Cultivation: I have an equipment slot

Chapter 171 The Sea Dragon Appears, Startling News in the Central Plains
Upon hearing Mo Changqing's words, the frogman let out a long breath and wiped non-existent sweat from his head. He didn't know whether what he had done was right or wrong.

But he knew that if he didn't do this, his tribe would be wiped out.

"In that case, let's start with your tribe." Lei Kunhai glanced at the frogmen and said softly, "Let's integrate your tribe first, and then you can cooperate with the fishmen to salvage the treasures in the marshes."

"Don't worry, as long as you obey, you'll get your share of the benefits. But if you don't, well, I won't hesitate to show you what ruthless methods really mean."

Lei Kunhai's voice was cold and hard, devoid of any emotion.

However, the frogman trembled all over. It had no doubt about Lei Kunhai's abilities. Judging from the spiritual pressure emanating from him, if he said he would kill his whole family, then he meant it. There was no problem at all.

"Furthermore, I've discovered that there seem to be quite a few minerals in this swamp, and we might need you to dig them out later." Seeing the frogmen's reaction, Lei Kunhai's tone softened considerably as he gently spoke to them.

Mining.

This is physically demanding work.

Looking at those skinny fishmen alone, it's clear they're not cut out for this kind of work, but these robust frogmen are perfect for mining.

Since you're so muscular, go mine!

Let them vent properly, let them release their energy.

"Yes, sir." The frogman was not angry at all when he heard that Lei Kunhai planned to send them to mine. Instead, he was happy.

Although mining is hard work, but...

It's a chance to survive!

Only useful people can survive. They are not afraid of being asked to do hard work; they are only afraid that the other party will not need them!

At this moment, facing a life-or-death crisis, the frogman appeared very calm and even more intelligent than usual.

"Alright, since that's the case, let's go." After saying that, Mo Changqing flicked his sleeve, directly picking up the frogman and the old fishman and taking them into the sky.

Then the frogman gave directions, and they headed towards the enemy's lair.

They traveled at an extremely high speed.

In just an hour, they spotted the frogmen's tribe in the distance.

Unlike the fishman tribe, this frogman tribe looks larger, and its outer perimeter is surrounded by sturdy tree stumps, forming a fortified village that can provide some protection should any danger arise.

Inside these villages, arrow towers and tall buildings were specially constructed, allowing them to see distant enemies. If the fishman tribe was a ruin, then the frogman tribe was more like a bandit stronghold, far more advanced than the fishman tribe.

Unfortunately, these things were utterly laughable in front of Zhang Yan and his group. What use were these pieces of wood? They were cultivators, they could fly!

Most importantly, your tribe doesn't even have a single formation. What seems like an impregnable fortress to the frogmen is full of flaws in the eyes of Zhang Yan and the others.

"Sect Leader, should we reveal our identities directly, or...?" Zhang Yan glanced at Mo Changqing and then asked softly.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Let's teach them a lesson first, otherwise it'll be difficult to talk to them later," Mo Changqing said coldly.

"Understood." Zhang Yan nodded, then stepped forward, waved his hand, and his magic power surged out. Instantly, dark clouds filled the sky, and huge meteorites emerged from the clouds.

"go with!"

Zhang Yan gave a low shout, and then meteorites fell from the sky like shooting stars.

Each meteorite is over ten meters long; nothing else is needed, just this impact is enough to unleash tremendous power.

"Boom boom boom!"

A meteorite hurtled down upon the earth.

Each time it crashes down, it hits a row of houses, and the huge shockwave can blow a row of houses away. You can even see many frogmen who don't have time to dodge and are blown away.

See this scene.

The frogman following them turned pale and knelt on the ground, wailing, "Sir, please stop! Our frogman tribe surrenders!"
"We are willing to listen to you. We will do whatever you ask us to do!" The frogman knelt on the magic weapon and kowtowed repeatedly to Zhang Yan, Mo Changqing, and the others.

however.

