Rumble!

The Star Erosion that had been fiercely crashing against the Gold-Breaking Array’s barrier moments ago, was now reduced to a field of rubble.

"If I had this Rain Curtain Stealth Sword Skill during my bout with Ji Jie, he wouldn’t even have had the chance to use the Celestial Calculation Skill for Taming Objects before I’d have cut off his head."

Looking at the power of his current Rain Curtain Stealth, Liou Yuan’s face showed a satisfied smile.

This was the result of his diligent training over the past days.

Nowadays, just by relying on the Small Success realm of the Green Tide Pure Water Sword, he could stand undefeated among the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer disciples of Five Extremes Mountain.

There weren’t more than three people in the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer realm who posed a threat to him.

If he paired with the Canglan Sword, not a single person in the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer of Five Extremes Mountain could be his match.

Even in the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer, he would count as a formidable existence.

This was only Liou Yuan’s Sword Dao cultivation.

He still had the Great Success Lion’s Roar Spell and the C-level Skill Blood Absorption Skill as extremely powerful trump cards.

Even among the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer cultivators of Five Extremes Mountain, Liou Yuan could absolutely rank in the top ten, and it could be said he’d undoubtedly make it to the top ten in this Outer Sect training.

He also had his strongest trump card, the Evil Eyes.

Once the Evil Eyes were activated, Liou Yuan was confident he could battle with those Six-Star Star Acupoint disciples.

Including Yan Yingsi, Wang Ze Wen, and Zhan Huaping.

Only now did Liou Yuan have the confidence to advance into the top three.

"I can finally come out and spar with those four fellows!" Liou Yuan sheathed his sword, with radiant energy flowing in his eyes.

While he spoke of leaving seclusion, Liou Yuan was still busy gathering stone beads with his hands.

Including the Gold-Breaking Array Disc, five Star Stones, and the dozen or so spiritual stones used as the array’s core, he greedily put them back into his Storage Bag.

These were items that could be reused multiple times.

After doing all this, Liou Yuan dusted off his clothes, looking towards the direction he’s been advancing in the gorge.

"How long is this damned gorge, if it doesn’t end soon, I’ll have no choice but to risk climbing this thousand-zhang cliff face."

Grumbling, Liou Yuan activated the Night Concealing Mask, merging his figure into the shadows at the bottom of the gorge.

Moving forward for another three days, Liou Yuan discovered that the density of Star Erosion demons he encountered along the way was increasing.

When he first entered here, he had to walk nearly a whole day to encounter a single Star Erosion.

But in these three days, he found more than three Star Erosions each day.

Of course, these Star Erosions without exception became deceased under Liou Yuan’s sword.

On the third day, Liou Yuan even saw two Star Erosions fighting at the bottom of the gorge, these strange creatures could actually devour each other.

The victor grabbed the stone bead from the defeated one, placing it into its mouth.

The green flame in its eye sockets thus burned more prominently.

But in defeating the defeated one, its body also suffered considerable injuries, Liou Yuan wasn’t about to pass up such a good opportunity.

Using the invisibility function of the Night Concealing Mask, he silently approached the Star Erosion, deploying the Rain Curtain Stealth with one sword stroke, killing this Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer Star Erosion.

"Counting these stone beads worth four Stone Skills each, I already possess twenty Stone Skills, already surpassing the Outer Sect training qualifying line."

Liou Yuan put away the stone beads and collected several spirit-infused stones from the ground, his voice steady and unperturbed.

It was peculiar; he’d spent around seven to eight days in this gorge.

The strongest he’s encountered was only a Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer Star Erosion.

He hadn’t come across a single Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer Star Erosion.

"It’s actually fortunate; had I encountered a Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer Star Erosion, not even I’d be a match, and none of the Outer Sect disciples would stand a chance during this training."

Liou Yuan would soon regret his careless comment.

After tallying his gains and continuing on, Liou Yuan traversed the gorge for another day, finally arriving at the gorge’s end, sensing something amiss.

