"Senior Han hasn't been moving for a long time now; could it be that something's happened to him?" Zhu Guo'er asked in a concerned manner as she looked on from the mountain peak in the distance.
"Don't worry, with Brother Han's powerful spiritual sense and mental fortitude, transcending this inner demon tribulation shouldn't be an issue. It's just a surprise that he's attracted so many Heavenly Devilish Monarchs, but we're unable to do anything about that. Having said that, I'm sure he would've set up additional countermeasures against these Heavenly Devilish Monarchs, so there's no need to worry." Despite what Silvermoon was saying, her expression suggested that she was clearly very concerned herself.
Zhu Guo'er was aware that Silvermoon was also very worried about Han Li, but her heart still eased slightly upon hearing this response. However, she then suddenly seemed to have detected something, and she cast her gaze toward the other mountain peak.
"Huh? Where did Senior Xie go?"
In contrast, Silvermoon was completely unsurprised by Daoist Xie's absence, and she replied, "Two powerful beings are approaching this place; even I may not be able to defeat them, so Daoist Xie has gone to intercept them. I also have to go and deal with another group of unwelcome guests, and there will most likely be even more people coming, so Daoist Xie and I may not be able to come back. As such, we'll leave everything here to you for now. If anything happens within the basin, make sure to inform us right away."
As soon as her voice trailed off, Silvermoon flipped a hand over to reveal a formation plate, upon which a string of silver runes were flashing incessantly, indicating that Xu Qianyu's group was sending out an alert signal to her.
"Rest assured, Senior; I'll be sure to do my best," Zhu Guo'er replied with a serious expression.
"Good. I'll be leaving now," Silvermoon replied with a nod before immediately flying away as a streak of silver light.
……
High up in the air tens of thousands of kilometers away, Daoist Xie was facing a pair of Body Integration Stage beings with his hands clasped behind his back.
The two Body Integration cultivators were comprised of a heavily-bearded burly man, and a woman in a black dress. The man wore a set of golden robes, and most of his face was concealed behind his heavy facial hair, but his dark yellow eyes were still visible, and the mere sight of them struck one with a sense of dizziness.
As for the woman, she was quite beautiful and had wisps of black light emanating from her body. There was faint demonic Qi being released by both of them, indicating that they were Body Integration Stage demonic beings.
In particular, the woman was at the late-Body Integration Stage.
However, both of them currently had fearful looks in their eyes, and their faces had paled significantly in the face of the fearsome aura radiating from Daoist Xie's body.
The pressure being exerted upon them by Daoist Xie surpassed even that of Patriarch Ao Xiao, and it was beyond a doubt in their eyes that this young man was a Grand Ascension Stage being who was far too powerful for them to contend with.
Finally, the woman managed to collect herself before extending a respectful curtsey. "This is the first time that we've met, Senior; please forgive me if we've unintentionally offended you in any way."
She was stunned by the fact that such a fearsome being had suddenly appeared to stop her in her tracks, but she was also quite relieved to see that Daoist Xie had no devilish Qi within his body.
Otherwise, if the two of them had identified Daoist Xie to be a Sacred Ancestor, they would've immediately turned around and fled for their lives.
"You haven't offended me in any way, but from now on, you must stay right here. If you take even half a step away from this place, I'll kill both of you right away," Daoist Xie said in a wooden manner as he continued to release his terrifying spiritual pressure without any reservation.
"Could it be that the phenomena that took place earlier had something to do with you, Senior?" the burly golden-robed man couldn't help but ask.
"You don't need to know that," Daoist Xie replied in an expressionless manner.
Even though there were countless thoughts racing through the woman's mind, she still immediately agreed, "I see. In that case, we'll be sure to follow your instructions and stay here for as long as you'd like us to, Senior."
Daoist Xie gave a slight nod upon hearing this, then cast his gaze toward the burly man.
A wry smile appeared on the golden-robed man's face, and he also replied, "I wouldn't dare to oppose your wishes, Senior."
Only then did Daoist Xie withdraw his fearsome aura, but he still remained standing on the spot without displaying any intention of leaving.
The woman and the burly man exchanged a glance, then released a black wheel and a yellow gourd, respectively.
After that, the two of them sat down onto their treasures and appeared to have begun meditating.
