After a few breaths, the dark valley bottom returned to calm.

Such a bizarre scene made Qin Ming shudder.

Xiao Zhongren is gone just like that?

A cultivator as strong as a Golden Core Ancestor level couldn't even struggle.

However, Qin Ming could feel that the terrifying presence inside the cave seemed trapped by the black iron pillar and couldn't come out. Furthermore, the distance the blood-red tongue could reach was limited to just over ten yards.

Xiao Zhongren was just unlucky enough to be standing near the black iron pillar.

At this moment.

The green artifact spirit, trapped under the red net-like talisman treasure, suddenly broke free without Xiao Zhongren's control and attempted to flee deeper into the abyss.

"Trying to escape?!"

Qin Ming's eyes were sharp. After going to such great lengths and taking the risk to enter this place, wasn't this what he came for?

How could he let it escape?

He immediately disappeared from where he was, using the Blood Escape Technique, and instantly appeared above the green artifact spirit.

Seeing this, the artifact spirit opened its mouth and spat out a piece of green profound light at Qin Ming.

In an instant.

The scenery before Qin Ming's eyes abruptly changed, and three ghostly apparitions appeared from the void, blocking Qin Ming.

The three ghostly figures had faces as pale as ice, emitting a chilling aura, and their power had reached the Fake Core level.

It was clearly Xu Yang and the others, whose souls had been absorbed by the green artifact spirit.

No one knew how the artifact spirit managed to instantly elevate the soul body power of the three to another level.

Qin Ming, without much thought, immediately released the Profound Water Crocodile and the Silver-winged Frost Bee.

Crackle!

Boom!

The moment the Profound Water Crocodile appeared, it opened its massive mouth, and a large bolt of silver lightning shot out, striking one of the ghostly figures.

Silver-winged Frost Bee also flapped its six wings and charged towards the enemy.

Qin Ming calmly spat out a Tier Three Spirit-Devouring Poison Flame, which transformed into a turquoise-blue fire bird and pounced on the strongest ghostly figure that Xu Yang had become.

Instantly.

The magic exploded, with thunder and lightning flashing!

Boom-crack!

The lightning unleashed by the Profound Water Crocodile instantly shattered one of the ghostly figures, melting it away.

Its thunder divine technique far exceeded ordinary magic, especially having a lethal effect on yin-attribute ghostly figures.

Qin Ming's Tier Three Spirit-Devouring Poison Flame was even more ferocious, sweeping through with a flash of fire and burning the ghostly figure that Xu Yang had become to ashes.

He eliminated the three ghostly figures in a matter of moments, even before the cunning artifact spirit could react.

Startled, the spiny artifact spirit wriggled and transformed into hundreds of misleading green light orbs, scattering in all directions.

"Another illusion technique?"

In this kind of situation, any regular cultivator would be at a loss.

However, using an illusion technique in front of him was just showing off one's inferior skills!

Qin Ming's eyes suddenly widened, shooting out two crimson profound lights that landed on the green light orbs.

The scattering green light orbs were instantly frozen!

Then the red light intensified, and countless green bright lights were swept away by Qin Ming's Eye of Destruction!

Only one spiny light orb remained, immobilized in a corner.

Just as Qin Ming was about to capture it.

Yet again, an abrupt change occurred!

The artifact spirit suddenly burst out with a golden divine light, dispelling Qin Ming's Breaking Method Profound Light.

Then the golden divine light transformed into three fire crows, emitting an astonishing heat, and swooped down on Qin Ming.

It seemed Qin Ming's series of maneuvers had cornered the artifact spirit, forcing it to unleash its true strength.

The golden divine crows gave off a terrifying sense that even a single touch would lead to instant annihilation.

Even Qin Ming didn't dare confront them head-on and instead used his body technique to dodge the fire crows' attack.

"Is this really the means of an artifact spirit?"

"It feels no less than the means of a Golden Core Ancestor."

The artifact spirit of the Hook Jade Golden Light Mirror retracted the golden fire crows, and then the surrounding spiky green awns exploded, transforming into countless green beams falling towards Qin Ming overwhelmingly.

The speed was incredibly fast, reaching in an instant.

Buzz~

A slight tremor echoed in Qin Ming's mind, and then with a sweep of his divine thought, the green spikes before him were all blocked outside.

"Divine Soul Attack!"

He hadn't expected the artifact spirit to have a wide array of techniques, even mastering soul-based attacks.

Fortunately, his divine soul, strengthened through the entry, far exceeded that of same-tier cultivators; otherwise, he would have been in real trouble.

The artifact spirit, seeing its green beams ineffective against the ordinary-looking cultivator before it, was left dumbfounded.

Qin Ming squinted, taking advantage of its distraction, and cast a spell to bind it.

Avoiding any prolonging of the situation, he immediately took out a jade bottle, reached out to grab the artifact spirit, and sealed it inside.

A violent struggle erupted within the bottle, but it was all in vain.

Thus, after significant efforts, Qin Ming finally subdued the artifact spirit of the Profound Jade Golden Light Mirror.

With the aid of the Profound Water Crocodile and Silver-winged Frost Bee, the Heaven-Devouring Rat broke free from the Demon-Binding Ring and came to Qin Ming's side.

"Eh~ How strange."

"This damned thing actually sealed my demonic power, leaving me completely powerless."

