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Only then did they catch a clear glimpse of the humanoid figure beside the elderly man, and they discovered it to be a young man who appeared to be in his twenties.

It was none other than Han Li!

Before the high-grade devilish beings had a chance to seize back control over their treasures, spatial fluctuations erupted overhead, and a streak of golden light shot forth before rapidly revolving around them at an incredible speed, then appeared over 100 feet away in a flash.

The golden light faded to reveal a yellow beast that was around 10 feet in size.

The beast had a lithe and streamlined body, and it resembled a leopard with a pair of small green horns on its head.

As soon as it appeared, it turned toward the four devilish beings with a derisive look in its eyes.

Strangely enough, the four devilish beings remained rooted to the spot, and the expressions on their faces were also quite peculiar.

In the next instant, countless thin gashes suddenly appeared over their bodies, and they fell apart as piles of dismembered body parts right before the elderly mans astonished eyes.

Their blood rained down into the devilish cloud from above, and as soon as the low-grade devilish beasts within the devilish cloud came into contact with their blood, they were immediately driven insane and began to tear viciously into one another.

The armored devilish warriors were completely stunned and horrified to see this, and one of them suddenly yelled out an order for retreat, upon which all of them instantly fled the scene as quickly as they could, leaving the frenzied horde of devilish beasts behind.

Han Lis expression darkened upon seeing this. There was no way he was going to let these devilish beings escape. He immediately transmitted his voice to the Leopard Kirin Beast. Ill leave these devilish beasts to you, Ill take care of those devilish warriors myself!

The Leopard Kirin Beast nodded in response, then conjured up several tens of faint golden projections of itself, all of which pounced directly toward the low-grade devilish beasts like lightning.

As for Han Li, he merely remained still on the spot before extending a hand out of his sleeve. He made a casual grabbing motion, and a ball of piercing golden lightning suddenly emerged amid a loud thunderclap.

Immediately thereafter, he spread his fingers open, countless arcs of lightning that were as thick as human fingers erupted forth in all directions.

Radiant golden light flashed, and the arcs of lightning reached the fleeing devilish beings in a flash before striking them viciously from behind.

These low-grade devilish beings were naturally no match for the fearsome powers of the Divine Devilbane Lightning, and all of them were quickly reduced to dust amid rumbling thunderclaps and flashes of golden light.

The nearby devilish cloud and devilish winds were also eradicated by the golden lightning, and at this point, all of the low-grade devilish beasts had also been reduced to piles of blood and flesh by the Leopard Kirin Beast.

Everything had transpired within the span of just a few breaths, and before the elderly man even had a chance to react to the situation, all of their pursuers had been slain.

Only then did the elderly man return to his senses, and he hurriedly turned to Han Li with an ecstatic look in his eyes. Thank you for saving us, Senior! Are you an elder of Deep Heaven City?

I guess I technically am. Where did all of you come from? Why did you come here instead of hiding somewhere more secure? Dont you know that the area around Deep Heaven City has already been taken over by devilish beings? Han Li asked in an indifferent manner.

We are cultivators of the Huo Li Sect. Unfortunately, the location of our sect was discovered by devilish beings, so we had no choice but to leave. We stumbled into a devilish ambush near the teleportation formation up ahead, and we were almost killed as a result, the elderly man hurriedly explained.

So the teleportation formation up ahead really has been taken over by devilish beings, eh? Are there any other high-grade devilish beings up ahead aside from the ones I just killed? Han Li asked.

There are a few more high-grade devilish beings near the teleportation formation, but all of them are injured. Otherwise, they wouldve pursued us as well, the elderly man replied in a truthful manner.

I see. In that case, Ill have to take care of them quickly. Otherwise, if they receive news of what happened here, they could destroy the teleportation formation to prevent us from using it, Han Li murmured to himself with furrowed brows.

The elderly mans expression also changed slightly upon hearing this.

At this moment, the remaining Huo Li Sect disciples were led toward the elderly man by the hideous elderly woman, and they were all appraising Han Li with awe and veneration in their eyes.

Before they had a chance to say anything, Han Li waved a hand toward the Leopard Kirin Beast, and azure light flashed from his body as he hurtled directly toward the canyon up ahead.

The Leopard Kirin Beast also quickly followed along as a streak of golden light.

In the blink of an eye, the two of them vanished into the distance.

The elderly woman hurriedly flew over to the elderly man with a solemn look on her face. What should we do, Senior Martial Brother?

We follow that senior, of course. With him leading the way, we should be able to make it into Deep Heaven City. Follow me, everyone, this will be our final chance to make it to safety, the elderly man replied without any hesitation.

The elderly woman immediately nodded in response.

After quickly taking a few more pills to replenish his magic power, a slightly abnormal flush appeared on the elderly mans face, and he immediately flew toward the canyon, followed by all of the remaining disciples of the Huo Li Sect.

In contrast with the unease and anxiety they had been experiencing before, all of them were now filled with hope and excitement.

A distance of less than 1,000 kilometers naturally didnt take very long to cover for cultivators like them, and a short while later, they arrived near the canyon, but before they had a chance to descend toward it, they were greeted by an earth-shattering boom!

Several streaks of azure sword Qi erupted into the heavens from within the canyon, then vanished in a flash.

Immediately thereafter, an anguished howl rang out, and a gust of black devilish winds swept out of the canyon, within which was a horned devilish shadow that was fleeing in a horrified manner.

The elderly man and elderly woman exchanged a glance upon seeing this, and both of them could see their own elation mirrored in one anothers eyes.

It seemed that the senior they had just encountered had made short work of the high-grade devilish beings in the canyon as well!

The elderly man immediately drew his flying swords while the woman opened her mouth to expel a remarkably thin silver flying blade.

The two of them naturally intended to stop the devilish beings Nascent Soul from escaping.

However, before they had a chance to do anything, a cold harrumph rang out from within the valley, and a streak of sword Qi that was over 100 feet shot forth before sweeping through the Nascent Soul.

A cold light flashed, and the Nascent Soul was reduced to nothingness before it could even utter a single sound.

The azure sword Qi then faded into an azure flying sword that was only around a foot in length before flying back into the canyon.

Han Lis indifferent voice then rang out from deep within the canyon. If you want to enter Deep Heaven City as well, then hurry up, the devilish reinforcements could get here at any moment.

The elderly man was ecstatic to hear this, and he immediately yelled, Everyone, full speed ahead!

All of the cultivators immediately hurtled through the air as if their lives depended on it, descending straight into the canyon as streaks of spiritual light.

Inside Deep Heaven City, two Nascent Soul Stage guards were chatting idly as they stood at the entrance of a teleportation hall, which had been surrounded by many powerful restrictions.

All of a sudden, one of the dozen or so teleportation formations in the hall began to radiate dazzling white light and emit bursts of loud buzzing sounds.

Someones teleporting into the city! Activate all of the restrictions right away and inform our superiors of this! one of the Nascent Soul Stage guards immediately yelled in an alarmed manner.

The other guard immediately flipped a hand over to produce a palm-sized blue formation plate, then slammed his other hand onto it.

A burst of five-colored light erupted from the formation plate amid a dull thump, and all types of fluctuations instantly appeared around the entire hall. At the same time, light barriers and golden and silver runes emerged to seal off the entire hall.

In a pavilion near the hall, over 100 meditating guards abruptly rose to their feet without any warning, then flew out of the pavilion as streaks of spiritual light.

Spatial fluctuations suddenly emanated from the buzzing teleportation formation, following which an azure humanoid figure emerged.

As soon as Han Li opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of around a dozen guards appraising him with wary expressions as if they were anticipating a battle, and he smiled as he said, Ive only been away for two or three years, have you all forgotten about me already?

The leader of the guards identified Han Li right away, and an ecstatic look appeared on his face as he said in a respectful manner, Ah, its Senior Han! This is fantastic news, Ill inform the elders right away! Many of the elders have left us with instructions to report back to them as soon as we receive any news about you.

I see, Ill be paying a visit to the elders in person. By the way, there will be some more people arriving through this teleportation formation, Han Li said in a nonchalant manner.

The guard was rather surprised to hear this, but he still immediately bowed in response. There are others? Thats no problem, well be sure to take good care of them.

Han Li turned to glance at the little girl sitting on his shoulders, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

The little girl was none other than the Leopard Kirin Beast that had just awakened.

During his journey back to human territory, the Leopard Kirin Beast had finally awakened, and in the process, it gave him an unexpected surprise.

As soon as it had awakened, it had commenced its Body Integration Stage tribulation transcendence.

It possessed the bloodline of the true spirit Kirin, so the heavenly tribulation that befell was naturally extremely devastating.

An outsider couldnt step in during ones tribulation transcendence, so Han Li could only watch as the Leopard Kirin Beast was almost destroyed during the tribulation.

Thankfully, after devouring the demon core of that Dark Beast Monarch, it had managed to attain several new abilities that allowed it to just barely transcend its tribulation, and it was now able to manifest a human form.

At the time, the Leopard Kirin Beast had been in extremely dire condition, and Han Li had expended countless spirit pills to save its life. Otherwise, it wouldve already perished.

However, what left Han Li feeling rather speechless was that the human form manifested by the Leopard Kirin Beast was a little girl who appeared to be even younger than Quer.

If it were a normal person, it most likely wouldnt even be able to talk much yet.

Thankfully, despite its appearance, the Leopard Kirin Beast was able to directly communicate with him through spiritual sense, so communication wasnt an issue. Due to its unexpected tribulation transcendence, Han Lis trip back to Deep Heaven City was naturally delayed a little.

As such, it had taken him several months to reach this point.

The place that he was currently traveling toward was one of the few hidden teleportation formations designated for the elders of Deep Heaven City.

Due to the fact that this was a small formation that could only teleport a maximum of two people at a time, Deep Heaven City wasnt concerned about devilish beings discovering it and invading the city through it.

After all, even if two Body Integration Stage devilish lords were to teleport into the city at once, they would still be immediately surrounded, overwhelmed, and killed.

The only thing that Han Li was wary of was that a devilish ambush couldve been set up near the formation. Of course, with his current level of powers, even if there were an ambush, it wouldnt be much of a problem.

Aside from Sacred Ancestor clones, even the average late-Body Integration Stage being wouldnt be able to defeat him. The probability of being chased by Sacred Ancestor clones again was downright negligible, so he didnt have anything to worry about.

After all, those Sacred Ancestor clones had descended into this realm to command the devilish army, they certainly couldnt just wait somewhere just to ambush someone.

In fact, there was even quite a low probability that devilish lords would appear here.

This was an important point in the devilish armys assault on Deep Heaven City, they werent going to waste their most powerful beings by making them undertake such trivial duties.

Not long after that, the azure streak of light began to approach the mountain range up ahead.

All of a sudden, Han Lis expression changed slightly, and the azure light around his body faded as he stopped just outside the mountain then, peered deep into it through narrowed eyes.

Blue light flashed through his pupils, and everything up ahead was instantly made clear to him.

