Before he finished speaking, a whooshing sound, a sudden breaking of the air, rang out.
Immediately after, Fang Yuan's Immortal Zombie body let out a sharp metallic clash. It turned out that the desolate beast Flying Sword Rat was extremely fast; Liu Chen's warning had barely left his mouth when its attack, like lightning, struck.
However, fortunately, after Fang Yuan entered Starry Sky Grotto-heaven, he had maintained a high level of vigilance, constantly keeping a defensive Killer Move active. So, even though the Flying Sword Rat's ambush came so suddenly, he still successfully blocked the attack, leaving only a long, narrow wound on his arm.
As soon as the Flying Sword Rat saw Fang Yuan's Immortal Zombie body, an expression of extreme disgust appeared on its face, as if this body was an utterly repulsive existence to it. It didn't even hesitate, immediately turning its head and shifting its attack target to Hei Lou Lan.
Seeing this, Hei Lou Lan cursed inwardly, "Damn it! This Flying Sword Rat is too small; my attacks can barely have any effect on it!" Despite this, he quickly swung his fist, unleashing a human strength phantom with all his might.
However, although this human strength phantom was immensely powerful, it completely failed to hit the small, lightning-fast Flying Sword Rat. The Flying Sword Rat, like a bolt of lightning, skillfully weaved through Hei Lou Lan's attacks, causing all of his strikes to miss.
Furthermore, the Flying Sword Rat's attacks would leave difficult-to-remove Metal Dao marks on his body; even the Great Strength True Martial Physique struggled to heal them, making it a desolate beast that greatly countered Hei Lou Lan.
Just as Hei Lou Lan was feeling somewhat helpless, Liu Chen, who was beside him, suddenly shouted, "Leave it to me! This Flying Sword Rat is a Gu material that delivered itself right to my doorstep, perfectly suited for my style." With that, he immediately locked onto the Flying Sword Rat's position and unhesitatingly activated a battlefield Killer Move he had personally created.
"Battlefield Killer Move: Unlimited Blade Works!" As Liu Chen let out a low roar, a powerful force suddenly erupted. This battlefield Killer Move, with the five-turn Empty Fighting Gu and five-turn Sword Array Gu as its core, combined with several Sword Path Gu worms, formed a unique space.
As the Flying Sword Rat approached this space, it was as if it was being pulled by an invisible force, directly sucked into the space formed by the Empty Fighting Gu.
This battlefield Killer Move was actually something Liu Chen had comprehended from the formation Dao Legacy within the Nameless True Inheritance. However, because he had not yet refined several of the core Immortal Gu involved, this battlefield Killer Move was still somewhat rudimentary at present.
However, it might be a bit difficult to deal with ordinary Gu Immortals, as Gu Immortals could easily escape from this space. But for this desolate beast Flying Sword Rat, it was just right.
The space formed by this battlefield Killer Move was extremely vast, roughly the size of a football field. The ground was covered with countless sword Gu, each with a different form; some burned with raging flames, like swords of fire; others emitted bone-chilling cold, like swords of ice... As the Flying Sword Rat was caught off guard, it was suddenly pulled into this space. This sudden change caused the Flying Sword Rat to momentarily lose its bearings, but it quickly recovered.
The Flying Sword Rat was a Metal Dao desolate beast, with only Metal Dao Gu worms inhabiting its body. Therefore, facing such a confined space, it naturally could not break through. Unless Liu Chen's immortal essence ran out, it would be impossible for it to leave this place. And the only way to get out was to kill Liu Chen.
"Immortal Path Killer Move: Sword Net Vast and Wide." Liu Chen let out a soft cry, simultaneously activating the Light Shadow Twin Swords Immortal Gu. A vast net of Sword Qi, like a torrential rain, poured forth, covering the sky and earth as it swept towards the Flying Sword Rat.
Facing such a fierce Sword Qi attack, the Flying Sword Rat showed no fear. Its body, like a flash of lightning, charged directly into the Sword Qi net. However, the moment its sharp claws touched the sword net, a metallic clanging sound erupted, and neither side gained an advantage, unable to break through the other's defenses.
Although the Flying Sword Rat's strength was not to be underestimated, in front of this constantly tightening sword net, it could only twist and turn, dashing left and right. But no matter how much it struggled, it could not escape the sword net's restraints, only watching helplessly as the sword net gradually closed in, trapping it.
