Elder Fumo responded that he had dispatched a hundred newly created special avatars around Xuanzhou to assist in the search, urging patience, reassuring him that as long as the Demon Venerable had not strayed far from Xuanzhou, it would only be a matter of time before it is found.

"Good gracious, these two seem to have settled down, only prepared to assist and not intending to be the main force, nor seeking to contend for the top spot...

Perhaps this is how older cultivators are; they leave the dangerous fights to the young..."

After conversing with the current second and third ranks on the Demon Sealing List, Wang Zhifan couldn’t help but internally comment sarcastically.

Back when Demon Tathagata was still alive, the ultimate competitor quickly widened the gap in merit points from everyone below, with only the Confucian expert Taixi Confucian Sword tirelessly striving to catch up.

However, due to the upheaval at Extreme Origin Mountain, these two top competitors both perished, making Wang Zhifan inadvertently become the second generation top contender, though he initially never intended to compete for the top spot, only wishing to complete the journey swiftly—it’s as if fate has toyed with him.

Of course, Wang Zhifan could infer that the two elderly ones below were not willingly settling down, but rather intending to leverage his confrontation with the powerful Demon Venerable to ascend in rank, hence why they fully supported his current hunting action.

For instance, if he and the Demon Venerable both died in battle, or if he managed to severely wound the Demon Venerable fighting tooth and nail, they would follow up shed tears picking the spoils of war.

In such circumstances, as long as this great war continued, they could gradually raise their merit points beyond the deceased Wang Zhifan.

However, even if the second and third ranks truly harbored such thoughts, Wang Zhifan had no grievance against them.

The rewards for being number one on the Demon Sealing List are extremely tempting, and putting a little thought into the strategy within the scope of the rules is perfectly normal, since they didn’t force him to hunt the enemy alone; it was his choice.

Meanwhile, while waiting for intel, Wang Zhifan didn’t remain idle. He continued exploring the remaining areas of Xuanzhou, stealthily approaching the few remaining unexamined locations of the Demon Venerable, although not expecting to find the target smoothly, it was almost routine business.

Soon, he flew over a somewhat familiar area, though not Shuyue City where he had participated in a conference, but the first city he visited upon arriving in this realm.

The city, much like Shuyue City now, had become a heap of ruins, but from the overall structure and some specific details, Wang Zhifan still recognized it.

"Is this ruin... Shuqiu City? Turns out I originally descended upon Xuanzhou, and it’s obvious from their names that Shuyue City and Shuqiu City share some connection, couldn’t have expected they were in the same province..."

Surprised internally, Wang Zhifan slightly slowed his flight speed.

His gaze scanned over the Shuqiu City ruins below where only a few demons were active, and then he looked up at the nearby mountains, attempting to find where he first descended into this realm, a small village named Sanfeng Village.

One could easily expect that amidst the great demon invasion, Sanfeng Village, which once gave him a wealthy, peaceful sentiment, had now surely become ruins, similarly ravaged and occupied by the invading demons.

Boom! Boom!

At this point, a series of abnormal noises captured Wang Zhifan’s attention.

The commotion was emerging from somewhere within the Shuqiu City ruins below. Being invisible, Wang Zhifan approached to investigate and found intense battle erupting within the ruins.

A disheveled-haired man suddenly burst out of a building in the ruins, wielding a longsword, frenzied, fighting with a dozen stationed demons.

The frenzied man’s strength was evidently weak, apparently not even reaching the Innate Realm, yet his aura was tumultuous, emitting strands of bloodlust, engaging the demons desperately.

"Why are there still humans here? Weren’t the demons supposed to have slaughtered all humans long ago?"

At that moment, Wang Zhifan puzzled over the situation, having not anticipated any survivors in such a demon-invaded territory like Xuanzhou.

Curiously, his gaze remained on the frenzied man in the ruins, holding a longsword, massacring the nearby common demons, seeking to discern his origin.

But through this observation, his eyes soon displayed an astonished expression, swiftly descending toward the ruins.

Simultaneously, within the ruins, the disheveled-haired frenzied man had already slaughtered all nearby demons wielding his sword.

His bloodshot eyes, with faintly bulging veins on his face, clothes filthy and disordered, having just killed the nearby demons, he continued jumping atop the ruined buildings, yearning to find another target.

Yet the next target immediately surged into his view, resembling a massive projectile flying towards him, carrying terrifyingly powerful momentum.

Undoubtedly, the newcomer was a Demon General roaming nearby, attracted by the frenzied man’s earlier massacre, preparing to forcibly annihilate this reckless intruder.

Unexpectedly, the appearance of the Demon General only heightened the man’s craze; he roared furiously, too loud to be human.

"Ah!!! Die!!!"

The disheveled, sword-wielding man suddenly leaped from a damaged rooftop, lifting his longsword to charge, his entire blood aura exploding, disregarding everything to collide with the speedy approaching Demon General.

Despite having strength superiority, the Demon General was momentarily surprised at the man’s frenzy, unexpectedly altering its trajectory mid-air, outright abandoning confronting the crazed fellow head-on, even though, realistically, it would most likely win if they collided.

Their clash unfolded rapidly, as the large and small silhouettes crossed quickly, both plummeting to the ground of the ruins, with one turning into lifeless remains.

"I... How come I’m not dead?"

Standing atop the chaotic street in the ruins, the disheveled-haired man was utterly shocked.

He lowered the slightly chipped longsword in hand, examining his waist line, finding it miraculously unscathed, starkly contradicting his expectations.

For during his strike against the Demon General imbued with death intent, he witnessed the Demon General suddenly veer away from his sword edge, extending a sharp claw to his waist, aiming to sever him in half.

Yet by then, he had no chance to evade, apathetically accepting his fate of perishing here.

Ultimately contrary to his expectations, he somehow survived, emerging unscathed during the clash with the Demon General.

Instead, the Demon General lay behind as if a stone dropped heavily to the ground, having remained inert since.

"Whatever... If I’m not dead, so be it... I still need to kill!"

The man pondered briefly, turning to finish off the condition-unknown Demon General behind him.

However, as he turned, he first observed not the rigidly fallen Demon General but a tall young figure, one carrying familiarity.

"Zhang Siqian, what has become of you?"

At this moment, Wang Zhifan appeared, furrowing his brows, focusing on the disheveled, frenzied man before him, his tone filled with disbelief.

It was now that he fully confirmed that the frenzied man was indeed Zhang Siqian, the first native he met in this realm, a young scholar of Confucian sects, known for his gentleness and mild demeanor.

He still recalled last seeing him before the war broke out in a street of Shuyue City, beside a stall selling women’s accessories, when his appearance was far from the madman he appeared now.

At that time, he donned an elegant silver-white scholar’s robe and a black scholar’s hat, accompanied by a young female partner, eyes filled with the bliss of newlywed.

"Mr. Wang... I... I..."

Zhang Siqian, eyes bloodshot, instantly recognized Wang Zhifan.

His face, lined with bulging veins, expressed shock; his lips parted but failed to convey words, making him look less a frenzied madman and more a person.

"Is it your family ravaged by demons that rendered you this way?"

Judging from Zhang Siqian possibly having not conversed for some time, Wang Zhifan spared him from pressure, speaking with a guess.

"Yes."

Before him, Zhang Siqian paused slightly nodding, his blood-filled eyes emanating dying aura as he replied:

"My parents, my wife, my siblings were all eaten by demons."