Along the way.
Fang Yu followed the old man through the courtyard.
They arrived at a room deep within the compound and walked inside. On the wall of the room was a mural carrying an ancient legend.
The mural depicted villages, water, people, a towering ancient tree that blotted out the sky, and a blurry bird-shaped creature soaring through the heavens.
"Quite shocking, isn't it? This is the most special and precious ancient relic found within the Dazu Rock Carvings ruins. It has been passed down through generations, and it depicts ancient history," the old man said emotionally.
"Is there any record of what this is?" Fang Yu asked.
"The bird-shaped creature carved on the broken wall was once the guardian deity worshipped by the villagers. In other words, what people now call a Totem Beast. But as these totems perished over time, they were gradually forgotten by people and became less and less known," the old man explained.
[Totem: In ancient times, before human tribes possessed magic, they worshipped demon creatures close to mankind in order to survive, treating them as guardian gods. However, after a series of events, they faded from the stage of history and eventually became the nearly extinct Totem Guardian Beasts of today.]
Fang Yu was somewhat surprised. He had not expected to obtain clues about Totems here. It seemed this place concealed quite a few secrets.
Fang Yu stayed for a while longer. After finishing his look at the mural, he felt it was about time and bid farewell to the old man.
"Old sir, I'll be leaving now."
"Very well. I hope you gain something from this trip," the old man said slowly.
"I'll take your blessing for it." Fang Yu waved goodbye to the old man as he walked out.
After leaving the exhibition hall, Fang Yu found an inn and stayed the night there.
Early the next morning, Fang Yu packed his things.
Stepping out of the ancient small city, he could see a towering stone wall surrounding it, already weathered and mottled with age.
Guardian Mages were stationed atop the wall every certain distance apart, while a gray-white stone road twisted and stretched between the ancient city and the Dazu Rock Carvings.
The gray-white road leading to the Dazu Rock Carvings was packed with people. Most wore Hunter emblems, though there were also some Mages traveling alone.
The scene looked as though entering the Dazu Rock Carvings guaranteed the harvest of a mountain of gold.
At this moment, Fang Yu walked over to the officer guarding the entrance and presented his credentials. Only after registering was he permitted to enter.
"You're going in alone?" the officer asked suspiciously.
"Yeah," Fang Yu replied.
"Very well. But as you can see, the Dazu Rock Carvings are currently packed with Hunters, so be careful no matter what. Don't venture too deep into dangerous areas," the officer warned.
He had taken a liking to talent. Seeing someone as young as Fang Yu already being a Two-Star Hunter Master, he kindly offered the reminder.
"Don't worry, I can protect myself," Fang Yu said.
A moment later.
After entering and passing through the stone road, what greeted Fang Yu were endless mountain ranges and a vast stretch of wilderness.
The place was extremely dry. Cracks covered the ground everywhere, and tiny flames occasionally flickered out from within them. Their inner flames were goose-yellow in color. From a distance, they looked like half-ripe wheat swaying in the wind.
After being baptized by the sea of fire, the environment here had already changed.
Carrying a trace of anticipation, Fang Yu headed deeper into the Dazu Rock Carvings. He could feel the land becoming increasingly desolate, while the heat intensified the farther in he went.
After walking less than two kilometers, Fang Yu had already discovered some Spirit Seed Fragments nearly exposed directly on the surface of the soil.
There were two Spirit Seed Fragments in total. Fang Yu clearly remembered that the market price for fragments like these ranged from 300,000 to 800,000 yuan. The fragments he had picked up appeared to be relatively high quality and could probably sell for around 500,000 each!
You could actually pick these things up off the ground. This really was gold everywhere no, diamonds everywhere!
Half a day later, after Fang Yu had picked up five Spirit Seed Fragments.
He had now entered the middle region of the Dazu Rock Carvings.
His current location was a dense forest of withered ancient trees.
Unexpectedly, after being washed over by the sea of fire, such an area still remained within the middle region.
Although the ancient trees here were dried up, they had not been burned into ashes. There was likely some special reason behind it.
At the same time, Fang Yu noticed that this area was far too quiet. There were not even traces of battle.
A large number of Hunter teams had come this time to gather resources, yet after staying in this region for so long, he still had not sensed any magical fluctuations.
Fang Yu continued forward. After pushing aside the dense tree trunks ahead, what appeared before him was shockingly a skull.
And it was definitely not the remains of an animal, but a human's.
Fang Yu carefully examined the surroundings, yet he still did not detect any demon aura.
"Pretty good at hiding, huh?"
He had already decided on his route and had no intention of taking a detour. He still possessed the confidence of a High-Tier Mage.
As Fang Yu continued deeper inside, it also meant he had entered the attack range of the hidden Flame Terror Demons.
Flame Terror Demons were creatures whose main bodies moved very slowly. They specialized in disguising themselves and waiting for prey to step into their hunting grounds before launching an attack.
Flame Terror Demons were evolved forms of the plant-type demon species known as Pseudo Terror Demons.
They were unique demons native to the Dazu Rock Carvings region. In order to adapt to the environment here, after enduring the sea of flames for many years, they underwent mutations, developing fire attributes on top of their original plant nature.
That was why they could survive within the sea of flames.
The roots and flaming vines they could spread extended over a hundred meters long. The closer one got to the Flame Terror Demon's main body, the harder it became to break free from its trap.
At that moment, the group of Flame Terror Demons hidden within the area split flaming vines from their enormous bodies, while countless roots burst out from underground and attacked Fang Yu's position.
The roots and flaming vines writhed violently. These demons, which had still been disguising themselves a moment ago, suddenly erupted into action. The thick flaming vines twisted and intertwined continuously as one massive vine after another rapidly merged together. The front ends of the vines began reshaping themselves, instantly turning into sharp spears that viciously stabbed toward Fang Yu.
They were highly skilled hunters, intending to kill their prey, seal it within their deadly vines, then drag it back slowly to feast upon it.
"I've been waiting for you to make your move."
Brilliance flashed within Fang Yu's eyes as frost-white ice surged out from around him.
"Ice!"
Freezing ice spread across the entire battlefield, effortlessly freezing the incoming flaming vines while also suppressing the roots erupting from underground.
As the ice expanded outward, the entire battlefield instantly transformed into a land of snow and frost.
"Ice Lock!"
Ice spread rapidly as icy chains condensed into existence. They seemed alive, slithering like giant serpents toward the Flame Terror Demons, tightly wrapping around their bodies and freezing them solid.
At that moment, every disguised Flame Terror Demon within the forest was completely covered by frost and Ice Locks.
The previously frenzied Flame Terror Demons suddenly fell silent.
What appeared before them was an ocean of ice, while enormous icy chains swayed continuously.
Like welcoming attendants, they displayed their elegant forms toward all surrounding passersby.
At this moment, Fang Yu noticed movement within the distant forest. However, the Flame Terror Demons were not approaching him.
They were fleeing into the distance instead.
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