Chapter 1004 The Hague Beast

Upon hearing this, Ji An was secretly delighted and asked:

"Are there any sea monsters dwelling there?"

A place capable of nurturing a fifth-order superior-grade spiritual object must be located on a certain spiritual vein, and the spiritual vein must be of the fifth-order supreme grade.

Spiritual objects began to be conceived in the spiritual veins of the gourd world, but the gestation of spiritual objects was an extremely long process. Although the spiritual veins in the small world were of a high grade, it was still impossible to obtain high-grade spiritual objects.

The nurturing of spiritual creatures in the earth's veins has always been measured in millennia. To nurture a fifth-tier spiritual creature, it would take at least four or five thousand years. The foundation of this small world still needs to be improved.

Yunmiao Sanren nodded, "Of course there are sea beasts dwelling there. They are dragon beasts that feed on metal and are called Sea Fangs. Have you ever heard of them, fellow Daoist?"

"No, please introduce me, fellow Daoist."

"The head of the Sea Fang Beast resembles that of a crocodile, with a tusk at each corner of its mouth. The tusks of fifth-tier individuals range from five to eight feet in length and have always been refined by sea beasts into offensive magical artifacts."

Their tails resemble fish, their bodies are flat and slender, and they have hard scales, which are excellent materials for refining weapons.

In addition, the skin at the base of the scales secretes mucus, so the surface of the scales is covered with a layer of transparent liquid, which has a special protective effect against piercings.

Furthermore, this liquid possesses a certain degree of spell resistance.

The Hague Beasts are social monsters that devour ore in the mines, leaving behind a complex network of tunnels.

We must defeat these sea monsters to seize the mine; I anticipate there will be at least one fifth-tier top-grade individual among them.”

Yunmiao Sanren explained in detail that she was not worried about the presence of sea beasts at the Cave Heaven level. Any monster of that level would leave its original habitat and enter the starry sky to search for new 'energy'.

Compared to any other demon beast race, humans have deeper emotional bonds. Some top-tier powerful beings, such as the Star Lords of the Cave Heaven, secretly establish interstellar teleportation arrays when exploring star fields, so that they can return to their hometowns where they have lived for many years when necessary.

The top individuals in a group of demon beasts, after achieving the status of a celestial realm, shed their instincts and become relatively more indifferent, rarely returning to their clan.

Ji An rubbed his hands together, beaming with excitement, and said:

"Finally, a worthy opponent has appeared. Hopefully, there are enough individuals in the herd to match it."

Let's think about it carefully and see how to lure the sea monster out.

Hunting life has been less exciting and more monotonous in recent years. For him, this journey is more like a trip to beat up a kid.

If it weren't for the need to accelerate the cultivation of his spiritual roots, he would still be leisurely cultivating in Starfish City.

Yunmiao Sanren smiled slightly. The hunting trips in the past few years had not gone smoothly, and the lack of any significant sea monsters had resulted in a small harvest.

The discovery of the mineral vein is excellent news. Not only can she hunt sea monsters, but she can also obtain ores. If the harvest is substantial, she can stay in Starfish City to cultivate for an extended period of time.

She cleared her throat and continued:

"The Hague Beast is irritable and doesn't require any sophisticated methods of luring it; all it needs to do is keep making noise in a certain mine tunnel."

"Fellow Daoist, how many fifth-tier top-grade sea beasts do you think you can handle simultaneously?"

Back in the Vast Ocean Realm, the opponent was able to fight against enemies at the fifth-tier top-grade level. Now, with his cultivation breaking through from the mid-stage to the late-stage of the Three Flowers Realm, who knows how much stronger he has become.

In recent years, she has not encountered any powerful sea monsters during her hunts, so she has no way of judging their current strength.

Now that she's facing a group that's likely to have multiple Tier 5 top-tier sea beasts, she needs to find out the details before she can formulate a battle strategy.

Ji An scratched his head and began to think seriously. He did not have a clear understanding of the limits of his combat power. A year ago, when he faced two demonic cultivators, they did not surround him because of the terrain.

"I can't say for sure either, but I encountered two demonic cultivators in the Primordial Ancient Mine, both of whom had reached the peak of the Three Flowers Realm."

He recounted his past achievements without exaggeration or concealment, leaving it to his teammates to judge for themselves.

Although that battle was quite stressful, it was still some distance from my limit.

Yunmiao Sanren furrowed her brows as she pondered, realizing that a cultivator of a certain level was stronger than most individual demon beasts of different races.

She asked a few more questions and concluded that her teammates could at least hold off two Tier 5 top-tier Hare Beasts.

"In the coming days, I will continue to send out my beast tamers to investigate and assess the situation of the Sea Fang Beast clan. I will then formulate a strategy. What do you think, fellow Daoist?"

Ji An took out the Xuan Yuan Water Control Flag. "Let me examine this spiritual treasure after it takes human form. It has already been upgraded to the fifth-order top-grade level by Fellow Daoist Que Yue."

