A pair of Sky Black Cranes came out of nowhere. Their cries were loud and sharp, penetrating the air.

They plunged down from the sky gracefully.

Their dark green talons directly pierced through the pale white head of the bone-corroding wolf.

They avoided the bone thorns completely, striking precisely and deadly.

The corpse of the bone-corroding wolf was torn to shreds in the air by the two cranes.

Blood poured down like rain. The demonic beasts grew even more frenzied under the bloody rain and the presence of the cranes.

“Grade 3 Sky Black Cranes!”

Chen Jingzhai and the various disciples all revealed serious expressions.

Everyone would still have a chance to acquire the spirit plant if only multiple Grade 2 demonic beasts were present.

With the appearance of the Grade 3 Sky Black Cranes, they all felt their hearts sink.

Grade 3 demonic beasts were at the level of a Golden Core Sage. However, they were even more terrifying in close combat than the Golden Core Sages.

The ferocity of demonic beasts was hard to eradicate. They were extremely vicious. This was troublesome for the cultivators.

If they were to face any of these Grade 3 demonic beasts, they could only use their transportation slips to escape.

What was worse was that the Sky Black Cranes could fly extremely fast.

If a creature could fly, it would not be affected by the terrain.

If they could fly fast, no one could escape from them.

With these characteristics, the Sky Black Cranes were truly an existence that brought despair.

Moreover, there were two of them!

Fortunately, they were also attracted by the spirit plant in the water.

After tearing the bone-corroding wolf apart, they ignored the other demonic beasts and cultivators.

They circled a few times in the sky. They then dived down, attempting to grab the treasure in the water.

When the other demonic beasts saw this, they became even more frenzied.

They ignored the difference in their grades and charged madly into the river.

The ghost shadow python, closest to the center of the river, immediately released the wind-bending bear.

Its entire body became a shadow as it dashed toward the Sky Black Cranes approaching the river from above.

The slender Sky Black Crane on the right gently pecked out, critically hitting the ghost shadow python.

With a gentle swing, its talons tore the corpse of the ghost shadow python to shreds.

Its movements were elegant. Its attacks were decisive and vicious, killing the snake with a single strike. It was clearly extraordinary.

Right then, the wind-bending bear got up, opened its mouth, and shot out a gale.

The gale constantly spun as it advanced rapidly, sweeping up vegetation and mud from the river.

The diving Sky Black Crane on the right sent the left one flying with a slap of its wing.

It then leveraged the force to twist its own form. Its sharp talons grabbed out, reaching into the churning water of the river.

Time seemed to stop at that moment. Every person and the demonic beast were staring at the river.

Their gazes were fixed on the talons of the Sky Black Crane. They wanted to see what kind of treasure was in the river.

However…

[Splash!]

Water splashed, and a gigantic mouth suddenly leaped out of the water, reaching for the Sky Black Crane.

The Sky Black Crane’s reflexes were swift. It seemed as though its previous attempt was just a test.

It flapped its wings, and its figure rapidly rose above the river, escaping danger.

It then lowered his head and pecked down.

[Ding! Ding!]

Sparks flew as the crane’s beak clashed against black scales in the water. Neither could break the other.

The other crane came flying over, joining the battle.

The gigantic mouth in the water was forced to close. A tail swung out as the creature dived back into the water.

The creature that appeared shocked everyone.

“A Grade 3 Swamp Black Crocodile!”

Chen Jingzhai recognized the large creature in the water at a glance. It was clearly a Grade 3 crocodile demonic beast.

Its body was 30 feet long and covered in dense black scales. It was a demonic beast of water and earth attributes.

The dangerous aura that he noticed just now must have come from it.

This type of demonic beast usually lived in swamps and was most proficient at camouflaging itself.

It must have also been attracted by the treasure in the river and had laid in ambush.

Its abilities were shocking for just being able to approach the treasure without any sound or presence.

After all, there were quite a few auras in the water, and it had not alerted them. It was apparent that it was extraordinary.

The two Sky Black Cranes shrieked as they circled in the sky, unwilling to leave.

In the river, grunts could be heard as the water churned.