Everyone's expression remained calm, and they showed no intention of stopping.

Zhang Yan glanced at Mo Changqing.

Actually, when he first took action, he had already chosen a relatively remote location. This wasn't because he was kind-hearted; it was mainly because frogmen were also a resource!

If they all die, who will mine for them?

Are they supposed to go and mine the minerals themselves?

"Hmm, they're here. Stop now." At this moment, Mo Changqing raised an eyebrow and suddenly spoke.

As his words fell.

From within the Frogman tribe's stronghold, several figures soared into the sky, shouting, "Who goes there? How dare you cause trouble for our tribe!"

As the figure landed, it turned out to be more than a dozen frogmen. Most of these frogmen were at the Foundation Establishment stage, while some were at the late Qi Refining stage.

When these people saw Zhang Yan and his group, and especially after sensing the spiritual pressure emanating from Mo Changqing and his companions, their expressions changed drastically. Clearly, they had discovered that Mo Changqing and the others were at the Golden Core stage.

"Red Spirit, you actually betrayed the tribe!" The leader, a frogman who looked quite old, suddenly pointed at Red Spirit kneeling on the ground and questioned him angrily.

“I…” Chi Ling, who was also a Foundation Establishment stage frogman who brought Zhang Yan and the others, looked grim upon hearing the accusation. He stammered, “Chieftain, please let me explain. Although I brought them here, they also promised to give our tribe a way to survive.”

"All we need to do is reveal the locations of other tribes, and our people will mine for them, ensuring our survival."

Chi Ling spoke silently to the frogman chieftain.

"You!" The frogman chieftain almost spat out a mouthful of blood when he heard Chi Ling's words, even though Chi Ling's words seemed to make no mistake.

They found a way for their tribe to survive.

However, whether it's betraying other tribes or mining, these are things the frogman chieftain cannot accept. Even if such a tribe survives, wouldn't it just be slaves to the other side?

"We frogmen will never be slaves!" the frogman chieftain roared, then suddenly declared, "Frogmen only die standing, not live kneeling. If you want to enslave my people, you'll have to step over me first."

The frogman chieftain waved his hands and shouted loudly.

Upon hearing the frogman chieftain's words, all the frogmen were filled with righteous indignation, holding bone spears and displaying a united hatred for the enemy.

"Alright." Zhang Yan clapped his hands, and a golden sword light flew past, instantly severing the frogman chieftain's head.

Even the frogman chieftain didn't realize what was happening. As its head spun in the air, it was still thinking, "That frogman's body looks so familiar. Isn't that my body?"

However, before his questions could be answered, he felt his vision grow darker and darker, and then he knew nothing more. His head rolled three times on the ground before landing in front of the frogman tribe's gate.

Looking at the fallen frogman chieftain, Zhang Yan spoke softly: "I admire you as a man. Since you want to die standing, then I will grant your wish. Are there any of you left who want to die standing?"

He retracted his flying sword and looked at all the frogmen.

These frogmen had never seen anything like this before.
The frogmen, who had been so passionate earlier, have now calmed down, because they realize that enthusiasm alone is not enough to save them.

Passionate...

If you spill it, it'll get cold!
……

What are you still doing?
Do you want to die?
Do you want the tribe to perish?

If the tribe is truly destroyed, you people will be sinners!

Seeing these stunned frogmen who still refused to surrender, Chi Ling couldn't sit still any longer and quickly tried to persuade them: "Surrender! We have no chance of winning at all. Even if we bring Hailong here, it won't work. The enemy is too strong. We can only rely on them."

Only in this way can our frogman tribe continue. This is not surrender; this is for the sake of the tribe.

Chi Ling began to earnestly persuade her companions.

Upon hearing his words, the expressions on these people's faces changed repeatedly. Finally, a female frogman suddenly sighed and knelt down on the ground with a "plop".

"My baby is only one year old, I don't want it to die."

