The outline of the Demon Gold Cave loomed faintly in the morning mist. The golden metal spiritual veins that should have glowed with brilliant golden light were now shrouded in jet-black demon qi, looking like a black scar embedded in the Western Wasteland from a distance.
At the cave entrance, dozens of twisted golden metal rock pillars jutted out of the magma. The surface of each pillar was covered in black demon patterns, every line wriggling slowly as if countless tiny demon insects were scurrying within.
"What intense demon qi." Ao Xuan stood atop a cyan-gold cloud, his dragon pupils piercing the demon qi to clearly see the scene inside the cave—in the central magma pool, a Roc with a wingspan of a hundred zhang lay dormant with its eyes closed. Its feathers had turned from golden to pitch-black, the tips glowing with dark red feral light. Its claws soaked in the magma, staining the scalding liquid gray-black.
On the Roc's chest, a fist-sized black-red demon core pulsed slowly. Demon qi spread along the core, tightly entangling with the surrounding golden metal spiritual veins, forming a bizarre symbiotic cycle.
The Nanming Golden Metal flames around Cang Lie flared suddenly, the White Tiger patterns on his silver-white battle armor glowing with sharp light. "This Demonized Roc has absorbed the demon qi of the golden metal spiritual veins into its own power. Ordinary attacks will likely not harm it. Moreover, the demon core on its chest is probably the hub the demon cultivators use to control it. If we don't shatter the demon core, even if we severely injure it, the demon cultivators will regain control."
Yuan Hao slung his innate stone staff over his shoulder, his monkey eyes fixed on the Roc's wings. "I see its wings are the hardest. Later, I'll go smash its wings first to keep it from flying! Fellow Daoist Ao Xuan, you trap it with water fortune power, and Cang Lie, you take the chance to stab that demon core!"
"Do not act recklessly." Ao Xuan raised his hand to stop him, faint blue spiritual light emanating from his fingertips as a wisp of water fortune power spread along the ground. "The golden metal spiritual veins in this Demon Gold Cave have been contaminated by demon qi, forming a 'Demon Gold Formation.' As soon as we step into the cave entrance, the formation will trigger automatically. We'll have to deal with not only the Roc but also the formation's attacks."
Before he finished speaking, faint footsteps came from behind. Elder Qingmang of the spiritual plant tribe held the Spiritual Plant Pearl, followed by several clansmen skilled in controlling vines. "Lord Dragon King, Lord White Tiger, although the spiritual plant tribe's combat power is weak, we can temporarily suppress demon qi with spiritual plant essence. Later, we will use the 'Withered Wood Soul Binding Formation' to entangle the Roc's claws, creating an opportunity for the three of you to attack the demon core."
As he spoke, Elder Qingmang held the Spiritual Plant Pearl high. Faint green spiritual light poured from the pearl, resonating with the surrounding wood-element spiritual energy. Several spiritual plant clansmen formed seals simultaneously, and countless tiny vines emerged from beneath the decaying leaves on the ground. Glowing with faint green spiritual light, the vines slowly extended toward the Demon Gold Cave—these were "Guiding Vines," capable of moving stealthily through demon qi to pave the way for the Withered Wood Soul Binding Formation in advance.
Ao Xuan nodded, holding out the Innate Dragon Pearl in his palm. Cyan-gold spiritual light intertwined with Cang Lie's golden metal flames and Qingmang's spiritual plant essence, forming a three-colored stream of light. "In that case, we'll proceed in three steps. First, Elder Qingmang leads your clansmen to set up the Withered Wood Soul Binding Formation, entangling the Roc's claws to cut off its demon qi connection with the magma. Second, Yuan Hao, you use earth-element power to reinforce the cave entrance, preventing demon cultivators from supporting from the outside. Third, Cang Lie and I will take the main attack—I'll restrain its movements with water fortune and Merit Golden Light, and Cang Lie, you seize the chance to shatter the demon core."