As a result, he was greeted by the sight of several tens of streaks of light flying toward him in a panicked manner.

Behind these streaks of light was a dense black devilish cloud that was giving chase in hot pursuit, and within this devilish cloud were ferocious devilish beasts and weapon-wielding devilish armored warriors.

Behind the several tens of streaks of light, there was an elderly man controlling a pair of flying swords, one azure and one yellow, to attack the devilish cloud with all his might.

The flying swords shot forth as sword projections that transformed into a giant sword that was several hundred feet in size to briefly stall the devilish cloud.

The two flying swords were immensely powerful and seemed to be beyond what the elderly man could wield with his Spatial Tempering Stage cultivation base.

With each sword strike that was unleashed, the elderly mans face would pale slightly, and when his face had become completely devoid of color, he opened his mouth to expel two balls of blood essence onto the flying swords.

The sword projections unleashed by the flying swords instantly became more dazzling than before, and the sword projections slew a large number of devilish beasts and devilish warriors before they had a chance to evade.

After several successive sword strikes, several hundred devilish warriors had been reduced to ashes.

This had clearly enraged the high-grade devilish beings hiding deep within the devilish cloud, and a thunderous roar abruptly rang out, following which an inky-black flying trident shot forth out of the devilish cloud.

The trident extended to over 1,000 feet in length in a flash before hurtling directly toward a powerful sword projection, and an earth-shattering boom erupted.

The two clashed violently before the sword projection faded, revealing a flying sword that flew back toward the elderly man.

As for the flying trident, it emitted an anguished wail before also flying back toward the devilish cloud, seemingly having been severely damaged during that clash.

How dare you ruin my treasure? Im going to make you regret ever being born once I capture you! A furious roar rang out, presumably from the high-grade devilish being who was the owner of the flying trident.

Immediately thereafter, the devilish cloud surged before rising up to around twice its original height and sweeping directly toward the elderly man.

The elderly mans expression changed drastically upon seeing this, and he hurriedly sheathed his flying swords before flying back as an azure and yellow streak of light.

With the elderly mans valiant efforts in impeding the devilish clouds, all of the disciples had already fled to close to 100 kilometers away.

However, the devilish beings within the devilish cloud naturally werent going to be willing to give up. Fierce devilish winds were swept up, and they continued to give chase. reewebove.com

The elderly man pulled out several pills as he flew through the air, and he didnt even bother to look at them before stuffing all of them into his own mouth as he appraised the devilish cloud with a grim expression.

He had already been extremely cautious when venturing into the canyon in search of the teleportation formation with his two junior martial brothers, but they still fell into a devilish ambush and were surrounded by seven or eight high-grade devilish beings.

In the end, his two junior martial brothers had detonated their own Nascent Souls souls to severely wound several of the high-grade devilish beings. Otherwise, even he wouldve most likely also perished at the scene.

Even so, they were currently in a dire situation, and it seemed that he was only delaying the inevitable.

The flying swords that he was wielding were the most prized treasures of the Huo Li Sect, and even though they were powerful enough to stall the devilish cloud, wielding them required a vast amount of energy expenditure, and the elderly mans magic power had almost been completely spent.

This was also why he hadnt continued to remain behind to keep the devilish cloud at bay.

Even though most of the disciples of the sect had managed to escape, it would only be a matter of time before they were chased down by the devilish cloud.

On top of that, this area had been taken over by the devilish army, so unless a miracle were to take place, it would be virtually impossible to truly escape.

The more the elderly pondered the situation, the more his heart began to sink. He knew that they were in a virtually unsalvageable situation, but he could only hope against hope that they could somehow be saved.

Thus, the group of Huo Li Sect cultivators continued to flee, and soon, the edge of the mountain range was in sight.

At this point, around a dozen of the weakest disciples among them had already fallen behind and were about to be engulfed by the devilish cloud.

Low roars rang out from the devilish beasts within the devilish cloud, and menacing looks also appeared on the faces of the armored devilish warriors, while the lagging disciples faces turned deathly pale.

The sword-bearing elderly man heaved a forlorn internal sigh before turning around and hurtling directly toward the devilish cloud again.

A burst of raucous laughter rang out from within the devilish cloud, following which four burly Spatial Tempering Stage high-grade devilish beings emerged together.

One of them was wielding a black devilish trident, it was none other than the high-grade devilish being that had just repelled the elderly mans flying sword.

The other three devilish beings possessed powers that werent inferior to this devil in the slightest.

Just as the elderly man was about to reach the devilish cloud, the four devils hurtled their treasures upward in unison.

A giant black trident, two white bone swords, a giant blue sword, and a mountainous yellow brick emerged in mid-air, then trapped the elderly man and forced him to stop.

Immediately thereafter, the five treasures crashed violently toward the elderly man at the behest of the four devilish beings.

A wry smile appeared on the elderly mans face upon seeing this, and he could only inject what little remained of his magic power into his two flying swords.

A loud buzzing sound instantly rang out from the two swords, and they transformed into a pair of giant sword projections again, then conjured up a thick sword barrier that shielded him from above.

These two flying swords were indeed remarkable treasures, but the collective attacks from those four devilish beings were nothing to be scoffed at, either.

Following a heavy blow from all five treasures, the sword barrier completely shattered, and the five treasures continued to descend toward him with devastating might.

The elderly mans face paled even further upon seeing this, and in his desperation, he could only open his mouth to expel a burst of azure light as one final struggle.

However, right at this moment, a cold male voice suddenly sounded nearby.

Hmph, to think that even a few Spatial Tempering Stage pieces of devilish trash dare to try and kill someone in my presence! Your lives will be the ones coming to an end here!

As soon as the male voice trailed off, a loud thunderclap rang out, and a humanoid figure appeared no more than 10 feet away from the elderly man, then made a grabbing motion upward in a nonchalant-looking manner.

The five devilish treasures that were descending from above abruptly shuddered before being repelled as if they had been struck by some kind of tremendous force. At the same time, the four high-grade devilish beings instantly lost control over their treasures, and this was naturally quite an alarming turn of events for them.

If you really want him dead and he manages to return alive, I can take him out in your stead. That way, no one will be able to link his death to you, the woman suggested in a cold voice.

Patriarch Ao Xiao shook his head without any hesitation. Theres no need for that.

The masked woman seemed to know a lot about Silvermoons situation, and she asked in a slightly surprised manner, Why is that? Has Young Mistress Ling Long already been made aware of his existence?

Ive kept all news of this man a secret from her this entire time, and shes constantly been by my side, so she hasnt had any interaction with the outside world. However, she suddenly received news about this man a while back from a friend of hers, and thus, she was made aware that he had ascended into the Spirit Realm and become a Body Integration cultivator, thats why she insisted on coming with me on this trip. If something happens to that Han brat, shell inevitably suspect my involvement even if theres no evidence, and that would make it even more difficult for her to iron out her mental state. Of course, if he perishes by the hands of devilish beings, then that would be a different story altogether, Patriarch Ao Xiao explained.

That makes things rather troublesome. However, its not impossible for me to make it so that he does perish by the hands of devilish beings, the masked woman chuckled in response, seemingly very eager to have Han Li killed.

Dont even think about it, no means no. Our battle against the devilish army is about to commence, all Body Integration cultivators are extremely valuable resources that cant be expended without good reason. Otherwise, I wouldve killed Tian Kui already. In comparison with that Han brat, Im far more eager to see him dead, Patriarch Ao Xiao commanded in an implacable voice.

In that case, I wont meddle in this matter. Having said that, I really am very interested in this so-called freakish cultivation prodigy, the masked woman chuckled.

Liao Ying, how many years have you been a shadow guard of mine? Patriarch Ao Xiao suddenly asked.

The masked woman faltered slightly upon hearing this before asking in a surprised manner, Around 50,000 to 60,000 years now. Why do you ask, Master?

Back when I saved you from that spatial storm, you vowed to serve me for 100,000 years and signed a 100,000-year soul contract with me. I intend to transfer the remaining on the contract to Ling Long, what do you think? Patriarch Ao Xiao asked in a serious voice.

Master Ao Xiao, I signed that soul contract as I was grateful to you for saving my life, but the main factor contributing to my decision was the fact that youre a Grand Ascension cultivator. Otherwise, I wouldve repaid you through an alternate method. The womans brows furrowed slightly with displeasure upon hearing this.

So the only reason youre against this is because Ling Longs cultivation base is lacking? Patriarch Ao Xiao asked in a calm voice.

Indeed. Ive watched Ling Long grow up from a little girl, and Ive become quite attached to her. As such, I would be more than willing to serve her, but her cultivation base is a little too lackluster. At the very least, she has to be at the Body Integration Stage before I can consider this. As you know, there are some rules among us Liao Beasts that even I cant go against, the woman sighed in a rather forlorn manner.

Patriarch Ao Xiao smiled, and said, If thats the only issue, then you can rest assured, Ling Long will be able to progress to the Body Integration Stage within the next century, and theres even a chance that she could reach the Grand Ascension Stage in the future.

What do you mean by that, Master Ao Xiao? the masked woman asked as a hint of bewilderment flashed through her eyes.

I havent told you this yet, but Ling Long has already awakened the Seven Star Moon Physique. Do you think what Im saying is an exaggeration now? In order to avoid potential mishaps, I havent revealed this information to anyone else, Patriarch Ao Xiao said in a solemn manner.

The masked woman contemplated the situation in silence for a while before nodding in a slightly reluctant manner. I see. In that case, I would be open to considering this, but Ill have to verify everything for myself.

Patriarch Ao Xiaos expression eased upon hearing this, and said, Good. With you by Ling Longs side, I wont have to worry about her before she reaches the height of her powers. Lets not drag this out for too long, Ill prove to you that Ling Long has awakened the Seven Star Moon Physique and transfer the soul contract over to her within the next few days.

The masked woman nodded before asking, Im naturally willing to cooperate, but may I ask why youre in such a hurry, Master Ao Xiao? Could it be that youre preparing backup options for Young Mistress Ling Long as youre not confident in the upcoming battle?

Hehe, if I didnt have any confidence, then I wouldnt have made this trip in person. I dont know what the Elder Devil Race is planning, but with the Grand Ascension Stage beings of the other races on our side, we have a good chance of securing victory. I cant disclose any further details than that, but its necessary for me to take some precautionary measures. Even without this devilish tribulation, I wont be able to withstand my next heavenly tribulation anyway, so I have to start thinking for the future when Im gone, Patriarch Ao Xiao said with a nonchalant smile. The masked womans heart stirred upon hearing this, but she didnt say anything further.

After a while, Patriarch Ao Xiao continued, Theres nothing else I need you to take care of for now, so you can go. Were going to begin investigations to weed out the devilish spies on the island soon, make sure you dont get discovered. Otherwise, the ensuing misunderstanding could lead to a lot of trouble. At the very least, youll no longer be able to use your current false identity.

