Cultivation: Immunity to Negative Effects

These cultivators were mostly Nascent Soul Realm powerhouses, with only a few having Golden Core Cultivation. The cultivators at the forefront were even wearing standardized Armor and identical waist tokens, identifying them as members of the Desert Divine Palace.

In particular, a handsome and statuesque young cultivator clad in Silver Armor, wielding a silver Fangtian Halberd, possessed a Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivation.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A sky full of Magical Treasures and various Magic spells of great Mighty Power rained down violently, like an apocalypse where fiery meteors fell from the heavens.

Fortunately, these cultivators attacked openly, so the Demon Bear King had sensed them long before and activated the Mountain Protection Array in time.

A white shield of light enveloped the entire Pill and Artifact Sect ruins, blocking all the attacks.

But even so, the Mountain Protection Array still trembled violently, drawing a massive amount of Earth Vein Spiritual Qi with every passing moment.

Once the Spiritual Qi was depleted, or if the damage it sustained exceeded its limit, the Array would surely shatter on the spot.

ROAR!

But the Demon Bears were no pushovers. They immediately let out a series of roars, attacking their enemies with powerful Sound Waves.

At the same time, they also spat out beams of black light.

Unfortunately, only the Tier Four beings could pose a threat to the cultivators outside.

And the number of Tier Four beings was clearly less than their opponents’.

"Break!"

The young cultivator with the Fangtian Halberd was one of the six disciples sent by the Desert Divine Palace’s Palace Master. With a great shout, he raised his Fangtian Halberd with both hands and brought it crashing down.

A thousand-zhang-long silver light immediately appeared and struck the Mountain Protection Array viciously. The Grand Array’s light dimmed instantly, and it teetered on the verge of collapse.

Although it ultimately held this time, at this rate, the Grand Array would definitely shatter before long.

"Human, stop! If you have the guts, let’s fight one-on-one!"

Seeing this, the Demon Bear King panicked. With a loud roar, he shot into the sky and charged toward the young cultivator.

At the same time, a black Wolf Fang Club appeared in his hands, and a suit of Black Armor covered in vicious spikes materialized on his body.

Both items were of a very high Level. He ignored the numerous attacks, and the Wolf Fang Club smashed viciously toward the young cultivator.

CLANG!

The Wolf Fang Club and the Fangtian Halberd collided, letting out a massive boom as a powerful shockwave spread out violently.

The surrounding cultivators scrambled to dodge. Those who weren’t fast enough were immediately sent flying, spitting blood.

Even Nascent Soul Middle Stage powerhouses didn’t dare get close.

"Good, a one-on-one it is. Watch me kill you, you beast."

The young cultivator, however, was unharmed. Though he seemed minuscule compared to the Demon Bear King, he didn’t fall behind in the slightest once the fight began.

The two of them immediately flew high into the sky and began to attack each other fiercely.

The young cultivator didn’t want to involve the other cultivators present, while the Demon Bear King was afraid the Array would be shattered by the battle’s aftershocks.

Thus, the two sides had a surprising tacit understanding.

"Kill!"

At the same time, numerous Tier Four Demon Bears also charged out of the Grand Array to battle some of the Nascent Soul Powerhouses among the cultivators in the sky.

Only the Low Tier Demon Bears remained hidden inside the Array, using various ranged attacks—even hurling giant rocks—in an attempt to interfere with the Exploring Cultivators outside.

"Everyone, don’t panic! I will control the Array!"

Zhang Chi did not join the battle directly. Instead, he remained inside the Array, controlling the Demon Bear’s body and channeling streams of thick Demonic Power to manipulate the Mountain Protection Array.

Apparently, the Demon Bear King had informed him at the first opportunity.

The King had even sent a Tier Three Peak Demon Bear, a trusted subordinate, to find him, but Zhang Chi had killed it with a single slap.

Normally, such an act would have severe consequences, but right now, no Demon Bear had the time to care.

