"Fellow Daoist Chen, your fierce reputation echoes throughout the Southern Border and Northern Territory, and we would never dare to treat you lightly. Being able to invite you out today is a rewarding journey indeed," Ou Ji slowly began.

"I didn't expect those four spineless old men to be so lacking in spirit. Even though they fear my breakthrough to the later stages, they only dare to hide and ask you from Dawn to make a move, which is quite amusing. They must be willing to empty their coffers, right?" the green-robed youth said with a trace of a cold smile on his lips, scornfully.

"This matter is unrelated to the other four sects. Biluo Cave slaughters villages and towns and even turns humans with Spirit Roots into Beast Slaves, violating the heavens' principles. Dawn is merely enforcing heavenly justice," Ou Ji replied calmly and unhurriedly.

"Those four families are just worried about openly attacking me together in case they fail and I escape. Then someday I'd come back for revenge one by one. That's why they don't dare to show up," the green-robed youth laughed.

"More talk is pointless. Chen Cangqiong, just surrender. We'll allow you to disperse your cultivation to the Foundation Establishment Stage. Swear to leave this place for the North Territory or Overseas, and never set foot in Central Plains or Southern Border again. I can vouch for you," Ou Ji urged him in the end.

"Is this your way of telling me to kneel? Dream on! Just four Core Formation cultivators. Since you don't know any better, just stay here, all of you!" the green-robed youth declared. As he did, the Blood Cloud around him suddenly expanded several fold, enveloping the four in a sky-covering shroud.

...

The Dawn Alliance truly came prepared, and everything previously was just to lure the Great Elder out. Now, it's the most critical clash. With the Great Elder of Biluo Cave finally appearing, it also dragged out all of Dawn's hidden trump cards. Now nobody is paying attention to Biluo Cave's Qi Refining disciples anymore, granting them the perfect opportunity to escape.

Deep underground, Yuan Ming thought to himself.

Yuan Ming silently emerged from the ground, heading to burrow into the nearby jungle when the Earth Travel Talisman on him gave a sharp crack, disintegrating into countless fragments that scattered in the wind.

Knowing the limited power of the talisman, he was prepared and quickly made his way out of Biluo Cave.

Just then, a sparrow flew over and landed on his shoulder, a spark of sentience in its eyes.

Yuan Ming was shockingly startled, his hand glowing with a cyan light, ready to do something.

"Yuan Ming, Yuan Ming, hurry to the back mountain," Xi Ying's voice suddenly resounded in his mind.

"Xi Ying, that Great Elder from Biluo Cave and several Core Formation Cultivators from Dawn are about to clash. Isn't this our chance to break free?" Yuan Ming asked, relieved upon realizing it was Xi Ying, then inquired.

"I have been waiting in this damned place for three years just for today's opportunity. Once it's done, let's leave together," Xi Ying said.

"Alright!"

Having heard this, Yuan Ming no longer hesitated and whisked toward the back mountain. Following the sparrow's guidance, he quickly arrived at a tree line near the back mountain of Biluo Cave, under an inconspicuous large tree.

At this moment, Xi Ying was crouched on the tree, looking towards an ancient Cave Mansion not far away, with "Biluo Cave" inscribed in three large characters above it.

"What place is this?" Yuan Ming asked, looking toward the Cave Mansion ahead with a curious expression.

"Xi Cangqiong's place of seclusion," Xi Ying responded.

"Xi Cangqiong, the Great Elder?" Yuan Ming inquired.

"Yes. He's now called Chen Cangqiong, a runaway slave from my household two hundred years ago. He stole treasures from my family and fled here, discovered by the incredibly smart Xi Ying myself," Xi Ying said with pride.

Yuan Ming recalled what the Fisherman had said and suddenly understood.

"I need to make a trip into the cave but don't want to alert Xi Cangqiong. Didn't you create a 'Fog Incense'? Light it up quickly!" Xi Ying urged.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming caught on to Xi Ying's plan.

