Inside the demon god barrier, everything had fallen into chaos. A terrifying rift suddenly appeared in the sky, stretching from several hundred meters above the ground all the way down to the earth. The rift was pitch black, without the slightest trace of light, like the gaping maw of an abyss capable of devouring all things. Endless Baleful Yin force poured out from the rift, causing the concentration of Baleful Yin force within the demon god barrier to rise rapidly. The entire barrier seemed as if it would transform into a demon-tainted soil. Thick and filthy rivers of liquid flowed from where the rift met the ground and seeped into the earth. The nearest trees began to mutate under the corrosion of the evil energy.

Terrifying roars echoed throughout the entire mountain forest. From within the rift came waves of rumbling. Endless demon puppets rushed out wildly from the rift, only to crash into an invisible barrier and explode into clouds of black blood mist. These demon puppets possessed no intelligence and felt no pain. One after another, they hurled themselves against the invisible barrier at the mouth of the rift, bursting into bloody mist that corroded the unseen barrier.

Roar!

Suddenly, one of the demon puppets broke through the invisible barrier. Its body shattered into pieces and scattered across the ground. Once the first appeared, the second followed, and then the third...

After an unknown number of demon puppets had died, one finally rushed out of the rift alive. Its body was mangled, all four limbs severed, leaving only a ruined upper torso. Yet its powerful vitality allowed it to survive. The demon puppet raised its head and let out a terrifying roar that echoed through the entire forest.

Inside the demon god barrier, a man said with an expressionless face, "Let's go. Things here are almost finished. Time to find the person the high priest wants."

He exchanged a glance with his companion and gave a slight nod. Then he took out a black Ink Jade Disk from his robes. After injecting energy into it, a flickering point of light appeared on the disk.

Whoosh.

Their figures moved, and they left the demon god barrier, rushing toward the location indicated by the glowing point.

"Did you check his background?" the bald man, Jin Cheng, asked calmly. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"He's just a Grandmaster-realm martial artist. No notable background," Ge Qing replied.

"The high priest is making a fuss over nothing. He's just a Grandmaster-realm martial artist. Why send both of us?" asked Jin Cheng.

"Capturing him is just a side task. Our main objective is to meet the spy our lord placed within the Directorate of Celestial Observation and hand that item to him," Ge Qing said.

"That item?" Jin Cheng grew curious. He had been called midway by Ge Qing to assist with the mission and did not know the details.

"Yes. That man is an immortal cultivator from the Directorate of Celestial Observation with fairly good natural talent. The high priest does not fully trust him and intends to add some leverage. This item will serve as his token of allegiance," Ge Qing said calmly.

Ge Qing did not trust Wu Yi very much. The message Wu Yi had sent told him to wait at the agreed location while Wu Yi personally captured the target and delivered him there. Ge Qing felt that something was suspicious. The more one acted, the more mistakes could occur. From what he knew of Wu Yi, the man was extremely cautious and unlikely to take such a risk himself.

"Someone from the Directorate of Celestial Observation? Interesting. I did not expect it to become so corrupt that even immortal cultivator disciples would cooperate with us. Great Wei deserves to fall. It has occupied the Central Plains for so long. It's time for them to relinquish this fertile land." Jin Cheng sneered.

"Shh, quiet. We're almost there. Watch the surroundings. I'll handle it," Ge Qing said softly.

Jin Cheng nodded indifferently. Their target was only a Grandmaster realm martial artist. Ge Qing alone would be more than enough to deal with him.

***

A sudden gale rose, making the leaves rustle loudly. Lin Zheyu moved through the forest, searching for traces of the Yao Heavenly Palace. The spirit stones on him and the spirit liquid he had accumulated had all been exhausted yesterday when he used Origin Force to improve himself.

Suddenly, Lin Zheyu's brows furrowed slightly. Within his Perception Domain, an extremely faint aura appeared. Although the other party had concealed it well, he had complete control over everything within more than two hundred meters.

What incredible speed. Another immortal cultivator?

A faint sense of danger rose in Lin Zheyu's heart.

His expression did not change. His right hand tightly gripped the Purple Thunder Demon-Slaying Saber while true origin gathered within his body, ready to erupt. After his battle with Wu Yi, Lin Zheyu had learned one thing. When fighting immortal cultivators, he must never give them time to bring out their dharma artifacts. The best outcome was to kill them instantly before they could react.

Whoosh!

Like lightning, Ge Qing rushed behind Lin Zheyu. His face remained expressionless as his right fist shot toward Lin Zheyu's neck.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, Ge Qing's expression changed drastically. A blade flash streaking with blood-red lightning arcs appeared in his vision. Its speed was unbelievable.

