Seeing the Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad kill the youngster in blue with just one attack, Fifth Senior Brother and the charming woman grew horrified. Both of them gave their all to charge past the undercurrents to reach the surface. At that moment, neither of them had any desire to fight against this yao beast. All they could think of was how to escape this calamity.

"You want to escape? No cultivator has ever escaped after entering my territory. You fellows can stay here and become my food." The Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad's divine sense spread beneath the pool. Next, its pair of eyes abruptly shone before shooting out two thick, bluish-green beams of light. The two beams of light were one notch faster than the red line earlier. They struck Fifth Senior Brother and the charming woman's figure before expanding outwards, transforming into dazzling spheres of light which imprisoned the two, just like it had with Chen Feng. Despite their continuous struggles, they were unable to affect the spheres at all.

"Humph! Just minor cultivators at level 3 of the Concealed stage, you actually want to s.n.a.t.c.h away the spiritual fruits? You really do not understand the heights of Heaven and the depths of the Earth. After I take care of the other flies, I will slowly enjoy my meal," the Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad said coolly. It had imprisoned Chen Feng and the others, intending on making them its meal.

"Ha ha ha ha! There are really Greenjade Magic Soulfruits here! Excellent! We have not come here for nothing!" A voice rang out from within the waters. However, the voice did not seem to have a fixed origin, making it impossible for them to figure out where the voice had come from.

"Do not be careless! There is a Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad here! We need to be careful. Didn't you see the fellows from Purplecloud Sky Grotto get caught?"

"Humph! The three of them are just idiots. They ran here so fast but are no match for the yao beast at all. They were just sending themselves to death's door."

"Yes, they were too arrogant. Unlike us, we had come together and made a proper plan before making our move. This time, we will definitely be able to capture this Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad and collect the Greenjade Magic Soulfruits."

"Yes, yes! Let's deal with this yao beast first. Eh? Why are there two less Greenjade Magic Soulfruits?"

"They were taken by the little cultivator. Right now, everything is within our grasp. Let's take action. The value of this yao beast is comparable to these nine Greenjade Magic Soulfruits."

"Ha ha ha! Every part of this yao beast is a treasure. If we can kill it and extract the yao core within its body, we can concoct out Human tier medicinal pills. If we have a pill formula and other herbs, we can even concoct out Earthen tier medicinal pills."

"Humph! Just a few human cultivators. You dare spit boastful words before me? I have killed way too many cultivators of your level!" After saying that, the Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad opened its mouth and three red lines flashed out to pierce into the black waters, each of them attacking the cultivators who were talking.

The three red lines were actually the tongues of the Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad. The speed at which it shot out was incomparably fast, lightning-like in quality. Additionally, they were durable to the extreme, capable of piercing rocks and steel. The corpses under the pool had all been killed using this method.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three booming sounds erupted from within the pool and the three cultivators seemed to have been struck by the attacks.

"Oh, puppet technique?" The Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad became surprised.

"Ha ha ha! Yao beast, you are quite capable to be able to recognize a puppet technique. Everyone, let's attack! Let this yao beast experience our Five Elements Demon Suppression Array!"

The instant those words rang out, big flags moved through the waters to thrust down at various locations. The moment the power of the array was activated, lightning and thunder erupted and a tempest rose. Astral winds began to surge and the undercurrents turned violent as even more water currents were formed. It was as though a concealed dragon was moving about ceaselessly.

"Eh? How could there be lightning and thunder under water? Could this be the power of arrays?" Chen Feng blurted out in shock. Feeling the violence of the undercurrents surging around him, he felt that, without the sphere of light that the Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad had set up around him, he would have been torn to pieces by the chaotic energy around him.

The large body of the Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad reacted with an abrupt shudder and all the waters in the pool roiled. Over a hundred thick pillars of water shot out from the surface of the pool, going upwards to a height of at least 100 metres. It was a magnificent sight to behold. Unfortunately, no one was in the mood to appreciate it. The chaos beneath the pool slowly subsided and the various imagery disappeared.

"Is that it? Did you think that this shabby array can kill me? What a bunch of daydreamers!" said the Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad with a sneer.

"Ha ha ha, we are not trying to kill you. We just want to trap you. Our objective is the nine Greenjade Magic Soulfruits. Did you really think we would go all out against you?" One of them laughed out loudly and revealed himself. He had a tall and mighty stature and he wielded a strange-looking machete. A strange picture was painted upon his face. He was none other than the cultivator from Evil Moon Grotto.

"Fellow cultivator, please save us. We are from Purplecloud Sky Grotto!"

"Fellow cultivator, please help us. Our Purplecloud Sky Grotto will be most grateful!"

Fifth Senior Brother and the charming woman cried out urgently.

"Ha ha ha, you fellows be obedient and stay there. Once we obtain the Greenjade Magic Soulfruits, we can talk. However, this little beauty is quite the looker. We really don't want to see you die here," said the Evil Moon Grotto cultivator, a smile on his face. There was a sinister look on his face as he looked at the charming woman.

"Brother, please save me. I am willing to use my body to repay you!" the charming woman swiftly cried out, a hint of hope appearing on her face.

