Zhang Ling secretly observed the expressions of the four people. Seeing no signs of trouble, it seemed they truly were a team formed on the spur of the moment. He agreed to join them in their mission to seize the Flame Sun Flower. Danger and opportunity coexist; a gamble might lead to further advancement. His thoughts were similar to those of most cultivators, and with the talisman treasure given by Mu Xiaoyan in hand, he felt three parts more confident with this powerful weapon. Afterward, they briefly introduced themselves. The white-robed burly man was named Bai Heng. The one with the axe was Zhao Fei, the female cultivator was called Li Mengmeng, and the black-robed cultivator only mentioned that his surname was Guo, without elaborating further. Zhang Ling also did not reveal his real name, giving the alias "Wang Feng". Without much delay, after a brief exchange, they headed towards their destination led by Bai Heng. Along the way, they killed several low-level fire-attribute demonic beasts before arriving at the foot of a volcano with cracks all over the ground. The cracks on the ground varied in size, the small ones being two to three feet, while the large ones were as much as tens of feet wide. Flowing lava could be seen in the cracks. This was clearly a lava zone, and the ground was like iron-hard rock. Looking around, there were Flame Mountains hundreds of feet tall. In the far distance, a thousand-foot-tall volcano could be seen, spewing thick black smoke that obscured most of the sky, and the air was filled with the smell of sulfur. Bai Heng led them to a pile of rocks. All around were black rocks of various sizes, with many small holes. Although these stones were ordinary rocks, they had been transformed by the long-term erosion of fire-attribute spiritual power.
"Fellow Daoist Wu, are you here?" Bai Heng stopped in front of a boulder and called out. "Hehe, Old Bai, I didn't expect you to find a few fellow Daoists in such a short time," a voice sounded from behind a boulder. A figure appeared before them. "Everyone, don't panic, this is Fellow Daoist Wu Shan," Bai Heng explained to the others. Zhang Ling's divine sense swept over the suddenly appearing cultivator. This person was wearing a tight-fitting red and black outfit and carrying a long saber on his back, resembling someone from the martial world. His cultivation was only at the ninth level of Qi Refining, but his aura was suppressed very low. If he wasn't only a few feet away, it would be impossible to tell his cultivation level. Could this person be using a secret technique similar to aura concealment? Zhang Ling wondered. "I am Wu Shan," Wu Shan greeted them with a fist salute, revealing a set of white teeth. This person was Bai Heng's other companion. Because he possessed a special magical artifact that could conceal his aura, Bai Heng had him follow those sect cultivators to monitor their actions. "Tell us about the situation with those people." Wu Shan's expression turned grim as he said, "Speaking of which, those sect cultivators are unlucky. The two demonic beasts we saw earlier were both at the peak of the first level. Although those sect cultivators have some tricks up their sleeves, they haven't subdued the two demonic beasts yet." "Excellent, we still have a chance," Bai Heng sneered, leading the group quickly towards the place where they had previously discovered the Flame Sun Flower growing. Half an hour later, they arrived at their destination. Below a fault in the mountainside of the volcano was a dark stone cave. At this moment, four cultivators and two demonic beasts were engaged in a fierce battle in front of the cave entrance. They were fighting two demonic beasts that were over ten feet tall. The bodies of the two demonic beasts were covered in a layer of scales, one covered in black armor and the other covered in red scales. Apart from that, they looked exactly the same, like enlarged lizards. The black-armored lizard exuded a cold, iron-black light, like an iron lizard. The red-scaled lizard had flame patterns on its body, wrapped in a layer of scarlet flames, and spewed out balls of lava with each opening of its mouth, possessing formidable attack power. The four cultivators consisted of two men and two women. Their identities could be discerned through their clothing. One man and one woman were from the Blood Bone Sect. Both of them were at the eleventh level of Qi Refining, and their magical artifacts were both blood-red scimitars. Strangely, each scimitar had a long black chain trailing behind it, emitting a red bloody light.
Their magical artifacts were the same, and their techniques were similar, as if they were practicing the same kind of spell. Under their control, the chain scimitars were like two black snakes, constantly缠绕attacking the black-armored lizard. However, the scales of the black-armored lizard were tough, and for a time, the two could only restrain it. The other man and woman were a middle-aged male cultivator from the Hao Yuan Sect and a female cultivator from the Beast Taming Sect. The male cultivator wielded a bronze spear, conjuring several green light spears that continuously flew and struck the red-scaled lizard, emitting bursts of metallic sounds. The female cultivator held a khaki-colored sphere, which looked like a clod of earth, but had many black holes on it, from which dozens of emerald green moths flew out. Flapping their wings, they scattered a gray-green powdery phosphorus powder. When it landed on the red-scaled lizard, it condensed into a layer of frost, which had a strong suppressive effect on the demonic beast. It seemed to be an ice-cold attribute spirit insect. Under the attacks of these two, the red-scaled lizard was covered in wounds and had already been seriously injured. As a result, the beast's attacks became increasingly sharp, completely exposing its ferocity. However, it was also at the end of its rope. Seeing the situation there, a cold light flashed in Bai Heng's eyes as he said to the others, "Now is a good time to strike." Zhang Ling frowned and took out the black sword magical artifact and the tortoise shell shield. "Hehe, fellow Daoists, we meet again." Bai Heng walked to the edge of the battlefield in a few steps, sneering. "You are all powerful, but I didn't expect you haven't killed these two beasts yet. Bai will not be polite, I will be taking the Flame Sun Flower." Bai Heng mockingly ridiculed them, walking directly towards the stone cave where the Flame Sun Flower grew. "How dare you!" The male cultivator from the Hao Yuan Sect shouted with a sullen expression. "Hmph, what's there not to dare? I was the one who discovered this place first. You relied on your numbers before, but now we have the advantage. You won't be able to leave." Bai Heng's hand flashed with spiritual light, and a yellow jade fan floated out. With a wave of his hand, three fist-sized yellow wind balls rose in front of him, sweeping towards the Hao Yuan Sect with a strong gust of wind. "Attack!" Bai Heng attacked first, and the others naturally followed suit. Zhao Fei, wielding the giant axe, laughed loudly and cleaved out two intersecting light blades, which arrived in front of the Hao Yuan Sect male cultivator with a whoosh. The female cultivator surnamed Li shook the staff in her hand, and a dark light flashed, condensing four or five black light balls that shot out. The black-robed cultivator flipped his hand and took out a golden bronze mirror, pointing a finger at the mirror. Golden light condensed on the treasure, and a beam of golden light as thick as an arm shot out. It was the first time Zhang Ling had seen a mirror magical artifact, and he curiously glanced at it twice. However, he did not stand idle. He pinched a magic incantation in his hand, and the black long sword trembled a few times, cleaving out several sword lights to attack. There were six of them, and only four on the other side, and they were not at their peak. There was nothing to say, they directly attacked. Circumstances change, and even powerful cultivators can become weak at some point. The prey and the hunter can change in an instant. The six people's attacks were all directed towards the Hao Yuan Sect male cultivator. This was their simple plan, to focus their attacks on one person at the first opportunity, and try to kill one of them first.