"Master, if Yangg Yan and Feng Xiao were really killed by Demons, things are about to get complicated."

The Wind Wolf King said as it flew through the air.

"That’s right. The continent has three major gathering places for the Demon Race: Two Realms Mountain, Profound Yin Mountain, and the Zi Qiong Mountain Range! Of the three, Two Realms Mountain has the fewest Demons, while the Zi Qiong Mountain Range has the most," Hei Yan added with a nod.

"Two Realms Mountain only has two Ultimate Venerable Powerhouses, and they aren’t even that strong. Profound Yin Mountain, on the other hand, has a full thirty-seven! As for the Zi Qiong Mountain Range, while we don’t know the exact number of Ultimate Venerables, I’ve heard that the supreme leader of the Demons, the Zi Qiong Emperor, has already surpassed the Ultimate Venerable Level!"

Zi Tong, who seemed to know a great deal about this, nodded its enormous head.

’Surpassed the Ultimate Venerable Level? Could he have reached the Heaven-Seizing Creation Secret Realm?’ Nie Yun’s heart sank.

The Qi Sea Nine Heavens grew progressively harder with each layer. The breakthrough after reaching the Peak of the Ultimate Venerable Level led to the Heaven-Seizing Creation Secret Realm.

The Heaven-Seizing Creation Secret Realm lived up to its name—it was a realm where one could seize the very creation of heaven and earth. It not only massively increased a person’s lifespan but also brought about a qualitative transformation in their physical structure, making their power unfathomable.

It was once said that to someone in the Heaven-Seizing Creation Secret Realm, even a cultivator at the Ultimate Venerable Peak was no different than an ant.

Having reached a profound level within the Heaven-Seizing Creation Realm in his past life, Nie Yun knew this to be true. The realm truly allowed one to seize the creation of heaven and earth, transcending the limits of humanity. One’s True Qi would undergo a qualitative transformation, forming a special type of energy: Mana!

There was simply no comparison between True Qi and Mana. It was like the difference between mud and gold; even the smallest fleck of gold was incomparably more precious than a pile of mud.

To put it in terms of Elephant Power, even the weakest powerhouse in the Heaven-Seizing Creation Secret Realm possessed the might of at least 10,000 elephants. Right now, even if Nie Yun used his Great Strength Dantian, he could at most unleash 550 Elephant Power. (His Great Strength Dantian could only multiply his physical strength tenfold, not his True Qi Power. With a base physical strength of 50 Elephant Power multiplied by ten, plus another 50 from his True Qi Power, the total came to exactly 550.) In front of a true Secret Realm powerhouse, he was still no different from an ant.

’If what Zi Tong said is true, then the Zi Qiong Mountain Range is truly terrifying!’

"I’m not completely sure, but that’s the information I have," Zi Tong replied, swishing its tail.

’But if the Zi Qiong Mountain Range really has such a powerhouse, how could the Demon Race have ever been defeated?’

In his past life, he hadn’t spent much time in the Divine Wind Empire before he was persecuted. A twist of fate had led him to the Floating Heaven Continent, so he wasn’t very familiar with the Demon Race’s sphere of influence on this continent.

He did, however, know that the Divine Wind Empire had fought a great war against the Demon Race a hundred years ago and had successfully driven them out. If the Zi Qiong Mountain Range truly possessed such a powerhouse, he doubted the Empire’s Ultimate Venerables alone would have been able to stop them.

"The continent that the Divine Wind Empire is on is divided into the Seven Great Empires. The Divine Wind Empire is just the smallest of them. The largest, the Divine Holy Empire, is rumored to have a supreme powerhouse who has reached the Heaven-Seizing Creation Secret Realm!" the Wind Wolf King said.

’The Divine Holy Empire?’ Nie Yun recalled hearing of it in his past life, though he’d never had any contact with it, nor had he ever visited.

