Xu Ping estimated that in this place, his Mana would be suppressed by at least twenty percent.

If an ordinary mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator were to come here, they would probably struggle to unleash even half of their strength.

"The outer region of the Water Demon Lair is not too dangerous. With your cultivation and mine, we can easily cross it. Fellow Daoist Xu, follow me."

Xuanmo True Monarch seemed quite familiar with this place. With a shout, he transformed into a streak of black light and plunged into the largest cave entrance.

Xu Ping’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn’t hesitate. A flash of spiritual light surrounded him as he followed closely behind.

Having prepared in advance, Xu Ping certainly wouldn’t retreat.

The cave wasn’t as narrow as one might imagine.

At first, it was cramped, but the further they went, the more spacious it became, crisscrossing like a massive underground labyrinth.

The rock walls were made of a strange black reef stone that absorbed light and Divine Sense, with only the occasional blue and green glowing moss or mineral providing faint illumination.

Cold! Dead silent! Oppressive!

Along the way, they were indeed attacked by some Deep Sea Demon Beasts that had mutated under the erosion of Demonic Qi.

These Demon Beasts were hideous in form, with jagged bone spurs, and blood-red eyes filled with a savage desire to kill.

Their strength ranged from the second to the third rank, but they were easily slain by Xu Ping and Xuanmo True Monarch, without even slowing them down a bit.

The two of them continued downward, delving further in.

According to Xuanmo True Monarch, the Five Elements Divine Clay should be located at the deepest point of the Water Demon Lair.

They traveled for hundreds of miles, digging deep into the earth.

The surrounding Demonic Qi had become so dense it almost turned into a tangible black fog, greatly suppressing their Divine Sense.

Xu Ping could even feel a slight stagnation in the flow of Mana within his body.

Just as they passed through an especially vast rock hall filled with countless tiny holes—

Xu Ping suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Fellow Daoist Xuanmo!"

His gaze was sharp as lightning, instantly locking onto the seemingly empty, shadowy passage ahead, his voice as cold as ice.

"Hmm?"

Xuanmo True Monarch stopped and turned around, a perfectly measured look of confusion on his face.

Xu Ping’s eyes were as sharp as a knife as he said word by word, "Shouldn’t you explain what’s up with that well-concealed array fluctuation a hundred feet ahead?"

Xuanmo True Monarch’s face instantly froze into confusion, which quickly turned into a bitter smile as he shook his head and sighed:

"Fellow Daoist Xu.... You’re really making this difficult for me."

"An array so hidden, yet you can still detect it. I truly wonder how you cultivated such terrifying Divine Sense with your mid-stage Nascent Soul self..."

However, before he could finish his seemingly admiring words—

An unexpected change occurred!

From the shadowy part behind Xu Ping, a dark figure shot out from the reef wall riddled with holes without any warning, as fast as lightning.

Its speed far exceeded any Demon Beast they had encountered before.

The terror of its aura was shockingly at the level of Late-Stage Nascent Soul! 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Even more terrifying was its masterful concealment; before it launched, even Xu Ping’s powerful Divine Sense failed to detect it in advance.

Not until the moment it launched its attack, did the chilling intent to kill explode forth.

An ambush.

Moreover, a meticulously planned and perfect ambush targeting Xu Ping.

Though surprised, Xu Ping remained calm.

He had been on guard, but hadn’t expected his opponent’s concealment to be so uncanny!

"Roar!"

In that critical moment, Xu Ping’s blood and Mana erupted without reservation.

The whole person seemed to transform into a blood-colored true dragon, carrying the terrifying power to shatter mountains and seas, crashing backward fiercely.

Boom!

Like two Ancient Divine Mountains colliding violently.

A terrifying energy shockwave exploded in the relatively enclosed underground cave, the surrounding black reef stone shattering and collapsing like tofu.

The blood-colored dragon shadow Xu Ping transformed into shattered instantly, and his body slightly stirred with blood.

As for the shadow that attempted the ambush, it was forcefully sent flying back by this domineering punch.

Both sides were evenly matched.

Only then did Xu Ping see clearly the true form of the attacker.

It turned out to be a humanoid puppet covered in a flowing dark luster, with fine scales and bone spurs at its joints!

The energy fluctuation it emitted was firmly at the fourth-rank top-grade level.

What caused Xu Ping’s pupils to shrink was the layer of material covering the puppet, dark as the night sky and twinkling with starlight.

"High-quality Moon Shadow Stone?"

"And so much of it?"

Xu Ping couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

This entire fourth-rank top-grade puppet’s exterior was almost entirely crafted from high-quality Moon Shadow Stone.

No wonder its concealment ability was so abnormal, even eluding his Divine Sense.

What extravagance, and what a display of wealth.

Using top-grade materials capable of crafting countless Soul-Breaking Needles to make a puppet’s exterior?

Utterly wasteful!

But in the next moment, Xu Ping’s eyes didn’t show fear, but instead burned with intense excitement.

"If I can dismantle this puppet and extract all the Moon Shadow Stone to integrate into my Soul-Breaking Needle... its power would definitely rise to another level!"

On the other side, Xuanmo True Monarch didn’t seem surprised that the puppet’s ambush failed. Instead, he showed a trace of regret, clicking his tongue and saying:

"What a pity.... Fellow Daoist Xu’s Body Refining Divine Techniques truly are ridiculously strong."

Whoosh—!

Before he finished speaking, two unrestrained, powerful Late-Stage Nascent Soul pressures suddenly rose like a storm from the shadows of the reef stones on either side.

Soon after, two cold and powerful Divine Senses locked onto Xu Ping like shackles.