The swamp began to spin, and a huge vortex appeared in the center.
The two Spiritual Elephants were right in the middle of the vortex, immediately falling in and disappearing.
Then, the vortex shook violently, and a mountain-peak-shaped head emerged from it.
On either side of the head were two eyes.
Those eyes, as large as a Wood House, glowed with light, as if intelligent, curiously observing everything in the Yin Peach Forest.
The moment the head appeared, a powerful pressure made all the Sha Souls in the Yin Peach Forest prostrate in the swamp, not daring to look up.
When I emerge, who can contend with me!
The three Spiritual Pigs in front of Qian Duoduo no longer showed any ferocity or wildness.
They lay sideways in the mud, limbs twitching constantly, on the verge of dissolving into a mass of Spirit Liquid.
"Is this my Natal Puppet—the Golden Toad?"
Qian Duoduo happily stared at this giant creature.
Just its large head was two to three hundred zhang; how big would it be if it fully emerged?
It truly lives up to its name as the First Mystic Art, able to summon such a massive Puppet.
Although he didn't know the Golden Toad's level, it could grow, so its level certainly wouldn't be low.
Just revealing half its head was already so powerful, easily destroying high-level Jin Beasts; how majestic would it be if it fully emerged!
Such a Puppet was clearly stronger than Caizhu's Grinding Ghost and Lei Hong's Thunder God.
If he were to fight them again and let them experience the Golden Toad's power, he wondered what kind of shock they would have?
Just as Qian Duoduo was overjoyed, the Golden Toad's head paused slightly, as if something had snagged it, and it could no longer rise.
Even its large mouth couldn't rise above the swamp.
The Golden Toad seemed to be furious, sinking down, then suddenly surging upwards, its enormous head crashing into the Sha Beasts and Sha Birds.
"Boom!"
Mud splattered everywhere in the Yin Peach Forest, and any Sha Soul that rushed into the Formation instantly turned into a mass of Spirit Liquid, flying towards the altar.
The Golden Toad's eyes blinked, and it even glanced at Qian Duoduo before sinking down and slowly disappearing into the mud.
As it disappeared, the mud gradually dispersed, revealing the Yin Peach Forest's original appearance.
Qian Duoduo's heart stirred; this majestic yet adorable Golden Toad should appear on the Magic Treasure he would give to Yu Yixiang.
Although the Golden Toad disappeared, its appearance had frightened away all the Sha Beasts and Sha Birds from the entire mountain.
Qian Duoduo waited for half an hour in the Yin Peach Forest, but not a single Sha Soul entered.
He looked up at the sky; the dark clouds were still there.
He used his Spiritual Awareness to check the altar; the Soul-Summoning Banner on the altar was still fluttering fiercely.
Scratching his head, Qian Duoduo sighed.
There is always a gain and a loss.
He had comprehended the Mystic Art, but the Sha Souls had been scared away.
He used his Spiritual Awareness to look at the Jade Box beneath the altar; the soul liquid in the Jade Box was almost full again.
Walking to the altar, he collected the soul liquid into the Golden Toad, and seeing four full boxes of soul liquid inside, Qian Duoduo hesitated.
"Should I take this opportunity to practice Soul Condensation?"
Just as he was pondering, his transmission Jade Slip suddenly vibrated.
Qian Duoduo picked it up and read it with his Spiritual Awareness; there were dozens of messages!
Comprehending the Mystic Art seemed like an instant, but in reality, two or three days had passed.
Among the messages in the transmission Jade Slip, Wang Longyu had left the most.
"Bu Huan, be careful. It's said that Shengling Sect is targeting you."
"There's a drastic change deep within the Secret Realm; the Sha Souls are rioting. It's said to be related to Zeng Ruohai of Ba Ling Sect."
"Ba Ling Sect and Shengling Sect have joined forces!"
Just now, Wang Longyu sent a message—
"Shengling Sect is searching for you in the Secret Realm. Hide well! Don't come out…"
What happened outside?
Qian Duoduo analyzed in his mind: it seemed Shengling Sect wanted to use this Foundation Establishment competition to settle the score from the last time he stole their ox.
Not only Shengling Sect, but Shengling Sect had also convinced Ba Ling Sect to launch a joint attack on Refining Spirit Sect.