"The combined strength of the Seven Great Empires is far greater than that of the Demons in the Zi Qiong Mountain Range, so they can only hole up in the mountains and don’t dare to emerge," the Wind Wolf King continued.

The Three Great Demon Pets seemed to be exceptionally well-informed about the continent’s political landscape, laying out the details one by one.

It wasn’t surprising. Each of his three Demon Pets had lived for an unknown number of years and commanded countless subordinates, so it was only natural they were well-versed in the continent’s affairs.

"The Zi Qiong Mountain Range is hundreds of thousands of miles from here. It would take us ten to fifteen days of non-stop flying to even get there. Given Yangg Yan and Feng Xiao’s level of strength... they certainly wouldn’t have done anything to offend them!"

Zi Tong said.

Though its words were tactful, Nie Yun understood the implication. Yangg Yan and Feng Xiao were only at the Armor Realm. To such powerful beings, their strength was insignificant. It was highly unlikely they would travel such a vast distance just to kill them.

"I hope you’re right."

He knew Zi Tong’s reasoning was sound, yet for some reason, a thought suddenly struck Nie Yun.

’What if the Demons from the Zi Qiong Mountain Range knew that Yangg Yan and his group had entered the Luoo Qu Tomb?’

’If they’d entered the tomb, they would certainly know about the Phecda Sword. Even though he still didn’t know the sword’s purpose, judging by the fact that some mysterious organization had captured his father, Luoo Zhanhao, and the others over it, the sword was clearly no simple artifact.’

’At the very least, the secrets it held were surely no less significant than those of the Purple Splendor Jade Seal!’

"Whether Demons were behind this or not, we should return to Luoshui City first and investigate for ourselves," Nie Yun said, taking a deep breath to suppress the unease in his heart.

’The official cause of Yangg Yan and Feng Xiao’s deaths came from the Emperor of the Empire, but Nie Yun didn’t trust the Emperor in the slightest. He certainly wasn’t going to take his word for it. He would have to return to Luoshui City and investigate personally to find out what really happened.’

"Understood!"

The Demon Pets responded in unison, and the man and his three beasts sped toward Luoshui City.

BOOM!

As they were flying, a radiant beam of light suddenly materialized before them and detonated violently!

The light carried a terrifying power. The explosion spread like a lit match dropped in gasoline, instantly forming a powerful storm of energy.

"Watch out!"

Feeling the sudden burst of power, Nie Yun’s pupils contracted. He shot backward as the Profound Jade Sword appeared in his hand, and he fiercely unleashed a strike—Momentum of the Earth!

RUMBLE!

Momentum of the Earth instantly formed a True Qi Wall in front of them, deflecting the force of the blast.

"Who’s there?"

Having blocked the attack, Nie Yun’s gaze sharpened as he stared down at the mountain range below.

"Heh heh heh, a nice move. To possess such strength at your age... you’re quite the talent. But the greater the talent, the sooner it must be snuffed out!"

A sinister, sickening laugh echoed from below as six figures suddenly appeared in the air, blocking Nie Yun’s path.

’Demons? Ultimate Venerable Level Demons?’

Nie Yun’s pupils contracted at the sight of the six figures.

All six of them were Demons of the Ultimate Venerable Level, and every single one was at the Ultimate Venerable Peak!

’Since when did the Divine Wind Empire have so many powerful Demons?’

Demons were physiologically different from humans and possessed many Secret Techniques, making their combat strength far superior to a human’s at the same level. With so many of them appearing at once—all at the Ultimate Venerable Peak—even with his Three Great Demon Pets, Nie Yun knew he’d be lucky to get out of this in one piece.

"Heh heh heh, you’ve got a sharp eye! But a sharp eye won’t save you! Hand over the Phecda Sword. Otherwise, you die!"

The lead Demon’s face was a ghastly shade of dark blue. His lips peeled back to reveal stark white teeth as he let out a laugh, his eyes flashing with undisguised killing intent.