Boom! The ground exploded, and Ling Yuyan enveloped Lu Yu and Yu Xiaoman with spiritual power, lifting them into the air.

Immediately after, an even louder noise erupted as a large area of the ground was upheaved. The Heavenly Poison Centipede, hundreds of meters long, burst out from the ground, and the pit behind it was quickly filled with underground river water. Countless underground aquatic monster creatures surged out of the opening.

Seeing sunlight for the first time, many of these underground aquatic monsters were unaccustomed to it and shut their eyes tightly, retreating back into the water.

They had not yet been completely corrupted by demonic aura and still retained some biological characteristics.

Carrying Lu Yu and Yu Xiaoman, Ling Yuyan couldn't fully unleash her strength against the Heavenly Poison Centipede, so she could only flee.

Lu Yu also did not agree with her carrying him, flying in the sky to battle the Heavenly Poison Centipede. This made him feel very insecure, although falling to death was unlikely.

He had several spiritual treasures that could allow for short-term flight, precisely to guard against such situations.

Of course, what he initially envisioned was definitely not this kind of situation.

Lu Yu had only envisioned falling from a height, not being taken to fly in the sky by a strong person.

The appearance of the Heavenly Poison Centipede caused a large amount of demonic aura to appear in this area, and strong practitioners patrolling nearby immediately received the news and rushed over.

The first to arrive were a few strong practitioners of the Qi Sea Realm, who weren't as powerful as Ling Yuyan. However, after Ling Yuyan put down Lu Yu and Yu Xiaoman, they jointly blocked the fierce Heavenly Poison Centipede.

As time passed, more and more strong practitioners arrived. By the time the first Core Formation Realm practitioner reached, the Heavenly Poison Centipede had already been driven back by the joint efforts of everyone.

The Core Formation Realm practitioner wanted to take the opportunity to kill the Heavenly Poison Centipede, but it burrowed into the ground to escape. The Core Formation Realm practitioner pursued it underground but couldn't deal with the Heavenly Poison Centipede, which held a terrain advantage, and was forced to retreat from underground.

The hole from which the Heavenly Poison Centipede previously emerged continued to gush out creatures tainted by demonic aura, and aquatic monsters at the Monster Spirit Realm also appeared. Everyone could only watch helplessly as the Heavenly Poison Centipede escaped, subsequently intercepting these monsters emerging from underground.

Shortly thereafter, a portion of the army stationed at the Qingyan Mountain Range arrived, surrounding the two openings and establishing a defensive line, with the main defense target being the hole from which the Heavenly Poison Centipede emerged.

Another hole created during the Heavenly Poison Centipede's escape was also heavily guarded.

Ling Yuyan reported the presence of numerous demonized creatures in the underground caves, leading the City Lord of Beifeng City to take troops into action. Accompanying the action were forces from various major families in Beifeng City.

When Ling Yuyan had previously entered the caves, she left marks in the caves she visited, which allowed her to sense the positions of those marks and provide coordinates for the army to encircle and annihilate the demons.

However, those demons hid underground, making it very difficult for the troops to deeply penetrate, so strong practitioners had to scout the way first. Subsequently, others had to figure out how to open a passage leading to the cave and then eradicate all the demons.

The operation started smoothly, with the troops successfully entering underground and eradicating all demons within the cave, not sparing even a trace of demonic aura.

But later, the demons in other caves, under the leadership of the Heavenly Poison Centipede, sensed the disturbance and started moving chaotically underground. Their chaotic and scattered traces made it difficult to corral them for elimination.

Watching the entrance below, the City Lord of Beifeng City said emotionlessly, "Pull the troops out first. I'll apply for an Array Master to be sent over to completely seal this area."

Continually playing hide-and-seek underground with the Heavenly Poison Centipede was not a solution. The City Lord of Beifeng City decided to leverage his connections to contact an Array Master, skilled in deploying large-scale sealing arrays, planning to seal the area for a thorough capture.

The Heavenly Poison Centipede was different from other creatures lost to demonic influence and would flee when in danger. Ling Yuyan speculated that its consciousness might not have been completely eroded by demonic aura, retaining some clarity.

After this engagement, everyone understood that to eradicate the Heavenly Poison Centipede, the source of chaos, at least three Core Formation Realm practitioners were needed to ensure its complete elimination.

