Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao

Lao Liang and the others naturally wouldn't just sit by and watch. They each sent out a palm strike, and resolved the danger for Yulan Fenghua.

Boom, the swarm of insects instantly died by the masses.

When they entered into a human body, they would be able to turn a corpse incredibly tough, but they themselves were extremely fragile and weak. Facing a First Secret monarch tier, they had completely no power to resist.

Xiu, a Blood Insect the size of a fist charged out suddenly from the swarm of insects. Its mouthpart was an extremely sharp sting, and it rapidly pounced on Yulan Fenghua.

"Mother insect!"

"The insect queen!"

Everyone exclaimed loudly. Though the names were all different, the only thing that could be confirmed was that this insect should be a being like a queen bee, and was the leader of the whole swarm.

Pu!

An Ran moved. With only a flick of a slender finger, an ice spike shot out like a sharp sword, and pierced that mother insect, nailing it to the trunk of a tree.

The mother insect's tail waved a few times, and all its movements very soon stopped. It had finally died.

With its death, the swarm of insects that were still dancing in the air immediately dropped in unison, their corpses scattered all over the ground.

It looked like not only was the mother insect leading the whole swarm of insects, it was even their source of life. The moment it died, everything would be finished.

"Finally settled."

"So troublesome."

To kill these insects, it was necessary to first kill the host that they were living off of, and refine it through the power of Regulation, forcing the insect swarm to appear, and then kill the mother insect. Only then would one be able to completely kill them off.

They all wanted to know something: what if the person that had been hit was a Fourth Secret or Fifth Secret elite, or Ascending Origin Tier? Then they would only be able to flee in the face of that kind of opponent.

But this kind of worry could not deter their determination to advance at all. The more dangerous it was, the higher the chances that an astonishing treasure could be gained.

Meanwhile, Ling Han secretly drew out that old map and surveyed it.

This was definitely not something as simple as just a drawing, but rather was a precious item that had been created with considerable effort. For example, when Ling Han had been outside, the map only showed the landscape of the Celestial Realm. However, after entering here, the map automatically enlarged, showing the conditions of the area around where Ling Han was presently at.

When he inserted his divine sense, a three-dimensional map could even appear in his mind, and he could see every single detail extremely clearly.

Of course, this map had been created who knew how many years ago, and it was possible that great changes had also taken place here, and it might have become completely different from what it had been all those years ago.

Yet Ling Han was more inclined towards the idea of there being no change, or only very small changes. This place should be a place that was completely cut off from the rest of the world. If changes had only taken place internally, the changes should be limited.

He studied the map carefully. They were presently in a dense jungle, and if they continued onwards, there would be a great mountain, which would be followed by a lake, but the map did not show what lay behind the lake.

Possibly, he would have to walk further ahead for the map to show further details. Because the map had been enlarged, there were even more details, but correspondingly, the macroscopic aspect would become smaller.

There was an arrow on the map, indicating that Ling Han had to continue walking onwards.

Because they now knew how frightening the insect sting was, they became even more cautious as they journeyed onwards, and they also saw even more corroded corpses. They had discovered some a bit too late, and were attacked by the corpses. However, they only wasted a little time to refine the corpses, and force out the insect swarms, which they killed.

Some they discovered earlier, and managed to circle around them in time, avoiding a battle.

Their luck was not too bad, as they had not encountered Fourth Secret, Fifth Secret, or even Ascending Origin Tier victims. Otherwise, they would only be capable of fleeing in panic.

Actually, Ling Han hoped that they would encounter such existences. In that way, he would be able to take advantage of the opportunity, and split off from An Ran and the rest, creating an opportunity for himself to sneak off.

Over a dozen days later, they finally exited the dense jungle. A steep peak that pierced directly into the clouds appeared ahead of them. Divine clouds entwined around it like it was the finger of a Celestial King, exuding a boundless intimidating pressure.

"There must be a precious treasure on this mountain!" Ai Kaifeng declared decisively.

"En, we need to explore the mountain!" Lin Xuan expressed his agreement.

"Then, let's go."

