Upon hearing Xu Qingzi’s words, Lin Yinping glanced at the Spirit Rhinoceros Peacock, then looked at Han Li twice, her face showing a trace of hesitation.
But at that moment, a flash of white light appeared on the peacock’s head, and the face of the young man surnamed Xu materialized once more. Under the astonished gazes of the scholar and the old Daoist, he first let out a bitter laugh before saying, “Fellow Daoists need not search for me. My physical body has been destroyed, and now only my Spirit Infant remains, dwelling within this spiritual bird.”
“How is this possible? Brother Xu is a late-stage cultivator—how could his body be destroyed so easily? Could it be that the ancient Demon Ancestor sealed here has already broken free?” Xu Qingzi was greatly shocked, his face paling.
“From your tone, it seems you already knew what kind of demonic entity was sealed within this Demon-Suppressing Tower,” the young man surnamed Xu said with a darkened expression.
“Brother Xu, do not misunderstand. I was unaware at first. It was only after receiving word from my sect that I gained some understanding of the situation here. The matter of the ancient Demon Ancestor is of great importance—I hope you can enlighten us further,” Xu Qingzi replied vaguely, forcing a laugh.
The young man surnamed Xu naturally did not believe him, but given his current state as a Spirit Infant, he could not press the matter too much. He sighed and answered, “The ancient Demon Ancestor has indeed broken free, but my body was not destroyed by it. Instead, I was ambushed by the Ten-Thousand-Year Corpse Bear from the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons.”
“Valley of Ten Thousand Demons? Impossible! I have been guarding the outside—how could that bear have slipped in? Unless… it entered the mountain before us.” Xu Qingzi was stunned for a moment before realizing the possibility.
“Exactly. That corpse bear not only entered before us but also used some unknown secret technique to disguise itself as a human cultivator, concealing all traces of its corpse aura. Otherwise, how could I have fallen for its ambush?” The young man surnamed Xu felt a sharp pang of grief as he recalled how his body had been devoured by the blood blade.
“If it was indeed the corpse bear that ambushed you, then this makes sense. The Valley Master of the Ten Thousand Demons possesses a rare treasure called the ‘Illusion Pearl.’ It is said that swallowing this pearl allows one to freely alter their appearance and conceal demonic or corpse auras, making it undetectable to ordinary cultivators. Even my Mystic Sound Mirror would be unable to see through its power,” Qi Miao Zhenren said with a frown.
“Now that you mention it, I recall that the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons does indeed possess such a treasure. However, I’ve heard that swallowing the pearl severely restricts one’s magic power—otherwise, its effects would dissipate. Brother Xu, did the corpse bear reveal its true form after ambushing you?” Xu Qingzi suddenly understood.
“Now that you mention it, that is indeed the case. The corpse bear only revealed its true undead nature after attacking me,” the young man surnamed Xu replied, his face filled with hatred.
“Fellow Daoist, it is fortunate that you managed to escape with your Spirit Infant despite the ambush. And since you have yet to perform a body seizure, as long as you find a suitable vessel and cultivate for another century or so, you should be able to fully recover your strength,” the middle-aged scholar remarked after examining the Spirit Rhinoceros Peacock, smiling as if he had noticed something.
“Brother Qi Miao, your insight is truly sharp. Although I can temporarily reside within this spiritual bird, it is not a permanent solution. I must find a suitable body as soon as possible,” the young man surnamed Xu sighed in response.
The middle-aged scholar said nothing further and instead turned his gaze to Gui Ling, his expression turning solemn.
“Fellow Daoist, you seem unfamiliar. May I ask your name?” Qi Miao Zhenren inquired slowly. The old Daoist beside him also scrutinized the ugly woman intently.
After all, Gui Ling’s cultivation as a tenth-grade demon beast could not be hidden from these two great cultivators of the same rank.
The ugly woman’s face remained expressionless, but Han Li suddenly smiled and spoke up.
“This is Fellow Daoist Gui Ling. Like me, she was accidentally teleported into this mountain after triggering a restriction.”
“Teleported in by triggering a restriction? That is indeed a rare occurrence. May I ask which sect Fellow Daoist Han belongs to? I don’t believe we’ve met before,” Xu Qingzi said, noticing that the ugly woman remained silent and seemed to defer to Han Li. His initial indifference toward Han Li shifted as he smiled in response.
“I am merely a rogue cultivator. It’s no surprise you haven’t heard of me. However, given that you are accompanying Qi Miao Zhenren of the Heavenly Demon Sect, your status must be extraordinary as well. May I ask how the two of you entered the eighth floor? As far as I know, the teleportation array there was supposedly unusable,” Han Li replied. Though he had never met Xu Qingzi before, he had deduced from their earlier conversation that the man was likely a high-ranking elder of one of the Ten Great Sects.
“How careless of me—I haven’t even introduced myself. This old Daoist is Xu Qingzi of the Taiyi Sect. As for how we entered, we did not use any teleportation array. Instead, we employed our sect’s World-Breaking Talisman to forcibly tear through the barrier of the eighth floor,” Xu Qingzi explained casually.
“World-Breaking Talisman? A mere talisman can tear through spatial barriers?” Han Li was momentarily stunned before skepticism crept onto his face.