"Ha ha ha, just wait until I get the Greenjade Magic Soulfruits." After saying that, the Evil Moon Grotto cultivator strode forward. As he did, the waters before him separated.

Sou!

A bluish-green beam flashed out and struck the cultivator's body at lightning-like speed. The cultivator's mighty body immediately shattered and disappeared. However, he then reformed himself somewhere 10 metres away.

"Another puppet technique." After saying that, the Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad's body began to move as it wanted to obstruct the cultivator.

"Activate! Five Elements Demon Suppression, Five Elements Reversal, Five Elements Shackling Technique!"

The big flags inserted into various positions on the ground suddenly shone with a dazzling radiance. It was as though a little sun had suddenly erupted at the bottom of the pool. The area within a 100-metre radius became as clear as day. Next, ropes condensed out from strands of spiritual energy intersected each other as they wrapped themselves around the Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad.

"Five Elements Harmony, condense!"

Next, *** (orbs of lightning?) the size of fists began condensing into existence [1]. The cultivators that were working together on this had made plenty of preparations. Be it humans or yao beasts, all would have some innate fear towards lightning. That was especially true of this yao beast staying under water that had yet to undergo Lightning Tribulation. Additionally, the destructive power of lightning was the strongest when compared to other types of powers.

In face of those attacks, the Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad's large body abruptly shrank before quickly expanding, sending powerful energy waves outwards, which shattered the ropes made of spiritual energy.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Then, the *** struck the Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad's body, exploding outwards. The power of the explosions caused the whole pool to rock about once more and pillars of water shot to the sky. The waves rolled about and the waters at the bottom of the pool roiled about so much that it felt as though the sea itself was being overturned.

"This little power is not even enough to break through my defence."

The Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad said coldly. The powerful explosions earlier had failed to even break his dim gold-coloured skin.

"Witness my power!"

After saying that, the Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad opened its mouth wide and sucked. The surrounding black waters were all sucked inside. In but the blink of an eye, the waters in the surrounding tens of metres were all sucked into its mouth. Next, the waters were swiftly compressed into a black-coloured, fist-sized orb. There was a strange l.u.s.tre within the black colour of the orb as powerful energy flowed continuously within it.

"Not good! Everyone, be careful. That is a compressed orb using the surrounding poison waters. The explosive power of that thing is extremely powerful."

"Quick, change the array! Metal Shield of the Great Five Elements! Defensive array!"

The array changed once more as the big flags rapidly released wave after wave of energy. At the same time, it ceaselessly absorbed and condensed the surrounding power of metal to form a metal shield.

Sou!

The Greenjade-eyed Gold Toad spat out furiously and the fist-sized orb shot out. Then, the orb exploded violently and countless water arrows shot out in every direction, blasting away the big flags that were inserted into the ground.

The powerful energies clashed incessantly at the bottom of the pool. The Evil Moon Grotto cultivator had just made his way to stand before the Greenjade Magic Soulfruits, his hand stretching outwards when he felt the poison waters shooting towards him from behind.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Numerous water arrows struck the cultivator, causing his figure to rise from the momentum of the many impacts, rising up a height of over 100 metres before stopping. The defensive energy protecting his body had long since been shattered apart. However, the instant the defensive energy was shattered apart, his body shone and another layer of energy formed to protect his body through it all.

"Thankfully, I have a defensive-type magic treasure on me, otherwise I would have been in a quite a pickle. Oh, no! The power just now is too strong. Will anything happen to the Greenjade Magic Soulfruits?" The Evil Moon Grotto cultivator became somewhat concerned.

He had not noticed it, but despite the raging eruption of energies under the pool, despite the wild undercurrents, the nine plants remained safe. This was the effect of the Nine Palaces formation that the plants a.s.sumed. They possessed an innately powerful defence and could block off attacks from violent powers. However, they could not stop cultivators from approaching them to pluck their fruits. That was where Chen Feng was lucky.

Still, Chen Feng was presently not in a good state. Since the two sides began clashing, Chen Feng had become like a dead fish as he, and the sphere around him, rolled around constantly within the roiling waters. He did not even know how many times he had been tumbling around for. He simply felt as though he was on the verge of fainting.

"Phew! Thankfully, the big toad had sealed me up, otherwise I would be incapable of stopping those turbulent shockwaves." Chen Feng felt slightly fortunate.

Bang!

A m.u.f.fled thud could be heard as Chen Feng slammed onto the surface of a solid rock. Once again, he felt his head spinning and felt a desire to puke out.

"I hit a rock! Could I have reached the edge of this pool?" Chen Feng shook his head, attempting to see what was before him.

"Eh? It seems like there is a huge cave here? Could it be the big toad's lair?" Chen Feng was finally able to get a clear view of what was before him.

Chen Feng had noticed that, not too far away, there was a circular cave on the solid rock surface. The entrance to the cave had a radius of two zhang (1 zhang = 3.333 m). Minor rays of illumination shone out from the entrance while the surrounding waters were unable to make their way in. It was as though a magical power was stopping them.

1 *** is in the official raws. I am guessing orbs of lightning of something.↩