# Chapter 163: Underground Mountain
"Now I can only try to hold it off until Senior Sister Duanmu and Xiao Hei arrive. Together, we should be able to take it down."
Based on Zhang Ruochen's estimation, Duanmu Xingling and Xiao Hei would need at least another quarter of an hour to reach the Lava River Valley.
With his cultivation level, could he hold off the black monster for a quarter of an hour?
Just then, the black monster extended two hard tentacles, dozens of meters long, and attacked Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen immediately activated the power of space distortion, concealing his form and vanishing from his original position.
"Bang! Bang!"
The black monster's two tentacles struck the stone wall, shattering it and sending chunks of rock tumbling down.
Discovering that Zhang Ruochen had disappeared, the black monster let out a sharp screech. Strands of true qi gathered on its body, and a dark red mass appeared in its abdomen. That dark red mass rose from its belly, passed through its neck, and spewed forth from its mouth.
A sheet of crimson flame engulfed the entire space, forcing Zhang Ruochen, who had been hiding his form, to reveal himself again.
Zhang Ruochen immediately contracted his space domain, reducing its coverage to only ten meters. Through the power of the space domain, he finally managed to block the flames spewed by the black monster.
Having reached the Mysterious Extreme Realm Great Extreme Position, Zhang Ruochen's space domain could extend up to eighty meters at its farthest. The wider the space domain covered, the weaker its power became; the smaller the coverage, the stronger its power.
"Heart-Shattering Void!"
Zhang Ruochen pushed off the ground with both feet, leaped into the air, and swung the Snow Dragon Sword, slashing toward the black monster's head.
As Zhang Ruochen thrust his sword, a bone-chilling cold erupted from the blade. Snowflakes began to fall around him, covering an area ten zhang in radius.
Ten zhang of flying snow.
However, before the snowflakes could touch the ground, they were evaporated by the high temperature of the lava river, turning into wisps of white steam.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen's sword strike, the black monster simultaneously mobilized eight tentacles to attack him, guarding itself tightly.
Facing eight tentacles at once, even with Zhang Ruochen's swift movement technique, the situation was fraught with danger. Each time, he barely avoided being entangled by the tentacles.
"No good. Its strength is too great. Even a single tentacle has the power to kill an Earth Extreme Realm expert. With eight tentacles attacking at once, it could slaughter a group of Earth Extreme Realm martial arts masters."
Zhang Ruochen threw out a Thunder Pearl, then executed the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow and quickly retreated.
The Thunder Pearl's power was extremely formidable. Zhang Ruochen immediately withdrew to the side of the stone door, circulating his true qi to activate the inscriptions on the Ice Fire Qilin Armor.
A Qilin's roar echoed as Zhang Ruochen's body radiated crimson and deep blue light. The two colors coalesced into a massive Qilin phantom, shielding Zhang Ruochen within its projection.
"Boom!"
The Thunder Pearl exploded beneath the black monster, unleashing terrifying lightning power.
Bolts of white electric light, like heavenly blades, extended dozens of zhang outward, crackling with thunderous sounds.
Countless lightning bolts surged forth, like dense serpentine patterns, completely enveloping the black monster.
The black monster's body became charred black, emitting wisps of green smoke. The lightning force had blasted three bowl-sized bloody holes in its body. The holes were also scorched black, with no blood flowing out.
"Roar!"
After being briefly paralyzed by the lightning, the black monster let out an ear-splitting roar. Its massive eyes turned completely blood-red as it charged furiously at Zhang Ruochen.
It was enraged.
"Its vitality is too strong. Even hit by a Thunder Pearl, it still won't die."
Since the black monster had already been severely wounded by the Thunder Pearl once, it would certainly be on guard. Even if Zhang Ruochen threw another Thunder Pearl, he wouldn't be able to harm it.
Moreover, at such close range, if Zhang Ruochen threw a Thunder Pearl, he might kill himself before killing the black monster.
Just as the black monster's eight tentacles came crashing down, Zhang Ruochen immediately opened the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal and dove inside.
Zhang Ruochen's body vanished again, leaving only a jujube-sized crystal on the ground.
"Boom!"
The black monster's eight tentacles struck the stone door of the Flame River Purgatory, producing a loud crash that made the door shake.
The black monster hesitated for a moment, searching everywhere for Zhang Ruochen, and finally fixed its gaze on the crystal on the ground. It used a tentacle to coil around the Time-Space Crystal, examined it briefly, then tossed it into its mouth and swallowed it.
The black monster gave the stone door one last deep look, turned around, and headed deeper into the Crimson Void Secret Mansion.
A quarter of an hour later.
A petite, curvaceous, and alluring young girl arrived at the Lava River Valley, rushing to the site of the battle. She wore light green clothes, had long flowing hair, and slender legs.
The girl with the charming, seductive face furrowed her delicate brows and said, "The battle is already over."
Beside her, a massive fat cat with wings rolled its eyes and said, "Zhang Ruochen hasn't been killed by Lang Xin, has he?"
The girl with the voluptuous figure, enchanting and seductive features, was naturally Duanmu Xingling, who had come to rescue Zhang Ruochen.
