The strange fish possessed astonishing defenses. Combined with the powerful regenerative ability inherent to yaos, Lin Zheyu had no desire to fight it. His figure flickered, and he quickly vanished from where he stood. Killing yaos brought him no benefit. He did not practice artifact forging, and the storage pouch on him could not hold much. Slaying these yaos would only waste the true origin within his body. When he encountered weaker yaos, he did not hesitate to kill them. But if he met troublesome ones that required real effort, he preferred to avoid them.

A tearing sound cut through the air behind him. Within his perception, the strange fish shot toward him.

"What the...? A flying fish..." Lin Zheyu muttered softly as he quickened his pace again.

He actually wanted to capture the creature and study it. However, the strange fish's defenses were simply too monstrous. With such formidable protection combined with the terrifying regenerative ability of yaos, Lin Zheyu would likely be surrounded by approaching yaos before he could even subdue it.

Lin Zheyu pushed off the ground. A thunderous boom erupted as his speed instantly surged to five times the speed of sound, leaving the strange fish far behind. The surrounding scenery flashed past within his perception like a revolving lantern, though it appeared much clearer than before.

My perception has become the limiting factor in increasing my speed. If I want to push my speed to the extreme, I need to further enhance my spirit perception. This level is still not enough.

After rushing forward several hundred meters, he quickly slowed down. Traveling at five times the speed of sound was still somewhat beyond what his current perception could comfortably handle. A moment of carelessness and he might crash into something.

Lin Zheyu continued forward for more than a thousand meters. Once he confirmed the strange fish had not followed him, he let out a slight sigh of relief. Instead of returning immediately, he found a place to hide. The disturbance just now had been quite large, and he planned to wait until everything settled down again.

Suddenly, another terrifying rumble erupted in the distance, followed by a surging tide of energy. Lin Zheyu frowned and looked in that direction. The sound came from the direction of the space-time node, and a streak of radiant light shot from the darkness straight into the sky.

Soon after, waves of furious roars erupted one after another, echoing throughout the entire region. The Baleful Yin force in the air became restless under the terrifying chorus of roars.

"Hiss... The disturbance at the space-time node is growing. I really want to go take a look," Lin Zheyu murmured, a trace of longing appearing in his eyes.

He quickly retreated and did not dare remain there for long. Over the past two days, Lin Zheyu had become familiar with some of the patterns within the demon god barrier. Every time a massive disturbance came from the space-time node, a wave of yaos would appear. Large numbers of strange yaos would surge outward in all directions from the direction of the space-time node.

"Moo!"

A roar like that of a ferocious bull drew Lin Zheyu's attention. Even though he could not see with his eyes, he still could not help turning his head toward the sound. From the pitch-black space came the sound of heavy breathing. Behind it was a yao with three savage horns on its head, its body four to five meters long and incredibly robust. As this group of powerful yaos ran, the ground trembled violently beneath their steps.

"My perception is too weak..." Lin Zheyu murmured.

He could only judge what was happening in the distance through sound. Although he could not see, Lin Zheyu's hearing was not restricted. He could tell that the powerful yao seemed to be chasing some enemy. He had no intention of intervening. In this dangerous demon god barrier, he had to move cautiously just to protect himself, let alone save someone else.

I need to raise my spirit as soon as possible. Feeling like a blind man is unbearable.

He hated this feeling. Without the assistance of a powerful Perception Domain, relying only on hearing to move through the demon god barrier would make every step extremely difficult for him.

Rumble... rumble!

The vibrations gradually faded into the distance, and Lin Zheyu remained crouched where he was. Only after the surroundings grew quiet again did he continue rushing toward the river filled with dense Baleful Yin force.

This time, he chose an area further downstream. The upstream region contained too many powerful yaos, and a moment of carelessness could put him in danger. Moreover, after his earlier test, he had discovered that if he used only 1 unit of Origin Force each time to enhance himself, the energy consumption was not particularly great.

Lin Zheyu found a relatively large branch of the river. The viscous liquid flowed slowly, and the dense Baleful Yin force within it continuously seeped into the soil as the current moved.

"This will do..."

After checking the surrounding environment and confirming there was no danger, Lin Zheyu submerged both hands into the viscous liquid river. This time, he did not draw the liquid out before inserting his hands. This tributary was relatively small and had formed only recently. There were no powerful yaos within it, so he did not need to worry about unknown dangers lurking in the river.

Use 1 unit of Origin Force to cultivate the Sacred Evolution Spirit Nurturing Art.

