Chapter 575 - 570: Entering the Fifth Layer

Chapter 575: Chapter 570: Entering the Fifth Layer

A blast of frigid air shot toward them. Before it even arrived, they could feel the blood in their veins threatening to freeze. It was a sudden sneak attack, and if they were caught off guard, it would likely have succeeded.

However, the three were prodigies from the Hidden Dragon List. How could they possibly fall here?

Ning Jiang chopped casually, using his hand as a sword, and split the ice snake in two. The snake then shattered into pieces, turning into chunks of ice. In its place, a brilliant light appeared.

It was an Upper Grade Spiritual Artifact—a long spear, icy cold to the touch.

"Most of the Spiritual Artifacts on the third floor are Upper Grade, but they’re just run-of-the-mill Upper Grade Spiritual Artifacts. The truly top-tier ones are extremely rare."

Gu Huaying said.

"Ning Jiang’s Thunder Dragon Sword, for instance, is a top-tier Upper Grade Spiritual Artifact. A step above that would be a Top Grade Spiritual Artifact, but those can only be activated by experts at the Heaven-Reaching Realm."

"If you gave a Top Grade Spiritual Artifact to an Earth Martial Realm expert, they wouldn’t be able to unleash its full power."

"Let’s keep going."

Ning Jiang waved his hand, and the three of them continued forward.

There were far fewer Martial Artists on this third floor. Those who made it this far were generally at the Earth Martial Realm Late Stage. Otherwise, if they weren’t strong enough, coming here was just a death sentence.

Snowflakes drifted down, landing on them and bringing a bone-chilling cold. Even experts as strong as Gu Huaying and Little Dragon Girl felt some discomfort, raising their Body-Protecting Light Shields to keep the snow at bay.

"Even experts at the Earth Martial Realm Late Stage couldn’t last more than a few days here," Little Dragon Girl said.

Of the three of them, only Ning Jiang was an exception. Not only did the snowflakes’ chill have no effect on him, but he was actually absorbing the cold energy.

The Taiyin Divine Water he cultivated for his Sun and Moon Divine Eye was a substance of ultimate cold. Compared to it, this ice and snow were mere child’s play.

After flying forward for an hour, Gu Huaying struck and killed a Bear-type Treasure Beast. Inside its body, she actually found a Spirit Flower that looked like it was made of ice and snow.

"An Ice Soul Flower. Not a bad find."

Gu Huaying put the item away, satisfied. The Ice Soul Flower could heal Injuries to the Primordial Spirit, making it quite valuable. On the open market, a single stalk was worth around five million Spirit Stones.

After Gu Huaying, Little Dragon Girl also found something.

She discovered a Martial Technique manual inside a Treasure Beast.

It was a Palm Technique for cultivating the Power of Ice and Snow. A light palm strike could freeze an opponent’s meridians, while a heavy one could freeze their Primordial Spirit.

"What is this garbage Palm Technique?"

Little Dragon Girl pouted, uninterested in the Palm Technique. She was from the Dragon God Celestial Palace and practiced only the most Top Level Cultivation and Martial Techniques, so she naturally looked down on something like this.

"Martial Techniques are relatively rare. If this manual were put up for auction, it would fetch at least three million Spirit Stones," Gu Huaying estimated.

Over the next while, the three of them killed a few more Treasure Beasts and each got some rewards, but none of it was enough to pique their interest.

"We’ve reached the entrance to the fourth floor."

A little over an hour later, another Light Gate appeared before them. With a flash of movement, the three of them entered it directly.

The moment they entered, they were hit by a suffocating heat. The third floor had been a world of ice and snow, but this fourth floor was suddenly a world of lava.

As far as the eye could see, the place was cast in a dark red hue. The ground was covered in scorching lava.

RUMBLE!

In every direction stood enormous volcanoes, spewing rivers of lava in a spectacular display. The temperature of the entire space was like a furnace. An expert at the Earth Martial Realm Early Stage would be roasted to death by the high temperature not long after entering.

