Ye Guichen knew clearly that if he couldn't dodge, he'd be pierced by the toad's water darts and die here forever.

At the moment of life and death, Ye Guichen, finding no way to retreat, instead sparked the fighting spirit in his heart.

Advance instead of retreat.

With the Golden Snake Dagger in hand, he started to wildly dance.

In almost the blink of an eye, he had already sliced through a wave of incoming water darts.

Fortunately, the material of this Golden Snake Dagger was unknown; it was sharp yet extremely hard. If it were an ordinary weapon, it would have been pierced long ago.

In a flash, Ye Guichen charged towards the toad.

The toad had already leaped into the air, but because its tongue was cut off halfway, it was now clinging to one side of the cave, its whole body inflating as if filled with air.

Ye Guichen could clearly see poison seeping from the toad's skin.

Just the smell alone would probably mean certain death for an ordinary person.

"Damn it, here goes nothing!" A ruthless glint flashed in Ye Guichen's eyes as he swiftly dashed towards the toad.

In just one or two seconds, he had reached beneath the toad.

But due to the immense gravitational pull, his body couldn't remain airborne, allowing him to stand and reach the toad.

He swiftly slashed down with the dagger.

Puff!

It sounded like puncturing a balloon, followed by an explosive boom.

A stream of green fluid spurted from the toad's skin.

Ye Guichen tried to dodge but found himself unable to, getting it sprayed all over his face.

Even though Ye Guichen feared no poison, this toad was terrifying beyond belief. The potent venom caused Ye Guichen to briefly lose his senses.

The toad, realizing Ye Guichen was not easily dealt with, took the opportunity to extend the half-cut tongue, wrapping around Ye Guichen's waist. With a gentle tug, it opened its wide mouth and swallowed Ye Guichen whole.

A rich, fetid stench spread through Ye Guichen's nostrils.

Everything around became inexplicably sticky.

Ye Guichen felt so nauseated that he almost vomited.

However, the temporary paralysis affected him only briefly, and Ye Guichen quickly regained consciousness and mobility.

While being swallowed into the toad's mouth, his dagger once again began to dance. It sliced continuously, dissecting the toad from inside out.

The massive toad never expected Ye Guichen to still be able to move at this moment. It let out a chilling scream and rolled off the cave wall onto the ground, writhing frantically.

But it was to no avail.

Ye Guichen's slashes grew increasingly ferocious.

Before long, he had carved the toad into several pieces.

Even, a fist-sized dark green orb rolled out from within the toad.

Ye Guichen managed to crawl out of the toad's body, appearing utterly disheveled.

The toad twitched twice on the ground, its eyes full of unwillingness, seemingly unable to believe it would die at the hands of a human.

Ye Guichen spat several times, and after clearing his mouth of filth, he began to catch his breath heavily.

After confirming the toad was indeed dead, Ye Guichen decided to strip off all his clothes. Looking around, he found a pool of water on one side and jumped in, washing away all the stench before emerging again.

Perhaps it was due to the Crystal Stone, but the pool also contained strong Spiritual Energy.

After rinsing, the fatigue from battling the toad vanished entirely. Approaching the toad's body again, Ye Guichen now noticed the dark green orb that had rolled out from the toad's body, resembling a ball.

"Could this be the legendary Demon Core?" Although Ye Guichen had never laid eyes on such an object, it was recorded in many ancient texts of the Heavenly Master Tao.

Though unsure if this toad qualified as a demon, holding it in his hand, despite the sticky feel, Ye Guichen felt it contained Spiritual Energy not inferior to the Crystal Stone.

It seemed this toad had been here for years, and if not trapped within this Spiritual Spring, it might have long escaped to wreak havoc.

This time, Ye Guichen dared not to be careless again. After ensuring no other threats lurked around, he returned to the Crystal Stone.

But it was just his imagination.

In such a location blessed by geomancy, with such a powerful demon as the toad, how could anything else be allowed to exist?

Ye Guichen had no interest in the toad's nauseating corpse. Taking out the Xuanming Prison Suppressing Technique, he held the spherical Demon Core in his hand and began to train.

He trained, losing track of the passage of time.

Unknowingly, three days had already passed.

Though three days weren't that long, Ye Guichen's sudden disappearance caused many to become uneasy.

Within the Heavenly Master Tao.

Zhang Chonglou's brows were tightly furrowed.

In front of him were three large bowls, each filled with spiritual spring water.

This spiritual spring water was left to him by Ye Guichen.

When Ye Guichen left the Heavenly Master Tao, he left the remaining barrel of spiritual spring water to Zhang Chonglou and advised him not to pursue the celestial path too obsessively. After all, the celestial path was an elusive existence, while survival was more important.

In the eyes of others, Zhang Chonglou was a highly respected master, perhaps capable of living up to two hundred years.

But Zhang Chonglou understood, his time was almost up.

Especially after Ye Guichen pointed it out, Zhang Chonglou no longer bothered hiding it.

He knew he probably had only three months left to live.

However, Ye Guichen told Zhang Chonglou that if he integrated the last barrel of spiritual spring water into his body, there might still be a chance.

Zhang Chonglou originally held little hope for the spiritual spring water.

Yet, within a few days, Zhang Chonglou discovered a turn in his previously rapidly declining vitality.

"Looks like this kid has thoroughly understood the spiritual spring water," Zhang Chonglou drank a large bowl of spiritual spring water, giving a bitter smile.

Originally, Zhang Chonglou had agreed with Ye Guichen to call each other every day.

But now, with no news for three consecutive days, and unable to reach him by phone, a sense of foreboding filled Zhang Chonglou's heart.

According to available intelligence, Ye Guichen was last seen at Lingquan Villa.

After that, there was no further news.

Could it be that the kid was killed by people from Medicine King Valley?

Zhang Chonglou's brows knitted tighter, his anxiety growing.

At this moment, someone knocked on the door, three short knocks followed by two long ones.

Zhang Chonglou rubbed his temples and looked up: "Come in."

The door opened, and a figure swiftly flashed inside.

"Master, I've found some information." Liu Xuanji entered the room and knelt in front of Zhang Chonglou.

After a fake death, Liu Xuanji quietly left the Heavenly Master Tao to investigate Eternal Life Hall in the mountains.

During the investigation, Liu Xuanji found that not only Quanzhou but even places like Jinling were populated by people from the Miaojiang Witch Clan.

Moreover, in recent days, many martial artists had mysteriously disappeared, and many were found dead in the streets.

The situation seemed to shift subtly in an instant.

Zhang Chonglou raised his head: "That kid, Ye Guichen, alive or dead?"

Zhang Chonglou had long prepared for the re-emergence of Eternal Life Hall, now only concerned about Ye Guichen.

Liu Xuanji, knowing it was Ye Guichen who saved him, replied gravely, "According to my investigation, it seems Ye Guichen jumped into the Spiritual Spring, possibly..."

"What!" Zhang Chonglou shot up, his hand involuntarily trembling, his face ashen: "He, he jumped into the Spiritual Spring? Doesn't he know jumping in is a one-way ticket to death?"