The entrance to the cave was behind a large rock on the southwest side of the hill, where a crevice led into the cave.
The temperature inside the cave was even lower than outside, reaching over minus forty degrees Celsius.
Fortunately, Zheng Dong's deathly clone did not mind the temperature.
As they walked deeper into the cave, they encountered several ice demons.
However, their growth level was only that of a general.
Youyou's clone, using the quasi-divine skill "Deathly Ruler," could command these ice demons.
They then drove these ice demons further into the cave.
It was then discovered that there was another world inside, as if a vast cavity existed beneath the entire Flame Valley.
There were not only underground mountain ranges but also underground rivers, with smaller caves nested within larger ones, creating an extremely complex environment. Although it was pitch black everywhere, it was teeming with numerous deathly beings.
Deathly beings would also fight for territory among themselves, making for a lively scene.
Soon, Zheng Dong discovered that the area where the ice demons gathered was a den.
The temperature around the den was even lower, and wisps of strange white flames occasionally emerged.
This piqued Zheng Dong's curiosity.
He began to analyze.
These ice demons were originally transcendent beings of ice, wind, and death elements, preferring cold places, the colder the better.
Clearly, this den met their preferred conditions.
The reason for the low temperature in the den was that the strange white flames had absorbed all the fire element energy.
This also attracted these ice demons.
They only came into contact with wisps of the white flames and did not die.
As they continued to come into contact, they attempted to absorb these strange white flames, and over time, they would undergo mutations.
After mutation, they would become stronger.
This also made them even more reluctant to leave the den.
Since the king-level ice demon had been dealt with by Zheng Dong, the remaining ice demons would also fight among themselves for advantageous positions.
However, soon a king-level ice wolf spider came to claim territory.
The surrounding ice demons naturally fought against it.
But they were no match for the ice wolf spider, even when combined, and were driven away.
Zheng Dong's deathly clone did not intervene but took the opportunity to drive these ice demons away from the den and continue deeper.
Soon, they discovered several more similar dens, each occupied by a king-level deathly being.
Other deathly beings could only gather around the dens, waiting for an opportunity.
The dens were connected by leylines, which spread out like roots in all directions.
If Zheng Dong wanted to understand the reason, he had to go deeper.
On the surface, Zheng Dong's main body had returned to the assembly point with Mu Qiulin and others.
Seeing that someone had died, He Bin frowned.
There was still a long way to go and many areas to explore, and he did not wish to lose anyone here.
To ensure safety, future missions would prioritize assigning master-level beast tamers to accompany them.
Even if they couldn't accompany them, they should be able to reach them quickly.
Not long after, they reached the next major exploration area.
Zheng Dong was assigned to explore the ruins of a palace, primarily to ascertain the number of deathly beings there.
The task was simple, and he was alone.
However, there was another team nearby exploring the misty area southeast of the palace ruins, led by a master.
If Zheng Dong needed help, they would arrive quickly.
Hearing that it was a palace ruin, Zheng Dong was curious if there were any treasures.
He remembered that fragments of the Deathly Tower had been found in the Giant Stone Temple area last time.
Therefore, he quickened his pace towards the palace ruins.
Soon, from afar, he saw the palace ruins with building fragments piled up like mountains.
The ruins looked like sand dunes, and upon closer inspection, there wasn't a single complete fragment.
In the Giant Stone Temple area, at least large stones could still be seen.
Here, only debris remained.
This disappointed Zheng Dong somewhat.
Further away from the ruins, thick mist could be seen.
The mist sometimes spread to the vicinity of the ruins but never encroached upon them.
This offered some reassurance.
In contrast, the three advanced beast tamers who followed the master-level beast tamer to explore the misty area were more nervous.
After all, the most terrifying thing was seeing nothing after entering the misty area.
Upon arriving at the palace ruins area, Zheng Dong found that this area was much larger than the lake he had explored before.
He took out his instrument and summoned Xiao Zi to start working.
Xiao Zi was responsible for treasure hunting.
Youyou was responsible for safety.
Zheng Dong, on the other hand, counted the number of deathly beings in the vicinity.
He circled the palace ruins, and the instrument's estimate came out: there were at least over thirteen thousand lord-level deathly beings and over six hundred general-level deathly beings.
The instrument inferred that there were at least ten king-level deathly beings hidden here.
According to the minimum standard for clearing deathly beings, a forbidden weapon would be needed to clean this area.
Zheng Dong did not pay much attention to this.
Because Xiao Zi excitedly informed him that it had sensed a treasure, its exact location was deep within the palace ruins.
Zheng Dong looked at the palace ruins, which resembled piles of sand dunes, and realized that finding it would likely take some effort.
However, it was better than nothing.