Then it handed the Tier Three Middle-Grade Talisman Treasure Demon-Binding Ring in its hand to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming took the talisman treasure and found it had been used twice already, with only one last use remaining.

However, considering Elder Yane's Fake Pill Realm cultivation, who didn't hesitate to burn essence blood and exhaust mana to fully unleash its power.

The cost of using this high-tier talisman treasure is not small; if you forcibly activate it with cultivation below the Golden Core Stage, you'll lose half your life even if you survive.

"It's been thousands of years since I've tasted the flesh and blood of a Golden Core Cultivator; truly delicious beyond compare."

"Hehehe, what an interesting little fellow."

"You actually managed to subdue the Artifact Spirit."

"And also possess a promising Tier Three Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire."

In the darkness, a voice akin to a broken gong sounded.

Qin Ming instantly tensed, looking in the direction of the sound, only to see a pair of massive scarlet eyes reappearing in that black hole.

This time, the existence within the darkness also revealed its true form completely.

It was a massive Golden Toad Demon King, exuding a terrifying aura, the likes of which Qin Ming had never sensed in any Golden Core Ancestor.

Although it appeared to have only early-stage Tier Three cultivation, it could easily devour Xiao Zhongren, a Golden Core Cultivator, without mercy, indicating some hidden mystery.

Moreover, its intelligence was fully awakened, capable of speaking human language much like the Heaven-Devouring Rat.

Qin Ming, accompanied by three Spirit Pets, immediately sought to escape.

But just then.

In the canyon, an invisible force seemed to descend, forming an unseen barrier that completely sealed off Qin Ming's path.

Qin Ming furrowed his brow, showing a hint of a displeased expression on his face.

"Hehehe,"

"Don't bother; with the Artifact Spirit on you, you can't get out."

The voice from the black hole sounded again.

"Come over for a chat?!"

Then, in Qin Ming's gaze, the figure of the Golden Toad Demon King trapped behind the iron pillar shrank, gradually transforming into an elderly man.

The skin was shriveled, with bulging spots akin to those on a toad's body.

Witnessing this scene, Qin Ming couldn't help but feel secretly shocked; the other party could randomly transform into a human form.

And retained only a few characteristics of a Demon Beast.

This was enough to indicate that the original strength of this Golden Toad Demon King was close to reaching the level of a Transformed Great Demon.

The Heaven-Devouring Rat watched from the side, alert and wary, catching an extremely dangerous aura from the Golden Toad.

"Let me introduce myself; I am the Golden Toad Ancestor, trapped here for thousands of years."

The elderly man transformed from the Golden Toad Demon King regarded Qin Ming with great interest, seemingly wanting to see through him.

"You're only at the Foundation Establishment Stage..."

"Looks like the little guy has considerable opportunities!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming remained calm, asking expressionlessly, "Was it you who sent out that Copper Mirror Fragment?"

"Hehe, that's right!"

"It was this king who scattered it, originally aiming to lure many cultivators here."

"That way, I could have a hearty feast to restore my strength, but I hadn't expected both Artifact Fragments to land in your hands."

"Truly the will of heaven!"

"However, little guy, you needn't doubt; that fragment indeed belongs to the Hook Jade Golden Light Mirror."

"The Treasure Refining Technique within is genuine, or else... you wouldn't have reached here."

"Hehehe!"

Qin Ming furrowed his brow upon hearing this, "So, the Hook Jade Golden Light Mirror Artifact is real too?"

"Of course, without genuine goods, how would you Human Race cultivators easily take the bait?" Golden Toad Ancestor replied with an eerie smile.

Qin Ming's eyes flashed, thoughts turning as he pondered the truth in the other's words.

He didn't fully trust what Golden Toad Ancestor was saying.

After all, the opponent was an ancient monster who had lived for thousands of years, almost a relic, deeply scheming and calculating, and carelessness could lead to being schemed to death.

Presumably, those who could confine Golden Toad Ancestor here for thousands of years possessed even more terrifying strength.

"Little guy, how about we make a deal?"

"I can tell you how to repair the Treasure Mirror and have a way out of here."

"How about you help this king escape?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming fell into deep thought.

Golden Toad Ancestor, noticing Qin Ming's hesitance, glanced around shrewdly, raising the stakes:

"This king can give you the follow-up cultivation technique for the Celestial Demon Refining Form Strategy!"

"I just saw that Eye of Breaking Technique, should be a Demon Race Divine Technique, right?"

Golden Toad Ancestor seemed quite knowledgeable about this, coaxing with a persuasive tone.

Qin Ming was barely moved by the earlier promises, but when Golden Toad Ancestor mentioned the Celestial Demon Refining Form Strategy.

His heart skipped a beat!

"How about it, little guy?"

"You and I have met by chance; we can each get what we need, and after leaving, the road is wide open, each going our separate ways."

Seeing a rare shift in Qin Ming's expression, Golden Toad Ancestor knew he was close to taking the bait.

The corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl into a subtle smile.

"Do not agree to it."

"Otherwise, you will die!"

Right at that moment!

An abrupt voice rang in Qin Ming's mind.

Qin Ming was taken aback, for he had never heard this voice before, nor was it from the Heaven-Devouring Rat.

It was a strange voice, cold and mechanical in tone.

Qin Ming immediately sought the source of the voice, only to be stunned to find it was coming from the hedgehog-like Artifact Spirit he had just subdued!

...

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