23: Chapter 23 is coming, are you guys here?

Chen Yuanshan did not answer, only nodded, his gaze scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

"Everyone, stay alert."

"According to Sect intel, the Earth Lizard Ancestor has the Three Great Demon Generals as guardians; you must not act rashly."

Chen Yuanshan led over thirty Disciples, cautiously creeping toward the vicinity of the Earth Lizard Ancestor's Immortal Cave.

They lowered their bodies, using the cover of bushes and rocks to surround the entrance completely.

However, the fierce battle they had anticipated did not come.

The area outside the Immortal Cave was empty; there was no Vulture Demon, no Python Demon, no Gray Rat Demon, not even a single small Yao Beast.

"Elder Chen, something is wrong."

Zhao Heng lay beside Chen Yuanshan, lowering his voice, his brows furrowed, "What about the Three Great Demon Generals? Wasn't it said that they always guarded the entrance?"

Chen Yuanshan did not answer, his gaze scanning the surroundings like a hawk.

The rocks at the entrance were covered in claw marks and dried blood, and many bones and scraps of meat were scattered on the ground; clearly, a large number of Yao Beasts had gathered here before.

But now, there was nothing; it was as quiet as a grave.

"Could it be a trap?"

Another Disciple leaned forward, his voice tinged with nervousness.

Chen Yuanshan pondered for a moment, then took a yellow Talisman from his bosom.

The Talisman was covered in dense runes, with Spiritual Qi faintly flowing through them. This was a Tier 1 Detection Talisman, capable of detecting the aura of any Yao Beast below Tier 2 within a five-mile radius. He had specifically purchased it from within the Sect before departing, costing him thirty Spirit Stones.

Chen Yuanshan bit his fingertip and dripped a drop of blood onto the Talisman. The Talisman flashed with light, flew from his palm, spun in the air a few times, and then transformed into a ring of light that expanded in all directions.

Wherever the ring of light passed, vegetation, rocks, and caves were all revealed in minute detail.

A moment later, the Talisman's light dissipated, turning into ashes that drifted down.

There was no reaction.

No Yao Beast aura, no fluctuations in Demon Power, nothing at all.

Zhao Heng's expression changed: "How is this possible? Could the Three Great Demon Generals not be here?"

Chen Yuanshan's expression also darkened.

A Detection Talisman would not make a mistake; any Yao Beast below Tier 2, as long as it was within the detection range, could not hide.

Now that the Talisman had no reaction, it could only mean one thing: the Three Great Demon Generals were indeed not here, and within a few miles, there wasn't even a single sentient Essence Spirit.

He stood up, his gaze falling on the pitch-black entrance, feeling a faint sense of unease in his heart.

"Elder Chen, what should we do?"

Zhao Heng asked.

Chen Yuanshan was silent for a moment, and soon understood the key to the situation.

"Beasts are just beasts; they cannot be compared to human emotions at all."

"Feel free to enter; they have already... abandoned the one inside."

By this time, Chen Yuanshan no longer needed to hide. He removed the Breath-Concealing Talisman from his body, drew his Qingfeng Sword, and stepped into the entrance first.

The thirty-plus Disciples behind him filed in, the Magical Artifacts in their hands flashing with light, illuminating the dim cave brightly.

The inside of the cave was much more spacious than they had imagined.

The passageway wound downward, with claw marks and dried blood covering the stone walls on both sides, and a rotten, fishy stench permeated the air.

After walking for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the path ahead suddenly opened up, and a huge stone grotto appeared before them.

The stone grotto was ten zhang square, with a towering dome embedded with unknown glowing Ore, illuminating the entire stone chamber as bright as day.

In the center of the stone chamber, on a high platform piled with white bones, a massive figure was coiled there.

Chen Yuanshan and the others stopped in their tracks.

They looked over.

The Earth Lizard Ancestor's grey-brown scales were dull and lusterless, like a layer of withered tree bark pasted onto a skeleton.

Its body was so thin it was just skin and bones, its ribs protruding one by one, as if they would pierce through its skin at any moment.

Its breathing was weak and ragged; every inhalation was accompanied by a "hissing" sound from deep within its throat, like a worn-out bellows leaking air.

Its eyes were half-open and half-closed, a layer of grey-white film covering the eyeballs, obscuring that pair of normally cold, slit pupils into a blur.

A trace of joy flashed in Chen Yuanshan's eyes.

The Three Great Demon Generals were not there, and this old demon was lying here all alone, almost lacking the strength to even open its eyes; this was an opportunity gifted to him by the heavens.

"Prepare to strike."

Chen Yuanshan lowered his voice, gripping his Qingfeng Sword tightly with his right hand. The thirty-plus Disciples raised their Magical Artifacts one after another, Spiritual power surging, and various lights flickered in the dim stone grotto.

Just at this moment.

The Earth Lizard Ancestor's eyes suddenly snapped open.

That layer of grey-white film rapidly receded from its eyeballs, like a curtain being suddenly pulled open, revealing a pair of amber slit pupils—cold, sharp, and possessing a clarity that made one's hair stand on end.

Those eyes looked down at the Human Race Cultivators in the stone grotto as if looking at a group of prey that had walked right into a trap.

"Yunshan Sect's..."

"So you've come, just a few of you?"

"My flesh and blood... couldn't even attract a single Foundation Establishment Cultivator..."

A hoarse voice squeezed out from the Earth Lizard Ancestor's throat, like sandpaper rubbing against rock, carrying a deep-seated hatred.

The voice was not loud, but it echoed in the stone grotto, shaking loose debris from the dome that fell with a rustling sound.

The Earth Lizard Ancestor slowly rose to its feet.

Its movements were very slow, so slow that the movement of every inch of muscle could be clearly seen.

Its grey-brown scales rubbed against each other, emitting a "clack, clack" sound, like rusty iron chains being dragged, and its skin-and-bones body trembled, as if it might fall apart at any moment.

But it stood up.

A majestic aura of pressure surged from within its body, spreading in all directions like a tide.

That was the aura of a Tier 2 Demonic Beast, a level that a ninth-layer Qi Refining Cultivator could not reach.

Wherever the pressure passed, the faces of the thirty-plus Disciples instantly turned deathly pale; some had weak legs and nearly knelt to the ground.

Chen Yuanshan's pupils constricted sharply, and he subconsciously took a step back.

But the next second, that aura of pressure suddenly weakened.

Like receding seawater, it came fast and went fast.

The pressure plummeted from its Peak to the bottom, and the Earth Lizard Ancestor's body swayed, nearly falling over.

Then, the pressure surged up again.

One wave after another.

When it was strong, it made people unable to breathe; when it was weak, it was not even as good as an ordinary Yao Beast.

It was like the final flash of a dying person, or like waves hitting a reef, each time weaker than the last.

The Earth Lizard Ancestor's breathing became more rapid, the hissing sound deep in its throat grew louder, its body trembled, and the muscles under its scales spasmed; it had clearly reached its limit.

A flash of realization crossed Chen Yuanshan's eyes.

"It is bluffing."

"Yao-Binding Net!"

Chen Yuanshan turned his head slightly, and Zhao Heng understood instantly.

He swung his right hand violently, and a giant silver-white net flew out from his sleeve, expanding in the wind and instantly becoming several zhang in size, covering down toward the top of the Earth Lizard Ancestor's head.

The net's threads were as thin as hair but gleamed with a metallic cold light; it was a Sharp Weapon specially forged in the Human Race cultivation world to deal with Yao Beasts.