Shengling Sect and Ba Ling Sect were already stronger than Refining Spirit Sect, and with this combined force, Refining Spirit Sect was simply unable to contend.
In the Jade Slip, Deng Feihong also had many messages.
"Senior Brother Bu Huan, where are you? Ba Ling Sect and Shengling Sect are ganging up to bully people."
"Senior Brother, there are so few Sha Souls in the Secret Realm. Do you have any good ideas?"
Chu Tianqi's message was only half a sentence: "Town Guardian, you must…"
Clearly, he was interrupted mid-sentence.
Was he killed?
Qian Duoduo's heart turned cold, and he couldn't help but look at Lu Qinbao inside the Golden Toad.
If Chu Tianqi had lost his life like him, he would certainly be extremely angry.
To Qian Duoduo, Lu Qinbao was just a fellow Disciple whose name he had only recently learned.
But Chu Tianqi was different; he was a companion with whom he had laughed, cursed, and fought alongside in business battles.
After reading through the Jade Slip, Qian Duoduo didn't see any transmissions from Dugu Yunshan or Nangong Nizi.
Given their strength, perhaps they could still cope.
Just then, the Jade Slip vibrated again, and Qian Duoduo listened; it was Chu Tianqi's.
Chu Tianqi said nothing, just a painful roar.
Qian Duoduo sneered—
"The enemy Sect is tormenting Chu Tianqi to make me go save him sooner.
They had long figured out that I once served as the Town Guardian of a Sect store in Kongfang City, and Chu Tianqi was a clerk there.
With this connection, I would almost certainly go save Chu Tianqi.
Even if I knew there would be an ambush, I would go without hesitation!
Good, since you value me so much and want to use Chu Tianqi to lure me, then I'll satisfy you!"
Qian Duoduo surveyed the Yin Peach Forest, deciding to leave this auspicious place.
Before leaving, he replenished the Spiritual Qi of all his Puppets, retrieved the Formation he had set up outside the forest, and then walked down the mountain.
The Ghost Head Secret Realm was so vast that he didn't know where Chu Tianqi was, so he could only search little by little.
Perhaps because it was too close to the altar, there were no active objects on the few mountains near the altar.
It was estimated that any active Sha Souls had already rushed into the Yin Peach Forest and turned into drops of Spirit Liquid.
The deathly silence made one's heart pound.
After crossing four or five mountains, the situation improved slightly, and he could gradually sense the movements of Sha Beasts and Sha Birds.
However, their levels were also very low, not even War Beasts.
With low-level Sha Souls, naturally, no Disciples from the Three Sects came here.
After walking across another large plain, the Sha Souls he sensed with his Spiritual Awareness finally increased.
In a Primitive Forest ahead, sounds of fighting could be heard.
As Qian Duoduo's Spiritual Awareness just probed, a Disciple from Ba Ling Sect walked out of the forest.
"Jin Buhuan!"
He recognized Qian Duoduo at a glance.
Qian Duoduo had seen this Disciple's information on a Jade Slip.
His name was Huo Qifeng; although not as strong as Zeng Ruohai, Pang Yunxiao, or Shikong Lin, he was still among the top ten in Ba Ling Sect.
"You've reached Foundation Establishment," Huo Qifeng said to Qian Duoduo with a smile.
The sounds of fighting in the forest were still ongoing; clearly, there were others inside.
Huo Qifeng was there to provide support.
Qian Duoduo had already seen that Huo Qifeng had also reached Foundation Establishment; otherwise, he wouldn't be so calm chatting with him.
"Smart man," Huo Qifeng continued, "who cares if the world turns upside down, I'll reach Foundation Establishment first."
He was praising Qian Duoduo for being a smart person for ignoring the lives of the other Disciples of Refining Spirit Sect and focusing on his own Foundation Establishment first.
As Huo Qifeng spoke, his feet didn't stop.
About ten zhang away from Qian Duoduo, he suddenly flipped his hand, and a bronze mirror appeared.
The mirror shot a gray light towards Qian Duoduo; the gray light was like viscous honey, actually slowing down Qian Duoduo's Spiritual Awareness.
A ghost, about one zhang tall with a green face and fangs, leaped out from the bronze mirror.
Its half-chi long sharp claws stabbed directly at Qian Duoduo's throat.