The Confucian and Taoist Sages of Mortal Cultivation

Behind the stone gate is a narrow, winding corridor.

Yang Qingyuan walked along the corridor to the palace hall.

The hall was completely empty, devoid of any furniture or decorations, and felt very spacious.

In the center of the hall, there was a dark tunnel.

The entrance to the tunnel was pitch black, and it was impossible to see what was inside.

Yang Qingyuan tried to release his divine sense to explore the surroundings, but was surprised to find that his divine sense was repelled by some unknown force after touching the rock wall, making it difficult to exert its effect.

It turned out that there was some kind of restriction inside the stone hall that could isolate divine thoughts.

Yang Qingyuan was not surprised but delighted, thinking to himself, "In this way, it will be difficult for the cultivators of the Hidden Moon Sect to see through the concealment effect of the Yellow Silk Umbrella."

With that thought in mind, he mustered his courage, opened the yellow parasol, and walked into the tunnel.

At first it was extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, but after walking several dozen steps, it suddenly opened up into a bright and spacious area.

After walking up more than a hundred steps, Yang Qingyuan finally reached the end of the tunnel. Suddenly, he heard the sounds of fighting and the roars of monsters coming from ahead. He immediately held his breath, peeked out, and looked at the situation behind the tunnel.

Beyond the tunnel lay a vast swampy world.

This swamp world is over thirty feet high and covers tens of thousands of acres. As far as the eye can see, there is muddy water with black bubbles rising everywhere.

The swamp is surrounded by tall mounds of black earth.

Dozens of exotic flowers and herbs of various colors grow on the mound of earth, emitting a rich medicinal fragrance that is refreshing and delightful.

In the middle of the swamp stands a small white jade pavilion.

A giant golden box was floating in mid-air in the pavilion. It was twelve feet long and half a foot wide, with its lid tightly closed. The box had a faint golden light flowing through it, and it was clearly no ordinary item.

According to Wu Sangchong's jade slip, the core token for controlling the Eight Gates Wind Formation, the "Divine Wind Token," is inside the box.

Meanwhile, on the shore of the swamp, more than ten white-robed cultivators were besieging a giant serpentine monster.

These dozen or so cultivators were all disciples of the Hidden Moon Sect. They stood in pairs, side by side, their fingers interlocked, and beams of red and blue light emanated from their bodies.

Yang Qingyuan only glanced at these pillars of light from afar, but he immediately sensed that the spiritual power contained within them was comparable to the full-force attack of a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the early stages.

"Is this the Yin-Yang Combination Attack Secret Technique of the Hidden Moon Sect?" Yang Qingyuan's expression also turned solemn as he thought to himself, "It is indeed powerful. Even if the Azure Wood True Shield and the Yellow Silk Umbrella were combined, they could not withstand more than a few moves."

Then, he looked at the few cultivators in the crowd who did not have a Daoist partner, and his gaze fell on a girl in white.

The girl in white appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, with an innocent and pure face, but she exuded a noble aura unique to those in positions of power. She was manipulating a crimson fire ring magic weapon to attack the giant snake demon.

The crimson ring of fire emitted rolling heat waves, causing the lake surface to boil. Its power was far beyond that of any top-grade magic weapon. It was clearly a magic treasure, namely Nangong Wan's magic treasure, the "Vermilion Bird Ring".

"It seems this girl is Nangong Wan." Yang Qingyuan carefully examined her and was surprised to find that she was indeed naturally beautiful, far surpassing the Mo family mother and daughter, Chen Qiaoqian, Han Yunzhi and the like in terms of appearance.

At this moment, Nangong Wan was completely focused on manipulating the Vermilion Bird Ring to trap the snake-like beast, so she didn't notice anyone breaking in.

Yang Qingyuan quickly looked away and instead examined the demonic beast.

This monstrous beast resembled a snake but was not a snake. It was not large, only three or four zhang long, and its entire body was covered with black scales. A faint black mist surrounded it. It was the extremely rare monstrous beast "Ink Dragon".

The black dragon was suspended in mid-air with a crimson fire ring around its neck, and was bombarded by red and blue beams of light.