His self-made "Fog Incense," once lit, produced a white fog that could block Divine Sense. Xi Ying believed it could temporarily disrupt the connection between Chen Cangqiong and the mansion's defenses.

"But he is a Core Formation Stage Expert, and also a Soul Cultivator. Are you sure my Fog Incense can block the connection between him and the mansion? Let's not backfire," Yuan Ming said with concern.

"The backfiring will be on me. Put this on and light the incense!" Xi Ying flicked a paw, revealing a grey cloak that appeared from thin air, falling beside Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming picked up the grey cloak from the ground and put it on. Instantly, all traces of his presence vanished without a trace.

The Wood Concealment Skill could also hide one's presence, but Divine Sense could still detect it. This cloak was different; even with his powerful Divine Sense, he couldn't detect any signs.

Yuan Ming infused his Mana into the cloak, and his entire being merged rapidly with the surrounding environment, imperceptible to both Divine Sense and sight.

Seeing this, he said no more, took out the incense burner, and lit the Fog Incense.

Under Yuan Ming's direction, a large expanse of white fog quickly gathered and soon engulfed the Biluo Cave and the nearby woods.

Xi Ying glanced at the thick fog around her, nodded in satisfaction, and with an incredibly light figure, darted off, vanishing into the fog ahead.

...

In front of Biluo Cave, the silver cat appeared in a flash and spat out a beam of Golden Light, striking the stone gate.

The cyan light of the array that secured the Cave Mansion's doorway suddenly brightened, becoming several times thicker, and the doorway seemed to gain an extra layer of cyan crystal barrier, immediately stopping the Golden Light.

However, the beam of Golden Light abruptly disintegrated, turning into countless Golden Runes that quickly merged into the defense mechanism of the stone gate.

The cyan array might look extraordinary, but upon contact with the Golden Runes, it rapidly collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, it completely dissipated. The ancient door emitted a light sound and slowly opened.

As the array broke down, an invisible wave attempted to spread outward but was blocked by the dense white fog surrounding the mansion, failing to transmit further.

Xi Ying did not immediately enter the cave, instead turning her head to glance toward the front mountain.

On a large tree near Fire Refining Peak of the front mountain, a sparrow was staring unblinkingly at the Great Elder in mid-air, who was fully focused on casting and controlling the Blood Soul, unaware of the defenses on the back mountain Cave Mansion being breached.

Xi Ying finally transformed into a streak of silver light and darted into the cave.

Behind the stone gate was a black passageway that looked quite profound. White candles were lit along the walls, but the flames were an eerie green, giving off a strange appearance.

"Hmph! Old habits die hard, still lighting soul candles!" A trace of coldness flashed in Xi Ying's eyes.

The silver cat did not stop but continued to move quickly forward, coming upon two diverging paths that led in different directions.

From its brow, it shot out a ray of crystalline light, transforming into a red shadow of a bird that flew into the left passageway, while the cat's body entered the right.

The red bird shadow moved even faster, quickly reaching the end.

There was a stone chamber, with the floor dug out to form a pool.

The pool was not filled with water but was filled with fresh, thick blood. Around it was a black array that was slowly rotating.

The blood light within the pool was being drawn by the array, converging towards the center where a stone platform stood with a blood egg the size of a bowl placed on top; it seemed like some kind of bird egg.

All the blood light flowed into the blood egg, being absorbed by it.

"This is no ordinary blood; it's Fierce Beast Essence Blood, no doubt. No wonder Xi Cang Qiong always needs a large amount of Fur Beast Slaves to collect Blood Food. It turns out it's all to feed this blood egg," the red bird shadow spoke in human language.

This blood egg seemed extraordinary, but it was obviously not what Xi Ying was searching for. After a quick search in the chamber and finding nothing else, the bird shadow turned and flew back.

Meanwhile, the silver cat was quickly moving along the passageway, and soon a stone gate appeared in front, emitting a faint black light.

