"Where did this little insect come from?"

Reflected in the deep purple, ringed golden eyes of the beast was the image of a young Taoist, yet it only imparted to its master a sensation as fleeting as dust particles, vanishing with a gust of wind. In some sense, its ally was still quite dependable.

At this moment, the Heavy Weapon Sect Leader clenched her fist, with star force converging and circulating within her grasp. Two li away, Yu Zhou, poised to attack again, felt a chill in his heart. His form once more became ethereal, a fraction of a second too late, and a ripple of light danced across his brow. The outer layer of Sword Energy concaved, and with a soft "pop," a tiny hole was eroded through, of course, only piercing the air.

As one hole opened, another depression followed. By now, Yu Zhou had shifted nearly forty zhang away, his throat almost replicating the previous cycle, as another small hole emerged.

Subsequently, his chest and upper and lower abdomen were successively hit by spreading light waves, which were actually the Sword Energy collapsing under too much pressure. During this time, the Old Daoist Yu Zhou had shifted his position at least three times, moving beyond five li, yet he couldn't escape the seemingly child's play assault no matter what he did.

Finally, as the fifth light wave formed a ring and the Sword Energy barrier broke, the Old Daoist let out a muffled groan. His figure sprang from the mist, blood spilling from his mouth and nose, staining his white beard red. But he couldn't concern himself with his injuries, instead, he looked up at the location of the Heavy Weapon Sect Leader and exclaimed in shock:

"Great Mysterious Star Lock!"

The Heavy Weapon Sect Leader paid him no heed, slowly turning over her clenched fist. With this technique, if he was hit once, she had a thousand ways to refine the Old Daoist. She even had the leisure to turn her head to look at the newly appeared overconfident individual, considering which method to use to intercept him.

However, just as she was about to initiate her subsequent move, a familiar sensation pierced her heart.

She looked up in astonishment, towards the sky. There, a star chart pieced together from dozens of patches of night sky shone brightly, with countless stars glittering, their light radiating outward, large as hen's eggs. As the tremors in this area grew more pronounced, it felt as if a giant hand of a celestial being was sweeping across the sky, knocking down the stars!

"Death is upon us!" Yu Ci's roar echoed through the mountain peaks.

"Chen Guang Divine Thunder... Foolish and ignorant!" The Heavy Weapon Sect Leader could no longer suppress her murderous intent, but her first priority was to block the onslaught of thunderous fire. After the transformation and manipulation of Yuan Dao's Physical Body, its nature began to shift towards that of the Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion. At this moment, being struck by the righteous thunderous fire, the damage was difficult to estimate.

But just as she shifted her focus and began to rush towards that direction, she sensed something was amiss. The All-Heavens Star Power, instead of coalescing, turned into thousands of starlight arrows, dragging long tails of light, plummeting down like rain.

Such Chen Guang Divine Thunder, if it fell on Cliff City, would annihilate thousands of civilians as if they were mere weeds. However, here, it would not inflict any harm on the two temporarily allied powerhouses. Yet, the star secret techniques in the hands of the Heavy Weapon Sect Leader unavoidably suffered interference from the powerful Talismanic curse, causing immediate disorder.

Yu Ci, employing the "Bursting String" method, had launched the Upper Cave-True Starlight Sensing Divine Thunder without completing the final step. That even half a Talisman could have such an effect was entirely beyond the Heavy Weapon Sect Leader's calculations.

"Learn and apply... Elder Zhu, you've taught a good disciple!"

After the Heavy Armor, her lips formed a cold arc, but she made no move to respond, merely stirring the True Sha Yuan force to sweep away the Chen Guang thunderous fire that was falling overhead. At the same time, she watched that already familiar figure leap from a blind spot in her vision, grab the Old Taoist Priest, and flee outward. In a blink, they concealed themselves among the snowy peaks, disappearing without a trace.

Yu Ci completely sealed his mouth and nose, breathing only through the Seed True Talisman at his dantian, regulating the Primordial Qi throughout his body. Back and forth, in an unceasing cycle, he ran as if his feet never touched the ground, dashing madly towards the entrance from whence he came.

At the outset, he was at least ten miles away in a straight line from the snow-capped region where the "Master of the Sunken Sword Cave" and others were located. In this area, Yu Ci had almost no means of attack, his only one being the sole remaining Upper Cave-True Starlight Sensing Divine Thunder Talisman in his hand.

Without any hesitation, he used the Talisman, and its effect was so astonishing it made someone's jaw drop.

"You, you said you were going to..."

"Can't even deceive myself, let alone fool anyone else!"

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That person paused for a long while before speaking, "But what about the Xuanhuang..."

"Where is the Qu Thunderbolt-Free?"

"..."

"Xuanhuang has always said that the Thunderbolt-Free Great Immortals are here, but if he is not, what else is there to do?"

Perhaps sensing something off in Yu Ci's tone, a vague sound seemed to echo in his ears, but it faded away as soon as it appeared. Yu Ci seemed to suddenly remember something, and said with a realization, "That's right, there's also Lord Yuan Dao, whose Physical Body has been taken over by someone... What are you doing? It's already this late, you should activate those damn things you've set up!"

Seeing Yu Zhou injured, Yu Ci felt an inexplicable surge of anger. His thoughts nearly materialized into substance as he roared towards the void, but there was no response at his ear, as if the other party had been "blocked" again.

Yu Ci then had a clear understanding in his heart. Although he had met that person in the Sword Immortal's Secret domain just like Xuanhuang, they were clearly not the same.