Yes, Master. Ill be taking my leave now. The masked woman nodded before her body gradually turned transparent again, and she vanished amid a burst of faint spatial fluctuations.

Following her departure, Patriarch Ao Xiao sat in silence by himself for a while longer before heaving a faint sigh and closing his eyes again.

Meanwhile, in a small mountain range close to 100,000 kilometers away from Deep Heaven City, there was a group of red-robed human cultivators hiding on a mountain summit while appraising an extremely secluded small canyon in the distance.

The group of cultivators was comprised of men and women of all ages, and there were a few elderly men and women among them who possessed immense magic power.

However, all of them were looking rather worse for wear and seemed to have only arrived here after a long journey.

An elderly man with two longswords strapped to his back withdrew his gaze before turning to an elderly man beside him with a scar on his face. Junior Martial Brother Li, are you sure that theres a teleportation formation in that canyon thatll take us directly to Deep Heaven City?

Rest assured, Senior Martial Brother, this teleportation formation is designated for elders of Deep Heaven City, so extremely few people know about it. I only heard about it as one of my old acquaintances is a Heavenly Guard looking after the formation, and he unintentionally revealed its existence to me during a drunken rant, the scarred elderly man immediately replied.

I wouldnt be so confident. Its been quite a long time since those devils took over this area, even the most secluded of teleportation formations couldve been tracked down by now, the elderly man said with a concerned shake of his head.

The problem is that Deep Heaven City has been sealed off by the devilish beings now, and it would be nothing short of suicide to try and reach it directly, Junior Martial Brother Lis suggestion is our only hope, a hideous elderly woman interjected.

The sword-bearing elderly man gritted his teeth, and said, Indeed, Junior Martial Sister, we have no alternatives. If we keep hiding out in the open like this, then our Huo Li Sect will inevitably be hunted down eventually. Only by making it into Deep Heaven City will we be able to ensure that the heritage of our sect gets passed on. We have no choice but to take a risk.

The scarred elderly man was ecstatic to hear this. Youve definitely made the right decision, Senior Martial Brother! In the past, even the three sovereign cities have been conquered during previous devilish tribulations, only Deep Heaven City has a spotless track record. If we can get into the city, then well be saved for sure. Ill send some disciples to scout the area right away.

Theres no need for that. If the devilish beings have set up traps around the area, then normal disciples most likely wont be able to discover them, it would be best if we made a trip there ourselves. Even if we do end up falling into a trap, ordinary devilish beings wont be able to stop us anyway, the sword-bearing elderly man countered.

Alright, well do as you say then, Senior Martial Brother. Junior Martial Brother Li and I will come along with you, the elderly woman agreed after a brief moment of contemplation.

No, you stay behind, Junior Martial Sister. Your powers are only second only to mine in our sect, so we have to keep you here as a backup option. If something happens, dont wait for us, get away from here with the disciples right away. Junior Martial Brother Li, Junior Martial Brother Yang, you two can come with me. One of you has information about the teleportation formation, and the other is adept in the art of formations, so both of you possess useful skill sets, the sword-bearing elderly man instructed.

The scarred elderly man and a refined elderly scholar immediately gave affirmative responses.

Thus, after issuing a few more instructions, the sword-bearing elderly man departed for the canyon with his two junior martial brothers.

The remaining human cultivators looked on from their hiding spots with nervous expressions.

Unbeknownst to them, there was a faint streak of azure light that was also hurtling toward the same target several thousand kilometers away.

Within the streak of azure light was a young man who appeared to be in his twenties, and he was currently fiddling around with a miniature black mountain in his hands.

On his shoulders sat a little girl who appeared to be around three or four years of age. She had delicate fair skin, and an adorably chubby little face. She had one hand grabbing onto Han Lis robes, and an unknown spirit that she was munching on in her other hand.

Silvermoon opened her mouth to say something, but swallowed her words in the end, and replied, Yes, Grandfather.

Just as Patriarch Ao Xiao was about to say something further, his expression suddenly changed as he cast his gaze toward the gate of the pavilion.

Moments later, the sound of footsteps rang out, and a young female servant appeared outside before informing in a respectful voice, Master Ao Xiao, there are two elders of the island here to see you.

Oh? They sure arent wasting any time. Tell them to come in, Patriarch Ao Xiao instructed as his expression eased slightly.

The servant gave an affirmative response before departing.

A short while later, the white-haired elderly man and the man with the Xu surname strode into the room, and they immediately extended respectful bows at the sight of Patriarch Ao Xiao.

We pay our respects to Senior Ao Xiao. What would you like us to do for you? Elder Xu asked.

Theres no hurry, take a seat first, Patriarch Ao Xiao said with a smile as he pointed at the chairs beside him.

The two elders naturally didnt dare to raise any objections, and they expressed their gratitude before taking a seat as they were told. гeewbnovel.com

Come to think of it, both of you have some ties with me. One of you is a descendent of an old acquaintance of mine, while the other is Fellow Daoist Mos in-name disciple. I have something important that I need to have done, and I only feel comfortable entrusting this task to you two, Patriarch Ao Xiao said in a benevolent manner.

The two elders were clearly quite flattered to hear this, and Elder Xu immediately said, Please tell us what youd like us to do, Senior.

I heard from Fellow Daoist Mo that when hes not on the holy island, the onus of leadership falls upon you, Fellow Daoist Luo. In that case, I need you to search for some treasures and materials for me. These items are all quite rare, we have leads on the whereabouts of some of them, but youll have to search for the other ones. My only requirements are that these things have to be gathered in secret, and that they be gathered as quickly as possible, Patriarch Ao Xiao replied.

The white-haired elderly man faltered slightly upon hearing this before immediately nodding in agreement. Ill send out some trustworthy people to gather the items right away, and well make sure to keep things strictly confidential.

Good. Here is a list of what I want. Patriarch Ao Xiao raised a sleeve as he spoke, and a jade slip flew out from within.

The white-haired elderly man immediately stood up and caught the jade slip before stowing it away up his sleeve without even looking at it, showing through his actions that he was going to do his best to track the items in the jade slip regardless of what they were.

A pleased look appeared on Patriarch Ao Xiaos face upon seeing this, and he turned to Elder Xu next. Junior Xu, I need you to take a trip to the primordial world to meet a few mighty figures from the other races. As for what you need to do after you meet up with them, thats all recorded in this jade slip. Make sure to keep what youre doing a secret from the rest of the island as well.

Ill be sure to do so, Elder Xu replied in a respectful manner as he also rose to his feet.

These two tasks concern the three devilish patriarchs, and Fellow Daoist Mo is aware of them as well. Ill only give you a maximum of five years to complete these tasks. If you exceed that time limit, severe consequences could follow, do you understand? A serious look appeared on Patriarch Ao Xiaos face as he spoke.

The two Body Integration Stage elders were ecstatic to hear that countermeasures were being prepared against the devilish patriarchs, and they exchanged an elated glance before vowing, Rest assured, Senior, well be sure to complete the tasks in time even if it costs us our lives!

Alright, thats all for now, go and get started on that right away, and make sure the tasks are completed as soon as possible, Patriarch Ao Xiao instructed as he raised a hand to toss another jade slip toward Elder Xu.

The two elders didnt dare to say anything further, and they both extended respectful bows before departing from the pavilion.

Following their departure, Silvermoons brows furrowed slightly as she asked, Grandfather, are those two trustworthy? Arent there already devilish spies who have infiltrated the holy island?

Hehe, if even these two are untrustworthy, then no one is trustworthy. They were recommended to be by Mo Jianli as neither of them have left the holy island in the past 1,000 years. Besides, if they really were devilish spies, do you think I wouldve failed to identify them? At the very least, there shouldnt be any major issues with the holy island elders that we saw earlier, and thats already very good news, Patriarch Ao Xiao replied with a faint smile.

Silvermoons expression eased slightly upon hearing this, and she extended a curtsey toward Patriarch Ao Xiao as she said, In that case, it seems I was overthinking things. Ill be going to rest now.

Patriarch Ao Xiao nodded with a tender look in his eyes. Go on. Weve been traveling for several months, so youre indeed in need of some rest.

You have some rest too, Grandfather. You only just recently recovered from your tribulation transcendence, dont pile too much work on yourself, Silvermoon replied.

Haha, do you really think Ive become a useless old man? Ao Xiao chuckled in a nonchalant manner.

Silvermoon smiled, and said, Not at all! With your current appearance, no one would bat an eyelid even if I were to claim that you were my brother, youre far from an old man!

After that, she turned and strode out of the room, and her spritely footsteps indicated that her mood had improved significantly.

Following Silvermoons departure, Patriarch Ao Xiaos smile faded, and he sighed to himself, I really hope she doesnt decide to cultivate that Art of Indifference.

Despite what he was saying, he displayed no intention to go after Silvermoon and merely closed his eyes as he began to meditate in his chair.

After a while, he opened his eyes, and suddenly said, Show yourself!

I pay my respects to Master Ao Xiao!

A female voice rang out nearby, and spatial fluctuations erupted, following which a semi-transparent figure appeared several tens of feet away from Patriarch Ao Xiao.

The figure then gradually became clearer and revealed itself to be a slender woman in a tight-fitting black robe.

She wore a copper wolf-head mask, and her hands were also sheathed in a pair of black gloves, so she wasnt revealing even a single sliver of skin.

Welcome back, Liao Ying. Even after so many years, this get-up of yours still hasnt changed at all, Patriarch Ao Xiao said as a hint of amusement appeared in his eyes.

The woman extended a respectful curtsey as she replied, You also look like you havent aged a single day, Master. I had been concerned for a long time after I heard that you had been injured during your tribulation transcendence, its quite a relief to see that youre safe and well.

Hehe, a mere heavenly tribulation isnt enough to kill me. Alright, setting aside the pleasantries for now, I ordered to stay on the holy island in secret as a safety precaution. Now, I need you to give me a specific run-down of the situation on the holy island. Im going to be staying here for some time, so I have to familiarize myself with the true situation on the island, Patriarch Ao Xiao said as a serious look appeared on his face.

The woman immediately did as she was told and commenced her report. The current situation on the holy island is not very optimistic, and thats mainly due to the devilish…

Patriarch Ao Xiao listened intently to her report and asked questions for further elaboration whenever there was something that he didnt quite understand.

The woman would give an answer if she had one, or merely shake her head in response to the questions that she didnt know the answer to.

At the conclusion of her report, the woman abruptly fell silent, while Patriarch Ao Xiao sat in his chair with a contemplative expression.

Finally, Patriarch Ao Xiao nodded with a pleased expression before continuing, Youve done very well, Liao Ying, the years you spent on the holy island certainly havent gone to waste. Is there any update on the person that I asked you to look into last time?

The womans brows furrowed slightly, and she was silent for a moment before replying in a truthful manner, Ive done my best to gather information on that man, but he hasnt ever set foot on the holy island, and there are many rumors about him, but very little detailed information that I could find. On top of that, he seems to be very focused on his cultivation and rarely interacts with anyone, which is probably why he was able to make such extraordinary progress in his cultivation base in such a short time. Ive already organized all of the information that I have on him, would you like me give it all to you now? Most of the information I have are unsubstantiated rumors, so do take care when reading through it.

