I proved immortality with thunder magic.

The Trial Grounds.

"It feels so good to be down-to-earth!"

When Zhou Tai emerged from the stinking swamp and stood firmly on solid ground again, a genuine smile appeared on his face.

He looked at his clothes, which were soaked and smelly, frowned, and immediately took off his robes. He took out several "Cloud and Rain Talismans" and activated them, taking a bath in the clean rainwater. He changed into a new set of clothes and washed his old robes as well. He even took the Thunder-Patterned Frog Gold Ingot.

While he was doing these things, Clawed Wind Owl Laifu had already been ordered to scout the area ahead.

This trial ground is shrouded in a forbidden array. Even birds can only fly up to a hundred feet high. Any higher they go, they will encounter an invisible wall of air that they cannot penetrate.

Therefore, Zhou Tai did not dare to send Laifu to scout too far away, but only let it scout the area within a radius of ten miles.

Just as he finished cleansing himself, Clawed Wind Owl Lai Fu returned.

Goooo!

The Sharp-Clawed Wind Owl that landed at Zhou Tai's feet could already reach Zhou Tai's chest when it stood up. At this rate, when it was the same height as Zhou Tai, it would be able to carry Zhou Tai and fly.

"Still no other trial disciples in sight?"

Upon hearing the spirit pet's report, Zhou Tai lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

He didn't know exactly how big this trial ground was; Tian Qi only said it was no smaller than the gate of Spirit Beast Mountain.

The gates of Spirit Beast Mountain stretch for hundreds of miles!

Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that no other trial disciples were found within a ten-mile radius.

However, Zhou Tai knew that the scouting report from the Clawed Wind Owl Lai Fu could only be used as a reference, because if he were any other trial disciple, he would definitely try to avoid such a bird when he saw it in the sky.

Therefore, he cannot assume that he is the only person in this area just because Clawed Owl Laifu did not see anyone.

"I'm not the only one who knows how to use spirit pets for reconnaissance. Moreover, using spirit pets to scout in the air will actually expose your own presence. Unless absolutely necessary, it's best not to do this during the day anymore."

Zhou Tai's eyes flickered slightly as he looked around at the surroundings, and suddenly an idea came to him.

After searching the area, he chose a secluded spot in the woods and began digging, quickly creating a square pit about three feet deep.

He then used the pit as a foundation and built a hidden shelter with branches, thatch, and fallen leaves, and moved in directly there.

That's right, Zhou Tai is not leaving.

He was completely unaware of the situation within the trial grounds, and there were only thirty-five trial disciples at Spirit Beast Mountain.

Rather than wandering around aimlessly in the dark, he'd better stay put and wait patiently for the opportunity to strike.

Since the trial lasts for a month, even if he waits for half a month before taking the initiative, he will still have plenty of time to launch an attack.

He had even thought it through: even if he couldn't get fifteen Demonic Path Trial Tokens in the end, it wouldn't matter. Even if he got ten or even five, it would be fine. At least he could exchange them for one or two Foundation Establishment Spiritual Items, which would give him a safety net.

This trial is very difficult; it would be quite an achievement to survive and leave alive.

After only half a day in the shelter, Zhou Tai heard explosions coming from a great distance, indicating that some trial disciples had encountered each other and started fighting.

He listened carefully and, realizing the sound must be quite far away, ignored it.

However, when night fell, Zhou Tai still released the Clawed Wind Owl Laifu to scout the situation within dozens of miles.

The night is the domain of the Clawed Wind Owl, Laifu, where it becomes more energetic and its eyesight sharpens, while other cultivators and birds and beasts usually have limited vision.

With this increase and decrease, even if it is discovered by other cultivators, it still has a great chance of escaping.

More than an hour later, Clawed Owl Laifu successfully completed its reconnaissance mission, circled around the swamp, and returned to the shelter.

This was something Zhou Tai specifically instructed it to do, to prevent anyone from discovering it and deliberately following it to find him.

Coo coo! Coo coo!

Inside the sanctuary, the Clawed Owl chirped softly, reporting the results of its reconnaissance to its master.

With its flight speed, an hour is enough to scout a large area, so it won't come up empty-handed.

According to its report, it discovered the figures of three trial cultivators, but they were all quite far away.

Upon hearing that it was quite far, Zhou Tai immediately abandoned his plan to attack.

Most trial cultivators would stop to rest at night, so if he went on a long journey, he might be ambushed by those who were resting along the way.

So after giving the order to keep a high level of alert to Clawed Owl Laifu, he was able to rest at ease.

He now has two sets of alert systems, one of which is the Thunder-Patterned Frog Yuanbao lying on the ground, which uses vibrations to listen for nearby movements.

Secondly, there is the sharp-clawed owl Laifu, which waits quietly at the top of the tree. Its eyes, which can rotate 360 ​​degrees, can detect and scan all the movements and changes in the sky and on the ground.