As the thought spread outward, Lin Zheyu's spirit wavered and entered the realm of consciousness, where he began an endless cultivation.

***

At the center of the demon god barrier, a terrifying rift stretched from the sky down to the earth. An invisible and dreadful pressure spread outward from the crack. The entire rift was pitch black, without the slightest trace of light. It resembled the gaping maw of a dreadful abyss capable of swallowing everything. A viscous and filthy liquid flowed from where the rift met the ground, gathering into a thick river.

Deafening roars echoed from the rift. Several powerful yaos rose into the air and hovered within the center of the crack, looking down at the few people standing outside it. Although the darkness was so thick that one could not see one's own fingers, it had no effect on these powerful individuals.

A man holding a blade licked his lips and said viciously, "Senior Brother Ying, let's charge in and kill them!"

The man named Ying Jie glared at him and, with a headache, replied, "Shut up!"

The blade-wielding man beside him was his junior brother Lei Li, a complete battle maniac. Acting together with him often gave Ying Jie a headache.

"Damn it, I just can't stand seeing this trash act arrogantly in front of me," Lei Li cursed. He lightly tapped the ground with his toes and floated into the air, glaring at the powerful yaos within the space-time rift. Dazzling lightning flashed within his eyes.

Boom!

A terrifying bolt of lightning suddenly condensed in the void and struck toward a yao emerging from the space-time rift. The creature had just squeezed out of the rift and was rushing excitedly toward the distance. Its eyes widened in unwillingness before it was completely annihilated by the lightning.

"Lei Li, come back!" Ying Jie shouted loudly.

"I'm just venting a bit. Damn it, if not for the world barrier protecting them, I would have split them apart with one slash!" Lei Li cursed as he descended from the sky. He turned and glared at the yaos on the other side of the space-time rift. Lightning flickered again in his eyes, but no new thunderbolt appeared in the sky.

"Save your strength for the powerful enemies that will come later. They won't just sit and watch us completely seal the space-time rift," Ying Jie said in a low voice.

Even after the space-time node was opened and a space-time rift appeared, it did not mean the yaos on the other side could easily cross over. The world's instinct for self-preservation created a world barrier once the rift opened, preventing powerful yaos from entering. Only when this region was completely corrupted by the Baleful Yin force and transformed into demon-tainted soil would those powerful yaos be able to enter this world.

This was also why those evil sects had set up the demon god barrier here. The larger the area covered by the demon god barrier, the more terrifying the yaos that could enter from the other side of the space-time rift once the entire region was transformed into demon-tainted soil. The demon god barrier outside Wuling City covered an extremely vast area. If the space-time rift here were fully opened, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Hearing Ying Jie's voice, Lei Li immediately responded, "Yes, Senior Brother."

He also knew that now was not the time to vent his anger. They needed to conserve spirit power to deal with the challenges ahead. The demon god barrier was nothing like the blessed lands or grotto heavens. Here, their spirit power could not be replenished at any time. They even had to resist the erosion of the Baleful Yin force, so they had to use it sparingly.

This was also why they had not killed every yao that escaped from the space-time rift. Yaos could never be completely wiped out. As long as the rift remained open, an endless stream of yaos would continue rushing in from the other side.

"Has Martial Uncle Ji's grand formation still not been completed? If this drags on any longer, even Golden Core realm yaos might start coming through," Lei Li asked in a deep voice after taking a deep breath.

Yaos in the Foundation Establishment realm had already begun to appear. Although their bodies were severely damaged by the world's pressure after squeezing through the space-time rift, causing them to lose much of their strength, the trend was clear. As the Baleful Yin force continued to erode the region, the world barrier would grow weaker. In less than two days, yaos with full Foundation Establishment realm strength would likely be able to cross over intact.

"It won't be that fast. This space-time node is stronger than any before it. Ordinary formations cannot completely seal it. Besides, those hiding in the darkness won't allow Martial Uncle Ji to finish setting up the formation so easily," Ying Jie said, shaking his head.

Different people were responsible for different tasks. The two of them were the strongest and had been in charge of setting up the core formation node. That part had already been completed. Now they only needed to guard the core node and wait for the remaining parts of the grand formation to be finished. Those with weaker strength, such as Gu Ye and Guo Wenzi, Force Transformation realm martial artists, were responsible for constructing the outermost sections of the formation.

"Someone's coming. Be careful!" Ying Jie suddenly warned, his expression turning serious.

Before Ying Jie even finished speaking, Lei Li tightened his grip on the long saber in his hand. A ferocious smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as arcs of lightning flickered in his eyes, giving off a dangerous aura.