Regardless of whether the information is real or not, I have to take a look at it. Its only been less than 2,000 years since he ascended to the Spirit Realm, and hes already forged such a resounding reputation for himself. Most importantly, hes the main factor behind the flaws in Ling Longs mental state, let me see exactly what makes him so special! Patriarch Ao Xiao said as a cold look appeared in his eyes.

The black-robed woman gave an affirmative response before raising a hand to release a ball of azure light.

Patriarch Ao Xiao made a grabbing motion and to draw the ball of azure light into his hand, then injected his spiritual sense into it.

After a short while, he finished examining the information, but seemed to be rather displeased by what he had seen. Why is there so little information? And most of this stuff is downright absurd! Youre telling me that he was able to match a late-Body Integration cultivator in battle at just the early-Body Integration Stage? Do you even believe this yourself?

Ive merely gathered all of the information on him that I could find, youll have to decide whether the information is real or not. After all, you never ordered me to track him in person to gather more information, and now, its too late, he was hunted by devilish beings not long ago and has since disappeared, the woman replied in a serious manner.

He disappeared? Is that true? Hmph, what a lucky little brat. His name is Han Li, right? How dare a mere ascended cultivator like him disrupt Ling Longs mental state? Because of him, shes been unable to make a breakthrough that shouldve come easily to her. He deserves to be killed thousands of times for what hes done! Patriarch Ao Xiao said as a hint of killing intent flashed through his eyes.

One of my seniors is an old acquaintance of Senior Aos, so I did see him from afar a few times, the man replied in an ambiguous manner.

Oh? Then do you know why Senior Ao could be looking for you? the middle-aged woman asked.

How would I know? Im just as confused as you are, Fellow Daoist. Also, Senior Ao didnt just ask to see me on my own, he instructed both myself and Brother Luo to go and see him, so he must have something to tell us, the man replied with a shake of his head.

The middle-aged woman merely smiled and didnt pry any further into the matter.

Following Patriarch Ao Xiaos departure, the rest of the people in the hall didnt have any intention of staying behind, either. After continuing their discussion for a short while longer, the white-haired elderly man announced the conclusion of the meeting, and everyone departed from the hall.

Meanwhile, the red-haired man had already taken Patriarch Ao Xiao and Silvermoon to a secluded area on the island.

Not only was this the area on the island with the greatest abundance of spiritual Qi, there were seven or eight independent pavilions that were spaced out very far apart from one another.

Not only were these pavilions extremely intricate and well constructed, they each had a designated tool refinement chamber, pill refinement chamber, and secret chamber for cultivation purposes.

After leading Patriarch Ao Xiao to this place, the red-haired man asked him to choose a pavilion himself, only for Patriarch Ao Xiao to merely pick a pavilion at random.

The red-haired man naturally didnt dare to state any objections, and after organizing a group of servants for him and Silvermoon, he immediately departed.

Patriarch Ao Xiao sat on the main seat in the hall and raised a hand in an expressionless manner to dismiss the servants in the room. Thus, he and Silvermoon were the only people left in the hall.

He sat on his chair in silence and narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly contemplating something. All the while, Silvermoon stood peacefully beside him, content to remain silent as well.

At your current cultivation base, theres no reason why you shouldnt have made a breakthrough to the Body Integration Stage with all of the pills Ive given to you. However, youve failed thrice in the past century, it seems that the only thing holding you back is your inability to get over your own inner demons. If you fail another breakthrough attempt, then youll most likely find it very difficult to ever make a breakthrough, Patriarch Ao Xiao suddenly said.

Silvermoon lowered her head slightly, and replied, Sorry for disappointing you with my incompetence, Grandfather. гeewebnovl.com

Looks like itll be very difficult for you to undo the knot in our heart. Ever since you returned from that lower realm, youve given Tian Kui the cold shoulder and even moved in to live with me. Ive never forced you to tell me the reason for this, and I havent forced you to return to Tian Kui, either, as I wanted you to iron out your own mental state. However, not only has your mental state not improved, the knot in your heart has only grown more convoluted during these past years, Ao Xiao sighed with a shake of his head, and even though the tone he was using was quite benevolent, the faint tinge of disappointment in his voice was still quite apparent.

Grandfather, Tian Kui and I… Silvermoon raised her head to argue something, but Patriarch Ao Xiao merely raised a hand to cut her off.

Theres no need for you to explain anything, I know what you want to say. Tian Kui took advantage of my time in seclusion to break his promise to me, planning to harvest your Origin Yin Physique even before you had reached the Body Integration Stage. He failed to do that, so he employed other underhanded methods to split your soul into two, causing you to suffer through the agony of a split soul for over 1,000 years. After that, you descended into that lower realm, and the tampered with the Star Defying Plate so that you couldnt return to the Spirit Realm in time, do you really need me to run through everything he did? A furious look suddenly appeared on Patriarch Ao Xiaos face as he spoke, and he slammed his hand down onto the copper armrest of his chair.

A burst of white flames flashed, and the armrest was completely erased from existence.

You know about all of this, Grandfather? Silvermoon shuddered as her face paled drastically.

Hmph, do you really think Im so old and senile that I dont even know when someones mistreating my granddaughter? If it werent for the fact that I dont have much time left and hes the only junior I can entrust the wolf race to, I wouldve tortured him to death long ago! Patriarch Ao Xiao harrumphed coldly.

Silvermoons face paled even further upon hearing this, and a wry smile appeared on her face as she said, The blame cant be entirely pinned on him. Technically, Im his main concubine, and his cultivation base hadnt progressed in many years. He knew that my Origin Yin Physique could help him break through his bottleneck, so its inevitable that he would try something.

Youre still speaking out for his sake? Before you married him, you were already the holy maiden of our Silvermoon Race. Prior to attaining full mastery of that Silvermoon Cultivation Art, your lifespan would be significantly cut short if you were to lose your virginity, theres no way that he wouldnt have been aware of this. On top of that, after he married you, he took on many more concubines and never considered your feelings. It seems that ever since he became a demon monarch, hes forgotten that our Silvermoon Race is the premier branch of the wolf race. If it werent for the fact that all of my juniors possess lackluster cultivation aptitude and none of them have reached the Body Integration Stage, theres no way I wouldve resorted to assisting an outsider like him to become the wolf monarch. A cold look appeared in Patriarch Ao Xiaos eyes as he spoke.

Silvermoon bit down on her lower lip, but heaved a faint sigh and remained silent in the end.

However, following the ordeal that you suffered in that lower realm, you awakened your Seven Star Moon Physique, so thats an unexpected silver lining on the situation. With your past cultivation aptitude, the Spatial Tempering Stage wouldve been your limit, but with this Seven Star Moon Physique, its not impossible for you to reach the Grand Ascension Stage in the future. I didnt possess exceptional cultivation aptitude in my youth, either, only after awakening the same physique was I able to reach my current cultivation base. Patriarch Ao Xiaos eyes gradually began to light up as he spoke.

However, Silvermoons face remained deathly pale as she shook her head in response. I would rather not have this physique if it means I couldve avoided the ordeal I had to go through.

I know youve been through a lot these past years, but seeing as you now have the potential to progress to the Body Integration Stage, I can cast aside the inhibitions I once had. Tian Kui had better pray that he perishes in battle against the devilish army. Otherwise, once the devilish tribulation ends, Ill subject him to a fate worse than death!

Silvermoons heart jolted with shock upon hearing this. You dont mean…

Patriarch Ao Xiao continued, Theres no rule prohibiting a woman from becoming one of the seven demon monarchs. I had always been reluctant to make an outsider the wolf monarch, and Tian Kui has betrayed my trust, so Im naturally going to strip him of the title of wolf monarch.

Silvermoons mouth gaped open upon hearing this, and only after a long while did she murmur in response, That doesnt seem to be appropriate.

Patriarch Ao Xiao reverted back to his usual calm expression, but his voice cooled significantly as he asked, Why is that? Im not plotting against Tian Kui for no reason, he only has himself to blame for what hes done to you. Are you still harboring feelings toward him?

Silvermoon hesitated momentarily before replying with a wry smile, Of course I no longer harbor any feelings for him after what he did to me, its just that even though Ive attained this physique, theres still no guarantee that Ill be able to progress to the Body Integration Stage. If I fail to do so, then our wolf race will still need Tian Kui as our leader.

Indeed, it seems you wont be able to progress to the Body Integration Stage so long as youre unable to overcome your inner demons. Now that were in the midst of this devilish tribulation, we cant afford to wait for you to make slow and steady progress. If something were to happen to me during this devilish tribulation, you would be in an extremely perilous situation. So be it, Ill have to make an exception and do something drastic. Take a look at whats in this jade slip, Patriarch Ao Xiao sighed with furrowed brows before suddenly opening his mouth to expel an azure jade slip that hovered toward Silvermoon.

Silvermoon was a little perplexed, but she still caught the jade slip before pressing it against her own forehead.

After injecting her spiritual sense into the jade slip, she immediately exclaimed, Art of Indifference?

Thats right. This Art of Indifference is an ancient secret technique that I stumbled upon many years ago. Not only is it extremely powerful, cultivating it will have incredible effects on ones mental state. If you decide to cultivate it, Ill use other secret techniques to help you achieve elementary mastery of this art as quickly as possible. Thatll most likely be enough to iron out the flaws in your mental state, and a breakthrough to the Body Integration Stage should be all but assured at that point. However, as the name of the cultivation art suggests, using it will inflict upon your severe side-effects. Apparently, as one progresses in this cultivation art, their emotions and desires will gradually fade, and they could even become completely non-existent once full mastery is achieved. Thats not too much of an issue, but the most important thing is that the cultivation method of this secret technique is rather extreme, and itll most likely have a severe impact on your progression to the Grand Ascension Stage in the future. Ill let you weigh up the pros and cons involved for yourself, Patriarch Ao Xiao said with a slightly conflicted expression.

Silvermoons expression changed several times upon hearing this, and she seemed to be rather hesitant.

As for Patriarch Ao Xiao, he slowly closed his eyes and didnt say anything further, waiting patiently for Silvermoon to make a decision.

After a long while, Silvermoon removed the jade slip from her forehead and lowered her head to contemplate her options.

After a while longer, she seemed to have made a decision, and she adopted a serious expression as she asked, Grandfather, will this secret technique really allow me to progress to the Body Integration Stage prior to our final battle against the devilish army?

Patriarch Ao Xiao reopened his eyes, and replied, I cant make any guarantees, but theres at least a 70% to 80% chance that it will. Otherwise, I wouldnt be bringing it out for your consideration. Having said that, theres no hurry, you can think about this for a few days before getting back to me.

The silver-haired woman also strode into the hall and stood behind Patriarch Ao Xiao, completely ignoring everyones bewildered eyes.

