Stone Demon Forest

Kong Xiu and the others clearly understood that opening treasure chests often yielded trash.

However, this was their first time witnessing someone unearth mere mud from one.

“It’s fine, we’ve seen this kind of thing many times before.”

“Since that’s the case, let’s leave this area and head to the actual treasure spot,” Ye Chong said, a hint of resignation in his voice.

Xia Mi and the others nodded, preparing to depart.

What they failed to notice, however, was that just as they were about to leave, Bai Lan subtly moved her fingers, and the xirang in the chest vanished.

It was simply out of the question for Bai Lan to leave behind such a treasure.

While Kong Xiu and the others didn’t recognize the xirang for what it was, Bai Lan certainly did.

It wasn’t that she was petty, but a treasure of xirang’s caliber could incite a struggle between even the most powerful factions.

If Bai Lan had informed the others that it was xirang, there was no telling what consequences might ensue.

Therefore, Bai Lan chose to keep it for herself; it was the only logical choice.

One could only imagine the expressions of Ye Chong and the others if they had known that black mud was actually xirang.

Though they hailed from ancient clans, xirang was incredibly rare, an absolute paramount treasure seldom seen in the world.

It was perfectly normal for them not to recognize it, especially since it emitted no power fluctuations, making it even harder to identify.

Bai Lan, however, recognized it due to the additional information provided by the Heavenly Dao’s consciousness.

After the group had traveled some distance, Long Lingyu suddenly approached Bai Lan stealthily.

“Miss Bai, you’re quite sly.”

“How could you secretly take that entire box of black mud?” Long Lingyu glanced around before asking in a hushed tone.

Bai Lan froze, startled by his words.

She hadn’t expected Long Lingyu to discover her little maneuver.

Caught red-handed, Bai Lan felt a slight flush of embarrassment.

Yet, this was hardly the time to discuss such matters.

“Ah, about that item, let’s talk after we’ve finished our treasure hunt.”

“It’s not convenient to tell you what it is right now,” Bai Lan replied, her expression unreadable.

“Heh heh, Miss Bai, are you asking me to help you keep it a secret?” Long Lingyu inquired with a knowing smile.

Bai Lan felt that Long Lingyu was truly a cunning fox.

He always wore a smile, making it impossible to discern his true intentions.

“Fine, I’ll split half of it with you afterward,” Bai Lan conceded reluctantly.

“Heh heh, that’s more like it.”

“I knew it was something good, but I wasn’t sure exactly what it was.”

“I hope you’ll give me a good explanation later.”

“And are you secretly complaining about me?”

“Don’t complain about me; you’re the cunning one here,” Long Lingyu said, accurately guessing Bai Lan’s unspoken thoughts.

Bai Lan’s mouth twitched, but she offered no further response.

They quickly departed from that area and soon arrived at their destination: a stone forest.

This was where the treasure was located.

The group stood outside the stone forest, not rushing in.

“Miss Bai, is the treasure realm really in here?”

“Do you know what this place is?”

“This is the Stone Demon Forest, one of the most dangerous areas on the first level.”

“The Stone Demon King here is at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm, making it the most powerful monster on this level.”

“It’s not someone we can contend with,” Kong Xiu and the others were dumbfounded upon seeing the place.

Since the various regions of the Yellow Sand Realm’s first level constantly shifted, never staying in a fixed location, Bai Lan hadn’t anticipated that the treasure map would lead them here.

“It is dangerous, yes, but it wouldn’t be a great treasure map otherwise.”

“Are you few afraid?” Bai Lan countered.

As the generation’s chosen talents, none would admit to fear, especially since this demon realm wasn’t truly lethal.

“Let’s go, who’s afraid?” Ye Chong and the others immediately retorted.

The main inhabitants of the Yellow Sand Stone Forest were stone demon monsters.

These creatures possessed formidable defenses and immense strength, but they were mindless and cumbersome.

For cultivators like them, in the Qi Refining realm, contact with these monsters was to be avoided at all costs.

Foundation Establishment realm stone demons were common here.

If they unleashed their full abilities without reservation, defeating a stone demon at the early Foundation Establishment stage would be simple.

However, they were on enemy territory.

Even if they used all their strength to kill a Foundation Establishment monster, what would happen afterward?

Therefore, even if they were to enter, they needed to discuss their approach to finding the treasure beforehand.

“Of course, it’s not about fear, but if we simply rush in and awaken all those stone creatures, we definitely won’t be able to defeat them.”

“Besides, we don’t even know where the treasure is.”

“What if it’s in the Stone Demon King’s lair?”

“Wouldn’t that mean we came here for nothing?” Zhang Zhi voiced her concerns.

“Shh, shh, Zhang Zhi, don’t jinx it,” Xia Mi quickly interjected, stopping Zhang Zhi from speaking such inauspicious words.

“Eh?”

“Xia Mi, I just said it casually.”

“Nobody wants the treasure to be in a dangerous area, do they?” Zhang Zhi chuckled awkwardly.

This was indeed a problem.

However, at that moment, Long Lingyu spoke up.

“I have a method.”

“As you all know, I am a musical cultivator.”

“I possess a hypnotic melody that can lull even demon beasts of a higher cultivation realm into a deep slumber, provided they don’t detect me beforehand,” Long Lingyu explained.

His words brought expressions of delight to everyone’s faces, except for Bai Lan’s.

If they could truly hypnotize these stone monsters and prevent them from waking, it would simplify things immensely.

After all, their goal was to find the treasure, not to slay stone demons.

“This stone forest is vast.”

“Can you really manage it?” Ye Chong asked, a hint of doubt in his voice.

“It’s certainly impossible to hypnotize all the monsters in the entire stone forest.”

“But isn’t it enough to hypnotize the monsters around the treasure spot?” Long Lingyu clarified.

The others considered his words and agreed that his reasoning made sense.

“Alright then, I have an invisibility technique.”

“It’s nothing particularly special, but I can cast it, enter, and then locate the treasure spot before we discuss anything else,” Kong Xiu offered.

This invisibility technique was considered a rather basic spell, but only to those from ancient clans.

Several of them knew it, and Bai Lan also did, though she chose not to mention it.

“An invisibility technique?”

“That’s quite useful, Brother Kong.”

“Are you sure you want to share it with us?” Long Lingyu asked with a smile.

“This technique is certainly valuable to ordinary cultivators, but to me, it’s just a common secret art.”

“Passing it on is no big deal; no one will object anyway,” Kong Xiu stated, then casually produced a jade slip and handed it to Bai Lan.

Bai Lan gave it a perfunctory glance before passing it to Long Lingyu.

This invisibility technique merely required knowing how to perform the hand seals; it was a simple secret art.

After they had each taken turns examining it, they began to form the hand seals recorded in the jade slip.

The gestures bore a resemblance to the Taoist Nine-Character True Words hand seals, though with some subtle differences.

Once the hand seals were complete, the bodies of all six individuals vanished simultaneously.

“Alright, that should work.”

“Let’s go,” Kong Xiu announced.

Bai Lan quickly consulted the treasure map, confirmed their position, and then led the group into the stone forest.

The landscape was peculiar, filled with lava pillars resembling spires.

As for the rumored stone demons, they saw no sign of them.

Of course, it wasn’t that they weren’t there, but rather that most of these stone monsters were typically dormant.

They blended seamlessly with their surroundings, making them incredibly difficult to detect—unless one accidentally stumbled upon them.

“Don’t touch any stones carelessly.”

“These seemingly unremarkable stones might just be part of a stone demon’s body,” Kong Xiu warned.