Duanmu Xingling shook her head. "If Lang Xin had killed Zhang Ruochen, the stone door of the Flame River Purgatory would already be open, and those evil people from the Black Market would have been released. Moreover, even if Lang Xin has broken through to the Earth Extreme Realm, he couldn't have caused such terrifying destruction. Zhang Ruochen must have encountered an even more ferocious underground barbarian beast. If so, his chances are slim."
Xiao Hei ground his teeth, then suddenly thought of something and laughed. "He doesn't look like someone destined for a short life. He must have escaped."
If Zhang Ruochen had truly died, Xiao Hei would have been pulled back into the Scroll World by the sealing power of the Cosmic Divine Wood Map.
Since he was still here, it meant Zhang Ruochen was probably still alive.
Duanmu Xingling gently touched her pointed chin, extended a slender jade hand, and patted Xiao Hei's fluffy head. "Don't worry. Even if Zhang Ruochen dies in the Crimson Void Secret Mansion, I'll continue to take care of you. You won't become a homeless stray cat."
Xiao Hei's eyes widened, and all his black fur bristled. "This lord is the Heaven-Slaying Earth-Destroying Emperor. How can I be compared to an ordinary cat? When I shook the world, your ancestors weren't even born. I am proficient in three thousand martial techniques and divine abilities... Hey, don't walk away. Listen to me..."
Duanmu Xingling stretched lazily, revealing her smooth, fair belly and slender waist. Carrying an ancient sword, she walked back. "That Heaven-Slaying... Emperor, hurry up and follow. If you get lost, you really will become a stray cat."
Xiao Hei stomped his claws on the ground in frustration, his round ears perking up as he chased after Duanmu Xingling. Walking beside her, he continued, "This lord is proficient in three thousand martial techniques and divine abilities. I can absorb the essence of the sun and moon, draw upon the light of the stars. I once dominated the Kunlun Realm, unmatched by anyone."
Duanmu Xingling raised an eyebrow and patted Xiao Hei's soft, oversized head. "Not bad! As a barbarian beast, not only can you speak human language, but you can also speak nonsense. Zhang Ruochen trained you well."
Xiao Hei shook his head, glaring angrily. "Zhang Ruochen is just a snot-nosed little brat. How could he teach me? Not only do I have heaven-reaching martial arts cultivation, but I am also proficient in formations, alchemy, artifact forging, beast taming, summoning wind and rain, astrology and divination..."
Duanmu Xingling smiled, her peach-like cheeks dimpling and her red lips curving slightly. She felt that the fat cat Zhang Ruochen had raised was actually very amusing, even more interesting than a person's conversation.
...
Zhang Ruochen stood in the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal, able to perceive what was happening outside.
"Swallowed into the belly of the black monster."
Originally, Zhang Ruochen had been thinking about how to kill the black monster. Now it had become much easier. He just needed to throw a Thunder Pearl and let it explode inside the monster's belly. If it didn't die then, that would be strange.
But Zhang Ruochen wasn't in a hurry to kill the black monster. He decided to wait a little longer. After all, the Crimson Void Secret Mansion was extremely dangerous. Staying inside the black monster's body was much safer than being outside.
If he could use the black monster to enter the depths of the Crimson Void Secret Mansion, that would be even better.
In fact, Zhang Ruochen also wanted to know where the black monster was going.
Zhang Ruochen released his space domain, covering an area of eighty meters in radius. He merged his martial soul into the space domain to observe the external situation.
The black monster crawled quickly through rock crevices, arriving at the base of an underground mountain.
That underground mountain might not have been considered tall on the surface, but underground, it appeared extraordinarily majestic and magnificent. Who would have thought there could be a mountain beneath the earth?
The entire mountain was shrouded in multicolored miasma. The air was filled with toxic gases, yet in the rock crevices grew clusters of pure white, jade-like three-leaf grass.
Each three-leaf grass emitted a faint white light and exuded a rich fragrance, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding miasma.
The black monster used a tentacle to pull a three-leaf grass from a rock crevice and swallowed it.
"Boom!"
The medicinal power of the three-leaf grass was extremely potent. Once it entered the black monster's belly, it immediately transformed into a jade-white liquid, merging into the monster's body.
"Three-Leaf Sacred Qi Grass."
Standing in the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal, Zhang Ruochen sensed the aura of the Three-Leaf Sacred Qi Grass and was overjoyed. Such a rare spiritual herb couldn't be found even a single plant in the Yunwu Commandery, yet here there were so many growing.
If he could collect ten plants of Three-Leaf Sacred Qi Grass, breaking through to the Mysterious Extreme Realm Great Perfection would be an easy task.
If he could gather enough Three-Leaf Sacred Qi Grass, he might even have the chance to cultivate to the Mysterious Extreme Realm's Supreme Extreme Realm.
Zhang Ruochen couldn't wait. He took out a Thunder Pearl, opened a crack in the Time-Space Crystal, and infused it with true qi.
As the true qi surged in, the inscriptions on the Thunder Pearl's surface activated. Zhang Ruochen flicked his finger, sending the Thunder Pearl out of the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal.
"Sizzle, sizzle!"
The Thunder Pearl fell into the black monster's belly, and strands of lightning power began to seep out from the pearl.