Zheng Dong, with Xiao Zi, began to search.
Soon, they arrived at the location Xiao Zi had sensed.
They were lucky enough not to find any king-level deathly beings nearby.
There were only a few dozen lord-level deathly beings and three general-level deathly beings.
Zheng Dong simply had Youyou use the quasi-divine skill "Deathly Ruler" to command these deathly beings to help search for the treasure.
One by one, the deathly beings began to work, digging through the surrounding ruins, allowing Xiao Zi to search carefully.
When Xiao Zi was overwhelmed, it condensed numerous clones to help.
After some searching, they found a broken green sword.
It was difficult to determine the sword's previous level, but based on its current energy fluctuations, it could be considered a Level 7 resource.
Zheng Dong attempted a stab, and it actually unleashed a high-level wind skill, "Destroying Everything."
This also increased the value of the broken sword.
If taken to auction, it might sell for tens of millions.
Putting away the broken sword, Zheng Dong prepared to return to the assembly point.
Just as he was about to leave the ruins, he heard screams from not far away.
The mist rolled like a stormy sea, surging towards them.
The master-level beast tamer exploring the misty area was fleeing madly, riding a king-level flying pet.
Of the three advanced beast tamers following him, only one was pulled onto the flying pet; the other two were swallowed by the mist before he could save them, followed by screams.
Seeing the approaching white mist, Zheng Dong used his super-perception to try and sense what was happening inside the mist.
However, he could not perceive anything.
The mist was like an invisible wall, blocking all his senses.
However, to Zheng Dong's surprise, the mist actively avoided the palace ruins and continued to pursue the master-level beast tamer.
Zheng Dong did not rashly intervene and simply hid within the palace ruins.
He glanced around suspiciously.
He felt that this palace ruin area was not simple, otherwise, the mist would not have avoided it.
Unfortunately, he could not discover anything.
Seeing the mist surrounding the palace ruins, Zheng Dong had Youyou command a few deathly beings to enter the mist and see.
Soon, Youyou informed Zheng Dong that the deathly beings were very resistant and unwilling to enter.
Finally, under Youyou's coercion, a few lord-level deathly beings entered the mist and quickly lost all response.
According to Youyou's judgment, they were likely dead.
What exactly was this mist? It was so terrifying!
Zheng Dong condensed several shadow clones and attempted to enter the mist to ascertain the reason.
However, the shadow clones also quickly lost their response after entering the mist.
Fortunately, the communication device was still functional.
Although the mist surrounded the palace ruins, it did not obscure the sky, and the signal could still be transmitted.
However, Zheng Dong dared not risk flying out.
At this moment, He Bin also contacted Zheng Dong to inquire about his situation.
Zheng Dong briefly explained his current predicament, and He Bin said:
"Fortunately, you're lucky. There's a overlord-level Mist Beast hidden in the mist. Even if I encountered it, I would surely die. So, you'll have to stay put for now."
He Bin only had an emperor-level Suppressing Evil Tiger Demon Emperor, which was not enough to deal with an overlord-level pet.
He could only apply for the deployment of forbidden weapons.
This was more troublesome.
The Mist Beast was a transcendent being that awakened from the mist. Its本体 could exist in the form of mist, and it would continuously condense mist, hiding within it, making it difficult to detect.
However, it was extremely rare for such a transcendent being to grow to the overlord level.
No wonder the previous master had fled desperately without looking back.
Zheng Dong did not panic and began to analyze the current situation.
The Mist Beast did not enter the palace ruins, perhaps because a more terrifying transcendent being was slumbering here, making it wary.
Of course, it was also possible that a resource that could counter the Mist Beast was hidden within these palace ruins.
Zheng Dong summoned Jing Jing and asked it to judge.
"Master, based on the currently known information, there is at least a seventy percent chance that a transcendent being of overlord level or higher is slumbering here.
However, the environment here is clearly very poor. It might be slumbering here because of a resource, or for other reasons."
This made Zheng Dong even more curious.
Although Jing Jing's judgment might not be entirely accurate, the probability still existed.
This also excited Xiao Zi next to him, and it immediately had its many clones start searching.
There was no way to stop it; treasure hunting was its nature.
Zheng Dong wanted to stop it, but it was too late.
Xiao Zi's clones burrowed underground.
It had already searched the surrounding ruins and found no other resources, so it was highly likely that they were underground or in spatial crevices.
As Xiao Zi's clones burrowed underground, it discovered a subterranean palace.
The subterranean palace was originally part of the palace on the surface. With the destruction of the surface palace and its transformation into ruins, the subterranean palace also suffered severe collapse, with most areas destroyed.
Xiao Zi's numerous clones searched for a long time without finding anything.