The moment the sword net completely trapped the Flying Sword Rat, a satisfied smile finally bloomed on Liu Chen's face. He unhesitatingly activated a powerful Killer Move, the core of which was the Justice Immortal Gu, and this Killer Move was also an Immortal Path Killer Move he had obtained only in the Demon Suppression Tower.
As Liu Chen activated it, a dazzling light suddenly rose, and an enormous character for "just" (zhèng, meaning 'justice' or 'correct') slowly appeared in the air. This character for "just" emitted a heart-pounding Aura, as if containing endless power and majesty.
"Immortal Path Killer Move: Demon Suppression!" Liu Chen softly cried out, his voice echoing through the air like thunder.
The giant character for "just" shot forth like a meteor, directly charging towards the Flying Sword Rat trapped by the sword net. The Flying Sword Rat seemed to sense this powerful force; its originally restless body suddenly became rigid, as if suppressed by an invisible power.
The instant the character for "just" made contact with the Flying Sword Rat, the Flying Sword Rat's body trembled violently, then became still like a statue.
Its eyes were tightly closed, and its breathing became extremely faint, as if it had fallen into a deep sleep, and the character "just" could vaguely be seen on its body.
Seeing this, Liu Chen felt a little relieved. This desolate beast Flying Sword Rat had clearly been suppressed by his Demon Suppression Killer Move, losing its ability to resist. He then reactivated the Formless Hand Killer Move, using countless illusory large hands to grab various Gu worms from the Flying Sword Rat's body.
He stole all the Gu worms from the Flying Sword Rat's body. Liu Chen's movements were as fast as lightning; in the blink of an eye, the Gu worms on the Flying Sword Rat were all swept away by him.
After completing all this, Liu Chen nodded with satisfaction. He gently waved his hand, sending the Gu worm-less Flying Sword Rat into his immortal aperture, to be tamed later.
After retracting the battlefield Killer Move, Liu Chen's figure, like a ghost, reappeared before everyone. Surprisingly, his body was completely unharmed, without a single scratch, and even his clothes were without a single wrinkle.
"Let's go." Liu Chen's lips curved into a faint smile as he gently nodded to the two of them, as if the battle against the desolate beast Flying Sword Rat was nothing more than a trivial game to him.
"Wait!"
Fang Yuan suddenly called out to Liu Chen, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes, "These desolate beasts are all the mountain lords of this mountain. Now that you've subdued that Flying Sword Rat, it means there are no other desolate beasts guarding this mountain. We should be able to find quite a lot here!"
Liu Chen's eyes lit up when he heard this; he clearly realized this as well.
"Good idea!" Hei Lou Lan immediately agreed, "Then let's split up and meet back here after one incense stick's time."
Without further ado, the three immediately split up to search for various precious immortal materials on this mountain.
Liu Chen had excellent luck and soon found the Flying Sword Rat's nest. The nest contained many Metal Dao immortal materials, which made him overjoyed.
The time it takes to drink a cup of tea passed in a flash, and the three met back at the agreed spot on time. From the smiles on their faces, it was clear that everyone had reaped abundant rewards.
After a brief rest, they continued deeper into Starry Sky Grotto-heaven.
During this time, they successively encountered various desolate beasts, including Star Desolate Dogs and Drilling Bears. Despite facing many challenges, they also harvested a large quantity of immortal materials.
However, despite their extensive search, they were still unable to find the Star Demon Bat that Fang Yuan needed. This made them somewhat anxious, as it was one of their main objectives for this trip.
Just then, the celestial phenomena within the Grotto-heaven suddenly changed. The starlight became even more brilliant, and a magnificent palace slowly emerged, as if descending from the Void Realm.
This palace was grand and resplendent, a breathtaking sight. Seeing this, the three unhesitatingly stepped into the palace. Upon entering, they were stunned by the scene before them. Inside the palace, there were six wells, and the well water displayed six colors: red, orange, yellow, blue, purple, and white. Each well of water was crystal clear, emitting a faint, pure light.
"What is the purpose of these wells?" Hei Lou Lan asked, looking at the wells with a puzzled expression. To uncover the secret of the wells, she unhesitatingly threw various Gu worms into them, hoping to understand the wells' mysteries through the Gu worms' reactions.