Yet Ling Han did not move a single step. Shaking his head, he said, "I have no interest in climbing the mountain." The map was pointing straight ahead all this while, and previously, the two great Celestial Kings, Great Clouds Celestial King and Spiritual Mountain Celestial King, had both come here. Even if they considered the treasure here beneath them, there were still other Ascending Origin Tier elites.

Furthermore, the Celestial Kings that had come here were not just limited to the two of them. If there really was some kind of treasure on the mountain, how could a Dividing Soul Tier like himself possibly be capable of taking his share of the loot?

Boom!

On the peak, there would occasionally be dazzling flashes of light flickering. That was a battle on the level of Ascending Origin Tier, at least, and that could be perceived from the seals of great dao.

"Brat, I was not asking for your opinion!" Ai Kaifeng retorted menacingly. He only felt furious—Ling Han was again opposing him.

'I said that there was treasure on the mountain, and wanted to climb the mountain, yet you say you're not interested. What are you trying to say here?'

Lin Xuan was also displeased. "Ling Han, what is your cultivation level? Since we have decided to climb the mountain, what right do you have to refuse? It can't be that you're afraid, right? Haha, without even the courage to seize food from the tiger's mouth, your accomplishments will be limited as well."

"If you're so capable, just try and defeat an Ascending Origin Tier," Ling Han casually retorted.

"Absolute nonsense!" Lin Xuan humphed.

Ling Han crossed his arms over his chest. "I dare to say that I can take over a dozen blows from an Immortal Palace Tier, but would you dare to take over a dozen blows from an Ascending Origin Tier?"

Everyone would be challenging an opponent that was a major tier superior, which was relatively fair.

Lin Xuan couldn't help but feel embarrassed, and could not talk back, either.

Ling Han was just a freak, remaining completely unscathed even after taking two consecutive blows from An Ran, but if it was Lin Xuan, any Ascending Origin Tier would be able to insta-kill him.

How was he supposed to talk back?

Ai Kaifeng and the others were stunned. Ling Han could really endure over a dozen strikes from an Immortal Palace Tier? Wasn't that a joke? The Immortal Palace Tier would completely crush the Dividing Soul Tier, and this was an iron rule that anyone would know. It was a truth of the world.

"I don't want to go up the mountain, either," An Ran said. "You guys can go on ahead, and I'll leave with Ling Han."

"I'll go with you!" Lin Xuan quickly declared. How could he possibly be willing to separate from An Ran? And it was even less possible that he would be willing to provide a chance for An Ran and Ling Han to be alone.

"If so, we'll go our separate ways for now." Di Tongxin smiled slightly. "Sister An Ran, take care."

An Ran nodded. She was not particularly skilled in socializing.

Lin Xuan, meanwhile, was an expert in making connections. After chatting for a good while with the four members of the Imperial Void Sect, he finally waved them goodbye, and walked next to An Ran.

Ling Han secretly complained about his misfortune. There were still two tagalongs with him.

How was he supposed to throw them off his tail?

"Let's go," An Ran stated coldly. She was already getting impatient from waiting.

The three of them advanced, circling directly around the tall mountain, and a narrow, long lake appeared ahead of them.

Though it was described as "narrow", that was only speaking in relative terms when compared to its length. In fact, the width of this lake had reached several tens of thousands of meters, and large fishes could occasionally be seen leaping out of the waters, creating waves that were as tall as several hundred meters.

But an eagle streaked past, and easily caught such a large fish, leaving with a flap of its wings.

The weak would be prey for the strong. This was the law of the jungle.

"This place… is even more dangerous!" An Ran stated calmly, though there was a strong caution in her tone.

Ling Han nodded inwardly because that giant fish was shockingly at the Ascending Origin Tier.

With a hua, the lake waters split apart, and a colossal creature climbed out of the lake and onto the banks.

It was shaped like a crocodile, but only had three legs, one in front and the other two at the back. Its tail was wide and thick, and it was covered with scales that looked like black iron, sharp as saws.

This was not the most frightening part. What was terrifying was the aura that was released by this crocodile.

"Fifth Secret!" Lin Xuan immediately exclaimed, his eyes narrowing slightly.