Just as they were about to give up, they discovered a cave in an area that had collapsed more severely.
The cave led downwards to a hollow area, where an overlord-level transcendent being was greedily absorbing the strange white flames above a den.
This was an Ice Serpent Demon Lord, very powerful.
Upon seeing Xiao Zi's many clones, it became enraged.
It could not understand why a group of rat-like things dared to appear before it and intrude upon its territory.
It did not allow any transcendent being to approach this den.
Anyone who dared to approach would be devoured by it.
It opened its mouth and inhaled, swallowing most of Xiao Zi's clones in one gulp.
The remaining clones hurriedly ran towards the surface.
The Ice Serpent Demon Lord did not intend to let them go and pursued them.
It just happened to want to get some fresh air and fill its stomach.
On the surface, Xiao Zi informed Zheng Dong of the situation.
Zheng Dong quickly had a clone take the relic bead and use the combined skill "Ultimate Possession" to hide.
He himself, along with Xiao Zi and other pets, entered the relic space within the relic bead.
Soon, the Ice Serpent Demon Lord arrived on the surface.
Xiao Zi's remaining clones did not escape and were all devoured by it.
Its territorial awareness was very strong, and it did not spare any deathly beings it encountered.
Soon, it also noticed the mist surrounding the palace ruins.
This made it feel provoked.
It let out an angry warning sound, hoping the Mist Beast would leave voluntarily.
However, the mist did not disappear.
The Mist Beast was stubborn, believing that since it was not encroaching on the Ice Serpent Demon Lord's territory, the Ice Serpent Demon Lord had no right to ask it to leave.
The Ice Serpent Demon Lord could no longer tolerate it.
After all, the Mist Beast was only an emperor-level being before and did not dare to provoke it.
Now that it had grown stronger, it dared to provoke it.
Thus, the Ice Serpent Demon Lord launched a fierce attack on the Mist Beast.
The Mist Beast fought back with all its might, having long been dissatisfied with the overbearing Ice Serpent Demon Lord.
This scene was quickly captured by the battlefield eye in the sky.
Subsequently, the launch of several forbidden bombs was also halted.
Although the forbidden bombs could eliminate the Mist Beast, they might also accidentally injure Zheng Dong.
Now that two overlord-level transcendent beings were fighting each other, it was best to see who would win before making a decision.
The battle lasted for a long time, and surprisingly, the Ice Serpent Demon Lord took the initiative to flee, lifting the ground and burrowing underground.
Although the Mist Beast had only recently become overlord-level, its strength was still superior to the Ice Serpent Demon Lord, and it could transform into mist, making it extremely difficult to kill.
The Ice Serpent Demon Lord was injured and could only retreat to its den.
However, the Mist Beast did not intend to let it go and actively pursued it.
The dense mist continuously poured into the underground cavity, sweeping towards the Ice Serpent Demon Lord guarding the den.
Although the Ice Serpent Demon Lord was reluctant to leave this den, it did not want to die and could only flee in a hurry towards the depths of the cavity.
The Mist Beast also pursued it.
This infuriated the Ice Serpent Demon Lord, which roared repeatedly.
"You stubborn fool, I've already given up the den, do you still have to kill me?"
The Mist Beast did not respond and launched another attack, its vast mist surging towards the Ice Serpent Demon Lord like a tsunami.
"If I don't kill you now, will you come back to retaliate against me later?"
The Ice Serpent Demon Lord lacked the courage to confront the Mist Beast and could only flee in panic.
On the surface, Zheng Dong, who had hidden in the relic space, emerged after learning that the two overlord-level transcendent beings had left.
Looking at the hole the Ice Serpent Demon Lord had made when it left, Zheng Dong hesitated whether to follow and see.
It was very risky, but it might yield good rewards.
After thinking about it, Zheng Dong decided that such risky endeavors were best left to a clone.
He condensed another deathly clone and, according to the previous setup, had Youyou condense a clone to accompany it.
Zheng Dong's clone used the earth-遁 skill to burrow underground, and together with Youyou's clone, they arrived at the underground cavity.
Soon, they saw the den occupied by the Ice Serpent Demon Lord.
The white flames that occasionally emerged from the den were more frequent than those from the previously discovered dens.
When Zheng Dong's clone arrived here, the Ice Serpent Demon Lord and the Mist Beast had only left a short while ago. With his super-perception, he could still track them.
Following the trail, they discovered many more dens.
These dens were also occupied by powerful transcendent beings. The deeper they went into the cavity, the stronger the transcendent beings they encountered.
However, they were mainly deathly-系的 transcendent beings.
After some time, Zheng Dong's clone, following the Ice Serpent Demon Lord and the Mist Beast, arrived at the core area of the cavity.