"Ah~"

A sigh arose, and with the first person taking the lead, one frogman after another knelt down. No one resisted, and not even one frogman committed suicide.

This shows that these frogmen aren't really tough nuts to crack.

“Yes, only in this way can our tribe continue.” Seeing this, Zhang Yan and the others did not say anything.

But Chi Ling laughed first.

“Take a count of how many people are in this frogman tribe,” Zhang Yan said softly, glancing at Chi Ling.

"Yes, sir!" Upon hearing Zhang Yan's words, Chi Ling immediately stood up and began to arrange for the frogmen to count the number of people in the entire tribe.

Perhaps because they were facing the crisis of extinction, the frogmen were very fast. In less than half a cup of tea's time, they had already counted the number of people and reported it.

"There are a total of 2987 frogmen, including 98 older frogmen, 300 younger frogmen, and the rest are young adults." Upon seeing this data, Zhang Yan frowned slightly.

He felt that something was wrong with the population structure.

There are too few elderly frogmen, and even fewer young frogmen, but he doesn't care much about that. To him, the more young and middle-aged frogmen there are, the better, because only with a large number of young and middle-aged frogmen can they work properly.

"By the way, what is this sea dragon you mentioned? Bring it over so I can take a look." Zhang Yan seemed to suddenly remember something and asked Chi Ling.

"what?

"Does Your Excellency wish to see Hailong?" Chi Ling was taken aback upon hearing this, and a hesitant expression appeared on his face.

"Hmm, I want to see what exactly a sea dragon is. I don't believe you frogmen can really raise dragons." Not only Zhang Yan, but Mo Changqing and the others were also very curious about the sea dragon.

Regardless of whether it's a real dragon or not, anything associated with the name "dragon" is bound to be complicated. So they all wanted to see for themselves.

"It is possible, but we only raise the sea dragon and drive it in a simple way. It is not our slave, it just obeys us temporarily."

"But we can't guarantee it won't suddenly become ferocious," Chi Ling explained truthfully to Zhang Yan.

"It's alright, just go ahead and call them. We'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong." There were three Golden Core cultivators here: Mo Changqing, Lei Kunhai, and Zhuge Wan.

Zhang Yan wasn't afraid of the other party pulling any tricks.

After all, no matter how powerful you, Hailong, are, you're still just a Foundation Establishment cultivator. How could you possibly deal with a Golden Core cultivator?
"Yes, my lord!"

Upon hearing Zhang Yan's words, Chi Ling sighed, then roused himself and began instructing the frogmen to summon the sea dragon.

This can be seen from the above.

Although these frogmen can summon sea dragons, they cannot control them at will; even summoning them requires a ritual.

Chi Ling moved very quickly.

Or rather, the entire frogman tribe acted very quickly. After all, this was the first task they had undertaken since joining Zhang Yan and his group. If they didn't do it well and angered the other party, their entire tribe would be doomed!
As the melodious drumbeats sounded, all the frogmen arrived in front of a pitch-black cave. The creature was located in the middle of the frogman tribe, its bottom unseen, and no one could see what was inside.

"what?"

Mo Changqing suddenly let out a soft exclamation and looked curiously at the dark cave.

There was something inside that was blocking his divine sense, preventing him from seeing what was inside.

"Interesting. Let's wait for the frogman tribe to summon them." Mo Changqing originally wanted to investigate the situation inside first, but now it seems that he can only wait for the frogman tribe to release them on their own.

As the frogman's drumbeats grew louder, the black hole began to shake violently, as if something was about to emerge from it.

See this scene.

At Chi Ling's command, several elderly frogmen walked step by step to the black hole and jumped in without hesitation.

Immediately afterwards, chilling chewing and swallowing sounds came from the black hole.

However, this was not the end. The black hole shook more and more violently, but nothing came out. Seeing this, Chi Ling sighed, but there was nothing she could do but continue to give orders.

Then two more young frogmen were brought up and thrown into the black hole.