Xi Ying did not stop but kept moving forward.

Behind the stone gate, a white-robed youth was lurking—it was Sha Hao.

Watching Xi Ying getting closer, Sha Hao's eyes showed a trace of surprise and doubt, "Why would the intruder be a cat? Could it be just a scouting spirit beast? No, I cannot afford to be careless!"

He immediately formed a hand seal and pointed, and suddenly the stone walls to the left and right of Xi Ying cracked open, and two towering figures burst out, each wielding a green long knife and slashing through the air.

The knives emitted green blades of light, about three feet long, aiming for Xi Ying's body, cutting through the solid stone walls as if they were tofu.

Xi Ying ignored them completely. A gleam of crystalline light flashed over its brow, and a human figure emerged, floating in mid-air.

If Yuan Ming was here, he would have recognized her—the hazy figure of a beautiful woman, who had once appeared before him.

The hazy woman held her hands out, with white ripples faintly visible in her palms. The two towering figures suddenly halted, and the fierce blade light stopped just inches above Xi Ying's head.

The true forms of the two towering figures were revealed to be two Human Demons covered in green fur, with an incredibly powerful aura, having reached the late stages of the Foundation Establishment. Two black horns sprouted from their heads.

"Xi Cang Qiong is indeed generous to have nurtured two. It seems he plans to merge them, trying to breed a Core Formation Stage Xiao King," noted the hazy woman, glancing at the two Human Demons.

"Who are you? How do you know my master's true name?" Sha Hao, astonished and angry, stood frozen as he demanded an answer.

"You're a disciple of Xi Cang Qiong, aren't you? Didn't he tell you that despite their strength, Human Demons have low intelligence, their Soul Power is chaotic, and they shouldn't be used to fight against Soul Cultivators?" The hazy figure crossed the stone gate and appeared in front of Sha Hao.

Sha Hao's expression changed drastically. He spat out a silver shuttle artifact, striking at the hazy figure.

However, the hazy figure merely waved her hand, and a flash of white light from her palm made Sha Hao's eyes instantly grow dim, and like the two Foundation Establishment Human Demons, he became unable to move.

Even though the silver shuttle artifact hit the hazy figure, it passed right through her without causing any damage.

The hazy figure didn't pay any attention to him but looked straight ahead. Behind the stone gate was a stone chamber, the very place where the Great Elder had been in seclusion, and in front was the black array protecting the Soul Suppressing Kettle.

"Is it here?" The hazy figure gazed at the Soul Suppressing Kettle with an excitement she could hardly suppress and flew forward.

But as she just stepped into the area of the black array, the black light inside intensified several folds in an instant, forming a black light curtain, blocking the hazy figure on the outside.

The hazy figure seemed somewhat surprised, turned around, and flew to Sha Hao's side, pressing her palm on his head as threads of crystalline light rapidly seeped in.

"So that's how it is." The hazy figure murmured to herself and withdrew her hand.

Sha Hao also fell backwards onto the ground, unconscious.

The hazy figure flew back, and the silver cat had already entered the stone chamber.

She pulled out three silver talismans, the surfaces of which faintly bore Thunder Runes, and placed them around the black array.

Immediately after, the hazy figure lifted one hand, activating the three talismans. Three streaks of silver thunder struck the array's light curtain, producing a crackling noise.

The black light curtain trembled violently and was torn open with a large gap.

The hazy figure saw this and a trace of joy flashed across her face. She spat out a pitch-black gemstone, which seemed like a black hole capable of absorbing all light around it, dimming the brightness in the vicinity as soon as it appeared.

With a "whoosh" sound, it darted into the gap in the light curtain, hovering above the Soul Suppressing Kettle.

The Soul Suppressing Kettle trembled violently, especially the lid, which rattled incessantly.

The black gemstone surged with black light, flickering non-stop, and seeming to resonate from afar with the Soul Suppressing Kettle's lid.

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