About half a day later, Ling Feng and his group noticed what looked like a massive black mountain blocking their path up ahead.
How could there be a huge black mountain in this endless desert?
When they looked closer, their faces changed dramatically!
It wasn't a mountain. It was the massive creature from before, stretching over a thousand zhang long. It was now lying on the searing sands with its enormous wings limp and sprawled across the ground. Now and then, its wings would twitch slightly, kicking up waves of sand.
Beneath the colossal creature, dark green blood oozed like crude oil, spreading across the sands and staining the desert black.
Ling Feng's eyes twitched. He spread his wings of true qi out and flew up to get a clearer view of the creature. He murmured, "My last attack hit it, but I didn't think it was powerful enough to kill this thing."
"It wasn't us," Tuoba Yan remarked, also flying up to Ling Feng's level. She pointed to the ravaged ground around them and said slowly, "It looks beast fought someone after we left, and it didn't last long before succumbing."
Ling Feng narrowed his eyes, noting a massive crater in the creature's head. Following the crater's direction, a long, scorched trench stretched across the desert for thousands of zhang.
Seems like all it took was a single strike!
And that strike had landed precisely where Ling Feng had previously landed his Earth's Judgment, sealing the creature's fate.
"What terrifying strength," Ling Feng muttered, sensing the residual energy in the scorched trench.
He and Mu Qianxue, combined, hadn't been able to kill the creature, yet someone else had done it in a single blow. This half-step demon king-level beast had clearly been slain by someone with immense power.
From the heat left behind, it was clear that this wasn't the work of Yan Jinghong, so whoever killed the creature must have come from another empire, wielding power that rivaled his.
"Just how many geniuses does the Dongling Region hold?" Ling Feng clenched his fists, not discouraged by this unknown powerhouse's strength but rather feeling a surge of fighting spirit.
To kill a half-step demon king in one blow, even one already severely injured, was power beyond extraordinary.
"This isn't the time to be amazed," Tuoba Yan snorted, looking at him coldly. "Judging by the path taken, it seems this mysterious expert has the same goal as us. Meaning they'll reach the ancient sect ruins before we do."
"Mhmm, let's move," Ling Feng replied with a calm smile.
Tuoba Yan scowled, muttering, "What I meant was, if such a powerful figure is also headed for those ruins, is there even a point in us going?"
"Why wouldn't there be?"
Ling Feng raised his brow and replied, "I'm curious to see just how strong the experts from other empires are. Besides, the three of us together should be able to handle ourselves. At the very least, using Tiance's treasure mirror's illusion technique, we should have a fair chance of escaping if necessary. Don't forget, I was once the master of the Tiance Mirror."
Tuoba Yan shot him a look and bit her lip, saying nothing more.
Ling Feng looked over at Mu Qianxue. Seeing others already ahead of them, they decided it was time to pick up the pace.
"Mhm," Mu Qianxue nodded, holding her little black cat, Ye Yi, and following behind Ling Feng toward the ancient sect ruins.
On the other side of the Boneyard Wasteland.
"Young Master Feng, that last strike was amazing!"
A chubby man in yellow robes grinned as he approached a young man dressed in purple, while a woman in blue stood beside him, looking at the youth with admiration.
To destroy a half-step demon king with a single strike meant that he indeed carried terrifying power.
What's more, this Feng Yan was only at the first level of the Spiritual Element Realm!
"Young Master Feng, your Sky-Imprisonment Finger has grown even stronger!" The woman in blue giggled.
"It's not my strength that's impressive. That beast was already injured," Feng Yan replied coolly from his position on a small mound. "Whoever managed to wound a half-step demon king like that must be no weakling."
"No matter how strong they are, they're nothing compared to you, Young Master Feng," Fatty Huang chuckled.
"Enough with the flattery, Fatty Huang," Feng Yan said, raising an eyebrow. "I can guess who it was. In the Tiansheng Empire, aside from myself, Murong Wu from the Murong Family is the only genius under twenty who could possess such strength. From the Tianyang Empire, the Eleventh Prince Nangong Yu might be capable, though he's spent the past three years struggling to absorb the Mystical Yellow Flame and might not have even broken through to the Spiritual Element Realm yet."
"The Tianlong Empire has nothing noteworthy, but there's a guy named Yan Jinghong from the Tianbai Empire who's somewhat famous. I've fought Murong Wu and Nangong Yu before, and neither would have caused that kind of wound. If I'm not mistaken, it was likely Yan Jinghong who injured that half-step demon king."
Feng Yan stroked his chin thoughtfully as he analyzed.
"Yan what? That weak little Tianbai Empire could hardly produce any real geniuses," Fatty Huang scoffed.
He performed a series of gestures, and his compass pointed in a particular direction. "Haha, I've got it!"
"Fatty Huang, your dragon-seeking technique is proving useful," Feng Yan smirked before vanishing to a point a hundred zhang ahead.
"Young Master Feng, wait for us!" Fatty Huang and the woman in blue called out, hastily following him with movement techniques.
Meanwhile, Yan Jinghong of the Tianbai Empire was walking through the golden sands with two other geniuses.
Since entering the Battlefield of the Gods and Demons, he hadn't shaken off his two oil bottles. After all, his place in this expedition had been sponsored by the young sect leader of Qianshan Sect, and he was expected to look after them to some degree.
The Qianshan Sect leader had somehow learned about the ancient sect ruins, and so Yan Jinghong and his companions were also headed in that direction.
Along the way, the Qianshan's sect leader and another direct disciple barely had to lift a finger. In every encounter, Yan Jinghong crushed anyone in his path, dealing with any rival geniuses from other empires in passing.
Yan Jinghong's power had left a lasting impression on the two.
Just then, Yan Jinghong narrowed his eyes as he spotted a young man in black clothes holding a gourd of wine, half-reclining on a bare rock with a dazed expression.
"Out of my way, mutt!"
The Qianshan Sect's young sect leader, Duan Qian, shouted, emboldened by Yan Jinghong's presence.
The black-clad youth took a swig, glanced at Duan Qian drunkenly, and casually flicked his finger, sending a burst of wind out that pierced Duan Qian's shoulder with a loud bang.