Chapter 999: Not Human, Nor Demon, Nor Devil; Such Is Devil Lord Heaven Refiner (I)

Within the Thousand Blade Mountain Range, countless exotic beasts roamed the wilderness. High in the branches of a jade tree, a green squirrel sat contentedly chewing on a fresh shoot. Halfway through a bite, it suddenly paused and lifted its head, a flicker of confusion crossing its face as though it had sensed something passing nearby.

Whoosh...

The squirrel quickly scanned its surroundings but found nothing. After scratching at its mouth in puzzlement, it dismissed the feeling and returned to its meal.

Far away, a shadow raced silently across the mountains. As she sped onward, she glanced back in the squirrel's direction and gave a faint chuckle. "Quite sharp, little one. But you're still nowhere near that man. He actually noticed my presence and nearly traced me down..."

Only after placing a considerable distance between herself and the battlefield did she finally slow down. Even then, the lingering fear in her heart had yet to fade. Images of the crimson-robed Daoist surfaced one after another in her mind: the bizarre Domain, the flying swords, the azure palm manifestations, the overwhelming fire-attribute mana... Yet none of those disturbed her as much as his eyes, which seemed to hold the stars and moon within their depths.

How have I never heard of someone like this? He's only a sixth-stage Adept, yet he killed three of his peers and even took down a ninth-stage Adept in just a few moments! If word of this got out, most people would take it as a joke.

She had intentionally told Crimson Corpse's group about the golden eagle and the group of explorers. She had prodded them to move ahead, hoping they would stumble upon whatever hidden dangers there might be while she remained safely behind. Once the threats had been exposed, she could return, eliminate any survivors, and claim the supreme-grade Nine-Sun Geng Metal for herself. Instead, the scheme had nearly backfired, and she had come dangerously close to being swept into the disaster.

Just thinking about those eyes made her throat tighten. Crimson Corpse had not been weak. By her estimation, if the two of them fought, her chances of victory would have been no better than sixty-forty. If he deployed his two refined corpses as well, the odds would have shifted entirely in his favor. Yet such a powerful cultivator had survived only a handful of exchanges before being killed by the crimson-robed Daoist. The sheer gulf in strength was enough to leave her deeply unsettled.

That area spell that disrupted mana control was practically a Nascent Soul Domain. He's fast as lightning, and his illusion art takes effect the moment there's eye contact. On top of that, his perception is terrifyingly sharp. He completely counters me. If I never run into him again, that'll be the best. But if our paths do cross, I absolutely cannot afford to make an enemy of him.

From only a brief encounter, You Ya had already pieced together a rough understanding of the crimson-robed Daoist's abilities and reached a firm conclusion. Some time later, she arrived outside an abandoned cave dwelling and finally came to a stop. Looking at the dark entrance, a conflicted expression surfaced on her face. Now that the pocket world is open, cultivators from all over have poured in. If even someone I've never heard of before is this terrifying, then how strong are the truly famous ones? I thought that after perfecting the Shadow Escape, I'd be able to roam this world freely... It seems like I was being far too optimistic.

The more she reflected on today's encounter, the more inadequate her current strength felt. No—more accurately, it was not that her strength was lacking; rather, her escape techniques had yet to reach their true potential. Fortunately, she possessed exactly the material needed to push the Shadow Escape to entirely new heights.

She pulled back her hood, revealing delicate features set against dark, glossy skin. With a flick of her wrist, the piece of Blue Evolution Lead appeared in her palm. The moment her eyes fell upon the piece of mineral, some of the unease weighing on her heart eased.

Once she refined this and improved her escape art, her level of concealment would undergo a qualitative transformation. Not only would her ability to hide become far more formidable, but she would also be able to artificially create regions of shadow herself, overcoming her reliance on existing darkness. If she truly reached that level, the crimson-robed Daoist would never be able to locate her. Even Sages might not be able to trace her whereabouts.

With that thought, You Ya gripped the Blue Evolution Lead and stepped into the abandoned cave, already resolved to refine the treasure as soon as possible.

***

At the very center of the Land of Fallen Devils, a massive tornado spanned all the distance from the ground to the sky, endlessly rotating the clouds. Several figures shot through the air and arrived near it. Looking at the soaring spirit energy vortex, even they could not conceal a trace of reverence.

At the head of the group stood a handsome man dressed in crimson robes. After staring at the tornado for a while, he said, "I didn't expect demons to arrive ahead of us and enter the inheritance grounds first...."

Behind him, a cold and elegant woman said, "If you hadn't insisted on gathering resources along the way, we would've arrived before Sea Cape Sky Matron and the others."