However, the black mist on the surface of the black dragon's body actually withstood the attack of the Yin-Yang Combination Secret Technique of the Hidden Moon Sect, but it was constantly thinning and seemed to be about to be exhausted.

For a time, the two sides were locked in a stalemate, and the fierce battle raged on.

Seeing this, Yang Qingyuan rolled his eyes, then stepped out of the passage in his Cloud-Stepping Boots.

The yellow parasol concealed his figure, making him appear silently, while the cloud-stepping boots allowed him to move swiftly and traverse water.

Yang Qingyuan bypassed the battlefield and, right under everyone's noses, headed straight for the pavilion in the center of the swamp.

Upon arriving at the pavilion, he didn't bother to examine the golden box and simply put it into his storage bag.

The golden box vanished into thin air, naturally attracting Nangong Wan's attention.

"Damn it! Cultivators from other sects have infiltrated!"

Nangong Wan gritted her teeth, as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, but dared not loosen her grip on the Vermilion Bird Ring. She could only shout, "Where did this little thief come from? How dare you ruin this ancestral master's good time! Put down the box at once!"

But Yang Qingyuan paid no attention to her. He immediately maintained his yellow parasol, waded across the water, and turned back towards the cave entrance.

But at this very moment, an unexpected change occurred.

The black dragon unleashed its ferocity, letting out a deafening roar.

"roar!"

The entire underground swamp world trembled violently from the dragon's roar, as if the world were spinning.

It was like a thunderclap from a clear sky; everyone felt dizzy and disoriented.

Even Yang Qingyuan stumbled and almost fell into the swamp.

When everyone came to their senses, the black dragon on the Vermilion Bird Ring had vanished into thin air, replaced by a tattered black snakeskin.

"not good!"

"The black dragon has shed its skin!"

Upon seeing this, Nangong Wan's heart skipped a beat, and her face paled instantly. She hurriedly looked around, searching for the whereabouts of the black dragon.

"There!" A sharp-eyed disciple of the Hidden Moon Sect pointed into the air.

A serpentine beast, moving at incredible speed, was seen slithering above their heads; it was the evolved Ink Dragon.

At this moment, the black dragon's originally jet-black body had turned snow-white and scaleless, and its body had grown to five or six zhang in length and thicker by more than one zhang. A jet-black horn about an inch long had also grown on its head, and a pair of white claws with extremely sharp edges had appeared on its abdomen.

This monstrous beast transformed from a snake into a dragon, its form exactly the same as the legendary dragon.

"Damn it, it broke through to the second tier!"

"His strength is comparable to a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator!"

"Everyone, get out of here!" Although Nangong Wan was unwilling, she dared not confront the evolved Ink Dragon and could only order everyone to leave the underground swamp.

But before he could finish speaking, the white dragon opened its blood-red maw and spewed out a continuous stream of purple venom.

The purple venom instantly enveloped the entire underground world, turning into a torrential downpour.

"Don't answer!"

"Get under my Vermilion Bird Ring!" Nangong Wan realized that the purple liquid contained an astonishing toxicity that ordinary magical artifacts could not withstand, and immediately warned everyone.

Upon hearing this, the disciples of the Hidden Moon Sect all ran towards the Vermilion Bird Ring.

However, five or six disciples were arrogant and thought they could do it. They ignored Nangong Wan's advice and instead of hiding under the Vermilion Bird Ring, they used their own defensive magic weapons.

However, their defensive artifacts were no match for the Vermilion Bird Ring. When doused with the purple venom, they immediately sizzled and were instantly corroded away.

The five or six disciples of the Hidden Moon Sect only had time to cry out in alarm before their bodies were completely destroyed by the corrosive purple venom.

Yang Qingyuan happened to be within the range of the poisonous rain, and the yellow parasol above his head was also hit by the purple venom.

The hissing sound of corrosion came from above, making Yang Qingyuan's heart skip a beat.

Fortunately, the yellow umbrella was of good quality and withstood the poisonous rain, but its brilliance dimmed, and it could no longer maintain its invisibility effect.

The next moment, Yang Qingyuan revealed himself, right under the noses of Nangong Wan and Mo Jiao...