Everyone agreed in unison. Elder Qingmang took the lead in sneaking into the Demon Gold Cave with his clansmen. The Guiding Vines, like green snakes, silently wrapped around the Roc's claws. Yuan Hao jumped onto the golden metal rock pillars at the cave entrance, slamming his stone staff heavily into the ground. Earth-element spiritual energy surged into the pillars, instantly reinforcing the cave entrance into a thick stone wall with only a gap wide enough for one person to pass through. Ao Xuan and Cang Lie transformed into two streams of light, flying toward the Roc one after the other.
"Roar——!"
The Roc suddenly opened its eyes, tyranny flashing in its pitch-black pupils. It clearly sensed the vine entanglement, flapping its wings violently. Its pitch-black feathers shot toward Elder Qingmang like sharp arrows. Elder Qingmang was prepared, the Spiritual Plant Pearl in his hand flaring with intense light. The vines on the ground instantly wove into a green light shield, blocking all the feathers—but the light shield was also corroded by the demon qi on the feathers, creating countless tiny holes.
"This is our chance!"
Ao Xuan's voice echoed through the cave. The Innate Dragon Pearl hovered in mid-air, and cyan-gold spiritual light transformed into dozens of water chains, coiling around the Roc's wings like spirit snakes. The water chains glowed with Pangu Merit Golden Light. As soon as they touched the Roc's feathers, they quickly purified the demon qi on them, and the pitch-black feathers began to regain a faint golden luster.
The Roc hissed in pain, flailing its wings violently in an attempt to break free from the water chains. But Ao Xuan's water fortune power and Merit Golden Light complemented each other, the water chains tightening like iron fetters, preventing its wings from fully spreading.
Cang Lie seized the opportunity, his Nanming Golden Metal flames surging into a silver-white stream of light. His golden metal long sword, glowing with the power to burn the sky, stabbed straight for the demon core on the Roc's chest. As soon as the sword light touched the demon core, it triggered a huge wave of black-red demon qi. The patterns on the demon core lit up instantly, blocking the sword light completely.
"The demon core has a demon qi shield!" Cang Lie's pupils contracted sharply, his long sword trembling slightly from the demon qi's impact. "Fellow Daoist Ao Xuan, we need to break the shield with Merit Golden Light!"
Ao Xuan immediately channeled the Innate Dragon Pearl, and the cyan-gold Merit Golden Light spread along the water chains, surging toward the demon core like a tide. The moment the golden light collided with the demon qi, a violent energy fluctuation erupted in the cave. Black-red demon qi and cyan-gold golden light devoured each other, and the magma in the magma pool was thrown into the air, splashing onto the golden metal rock pillars with a hissing sound.
Seeing this, Yuan Hao leaped into the air with his stone staff, earth and wood-element spiritual energy coiling around the staff. He smashed it fiercely toward the Roc's head. "I'm here to help!" As soon as the staff touched the Roc's skull, sparks flew. But the Roc's skull was as hard as an innate spiritual treasure, and the staff bounced back, numbing Yuan Hao's arm.
"This feathered beast's bones are really hard!" Yuan Hao grinned through gritted teeth, refusing to take a step back. He swung the staff again, aiming for the Roc's eyes—its weak spot, even after demonization, the eyeballs were relatively fragile.
The Roc panicked, tilting its head sharply to dodge the staff. Cang Lie seized this fleeting opening, slashing his long sword again. Nanming Golden Metal flames intertwined with Merit Golden Light, forming a sharp blade that hacked fiercely at the demon core's shield.
"Crack!"
The shield split open with a crisp sound. A flash of joy crossed Cang Lie's eyes, and he was about to press his advantage when the demon core suddenly erupted with dazzling red light. A black-red beam of light shot out from the core, straight for Cang Lie's chest.
"Be careful!" Ao Xuan quickly channeled the water chains, pulling Cang Lie aside. The beam grazed Cang Lie's battle armor, hitting a golden metal rock pillar and corroding it into a pile of black ash instantly.