He did not reveal the Xuan Yuan Water Control Flag during the battle to hunt monsters, because the intensity of the battle was not high for him, and it was a good opportunity to test his spells.

Compared to cultivators who hunt monsters year-round, his combat style is not very varied, relying entirely on overwhelming others with his power. If he faces an extremely powerful enemy, he is easily put on the defensive.

Yunmiao Sanren rubbed his forehead and sighed enviously:

"Fellow Daoist actually had such a treasure hidden away!"

She had been at the late stage of the Three Flowers Realm for many years, but she still did not have a fifth-grade top-quality spiritual treasure.

Ji An smiled subtly and explained:

"As fellow Daoist knows, my main spiritual treasures are several imitations of the Five Innate Banners. These spiritual treasures are relatively easy to upgrade."

"Hehe, all the spoils we gained in the Vast Sea Realm have been used by this humble Taoist to upgrade our spiritual treasures."

Most of the others used their gains to buy pills to improve their cultivation, but he chose a different path because he had the Calabash World and the Stone Turtle as his backing.

Unless he achieves a breakthrough in his cultivation, upgrading his spiritual treasures will be more beneficial and longer-lasting for him.

Yunmiao Sanren nodded slightly. If a cultivator's understanding of the power of the five elements is not deep enough, the power of using spiritual treasures like the Five Directions Flag will not be strong enough.

The most profound and subtle aspect of this understanding is beyond words; in fact, the vast majority of cultivators are unable to unleash the full power of such treasures that primarily rely on the power of the five elements.

Therefore, even though it is known that the power of treasures like the Five Directions Flag increases with the level of cultivation, very few people are willing to use the Five Directions Flag as their natal magic weapon when breaking through to the Golden Core stage.

Without a natal magic weapon to mediate and harmonize, a single Five-Five Flag cannot exert much effect. In extreme cases, two Five-Five Flags are needed, and usually three Five-Five Flags are required to form true combat power.

The fact that the other party could control all five flags filled her with admiration countless times.

Mastering any of the five elements to a profound degree is an extremely difficult thing at the beginning of cultivation. Looking at the history of the cultivation world that she knows, there are very few cultivators who have mastered all five elements and have left their mark.

Yunmiao Sanren pointed to the Xuan Yuan Water Control Flag, which was shimmering with black spiritual light, and asked, "How well does this spiritual treasure conceal itself?"

She knew it was a water-based magical artifact, and its power was definitely strong enough in the marine environment, but that didn't mean it was good at hiding.

If it lacks stealth, it cannot be competent for the task of reconnaissance.

Ji An gently tossed out the Xuan Yuan Water Control Flag. The surface of the small black flag rippled with spiritual light, like water ripples stirred by the wind.

The flag transformed into the shape of the Xuanwu mythical beast and fell into the water, just like raindrops falling into a lake, completely merging into one.

He extended his arm in a 'please' gesture and said:

"Fellow Daoist, you can test it out. I will have Lingbao stay in our waters within a radius of a hundred feet."

Yunmiao Sanren nodded. "May we begin?"

"certainly."

Yunmiao Sanren extended her divine sense to search carefully, and a look of surprise appeared in her eyes. She could not detect any trace of the spiritual treasure at all.

Then, she manipulated the seawater in the area with hand seals to make it rotate, forming a small whirlpool, but still found no trace of it.

Then she tried to do more things, dividing the water flow into several layers, each with a slightly different flow rate, but she still couldn't find any trace of the magic treasure.

Reluctantly stopping her movements, she gave an awkward smile. "This humble Taoist is convinced. May I ask where the precious flag is currently located?"

Yunmiao Sanren had the deepest understanding of the power of water, which is why he chose water as his natal magic weapon.

However, her understanding of water-related matters is still inferior to Ji An's, with a significant gap; otherwise, she would certainly have been able to detect the location of the spiritual treasure.

This means that in a marine environment, if the opponent wants to launch a sneak attack on her using a magical artifact, they can definitely catch her off guard.

The opponent possesses five Five Directions Flag Spirit Treasures. If all of these treasures were to be upgraded to the fifth-tier top-grade level one day, it would mean that any environment except the starry sky would be his domain. Just thinking about it is terrifying.

At this moment, a sense of relief rose in her heart, 'Luckily, he and I are good friends, not enemies!'

Ji An smiled and snapped his fingers. Ripples appeared on the water's surface, and Xuanwu emerged from where he had fallen into the water.

He said with a hint of pride, "It never left; it stayed in this place from beginning to end."

"Excellent! With this treasure, the battle will be much easier. Fellow Daoist, feel free to send out your spiritual treasures to investigate. Unless they pass by a fifth-tier top-grade Sea Fang Beast, the chance of them being detected is very low."

However, try not to do this. Any monster has a sense of impulsiveness, and getting too close to them carries a significant risk of being detected as suspicious.