The white-haired elderly swept his spiritual sense toward the woman to find that she was a late-Spatial Tempering Stage demonic cultivator, and he couldnt help but ask, May I ask who this is?

This is my granddaughter, Ling Long. You may not have met her before, but Im sure youve heard of her, Patriarch Ao Xiao replied.

A hint of surprise flashed through the elderly mans eyes upon hearing this, and he said in a polite manner, Oh, its Fairy Ling Long, please forgive me for my rudeness.

Indeed, this woman was none other than Silvermoon, who had parted ways with Han Li in the human world over 1,000 years ago.

Of course, this Silvermoon was different from the Silvermoon of the past, she had fused the split soul and possessed the complete soul of Silvermoon.

Everyone else was also rather surprised to hear who this woman was.

The holy island held a very special status among both the human and demon races, so the beings on the island naturally paid close attention to the seven demon monarchs that ruled over the demon race.

Fairy Ling Long was Wolf Monarch Tian Kuis concubine, and she had once been sealed in the human world for many years. All of the elders of the holy island had heard about how her relationship with Wolf Monarch Tian Kui had become rather strained following her return to the Spirit Realm, even though this was only the first time that they had met her.

Silvermoon paid no heed to this and merely stood in silence behind Patriarch Ao Xiao with her head slightly lowered.

Senior Ao Xiao, to what do we owe this pleasure? Have you recovered from your last tribulation transcendence? the red-haired man asked in a respectful manner.

My last tribulation transcendence was indeed a bit of an ordeal, but after resting for so many years, Ive already completely recovered. Otherwise, I wouldnt have appeared here. As for why I came to the holy island, I was naturally invited here by Fellow Daoist Mo, Patriarch Ao Xiao said with a faint smile.

Does this mean youve already met Senior Mo? Thats fantastic news! He also fell completely into obscurity after leaving the holy island all those years ago, and weve been very concerned about him, the clean-shaven man said as an ecstatic look appeared in his eyes.

Hehe, hes not even as old as I am, theres no need to be concerned for him. Alright, I wont waste any further time with my rambling. On this occasion, I was asked to come here by Fellow Daoist Mo to deliver a message for him, and also to remain on the island for a while, Patriarch Ao Xiao said.

The clean-shaven mans heart stirred upon hearing this, and he asked in a respectful manner, What message does Senior Mo have for us?

Fellow Daoist Mo recently received news that the location of the holy island seems to have been leaked to the Elder Devil Race. The devilish army currently doesnt possess the power to pose a threat to the holy island yet, but we still have to take some precautions just in case. The holy island holds an extremely important status in our two races, if something were to happen to this place, morale would plummet to an unsalvageable degree, Patriarch Ao Xiao said as a grim look appeared on his face.

The location of the holy island has been leaked again? But thats impossible! The holy island only just teleported to a new location, it wont be able to teleport again in the near future, one of the Body Integration Stage beings present exclaimed.

Theres no need to panic, Ill be here to hold down the fort. The fact that the location of the holy island was leaked again in such a short time indicates that a devilish spy has most likely infiltrated the island. However, the spy shouldnt be very troublesome to track down, we just have to investigate all of the people who have entered the island since the commencement of the devilish tribulation to find the culprit, Patriarch Ao Xiao said in a cold voice.

The white-haired elderly mans heart jolted upon hearing this, and he hurriedly cupped his fist in a salute as he said, Ill organize some people to conduct an investigation right away.

Patriarch Ao Xiao nodded in response, and after a brief pause, he said something that came as quite a surprise to everyone. The other message that Fellow Daoist Mo wanted me to relay is that we need to adjust the countermeasures weve originally prepared against the devilish army.

Why is that? Those countermeasures are all powerful trump cards that took us and Senior Mo over 100 years to devise, surely there wont be any issues with them, the elderly woman asked.

This is most likely a decision that Fellow Daoist Mo made after meeting the Grand Ascension Stage fellow daoists of the other races. I presume he mustve identified some fallacies in the original countermeasures that had been prepared through his communication with those fellow daoists. Rest assured, this doesnt require everything to be torn down and redone anew, only two or three of the countermeasures will need to be adjusted, Ill disclose the specific details to all of you later. Coincidentally, one of the adjustments that need to be made makes the Pipe Dream Stone Spirit redundant as Fellow Daoist Mo has already decided to substitute it with something else. This substitute will only produce a better effect than what it originally wouldve been, and Ive brought the substitute along with me. Patriarch Ao Xiao flipped a hand over as he spoke to produce a jade vial, which he tossed toward the white-haired elderly man.

The elderly man caught the box before removing the lid in a befuddled manner, upon which a stunned look appeared on his face. This is…

Patriarch Ao Xiao raised a hand to cut the elderly man off. If you know what it is, then keep it to yourself, its best to have as little people know about this thing as possible for now.

The other holy island elders were quite curious about what was in the box, but it was naturally inappropriate for them to pry into such matters.

The elderly man hurriedly gave an affirmative response before carefully stowing the jade box up his sleeve.

The elderly woman hesitated momentarily before asking, By the way, Senior, have you heard that theres a chance the three devilish patriarchs could descend into our Spirit Realm?

I have indeed heard of this, and it was Fellow Daoist Mo who informed me of this in person, Patriarch Ao Xiao replied in a calm manner.

His calm display instilled everyone in the hall with a lot of confidence, and a hint of elation appeared in the elderly womans eyes as she asked, Does this mean youve already thought of a countermeasure against them, Senior?

As opposed to giving a definitive response, Patriarch Ao Xiao waved a hand, and replied in a nonchalant manner, Hehe, even the average Sacred Ancestor has to expend a vast amount of power to get their true body to descend into the Spirit Realm, let alone the three devilish patriarchs, it wont be that easy for them to make their way into this realm. Its still too early to be discussing something like this, we can consider it after we deal with the current threat posed by the devilish army.

All of the Body Integration Stage beings present were left exchanging befuddled glances upon hearing this.

The white-haired elderly man cleared his throat and gave the red-haired man a meaningful look.

The red-haired man seemed to have been reminded of something upon seeing the elderly mans silent signals, and he hurriedly changed the subject. Indeed, its still too early to be discussing the three devilish patriarchs. Would you like to hear about some of the specific measures weve prepared on the holy island, Senior Ao Xiao? There are some issues that were unable to resolve, and well require a verdict from you.

A hint of a smile appeared on Patriarch Ao Xiaos face as he nodded in response. Sure, go ahead.

Firstly, in order to deal with those low-grade devilish beasts, weve been nurturing an army of spirit beasts, and that army is basically complete. Weve also begun breeding some ferocious insects with shorter lifespans, and they should just about reach maturity once our final battle against the devilish army commences. Also, in order to refine those Profound Heavenly Holy Artifacts, weve moved all of the tool refinement masters of our human race onto the island, and they should be able to begin refining the treasures in about half a year. The only matter of concern is that there are several types of materials that are still yet to be delivered to the island, and theyll only be able to get to us after passing through several areas currently controlled by the devilish beings. Hence, we have to decide on someone to send out to receive the materials. I suggest…

The red-haired man seemed to be responsible for taking care of all general matters on the island, and Patriarch Ao Xiao listened in silence to his report. His expression remained completely unchanged, but the contemplative look in his eyes suggested that he was considering all of the matters that were being raised.

After the red-haired man finished, some of the other people in the hall also stepped forward to report some other matters.

Only after two hours had passed did everyone finish delivering their reports.

After hearing what everyone had to say, Patriarch Ao Xiao didnt make a single decision. Instead, he suddenly rose to his feet with a smile, and said, It sounds like youve all done quite well. These are all matters that you can take care of on your own, theres no need for an old geezer like me to go around barking orders. Im rather weary from my journey to get here, so Ill be going to rest now.

Everyone else exchanged a few wide-eyed glances upon hearing this.

The red-haired man was the first to react, and he hurriedly rose to his feet before extending a respectful bow. In that case, please allow me to organize a place for you to stay, Senior.

Patriarch Ao Xiao nodded before making his way out of the hall in an unhurried manner, followed closely by Silvermoon.

Only then did everyone else in the hall react to the situation, and they all stood up to bid Patriarch Ao Xiao farewell.

Just as Patriarch Ao Xiao had made it to the entrance of the hall, a thought seemed to suddenly occur to him, and he turned back before pointing at two of the people in the hall as he said, By the way, you two, come and see me later, I have something to discuss with you.

The people that he had pointed to were the white-haired elderly man and a tall and thin man who had barely spoken at all.

The two of them faltered slightly before hurriedly giving an affirmative response.

Patriarch Ao Xiao nodded before departing from the hall, and as soon as he left, a middle-aged woman who appeared to be in her forties turned to the tall and thin man before asking, Do you know Patriarch Ao Xiao, Fellow Daoist Xu?

It seems that only the Sacred Ancestors are aware of the reason behind this desperate devilish invasion, even the average devilish lord has been kept completely in the dark. Weve taken huge risks in the past to capture devilish lords alive, but weve been unable to glean any relevant information even after using soul search techniques on them, the white-robed woman said in a resigned manner.

Hmph, regardless of why the Elder Devil Race is doing this, we definitely cant allow them to do as they please. The backup measures weve prepared have all been implemented, and two of them are mostly complete, they should be enough to put a severe dent in the devilish army. Even if the true bodies of some Sacred Ancestors were to descend into the Spirit Realm, it wont make any difference. The only matter of concern is that our sources have confirmed that the three patriarchs of the Elder Devil Race will descend into the Spirit Realm together. If that happens, even if all of the Grand Ascension Stage beings of our races join forces, we most likely wont be a match for them. Ive heard that all of the three patriarchs are old monsters who have lived for hundreds of thousands of years and are only one step away from ascending to become true devils, the red-haired man said with furrowed brows.

Everyones expressions darkened even further upon hearing this, and the white-robed woman sighed, The three patriarchs of the Elder Devil Race are all Tribulation Transcendence Stage ancient devils. Even in the entire Spirit Realm, there wont be many beings who can defeat them, let alone our races. The only beings that would be capable of defeating those patriarchs would be the true spirits revered by the major races, but our races are far too weak, where are we going to find a true spirit that would be willing to help us? If we cant find a way to counter the three patriarchs, our fate will be sealed even if we can withstand the attacks from the devilish army.

Just as everyone was beginning to exchange concerned glances, a clean-shaven man suddenly spoke for the first time. Theres no need to be overly concerned. Back when Master Mo Jianli left the holy island, he said that he would seek out the Grand Ascension Stage beings of the other races to devise a way to counter the devilish patriarchs. A long time has passed since then, perhaps theyve already found a way.

Is that true, Fellow Daoist Xun? Why havent we ever heard of this? the red-haired man hurriedly asked as a surprised look appeared on his face.

Everyone else was also both surprised and elated to hear this.

