Chapter 337: Savage

The Immortal Relic Land was a stretch of deep mountains shrouded in black mist. Dense black mist surged and rolled, lingering above this vast, continuous mountain range.

It was extremely quiet in these deep mountains, without a single sound. This kind of silence was terrifyingly deep.

Deep within the mountain range, there was a massive sinkhole.

Old Hu and his group of six were currently sitting cross-legged outside the pit. Seen from afar, they appeared truly insignificant.

Old Hu sat cross-legged in meditation. He had been waiting here for nearly a month. Along the way, they had not encountered any danger, but ever since he left Wang Lin's residence and entered this Immortal Relic Land, he had always felt a sense of trepidation.

As a Soul Transformation Cultivator, he did not believe his feelings would appear out of thin air; there must be a reason. At this moment, outside the sinkhole, that feeling of trepidation grew even stronger.

"Including Fellow Daoist Wang, there are three Soul Transformation Cultivators in total. As long as we do not enter the deeper layers, there should be no danger…" Old Hu thought to himself.

Many years ago, he had visited this place once. At that time, he had entered the third layer. Although he encountered some dangers along the way, he had survived them all safely and eventually obtained the items he needed before leaving.

This was also the reason why he had decided to come here.

However, now, Old Hu suddenly felt some regret. Looking at the massive sinkhole beneath his feet, his expression darkened.

"Zixin, are you sure that the Reincarnation Tree is in the third layer?" Old Hu looked at the woman in white gauze beside him.

The woman in white gauze nodded and said softly, "I once came here with my father. I clearly remember there being a withered Reincarnation Tree there, but my father's cultivation was insufficient, so he brought me out."

Old Hu pondered, thinking that the third layer was not considered dangerous. As long as they did not go below the fourth layer, this trip should be successful. Moreover, since the Reincarnation Tree was withered, naturally there would be no savage guarding it.

He had not explained these matters in detail to Wang Lin.

Old Hu's gaze turned toward the sinkhole. Just then, a sound of something piercing through the air came from the distant mountains, and everyone immediately looked over.

They saw a hideous Yao Beast as huge as a small mountain suddenly appear above them. Standing on the head of the Yao Beast was a youth in white robes. This person was none other than Wang Lin.

Old Hu's eyes revealed a trace of joy, and he laughed, "With Brother Wang's arrival, this trip will surely be a success for us."

Wang Lin leaped down from the Mosquito Beast, smiled, and nodded at everyone, saying, "I have kept you all waiting. I encountered some minor trouble on the way."

"Oh?" Old Hu's eyes narrowed.

Wang Lin flipped his right hand, and a human head appeared in his hand, which he tossed onto the ground.

The head looked pitch black and covered in filth. Its eyes were wide open in anger, and on its face was a black mark that looked like a vine branch.

"A savage!" Old Hu's expression changed.

"I discovered this person after I entered the Immortal Relic Land. He had been following behind me, wanting to launch a sneak attack," Wang Lin said.

Old Hu stepped forward and tapped the center of the head's forehead with his right hand. Immediately, the vine-like black marks on the head slowly wriggled and condensed into the center of the forehead, forming a strange plant with only half a leaf.

"He is not a pure savage, but a Cultivator who was parasitized and catalyzed by a savage," Old Hu said with a dark expression.

"Oh?" Wang Lin looked at the head.

Xu Luo hesitated for a moment and asked, "Old Ancestor, how did you determine that? Could it be this leaf?"

Not only him, but everyone except the woman in white gauze showed expressions of confusion.

Old Hu's expression was serious. He pointed at the leaf on the head's forehead and said, "Although I have never seen a real savage, I have learned from some ancient books that only those reaching three leaves or more are pure-blooded savages; the rest are all formed by parasitic catalysis. However, even these catalyzed savages should not appear here. Generally speaking, they are only seen in the second layer."

Looking at the head on the ground, an invisible pressure appeared in everyone's hearts.

Old Hu's face showed hesitation, then his gaze sharpened, and he said, "Brother Wang, wealth is sought in danger. Let's go down!"

Wang Lin was silent for a moment and nodded.

Old Hu leaped first, jumping into the deep pit. Wang Lin followed, and then the rest of the people followed suit.

This sinkhole was extremely deep. As they kept sinking, Wang Lin saw that on the surrounding walls of the sinkhole, countless vine-like plants were growing out of the soil.

Not long after, they landed. This was a world that resembled a plain. The ground was black, the sky was black, and everything around was silent.

For a Cultivator, although there was no light here, it did not hinder their vision; everything was clear at a glance.

Wang Lin squatted down and grabbed a handful of soil. The soil here was extremely hard, like pig iron.

"The first layer originally shouldn't have any danger, but now that even catalyzed savages are appearing outside, I fear there are savages here too. Everyone must be careful," Old Hu said in a deep voice.

Wang Lin swept his Divine Sense out. This place was vast, and his Divine Sense could not survey the entire area.