“The talisman alone is insufficient. It must be paired with a specialized secret technique and our sect’s Tian’e Divine Sword. However, I did not expect to be trapped in yet another spatial barrier upon entering,” the old Daoist chuckled, glancing back at the space they had just escaped from, which was sealed by the Black Wind Banner.
“The fame of the Taiyi Sect’s World-Breaking Talisman and Tian’e Divine Sword has long reached my ears. To think that a spatial barrier that stumped us was nothing to the two of you—the Taiyi Sect and the Heavenly Demon Sect truly live up to their reputations as the foremost righteous and demonic sects of the Great Jin,” Lin Yinping remarked with a sigh.
“Sister Lin flatters us. The Heavenly Prairie Shrine also possesses many treasures. It is merely that our sect’s divine sword happens to possess the ability to break through space,” Xu Qingzi stroked his beard modestly.
Lin Yinping could only offer a bitter smile in response.
While the Heavenly Prairie Shrine might not be inferior to the two great sects in terms of high-ranking cultivators, when it came to treasures, how could they compare to these two sects, whose legacies stretched back to ancient times?
“By the way, where is Old Devil Qian? I heard from Fellow Daoist Xu Qingzi that the old devil also entered this mountain,” the middle-aged scholar suddenly asked, his gaze sweeping the surroundings.
Old Devil Qian!
At the mention of this name, both the young man surnamed Xu and Lin Yinping instinctively glanced at Han Li.
After all, the Wood Lady of the Hua Xian Sect had previously mentioned Han Li’s battle with Old Devil Qian. Initially, they had dismissed the idea that the old devil could have fallen to Han Li, but after witnessing Han Li’s abilities, they now harbored doubts.
Their reactions did not escape Xu Qingzi and Qi Miao Zhenren, who exchanged puzzled glances before also turning their attention to Han Li.
Han Li sighed inwardly but maintained a calm demeanor as he spoke.
“Fellow Daoist Qian and I parted ways at the Kunwu Hall. I do not know his current whereabouts—perhaps he went elsewhere in search of treasures. Speaking of which, I have not seen any other members of the Yin Luo Sect either.”
“Fellow Daoist Han must be referring to Brother Ge and the others. There’s no need to wonder about them. On their way here, they were ambushed by the Grand Elder of the Ye Clan and perished, their Spirit Infants utterly annihilated,” the young man surnamed Xu said impassively.
“So that’s what happened,” Han Li murmured in realization.
“This Kunwu Mountain is truly perilous. So many cultivators have already perished here,” Xu Qingzi remarked, his gaze lingering on Han Li with a strange glint before he sighed.
“Perhaps it’s for the best that the Yin Luo Sect members are gone—less interference. Fellow Daoists, let us first discuss the matter of the ancient Demon Ancestor,” the middle-aged scholar said gravely, his eyes flickering toward the ruins of the distant palace.
“Brother Qi Miao is right. To be frank, our purpose here is precisely to deal with the Ye Clan and that ancient demon. This matter concerns the entire cultivation world—we hope you will cooperate with us,” Xu Qingzi added with a smile, addressing Han Li and the others.
Hearing this, the young man surnamed Xu and Lin Yinping did not immediately respond. Instead, their expressions turned peculiar. Having been placed under restrictions, they dared not speak recklessly without knowing Han Li’s stance. For a moment, Lin Yinping and the illusory face of the young man surnamed Xu flickered uncertainly.
Gui Ling, meanwhile, remained silent throughout.
As a result, Han Li’s unnaturally calm demeanor stood out starkly to the two great cultivators.
Xu Qingzi and Qi Miao Zhenren exchanged another glance, their faces betraying surprise. It was clear to them that the young man surnamed Xu and the Heavenly Prairie Maiden seemed to fear Han Li.
This realization sent a chill down their spines.
“Since the two of you wish to know about the ancient demon, I shall explain,” Han Li said calmly, his gaze shifting.
“Very well, Fellow Daoist Han—”
Xu Qingzi had just begun to speak when a deafening explosion erupted from the direction of the palace. A dozen milky-white beams of light shot out from its ruins.
The old Daoist’s expression changed abruptly, his words cutting off mid-sentence.
The entire eighth-floor space trembled violently, a resonant hum filling the air as the ground slowly cracked apart. White light flickered across the space, and everything began to twist and distort.
“Disaster! The ancient Demon Ancestor is breaking the ninth-floor seal! How is this possible?!” Qi Miao Zhenren cried out in horror, his face paling.
Ninth-floor seal?
Han Li was startled by this revelation, but with the space seemingly on the verge of collapse, he had no time to ponder further. A flash of spiritual light enveloped him as the Yuan Gang Shield shot from his hand, forming a silver barrier around him.
Before he could react further, the dozen beams of light from the palace suddenly darkened, turning pitch-black. They expanded and contorted, bending wildly before shooting off in all directions. Wherever they passed, space itself tore apart, white light and black radiance intertwining chaotically.
“Spatial rifts!”
At this sight, Han Li could no longer maintain his composure, his face paling.
Without hesitation, he flipped his palm, summoning a fiery-red talisman. Slapping it onto his body, a crimson dragon phantom emerged before vanishing instantly.
In the blink of an eye, Han Li transformed into a half-human, half-dragon form!
At that very moment, amid Lin Yinping’s startled cry, a pitch-black rift appeared before them in an instant.
Han Li saw only a flash of black light before endless darkness swallowed him whole—there was no escape.
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