Ascending from the mortal realm to become an immortal begins with taking charge of a grotto-heaven.

Before long, several figures broke through the layers of gray fog and appeared in the two people's sight.

There were five cultivators in total, two in the late stage of Qi Refining and three in the middle stage of Qi Refining. They all looked quite disheveled, their clothes covered in mud, and they showed obvious signs of exhaustion.

One of the late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, with a pointed beak, had a pale face and somewhat weak aura, indicating that he had been injured not long ago.

"What a load of bull! I've been searching this lousy swamp for so long, and all I've found is poisonous insects and miasma! I even lost a brother for nothing." The sharp-mouthed cultivator spat out a mouthful of phlegm, his tone full of dissatisfaction.

Another burly late-stage Qi Refining cultivator frowned and advised, "Third brother, let's be patient a little longer. We've already ventured this far; turning back now would be a greater loss than a gain. Besides, when has eldest brother ever made a mistake?"

"Big brother's information is accurate, but the Muyunze land is boundless, who knows where the cave is hidden!" The sharp-mouthed cultivator's tone became increasingly agitated. "If it weren't for your timely arrival, second brother, I would have lost my life here. If we continue searching, and we encounter some powerful poisonous beast, the rest of us might not be able to withstand it."

The three mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators beside him remained silent, their expressions hesitant, clearly also considering retreating.

The burly cultivator looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Hold on a little longer. Once we find our elder brother, we'll discuss what to do next."

The sharp-mouthed cultivator was even more furious upon hearing this, a dull ache throbbing in his chest, his face paling even further: "Search? This sky-covering miasma is blotting out the sun, where are we supposed to search? The talismans are consuming too much energy, are we really going to keep using them until we're completely exhausted?"

The burly cultivator frowned, knowing that the sharp-mouthed cultivator was telling the truth, but he still refused to give up: "My elder brother sent word that the location of the cave has been confirmed. There will be plenty of opportunities there. If we back down now, all the hardships we've endured will have been for nothing."

"Are you sure?" The sharp-mouthed cultivator scoffed, aggravating his wound and causing him to gasp in pain. "If you've pinpointed the location, why haven't you found it yet?"

He grew increasingly indignant as he spoke, his aura subtly agitated: "Brothers are being lost, and we're still stuck in this muddy mess every day, all for some dubious cave! I think our elder brother has been misled by rumors and is leading us to our deaths in vain!"

The burly cultivator's face darkened completely, and he coldly hissed, "Stop talking nonsense! My elder brother's cultivation is profound, and his knowledge far surpasses ours. How could he be wrong? Continue towards the location my elder brother has determined."

Seeing the burly cultivator's resolute attitude, the other four had no choice but to grit their teeth and follow.

As the group spoke, they were only two zhang away from where Zhang Li and Lu Ran were hiding.

Zhang Li hid behind the mudstone, his figure covered by the Spirit-Invisible Veil, invisible in the dimness of the swamp. He took in the five people's every move and word. The five people seemed to be together, but in reality, their hearts were scattered. One of them, a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, was also injured.

If not now, when?

"Let's do it!"

Two clear, cold voices rang out simultaneously through the jade pendant.

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Li broke free of his concealment and emerged!

The concealing veil that had been covering his figure was instantly retracted, and the Burning Cloud Sword fell into the air almost simultaneously. As his magical power surged, crimson flames instantly ignited on the sword, which then slashed down from mid-air.

In an instant, a crimson flame sword aura, over ten feet long and extremely condensed, burst forth from the blade!

The crimson sword energy instantly tore through the grayish-white miasma, moving so fast that it was just a streak of crimson light, and slashed straight at the three mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators behind it.

The three mid-stage cultivators were already distracted and unprepared. When they saw the crimson sword light coming, they were terrified and could only hastily raise their magical shields.

The magical shield that the three hastily erected was as thin as paper under Zhang Li's fully comprehended Burning Wind Slash.

The crimson sword energy slashed down, shattering the three people's magical shields instantly!

The scorching sword energy pierced through, directly injuring three people. A series of shrill screams suddenly rang out, and the three mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators were instantly severely injured, unable to fight anymore.

At the same time, Lu Ran emerged from the shadow of the withered tree, accompanied by a golden longsword that whistled out and slashed down at the sharp-mouthed cultivator.

Although the sharp-mouthed cultivator was injured and his aura was weak, he was still a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator with a solid foundation. His reaction speed was also quite fast. He formed a hand seal and instantly a thick layer of earth-yellow shield armor appeared in front of him!

"clang--!"

As the golden sword struck, the shield trembled violently, and the surface spiritual light peeled away. It withstood the heavy blow, but was still shaken so badly that its blood and qi surged, and it was forced to retreat repeatedly. The wound reopened, and dark red blood seeped out.

"court death!"

At this moment, the burly cultivator beside him finally recovered from the sudden attack and a broad-bladed heavy sword fell into his hand.

The burly cultivator was already tall and imposing, and carrying a heavy sword only amplified his imposing presence.

"Third brother, hold the other one back! I'll kill her!"

As the roar rang out, the burly cultivator's magical power suddenly erupted, he raised his heavy sword high and slashed downwards, sending a huge fireball crashing down on Lu Ran's head.

The fireball, accompanied by a scorching heat wave, crashed down, scorching and distorting the surrounding miasma.

Lu Ran's expression remained unchanged. She moved her feet lightly, her figure drifting back three feet like a willow catkin. Her golden longsword stood horizontally in front of her, its golden light transforming into an arc-shaped shield.

"boom!"

The fireball struck the golden shield, exploding into a burst of intense flames.

Although Lu Ran's sleeves fluttered and her hair was slightly disheveled from the shock, she stood firmly in place without taking even half a step back.

Her gaze was cold and clear. Under the cover of the firelight, she quietly pinched a talisman in her left hand, the spiritual light in her hand remaining hidden.

Seeing that his companion's attack had failed, the sharp-mouthed cultivator's eyes flashed with even more ferocity, and he suddenly increased the speed at which he formed hand seals.

The surface of the earthen-yellow shield armor was covered with dense runes, which solidified in the blink of an eye. At the same time, he opened his mouth and spat out a brown bead the size of a thumb. The bead swelled in the wind and transformed into a phantom of a rock bear that was more than ten feet tall. It roared and pounced on Zhang Li!

The phantom of the rock bear rushed towards us with immense force, splashing mud and forcibly dispersing miasma in its wake, creating a heavy, oppressive wind.

Zhang Li didn't even frown. The crimson flames on the Burning Cloud Sword suddenly subsided and were all absorbed into the blade.

The next moment, a cold, sharp sword cry rang out.

"Zheng—!"

The Burning Cloud Sword transformed into a streak of light and shot out.

As thin as a thread, it cuts through the wind in an instant!

This is the second move of the Burning Cloud Sword Technique, and also the instant-kill move in the sword technique. It is extremely fast, condensing all the magic power into a single point, making it extremely swift.

"Snap!"

A crisp cracking sound suddenly rang out, and the sturdy rock bear phantom body was instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks before collapsing with a bang.

The sharp-mouthed cultivator's pupils shrank drastically, his mind reeling! He never expected that the Transformation Bead he had poured his heart and soul into would be so easily shattered by the opponent's sword. What was even more terrifying was that the sword's momentum had not yet dissipated and was still carrying a chilling sharpness as it headed straight for him.