With these two surveillance systems on guard, he felt more at ease than if he were on guard himself, so he slept very soundly.

He slept soundly, but many of the trial cultivators had a long, sleepless night.

Some people were ambushed by monsters or demons as soon as they entered the trial grounds, and could only hide in seclusion to lick their wounds.

Some had already fought with other trial cultivators during the day and successfully killed their opponents. Now they were taking advantage of the cover of night to count their spoils.

In the middle of the night, Zhou Tai vaguely felt something tugging at him. When he opened his eyes, he saw a huge cat face facing him.

"Laifu, why did you come down? Is something wrong?"

He paused for a moment, then seemed to realize something and suddenly sat up straight.

Goooo!

Sharp Claw Wind Owl Lai Fu nodded repeatedly and reported the situation in a low voice.

It turned out that it had been restless for a while and went out to patrol, where it discovered that a trial cultivator was approaching the swamp.

Although the person was not heading towards Zhou Tai's shelter, it remembered Zhou Tai's instructions and returned to report immediately.

After hearing its report, Zhou Tai's face immediately showed a thoughtful expression.

The Clawed Owl Lai Fu can only distinguish between humans and animals, but cannot tell whether a person is a demonic cultivator or a cultivator of immortality.

Therefore, he needed to consider what he should do if that person was a cultivator from one of the five sects of Heng Kingdom.

Seeing this as a rare opportunity, Zhou Tai decided after a moment's thought to go and check out the situation before making a decision.

"In that case, you go ahead and follow him from a distance, while I'll slowly approach him from the ground."

After giving instructions to Sharp Claw Wind Owl Laifu, he put the Thunder Pattern Frog Yuanbao into his spirit beast bag and quietly followed Sharp Claw Wind Owl Laifu out of the sanctuary.

Although there are monsters and demons in the trial grounds, there are not many birds and beasts, and the forest is very quiet at night.

Zhou Tai was worried about encountering enemies along the way, so he did not travel fast and always kept his magical artifacts and talismans in his hands.

Not long after, he reunited with Clawed Owl Laifu.

He learned through communication with his spirit pet that the person had stopped to rest at the edge of the swamp.

Upon learning this information, Zhou Tai became even more discreet in his movements to avoid alerting the other party.

With the guidance of the sharp-clawed owl Lai Fu, he quickly approached within two hundred feet of the other party without alerting them.

Just as Zhou Tai was about to get closer to observe the other party's background, he suddenly saw the other party glance in his direction.

Oh no, we've been discovered!

Zhou Tai instinctively felt that he had been exposed; it was an intuition.

Without hesitation, he chose to trust his intuition and quickly turned and left.

Having rendered his ambush pointless since the enemy was prepared, he didn't want to fight them in the darkness, especially since he still didn't know how they had discovered him.

Sure enough, as soon as he made a move, he heard a cold voice coming from behind.

"Now that you're here, why the rush to leave?"

Not long after the sound rang out, Zhou Tai heard the warning cry of the sharp-clawed owl overhead.

He knew from Laifu's chirping that something was flying toward him.

Upon learning of this, Zhou Tai immediately changed his mind and quickly stopped to begin casting a spell.

Soon, Zhou Tai saw the flying creature that Lai Fu had mentioned.

It was a monster that seemed both real and unreal. It had a pair of bat-like wings, an upper body that resembled some kind of monkey with a ferocious and terrifying face, and a lower body that resembled the hindquarters of a lion or tiger, with strong hind limbs.

Given its body structure, it can fly, jump, and climb trees, making it an absolute all-terrain survivor!

Zhou Tai couldn't recognize what kind of monster it was, but he roughly knew the origin of the enemy he was facing.

But this is not the time to dwell on that.

He watched the monster pounce on him, raised his hand and pushed forward, sending a thick bolt of blue-white lightning hurtling towards it.

The demon clearly hadn't expected that it was chasing a lightning cultivator.

When the blue-white lightning appeared, it sensed something was wrong, but it was too late to escape.

The only thing it had time to do was quickly fold its wings together to hug itself, and a dark, demonic light emanated from its body, like a black sphere welcoming the judgment of lightning.

Lightning bolts danced wildly in the sky, with blue-white lightning clashing fiercely with dark, demonic light, finally ending with a mournful howl.

The demon that had taken a hit from Zhou Tai's Thunder Serpent Dance paid a heavy price for its reckless pursuit.

Most of its bat wings dissipated under the bombardment of lightning, and its body, which was originally both real and illusory, became even more ethereal, clearly indicating that its vital energy had been severely damaged.

This completely terrified it. After letting out a miserable howl, it quickly transformed into a demonic shadow and shot back in the direction it had come from.

Now that Zhou Tai had already made his move and confirmed that his opponent was a demonic cultivator, he naturally wouldn't give up. He immediately turned the tables and chased after him.