In fact, no Demon Bear even knew that the Demon Bear King’s trusted subordinate was dead, including the Demon Bear King himself.

After all, this was a matter of life and death; not a single Demon Bear could stay out of it.

At this moment, almost all the Demon Bears were gathered on the front line, near the mountain gate plaza of the Pill and Artifact Sect.

Besides killing that Demon Bear, when leaving the Inheritance Hall, Zhang Chi had also taken a portion of the Cultivation Technique Jade Scrolls and other such items.

He did this to prevent the most precious Cultivation Techniques and similar items from being leaked, which would render them worthless.

He didn’t take everything, leaving some for the cultivators outside as their "hardship fee."

In any case, he had already made Imprints of all the most valuable content and had finished reading all the Low Tier materials.

As the only Array expert in the clan, the Demon Bears had no objection to him only controlling the Array and not fighting.

Even the Demon Bear King was very pleased.

Because after Zhang Chi took control of the Array, the Mountain Protection Array had clearly become much more stable.

However, this also made the Demon Bear King even more wary of Zhang Chi, strengthening his killing intent.

But right now, these Demon Bears had no idea that while Zhang Chi appeared to be participating, he wasn’t trying his best at all.

Furthermore, Zhang Chi’s Spirit Beast and Corpse Puppet had already taken advantage of the chaos, sneaking into the ruins from the back mountain.

Originally, the entire ruins were covered by the Mountain Protection Array, with no loopholes in the sky or on the ground.

But Zhang Chi had long ago granted maximum clearance to his Demon Bear body, his Spirit Beast, and his Corpse Puppet, allowing all three to pass through the Mountain Protection Array silently and at will.

And one of the reasons the Spirit Beast and Corpse Puppet were here was to loot all sorts of resources while the chaos raged.

At this moment, Zhang Chi was multitasking, controlling his Corpse Puppet to quickly arrive at the cave mansion of a Tier Four Demon Bear.

He discovered that although the place reeked, there were some Tier Four Spirit Medicines planted in a medicinal patch inside the cave mansion.

So, regardless of whether these Spirit Medicines were mature or not, he immediately harvested them all.

After that, he moved on to other Tier Four Demon Bear Cave Mansions, and soon his gains were overflowing.

This was only because High Tier Demon Bears all had Storage Bags where they kept their good stuff; otherwise, his haul would have been even greater.

Next, he went to the clan’s Medicinal Garden and found that it indeed had even more Tier Four Spirit Medicines, including a Nascent Soul Spiritual Object. There was an even greater abundance of various Spirit Medicines used for Solidifying Pills.

However, the place was enveloped by a layer of white light, which was a Tier Four Low Grade Array.

Normally, only with the Demon Bear King’s authorization could anyone touch these Spirit Medicines; not even Tier Four Demon Bears were an exception.

"Who are you?"

Because this was a vital area, there were even two Tier Three Peak Demon Bear Guards.

Seeing the Corpse Puppet and the Spirit Beast, they immediately shouted in anger.

BANG! BANG!

But before they could even finish their words, the Corpse Puppet struck out with three mid-air punches, instantly killing them both.

SWISH! SWISH!

Then, the Corpse Puppet slapped its Storage Bag, took out a stack of pre-prepared Breaking Charms, and cast them out.

Combined with his profound skill in Arrays, he quickly found a weak point, broke the Array, and even collected the Array Flags.

Next, he and the Spirit Beast harvested all the Spirit Grass in the Medicinal Garden.

After that came the clan’s storehouse, the Demon Bear King’s cave mansion, and various other places, all of which met a similar fate.

For instance, the storehouse was also protected by an Array and had a metal gate. But he easily broke the Array, pushed the gate open just a crack, and the Spirit Beast immediately shrank down, entered, and opened the gate from the inside.

And just like that, he soon finished looting the ruins, only leaving some Low Tier Demon Bear dens untouched due to lack of time.

