The river snaked across the land as it flowed from west to east. The wetlands on both sides of the river were lush with vegetation.

There were many demonic beasts residing here.

They lived in harmony and appeared more like ordinary beasts, not showing a shred of animosity.

Chen Jingzhai was hiding in the shadows when he noticed something.

Rich Qi of water and earth attributes emanated from the water in the river valley.

Only spirit plants that were above Grade 3 could cause such phenomena.

From the looks of it, the plant was still at the growing stage, so it could not hide its Qi.

Natural treasures like these attracted demonic beasts the most.

If any demonic beast consumed this plant, their blood circulation would significantly increase, and their abilities would improve massively.

If the demonic beast were lucky, it would even have a chance to become a demon.

When that happened, they could take human form and cultivate the techniques of cultivators. They could then pursue the path of a Demonic Celestial.

In the river valley, there were dozens of demonic beasts. All of them were above Grade 2.

Due to being cautious of each other, they had yet to make any moves for now.

Nevertheless, the scene was already tense and could explode at any provocation.

Once the spirit plant in the river completely matured, there would undoubtedly be a terrible battle.

Aside from these demonic beasts, there were also cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Plane hiding in the shadows.

The disciple of Daoxuan Peak, Sun Changrong, was the most arrogant.

He stood directly on the tree closest to the river.

Three black flags were floating around him, hiding his aura.

Chen Jingzhai recognized the flags to be those of the Concealing Moon Formation.

The Concealing Moon Formation was a formation passed down in Daoxuan Peak that was difficult to master.

Its mastery depended on the number of flags one could control.

The most fundamental formation could be achieved with just one flag.

This was a Grade 1 formation.

With three flags, it would be a Grade 2 formation.

A Grade 3 formation would have five flags.

A Grade 4 formation would have seven flags.

In theory, the formation had no upper limit, and one could continue adding more flags.

However, the critical point was whether or not the person arranging the formation could successfully set it up.

It did not matter how many flags they had if they could not set it up.

Hence, the Concealing Moon Formation of Daoxuan Peak tested one’s understanding of formations the most.

Sun Changrong could set up the formation with three flags.

Besides that, he masked his aura and not his figure.

This proved that he had completely mastered this formation.

His understanding of formations was already second to none among the inner disciples.

Aside from Sun Changrong, two other disciples of Daoxuan Peak were there.

These two fellows hid on the edge of the river valley and were trying to keep themselves hidden as best as they could.

They had set up basic illusion formations. Any slight movement would get them noticed.

To the right of them was Jiang Youning from Lijian Peak.

This person was the current head disciple of Lijian Peak.

He was also a genius who was ranked eleventh in the battle forum.

He was dressed in white robes and was sitting cross-legged amongst the aquatic plants. A blue sword was placed horizontally across his lap.

He was not disturbed by mosquitoes and bugs and was also hidden amongst the aquatic plants.

He did not activate any techniques, yet his body blended in perfectly with the surroundings. The demonic beasts completely ignored him.

Close to him were two disciples from Elixir Peak.

They wore green Taoist robes and carried nine-section bamboo staffs as their gazes were fixed on the river.

The nine-section bamboo staffs emitted green light, disguising their auras.

In the eyes of the demonic beasts, the two of them were no different from trees.

Across the river from where the two disciples of Elixir Peak were, a burly, determined-looking Foundation Establishment Plane disciple in blue robes stood on a rock.

When Chen Jingzhai looked at him, the other party’s eyes twitched, and the latter looked around subconsciously.

Chen Jingzhai was shocked by how sharp the person’s senses were.

“So this person is a disciple of Sky Whale Peak. As expected, he is incredible,” commented Chen Jingzhai as he shifted his gaze away from the person.

This should be Chu Jingsong, who was ranked seventh in the last battle forum.

Chen Jingzhai had previously been interested in the Grand Technique of Sky Whale Peak.

However, his compatibility with the technique was not great. Therefore, even with the flaws of the technique, it would be very difficult for him to cultivate it.

Although he did not regret giving up on cultivating the technique, he still felt that it was a shame.

Chu Jingsong stood there, his entire body emanating a different kind of aura.