"This is bad!"

Ge Qing was both shocked and furious. The thought flashing through his mind had nothing to do with Lin Zheyu. Instead, he realized that Wu Yi had indeed deceived him.

Pfft!

The sharp blade sliced across Ge Qing's neck. His head slowly slid from his shoulders. His eyes were wide with disbelief and resentment. Even in death, he could not understand why he had died at the hands of a Grandmaster realm martial artist. Although he did not know why the opponent had suddenly unleashed such terrifying power, Ge Qing believed the high priest's judgment could not be wrong. He believed the demon god was all-knowing and all-powerful.

When Lin Zheyu had come into contact with that strange tree earlier, he had left behind an aura. With that aura, they could use the Ink Jade Disk to locate him and even determine his strength. The information given by the demon god and the high priest could not be wrong. Ge Qing firmly believed that Lin Zheyu was only a Grandmaster. The result was that he let his guard down. With a single moment of carelessness, Lin Zheyu killed him instead.

"Hm? Damn it!"

Jin Cheng, who had followed behind Ge Qing, turned pale at the sight.

Instead of retreating, he surged forward. A cyan longsword suddenly appeared in his hand and stabbed straight toward Lin Zheyu's brow.

After killing one opponent, Lin Zheyu did not relax in the slightest. He unleashed the Blood Burning Saber Technique as his life essence burned wildly. The gray true origin was stained by the blood-red glow produced by burning life essence, erupting with even greater power.

Whoosh!

The long saber tore through the air and slashed down toward Jin Cheng's head. Jin Cheng's expression remained calm. With a twist of his wrist, the cyan sword swung up to block.

Clang!

The cyan sword collided with the Purple Thunder Demon-Slaying Saber, producing a clear ringing sound. In the next instant, Jin Cheng's eyes widened in shock as his body was blasted backward. The arm gripping the cyan sword went numb from the terrifying force. His bones cracked audibly, and the sword was knocked from his grasp.

"What terrifying strength. This guy cannot possibly be a Grandmaster. Is he a Martial Innate realm martial artist? No. Without turning to the Immortal Dao and advancing to the Foundation Establishment realm, a Martial Innate realm martial artist cannot possess such terrifying strength. This kid must be a Foundation Establishment realm expert!" Jin Cheng was horrified.

He and Ge Qing were genuine Martial Innate realm martial artists. Even with the augmentation of demon god power, they were no match for a Foundation Establishment realm expert. Moreover, he could sense that the man before him was definitely not an ordinary expert of the Foundation Establishment realm. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to send him flying so easily.

"Run!"

Jin Cheng immediately turned and fled. His left hand slapped the storage pouch at his waist, and a blood-colored Hundred Ghost Seal appeared in his hand. Without looking back, he hurled the seal violently behind him.

Wuu! Ying... ying... waa, waa...

In an instant, the sounds of women weeping, infants crying, and vicious ghosts wailing filled the mountain forest. The voices resembled demonic chants as they poured into Lin Zheyu's ears. Yet they had no effect at all. These sounds could not even break through the forty-two strands of true intent within his consciousness, let alone influence him.

"Ghosts?" More than a dozen ferocious ghosts suddenly appeared before Lin Zheyu and lunged at him with shrill screams. His expression remained cold. Even back in the Blood Qi realm, he had not feared ghosts. Now that he had become a Force Transformation realm expert, these Yin spirits were even less threatening.

Whoosh!

A blade flash streaking with blood-red lightning arcs swept past. The dozen vicious ghosts let out shrill screams before being completely annihilated in a single strike. Another slash followed, and the blood-colored Hundred Ghost Seal exploded with a boom. The wails of the ghosts vanished instantly.

Lin Zheyu glanced at Jin Cheng fleeing deeper into the forest and thought, So weak. Compared to the immortal cultivator from the Directorate of Celestial Observation I fought before, these two are far inferior.

He immediately stopped circulating the Blood Burning Saber Technique. That brief exchange had already consumed a large amount of his life essence. Since the opponent was even weaker than he had expected, there was no need to continue using such a costly secret art.

Lin Zheyu stomped the ground and shot forward like an arrow. Jin Cheng's strength was nowhere near Wu Yi's, and his speed was only about twice the speed of sound. In the blink of an eye, he caught up to him.

Several slashes followed in quick succession. The blade moved so fast that Jin Cheng could not react. Without his cyan sword, he could not even counterattack and could only endure the blows passively.

"Aaah!"

Jin Cheng let out a shrill scream. Intense pain shot through his limbs as his body crashed to the ground. Blood flowed across the earth and seeped into the soil, dyeing the surrounding dirt red.