Then came another series of chewing and swallowing sounds.

It was clear that the creature inside the black hole was satisfied this time. With a whooshing sound, two creatures covered in black scales, with heads that resembled snakes but without eyes, crawled out of the black hole.

"This is Hailong?" Zhang Yan was somewhat dissatisfied upon seeing its appearance; it was far too ugly.

Moreover, he didn't sense the slightest bit of dragon might from the other party.

You must know, dragons.

Whether it's a true dragon, a flood dragon, or even a dragon-type demon beast, they all possess the might of a dragon.

It's like wind and thunder.

He possesses a strong dragon's might. If he encounters a demon beast, releasing his dragon's might will cause the demon beast to lose some of its courage before the battle even begins.

It might even make the other party afraid to resist.

But these two things in front of us, apart from being ugly, don't look like dragons at all!
After carefully sensing the other party's aura, I have to say that although the other party is ugly, their strength is not weak at all. They are actually at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and the other one, who is slightly larger, is at the peak of Foundation Establishment.

These two creatures, named Sea Dragons, kept shaking their bodies after they came out, while Chi Ling took out a whistle-like object and gently blew it.

As his whistle blew, the two sea dragons calmed down and even began to cooperate with Chi Ling, making some movements.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, this is Hailong." Chi Ling stepped forward and respectfully said to Zhang Yan.

"Sect Leader, what do you think?" Zhang Yan looked at Mo Changqing.

"They're not dragons at all. If you have to say, they might have a tiny bit of bloodline in them." Mo Changqing sighed, then suddenly reached out, and a huge hand made of spiritual energy appeared in the sky, grabbing the two sea dragons.

Then with force.

They pulled the sea dragon directly out of the black hole.

It was only then that everyone realized that these sea dragons were unusually long, each one being hundreds of feet long.

but……

For Mo Changqing, however, it was nothing.

"This is the first time I've ever seen something like this, you guys..."

"Want to try some?" Mo Changqing pulled the two sea dragons out. They tried to struggle and attack Mo Changqing, but he pressed them to the ground, rendering them unable to move.

"It doesn't look appetizing." Zhuge Wan glanced at it with disdain, but Lei Kunhai's eyes lit up and he said, "Junior Sister Zhuge is still too young. Let me tell you, don't look at this ugly thing. Often, the more strangely shaped something is, the more nutritious it is. Who knows, this thing might even nourish yin and yang."

"Whether it can nourish yin and replenish yang, we'll know after we try it!" After saying that, Mo Changqing laughed loudly and immediately ordered people to start a fire and heat the oil.

He really intended to eat the sea dragon.

Zhang Yan remained silent to the side, but somehow he grabbed a pair of chopsticks and put them in his hand, waiting for the meal to be served.

Although he really, really, really doesn't care about supplementing Yang energy.

but!

This is, after all, the flesh of a late-stage Foundation Establishment demon beast. Regardless of the taste, it will definitely be very nourishing for him.

Chi Ling overheard the conversation between Mo Changqing, Zhang Yan, and others.

I just felt a slight tingling sensation on my scalp.

these people……

It's really scary.

They even eat things like sea dragons.

And they ate it without any hesitation.

At this moment, Chi Ling could only lament that she had surrendered so quickly; otherwise, she would probably have ended up in the enemy's stomach too.

in fact.

Chi Ling misunderstood this point.

Although Zhang Yan and his group could eat sea dragons, they couldn't eat frogmen. After all, humans don't really have much of an appetite for humanoid creatures.

The two poor sea dragons thought that the frogmen would bring them some benefits by summoning them, but they never expected to be skinned, have their tendons pulled out, and be made into a stew.

have to say.

The stewed meat smells absolutely delicious.

After eating it, Zhang Yan felt completely comfortable.

"Feng Lei, don't waste the rest of your flesh and blood, it's very nourishing." Mo Changqing asked Zhang Yan while enjoying his meal.