The treasure in the water seemed unaffected by the battle just now.

The Swamp Black Crocodile had not claimed the treasure.

It had temporarily stopped attacking. However, the Qi of water and wood attributes in the water was becoming purer and purer.

Although the demonic beasts were held off by the Grade 3 demonic beasts, they were still fighting to the death nearby.

[Snap!]

On the river bank, the wind-bending bear’s head was torn off by the Sky Black Cranes.

The two cranes, one on the left and the other on the right, tore the wind-bending bear apart as fast as lightning.

The bear could not avoid their attacks. It could not even shoot out a gale.

Large amounts of demonic blood flowed over the white sands of the river bank.

This was the Sky Black Cranes’ revenge for the wind-bending bear’s previous attack.

It wasn’t just them seeking revenge. They were becoming anxious.

The anxious cranes began clearing off the demonic beasts on the river bank.

They either tore the demonic beasts to pieces or hunted them down.

Each time they dived down, one or two demonic beasts were eliminated.

Such vicious methods finally caused some demonic beasts to cower.

This was especially true for the demonic beasts, which had fallen behind and were not close to the center of the river.

Their instincts began to persuade them to escape and preserve their lives.

Within five minutes, the surface of the river changed.

The sound of churning water grew more intense. But, aside from that, a fragrance filled the air.

Chen Jingzhai hid within a Mountain Duplication Formation near the river.

When the fragrance reached him, with a single sniff, he felt refreshed.

His fatigue was instantly swept away. The spiritual power inside of him became even more energized.

What a treasure!

Chen Jingzhai’s eyes lit up as he stared at the churning river water with a fervent gaze.

The fragrance was rich, and its effects were highly beneficial.

The disciples at the Foundation Establishment Plane were eager to charge forward once they took in the fragrance.

The originally escaping demonic beasts all came to a halt, seemingly intoxicated by the aroma.

The Sky Black Cranes also circled above the surface of the river.

Under the watchful gazes of humans and demonic beasts alike, the river water boiled and parted.

A magic lotus poked out of the surface of the river without a sound or presence.

The lotus was white with a hint of green. It was in excellent condition.

The lotus blossomed, and its fragrance spread across the area.

The aquatic plants on both sides of the river were affected by the lotus and grew frenziedly.

“It is a Grade 4 spirit plant?” said two disciples of Elixir Peak with trembling voices.

They seemed to be in disbelief.

A Grade 3 spirit plant was already an astounding find.

The magic lotus before their eyes was beyond their imagination, be it in terms of condition or effect.

It was definitely not a Grade 3 spirit plant. It was highly likely that it was a Grade 4 spirit plant.

A Grade 3 spirit plant was already a precious treasure. A Grade 4 one would be a marvelous spiritual treasure.

Among the hundreds of secret zones of the Luo Sheng Sword School, there were a pitiful few that could grow Grade 4 spiritual treasures.

How could this not be astonishing?

Their voices seemed to startle the magic lotus. It blossomed even faster.

In the time it took for a breath, the lotus flower had fully blossomed.

Lotus seeds shot out from it.

There were a total of nine lotus seeds. They shot out in all directions, seemingly trying to escape.

The Sky Black Cranes circling in the sky were the quickest to react.

Both of them chased after a lotus seed side by side.

Three to four silhouettes leaped out of the water and pursued the other lotus seeds.

The disciples at the Foundation Establishment Plane, who had been observing these proceedings all this while, took action.

Sun Changrong unleashed a spell technique, and the three flags flew around him, combining above his head.

His flags were spiritual items that controlled the power of his formation. He immediately drew a lotus seed over toward him.

Behind the river, Jiang Youning, who was among the aquatic plants, used his sword escape technique to chase after another lotus seed.

Chu Jingsong from Sky Whale Peak stepped out and grabbed the closest lotus seed.

The other disciples at the Foundation Establishment Plane, including those hiding in the shadows, made their move.

They were fighting over the nine lotus seeds together with the demonic beasts.

Chen Jingzhai was in his formation. His gaze flickered, but he did not reveal himself.

He immediately burrowed into the ground and disappeared without a trace.