However, after this incident, the trail of the Heavenly Poison Centipede never appeared again. Ling Yuyan entertained the idea of finding Lu Yu to explore underground once again, but Yu Xiaoman informed her that Lu Yu was not in Beifeng City and would not return in the short term.

Ling Yuyan had to drop the idea, but recalling how Lu Yu had directed Yu Xiaoman for guidance before, she placed her hope on Yu Xiaoman to search for the Heavenly Poison Centipede.

This matter originally was not under her jurisdiction, but remembering the tragically deceased Fire Feather and how they had fought side by side with their lives to stop the demon general, she wished for the demonic qi-corrupted Heavenly Poison Centipede to find peace soon.

Of the original quartet, only three remained, with one corrupted by demonic qi, defecting to the enemy's camp. This grieved Ling Yuyan deeply.

...

In the Divine Weapon Pavilion Secret Realm, Lu Yu was preparing to head to the Soldier's Secret Realm, where they were to gather in front of the Celestial Dao Hall first.

Before gathering, Kwidefa found Lu Yu and handed over the item he had previously promised.

Holding the circular arm shield given by Kwidefa, Lu Yu curiously asked, "Why are you giving me this? I don't even know how to use a shield."

"You'll understand when the time comes. This Protean Arm Shield, created with Artifact Refining Technique and Mechanical Technique, can change its form through built-in mechanisms. Of course, its main function is defense, capable of withstanding full-strength attacks from Qi Sea Realm practitioners."

"So powerful?" Lu Yu was greatly surprised to hear that the shield in his hand could resist attacks from a Qi Sea Realm practitioner.

After his previous virtual armor was crushed by a Qi Sea Realm practitioner, he had been looking for ways to withstand their attacks.

"Don't be too surprised. It can only withstand physical attacks from a Qi Sea Realm practitioner. It's very useful in the Soldier's Secret Realm. But outside, don't count on it to resist a Qi Sea Realm practitioner's attack, as their spiritual power alone could crush you flat," Kwidefa warned.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yu's interest diminished considerably, as shielding only physical attacks from a Qi Sea Realm practitioner was indeed of little practical use.

Martial Cultivators in the Qi Echelon Realm would resort to hand-to-hand combat when their spiritual power was exhausted, but Qi Sea Realm practitioners had a continuous source of spiritual power, leaving them with little opportunity for physical assaults.

Only in unique places like the Soldier's Secret Realm would a Qi Sea Realm practitioner engage in hand-to-hand combat.

"Oh, do you have a storage ring?" Kwidefa asked, "You cannot use storage bags in the Soldier's Secret Realm, only natural storage treasures are usable."

"Without a storage ring, carrying things around becomes quite bothersome."

Lu Yu thought for a moment and then replied, "No, I don't."

"If you don't have one, take this storage ring, consider it your share from the sale of so much armor last time." Kwidefa handed a black ring to Lu Yu.

The shield was merely Kwidefa's experimental product, his first complete work that combined Artifact Refining Technique and Mechanical Technique. He wanted Lu Yu to test it, gauge its usefulness and any issues, before deciding whether to delve deeper into the combined techniques.

Seeing Lu Yu put on the ring, Kwidefa said, "Alright, if there's nothing else, head over to the Celestial Dao Hall quickly. Remember to give me feedback on the Protean Arm Shield when you return."

"Okay," Lu Yu responded and began walking towards the Celestial Dao Hall within Heaven-Breaking City, studying Kwidefa's manual as he walked, which recorded how to transform the arm shield and its various forms.

After entering the Divine Weapon Pavilion Secret Realm, Lu Yu found himself at the Heaven-Ascending Ladder for the second time.

The last time, there were three of them; this time, he was alone.

"Lu Yu, wait for me!" a familiar voice called, and Lu Yu turned to see the red-haired Ouyang Lie.

"Ouyang Lie, how come you're here?" Lu Yu asked curiously as he looked at Ouyang Lie beside him.

Ouyang Lie punched him and said, "Why can't I be here? If you can acquire a secret realm spot, why can't I?"

He then gratefully said, "I have to thank your Iron Armor trick; otherwise, getting a secret realm spot might have been out of reach for me."

Lu Yu: "..."

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