Chapter 40: Innate Nine-Layered Demon Beast

  Entering the second layer of Xiantian Realm, Gu Chen found a secluded location and spent three days stabilizing his cultivation before setting off towards Kuanghun Valley.

  Four days later, Gu Chen entered the Mountains of Death.

  The Death Mountain range spans hundreds of miles, and the closer to the central area, the fewer plants grow. In the vicinity of the Soulless Valley, only a few dozen miles away, only some extremely toxic-resistant plants can be found, with barely a few trees visible on a mountain top.

  Compared with the lush forest of the entire eastern wilderness, the Death Mountain range stands out exceptionally, like a bald head, suddenly emptying out a piece.

  Entering the Death Mountain Range, Gu Chen fell to the ground and stopped flying.

  The Death Mountain Range may look barren, but it's not without its demonic beasts. Directly flying the Imperial Airship into the Death Mountain Range would make it hard for the demonic beasts to not notice.

  Just passing by, flying over is enough. If it's not a demonic bird, the congenital realm demon beast can't fly yet. The ground demon beasts saw it and could only stare blankly.

  To enter the Valley of Withered Souls, you can't fly openly anymore. Attracting all the nearby demonic beasts to the Valley of Withered Souls would be of no benefit to Gu Chen at all.

  Entering the Mountains of Death, within a hundred miles of the Withered Soul Valley, Gu Chen carefully avoided some ferocious beasts along the way. After an hour, he arrived at the outskirts of the Withered Soul Valley.

  Arrived at the Valley of Withered Souls, all trees, flowers and grass disappeared without a trace, completely barren.

  Gu Chen was delighted at the sight and explained that there must be a Soul-Beckoning Flower in the valley.

  Remaining highly vigilant, Gu Zhen entered the Valley of Withered Souls. As he inhaled the surrounding air into his body, he suddenly felt a dizzying sensation. The Soul-Beckoning Flower had already taken effect on him from over ten miles away.

  The little white bird sat on his shoulder, also feeling uneasy.

  Gu Chen took out the bitter lotus leaf, plucked two leaves, and held one in his mouth. Instantly, his senses cleared, his mind refreshed, and the dizziness disappeared.

  Ku Ye Lian is the nemesis of Hua Ling, with Ku Ye Lian, Gu Chen has nothing to fear from Hua Ling's poisonous silk, otherwise, Gu Chen would never have entered the Valley of Dry Souls.

  Another leaf of bitter lotus was given to Xiaobai by Gu Chen as he continued on his way.

  The withered valley was devoid of any growth, and it seemed that apart from the Soul-Calling Flower, there was no other sign of life.

  If you think so, then you're wrong.

  In his past life, Gu Chen had been to this place before and knew that in the Valley of Dry Souls, apart from the Soul-Beckoning Flower, there was also a powerful demon beast - the Poisonous Basilisk. When Gu Chen saw the Poisonous Basilisk, it had just grown its second horn and transformed into a dragon, with its cultivation reaching the Divine Sea Realm.

  At this time, it was still over a hundred years ago. The poisonous python had not transformed into a dragon yet. If it had transformed into a dragon, Gu Chen would not have come here to do something useless. After the poisonous python transforms into a dragon and its cultivation reaches the Divine Sea realm, Gu Chen will not come to send himself to death.

  The lifespan of Jiaolong is extremely long, up to a thousand years. After hundreds of years, the Jiaolong has not transformed into a dragon, and its cultivation should not have changed much. Gu Chen estimates that the current Poisonous Jiaolong's cultivation should be around the 8th layer of the Pre-Heavenly Boundary.

  Not long after, Gu Chen had already ventured deep into the Valley of Withered Souls. Inside the valley was a dark cave, where the Soul-Beckoning Flower bloomed.

  Naturally, that venomous snake was also in the mountain cave.

  With Gu Chen's cultivation, he rashly entered the mountain cave, extremely dangerous.

  Thirty zhang away from the cave, Gu Chen stopped in his tracks and gazed quietly at the cave ahead, cocking an ear to listen for a while, but there was not a single sound.

  That venomous python is either meditating quietly in the mountain cave or has already left the mountain cave, it's impossible to know.

