“Of course. That traitor was already severely injured by us and marked with a tracking seal. As long as we guard the human race’s exit tightly, he won’t be able to escape. Once reinforcements arrive, he won’t have a chance to flee,” said Huang Shigong.
The green-skirted woman nodded in agreement.
After a brief, hushed discussion, the two Spirit Clan members shimmered with spiritual light and vanished into the trees once more.
At the same time, in a secret chamber within Sunset City, several distinguished individuals sat around a stone table, deep in conversation.
“City Lord Lan, you’re saying that Spirit Clan member is trapped in the Sunset Tomb, waiting for us to rescue him?” asked a tall, lean monk with a string of pitch-black prayer beads around his neck, addressing a middle-aged man in white robes.
“Indeed. This is the latest news I received. While fleeing, he was severely wounded by Spirit Clan pursuers. His injuries flared up in the Sunset Tomb, and with the Spirit Clan hot on his heels, he couldn’t make it to Sunset City directly. He needs us to meet him halfway,” the white-robed man replied gravely.
“Brother Lan, what exactly is that Spirit Clan member carrying? It’s time you told us the truth. Not only have you gathered the two of us, but you’ve even invited Senior Huang Liang out of seclusion. Ordinary items wouldn’t warrant such caution,” interjected a towering, dark-skinned man built like an iron pagoda.
The last man, clad in a loose yellow robe with an unusually pale complexion, spoke calmly when his name was mentioned: “Brother Jin is mistaken. I wasn’t invited by City Lord Lan. I left my residence recently due to restlessness and happened upon this matter. But I, too, am very interested in what that Spirit Clan member is carrying. City Lord Lan, why not enlighten us?”
This was none other than the renowned Huang Liang Lingjun! And “City Lord Lan” was naturally the ruler of Sunset City.
“Senior Lü, Brother Jin, if I truly knew what it was, why would I withhold it from you? I genuinely don’t know what the Spirit Clan member has brought. However, the orders I received came from the Sacred Emperor’s Palace,” City Lord Lan replied with a bitter smile.
“Orders from the Sacred Emperor’s Palace?” The monk and the burly man were visibly shocked, while even the composed white-robed man’s eyes flashed with intensity.
“So, this matter has caught the attention of the Sacred Emperor himself?” the monk asked skeptically.
“That, I don’t know. But even if it wasn’t a direct order from the Sacred Emperor, it was issued by one of his two lieutenants, which is as good as his word. Moreover, the Sacred Emperor’s Palace has dispatched a special envoy to Sunset City. But given the distance between our city and Tianyuan City, and the spatial rifts in between, the envoy won’t arrive immediately. Our task is to ensure this defecting Spirit Clan member remains unharmed until he can meet the envoy with whatever he’s carrying,” City Lord Lan said solemnly.
“If it’s an order from the Sacred Emperor’s Palace, we naturally have no objections. But I’m even more intrigued by what that Spirit Clan youngster is carrying,” Huang Liang Lingjun chuckled.
The monk and Brother Jin exchanged glances but remained silent.
“Good. Since Senior Lü and you two have no objections, we’ll enter the Sunset Tomb in two days to locate this Spirit Clan member. He’s currently hiding in—”
“Who’s there?!” Just as City Lord Lan was about to reveal the hiding spot, Huang Liang Zhenjun suddenly reached toward a wall and shouted.
With a loud *boom*, a crystalline yellow hand materialized before the wall and grabbed downward.
A flash of gray light revealed something being yanked from the wall, but it instantly burst apart in the hand, scattering into countless gray threads that shot in all directions.
“Damn it, Soul Threads!” Huang Liang Lingjun exclaimed, instinctively waving his sleeve to release a surge of yellow mist that enveloped him.
The others paled at his words.
The monk hastily tore the prayer beads from his neck, transforming them into black clouds that shielded his body. The dark-robed man snorted and summoned a black iron shield to block his front.
City Lord Lan opened his mouth and spat out a translucent blue ice lotus. Amidst a flash of blue light, his figure vanished.
Just as everyone braced for this unexpected attack, the gray threads flickered and dissipated before reaching their defenses.
Everyone froze in confusion.
“Illusion!” Huang Liang Lingjun was the first to react, recalling the crystalline hand.
Upon closer inspection, the hand’s surface was now dusted with silver powder that shimmered like phosphorescence.