"Inside these volcanoes, there are many Molten Treasure Beasts. Their strength is comparable to the Earth Martial Realm Peak," Gu Huaying said.

"Let’s go see what we can find."

The three found a volcano, and as soon as they neared the crater, they were attacked.

SPLASH!

A wave of lava erupted from within the volcano, and a Fire-type Treasure Beast covered in red bone spikes shot out, lunging at Ning Jiang and the others.

"Kill it."

The three of them attacked at the same time. With one powerful strike, they slew the Treasure Beast, and a red Crystal Stone appeared.

"A Fire-Melting Profound Crystal. This thing contains immense Flame Energy. If someone who practices a Flame Technique were to absorb this Profound Crystal, it would be a great boon to their Cultivation."

Gu Huaying recognized the item.

"Forget it. Let’s not waste any more time here. Let’s go straight to the fifth floor." Ning Jiang had no interest in this place either.

Only the various treasures on the fifth floor might be worthy of his attention.

"Alright."

The two women shared Ning Jiang’s sentiment and also wanted to go to the fifth floor.

This fourth-floor lava world was fraught with danger. Scorching lava erupted from the volcanoes from time to time, sometimes even spewing out Treasure Beasts. Whenever this happened, Ning Jiang and the others were forced to take action.

Fortunately, these Treasure Beasts were just ordinary Earth Martial Realm Peak creatures and posed no real challenge to the three of them. They were easily slain by their combined efforts.

"Found it."

Finding the entrance to the fifth floor took them several times longer than the previous floors. This was mainly because the Treasure Beasts here were much stronger, which naturally caused delays.

"DIE!"

At this moment, a figure was locked in a fierce battle with a Treasure Beast in front of the gate.

It was a middle-aged man, and every punch he threw carried terrifying power. His opponent was a humanoid Treasure Beast, enormous in size—over a hundred feet tall—with a pair of wings on its back.

Under the man’s fists, however, it was steadily forced back. After a dozen or so moves, the middle-aged man smashed it to pieces.

Immediately after, the man’s figure flickered, and he rushed into the entrance to the fifth floor.

"That man just now was Overlord Fist Zhou Wuyue, one of the Ten Great Earth Martial Realms," Gu Huaying explained.

"Let’s go too."

Ning Jiang didn’t pay it much mind. With his abilities, if any of the Ten Great Earth Martial Realms dared to provoke him, they definitely wouldn’t get off easy.

Just as they were approaching the gate, light suddenly converged and three Treasure Beasts appeared, looking exactly like the one Overlord Fist Zhou Wuyue had just killed.

"It seems to be a test. We can only enter the fifth floor by killing these Treasure Beasts."

As Ning Jiang spoke, the three Treasure Beasts let out a furious roar and charged at them.

"Sword Suppressing Sun and Moon."

Not wanting to waste time, Ning Jiang drew his Thunder Dragon Sword and immediately unleashed the third style of the Divine Sword Technique. As he swung his sword, a Sword Aura as thin as autumn water slashed toward the Treasure Beast.

The Treasure Beast had no time to react before the sword struck it, sending it flying backward. A deep gash appeared on its body, nearly splitting it in two.

But the wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Ning Jiang snorted, rushed in front of the Treasure Beast, and landed several more strikes on its body. Finally, the Treasure Beast shattered into pieces.

On the other side, Little Dragon Girl and Gu Huaying were also locked in fierce battles with their own Treasure Beasts.

Little Dragon Girl also cultivated a type of Fist Technique. Her frame was small and delicate, but her fists were incredibly domineering. Every punch she threw was accompanied by a resounding Dragon’s Roar. Gu Huaying, on the other hand, controlled a sky full of flower petals, looking just like the Hundred Flowers Fairy.

A few breaths later, both women had also dispatched their Treasure Beasts.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH.

With the path clear, they rushed into the fifth floor.