Immortal of the Nine Realms

Within the pitch-black, ink-like void, a colossal celestial star hung. Billowing black mist surrounded it. Unless one looked carefully, even cultivators from an exploration team passing through this region would have difficulty noticing its existence.

The black mist churned and suddenly parted as though an opening had been torn through it.

An enormous figure stepped out.

In the blink of an eye, the towering figure arrived before a gorge, where another figure had already been waiting for some time.

"Ancient Demon, you failed to complete your task."

That figure stood with her back to the enormous ancient demon and spoke slowly.

Judging solely by her back, she possessed a slender, tall, and curvaceous figure. Even her voice was sweet and pleasant.

The Ancient Demon calmly said, "The might of the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower far exceeded my expectations. The task has failed."

"Do you think simply stating that the mission has failed would quell the young master's anger? The young master has spent these years waging wars across countless lands and has destroyed countless inheritances of the Xianhong lineage.

"And this place may very well be the final hiding sanctuary of the Xianhong remnants. The young master will arrive soon. When he descends upon this place and finds out the remnants haven't been destroyed, what will you use to extinguish his wrath?"

"Easy for you to say. The Inner Domain I barely managed to refine is causing me to experience constant backlash. And the items you gave me can no longer suppress that backlash. If I cannot display the strength that a Half Saint rightfully ought to possess, how am I supposed to face the combined onslaught of over a thousand Limit Breakers?"

He sneered coldly. "Wu Xinling, I am well aware that you're from the Shadow Race of the Divine Realm. I heard that when the Human Race began their exile, the Shadow Race had already been shattered by the newly arrived Radiant Buddha Race. Your circumstances aren't much different from those of the human race now, are they? Compared to us of the God Race, how much better off are you? Don't talk to me with that kind of patronizing, condescending tone again. My origins are far superior to yours. My ancestors once achieved astonishing results during the Saint Tower Battles!"

Wu Xinling slowly turned around. Her cold gaze fell upon the Ancient Demon. A few breaths passed before she spoke, contempt flashing in her eyes.

"To think you dare tell me about your ancestors. By the time you were born, I was already a Saint. There is nothing about you that deserves my respect. Your only purpose is to serve the young master. If the Inner Domain you condensed hadn't accidentally formed a slight connection with my own Inner Domain, you would have been completely devoured by yours long ago."

"Enough useless talk. I overexerted myself this time, and the backlash is almost beyond my ability to suppress." The Ancient Demon extended his palm. "Give me some more of those things. Only then can I continue risking my life for you and your young master."

Wu Xinling quietly gazed at him. Only after a long silence did she gently lift her slender palm. Within it wreathed several black insects.

The Ancient Demon's eyes lit up instantly.

With a beckoning motion, the insects flew into his palm. He promptly tossed them into his mouth and swallowed them. Immediately, the Ancient Demon's physical condition seemed to stabilize somewhat, and even his complexion improved.

"Tell me about the current situation in the Nine Realms," said Wu Xinling calmly.

"The Xianhong lineage you speak of is trying very hard to secure a new Heavenly Dao for the Nine Realms. If a new Heavenly Dao does rise, then we'd have to follow the Supreme Qingming Alliance's regulations. Even that immensely powerful young master behind you won't be allowed to touch even a single hair of the Nine Realms ever again. Likewise, the cultivators of the Nine Realms would become qualified to join the Supreme Qingming Alliance and walk their own path instead of becoming slave soldiers."

The Ancient Demon smiled faintly. "This is precisely the current situation of the Nine Realms. If your young master can arrive here a little earlier, perhaps he might still be able to destroy everything here before the new Heavenly Dao rises, including those of the Xianhong lineage."

Wu Xinling frowned. "But you failed to bring back that member of the Demon Race. She is the only one who possesses the route recorded on the star chart. Without that route, the young master will need to expend an immense amount of time to deduce it."

"Actually, with your cultivation, you could also change the situation in the Nine Realms. Why don't you try walking out through my Inner Domain?" the Ancient Demon suggested.

A streak of faint, icy cold light flashed through Wu Xinling's eyes. "Your Inner Domain is thoroughly chaotic and distorted; it cannot even be considered a genuine Inner Domain. It only happens to bear certain similarities to the Inner Domain of my Shadow Race, which is why a connection could form between them. If I were to emerge through your Inner Domain, all you would need to do is sever the connection between yours and mine.

"Then I would be completely isolated and without support in this place. My Inner Domain is not yet capable of following me across such an enormous distance to reach this place. For all these years, I've only ever spoken to you from here. So you've figured all this out and want to lure me out and kill me, all so you can obtain more of the things I possess that can suppress your backlash."

"You misunderstand. I have no such intention," the Ancient Demon explained.

Wu Xinling suddenly raised her head and glanced upward before giving a faint smile. "You should deal with your own trouble first. I hope I will still be able to see you next time."

With that, she slowly stepped backward. Her entire body was instantly swallowed by shadows and vanished without a trace.

At the same moment, the billowing black mist was suddenly blasted apart by lightning that filled the heavens! Terrifying thunderous light flashed brilliantly across the firmament.

Through the haze, the Ancient Demon could vaguely make out a figure constructed entirely from thunder.

The Ancient Demon threw his head back and laughed toward the heavens. "Azure Lightning God Beast. So you really didn't die. You knew I was weakened, so you decided to come looking for me yourself?"

The response he received was countless cascades of lightning that poured down like a torrential waterfall! The world that rightfully ought to have been blanketed by black mist was now completely flooded by rolling, crashing thunder!

***

None of the Ancient Forbidden Zones were peaceful today.

Countless figures stepped silently onto the paths of the forbidden zones. They were completely unaffected by the forbidden zones. Whether it was highly infectious poison or all manner of terrifying environments that would force ordinary cultivators to keep their distance, none could inflict any substantial harm upon these figures.

Within a world of raging flames, a figure radiating dazzling golden light emerged.

Saint Jinyang looked at Fang Zhentian before him and couldn't help but sigh. "You all have already won. Why must you still exterminate us to the last?"

Fang Zhentian asked, "I don't like the sight of you. Is that reason enough?"

"You don't like the sight of me?"

Saint Jinyang froze for a moment before gently nodding. "You've always disliked me. It was already like this before you even became a Saint."

He paused. "But with your current strength... are you really my match? I can't kill you; you can't kill me. A battle between us is meaningless. Instead, you should think carefully about something else. The remnants of our Xianhong lineage have already been noticed by that side. I am not afraid to tell you that the Ancient Demon is connected to them. That's precisely why he has a way to suppress his own Inner Domain."

Fang Zhentian laughed. "I also happen to have something I want to tell you—the Ancient Demon is actually one of us humans who reincarnated into their race. He has been on our side all along."

Saint Jinyang was briefly stunned before sneering. "I truly have no idea which of your words are true and which are false. Are you telling me this because you want to sow discord among us? Because today, you won't be able to keep me here."

"Far from it."

Fang Zhentian took a step backward.

The next instant, a figure appeared out of nowhere, slashing his sword toward Saint Jinyang.

If Fang Chen had been present, he would naturally have recognized the swordsman. It was none other than the former Old Sword Immortal of the Void Immortal Sword Sect—Li Jingnian.