  With a wave of his hand, a Taiyi charm appeared in Gu Chen's hand. Immediately afterwards, the Taiyi charm flew out of his hand and shot towards the mountain cave in front of him.

  Rumble...

  Taiyi symbol transformed into a bolt of lightning, exploding at the entrance of the cave, producing a loud blast.

  Roar...

  A loud roar came from the cave, and in an instant, a black shadow darted out of the cave.

  Gu Chen suddenly released his flying sword and flew into the air.

  A dark shadow emerged from the cave and immediately revealed its body. The beast was about ten zhang long, with a vertical single horn on its head, scales all over its body, and a smooth tail like a snake. It was exactly the poisonous basilisk that Gu Chen had seen in his previous life.

  His pupils contracted, Gu Chen raised his vigilance by a few points. This poisonous snake had actually reached the cultivation of the Ninth Layer of the Innate Realm, which made Gu Chen somewhat unexpected.

  This demon king stayed in the Ninth Layer of the Innate Realm for over a hundred years.

  The jiao is not a dragon, but it has some of the dragon's abilities. Although the jiao is not a mythical bird, it has the ability to fly in the prenatal realm.

  The poisonous snake stared at Gu Chen with both eyes, suddenly raised its head and let out a loud roar, obviously very angry at Gu Chen.

  Gu Chen used the Tian Jie Quan Ti Da Fa to strengthen his physical body to its strongest state, mobilizing his pre-heavenly true energy, allowing him to use the Poisonous Dragonfly's Wind and Thunder technique to its maximum effect, always ready to dodge the poisonous dragonfly's attacks.

  Having made all the preparations, Gu Chen pointed at Du Xiang and burst out a fierce fire talisman. The fire talisman transformed into a flame, which instantly fell onto Du Xiang's head.

  "Hmm..."

  The poisonous python blew a mouthful of air at the flame talisman, and the flames that had formed from it were instantly extinguished. The poisonous python was unscathed.

  The Li Huo Fu was easily destroyed by the poisonous Gu, and Gu Zhen did not have any unexpected reaction, it was completely within his expectations.

  A tiny human monk dares to provoke a mighty dragon...

  The poisonous python's four claws scratched the ground, and the entire surface of the earth suddenly cracked into four or five pieces. At this moment, the poisonous python suddenly rushed up to the sky and pounced on Gu Chen.

  "Ah......" Xiaobai let out a terrified cry.

  The cultivation of the poisonous python is more than ten times stronger than that of the ancient cyan sea, and its momentum is also more than ten times stronger. The ancient cyan sea almost turned Xiaobai into a meat paste with one palm, and when the poisonous python showed its might, Xiaobai was naturally terrified.

  Gu Chen was shocked, but not afraid. The poisonous python's actions were all within his expectations. He had already made preparations to escape. As soon as the python moved, Gu Chen stepped on his flying sword and turned into a long rainbow, escaping far away.

  The poisonous snake immediately chased after him, and in just a few breaths, it had already caught up with Gu Chen by over a hundred zhang.

  Gu Chen's body was strengthened to its strongest state, and his Swift Wind Feather also reached its maximum acceleration effect, allowing him to be as fast as a late-stage Xiantian cultivator.

  The poisonous spider moth is a supernatural beast at the peak of the innate boundary, its flying speed is not below that of Gu Chen, and it's not easy to catch up with Gu Chen in a short time.

  After chasing for over a thousand feet, seeing that it was hard to catch up, the poisonous snake stopped its pursuit and retreated.

  Gu Chen didn't dare to retreat, keeping an eye on the movements of the poisonous python at all times. As soon as it stopped, he immediately raised his hand and another Taiyi symbol flew over.

  A loud thunderclap, the Taiyi charm transformed into a bolt of lightning, striking the body of the poisonous python. The python's scales were hard as steel and it was not harmed by the Taiyi charm.

  However, the poisonous python's anger was ignited again and it chased after Gu Chen once more. After releasing the Taiyi symbol, Gu Chen had already escaped far away, but the python continued to chase for several hundred feet before losing interest in pursuing him.

  At this time, Gu Chen would give Du Xiang a talisman, successfully provoking its anger, and it would chase after Gu Chen non-stop.

