27 Encounter with Ironwing Flying Crane in the Misty Valley, The Lava Fountain’s Fierce Momentum

In the Misty Valley.

The mist swirled, resembling a fairyland.

A crane king let out a loud and spirited cry, which was echoed by the cranes in the vicinity. The cries of the cranes reverberated endlessly, with a mighty and imposing presence, rising and falling.

In an instant, the wind and clouds surged, the sound waves rolling and dispersing much of the white mist.

"Brother, what is that sound?" A clear and melodious voice came through, like a yellow oriole flying out of the valley, crisp and pleasant.

The speaker was a woman dressed in white, with her eyebrows elegantly curved, a slightly upturned nose, a face like white jade, and a complexion like morning blossoms. Her figure was graceful, like a delicate piece of porcelain, endearing.

"That's the cry of cranes. Judging by the momentum, this is no ordinary flock of a hundred or a few thousand cranes, but at least ten thousand flying cranes to produce such a sound."

The answer came from a muscular man in combat attire, standing tall with a narrow waist and a broad back. His voice was powerful and steady.

The man first looked at his sister with a fond expression, then his gaze shifted to the faint figures that appeared through the mist, turning serious.

"That's the flock of ten thousand cranes! It's just a wild group of cranes, nothing to fear," the woman replied playfully. Though her words were light, her eyes were full of seriousness.

The older brother, named Shangguan Shenhou, was a peak-level four-turn strength Gu Master, with impressive combat power. His younger sister, Shangguan Baihong, was a beginner-level four-turn light Gu Master, skilled in various techniques.

Their strength was enough to handle the crane swarm; even if they couldn't win, they could still escape unharmed.

"The usual plan—I'll be on the offense, and you'll support. Be careful." Shangguan Shenhou rolled up his sleeves, revealing powerful muscles that seemed to coil like tree roots, tightly compact.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. But brother, you better not get injured again, or I won't treat you," Shangguan Baihong said with a pout, a warm feeling spreading in her heart.

The Ironwing Flying Cranes folded their wings, resembling a rain of arrows, descending rapidly through the mist, heading towards the two siblings from all directions.

These cranes were covered in white feathers with a metallic sheen, resembling armored knights in iron armor, highly defensive.

Each flap of their wings carried the force of a wild boar's charge, and their talons were sharp enough to crack stones. Ordinary flying cranes were already troublesome, and among them were many Beast King-level cranes and several Thousand Beast King-level cranes.

Facing the oncoming swarm, Shangguan Shenhou was unafraid. With a roar, he leapt forward, fists flying.

With each punch, blood and brains splattered. In no time, over fifty flying cranes fell, including three Beast Kings.

Shangguan Shenhou was not blindly charging into the crane swarm; each time he changed direction, he aimed for the Beast Kings. Killing the ordinary flying cranes was merely to get closer to the Beast Kings—once they were slain, the ordinary ones were no longer a threat.

Gradually, Shangguan Shenhou approached a Thousand Beast King. This crane was more than twice the size of an ordinary one, with iron feathers radiating cold light, occasionally shooting iron feathers as arrows toward him.

The Thousand Beast King hosted a third-turn wild Gu, surrounded by the crane swarm, making it even more difficult to deal with than the Beast Kings.

Meanwhile, Shangguan Baihong, a four-turn light Gu Master, was highly skilled in mobility-type Gu worms, such as wind, light, electricity, and cloud. She was no exception.

She possessed the Light Rainbow Gu, a third-turn Gu that allowed the user to travel in light, considered the fastest among the third-turn mobility-type Gu.

With this Gu, Shangguan Baihong maneuvered skillfully through the crane swarm.

Although it was a third-turn Gu, its speed exceeded that of many fourth-turn Gu. Even after advancing to the fourth-turn, Shangguan Baihong did not replace it.

Despite consuming a significant amount of true essence, it was a highly efficient Gu, and as a fourth-turn Gu Master, Shangguan Baihong had enough essence to activate it.

As she maneuvered, she kept an eye on her brother. Seeing him approaching a Thousand Beast King, she quickly understood his intention.

In an instant, she became a white-red streak, reaching the side of the Thousand Beast King in no time. The Light Rainbow Gu allowed her to fly with the same speed as her brother's attacks.

Wei Yang, a merchant from the Southern Borders, had built his reputation with a third-turn Light Rainbow Gu. At its peak, he was unafraid of fourth-turn Gu Masters, and his flight speed even surpassed several flying masters in the Southern Borders.

Though Shangguan Baihong lacked the battle experience of Wei Yang, she was no flower vase. Using her fourth-turn advantage, she was more than capable of handling the thousand cranes.

Approaching the Thousand Beast King, she released four Gu worms, which flew like a shower of flowers.

The Gu worms were fast and surrounded the Thousand Beast King before it could react, forming four beams of light that merged into a net, trapping it completely.

Using the third-turn Light Grid Gu, she effectively confined the target.

Meanwhile, after exchanging dozens of blows, a golden ape-like shadow appeared behind Shangguan Shenhou. It was enormous, like a deity descending, attacking the Thousand Beast King.

The Golden Ape was an extraordinary beast with fourth-turn combat power. Its force was immense, and in its attack path, the flying cranes were shattered in moments, their iron feathers destroyed, and blood and limbs scattered across the ground.

As Shangguan Shenhou, enveloped by the golden shadow, drew near, the Thousand Beast King's eyes filled with fear, and it let out a mournful cry, but it could not escape.