Only Brother Luo and I are aware of. Prior to Senior Mos departure, he had told us not to reveal this information unless the situation demanded it, so we never mentioned it to anyone. Now, the situation seems to be dire enough for me to divulge this information, the clean-shaven man sighed.

Is that true, Brother Luo? the white-robed woman immediately turned to the elderly man for confirmation.

Hehe, Fellow Daoist Xun speaks the truth, Senior Mo did indeed inform the two of us of this prior to his departure, the white-haired elderly man confirmed with a smile.

Thats great! That must mean that Senior Mo already has a plan. It looks theres a good chance well be able to transcend this devilish tribulation in the end.

……

Everyone was very relieved to hear this, and they immediately began to discuss this new information among themselves.

Alright, before we begin discussing specific arrangements, I have something that I need to announce. Fellow Daoist Black Rain, who departed from the holy island not long ago to capture the Pipe Dream Stone Spirit, has, unfortunately, perished. He had been accompanied by Tian Chan of the Holy Sovereign City, who informed us that they had parted ways after the Pipe Dream Stone Spirit had been captured. However, not long after that, Fellow Daoist Black Rains soul lamp was snuffed out, the red-haired man said with a grim expression.

The elation in everyones eyes immediately faded upon hearing this.

Master Black Rain is a mid-Body Integration cultivator, how was he killed so quickly? Could there be some foul play involved here? the clean-shaven man asked in a suspicious manner.

I dont think so. The Pipe Dream Stone Spirit is indeed extremely rare, but its not very useful to the average person. On top of that, Fellow Daoist Tian Chan mentioned a witness. At the time, they just so happened to encounter another Body Integration Stage fellow daoist who helped them capture the stone spirit. Without his assistance, it wouldnt have been so easy for them to capture the stone spirit, the red-haired man replied with a shake of his head.

A witness? Who is it? Is it someone else from the Holy Sovereign City? the elderly woman asked with furrowed brows.

No. Come to think of it, Im sure most of you have heard of him. The other witness is Fellow Daoist Han, who progressed to the Body Integration Stage just a few centuries ago, the red-haired man revealed.

Are you referring to Han Li? I heard that hes a freakish cultivation prodigy from your human race who only took several centuries to progress from the Deity Transformation Stage to the early-Body Integration Stage, the elderly woman said with a surprised look in her eyes.

Hehe, Im afraid your information is outdated, Fellow Daoist, this Fellow Daoist Han is already a mid-Body Integration cultivator now, the white-haired elderly man chuckled.

What? He made another breakthrough? Thats way too fast! I had thought that the rumors of his cultivation aptitude were mere hyperbole, but it seems that they were understatements, if anything! The elderly woman was even more astonished now. freewbne.com

All of the other Body Integration Stage beings presented were also quite stunned to hear this.

Perhaps. If it werent for the ongoing devilish tribulation, Fellow Daoist Han wouldve most likely already become a member of our holy island. Setting that aside for now, have you tracked down Fellow Daoist Han to ascertain the details of what happened to Fellow Daoist Black Rain? the white-haired elderly man asked.

I tried to do that, but after getting into contact with Deep Heaven City, I was told that Fellow Daoist Han had disappeared. It seems that that time of his disappearance coincides with that of Fellow Daoist Black Rains death, the red-haired man replied with a wry smile.

He disappeared? The elderly mans expression darkened upon hearing this.

According to the information we received from Deep Heaven City, Fellow Daoist Han encountered the clone of a Sacred Ancestor while reinforcing Heavenlean City, and he had gone missing after that. However, according to Fellow Daoist Tian Chan, Fellow Daoist Han had most likely encountered Tian Chan and Black Rain after he had escaped from the clone of that Sacred Ancestor. However, after the three joined forces to capture the stone spirits, Tian Chan was the only one who returned safely to the Holy Sovereign City, while the other two both went missing, the red-haired man said.

With Fellow Daoist Hans aptitude, there may be hope for him to reach the Grand Ascension Stage in the future. It would truly be a pity if something has happened to him. However, cultivators like us are constantly defying the natural order anyway, so its common for us to die early, especially during this devilish tribulation, the elderly woman sighed in a wistful manner.

If Fellow Daoist Han really has perished, then he can only lament his ill-fortune. However, in contrast with Black Rain, Fellow Daoist Han didnt leave behind a soul lamp in Deep Heaven City, so its impossible to tell whether hes currently alive or not. Regardless of how Black Rain perished, the problem is that the Pipe Dream Stone Spirit that he captured has also disappeared. Without that stone spirit, the first step of our preparations cant be implemented. This is a pressing matter that concerns the survival of our two races, so we have to think of a way to rectify the issue right away, the red-haired man said with a grim expression.

This is indeed an urgent manner.

Is there anywhere else where we can find another Pipe Dream Stone Spirit?

Can we replace the Pipe Dream Stone Spirit with something else? Do we not have a backup plan prepared in case of this exact situation?

……

Everyone quickly began to offer their opinions and insights.

A Pipe Dream Stone Spirit is far from easy to find, the one that we sent Fellow Daoist Black Rain to capture was one that was discovered tens of thousands of years ago. As for substitutes, we did indeed prepare a few, but resorting to those substitutes will hamper our preparations, and its hard to say whether well be able to achieve the intended effect in the end, the red-haired man said.

Everyone fell silent upon hearing this, and a tense silence descended over the entire hall.

Leave the Pipe Dream Stone Spirit to me, I have more important matters that Ill require your assistance with, fellow daoists.

A faint male voice suddenly echoed throughout the hall, and everyone was rather bewildered to hear it.

An ecstatic look immediately appeared on the red-haired mans face, and he sprang up from his chair as he exclaimed, Senior Ao Xiao, is that you?

Almost at the exact same moment, the gate of the hall was opened from the outside, and two people strode into the hall one after another.

The first person was a man who appeared to be in his thirties with a faint smile on his face. He wore a set of silver robes and had a head of long black hair that trailed down to his waist.

Behind him was a stunning silver-haired beauty with skin as fair as snow, and shimmering silver locks that looked as if they had been forged from pure silver.

We pay our respects to Senior Ao Xiao and welcome Senior Ao Xiao to the holy island!

All of the people in the hall were ecstatic to see the silver-robed man, and they hurriedly rose to their feet before extending respectful bows.

This man was the only Grand Ascension Stage being of the demon race, the vastly renowned Patriarch Ao Xiao.

No need for formalities. I can see that theres a mix of familiar faces and ones that Im only now seeing for the first time here, the silver-robed man said with a smile.

Please take a seat, Senior Ao Xiao, the white-haired elderly man said as he hurriedly vacated the main seat in the hall.

Patriarch Ao Xiao nodded before taking a step forward, and everyone felt their vision blur before he somehow appeared in front of the chair, then calmly took a seat.

The return journey proved to be a very smooth one for Han Li. Flying at full speed, he returned to the yellow desert in just a day, and the devilish node soon appeared up ahead.

Everything was the same as when he had left the node, and Han Li wasnt all that surprised to see this.

The black Qi around his body faded, and he transformed into a heavenly phoenix again before flying toward the node as a faint streak of light.

After just a few flashes, he flew into the node, escaping the detection of the devilish guards down below once again, and this journey through the node was also a smooth and uneventful one.

A short while later, the heavenly phoenix emerged in the Spirit Realm as a ball of five-colored light, but in the instant before he exited the node, he swept his spiritual sense through the surrounding area.

As he had expected, devilish beings had surrounded the node, and a cold smile appeared on his face after detecting this.

Bright light erupted from the heavenly phoenixs body, and it disappeared from the spatial passageway in a flash.

In the next instant, spatial fluctuations appeared outside the node, and an azure figure emerged out of thin air.

As soon as Han Li appeared, a loud cry of attack rang out nearby.

Immediately thereafter, countless streaks of black light hurtled toward him from all sides, and fierce winds were swept up overhead as a dozen or so two-headed devilish birds swooped down from above.

Down below, two azure battle arks that were each several hundred feet in length emerged, and they blasted forth two pillars of black light that reached Han Li in a flash.

Several hundred devilish guards had gathered near the exit of the node, and as soon as Han Li had returned, they immediately unleashed a torrential barrage of attacks.

Han Li had anticipated this situation well in advance, and despite the fierce attacks being aimed at him, a faint smile appeared on his face.

He abruptly swept a sleeve forward, and a burst of grey light swept forth before forming a translucent light barrier that completely shielded his body within.

He then flicked his fingers casually up toward the giant devilish birds, paying no heed to the oncoming streaks of black light around him.

Around a dozen streaks of azure sword Qi shot forth in a flash from his fingertips, and before they even knew what had happened, each of the devilish birds had been sliced into two.

Their carcasses crashed down from above amid a rain of blood, and the high-grade devilish beings appraising the proceedings from afar were extremely alarmed to see this.

Those two-headed devilish birds possessed bodies that were more resolute than iron and steel, even the average treasure wouldnt be able to harm them in the slightest, yet they had just been sliced apart by Han Li with ease!

However, whatever was even more astonishing to them was that all of the streaks of black light and that pillar of light had vanished as soon as they had struck the grey light barrier around Han Lis body, it was as if they had all been devoured by the light barrier!

Thats a Body Integration Stage human cultivator! Retreat at once! one of the high-grade devilish beings hurriedly commanded.

Those high-grade devilish beings were none other than the four Deity Transformation Stage devilish beings and that brocade-robed late-Spatial Tempering Stege devil.

After they had dealt the Wood Tribe resistance force a heavy defeat, they discovered that the devilish beings guarding the node had disappeared, and this had naturally been quite an alarming discovery for them.

They had no idea what had happened, but if some kind of mishap were to befall the devilish node, then they would all be held accountable.

Thus, following some discussion, they contacted the other devilish strongholds nearest to them and gathered a group of elite devilish warriors to surround the node.

In reality, they were doing this just for show, and they didnt actually think that they would catch anyone, but much to their surprise, Han Li had returned after staying for only a few days in the Elder Devil Realm.

As soon as he returned, he immediately fell into their trap, and initially, they had been ecstatic to see this, but their elation soon gave way to horror when the brocade-robed devilish being ascertained Han Lis cultivation base.

The high-grade devilish beings exchanged a few horrified glances before immediately flying away as streaks of black light. In order to not alert Han Li to their escape, they didnt even notify their subordinates of what they were doing.

However, with Han Lis immense spiritual sense, he had naturally already spotted these high-grade devilish beings. As soon as they attempted to flee the scene, he cast a frosty gaze toward them.

Youre dreaming if you think you can get away!

As soon as his voice trailed off, Han Li made a grabbing motion with his pristine white hand, and spatial fluctuations erupted in the air above the high-grade devilish beings, following which a giant five-colored hand that was over 100 feet in size abruptly appeared before swooping downward.

The high-grade devilish beings were horrified to see this, and they accelerated with all their might while releasing all types of treasures to attack the giant hand.

They werent actually expecting their treasures to destroy the hand, they were simply hoping to delay it slightly and buy themselves some time for escape.