"Alright, disciple will call him out right away." Zhang Yan didn't hesitate and poured Feng Lei out of the spirit beast bag.

After coming out, Feng Lei saw the flesh and blood there and, without Zhang Yan's prompting, immediately opened his mouth and started eating.

The four humans and the dragon ate until their bellies were round in no time. Zhang Yan put the remaining flesh and blood into his storage bag for Feng Lei to continue eating.

"Alright, we've eaten and drunk our fill, now it's time to get down to business." Mo Changqing stood up, patted his belly, showing none of the demeanor of a sect leader.

"You mean?" Zhang Yan looked at the dark cave entrance.

“That’s right, let’s go in and take a look. I have a feeling there’s something in there.” Mo Changqing laughed and said to Zhang Yan.

"Just go in like this?" Zhang Yan's eyes widened. "Aren't we going to prepare?" Zhang Yan suddenly felt that his sect leader seemed a bit reckless, going in without even knowing what was inside.

"What are you afraid of?" Mo Changqing chuckled. "If those two Foundation Establishment stage cultivators can get along peacefully inside, how could we Golden Core stage cultivators be in danger?"

“But…” Zhang Yan felt that Mo Changqing’s words made some sense, but something still felt off.

"Alright, enough with the 'buts,' let's go take a look." Mo Changqing said, arriving at the black hole. Although he spoke boldly, he didn't go in directly.

Instead, he patted the storage bag at his waist, and a bird emerged from it. This bird appeared to be only at the Qi Refining stage.

As soon as Mo Changqing let go, the bird disappeared into the black hole.

Then a strange thing happened: Zhang Yan saw that Mo Changqing's eyes had turned into the shape of birds.

Clearly, he somehow managed to share the bird's field of vision.

in this way.

After a long while, Mo Changqing suddenly sighed, and his eyes returned to normal.

"Senior brother, how is it?" Zhuge Wan asked quickly upon seeing this.

"Down there..."

"There are signs of human intervention; it looks like a maze, and there are many sea dragons inside. I feel there should be Golden Core stage cultivators inside." Mo Changqing sighed and said to everyone.

“There are creatures at the Golden Core stage.”

Everyone was stunned after hearing this.

They hadn't expected it to be so dangerous inside.

"Should we still go in?" Zhang Yan asked instinctively.

"Go in. This thing is right under our Qingheng Sect's nose, we have to find out what's going on, right?"
Moreover, how can one allow someone else to snore beside one's bed?

"Even if we have Golden Core stage artifacts, so what? We still have Nascent Soul stage puppets." Mo Changqing said nonchalantly.

Zhang Yan: "..."

indeed.

If it were anywhere else, it wouldn't matter, but this place is far too close to the Qingheng Sect.

If we didn't know, we could pretend nothing had happened, but now that we've discovered it, the entire Qingheng Sect is unlikely to be at peace until we figure it out.

“However, you shouldn’t go in this time. Let’s go down and take a look. Otherwise, if we encounter any danger, we might not be able to take care of you,” Mo Changqing said to Zhang Yan.

"it is good!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yan nodded quickly, showing no intention of playing the hero.

He was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, far from the Golden Core stage. If he encountered any danger down there, he would have a hard time dealing with it.

However, by staying on top, he could suppress the frogman tribe and the fishman tribe.

Putting everything else aside, making money is the only serious business.

"Alright, then we'll go down." Mo Changqing nodded in satisfaction seeing how obedient Zhang Yan was, and led Lei Kunhai and Zhuge Wan into the black hole.

After the three left, Zhang Yan rubbed his chin, then called Chi Ling and asked him to bring the people from the old fishman tribe over.

"Yes!"

As Mo Changqing and the others entered the black hole, Chi Ling still showed great respect for Zhang Yan.

Have no idea!

Although Zhang Yan was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, he had witnessed Zhang Yan's strength, and it was too powerful!
They were simply beyond the capabilities of these frogmen.