The handsome man merely smiled. "Jadecold, you're overthinking it. If the inheritance were that easy to obtain, the devil sect would've claimed it long ago, and there wouldn't be anything left for us now."

The woman was none other than the renowned Fairy Jadecold. She frowned slightly. "I'm not interested in the inheritance. I only came to retrieve something I left behind there years ago."

Blood Nightmare looked at her with curiosity. "What is it that's stayed on your mind for so long?"

"A painting." Fairy Jadecold's answer was brief, and it was obvious she had no intention of explaining herself.

Blood Nightmare let out a soft chuckle. "Alright. Since I gave you my word, I'll help you look for it. Besides, I also want to find my sect elder's resting place. Come, let's go. The inheritance grounds are in another region altogether. We won't be able to get in without the teleportation formation."

He waved a hand and moved forward. Fairy Jadecold followed, but after only a few steps, she suddenly stopped and looked back. "Elder?"

Behind them stood an elderly man from the Penglai Immortal Sect: Silent Fate. Rather than following immediately, he was gazing back toward the Land of Fallen Devils with obvious reluctance. "What a pity. There are still so many heavenly treasures left behind."

Fairy Jadecold frowned slightly; she could understand his reluctance. Once they entered the inheritance grounds, there would be no turning back. The Land of Fallen Devils was filled with treasures rarely seen in the outside world, and even Sages would find such resources difficult to ignore. Since this was Silent Fate's first time entering the pocket world, it was only natural that he felt unwilling to leave so many potential gains behind.

Blood Nightmare seemed to have anticipated his thoughts. Without even turning around, he said, "Leave the resources outside to the younger generation. Right now, our priority is getting into the inheritance grounds. Nothing here is worth more than a chance to reach Divine Transformation."

At the mention of Divine Transformation, Silent Fate finally let go of his attachment to the treasures behind him. Not because his greed had vanished, but because it had been replaced by an even greater desire.

"Fellow Daoist Blood Nightmare, you are entirely right. I was being short-sighted. Let's go."

Silent Fate smiled and followed the others to the endpoint of the spirit energy vortex. The place lay within a dark abyss. As soon as he landed, Silent Fate looked around warily. The abyss was silent and barren, devoid of even the faintest trace of animal or plant life. The only signs of growth were some clusters of mushrooms sprouting from narrow cracks in the cliff walls.

"That's strange..." Silent Fate plucked one of the mushrooms and examined it with confusion. "This is where all that spirit energy converges. But how can these mushrooms not contain a trace of spirit energy?"

Blood Nightmare frowned as well. Although he knew more about the Land of Fallen Devils than most, nearly all of that knowledge came from his sect records. This was his first time entering the world. Among those present, the only one with firsthand experience was Fairy Jadecold. The two men turned toward her almost simultaneously. Jadecold immediately understood what they wanted and let out a soft snort. "Don't look at me. This place has always been strange beyond reason. How would I know? Besides, when I came here back then, I was only a late-stage Adept and I was treated as..."

She left the rest unsaid, but her expression darkened. Blood Nightmare could tell that the memory was an unpleasant one, so he chose not to pursue the matter. "Enough. There's no point in dwelling on the past. We should prepare to enter."

Silent Fate glanced around the seemingly endless abyss. "Sure, but how do we enter?"

Blood Nightmare took a deep breath and pointed toward the bottomless abyss. "This abyss has no visible end. Normally, anyone who enters it becomes hopelessly lost. However, when the pocket world opens, spirit energy from throughout the Land of Fallen Devils converges here and forms the tornado we saw outside. Once that happens, the hidden teleportation formation is activated. All we need to do is jump into the spirit energy current and let it carry us to the formation. Isn't that right, Fairy Jadecold?"

The woman nodded. "That's correct. But you must remember: Don't resist the flow of spirit energy. Let yourself become part of it. If you try to fight it, the formation will reject you."

Silent Fate frowned. "That torrent of spirit energy is violent enough to tear us apart. If we don't resist it, we'll be lucky to survive. Even if we do, we'll probably come out badly injured."

Blood Nightmare looked at him helplessly, seeming thoroughly fed up with his constant worrying.

Fairy Jadecold replied calmly, "It's not as dangerous as you're imagining. You only need to expand your Nascent Soul Domain and merge briefly with heaven and earth."

A flash of realization crossed Silent Fate's face as her words clicked into place. Although merging with heaven and earth carried considerable risk for a Sage, maintaining that state for a few moments was well within acceptable limits.

Blood Nightmare did not waste any more words. "Let's go!"

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