After Old Hu spoke with Zixin, they determined that the entrance to the first layer was in the east. Thus, led by Old Hu, the group flew toward the east.

Along the way, Qiu Siping, Xu Luo, and the others huddled together, nervously guarding against their surroundings.

Only Wang Lin, Old Hu, and the old man in green robes remained calm.

As for the woman in white gauze, after entering this place, she looked distracted, as if she were recalling something, and she did not speak along the way.

The seven of them flew for a while. Wang Lin suddenly flashed his gaze and looked behind him. He saw a beam of black light approaching at an extremely fast speed. When it was behind the group, the black light dissipated, transforming into a savage with disheveled hair, wearing only animal skins to cover his body.

On this savage's limbs, there were several black striped marks. His eyes flashed with red light, and he reached out with a large hand to grab Xu Luo.

Xu Luo's expression changed. He opened his mouth and spat out a beam of light. This light transformed into a Flying Sword, carrying a sharp, cold glint, and stabbed toward the savage.

The savage twisted his body in a strange way, dodging the Flying Sword. His right hand formed a claw, and with a sweep, Xu Luo's body was forced to retreat violently. Five tears appeared on the front of his robes, and silver light flashed within them; clearly, he was wearing inner armor.

After the attack, the savage immediately retreated.

"Stay!" Old Hu snorted softly. He did not move his body but grabbed the air with his right hand.

The savage let out a strange cry, and the black marks on his limbs immediately began to wriggle. Wisps of black Qi leaked out from the marks and quickly drilled into the savage's body. The savage let out a loud shout and swung his right hand violently.

He saw all that black Qi condense on his right fist, and he punched into the air.

Old Hu's expression remained calm, but a trace of killing intent appeared in his eyes. He clenched his right hand, and immediately, the savage's fist made a cracking sound and instantly became a bloody mess. The savage groaned in pain and retreated rapidly.

Old Hu immediately pointed into the void with his right hand. A Spiritual Spell shot out suddenly and imprinted onto the savage's chest. The savage's body tilted, and he fell to the ground.

Old Hu stepped forward and tapped the savage's head with his right hand. He saw those black marks on the savage's body immediately gather toward the center of the forehead. Gradually, a black mark with a complete leaf appeared.

"It seems that some changes we are unaware of have occurred in this Immortal Relic Land. Such one-leaf catalyzed savages only appeared in the second layer back then," Old Hu said in a deep voice.

Xu Luo touched his chest, his face revealing lingering fear. This savage's speed was too fast; he could actually dodge the Flying Sword. If he hadn't been wearing inner armor, he feared his chest would have been ripped open by the other's claw just now.

Three days later, the seven arrived at the entrance from the eastern part of the first layer to the second layer. During these three days, they had encountered a total of nine savages. These savages seemed to materialize out of thin air; even with Divine Sense, it was difficult to detect them if they did not appear.

Among the nine savages, except for the last one, all of them had few black marks on their bodies, and after death, there was only one leaf on their foreheads.

The last one appeared at the entrance. The black marks on this savage's body were slightly more numerous, especially his entire right arm, which was already covered in dense black marks.

To Wang Lin, these marks looked like some kind of runes.

After killing him, Wang Lin discovered two leaves on his forehead. This person's strength was equivalent to a Core Formation Late Stage Cultivator.

The second layer of the Immortal Relic Land looked no different from the first layer; it was still pitch black. However, here, a restless Qi was emanating.

This Qi had no effect on Wang Lin, but it had a significant impact on Xu Luo and the others.

Along the way, Wang Lin was somewhat puzzled as to why this old man surnamed Hu wanted to bring Xu Luo and the girl here. The cultivation of these two was only at the Core Formation Stage. Here, the slightest carelessness would lead to death.

Wang Lin did not ask about this. Given his personality, if he encountered danger, unless it was within his power, he would not risk his life to save others.

In this second layer, one would occasionally see some pitch-black animal bones on the ground, and even some rotting animal corpses. Wang Lin did not recognize a single one of these Yao Beasts; they were completely different from the Yao Beasts in the Cultivation Devil Sea.

Just as the group entered the second layer, Wang Lin's expression changed. He saw a beam of black light appear ten zhang away from the group. It did not approach but transformed into a savage right there.

This savage's appearance was vastly different from those in the first layer. This person wore animal skins, and one-fourth of his body was covered in black pattern marks. His eyes were not red but clearly black and white. However, if one looked closely, one would notice a strange light deep within his eyes.

This savage was definitely not the same type as those in the first layer. The savages in the first layer, including the two-leaf person, all had eyes full of madness; upon seeing them, they did not care about the gap in strength and would rush up crazily.

But this person did not come forward; instead, he stood ten zhang away, watching them gloomily, especially taking a few extra looks at the woman in white gauze.

"A savage, he is a real savage! The Talismanic Incantation on his body has reached the three-leaf standard, equivalent to a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator," the woman in white gauze suddenly said.