I asked you to go down the mountain and get married, not to shock the world!

The surrounding disciples gathered around, looking at the boulder with eyes full of desire.

"Junior Brother Ziang, you've worked hard!"

Mingchuan shook his head.

Jin Man frowned, staring at a pattern on the stone surface. "Something's wrong. The shape of this crystal mother... looks like someone has tampered with it."

Mingchuan took a closer look and found several traces of human cutting on the bottom of the boulder.

Although it was well concealed by the aura of the fire spirit, it could still be identified if one looked closely.

"Has someone been here before?" a disciple asked in surprise.

Jin Man's expression grew increasingly gloomy. "Not only did he come here before, he also tried to take the Crystal Mother, but he failed. It seems there are indeed other uninvited guests hiding in this secret realm."

Mingchuan took a breath of cold air.

The opponent must be very powerful to be able to leave a mark on the Fire Spirit Crystal Mother.

And judging by how fresh the traces are, the other party probably hasn't been away for long!

Could this guy be hiding in the dark and watching them right now?

Mingchuan's heart skipped a beat.

He subconsciously looked towards the depths of the valley, where the aura of the fire spirit was even stronger, yet also more bizarre.

It was as if there were a pair of eyes quietly watching their every move in the dark!

Mingchuan subconsciously activated the spiritual power in his body, and the bone-eroding ice flame quietly condensed at his fingertips. His eyes vigilantly scanned the shadows deep in the valley.

The red fog in that area was thicker than anywhere else, and the fire spirit aura seemed to be blocked by something, becoming abnormally stagnant.

"Everyone be on alert!"

Jin Man also noticed something was wrong and raised his voice to remind people, "The other party may not have gone far. Maybe they are watching nearby."

Upon hearing this, the disciples tightened their grip on the magic weapons in their hands. The excitement they had just felt because of the Fire Spirit Crystal Mother was instantly replaced by vigilance.

They must not let anything happen to them at this time!

Otherwise, all previous efforts will be in vain.

Su Hao and Luo Yang were stationed on both sides, ready for battle.

But everyone was on guard for a long time, but still didn't see any reaction around them.

Someone couldn't help but whisper, "Elder Jin, could it be someone from another sect?"

"Hard to say."

Jin Man's purple gauze dress fluttered, and her eyes were fixed on the thick fog.

If they are really from other sects, there is no need to hide it like this. Whoever arrives first can just snatch it away.

But the other party was hiding and it was obvious that he wanted to do something else.

She said in a low voice, "But being able to leave a mark on the Fire Spirit Crystal Mother means one must be at least an elder. If elders from other sects had this ability, there would be no need to be so secretive."

As soon as she finished speaking, a very light sneer suddenly came from the thick fog, like something rubbing against the rocks, or like someone was mocking her in the dark.

"Who?!"

A disciple shouted loudly and raised his hand to release the Fire Dragon Whip.

"Do not impulse!"

Mingchuan immediately held him down, "The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. If we act rashly, we will only expose our strength."

As soon as he finished speaking, the thick fog suddenly rolled up, and a black shadow rushed out from the fog at an extremely fast speed, rushing straight towards the Fire Spirit Crystal Mother!

The black shadow was moving at an absurd speed, leaving only a blurry afterimage. It was surrounded by thick black air and was able to ignore the scorching breath of the Fire Spirit Crystal Mother.

"Want to steal something?"

Jin Man's eyes sharpened, and the purple-gold flame turned into a spear and threw it out, accurately shooting towards the back of the black shadow.

The black shadow seemed to have eyes on its back. It suddenly turned back and avoided the spear. At the same time, a black light shot out from its fingertips and hit the Fire Spirit Crystal Mother hard!

"clang!"

The black light hit the huge red stone, making a sharp and crisp sound, and actually left a shallow dent on the stone surface!

What's even more bizarre is that where the black light touched, the originally solidified magma lines suddenly turned black, as if they were corroded by something.

"It's the evil spirit of corruption!" Jin Man's face suddenly changed, "It's a demon cultivator!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the disciples were in an uproar.

Demonic cultivation has always been a taboo in the eyes of righteous cultivators!

They didn't expect these guys to sneak in when they weren't paying attention!

wrong……

Mingchuan narrowed his eyes.

Rather than saying that they sneaked in, it would be better to say that they might have already come in a long time ago, but because of the previous space mechanism, they were unable to meet. Now that Jin Man interrupted that mechanism first, this group of demon cultivators showed up!

Mingchuan observed carefully and suddenly noticed that the black shadow's action of hitting the crystal mother seemed to be destroying it, but in fact it seemed to be testing something.

Sure enough, after emitting the black light, the black shadow did not continue to fight, but instead let out a sharp hiss!

He turned around and headed into the thick fog, even faster than when he came in.

What the hell is going on?

Mingchuan raised an eyebrow.

"Want to run?"

How could he let the other person go?

The phantom flame in his body quietly circulated, and under the cover of fog, a purple thread of fire silently wrapped around the black shadow's ankle.

As soon as the phantom flame touched the black energy of the black shadow, the other party seemed to be burned and stopped moving suddenly.

It was this moment of stagnation that allowed Jinman to seize the opportunity!

"Stop it!"

She roared angrily, and a purple-gold fire net condensed from her fingertips, covering the black shadow.

"Hey!"

The moment the fire net covered the black shadow, the black gas and the flames collided violently, making a burning sound.

The disciples present couldn't help but get goosebumps after hearing this sound.

The black shadow let out a roar of pain, its body twisted in the fire net, and it actually tore a hole in it. It rushed back into the thick fog in a panic and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Only a faint smell of blood, mixed with the stench of black air, permeated the air.

"Chasing?"

The disciples held their instruments tightly, eager to try.

Jin Man shook his head and stared at the blackened dent on the Fire Spirit Crystal Mother.

"Don't chase him. He wasn't trying to steal the Crystal Mother just now. He seemed to be confirming something... Moreover, he deliberately left behind demonic energy, as if to provoke him."

In this situation, the more you chase, the more likely it is that something bad will happen.

Mingchuan clicked his tongue twice.

He shook his head, putting the man's strange reactions behind him.

Then he walked to the crystal mother and looked at the blackened dent.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch, he was pushed back by a cold breath.

His brows furrowed. “This demonic energy is very strange. It can corrode the power of the Fire Spirit.”

"It's more than just strange." Jin Man's face was solemn. "This kind of corrupted demonic energy should have been extinct a hundred years ago. Back then, the righteous forces joined forces to encircle and suppress the demonic cultivators, and clearly destroyed the source of this demonic energy..."

She didn't finish her words, but her meaning was clear.

The appearance of this demon cultivator is by no means accidental.

Everyone's expression changed drastically when they heard this, and Luo Yang and Su Hao even looked at each other.

"Could these guys be the indigenous people of this secret realm? We didn't see them when we came in before." Su Hao said.

Mingchuan's heart sank as well.

If that's the case, then the secret realm seems even more bizarre.

No wonder Su Hongzhen and Xuanshui Zunzun attached so much importance to this secret realm before.

He looked at the thick fog again, and there was still a faint trace of the phantom flame that had just wrapped around the black shadow's ankle.