"I have released sea fish and beasts to guide the Xuan Yuan Water Control Flag; we may depart now."

Two weeks later.

The bright moon hangs high in the sky, and the ocean is calm and undisturbed, lost in a dreamlike state.

Ji An and the other person sat cross-legged in the void thousands of feet above the sea, breathing in the moonlight.

Their skin became fair and translucent, and the moonlight formed layers of halos around their bodies.

It seemed as if a large fish had leaped out of the sea, and Xuanwu, taking advantage of the dense water vapor, flew into the air and returned to its master's side.

Both of them stopped their breathing exercises upon noticing the commotion. Ji An and Ling Bao talked for a long time before Ji An said:

"According to what it discovered, this group has two fifth-tier top-grade sea beasts, one of which is very old and can be felt as its life force is being lost."

Thirty-six high-grade fifth-tier sea beasts were also discovered.

He explained the situation in detail, including statistics on the number of all Hague Beasts that had reached the fifth tier.

Ji An coughed and continued:

"There must be some omissions in the statistics, because some mines were blocked by the bodies of fifth-level Hague Beasts, making it impossible to continue exploring."

Yunmiao Sanren's eyes lit up. When hunting, she liked to bully old, high-level sea beasts the most. The risk was small and the reward was big. Some sea beasts would even die in battle after exhausting their remaining life force.

"We should be prepared for the worst. Even if the number of top-tier fifth-order individuals in the Hague beast horde doubles to four, we can still handle it."

"Fellow Daoist, let's adjust our condition over the next two days. We'll enter the underwater mine to lure the enemy out for battle."

She was now very confident. As long as the Hague Beasts didn't all rush out at once, their annihilation was inevitable.

"Very well, I have been waiting for this day for several years."

Ji An's lips curled up slightly. In his eyes, these sea creatures were all food, and he was just short of shouting, "Come into my bowl!"

Three days later, Ji An placed four Yuan Crystals and several top-grade spirit stones into the Void Cave Stone, along with more than a dozen mid-grade fifth-tier spirit fruits and two Soul Nourishing Pills.

He has ample reserves for this battle, enough to sustain him for several days of intense fighting.

Yunmiao Sanren waved his hand, "Let's go, fellow Daoist, follow me closely."

The two figures fell into the sea like two streaks of light, leaving no special ripples on the surface of the water; it was completely silent.

They first used water escape techniques to quickly descend, and once they were close to the mine, they concealed their bodies and slowly descended.

It took about 15 minutes to reach the top of the mine.

This place is not barren; corals rooted in the crevices of the rocks emit various colors of light, mainly red, blue and silver, reflecting a colorful area.

Ji An saw countless oval holes distributed on the mineral vein, the larger ones being two or three zhang in diameter, and the smaller ones only as thick as a water bucket.

These holes are not singular; they are intricately interwoven inside, completely disordered.

Haretooths rarely appear outside the mines; they'll stay there as long as there's food.

He released the Xuan Yuan Water Control Flag and, through mental communication, instructed it:

"Go about freely, but don't stray too far from me. If you encounter sea monsters, deal with them cleanly; don't let the stench of blood linger."

He doesn't need to rely on the power of spiritual treasures when facing a fifth-tier high-grade Haretooth Beast, but he has to be nervous when facing a fifth-tier top-grade enemy.

In the initial stage of the lure, no fifth-tier Haretooth Beasts will appear, allowing the Spirit Treasure to perform its function, which will save him some trouble.

Xuanwu exuded excitement; it had never fought freely before.

After seeing Xuanwu appear, Yunmiao Sanren concealed herself again, releasing her tamed beasts to patrol the nearby sea area. She herself controlled a magical artifact shaped like a battering ram, repeatedly and rapidly striking one of the cave entrances, which was about two zhang in size, and the vibrations transmitted into the mountain rocks.

The pebbles flew up and then slowly fell back down.

No powerful creature could tolerate being constantly attacked at its doorstep. Moments later, several fourth-tier Haretooth Beasts rushed out.

These sea creatures were quite cunning; they didn't emerge from near the impacted hole, but rather from a distance of several hundred feet.

An invisible knife appeared, and the Hawthorn Beast was suddenly split into three parts: head, torso, and tail.

The bodies were frozen the instant they were cut, and no blood was spilled out.

Without a doubt, it was Xuan Yuan who moved the water control flag.

The seawater seemed to have been mixed with impurities, and the water had become murky, affecting visibility.

The hunt never stopped once it began, with wave after wave of Hazel Beasts coming out to their deaths, until a mid-grade fifth-tier Hazel Beast was killed, which finally caused some commotion.

Yunmiao Sanren revealed himself. "Fellow Daoist, the real battle is about to begin. You should remain hidden for now and provide support at any time!"

If the sea monster realizes that the enemy is too powerful, it will either flee or avoid battle, so she needs to create the impression that she is outnumbered and isolated.

(End of this chapter)