Elder Qingmang took the opportunity to order his clansmen to tighten the Withered Wood Soul Binding Formation's vines. Countless tiny vines spread upward along the Roc's claws, trying to entangle its body. "Lord Dragon King, Lord White Tiger, the demon core's shield is broken! We can't hold on much longer!"
Ao Xuan took a deep breath, urging the Innate Dragon Pearl's spiritual light to its limit. The cyan-gold Merit Golden Light blazed like the sun, forcing back the demon qi in the cave slightly. He leaped into the air, and the Azure Dragon Reverse Scale Sword unsheathed automatically. The water pattern Dao rhymes on the sword intertwined with Merit Golden Light, forming a cyan-gold sword light that stabbed straight into the demon core's crack.
"Slash!"
The moment the sword light pierced the crack, Merit Golden Light erupted inside the demon core. Black-red demon qi melted away rapidly as if encountering its nemesis. The Roc let out a shrill scream, its colossal body convulsing violently. The pitch-black feathers on its wings began to fall off, revealing the original golden feathers underneath—with the demon core broken, the demon qi in its body was dissipating quickly.
Cang Lie seized the chance, slashing his golden metal long sword again to shatter the demon core completely. Black-red demon qi gushed out from the broken core, only to be fully purified by Ao Xuan's Merit Golden Light. The Roc's body lost all strength, slowly collapsing into the magma pool. Its huge wings stopped flailing, and the tyranny in its eyes faded, regaining a trace of clarity.
"It worked!" Yuan Hao waved his stone staff excitedly, only to suddenly notice a faint red flame floating beside the golden metal spiritual veins in the center of the magma pool—it was the Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire of the spiritual plant tribe! Shrouded in a thin layer of demon qi, the sacred fire still burned tenaciously, clearly not yet fully contaminated by the demon cultivators.
Elder Qingmang rushed over excitedly, carefully protecting the sacred fire with the Spiritual Plant Pearl. "The Sacred Fire! It's our Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire! With the sacred fire, the spiritual plant tribe can cultivate spiritual plants again and restore life to the Western Wasteland!"
Ao Xuan walked over to the Roc's corpse, looking at its gradually regaining golden feathers, a thought stirring in his heart. "This Roc was originally an innate golden metal spirit bird, only demonized under the demon cultivators' control. Its feathers and bones contain pure golden metal power—if refined into magical treasures, they will surely become powerful weapons against the demon cultivators."
Cang Lie nodded, starting to collect the Roc's feathers and bones. "Although the Western Wasteland's golden metal spiritual veins have been contaminated, they have inadvertently nurtured this Demonized Roc. After we purify the spiritual veins, we can use these golden metal materials to reinforce our defenses, and the Western Wasteland's foundation will be stabilized again."
Yuan Hao leaned closer to the sacred fire, curiously poking it with his stone staff—only to pull his hand back, burned by the temperature. "Whoa! This sacred fire is hotter than my stone staff! With it, we won't have to fear those demon cultivators' demon qi!"
At that moment, a violent tremor suddenly came from the cave entrance. The stone wall Yuan Hao had built was shattered by a black beam of light. More than a dozen black-robed demon cultivators rushed in riding Bone-Corroding Vultures. Leading them was a demon general holding a black spear, its tip glowing with intense demon qi. "How dare you ruin our plans! Today, you shall die in the Demon Gold Cave!"
Ao Xuan turned around, the Innate Dragon Pearl lighting up again. Cyan-gold spiritual light intertwined with Cang Lie's golden metal flames and Qingmang's spiritual plant essence, forming a three-colored light shield in front of everyone. "The demon cultivators arrived just in time—we can deal with them all at once, saving us trouble later!"
Yuan Hao slung his stone staff over his shoulder, his eyes filled with fighting spirit. "This old Yuan's hands have been itching for a fight! These demon cultivators are asking for it—perfect for letting my stone staff taste blood!"
Seeing this, the demon general roared, stabbing fiercely toward everyone with his spear wreathed in a demon qi beam.