The siblings worked in perfect synchronization, whether it was the timing of Shangguan Shenhou's Beast Shadow or Shangguan Baihong's trapping of the Beast King.

In just a short time, they had killed a Thousand Beast King, a highly efficient operation.

After all, flying cranes had the advantage of flight and numbers. Killing a Thousand Beast King in such a large swarm was no easy feat for an ordinary fourth-turn Gu Master. Even a powerful fourth-turn Gu Master would need to exert considerable effort.

---

Half a Month Later.

In the Night Soul Blessed Land, soul beasts gathered in massive formations, tightly encircling the Jiuyou Lake.

Qi Tian stood with his hands behind his back, standing tall on the Nine Nether Ghost Lotus, gazing up at the sky, his face heavy with thought.

Time passed quietly, and today marked the seventh arrival of a natural disaster!

Even though Qi Tian had been a Gu Immortal in his past life, facing the disaster, he could not remain calm.

Each natural disaster became increasingly stronger, posing a dire test for both the Blessed Land and the Gu Immortals.

However, with limited available forces in the Blessed Land and Qi Tian himself not being a Gu Immortal, his personal combat power couldn't intervene with the natural disaster or the Dark Charm Ghost Shadow—he truly felt powerless.

As he waited quietly, the ground in the western part of the Blessed Land began to boil with golden-earth energy, signaling the start of the disaster.

The earth began to tremble, a loud rumble like thunder, shaking the air.

Cracks appeared in the once smooth surface, and magma surged from them. Thick smoke billowed, scorching the earth for miles.

"Judging by the situation, is it a molten earth disaster?" Qi Tian narrowed his eyes, staring intently.

Before him was a sea of fire, with molten lava encroaching upon the surface of the Blessed Land, bringing waves of hot air.

Natural disasters were often highly targeted, and molten earth disasters were particularly destructive to the surface of the Blessed Land.

Thick black smoke rose, and numerous plants, low-turn wild Gu, and scattered starstones on the Blessed Land were submerged by the magma.

"Sigh! After this, I wonder what the Blessed Land will look like?"

"If it's just molten earth, though it causes great destruction, it won't threaten the center of the Blessed Land. As long as we minimize the damage, there's still hope," Qi Tian thought, relieved that he had moved important resources earlier.

"As long as Jiuyou Lake remains intact, everything will be fine. But will it be that simple?" Qi Tian had a bad feeling rising in his heart.

The earth energy surged again, and the areas where cracks had appeared began to collapse, with the surrounding land rising slightly, forming a lava lake in the center, with a fountain of lava erupting from it.

"This... this isn't just molten earth, it's a disaster of molten lava fountains, far more powerful than molten earth." Qi Tian's face sank.

Lava fountains erupted, spewing scorching magma, and the smoke above the western sky thickened, almost forming a cloud of darkness that covered the sky.

Magma scattered through the air, sweeping across the entire western part of the Blessed Land, and in the most severe areas, magma floods formed on the surface, more destructive than before.

The entire western region was covered in a blanket of darkness, the ground boiling with molten lava, and the edges spreading outward rapidly.

"At this rate, Jiuyou Lake is in danger." Qi Tian watched the magma flood toward the lake with growing concern.

The Nine Nether Ghost Lotus did not have strong resistance to magma, and if Jiuyou Lake were submerged, even if the Ghost Lotus survived, it would be heavily damaged. Such a disaster was extremely dangerous for both the Ghost Lotus and the soul beasts.

Seeing this, Qi Tian quickly ordered the Earth Spirits to move the lava to the eastern part of the Blessed Land.

Due to the differences in Gu Immortal types and Blessed Land properties, the power of Earth Spirits varied. Some could summon wind and rain, others could manipulate the flow of time, while some could not do much.

The Night Immortal, however, could shift things, moving magma continually.

Night Immortal's face turned red from exertion as she used her full strength to move the magma, her adorable face flushed from the effort.

"Master, this lava flood is terrifying. Just one wave of the flood consumed an entire Qingti Immortal Essence," Night Immortal reported with visible distress.

"It's fine." Qi Tian's face remained stern as he directed the soul beasts to guard the area. While the soul beasts were helpless against such a disaster, Qi Tian hadn't forgotten that a major threat still loomed within the Blessed Land.

Another quarter hour passed, and already lava had entered Jiuyou Lake, sending up massive plumes of white mist. Qi Tian had to use scouting Gu to monitor the situation.

Another Qingti Immortal Essence had been consumed.

Night Immortal was heartbroken, and Qi Tian's heart ached as well.

There were only forty-eight Qingti Immortal Essences in total within the Night Soul Blessed Land, and two had already been consumed in moving the magma.

He would need these essences for refining Gu and maintaining the Blessed Land.

The places where the Qingti Immortal Essences were needed were numerous, but with Night Immortal dead and no more Immortal Essences being produced, these precious essences could not be replenished.

If this continued, the Blessed Land might not survive a hundred years like it had in his past life.

Suddenly, Night Immortal's face changed dramatically.

Before Qi Tian could react, she reached out and grabbed his arm, vanishing with him in an instant.

In the next moment, a soul attack struck the spot where they had been standing.

Surrounding soul beasts were torn to pieces.

A dark shadow solidified in their place.

The attacker was none other than the Dark Charm Ghost Shadow.