At the same time, Fang Yuan took a similar action. He carefully observed the changes in the well water, trying to discover some clues.
Just then, Liu Chen spoke up to explain, "This Starry Sky Grotto-heaven should be divided into six regions, and the purpose of these wells is to connect these regions. I know a thing or two about Star Dao."
Liu Chen's attainments in Star Dao were already quite profound; his Star Dao Realm had now even reached the Great Master level. Exploring this Starry Sky Grotto-heaven was like a fish in water for him.
After speaking, Liu Chen unhesitatingly chose a well at random, then leaped into it.
The moment he jumped into the well, a powerful force instantly enveloped him, as if the entire world twisted at that moment.
Immediately after, the scene before his eyes drastically changed; the originally dark interior of the well suddenly became bright, and he found himself in a completely unfamiliar space.
"You're too impatient!" Hei Lou Lan's voice rang in Liu Chen's ears, "If this is a method left by the Grotto-heaven Lord, we wouldn't be able to save you!"
Liu Chen turned his head and saw Hei Lou Lan, who had appeared beside him at some point, looking at him with a helpless expression.
"It seems that this place, just as Immortal Friend Nameless said, is a teleportation passage!" Fang Yuan's exclamations came, "What a clever method!"
Hearing this, Liu Chen and Hei Lou Lan both looked around. They saw that in this space, the light was soft, and clouds and mist swirled, like an immortal Realm. Compared to Liu Chen's memories from five hundred years ago, the scenery here was vastly different; many familiar places had disappeared, replaced by entirely new sights.
"Wait, someone!" Liu Chen suddenly let out a low cry, his gaze fixed on the sky. He saw that in the originally empty sky, a huge palace slowly emerged, and below the palace, two figures were rapidly flying towards them.
"Someone actually arrived before us!" Fang Yuan also felt surprised.
"What's so strange about that?" Hei Lou Lan, however, looked dismissive, "The information you can gather, others naturally have ways to know."
The three moved like lightning, instantly activating various exquisite concealment Killer Moves, suppressing their Aura and presence to the extreme, as if they had merged with the surrounding environment.
"Perhaps having someone here isn't necessarily a bad thing." Liu Chen's eyes flickered as he decisively transmitted his voice to the two beside him.
The other two exchanged glances, understanding immediately, and a faint smile simultaneously appeared on their lips—a smile akin to a mantis stalking a cicada, with an oriole behind.
Immediately after, with lightning speed, they quickly cleared away all traces they had left in the Star Hall, ensuring that no clues could expose their whereabouts.
With everything ready, the three unhesitatingly sped towards the direction the two Gu Immortals had departed, moving as fast as lightning, like ghosts.
However, just as they were about to cross a certain area, Hei Lou Lan suddenly pointed vigilantly at an eyeball-shaped Gu worm ahead, warning, "Wait, there's a detection Gu worm there!"
That Gu worm floated silently in the air, emitting a faint glow, like a peering eye.
"No need to worry." Fang Yuan explained confidently, "That's the Starlight False Eye Gu. Although its detection range is wide, to observe us, it must be continuously activated. This would quickly exhaust the Gu Immortal's soul, so they won't maintain this state for long. Moreover, this Gu worm cannot see through our invisibility technique; as long as we conceal ourselves well, even if we walk brazenly past it, we absolutely won't be discovered."
With that, Fang Yuan unhesitatingly strode forward, crossing the area covered by the Starlight False Eye Gu as if walking on flat ground. Seeing this, Hei Lou Lan and Liu Chen followed closely, successfully passing through this potentially dangerous area.
"Look!" Hei Lou Lan suddenly sent a voice transmission, attracting everyone's attention.
Following her gaze, they saw a huge desolate beast corpse lying on the ground not far away—a Shadow Leopard. This Shadow Leopard had clearly been dead for some time; its body lay quietly on the ground, blood continuously flowing from its wounds, seeping into the ground, forming a dark red pool of blood.
Hei Lou Lan walked forward curiously, carefully examining the Shadow Leopard's corpse. He found multiple fatal wounds on the Shadow Leopard's body, clearly indicating it had undergone a fierce battle.
"How strange, who killed this Shadow Leopard? And left its corpse here." Hei Lou Lan muttered to himself.