These traces indicated that Fire Beard Turtles might have once resided here. Lin Feng's heart stirred. The Fire Beard Turtle's shell and blood were extremely precious Artifact Refining Materials, and his purpose for this trip was the fire crystal on the Fire Beard Turtle. If he could find one or two Fire Beard Turtles, then this outing would be successfully completed.

He continued deeper into the cave, hoping to find more clues about the Fire Beard Turtle. The deeper parts of the cave became increasingly narrow, but Lin Feng did not retreat. He proceeded cautiously, afraid of missing any clue.

Suddenly, a low roar came from ahead. Lin Feng's heart skipped a beat. Had he really found a Fire Beard Turtle? He quickly held his breath and quietly approached the direction from which the sound came.

Indeed, in the deepest part of the cave, he saw a giant Fire Beard Turtle. The Fire Beard Turtle's shell was covered with red patterns, looking extremely fierce. It was currently meditating with its eyes closed, seemingly unaware of Lin Feng's arrival.

There was magma here, and none of the Magical Artifacts or Spiritual Artifacts in Lin Feng's possession could instantly kill the Fire Beard Turtle. Lin Feng's heart stirred. The Small Five Elements Inversion Formation he had obtained from Qian Zhenxiu had never been used until now. He might as well use it today to see its effect.

Thinking this, Lin Feng slowly retreated. Lin Feng returned to the place where he had killed the Fire Beard Turtles, set up the Small Five Elements Inversion Formation there, and then once again ventured into the depths of the cave.

Lin Feng used the terrain of the cave to quietly approach the Fire Beard Turtle. Although the Fire Beard Turtle was meditating with its eyes closed, as a second-rank Yao Beast, its perception was extremely keen. Just as Lin Feng was about to approach it, the Fire Beard Turtle suddenly opened its eyes, a pair of crimson pupils fixed on Lin Feng.

Lin Feng's heart tightened, but he did not retreat. He first launched several water-attributed water arrow attacks at the opponent. Lin Feng's attacks caused no harm to the Fire Beard Turtle, but they did make it very uncomfortable, so the Fire Beard Turtle became somewhat annoyed and spewed out streaks of flames at Lin Feng.