"Ah Ci? Are you alright?"

This endearing call, like one would use for a young girl, only made Yu Ci feel more affectionate. His anger dissipated as he turned to face the other, "Temple Master Yu, are your injuries not serious?"

Old Daoist Yu Zhou still wore a look of surprise, but then he smiled and said, "It's nothing. The Great Mysterious Star Lock cannot affect me with less than two strikes. As for you, following Old Master Zhu in practicing Talismans, it seems you have made significant progress."

"Great Mysterious Star Lock?"

Yu Ci felt as if he had heard of this secret technique somewhere before, but now was not the time to be distracted. Fearing that the Old Taoist Priest might do something rash, still harboring the foolish notion of saving all living beings, he kept a tight grip on the Old Taoist Priest, flying swiftly, and spoke rapidly, "The one on the snow peak is possessed by a great Demon from the Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion, using Lord Yuan Dao's Physical Body. His combat strength is formidable, and he must not be confronted!"

"I'm already aware..."

The Old Daoist had just begun to speak when another violent tremor surged through the void behind them. A mountain peak was collapsing, making it seem as though the world was shrinking, being devoured by the collapsing space. At the core of the collapse, blood-red flames were clearly burning.

The stench in the air suddenly intensified by two or three degrees. Yu Ci, with his keen sense of smell, far surpassing that of ordinary people, found it even more unbearable. When the stench penetrated his nasal passages into his skull, he almost thought the front half of his face was on fire. Thankfully, he quickly blocked his nostrils, which made it somewhat better.

Even though Yu Ci lacked an understanding of the consequences of the destruction of the Void Structure, he knew that the most critical moment was about to arrive. He pulled on Yu Zhou with more force, shouting, "Let's go, quickly!"

Yu Zhou did not say anything but instead added his strength to the pull, and the two of them flew straight up into the air, accelerating into the increasingly turbulent outer void currents.

Soon, Yu Ci could already see the Void Rift ahead, just one more burst of speed was needed. But at that moment, at the spot where he and Yu Zhou's arms crossed, a strange noise was heard. Both of their forms shook, and they stopped simultaneously.

Just now, Yu Zhou attempted to leverage his strength to push Yu Ci forward, yet Yu Ci, ever vigilant and trusting that the Old Daoist would not harm him, kept a death grip on Yu Zhou's upper arm. Twisting his head, his brows furrowed tightly, he said, "Temple Master..."

Yu Zhou shook his head with a smile, his white beard flecked with spots of blood. "There are things one does and does not do in this world. I, too, will not force what should not be done. The matter here was reported to the sect two days ago. Reinforcements will soon arrive, and we have the Sect's Treasured Weapon to rely on. Ah Ci, you go ahead. Li Hong and the others are waiting outside at the western peak. I only need to hold this position for a quarter of an hour."

Yu Ci was not ready to listen. He wanted to persuade Yu Zhou further, but suddenly, he paused, affected by some information in the Old Daoist's words. Many clues he had encountered earlier suddenly twisted together in his mind. After a moment's hesitation, he finally asked, "The Sect's Treasured Weapon? Is it from the Sword Garden..."

Before he could finish, the chaotic void around them roared wildly. Just when everyone thought that the distorted forces would intensify, the tumultuous flow came to a halt!

It stopped completely, utterly and absolutely.

The origin of the Boundary River seemed to expand in an instant, an endless expanse of starry sky unfolding. However, in stark contrast to this outward show, the air outside felt stagnant, suffocating, as if Yu Ci was sealed within a thick layer of earth, unable to move.

Then he heard the sound of air flowing, but at the same time, all other sounds were erased, leaving only this strange "whooshing" noise, like the heavy breathing of a wild beast.

Yu Ci and Yu Zhou both looked towards the distant snowy peak.

In their field of vision, the "Master of the Sunken Sword Cave" was but a speck. They could barely make out the figure straightening up from a stooped position, then stretching out his hands, examining something carefully as if it were a treasure. At last, he let out a long sigh towards the heavens:

"At last, it has come. This is the 'True Realm'."

True Realm? Yu Ci was momentarily stunned, then he remembered that this was the more formal name for this world, supposedly mentioned only by the demons of the Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion. Regardless, it was now certain that this was a creature that had crawled up from the Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion, and it had done something very, very deadly to the original inhabitants of this realm.

Behind it, the collapsing void expanded, with flames burning at its center, occasionally sending long tongues of fire that morphed into various grotesque shapes. The scorching heat melted the snow on the surrounding peaks, sending streams trickling down, now tainted with a layer of blood.

"Come, bear witness!"

As the voice fell, the world turned upside down!

Beneath Yu Ci and Yu Zhou, the earth crumbled. The ground's surface was clearly tilting inward and wrinkling, like a flat piece of paper being crumpled by someone's hand. The recently expanded sky also dissolved in large swaths. With the world in such disarray, Yu Ci and Yu Zhou could no longer stand their ground; they could find no exit and were forced to fly back the way they came.

In an instant, the area around the source of the Boundary River shrank by half.

Those who had been hiding in the chaotic void could no longer conceal themselves. Aside from Yu Ci and Yu Zhou, in the opposite direction, there was someone with a face as still as water, floating mid-air without the aid of any artifact. His demeanor suggested that he was a Vacuum Walking Cultivator, likely the one who had slipped through the net when the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave had entered with that sword strike.

As for the other, even in such circumstances, his face still bore a smile, albeit with a painfully twisted corner of the mouth.

That was Wen Shifei.