Because at this end, the gorge was a dead end, with steep cliffs closing off the way, forming a cul-de-sac with the walls on both sides.

Liou Yuan cursed at the top of his lungs: "A complete waste of ten days’ time."

He quickly fell silent, though.

Ever since entering Erosion Land, his Evil Eyes would occasionally activate, observing his surroundings as a habitual vigilance.

Just as he’d voiced his irritation, Liou Yuan’s eyes flashed with a purple glow, unintentionally glancing at the environment of this dead end.

A mere glance revealed something peculiar.

In his vision, beneath the obstructing cliff, there was a massive house-sized scarlet rock formation.

The rock was embedded in the earth, blending perfectly with the reddish-brown soil surrounding it.

In the view of Liou Yuan’s Evil Eyes, the scarlet rock was emitting an unsettling bright blue light.

"Star Erosion!" Liou Yuan’s heart skipped a beat as he concealed himself in the dark using the Night Concealing Mask.

This Star Erosion’s spiritual power color wasn’t only different, its aura surpassed all the Star Erosions Liou Yuan had encountered along the way.

That strength wasn’t just above what he’d perceived; it was an overwhelming gap.

Even the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer Star Erosion he’d fought with effort, its internal aura’s intensity compared to the Star Erosion ahead was fivefold weaker.

This was beyond the Qi Cultivation realm realm.

"Foundation Establishment Star Erosion?" Liou Yuan swallowed, a terrifying guess arising in his mind.

But quickly, he shook his head, dismissing such an unrealistic notion.

"Erosion Land has four layers, each having a separate seal."

"The Outer Sect training is only done in the first layer, where the Star Erosions are affected by the seal, making it impossible to break through to Foundation Establishment."

Thinking this, Liou Yuan looked up at the green lantern hanging above Erosion Land’s sky.

That wasn’t just a simple lantern; it was the seal of Erosion Land.

The candlelight shone on Erosion Land, suppressing the growth of the Star Erosions within.

But the aura of the Star Erosion before him wasn’t that of a Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer, murmuring to himself after a brief pause: "Half-Step Foundation Establishment?"

This was the most plausible explanation Liou Yuan could think of.

Affected by the seal, the Star Erosion of the first layer couldn’t possibly break through to Foundation Establishment, thus being stuck at Half-Step Foundation Establishment.

Even though it wasn’t true Foundation Establishment, just Half-Step Foundation Establishment, once this Star Erosion emerged, none of the Outer Sect disciples who came to Erosion Land for training could withstand it.

Fortunately, Liou Yuan had the Night Concealing Mask’s capability, not only hiding in darkness but suppressing his aura as well.

Moreover, Liou Yuan was still some three hundred zhang away from that Half-Step Foundation Establishment Star Erosion.

Even a Half-Step Foundation Establishment Star Erosion would find it extremely hard to detect Liou Yuan.

"Wind tight, order out!" Liou Yuan glanced one last time at the location of the Half-Step Foundation Establishment Star Erosion, decisively began to retreat slowly within the darkness.

Afraid of being detected by the Star Erosion, Liou Yuan moved very slowly, worrying about making any noise lest he died there.

It was undoubtedly the safest method.

As for the idea of killing the Half-Step Foundation Establishment Star Erosion, Liou Yuan wouldn’t even entertain it.

However, heaven seemed set on thwarting his plans.

Just as he’d retreated two steps, the Fixed Star Compass within his body suddenly radiated starlight.

The pointer of the Fixed Star Compass gently moved, eventually pointing towards the location of that Half-Step Foundation Establishment Star Erosion and then remained still.

At the same time, the Fixed Star Compass automatically activated. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Numerous dense characters formed above the compass.

[Detected quasi-Level 1 Purifying Dark Demon aura.]

[Danger Level: Quasi-Level 1]

[Slaying Purifying Dark Demon offers reward: Vascular Formation and Meridian Opening Elixir]

...

[Detected Profound Yin Cold Marrow Stone]