The demonic beasts present mistook him as one of them. So they were cautious but did not attack him.

This was the unique technique of Sky Whale Peak. Even the members of the other peaks could not pull this off.

Downstream from where Chu Jingsong was, two disciples from the Heavenly Artisan branch lay in ambush.

Both disciples were from the Alchemy Temple. They hid in item cauldrons and were similarly well hidden.

When the Restrictions of the item cauldrons were activated, they would sink into the mud and be completely still.

These were all the people Chen Jingzhai saw.

He burrowed around the vicinity a few times. Finally, he discovered that there were hidden auras nearby.

From the looks of it, there were other Foundation Establishment Plane disciples lying in ambush. However, they were observing the situation from a distance away.

Initially, Chen Jingzhai planned to dive into the river and check out the spirit plant.

However, he discovered that the river was full of danger too. He immediately paused in his tracks.

Time trickled past as everyone waited.

About two hours later, the water in the river churned.

Burbling sounds could be heard continuously. Rich Qi of water and wood attributes filled the entire river valley.

Chen Jingzhai’s facial expression brightened up. Aside from him, the other disciples revealed astonished expressions too.

A spirit plant that could emanate such bounteous Qi of water and wood attributes was definitely above Grade 3.

The demonic beasts could no longer hold still after smelling this rich Qi.

The first beast that went for the spirit plant was a velvet armor beast that hid underneath the muddy water.

It was a creature that remained still most of the time, but the Qi of water and wood attributes had caused it to go on a rampage.

It charged into the river with astonishing speed. The scales on its body flared up like blades.

Two Grade 2 demonic beasts attempted to stop it from advancing, but they were sliced in two by its sharp scales.

The heads of the two demonic beasts were severed from their bodies. Blood splattered everywhere.

The velvet armor beast was stained with blood. It became even more frantic. As it growled a low growl, its entire body glowed with an earthly-yellow hue.

Its growl was the signal for the battle to start. The initially calm atmosphere was completely shattered.

A long-tailed scaly tiger leaped up and immediately pounced on the velvet armor beast.

The two demonic beasts began fighting each other in the mud.

The velvet armor beast struggled extremely viciously. The long fur on its body was like ropes and spikes that kept attacking the long-tailed scaly tiger.

Yet, the latter was also extraordinary. Its body was covered in dense scales, and its defense was impenetrable.

It opened its mouth and ignored the long fur of the velvet armor beast. Instead, it lowered its head and snapped the neck of the latter.

Before it could enjoy its spoils of victory, the long-tailed scaly tiger was sent flying by a bone-corroding wolf.

The bone-corroding wolf was pale, and its body was devoid of fur. It looked like a statue.

It was slightly smaller than the long-tailed scaly tiger, but it was very fast.

After sending the long-tailed scaly tiger flying, it dashed toward the river without hesitation.

All the demonic beasts were rushing toward the river.

Once they set foot in the water, they leaped toward the center of the river.

The pure Qi of water and earth attributes caused these demonic beasts to go crazy.

[Roar.]

A wind-bending bear suddenly stood up. Then, with an angry roar, a gale blasted out of its mouth.

The gale shot out and sent the iron-armored rhinoceros in front flying.

The bear then caught up with its speed, pursuing the demonic beasts in front.

It was only a step away from the center of the river.

Just as the wind-bending bear was pouncing toward the center of the river, a ghost shadow python as thick as a person’s leg wrapped around the former’s leg at lightning speed. Its razor-sharp fangs pierced the wind-bending bear’s skin.

The wind-bending bear came crashing to the ground. Its head smashed into the riverbed, leaving a deep mark. Coincidentally, it was stepped on by the bone-corroding wolf, which was dashing forward. The latter left behind a wolf paw print on the bear’s head.

As the bone-corroding wolf ran, bone thorns extended out from its neck and waist. Any demonic beast that got close to it was stabbed by these thorns. The thorns could also shoot out at extreme speeds.

For the moment, the bone-corroding wolf had taken the lead and reached the center of the river. The other demonic beasts began fighting even more savagely. All of them disregarded everything as they charged toward the river.

Just then, a loud shriek came from the sky above.