Putting everything else aside, although they were all at the Foundation Establishment stage, Zhang Yan could kill them with the mere lifting of his hand, because their cultivation techniques and magical treasures were not on the same level.

Whether they are fishmen or frogmen, most of their cultivation relies on their own feelings, a vague cultivation where they know what but not why.

They didn't even have the concept of spell foundation building.

They also don't use spiritual artifacts for foundation building; their foundation building is the simplest kind, without any enhancement.

Even if it were placed outside, it would be considered low-class goods.

There is not even any hope of achieving the elixir.

In addition, their weapon-refining skills were also very poor. Their only bone spear was equivalent to mid-grade magic power, while Zhang Yan's Five Elements Heavenly Gang Sword Formation contained flying swords that were all top-grade spiritual weapons. There was a generational gap between them!

Crushing them is child's play!
It was precisely because of this that, when the Foundation Establishment cultivators among the frogmen tried to capture Zhang Yan in exchange for his freedom after Mo Changqing and the others went in, Chi Ling opposed it without hesitation.

……

Following Zhang Yan's instructions.

The old murloc and other murlocs from the tribe were quickly relocated there.

At first, the old fishman and the others were a little uneasy, but when they saw that Zhang Yan had completely taken control of the frogman tribe, they were relieved.

Although they were all slaves, having companions was better than being a slave in a tribe all by yourself, wasn't it?
And not to mention.

Although both were slaves, the merfolk were more sought after than the frogmen because of their ability to salvage treasures, which made the merfolk arrogant.

Those who used to look down on you are now suddenly overshadowed by you. This feeling has made the fishmen not only not resent being enslaved, but have also begun to support Zhang Yan.

Despite this, Zhang Yan was still not easy to talk to.

On the second day after the merman arrived, he began assigning tasks.

The fishmen are required to retrieve treasures for him from the wild swamp every day, while the frogmen act as his guards and bodyguards, ensuring their safety.

“But, sir, there are many dangers in the wilderness and marshes. There are some places that even we would find difficult to deal with.” Chi Ling always carried out Zhang Yan’s orders without question.

However, there are some areas where he is truly powerless.

"A demonic beast at the Golden Core stage?" Zhang Yan looked up and asked Chi Ling.

"No, not really. There are very few Golden Core cultivators. There are a few places we dare not approach, but there are also places with late Foundation Establishment stage demonic beasts that we might have difficulty dealing with." Chi Ling's face was flushed as she spoke.

The frogmen are much stronger than the fishmen.

However, they are still no match for other monsters of the same level, which is why they raise sea dragons, even though the sea dragons eat a lot of frogmen every time.

"Since there are no Golden Core stage demonic beasts, then just go all out and do your job well." Hearing that there were no Golden Core stage demonic beasts, Zhang Yan felt relieved.

Zhang Yan truly couldn't handle someone at the Golden Core stage.

But if it's just the Foundation Establishment stage, or even the peak of Foundation Establishment, Zhang Yan could put up a fight.

It can even kill the other party.

the reason is simple.

He has the Azure Phoenix's hair in his hand, so he's guaranteed to win.

In addition to that, he also has third-tier talismans, so many top-grade flying swords, and magic power enhanced by thirty-six divine abilities, so his combat power is truly strong.

This is not something an ordinary Foundation Establishment stage cultivator could pull off.

However, although they were allowed to go wherever they wanted, Zhang Yan was not idle at this time. He was trying some new things.

He had previously killed the Cave Demon Spider and obtained its silk sac, which was very useful to him and could be integrated into his Heavenly Net.

To enhance the power of supernatural abilities.

In addition, he also wanted to integrate some water gems into his supernatural powers. After all, such a good place with so many water gems would be a waste not to use them!
Thinking of this, Zhang Yan took out the silk pouch of the Cave Demon Spider and the Water Gem, summoned his supernatural powers, and then used his magic to refine them little by little.

Three days have passed in this way.

