"At your service, master!" The small shadow trembled slightly. "You go ahead. I'll return to the third floor alone." The woman spoke, then lightly stepped on the massive black flower beneath her. Instantly, the surface of the flower shimmered with black light, and a series of silver spell arrays of varying sizes appeared on her body. As the silver glow danced, a surge of dark mist erupted from the arrays, swiftly spreading into a vast sea of fog that completely enveloped the great black bloom. A deep, thunderous rumble echoed through the mist, and with several flashes of silver arcs, the mist sea broke apart under a sudden gust of wind. The space was now empty. The enormous black flower and the slender woman vanished completely, leaving only a furry figure still half-kneeling on the ground. It wasn't until several cups of tea had passed that the small figure finally stood up, slowly lifting her head. Under the silver light of the desert, she was revealed to have four ears and a monkey's face. Yet its two emerald eyes had small pupils, radiating a cold, venomous gaze reminiscent of a serpent. This was a wrothened ape-faerie, its fur deep yellow, its intelligence fully awakened, appearing no different from ordinary beings. The ape scanned the surroundings with its gaze, then suddenly opened its mouth and exhaled a yellow mist that enveloped the remains of the giant spirit flower. An astonishing phenomenon unfolded! Within the green mist, the remains of the giant spirit flower rapidly melted and dissolved, transforming into a broad expanse of viscous green liquid. The mist then surged and rolled, lifting the green liquid and drawing it all into the ape’s belly. Subsequently, the ape closed its eyes, and green filaments of light appeared simultaneously in its nostrils and ears, pulsing and fluctuating. Its entire yellow fur instantly turned green, glowing softly. After standing motionless for a while, the wrothened ape suddenly felt a subtle movement in its two ears, yet no further change occurred. Not long after, a rushing sound came from the far end of the desert. A flash of light, and a sphere of red glow shot forth. Within the glow stood a stout man of about thirty. Behind him, a pair of green wings; atop his head, two sharp spines. His small eyes darted rapidly, full of cunning. He was a holy prince from another branch of the Flying Spirit race, having chosen the same route as Han Li and his companions, and traveling alone. Yet he seemed extraordinarily cautious. With the great ape now so conspicuous, how could he fail to notice such vigilance? At once, the stout man halted his flight, stopping some dozens of paces away from the ape, his face filled with surprise. Though the ape had already completely transformed the remains of the giant spirit flower into liquid and absorbed it, the ground around was shattered, and the traces left by the black giant flower rising from the earth were even more striking. Yet this immortal ape stood still by the side, eyes closed, with flickering light emanating from its nostrils and ears, as though it had lost all sense of the surrounding world. Thus, the scene appeared as if the ape had just fought a fierce battle, severely wounded and now forced to heal itself on the spot, with no protective measures at all. The celestial prince of the Flying Spirit clan clearly shared this impression, gazing at the ape’s closed eyes, his expression gradually brightening with excitement. Though the objective of this trial was not necessarily to slay an immortal beast, the mere achievement of defeating a high-ranking Earth-Deep demon, along with the valuable materials such as its inner essence, would surely be of great worth. Such an easily attainable advantage was naturally unlikely to be overlooked. The prince, whose identity remained unknown, remained especially vigilant. He did not rush to act but instead quietly observed the ape from a distance in the sky. After a full meal’s time passed without any further signs of movement from the demon, he finally felt at ease. A grim smile spread across his face. Suddenly, he rubbed his hands together, and a ball of flame surged between them. Instantly, the flame transformed into a long fire cannon, two zhang in length. The tip was sharply pointed, the entire shaft glowing bright red and hot, wrapped in a fierce blaze of flame. With a gentle flap of his wings, the man became a streak of red light, rushing toward the lower monkey demon. It seemed this celestial prince of the Tianpeng Clan had employed some secret technique—though he was notably stout, his speed was astonishingly swift, and the entire process was utterly silent, with not a single ripple of wind stirring. In the blink of an eye, the red light reached ten zhang beyond the monkey's head, yet the creature remained motionless. The man from the Feilin Clan was delighted and, without hesitation, gave a calm, decisive shake of his long spear. A sharp "whoosh!"