"Are you guys tired of living?"

The voice seemed to come from the clouds, yet also from the depths of the water. Its source could not be traced. Yet the killing intent within it was so sharp it seeped into the bone. In an instant, the seven Adepts froze where they stood. Even Huangfu Song, the strongest among them, felt his eyelids twitch under that overwhelming killing aura.

"Rumor has it that Azure Yang is the very Devil Lord Azure Yang who made his name in the battle that sparked the war. He's got plenty of tricks up his sleeve and a domineering streak. Among his peers, he's nearly unmatched. I used to think the rumors were exaggerated, but this... even if we join forces, we might just end up repeating what happened on Coldlight back then...."

"Fellow Daoist, don't talk yourself down while building him up. At the end of the day, he's alone, and there are seven of us here!"

"Are you sure about that?"

As a rogue cultivator force, the Myriad Immortal Society did not care much about its members' lives. Even when conflicts broke out within the Hidden Dragon Mountain Range, Sages rarely intervened. In their eyes, these people were no more than ants. Who would care about a bunch of insects fighting? But if things grew too large and began to disrupt the already scattered spirit lands of the Society, then it became a matter worth addressing. Even if Sages did not step in, the Demon Hunter Division would still hold them accountable.

As he watched his subordinates lose their nerve one by one, Huangfu Song understood that this situation would have to be handled by him personally. Fine. These people came for profit in the first place; there's no real cohesion among them. If this fight can boost their confidence a bit, it'll be much easier to direct them afterward.

He took a deep breath. "Elder Gui, I'll leave this to you."

He intended to have the two loyal old retainers under his command take the lead. Elder Gui was not surprised and stepped forward. At the signal of Elder Ye, he flew toward a location. It was one of the formation nodes Elder Ye had deduced in a short time, and the one who had just spoken was most likely hiding there. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Coward hiding in the shadows, you dare to threaten us?!" Elder Gui let out a sharp cry and thrust his palm through the air. But before the force of the strike even reached its target, a piercing shriek tore through the sky. Ripples appeared in the sky, and suddenly a fierce gale surged.

BOOOOMMMMM!!!

The clash scattered the swathes of white cloud and left the sky looking fractured. A graceful figure appeared before everyone; her brows were sharp, and her expression was dark. A plantain-leaf fan appeared in her hands. It grew large enough that she could grip it firmly and swing it like a large club. The gale surged again, its power several times greater than before.

A top-grade enchanted treasure! With a single glance, Elder Gui managed to discern the fan's grade. He entertained no thoughts of holding back and flicked his wrist to send out countless streaks of white light. They shot forward into the gale and blocked it. After a brief stalemate, the source of the white lights was revealed—strands of crystalline white threads that seemed to be the hairs of a fly whisk.

Seeing this, the woman frowned and waved the fan again. Several vortices surged around Elder Gui. At the same time, she took action directly, shooting forward like an arrow.

Facing her attack, Elder Gui let out a sinister smile. With a flick of his wrist, all the threads retracted, indeed forming a soft-looking fly-whisk. He swung it lightly, and streaks of white light met the vortices, while he himself rushed toward her with the whisk.

Huangfu Song frowned at the sight, then explained to the others, "Her name is Heavenjade. She has been running errands for Azure Yang all these years. I thought she was merely an ordinary attendant, but it seems like she actually has some skill."

"Master, there is no need to worry," Elder Ye said. "Although Elder Gui's enchanted treasure is inferior, he's at the middle stage, and he clearly surpasses her in terms of cultivation. He may fall behind at first, but if the battle lasts for a hundred exchanges, he will take control."

He nodded and shifted his gaze away from the battle. "Azure Yang keeps hiding. The longer this drags on, the more it hurts our morale, and it does not look good in front of others. Elder Ye, you will have to act and force him out."

The old man gave a slight nod. "Very well, it's time for me to show myself."

The black-robed elder stepped forward from the crowd. Under everyone's gaze, he moved with the wind and traced the pattern of the Eight Trigrams as he strode through the air for hundreds of steps. He held a star compass in one hand and formed seals with the other. With each motion, specks of starlight scattered and gathered into a silver-gray path. The path grew brighter as it extended, faintly pointing toward a distant location.

He stopped and turned back. "Master, I have found him!"

Breaking the formation in such a short time was beyond what he could do, but he had some skill in locating enemies hidden within it. Yet before his master could respond, Elder Ye saw the shock reflected in his eyes.

This is bad! Jolting in alarm, he struck the star compass without even turning. Silver light burst out and wrapped around him.