He finally refined the silk sac of the Cave Demon Spider and the Water Gem, greatly enhancing the power of his supernatural abilities.

"Something's wrong."

Zhang Yan emerged from his seclusion with a wry smile on his face.

It’s been three days.

There's been no news from Mo Changqing and the others at all. Could something have happened?
But what kind of danger could keep them from sending out any news? Moreover, they still have a Nascent Soul stage puppet in their possession. Even if they were killed, they should at least make some noise, right?

Therefore, considering the above, Zhang Yan felt that Mo Changqing and the others could withstand the attack without any problem. If there really was a problem, there was no need to go down and look for it.

The entire Qingheng Sect should just move overnight.

Because what's inside might be beyond even the understanding of Grandmaster Qingluan. It's best to run away first.

……

"My lord." Zhang Yan emerged from seclusion.

Old Fishman and Red Spirit both gathered around.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Yan looked at the two of them in confusion and asked.

"We've salvaged something good this time," the old fishman said, immediately pulling something out of his pocket and handing it over.

"This is……

"The spirit of the water?" Zhang Yan was deeply moved when he saw the item in his hand. He hadn't expected the other party to give him such a surprise.

The so-called Water Spirit is a water-based spiritual object that is even more precious than Water Gemstone. Putting aside everything else, just one use of it can drive everyone crazy.

The Spirit of Water can enhance the compatibility of water-based spiritual roots.

Although the improvement is not significant, it can indeed enhance the compatibility between a person's spiritual roots and their spiritual roots.

Zhang Yan was so moved because with this item, he could increase the compatibility of his water-based spiritual root to 100%.

This is what is known as the Heavenly Spiritual Root.

Although in theory, spiritual roots are not very useful to cultivators after Foundation Establishment, but!
The higher the compatibility of spiritual roots, the faster the absorption of spiritual energy, and the more powerful the corresponding spells will be.

If possible, everyone would want a spiritual root with 100% compatibility.

Zhang Yan was no exception.

"Very good." Zhang Yan nodded in satisfaction, put the water spirit into his pocket, and then took out a lot of talismans and gave them to the two of them.

After thinking it over, he also took out several top-grade magical artifacts and gave them as a reward.

Although it is only a top-grade magic weapon.

However, the craftsmanship was excellent, and the magical artifacts left behind by Zhang Yan were naturally extremely powerful, far superior to the handmade bone spears and harpoons in the opponent's hands.

The old fishman and the red spirit received the magical artifact and immediately kowtowed in gratitude.

In addition to these things, Zhang Yan also brought them a lot of food, all of which came from the Qingheng Sect.

It was for the purpose of rewarding these people.

If the Grand Master solves the problem inside the black hole, the Qingheng Sect will select some disciples to reside permanently in the underground world, forming a specialized industry chain.

Of course, it's also possible to keep it a secret, not letting anyone know, and then having a Golden Core stage elder come to suppress it, and trading resources every once in a while.

In Zhang Yan's opinion, the second option might be more reliable.

After all, it's only safe if a very small number of people know about it.

It's no wonder they're so cautious; the value of this underground world is simply too great. Originally, some people were already dissatisfied with the fact that the Qingheng Sect had taken over the Tianmu Mountains on its own.

However, since the Tianmu Mountains have always been solely controlled by the Qingheng Sect, outside forces cannot directly intervene. Moreover, the Qingheng Sect is quite powerful, which is why they have managed to barely hold onto these assets.

But if you add the underworld, it's a different story. There are too many resources and even more interests involved. At that point, a large number of sects might get involved.

It's not impossible that even the Hehuan Sect and the Wanhua Palace could reconcile and then put pressure on the Qingheng Sect together.

Driven by self-interest, as long as the interests of the Qingheng Sect outweigh those of the Zhao Kingdom's cultivation world, the Hehuan Demon Sect wouldn't mind finding a different target to attack.

For them, profit is the most important thing, it comes first, and everything else is insignificant.