—the spear instantly transformed into a streak of red light and pierced through the body of the monkey demon. Yet, just as the man's face brightened with satisfaction, his expression suddenly turned grave. For the monkey demon, now pierced by the spear, began to disintegrate at The male member of the Fei Ling clan silently gasped, flapping his wings without hesitation, intent on immediately vanishing from the spot. But it was too late! Suddenly, a hazy green silhouette emerged at close range in the sky, then flashed forward and landed directly upon the man's body. With a heavy "thud," a burst of green mist exploded outward, instantly enveloping the Fei Ling prince within. A sharp cry rang out—his body had barely had time to emit a flash of red light, which melted like spring snow, unable to withstand the encroaching green mist. After only having flown a dozen paces, he plummeted from the sky, dissolving into a pool of green liquid. Though endowed with great powers, the prince had managed to unleash not a single one. As the green mist swirled and coalesced, a great ape materialized. The creature gazed coldly at the pool of liquid on the ground, then took a deep breath and swallowed it whole. Indeed, the Fei Ling prince's death proved rather unfortunate. If on the ground, with divine awareness fully extended, one could never be so easily deceived by such a mere shadow, let alone be tricked by the phoenix ape into approaching so close without even noticing. At this moment, after gently sucking her lips, the phoenix ape murmured thoughtfully, "It's indeed a member of the Flying Spirit Clan. The time for ground-based cultivators' trials has truly arrived. Therefore, it's likely that this very clan has disrupted the ritual." After uttering these words, the phoenix ape sniffed deeply, then fixed her gaze steadily upon the direction where Han Li and the others had gone. With a sly smile, she spun gracefully, transforming into a swirling green mist and swiftly flying off, vanishing soon after against the horizon. Just now, Han Li suddenly produced two items from his person and had both of them carefully keep them close to their bodies. "Besides their protective functions, these items' primary purpose is to mask our vital signs and maintain our relative positions. Should anything unforeseen happen and we become separated, perhaps we could reunite simply by using these tablets," Han Li said calmly. These two items, known as the Wujing Tablets, were precious artifacts he had purchased at a high price during his time in Tianyuan City—exactly suited to their current situation. Now, having already flown out of the desert and settled atop a small hill, Han Li had decided to bring them out for safety's sake shortly thereafter. "I have never been accustomed to wearing someone else's magical artifacts," Lei Lan said, his expression darkening as he firmly declined. Bai Bi smiled gently and shook her head. Han Li chuckled lightly, neither insisting nor pressuring them, and instead returned the two jade tablets to his own possession. "Since both of you are unwilling, then that will do." Yet with mid-tier spirit beasts appearing at the very first level, our journey is far from risk-free as we had imagined. I have a flying artifact in my possession that possesses the ability to conceal itself; riding this would significantly reduce our troubles." Han Li offered a different suggestion. "A flying artifact—this will indeed prove useful," smiled Lei Lan. Bai Bi nodded in agreement, showing no hesitation. Han Li smiled gently, then lightly brushed his hand over his storage bracelet, and instantly a soil-yellow flying carriage floated before them. The carriage appeared crafted from some kind of spiritual wood, light and graceful in appearance, yet its surface was exquisitely detailed, adorned with numerous magical arrays. Measuring nearly seven to eight zhang in length, it was spacious enough to accommodate three people. This carriage was one of several Han Li had specially collected in Tianyuan City just before departure, chosen for its versatility across various situations. "Given your kindness, then, I shall gladly accept and follow your suggestion." After exchanging a glance, Lei Lan and Bai Bi both nodded and readily agreed. Han Li's eyes flashed as he stepped aside and suddenly appeared inside the flying carriage. Both Lei Lan and Bai Bi entered the carriage as well. Han then raised one hand and struck the carriage, channeling several intricate spells into it. Instantly, the carriage trembled and shimmered, forming a translucent milky-white aura that enveloped the entire vehicle. As the light on the surface flowed and shifted, the carriage gradually became transparent, leaving only a faint, ethereal white outline at the entrance. The carriage then broke through the air and began to glide forward. "Since we have such a precious artifact, why not use it from the very beginning?" Lei Lan smiled and asked, gazing around the carriage thoughtfully. "Though this carriage is quite useful, it does have one drawback," Han Li replied calmly. "What kind of drawback?" Lei Lan expressed her curiosity. "Hehe, to power this vehicle and unlock the concealment seal, one must use high-grade wooden spiritual stones—quite a substantial cost. Besides being good at concealment and speed, its defense is rather weak and easily damaged by Nordic attacks. Unless we're on a journey or absolutely necessary, I wouldn't bother using it," Han Li explained casually. Upon hearing this, Bai Bi and the other two exchanged a quiet, amused smile and decided not to press further. The ethereal form of the flying chariot moved like a ghost, its speed unusual—darting and flickering several times before vanishing completely, leaving no trace behind. Han Li and his companions were unaware that, far behind them, a cluster of green mist paused in the air, then erupted into an unusually fierce roar, its speed suddenly increasing by a third, rushing forward like a comet in flight. In the largest gorges near the first layer of the Earth's Deep Gate, several dozen Flying Spirit族 members advanced cautiously. The leading figure had deep red skin and a gloomy expression—Zhù Yīnzi, along with the other Sacred Princes of the Chì Róng clan. (Second chapter!)