More than half a day later, Fang Qingyuan and Jinbao, who had been waiting in the same spot, saw Han Yunlong’s party hurrying over.

Fang Qingyuan glanced first at Jiang Wanqin and saw she still wore the same cheerful expression as before. Obviously, his disappearance hadn’t been a major concern for her.

This was likely because Fang Qingyuan had only been gone for a short while. Had he been away for half a month, Jiang Wanqin would have probably grown anxious.

Han Yunlong quickly walked up to Fang Qingyuan and immediately asked,

"Sect Leader Fang, are you alright? That Bear Beast looked formidable. Did it give you any trouble after carrying you off?"

When Fang Qingyuan communicated with Xiong Feng using his All Things Heart Sound Divine Techniques, there were no outward signs of anything unusual.

Han Yunlong was clearly asking this because he wanted to fish for information.

Befriending a Nascent Soul Level Ancient Beast would be an immense stroke of fortune. Even if he couldn’t, just selling the information would be worth a great many Spirit Stones.

Of course, Fang Qingyuan didn’t buy Han Yunlong’s act of concern for a second. He simply laughed it off, saying,

"Thank you for your concern, Brother Han, but I’m perfectly fine. The Bear Beast just dropped me off along the way and then vanished. As for anything else, I’m not really clear on the specifics myself."

Hearing Fang Qingyuan’s explanation, Han Yunlong let out a dry laugh. His expression clearly said he didn’t believe a word of it, but since Fang Qingyuan didn’t want to elaborate, he couldn’t press the matter.

At that moment, he turned to look at Jinbao and noticed that the massive Bear Beast seemed a bit drowsy. It had clearly reaped some major benefits earlier.

Fang Qingyuan moved to block Han Yunlong’s view of Jinbao. Though his effort was largely symbolic, he suggested,

"It’s not wise to linger in this territory. We should hurry on to the next Nascent Soul Ancient Beast’s domain. From what I’ve heard, the Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast has a nasty temper."

Han Yunlong let out an awkward laugh before turning to signal the others to set out. They were now more than halfway through the Barbaric Wilderness. The fact that they hadn’t lost a single person yet was a testament to Fang Qingyuan’s skill.

Jinbao was still clearing the path ahead. However, perhaps from swallowing too many fragments of the golden light barrier earlier, it looked as if it was about to advance in cultivation.

Jinbao’s advancement was a good thing, but the timing was inconvenient. However, Fang Qingyuan would never hinder Jinbao’s progress for the sake of Han Yunlong’s group.

Thanks to Xiong Feng, Fang Qingyuan’s party passed through this Land Realm without incident. As the surrounding vegetation grew sparse and the soil turned dark brown, Fang Qingyuan knew they had reached the territory of the Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast.

After they traveled a while longer, the tall, lush trees disappeared. Not a blade of grass grew here, only an endless expanse of black clay that, following the lay of the land, formed a gentle slope rising from north to south. They were now south of the central line outside Awakening Lion Valley.

By this point, Fang Qingyuan could see that Jinbao couldn’t hold on any longer. He took out the Ten Thousand Beasts Qiankun Banner and, using it as a pretense, recalled Jinbao into his Immortal Mansion.

After instructing the Bee Queen to look after Jinbao, Fang Qingyuan took out a Spiritual Boat and called for Jiang Wanqin and the three Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect to board it with him.

Han Yunlong was startled when Jinbao vanished. He then looked at the long banner in Fang Qingyuan’s hand with an envious expression. Even as a key member of the Pill Alliance, he didn’t own a Top-Grade Magical Artifact.

"It’s impossible to walk from here on. Everyone, take to the air, but stay low. And be warned: do not fly too high. A creature known as the Lion Body Thunder Beast appears in the Gangfeng Layer above. Its body is mostly composed of extremely pure Thunder Power. Once it spots prey in the air, it strikes in an instant. Its power is so great, a single touch means certain death."

It was true that they could no longer walk. This black clay was incredibly strange. The moment it touched any foreign object, it would generate an immense suction force, pulling the object down and swallowing it whole, just like a quicksand trap.

But even a place like this teemed with strange life. Aboard his Spiritual Boat, Fang Qingyuan would occasionally see a massive pillar of black soil erupt from the Sea of Black Earth, like a great whale’s spout in the deep ocean.

Beneath the black soil, huge mounds swelled and rose, creating great waves across the surface. Muffled roars rumbled from beneath the waves. It was obvious that enormous beasts lived within this sea of black soil.

These were the Earth-Returning Beasts, an incredibly powerful type of beast. The ones they were seeing now were only equivalent to the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core Realms. The most powerful of them, the Nascent Soul Ancient Beast, had yet to make an appearance.

But even the pillars of black soil erupted by these Foundation Establishment and Golden Core Realm Earth-Returning Beasts were already incredibly difficult to defend against. A single pillar would erupt with shocking power, shooting hundreds of meters into the air in an instant.

Flying in a place like this, Fang Qingyuan was on high alert. The Lion Body Thunder Beasts were watching hungrily from the clouds above, while the fatal pillars of black soil from the Earth-Returning Beasts threatened from below. The slightest carelessness would get them knocked from the sky in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, thanks to his powerful Divine Sense, Fang Qingyuan was able to anticipate the fluctuations from underground. Whenever a pillar of black soil was about to burst from the ground, he could usually change the Spiritual Boat’s course and evade it just in time.

Han Yunlong’s group of Cultivators, however, lacked Fang Qingyuan’s skill. They had only made it about a third of the way across when Fang Qingyuan heard several pained cries. He glanced back and saw a gourd-shaped Flying Magical Artifact take a direct hit from a pillar of black soil erupting from below. It shattered in an instant, and the Cultivators on it plummeted downwards like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

In that group of Cultivators, there were four at the Qi Cultivation stage and two at Foundation Establishment, but it looked as if they had all been severely injured. The pillar of black soil was like the fiercest Earth Element Technique; not only had it smashed the gourd Magical Artifact to smithereens, but its remaining force had continued unabated, breaking through the Cultivators’ Protective Spirit Shields and striking their bodies.