  Slowly...

  The poisonous snake was led by Gu Chen further and further away from the mountain cave...

  It wasn't long before the poisonous snake-like creature chased after Gu Chen, running over ten miles, until they reached outside of the Valley of Withered Souls.

  At first, Duè Chī Jiǎo chased after him, stopping and starting again, although he was faster than Gǔ Chén, but after chasing several times, the distance between them did not get any closer.

  After being blown out of the talisman by Gu Chen several times in a row, the poisonous python was really angry and no longer had any intention to stay. With a fierce light flashing in its eyes, it vowed not to give up until it chased down Gu Chen and tore him into pieces.

  Gu Chen's speed was slightly slower than Du Yin Kui's, and he was gradually being caught up by the latter.

  As the poisonous snake-like creature chased closer and closer, Gu Chen didn't seem to be in a hurry at all, maintaining his speed as he continued flying forward.

  After being expelled from the Valley of Withered Souls, the poisonous python had already chased for half the distance. Gu Chen was still flying forward, but in his hand, he had acquired something - a Spirit-Subduing Talisman.

  Gu Chen desperately fled outward from the Mountains of Death, getting farther and farther away from the Valley of Withered Souls. Similarly, the poisonous python was pursuing him from behind, also getting farther and farther away from the Valley of Withered Souls.

  After escaping from the Valley of Withered Souls, Gu Chen fled another ten miles before being caught up by the poisonous python. The python let out a loud roar and spat a mouthful of black toxic fog at Gu Chen, its appearance alone indicating that it contained highly potent venom.

  The poisonous fog came extremely quickly, and it seemed as if Gu Chen was about to be enveloped by it.

  Suddenly...

  A flash of clear light appeared in Gu Chen's hand, and in an instant, it flowed into his entire body. Gu Chen's cultivation surged, and he instantly rose from the Second Layer of the Pre-Heaven Realm to the Sixth Layer of the Pre-Heaven Realm.

  The congenital boundary cultivation has brought out the maximum effect of the lower-grade spirit-reducing talisman.

  Sigh...

  Gu Chen's speed suddenly surged.

  In the six layers of Xiantian Realm, under the maximum speed boost of Jifei Pifeng, how fast will it be?

  If a superior cultivator were to see this, they would definitely be shocked. A congenital sixth-layer cultivator's flying speed was actually comparable to that of a divine sea realm prenatal cultivator.

  Compared to the flying speed of the poisonous python, it was more than twice as fast. Gu Chen easily dodged the poisonous fog, his body bending sideways, and suddenly changed direction, bypassing the poisonous python, and flew back into the Valley of Dry Souls.

  Du Xuan was stunned, and didn't expect Gu Chen to suddenly run back in the original direction. By the time he turned around, Gu Chen had already gone hundreds of feet away.

  Jian Gu Chen flew straight into the Valley of Withered Souls, and the venomous python let out a furious roar, chasing after him at its fastest speed.

  However, Gu Chen's current speed is more than twice that of the poisonous python, and no matter how hard the python chases, the distance from Gu Chen only gets farther and farther. Before long, in the eyes of the python, Gu Chen had turned into a tiny speck, leaving behind only a faint glow in the distance.

  A sword light broke through the air and came, without any stay, directly shot into the dark cave in the withered soul valley, the poisonous python had already gone more than ten miles away, Gu Chen didn't have much time, he must pick the guiding flower and leave immediately, if he was blocked by the poisonous python in the cave, then it would be hard to escape.

  The cave has seven turns and eight bends. The first time I came, I absolutely didn't dare to fly my drone in the cave. If something went wrong, it would have come into close contact with the wall of the cave.

  However, Gu Chen had been through the cave before and still remembered the paths inside. He maintained his speed and quickly flew into the cave. The cave wasn't very long, less than a hundred feet away. Soon, Gu Chen entered deep into the cave, and a large hall with an area of about a hundred square feet appeared before him.

  In the cave, there is a pool of water with a diameter of over 30 zhang. In the center of the pool, there is a piece of land with a diameter of over one zhang. On this land, there is a flower that is entirely crimson in color and extremely beautiful.