Huang Liang dipped a finger into the powder and examined it closely.
The silver grains shifted unpredictably between red and yellow before vanishing entirely from his fingertip.
“It’s a mature Phantom Flame Moth’s clone, self-destructed. Only this spirit insect can briefly turn incorporeal to infiltrate here. But a trace of its consciousness must have escaped—its main body is surely nearby in Sunset City. Our conversation was likely overheard. Also, this moth powder carries another aura… likely a demonic beast. This insect was raised by the Demon Clan,” Huang Liang said grimly.
City Lord Lan’s face darkened at these words.
“We leave tomorrow. We can’t let the Demon Clan get ahead of us,” he declared without hesitation.
An hour later, a hundred miles from Sunset City, a delicate-looking youth sat cross-legged on a mountainside boulder, meditating motionlessly. Above his head hovered a fist-sized, multicolored moth, its wings fluttering gently and scattering radiant specks of light.
Behind the youth stood a slender woman in palace attire, her phoenix eyes and arched brows exuding an air of latent ferocity—none other than the Black Phoenix Clan demoness Han Li had once encountered.
Yet this once-haughty woman now stood obediently behind the youth, her expression respectful and silent.
A faint whistling sound pierced the air as a slender gray thread streaked down from the sky, vanishing into the moth atop the youth’s head.
Simultaneously, the youth opened his eyes—clear and bright.
He beckoned, extending a pale finger.
The moth gracefully descended, alighting weightlessly on his fingertip.
Its glow began flickering erratically, shifting colors unpredictably.
After a full incense stick’s time, the moth’s light stabilized, returning to calm.
“So, that’s why Huang Liang appeared in the city—he’s involved with the Spirit Clan. Even the Sacred Emperor’s Palace is mobilized. Whatever that Spirit Clan traitor carries must be extraordinary. The Phantom Flame Moth’s clone wasn’t wasted,” the youth murmured, his expression peculiar.
After a long silence, he tossed the moth back atop his head and rose from the boulder.
“Niece Xiao, I heard the Black Phoenix Clan recently recovered a young girl with mutated True Phoenix bloodline—astonishing talent, reaching fifth level in no time. Is this true?” the youth asked the palace-attired woman.
“Senior Huan speaks truly. Dai’er does possess remarkable talent,” the woman replied deferentially.
“Heh, coincidentally, our Qiong Mouse Clan also has a promising youth. How about arranging a marriage between our clans?” the youth suddenly suggested.
“This… while I’m honored by your proposal, Dai’er is the young clan leader’s granddaughter. Such decisions aren’t mine to make,” the woman answered carefully, forcing a smile.
“Naturally. I only ask you to relay this message to Elder Gongsun. The youth I speak of is no ordinary figure—he’s worthy of the girl,” the youth said indifferently.
“Understood. I’ll deliver your message,” the woman replied, inwardly relieved.
“Good. Once Elder Gongsun agrees, I’ll send a marriage proposal after this matter concludes. You heard some of our discussion—a Spirit Clan defector has come to the humans, carrying something so valuable it alarmed the Sacred Emperor’s Palace. Now that I know, we can’t let the humans succeed. Your Phoenix Clan’s spatial talents are needed—infiltrate the Sunset Tomb, rally our Demon Clan, and spread the word. We must find that Spirit Clan member before the humans. I’ll shadow Huang Liang and his group,” the youth commanded, his tone turning icy.
“As you command, Senior!” the woman responded respectfully.
With a sweep of her hand, a white arc of light appeared before her. She stepped through and vanished.
The youth remained pensive for a long moment before yellow light enveloped him and the moth, and he slowly sank into the earth, disappearing without a trace.
Soon after, human and demonic cultivators in the Sunset Tomb received identical orders from their superiors: spare no cost to locate a Spirit Clan infiltrator. Both factions offered staggering rewards—breakthrough elixirs, millions of spirit stones, even Huang Liang Lingjun’s treasured Heavenly Heart Pills.
The Sunset Tomb erupted into chaos. With such prizes at stake, everyone hunted fervently for the Spirit Clan fugitive.
Previously, when humans and demons crossed paths and found themselves evenly matched, they might cautiously go their separate ways. Now, suspicion and violence flared—clashes between the two races became frequent.
Of all this, Han Li, alone and unaware, knew nothing.
At this moment, he faced his first life-threatening battle since entering the Sunset Tomb.
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