This could also be considered a "hardship fee" for the cultivators outside, saving them from having worked for nothing.

Immediately after, the Corpse Puppet and the Spirit Beast quietly retreated to the edge of the Array at the back of the mountain and found a place to hide.

This way, if the human cultivators were too fierce and ended up victorious, they could immediately slip away.

If the human cultivators were blocked, they could then cooperate with the Demon Bear body and use the Array to kill the Demon Bear King, which would be the best-case scenario.

---

"Despicable humans, you’re courting death!"

Meanwhile, the Tier Four Demon Bears fighting outside immediately sensed that something was wrong and became incredibly furious.

They all subconsciously assumed that their opponents had used some trick to send cultivators to infiltrate their lair.

BOOM! BOOM!

As they roared, they went all out, with many Demon Bears even summoning their Demon Pills.

"You’re the ones courting death!"

The cultivators from the Desert Divine Palace didn’t understand what was happening, but they didn’t dwell on it, just sneering contemptuously.

They had actually underestimated the number of Demon Beast forces in these Oasis Ruins, or perhaps they had been overconfident. So, although they brought many experts, they still failed to achieve overwhelming numerical superiority.

Moreover, to compete for credit, they had even split into several groups.

Otherwise, they would have slaughtered all these Demon Bears long ago and wouldn’t be in this stalemate.

But even so, they were still brimming with confidence.

As they spoke, they all brought out their various trump cards, especially the young cultivator.

The young cultivator didn’t use any special techniques, but the Mighty Power of his Fangtian Halberd suddenly increased severalfold. He thrashed the Demon Bear King, making it scream in agony. In the blink of an eye, it was severely wounded, coughing up blood, and on the brink of death.

If not for the Demon Bear King’s Armor, a Pseudo-Spirit Treasure obtained from the Pill and Artifact Sect’s ruins, it would have been slain on the spot.

The other Demon Bears were in a similar, extremely grave situation, even considering whether to self-destruct their Demon Pills to make a final stand.

Their opponents were simply too powerful. The cultivators from the Desert Divine Palace, in particular, were all top-tier within the Same Tier, and some even had the strength to fight above their Realm.

ROAR!

But just then, a series of roars suddenly came from the distance, and then a large number of giant golden apes arrived, riding clouds and mist.

"Retreat! It’s the Great Power Vajra Apes!"

Seeing this, the cultivators’ expressions changed slightly. Led by the young cultivator, they quickly made a Flying Escape into the distance.

"Kill!"

The giant golden apes immediately gave chase. Even the Tier Four Demon Bears joined in, pressing their advantage to hunt down the fleeing enemy.

Only the Demon Bear King and some of the Tier Four Demon Bears, who were too heavily injured, could only stay behind.

At the same time, they were also worried this was the enemy’s feint. If they were all to leave the nest, their lair would be in danger.

"Your Majesty, are you alright? Quickly, take this Healing Elixir."

At this moment, Zhang Chi immediately rushed forward, moving to support the Demon Bear King. At the same time, he took out a Nine Revolutions Soul Reviving Pill and offered it.

"This King is fine. This King has his own Elixirs. You have worked hard. If not for you, this place would have surely fallen!"

The Bear King responded with a smile but simultaneously avoided his attempt to help him up and did not accept the Nine Revolutions Soul Reviving Pill Zhang Chi offered.

’What a shame!’

Zhang Chi couldn’t help but feel it was a pity.

He had specially prepared a tainted Elixir, but unfortunately, the Demon Bear King didn’t fall for the trick at all.

Even the other Demon Bears were the same. They usually appeared carefree, but in reality, they were all extremely vigilant, only consuming their own Elixirs and living things.

Moreover, Zhang Chi didn’t have a poison that could kill a Tier Four Demon Bear without being detected; otherwise, he would have taken over these ruins long ago.

"A shame about what?"

The Demon Bear King was very puzzled by his words.