The old merman and Chi Ling were very happy to receive their reward. In fact, these two had been secretly competing with each other. Although they had become slaves, they were both slaves with ideals, wanting to improve their status and fight for more benefits for their race.

Zhang Yan ignored this and even welcomed it; however, no matter how hard they tried, they were ultimately just slaves…

"Keep a close eye on this black hole. If there's anything unusual, notify me immediately." Zhang Yan looked at the bottomless black hole on the ground, feeling a little uneasy.

He always felt uneasy.

"Yes!"

Upon hearing Zhang Yan's words, Chi Ling and the old fishman nodded hurriedly.

After giving the instructions, Zhang Yan thought about it and still felt something was amiss, so he quickly summoned Feng Lei and sent it to deliver the message to Qing Luan.

Feng Lei is Zhang Yan's spirit pet. It can fly freely within the Qingheng Sect and will not be attacked by the sect's protective formation. Most importantly, it has the Qingheng Sect's token, so no one dares to attack it.

Besides, as soon as it leaves the icy pool, it will be immediately sensed by the Azure Phoenix.

Therefore, it's reassuring to send it out to deliver the message.

……

However, to his surprise, before Feng Lei could return, Mo Changqing and the others emerged from the black hole. The three of them walked out safely and returned unharmed.

However, judging from Mo Changqing's expression, this operation did not seem to be going very smoothly.

Especially after the three of them came out of the black hole, Mo Changqing took out a large number of array flags from his storage bag and set up three arrays for the black hole in one go.

But that's not all.

They even had Zhuge Wan, Lei Kunhai, and Zhang Yan seal it up as well.

After doing all this, he slowly let out a breath.

"Sect Leader, what's wrong?" Zhang Yan asked as soon as he saw that Mo Changqing was in such trouble.

“I thought this was an ancient tomb or some kind of ruin, but I never expected it to be a teleportation array!” Mo Changqing’s expression was a little strange as he said to Zhang Yan, “As soon as we went in, we accidentally triggered the teleportation array and were teleported away.”

"what?

Teleportation array?

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yan's eyes widened, and he quickly asked, "Since it's a teleportation array, why not destroy it quickly? What's the point of keeping it?"

He wouldn't be so nervous if it were anything else, but this is a teleportation array!

Moreover, it's located underground in Taiyi Mountain, essentially inside the Qingheng Sect. If someone with malicious intent were to teleport over from the other side, wouldn't the Qingheng Sect be doomed?
"You think I don't want to?"

"But no, this teleportation array is a treasure!" Mo Changqing sighed, looking rather grim. Not only him, but Zhuge Wan and Lei Kunhai also looked exhausted.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Where have you been teleported to?

Seeing Mo Changqing's expression, Zhang Yan knew that there was definitely something wrong with the place the other party had teleported to.

"We've been teleported..."

Central Earth…

Mo Changqing looked at Zhang Yan and slowly spoke.

"Central Plains???"

"You went to the Central Plains?" Upon hearing this, Zhang Yan was stunned. This wasn't the first time he had heard of the Central Plains.

The Thousand Fierce Taoist was a cultivator from the Central Plains.

Moreover, the Thousand Fiends Taoist once said that only by going to the Central Plains can one truly cultivate immortality. If one cultivates the Golden Core in other places, one can only reach the Nascent Soul stage at most.

He reported this matter to the sect at the time, but Mo Changqing and the others just smiled and ignored it.

Laugh to death...

It can only become a Nascent Soul.

They would be incredibly lucky to even reach the Nascent Soul stage; they wouldn't even consider anything beyond that.

And most importantly, the Qingheng faction had never even heard of the Central Plains!
They only knew about the states of Zhao, Liang, and Zheng, and had never heard of any Central Plains, so no one paid any attention to it.

Or rather, even if you care, there's nothing you can do about it.

But now Mo Changqing and the others are saying that they went to the Central Plains!

This is going to be really funny.

(End of this chapter)