In actuality, Chen Jingzhai had the ability to kill the Swamp Black Crocodile outright.

With his earth escape spell, if he were to use the Five Bamboo Sword, he was almost certain he would be able to inflict heavy damage with just one blow.

It was a pity that in the secret zone, once the power of the treasure was employed, it would set off the transportation slips.

This was the restriction that the clan set up for its disciples by means of the transportation slips.

This was to prevent disciples in the Foundation Establishment Plane from prematurely using power beyond their own realm.

Doing so would not only bring unforeseen burdens upon themselves but also destroy the environment inside the secret zone.

It was meant to maintain a sense of fair competition among the disciples.

Besides the Five Bamboo Sword, a spiritual item grade long sword was also something that could severely injure the black crocodile.

He could directly dish out Millennium Kill, then detonate the long sword, which should be about enough.

Although it was a little challenging to find the trick to the Millennium Kill, the wound on the abdomen was not a bad option.

Too bad that even though Chen Jingzhai cultivated sword methods, the only spiritual item he had at the moment was the long robe he was wearing.

He did not care much for those common, long swords from Daoxuan Peak.

The spiritual power was robust within his body, and the spell was his true specialty.

Once the vulnerabilities were identified, mastering the spells was comparatively fast. There might even be a chance to master advanced spells.

“The spell of the Swamp Black Crocodile was not too shabby!” Chen Jingzhai thought to himself as he watched the crazed Swamp Black Crocodile.

The quills and the quill explosion spell were both powerful and very suitable for use in combat.

If the Swamp Black Crocodile hadn’t lost its mind and gone nuts and had seized the opportunity to strike instead, perhaps those Sky Black Cranes would have been injured.

The Swamp Black Crocodile could not fly, and it was two against one.

If it were a different opponent, such as the Black Ice Dolphin, the Swamp Black Crocodile would easily triumph even if it were not a total one-sided battle.

Then, how to deal with the Swamp Black Crocodile?

Chen Jingzhai thought of the space inside the divine stone and wondered if he could take this opportunity to claim the Swamp Black Crocodile.

If this big guy got inside the divine stone space, it would be under Chen Jingzhai’s control.

After carefully considering the matter for a while, Chen Jingzhai still did not make a move.

On the other hand, the Swamp Black Crocodile seemed to have accepted its fate.

After it threw a tantrum, it lay on the beach, exhausted and motionless.

It looked really miserable. Claw marks were inflicted on its huge ugly head by the Sky Black Cranes.

Its belly was bleeding, and the wound had not yet healed.

A sunken fist mark was left on the hardened scales on its back.

There were several sword marks on its abdomen, which were clearly visible.

Its majestic awesomeness from before was nowhere to be found. All that was left were the wounds on its body.

After catching its breath for a while on the beach, the Swamp Black Crocodile slowly crawled back into the river.

Only after it was sure that nothing more would be gained did it leave the downtrodden along the river.

When Chen Jingzhai saw this, an idea came to him, and he trailed behind it immediately.

He wanted to see where the Swamp Black Crocodile’s lair was. There might be a pleasant surprise there.

Crocodile and man, one after the other, quietly left the place.

The river valley returned to its previous tranquil state.

Fifteen minutes later, two figures suddenly appeared.

Feng Liuyun, a disciple from Divine Cloud Peak, asked, “What did you find out about Senior Brother Zhao?”

“I didn’t find anything.” Zhao Qinghe of Dream Celestial Peak shook his head. “Everything seems to be in order.”

With his unique spell technique, he had scanned the entire river valley and found nothing amiss.

“That’s strange,” Feng Liuyun said with a frown. “Pure White Lotus is a Grade 4 magic lotus. So it’s understandable that it will yield lotus seeds when matured, but the body itself does not wither. So how can it just disappear?”

“Maybe the Little Master-Uncle has taken it,” Zhao Qinghe said indifferently. “The Little Master-Uncle has some extraordinary skills. If he can snatch the lotus seed from the mouth of the Swamp Black Crocodile, he can certainly take the magic lotus without tipping anyone off.”

“That makes sense!” Feng Liuyun nodded. “All of us have underestimated this Master-Uncle of ours!”

“Do you intend to teach the Little Master-Uncle a lesson?” Zhao Qinghe asked while raising his eyebrows.