  A single blood-red flower, about the size of a palm, extremely beautiful, is indeed the Soul-Beckoning Flower.

  The soul-guiding flower had shed all its roots and stems, leaving only a single blossom with no leaves.

  The soul-guiding flower fell into Gu Chen's eyes, and his eyes immediately felt a sharp pain. He took out the bitter lotus leaf, plucked half of its leaves, stuffed them into his mouth, and suddenly felt refreshed and invigorated.

  "Close your eyes, hold your breath..." Gu Chen ordered Xiao Bai, stepping on the flying sword and drawing a flowing light towards the Soul-Calling Flower at high speed. When he arrived near the Soul-Calling Flower, he stretched out his hand and plucked it, pulling the entire plant into his grasp.

  A wooden box appeared in Gu Chen's hand, this was a special wooden box for placing Ling Cao. He put the Yinhua flower into the wooden box and stored it in the Qiankun bracelet, no longer staying, Gu Chen rushed out of the cave like a flying arrow.

  Escape from the cave with such speed, shaking off the poisonous snake is no problem, it's life.

  Blocked in the cave, with Gu Chen's cultivation, fighting against the poisonous python is only despair, it's death.

  ……

  A sword light flashed back and forth in the cave, this short distance of over a hundred feet, at this moment in Gu Chen's heart, it was as distant as a long corridor of ten thousand miles, every second felt like torture.

  Suddenly...

  A bright light ahead, the entrance is right in front of you.

  The more it was the last moment, the calmer Gu Chen became, maintaining high vigilance, and rushed out of the cave wildly.

  Roar...

  As soon as it emerged from the cave, the roar of the poisonous python had already arrived. This python lived in the mountain cave for hundreds of years and was deeply connected with the Soul-Beckoning Flower. It knew that the flower had been picked by Gu Chen.

  The poisonous snake was only over a hundred feet away from the entrance of the cave...

  The ancient Zhen hid in a dark alley, his body bent and twisted. Suddenly he turned westward, transformed into a flowing light, and escaped far away.

  Behind him, the poisonous python was roaring non-stop and chasing after Gu Chen. However, Gu Chen's speed was extremely fast, and the distance between him and the poisonous python grew farther and farther apart. Soon, in the eyes of the poisonous python, Gu Chen had turned into a tiny speck of light in the distant sky.

  Gu Chen ran wildly for a long time... Half an hour later, he had already escaped hundreds of miles away, shaking off the poisonous python by more than 200 miles, and was already out of its line of sight.

  Gu Chen's body flashed with a clear light, gathering in his right palm, and the Spirit-Sealing Symbol reappeared. The remaining spiritual energy of the original Spirit-Sealing Symbol was almost depleted, and this time it was only used for escape, not for battle. If he were to fight that poisonous python again, the Spirit-Sealing Symbol would likely be completely consumed.

  Although only a tiny bit of spiritual power was left, Gu Chen still treated the Spirit-Sealing Charm as a precious treasure, carefully putting it away in the Qian Kun Bracelet, changing direction to southwest and continuing to flee quickly.

  Having escaped the poisonous snake's line of sight, Gu Chen changed direction. The poisonous snake wanted to catch up again, but it was almost impossible. Moreover, Gu Chen's speed was not much slower than the poisonous snake's. With such a great distance between them, it would be even harder for the poisonous snake to catch up.

  Turning southwest, Gu Chen continued to flee without stopping, escaping a thousand miles away before turning due west again and fleeing another thousand miles. As the sky darkened, Gu Chen finally stopped flying and found a secluded spot to land.

  Ensuring there were no threats within a radius of thousands of feet, Gu Chen immediately swallowed an Elemental Spirit Pill and grasped a Spiritual Stone in each hand, rapidly recovering his vitality.

  Not eating or drinking, continuously sprinting for thousands of miles, even a monk would get tired. Let alone the time spent picking the soul-guiding flower in the mountain cave, although it was short, the spiritual consumption was enormous, and there hadn't been enough time to recover yet.

  Very soon, Gu Chen entered a state of meditation, and after the dual restoration of the Yuan Ling Dan and the Ling Stone, half an hour later, he had fully recovered.

  He didn't stop and Gu Chen continued his cultivation.