However, in reality, the two of them were using an extremely rare spiritual sense secret technique of the demon race to communicate with one another. "Fellow Daoist Phoenix, who do you think this man is? He doesn't seem to be a human or demon, but why would such a powerful foreign being appear on the border of our human and demon territories? Could it be that he's after that thing as well? Since when have our two races allowed foreign Grand Ascension Stage beings to enter our territory as they please?" The burly man's voice was tinged with a hint of rage as it sounded within the woman's mind.
"That's hard to say, Fellow Daoist Dong Tian. Due to the devilish invasion, many of the super formations protecting our two races have been destroyed, so it wouldn't be too difficult for foreign Grand Ascension Stage beings to sneak into our two races. As a Grand Ascension Stage being, that thing shouldn't be of much use to him, so he's most likely not here for that purpose; I'm guessing that he just so happens to be doing something here, and we bumped into him at the wrong time. Thankfully, he doesn't seem to have any intention of killing us as long as we don't provoke him," the woman replied using the same secret technique.
These two were none other than two of the demon monarchs, Black Phoenix Monarch Xiao Guan, and the mysterious Mouse Monarch Dong Tian.
Han Li had met Xiao Guan once during the Myriad Treasure Convention, but he had only ever heard of Mouse Monarch Dong Tian.
Now that the two of them had appeared in the same place at the same time, they naturally couldn't have come out solely for a casual stroll.
However, never did the two of them think that they would be forcibly trapped here by a Grand Ascension Stage being.
Both of them were feeling very frustrated, but they naturally didn't dare to oppose a Grand Ascension Stage being, so they could only hope that they would be released once Daoist Xie finished whatever it was that he was doing.
As for the phenomena in the distance, now that the two demon monarchs knew that it had something to do with this Grand Ascension Stage being, they naturally didn't dare to pry into the matter any further.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that. That thing won't be of much use for this man, but perhaps he's trying to secure it for his juniors. If we miss out on that thing, we could be losing our final opportunity to progress to the Grand Ascension Stage," Mouse Monarch Dong Tian communicated as his expression darkened slightly.
"If that really were the case, then we can only lament our ill fortune; are you going to contend with a Grand Ascension Stage being for that thing?" the woman asked in a resigned manner after a brief silence.
"If this man really is here for that thing, then I'll have no choice but to concede it. As for whether that really is the case, I'm sure we'll know once the phenomena in the distance concludes," Mouse Monarch Dong Tian replied.
The woman merely closed her eyes and offered no response to this, and shortly thereafter, Mouse Monarch Dong Tian also closed his eyes to meditate.
Daoist Xie seemed to be completely unaware of the secret conversation that had just taken place between them, and continued to stand expressionlessly on the spot.
……
Meanwhile, Silvermoon had summoned a massive silver wolf projection elsewhere in the mountain range, and it was currently tearing through a group of devilish beings.
Countless streaks of silver light flashed through the air around the giant wolf projection, dismembering devilish beings with unstoppable might.
All of a sudden, a resounding boom rang out, and the giant wolf projection was stopped cold in its tracks by a massive shield being wielded by a two-headed and four-armed elder devil.
The elder devil was around 40 feet tall, and extremely hideous in appearance, wielding a shield, a truncheon, a hammer, and a staff in his four hands.
After stopping the wolf projection with his giant shield, a ferocious look flashed through the elder devil's eyes, and he instantly lashed out with his three weapons to strike the silver wolf projection with devastating force.
As a result, the projection was instantly destroyed amid an anguished howl, and due to the spiritual connection that she shared with the projection, Silvermoon's face paled slightly as she threw up a mouthful of blood, staining the front of her dress.
Even though Silvermoon had reached the Body Integration Stage, she had only just progressed to this level, and her powers were still far inferior to those of a seasoned elder devil of the same cultivation base.
A sinister smile appeared on the elder devil's face as he vanished on the spot as a cloud of black Qi.
In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted above Silvermoon, and the elder devil appeared before sending all four of his weapons crashing down toward her in unison.
Silvermoon immediately attempted to take evasive measures, but it was already too late, and a hint of horror began to surface within her eyes.
However, right at this moment, a grey blade projection suddenly appeared silently behind the elder devil, then swept through his necks in a flash, following which he was instantly decapitated, and a pillar of blood erupted several feet up into the air.