“Someone has invited me to join in, and I agreed only because I was bored.” Feng Liuyun smiled and continued, “Little Master-Uncle has the magic lotus in hand, and he seemed to come out on top on this trip. That alone should be enough to convince everyone.”

“There is still a lot of time,” Zhao Qinghe said indifferently. “The final outcome is still unknown.”

After he finished speaking, his whole body dissipated, like dandelions dispersing in the air and disappearing from right where he was.

When he saw this, Feng Liuyun from Divine Cloud Peak raised the corners of his mouth slightly. Then, he, too, disappeared in the form of a white cloud.

After the two left, other disciples came one after another after they got wind of the news.

After finding nothing, they had no choice but to leave.

In the meantime, what had taken place in the river valley was spreading secretly as well.

The news that their Little Master-Uncle had gotten two white lotus seeds and might even have gotten the Grade 4 white lotus enticed many disciples. They were all secretly searching for the whereabouts of the Little Master-Uncle.

Chen Jingzhai knew nothing about any of this. So he escaped into the earth, following the direction of the river, and stalked the Swamp Black Crocodile downstream.

After passing through the meandering river, it left the valley and entered a small plain.

The river channel split here, forking to the left and right.

The Swamp Black Crocodile headed straight to the left, where there was a dense forest.

Along the river and into the dense forest, the smell of decay became more and more apparent.

Chen Jingzhai immediately saw the swamp in front of him.

He did not give the Swamp Black Crocodile a chance to return to its lair.

He made his move right when it was about to enter the forest.

A raven, formed by flames, suddenly rushed out from under the ground.

Its wings fluttered as it dived straight down, hitting the Swamp Black Crocodile with deadly accuracy.

The fire raven exploded instantly as the violent flames covered the Swamp Black Crocodile.

The ultra-high temperature even roasted the wound on its belly, leaving it singed black and brown.

The attack came on fast and furious.

By the time the Swamp Black Crocodile realized what was happening, it had already been covered by the flames.

At this time of crisis, it mobilized the earth essence power from its entire being.

But Chen Jingzhai had already anticipated it, and a dense layer of golden needles hung in the air.

He mobilized the metal power to cast the Needle Shower Spell.

Fine golden needles fell from the sky and slapped down on it like raindrops.

The earth essence power that had been mobilized was immediately affected.

But before it was over, Chen Jingzhai continued to cast other spells.

In the dense forest, dead branches flew in and fell into the flames.

Moments later, a giant root with flames burst out from the ground and slammed into the Swamp Black Crocodile.

The roots quickly unfurled and stretched out, automatically tying up their target and then slowly exerting more and more force.

The giant size of the Swamp Black Crocodile suddenly became his Achilles heel at this moment.

The Fire Raven Burning Sky Sword Technique + the Needle Shower Spell + the root spell—all three spells were cast in quick succession.

It was enough to dispel the earth essence power from the Swamp Black Crocodile, so it completely lost any ability to resist.

Chen Jingzhai revealed himself as he stood on the riverbank.

He clasped his hands together and cast out the spell again.

As the essence power surged, a giant hand, formed by the earth, slowly appeared from the ground.

Earth spell: The Hand of Heaven

The giant, earth-colored hand ignored the burning flames and directly grabbed onto the Swamp Black Crocodile.

The Grade 3 Swamp Black Crocodile was first entangled by the root spell and then caught by The Hand of Heaven.

Under the control of Chen Jingzhai, the soil continued to squeeze and imprison it.

With a move of his foot, he came upon The Hand of Heaven in a flash.

“Take it!”

A spirit light burst from Chen Jingzhai’s forehead.

Under the cover of the spirit light, the giant black crocodile that was wrapped in earth disappeared.

Chen Jingzhai fell from the air and landed weakly on the ground.

His face was deathly pale, and he had exhausted almost all his spiritual power. Even his meridians had already cramped up several times.

The exertion on his divine mind was serious, and it was unable to spread more than a few feet around him.

He had been too careless!

A wry smile appeared on Chen Jingzhai’s face.

After all, this Grade 3 demonic beast was not to be trifled with. The burden of taking it into the divine stone space was more than he had expected.

The plan, for now, would be to restore his spiritual power first.

He gritted his teeth as he got up and walked into the thick forest.