However, in the instant that the treasures struck the massive hand, the hand immediately exploded into a vast expanse of five-colored glacial flames that encompassed an area of around an acre.

The five-colored glacial light swept downward, and the five high-grade devilish beings were all instantly frozen solid.

Only then did the devilish beings that had surrounded Han Li realize what was happening, and they immediately flew into a blind panic.

However, before they had a chance to retreat, Han Li swept his sleeves through the air to release several tens of small azure swords, all of which transformed into streaks of azure sword Qi.

He then let loose a low cry and made a hand seal, sending the streaks of sword Qi flying in all directions.

……

Around 10 minutes later, not a single living devilish being remained in the entire devilish stronghold.

A streak of azure light circled around high up in the air, then flew back toward human territory.

Several days later, the Wood Tribe scouts discovered what had happened here, and they were naturally filled with elation.

After doing some further scouting to ascertain that this wasnt some kind of trap, they immediately hurried back to report the situation.

Seven or eight days later, the devilish stronghold was taken over by Wood Tribe beings, who began to set up some kind of profound formation at the exit of the node in an attempt to completely seal it off.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with Han Li.

He was currently refining the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi within his body while quickly flying back toward human territory.

Even though he had only refined a small portion of the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi, his magic power had been greatly enhanced, and he had benefited immensely.

He estimated that the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi should be close to fully refined by the time he returned to the human race, and that would take him to the pinnacle of the mid-Body Integration Stage. After that, he would be able to make a breakthrough to the late-Body Integration Stage, but for that, he would require the Ice Phoenixs assistance.

Otherwise, Han Li wouldve settled somewhere in the primordial world to make his breakthrough instead. After all, the human territory was rife with devilish invaders, and it certainly wasnt a very safe place.

With that in mind, Han Li could only heave a resigned sigh and continue onward.

Meanwhile, there were groups of human warriors and cultivators situated atop the city wall of Deep Heaven City, controlling their treasures with all their might to attack the devilish army outside of the citys restrictions.

An extremely fierce battle was taking place, and similar scenes were unfolding all throughout the human and demon territories.

During the recent period of time, the devilish army had suddenly become a lot more ferocious and began to launch wave after wave of fierce assaults without any regard for the casualties they suffered.

Countless low-grade and mid-grade human and demonic beings had perished during these intense battles, and the number of casualties among high-grade cultivators at or above the Deity Transformation Stage was also spiking drastically.

This made both races extremely nervous and apprehensive. During past devilish tribulations, these cities should be fine after withstanding a few years of attacks from the devilish army.

As such, all of the cities were using everything at their disposal to ward off the attacks, eagerly hoping for the arrival of the day when the devilish army would run out of steam.

Unbeknownst to everyone, there were currently around a dozen human and demonic Body Integration Stage beings gathered on a mysterious island situated on the border of the human and demon territories. At present, all of them were discussing a secretive matter in a hall that was surrounded by layer upon layer of restrictions.

So the Elder Devil Race is planning to conquer our territory, then settle permanently in the Spirit Realm, an elderly man with snowy white hair mused with furrowed brows.

Thats not the extent of it, the scouts that we sent into the Elder Devil Race have discovered that a huge group of low-grade elder devils have been mobilized, and theyre about to force their way into the Spirit Realm soon, a red-haired middle-aged man said with a dark expression.

Low-grade elder devils? Approximately how many have been mobilized? someone sighed before asking.

We dont have an accurate figure, but its going to be at least 1,000,000,000, the red-haired man replied after a brief pause.

1,000,000,000?!

Everyone gathered in the hall was astonished to hear this.

Is this figure really reliable? There arent that many pure elder devils in the entire Elder Devil Realm, 1,000,000,000 will comprise of close to 10% of all of the elder devils in the Elder Devil Realm! How are the Sacred Ancestors willing to take such a huge risk? a white-robed elderly woman asked.

The information weve received is definitely reliable. Many of the cities inhabited by the elder devils have already been completely vacated, 1,000,000,000 is already only a conservative estimate, the red-haired man replied in a confident manner. rewebnol.cm

Hmph, it looks like those devilish beings are preparing for an all or nothing invasion. Its a pity that we were unable to ascertain the reason behind their act of desperation even after we sent so many scouts into the Elder Devil Realm to investigate. Otherwise, well be able to target them much more effectively, the white-haired elderly man sighed.

Five-colored light flashed within the black hole, and the heavenly phoenix abruptly vanished.

With the heavenly phoenixs innate spatial abilities and Han Lis past experience with spatial rifts, he naturally wasnt going to see this mere devilish node as much of an obstacle.

After all, even normal devilish lords could pass through this node, there should definitely be no issues for him.

The only thing that he was wary of was that there could be some extremely powerful devilish beings situated on the other side of the node, in which case he would be landing himself in a lot of hot water.

However, the chances of this happening in such a small node was virtually negligible.

After flying through the devilish winds for a while and breaking through a dozen or so barriers formed by spatial power, specks of light began to appear up ahead.

Han Li was ecstatic to see this, and he flapped his wings vigorously. Five-colored light flashed over his body, and he became a barely visible shadow.

The exit on the other side of the node led to a boundless grey desert.

On the ground down below, there were two black buildings that seemed to be a pair of watchtowers, within which were several tens of devilish guards who looked up at the node from time to time.

After the span of just a few breaths, the spatial power faded, and the heavenly phoenix emerged from the node, then immediately vanished into thin air.

Even the most powerful devilish guards situated in the two watchtowers were only at the Nascent Soul Stage, and nothing of note had happened here for many years, so they had become complacent and completely failed to notice Han Lis stealthy entrance.

The heavenly phoenix emerged in the distant sky before reverting back to its human form, and Han Li heaved a faint sigh of relief as he cast his gaze back toward the node with a slightly peculiar look in his eyes.

His infiltration into the Elder Devil Realm had been far smoother than he had anticipated, and he hadnt been made to use any of the measures he had painstakingly prepared.

This naturally made him quite elated.

Han Li began to inspect his surroundings in this realm that the human race proclaimed to be a hellish cesspool of a world.

The sky was of a faint yellow color, and there was no cloud or mist to be seen. There were three crimson suns overhead, and aside from that, everything else seemed to be quite similar to what things were like in the Spirit Realm.

The only other striking difference that could be sensed was that the spiritual Qi here was clearly a lot less abundant than it was in the Spirit Realm, and there was faint devilish Qi drifting all throughout the surrounding air.

However, this devilish Qi was not very pronounced, and it could easily be missed if someone werent paying attention to it.

This was a rather surprising sight for Han Li.

However, he hadnt ventured into the Elder Devil Realm to conduct geographic research, he had something important that he had to do. As such, he only inspected his surroundings for a short while before chanting something, and his suit of devilish armor reappeared before expelling a large amount of inky-black devilish Qi that completely inundated his body.

Immediately thereafter, he made a hand seal, and his human aura was completely concealed.

He then let loose a low cry, and faint golden scales appeared over his body. However, after coming into contact with the devilish Qi, the scales immediately turned black. At the same time, a third black demonic eye also appeared on his glabella.

Han Li made a brief inspection of his own body with a faint smile on his face. With his current aura and appearance, he was identical to a high-grade devilish being.

If he didnt encounter any devilish beings that were more powerful than himself, no one would be able to see through his disguise.

Following his transformation, Han Li didnt dare to linger in the area any longer and immediately flew away as a gust of black wind.

Around an hour later, he emerged from the desert and appeared above a hill that was riddled with grey shrubs.

As soon as he reached this place, he immediately noticed that the devilish Qi had become denser. The difference was only an extremely minute one, but it confirmed Han Lis suspicions, which was that just like spiritual Qi, the abundance of devilish Qi differed from area to area in the Elder Devil Realm.

Han Li continued onward and flew for a day and a night. He passed through the hilly region, over a giant lake, and through several black mountain ranges.

Perhaps it was because the Elder Devil Realm was very bleak and barren to begin with or he was traveling in the wrong direction, but aside from a few low-grade devilish beasts, he didnt encounter any other devilish beings.

This made Han Li feel slightly more relaxed, but also a bit more wary.

On the fourth day, Han Li finally encountered several mid-grade devilish beings with human bodies and horse heads battling at the foot of a small mountain.

These devilish beings wielded wooden clubs with beasthide garments draped over their bodies. They were extremely ferocious, and seemed to possess a certain level of intelligence.

There was a black devilish beast that resembled a sabertooth tiger lying completely still nearby, and it was quite clear that these devilish beings were fighting over this prized prey.

Han Li was ecstatic to see this, and he descended from above before releasing a few arcs of golden lightning to knock out these devilish beings.

He then made a grabbing motion to draw one of them into his grasp before pressing a hand firmly onto the top of the devilish beings head.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and black light flashed from his fingertips as he unleashed a soul search technique.

Just as he had expected, the devilish being possessed only a very elementary level of intelligence, and there really wasnt much for him to sift through in its spiritual sense.

Thankfully, he wasnt searching for any complex information, and from through his soul search technique, he discovered a suitable place that wasnt far away.

Golden lightning sprang forth from his hand again to instantly incinerate this devilish being into dust, and he did the same for the other devilish beings, as well as that devilish beast carcass.

After that, he flew toward a different direction compared to his original one.

Several hours later, a boundless canyon appeared up ahead.

The black winds faded, and Han Li appeared in the air above the canyon before casting his gaze downward.

The canyon down below was several thousand feet wide and unfathomably deep. Howlings winds were blowing incessantly through it, and there was a vast expanse of murky yellow mist within it.

Han Li descended into the canyon without any hesitation as grey light flashed over his body, and the fierce winds faded as soon as it came into contact with this grey light.

As he descended further and further, the air temperature plummeted drastically, and a layer of frost could be seen on the faces of the canyon.

These temperatures naturally werent low enough to be of concern to Han Li, and after descending for over 10,000 feet, he finally reached the bottom of the canyon, where a blue glacier was situated.

Theoretically speaking, the temperatures here shouldve frozen this river completely solid, but it showed no signs of freezing over at all. However, there were thick layers of blue ice on either side of the river, and fierce winds were howling in the air over 100 feet above the glacier.

Han Li hovered in the air several tens of feet above the glacier, and he swept his gaze downward, upon which a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

This river is indeed rather peculiar, its so calm and still on the surface, but its as violent as a waterfall deeper down, it most likely leads straight to an underground river. On top of that, the glacial power here is also rather peculiar, Han Li murmured to himself.

Right at this moment, a burst of hissing rang out from the fierce winds up above, and two extraordinarily fast streaks of blue light shot forth, reaching Han Li in a flash.

This was a pair of translucent blue flying snakes with triangular heads and black crowns that resembled those of roosters. Just from their appearance alone, it was quite clear that they possessed lethal poison.

Han Lis expression darkened upon seeing this, and his hands shot forth in a blur to catch the two flying snakes before crushing them without any hesitation. The two snakes didnt even have a chance to utter one final sound before they were instantly killed.