A massive one-horned dragon head appeared out of nowhere. Under everyone's gaze, it opened its ferocious jaws. A foul wind rushed out, and a terrifying devouring force spread. Streams of silver light were drawn toward it and swallowed whole. The scene resembled a celestial dragon devouring the Milky Way.

***

On Lotus-Picking Island, the little girl who had just climbed down from Zhang Jiadi-s shoulders suddenly raised her hand and pointed at the sky. "Dad, look! I told you there's a dragon in the lake. I wasn't lying."

Zhang Jiadi stared at the scene in a daze. Obviously, he was well aware of the creature; he'd merely been teasing his daughter. But who could have expected the black flood dragon to be so powerful? It was forcing a mid-stage Adept into helplessness! From the look of it, the black-robed elder could barely hold his ground and had no room left to launch a counterattack.

However, this was not the time to dwell on it. He had a servant take his daughter away, then issued a decisive command. "Everyone, charge with me!"

The others were stunned. Did they really have a place in a battle of this level? But Zhang Jiadi's orders were firm. The Zhang family cultivators had no choice but to board a large ship with him and sail toward the depths of Surging Lake.

***

The battle over Surging Lake grew increasingly intense. The violent wave of mana made it impossible for Qi Refinement cultivators and Initiates to see the fight clearly. However, some Adepts each used their own methods to observe the battle as best as they could.

High above in the heavens, two figures sat upon the clouds. One was an old man with gray hair and a beard. He held a gourd and took slow sips from it, his eyes filled with amused interest as he watched the scene below. The other had a graceful figure. She was draped with a purple Daoist robe that concealed her elegant curves. A trace of helplessness showed on her charming face.

"It's all your fault. If you hadn't made that call on your own and leased Surging Lake to Azure Yang, none of this would've happened."

The Angler chuckled. "Made the call on my own? What are you talking about? Those spirit-vein cave residences don't belong to us. Anyone who can pay the rent gets to lease them."

Purple Empress shook her head. "You know that's not what I mean."

There was clearly an unspoken understanding between them. But the Angler simply clicked his tongue. "I really don't get what you're still holding on to. You come from the Great Zhou, but even while you were there, you were nothing more than a symbol of the country. Did you truly consider them your people? I don't think so. Now that the Great Zhou's gone, you finally have your freedom. So why get dragged back in and start backing Huangfu Song?"

The way he put it made Huangfu Song seem insignificant. Purple Empress sighed. "Song'er may lack temperament, but his talent is outstanding. Given our connection, I can't just stand by. I have to give him a hand."

The Angler's expression turned serious. He said, "Think what you like while you're in your own cultivation room, but now that we're the heads of the division, we're no longer just rogue cultivators. What happens among those below us... you'd best stay out of it."

The Purple Empress snorted. "Don't tell me you actually think that so-called Devil Lord can hold off Song'er and his group."

"So-called? He is called so for a reason. Exaggerated or not, the rumors must have some truth to them." The Angler thought back to his brief encounters with Luo Chen and felt oddly at ease. He added with a hint of disdain, "Besides, aside from the two old retainers under Huangfu Song, the rest he's gathered are nothing special."

Just as the Purple Empress was about to refute him, her expression changed. A dragon's roar rang out. She and the Angler looked over at once and saw a massive black body rising halfway out of the lake.

"Black-Scaled Giant Python? No... wait—it's already turned into a flood dragon!" the Angler blurted out. Then, he realized something was off. On the exposed underside of Black King were mysterious circular patterns. They resembled vines, yet also seemed like flowing silk. Among all reptilian races, such markings were said to only appear on Cliff Serpents, legendary archaic beasts with the potential to become Titan Beasts!

Whatever the reason for these markings was, the appearance of this creature completely overturned everyone's expectations.

The Angler's eyes lit up with astonishment. "Azure Yang isn't alone after all. He's got a Golden Core attendant at his side and even a Demon King on par with a sixth-stage Adept! With that kind of assistance, even True Inheritors of major sects would have trouble matching him. Maybe only True Inheritors of a Holy Land could produce such a lineup."

Purple Empress's expression turned strained. She had dealt with such True Inheritors of Holy Lands before. Without having such backing, a cultivator could certainly gather followers through personal charm, but making Adepts serve as attendants was something else altogether. Only the most outstanding among the True Inheritors received such heavy support from their sect elders. They were given enchanted treasures and pills, as well as mounts, spirit beasts, and attendants. In every aspect, they far surpassed ordinary Adepts. Now that she thought about it, Azure Yang was indeed no different from those top-tier True Inheritors of the old devil sect.