Han Li tossed the bodies of the flying snakes into the water down below, they were instantly frozen solid before slowly sinking into the river, vanishing into its depths in the blink of an eye.

Han Li closed his eyes before releasing his spiritual sense to track the progress of the two snake carcasses, following which a content look soon appeared on his face.

As expected, they were swept away. I dont know where this glacier will lead to, but Im sure something thats tossed into it will have a very low likelihood of being discovered, Han Li murmured to himself as he flipped his hand over to produce a pristine white wooden box.

He took a rather forlorn glance at the wooden box, but gritted his teeth and tossed it downward in the end.

A layer of blue ice instantly appeared over the surface of the wooden box, and it also sank into the glacier.

Han Li stared down into the depths of the glacier in silence, and after close to an hour had passed, he heaved a faint sigh as the expression on his face eased slightly.

At this point, the wooden box had already disappeared into the underground river. He was quite reluctant to part with the treasure, but it contained two Sacred Ancestors, so it was naturally best to get rid of it as early as possible.

He didnt know whether those two devils would be able to escape from the confinement of the Devil Sealing Lock someday, but from this day forth, they no longer had anything to do with him. The Elder Devil Realm naturally wasnt a place to linger in for an extended period of time, so Han Li didnt hesitate any longer as he flew out of the canyon before embarking on a journey back to the Spirit Realm.

Meanwhile, within the space inside the wooden box that was drifting along the underground river, Che Qigong was meditating in a cave-like secret chamber with black and white light flashing over his body, seemingly cultivating something.

Within a mysterious stone hall elsewhere in the same space, Feng Xie was doing the same thing while seated atop a futon.

Both of them were completely oblivious to what was going on outside the wooden box, and if they were aware, they would most likely be cursing Han Li with all of the derogatory terms in their vocabulary. After all, Han Li had just unintentionally foiled their plan to secure the other half of the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi through his cautious actions.

Around 10 minutes later, a loud explosion suddenly erupted near the devilish stronghold, following which over 100 wooden giants that were several hundred feet tall rushed out of the dense forest amid a flash of green light. They rushed toward the stronghold like devastating wrecking balls, followed close by the group of Wood Tribe beings.

A series of green wooden spears, bows, and arrows appeared in their hands, and launched the projectiles toward the stronghold in a torrential barrage.

All of the spears and arrows that were launched instantly swelled to several times their original size before crashing into the protective light barrier around the stronghold, sending ripples running along its surface amid an incessant string of resounding booms.

At this point, the wooden giants had reached the fortress, and their hands transformed into giant white metal hammers that were brought down upon the light barrier with ferocious might.

The light barrier began to tremor violently, and it seemed to be on the brink of crumbling away.

Everything had happened within the span of a few breaths, and only now did the devilish beings in the stronghold react to the situation. Loud sirens immediately rang out all over the stronghold while bursts of black light descended from the city walls before falling upon the Wood Tribe beings down below like rain.

An extremely fierce battle was about to unfold.

Black and green light flashed and intertwined, forming a giant net above the fortress that rumbled and flashed incessantly.

The wooden giants seemed to be a little clumsy and maladroit, but their bodies were as hard as iron and steel, and attacks from ordinary devilish beings were only able to inflict some insignificant pit and bumps into their bodies.

A short while later, a giant opening was created by them in the city wall, and they charged onward in a completely fearless manner.

These wooden giants seemed to possess tremendous strength, smashing all of the devilish beings before them into mincemeat with their giant hammer hands. They led the other Wood Tribe beings straight into the devilish fortress, but their actions had also enraged the high-grade devilish beings in the fortress.

One of them let loose a loud cry, and several menacing roars immediately rang out from within a few giant buildings in the fortress. Immediately thereafter, a dozen or so 100-feet-long rhinoceros-like devilish beasts rushed out of those buildings.

These super devilish beasts all had bright red eyes, and they opened their mouths to expel pillars of white light that struck the wooden giants in a flash.

Around a dozen wooden giants immediately stumbled and almost crashed to the ground. Furthermore, charred holes had appeared on the parts of their bodies that had been struck by the pillars of light.

The rest of the wooden giants continued to charge toward the giant beasts, but the super devilish beasts werent backing down, either.

They lowered their heads and pounced toward the oncoming wooden giants to engage them in a fierce battle.

Deafening roars and resounding booms rang out, and the two sides seemed to be evenly matched.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of feet above the ground, the elderly man and the middle-aged couple were facing off against four armor-clad devilish beings.

A high-grade being that resembled a giant bear glanced at the elderly man, and as opposed to being panicked or alarmed, a sinister look appeared on his face as he said, Hmph, I was wondering what gave you the courage to attack us like this, so youve brought along reinforcements. Youve made our job a lot easier, after killing this old fart, there shouldnt be any Wood Tribe beings of a higher cultivation base in this area.

The middle-aged couples expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but the elderly man remained calm and collected as he replied in a cold voice, You think a group of Deity Transformation Stage devilish trash like you can bring me down? Let me see if your powers can back up your words!

If theyre incapable of bringing you down, then how about me?

A rumbling boom rang out as spatial fluctuations erupted in mid-air, and a black figure appeared at the center of the four high-grade devilish beings before appraising the Wood Tribe trio with a cold expression.

This was a man in a brocade robe with a pair of horns on his head, and there was a ruthless look in his small triangular eyes.

The elderly mans heart immediately sank upon seeing this.

This was a late-Spatial Tempering Stage devilish being while he was only at the early-Spatial Tempering Stage, he was most likely no match for this new enemy.

The middle-aged couple were unable to ascertain this devilish mans exact cultivation base, but they could also sense that his aura was more powerful than that of the elderly man, and their expressions darkened significantly.

Were very fortunate that you paid us a visit, esteemed envoy. Otherwise, we would be in huge trouble here. These are the leaders of the Wood Tribe resistance forces in the nearby area, well have to trouble you to help us take care of them, the bear-like devilish being said as he extended a respectful bow toward the brocade-robed man.

Hehe, these three are all that were dealing with? I can kill them all with one hand tied behind my back! Rest assured, theres no way Ill be letting them get away, the brocade-robed man guffawed with a disdainful look in his eyes.

The elderly man took a deep breath to repress the alarm in his heart, then quickly transmitted his voice to the middle-aged couple. Were in trouble here, fellow daoists! Ill do my best to hold off this devil, lead everyone else on a retreat right away!

The middle-aged couples hearts jolted upon hearing this, and the middle-aged man hurriedly transmitted his voice in response. Dont engage in a direct battle with this devil, Elder Zhu. If the opportunity arises, you have to retreat as well!

The elderly man nodded in a grim manner and didnt say anything further. Instead, he swept both sleeves through the air to release a dozen or so azure wooden balls, all of which transformed into azure balls of light that encompassed all five devils before him.

The cold look in the eyes of the brocade-robed devil became even more pronounced as he harrumphed coldly, and bright red light suddenly began to glow from his horns. Countless crimson threads shot forth, all of which struck the surrounding balls of azure light with unerring accuracy before piercing through them in a flash.

However, before the brocade-robed devil had a chance to do anything else, a crisp crack akin to the sound of shattering porcelain suddenly rang out.

All of the azure balls of light exploded in unison and radiated blinding spiritual light.

All five devils immediately closed their eyes as an instinctive reaction to this piercing light.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the middle-aged couple shot forth toward two different directions as two streaks of azure light, and at the same time, both of them let loose long cries of different octaves.

The five devils were only disoriented for a split-second before immediately returning to normal, and they were naturally all infuriated to see this.

Im going to rip you to shreds and torment your soul for all of eternity! Go and chase down those two, leave this old fart to me, the brocade-robed man roared as he rubbed his hands together. Bursts of inky-black devilish Qi erupted from his body, then converged to form a two-headed devilish projection.

The devilish projection was rather blurry and indistinct, and one could only just barely make out its rough form, but it was extremely fast and pounced toward the elderly man in a vicious manner.

The elderly man remained calm as he opened his mouth to release several streaks of yellow sword Qi. The sword Qi formed a sword barrier that shielded him from the oncoming devilish projection, and he seemed to be content to merely defend himself against his opponents attacks.

The devilish projection immediately gained a significant upper hand as soon as it clashed with the sword Qi, but it was unable to immediately break through the barrier to kill the elderly man.

The four Deity Transformation Stage devilish beings shared a few hesitant glances upon seeing this, then split up into two groups to pursue the two streaks of azure light.

Meanwhile, the Wood Tribe beings who had just stormed into the fortress down below all displayed expressions of surprise upon hearing the long cries from the middle-aged couple, but they immediately turned around and flew back the way they had come without any hesitation.

However, on this occasion, the devilish beings werent willing to let them leave so easily. They let loose fierce war cries as they rushed out of the stronghold to pursue the retreating Wood Tribe beings, and none of the wooden giants were able to assist them as they were still locked in battle with the giant rhinoceros beasts.

Thus, the entire stronghold was instantly plunged into a state of chaos.

Meanwhile, no one noticed a faint azure shadow appear high up in the air right below the devilish node, then reverted back to its original form, revealing itself to be Han Li.

The node was covered by a layer of inky-black devilish Qi, and there were over 100 devilish beings on a dozen or so battle canoes guarding the node.

They were clearly far more powerful than the average devilish being in the stronghold, and they remained completely unmoved by the battle taking place below them.

These devilish beings were naturally greatly alarmed to see someone suddenly appear before them, but before they had a chance to do anything, Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to release his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, which transformed into hundreds of azure threads that instantly vanished into thin air.

In the next instant, all of the devilish beings and their flying treasures were shredded by streaks of azure sword Qi, following which Han Li opened his mouth to expel a ball of silver flames.

The silver fireball exploded as soon as it emerged, scattering through the air as countless silver sparks. The remains of these devilish beings and their battle canoes were set alight as soon as they came into contact with these silver flames, and they were incinerated into nothingness.

Immediately thereafter, layers of five-colored light appeared over Han Lis body as he quickly made a hand seal, and he flew directly into the dense devilish Qi.

This devilish Qi was clearly supposed to be some type of restriction, but it merely gave way to the five-colored light around Han Lis body.

In the blink of an eye, Han Li had passed through the devilish Qi and arrived before the devilish node up above.

The node was a vast expanse of darkness, and there were bursts of devilish Qi occasionally pouring out of it.

A solemn look appeared on Han Lis face upon seeing this, and after a brief pause for contemplation, he made a hand seal to summon a suit of antiquated black devilish armor over his own body.

Countless black runes then surged out of the suit of armor in a frenzy at his behest before enveloping his entire body.

Immediately thereafter, extremely dazzling and vibrant light erupted from his body, and he transformed into a giant five-colored heavenly phoenix.

The heavenly phoenix gave off an extremely authoritative aura, and it flapped its wings to send faint fluctuations rippling through the nearby space, instantly eradicating all of the oncoming gusts of black wind.

The giant heavenly phoenix then flew directly into the massive black hole.