She could not help but ask, "Angler, are you sure we didn't miss anything when he was screened on entry? He really isn't a remnant of the Primordial Devil Sect?"

The Angler rolled his eyes. "You really think the appraisal treasures the three Hermits left us are just for decoration?"

The implication was clear: This man was in no case a remnant of the devil sect. Yet for someone who was not a True Inheritor of a Holy Land to subdue a Demon King higher in cultivation than himself was astonishing. It was even more shocking considering he was a rogue cultivator!

***

If even the two eight-star demon hunters were so shocked, then what about Huangfu Song, who was directly involved?

Elder Ye was struggling more and more under the terrifying devouring force. Huangfu Song turned at once and spoke to the four cultivators behind him, "Why aren't you guys stepping in to help?"

The four hesitated. At that moment, a streak of light descended onto the battlefield. "Don't you think it's a bit dishonorable to gang up on one person?"

Huangfu Song frowned as he looked at the newcomer. "And you are?"

"I am Duan Li, a friend of Azure Yang's." Duan Li looked somewhat nervous, but he kept his composure. Back then, Luo Chen had guided him to choose a good cave residence. He owed the man a favor, so he stepped forward to speak on his behalf. Especially now that Luo Chen's side seemed to be dominating, his confidence had grown. He might not be able to help much, but adding to the momentum was something he could do.

The four Adepts behind Huangfu Song immediately recognized him.

"That's the one from the Duan family of Auspicious Ring Island!"

"I've heard he has an enchanted-treasure flower basket that ordinary treasures can't match."

"If he brings that out, we might not be able to take him down so easily, even though we're at the same stage."

As Huangfu Song listened to the whispers behind him, he grew more irritated. A bunch of cowardly fence-sitters!

He could not worry about guarding against the man in the shadows anymore; saving Elder Ye came first. Elder Ye was not very adept at direct combat, much less dealing with surprise attacks. As a formation master, he excelled when given time to prepare. Such talent was valued by any major force. There was no way he would let him die in a direct clash.

A fierce look flashed across Huangfu Song's face. "Get lost!"

At the same time, he formed a sword with his fingers and released a streak of purple sword energy. It came so fast that it was nearly impossible to react. Meanwhile, Duan Li had not recovered to his peak even after these five years, and his mana activation was sluggish. Fear flickered in his eyes, along with a trace of regret. No one had asked him to step in, yet he had come forward on his own. Had he been too reckless? If he died here, how would he avenge his family?

In just an instant, the purple sword energy was a mere three zhang of Duan Li. But at the critical moment, rings of fire appeared in the void. The sword energy tore through them like cloth and broke ring after ring, but its speed dropped. Duan Li finally had time to react; he hurriedly activated his defenses and barely blocked the weakened strike.

"You treat my friend like that, and you think I'll just let it slide? That wouldn't be right. Take this!"

In the void, a massive green palm appeared out of nowhere. It blotted out the sky as it pressed down with overwhelming force. Wherever it passed, green flames coiled, and space itself seemed distorted.

Huangfu Song was horrified and unleashed multiple defensive spells in succession. Yet under the power of that palm strike, they all popped apart like soap bubbles. In the end, a flash of purple light burst out from his body and dispersed the attack.

The Azure Yang Great Handprint! This spell was said to be the signature move of Devil Lord Azure Yang. Those of lower cultivation would either die or suffer grievous injury before it, and even his peers found it hard to resist. Huangfu Song was at the late stage of Golden Core, yet he had almost failed to defend against it. Clearly, that final light was not his own ability or item, but rather a protective measure granted by a senior.

"That is enough. Everyone, stand down."

A calm yet authoritative voice rang out. At once, the raging winds vanished, and the devouring force receded. Black King slipped back into the waters, and Heavenjade moved in a flash to stand beside Duan Li. In front of them stood a tall Daoist in red robes. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the group ahead.

Huangfu Song's expression shifted as he glanced over those behind him—the furious Elder Gui, the shaken Elder Ye, who had just barely survived, and the Adepts who had held back. Finally, he steadied himself and looked at the red-robed Daoist. "Devil Lord Azure Yang, I think we can talk."

Luo Chen's expression stayed cold. "So now you want to talk?"

"You never gave me the chance. I sent a visiting card!"

"I didn't reply because I had no interest in talking."

Hearing this insolent reply, Huangfu Song flew into a rage and pointed at Luo Chen. "You..."

Luo Chen's spirit pressure spread out like a rising tide, growing stronger in an instant. "Me what? What are you going to do about it? You really want to fight? Fine! Are you ready to stake your life on it?"