As time ticked away, Core Disciple Cheng and the others verged on madness, enduring an agony that defied verbal description.

Fang Chen sighed softly, unsurprised by the current stalemate. From the very beginning, he had considered that this critical demand would force Core Disciple Cheng and his companions into a suicidal defiance. This was why he had first asked for so much inconsequential information that, while insightful, would not drastically tip the scales of the struggle between the two races.

Fang Chen coldly said, "If you let your souls be scattered like this, even if the demon race wins, you won't be there to see that day."

Core Disciple Cheng laughed miserably. "So what? To this day, haven't our kind sacrificed enough? Our souls getting annihilated is nothing compared to fulfilling the great cause of our race!"

His form became increasingly faint, as did those of Xu Kun and the others.

"Fine. I'll send you on your way," said Fang Chen.

He lightly waved his hand, accelerating the rate at which they were being burned. In the blink of an eye, the five wandering souls completely dissipated, turning into a mere haze of smoke.

After standing still for a long time, Fang Chen turned and walked back to Little Immortal Honglian to check her condition. There were no foreign energies circulating within her, and her vitals were normal. It truly seemed as though she were merely sleeping.

***

Time flew by, and before long, Hundred Day Red's duration had ended. The magnificent flower slowly bloomed, and Fang Chen and Little Immortal Honglian reappeared.

The Sixth Star Lord rushed to Fang Chen's side. "Core Disciple Fang, are you all right?! Is Daoist Hong severely injured?! It's fine as long as she isn't dead! I should be able to save her."

Fang Chen could clearly see guilt, shame, anxiety, and worry in his eyes. He smiled. " Daoist Hong is fine, she's just sleeping."

"Just sleeping? That's good." The Sixth Star Lord let out a long breath of relief, though his expression soon turned strange. "I wasn't able to act in time before you were pulled into the Hundred Day Red. I truly didn't expect them to possess such a rare item. It has been extinct in the Minor Immortal Realm for many years."

"They even have the History Immortal Book, so having something like this isn't surprising. But were you arranged by Eldest Senior Sister to protect us?" asked Fang Chen.

"That's right. Sister Aman said she wanted to catch more bugs, so she sent me over." The Sixth Star Lord looked ashamed. "In the end, I didn't help much..."

The Sixth Star Lord suddenly froze as if only just realizing something. He scanned the surroundings. He realized there was no trace of Core Disciple Cheng or the others.

"Core Disciple Fang... those five Core Disciples who attacked you, where are they...?"

"They are already dead."

"They're dead... But Sister A'man said you were only a third-transformation immortal. Among those five just now, two were fourth-transformation immortals..."

The Sixth Star Lord couldn't help but look Fang Chen up and down. He suddenly realized that Fang Chen's aura seemed much more powerful and robust than when he had been tailing them earlier.

"Could it be a breakthrough in the heat of battle? That doesn't make sense. Even with immortal herbs, breaking through takes time. In that window, a third transformation should have been beaten into a pulp by a fourth transformation."

Fang Chen, holding the sleeping Little Immortal Honglian, stood up. He looked at the Sixth Star Lord. The man only reached his shoulder, had a baby face, and was currently deep in thought.

"Sixth Star Lord, Xu Kun, and the others reported me to the Great Sorrow Army of the Zhisheng Immortal Dynasty. They could catch up to us at any moment. Should we leave this place first?"

"Right. I'll take you away."

The Sixth Star Lord stopped dwelling on the mystery for now. He grabbed Fang Chen, and in the next instant, all three were enveloped in a flash of white light, vanishing from the spot.

"This is a cultivation sect I secretly established here in the Major Immortal Realm. My public identity is that of a Golden Core Ancestor," explained the Sixth Star Lord.

Fang Chen scanned the surroundings and found that the sect indeed consisted of only a few Qi Refining Realm and a handful of Foundation Building Realm disciples. At a glance, it looked like one of those third-rate sects barely managing to scrape by.

"Cultivators from the Minor Immortal Realms who can travel between the two worlds independently usually maintain countless identities here. It's all to avoid being discovered by the Fallen Immortals. Don't worry, it's safe here. Sister Aman is finished with her business. I'll be responsible for bringing you back to the Minor Immortal Realm."

"Sixth Star Lord, I wonder how things are going on Fifth Senior Brother's side..." said Fang Chen.

"Rest easy. When Senior Sister acts, she doesn't give the opponent a single chance."

That eighth-transformation True Immortal of the True King Clans?

Fang Chen felt a weight lift from his heart. With her involved, it would be difficult for anything to go wrong for Nanming Ruyue.

"Also, don't blame Sister Aman for only sending me to follow you. She believed that those targeting you wouldn't have very high cultivation," said the Sixth Star Lord, looking deeply ashamed. "I just didn't expect them to have the Hundred Day Red. If I had acted at the very start, they wouldn't have had the chance to deploy it. This was my oversight. If you want to blame someone, blame me."

Fang Chen looked at him and suddenly had a strange realization. It felt as if the person standing before him wasn't a sixth-transformation immortal who had practiced for years and seen the world's vicissitudes, but rather an inexperienced youth in the prime of his adolescence.

Looking back, his behavior at the Ji Family made sense now. He wasn't being aloof. He was clearly suffering from social anxiety because there had been too many people.

"Sixth Star Lord, this matter isn't your fault. Besides, it's already been resolved. There's no need for guilt," reassured Fang Chen. Then, feeling curious, he asked, "How long did you cultivate to reach your current level?"

The Sixth Star Lord thought for a moment, then gave a sheepish smile. "Quite a while. Probably two or three thousand years. I don't remember exactly. I spent most of that time in closed-door cultivation."

Fang Chen turned intrigued. "Oh... most of it in closed-door cultivation? You never went out to experience the mortal world?"

The Sixth Star Lord shook his head. "Before we master the Heavenly Immortal Descent technique, we cannot travel to the mortal world for tempering. The seven emotions and six desires of the mundane world interfere with the Immortal Path. The fewer people we contact, the better. This ensures our immortal essence remains sufficiently pure. If we can't perform the Heavenly Immortal Descent, our combat prowess would fall far behind Immortals of other pathways."

"So that's how it is..."

Fang Chen finally understood why the person before him possessed the disposition of a youth. At this level of cultivation, a single closed-door session could easily last a hundred years. If he had been training behind closed doors until he mastered Heavenly Immortal Descent, then his mentality might really be no different from that of a seventeen-year-old mortal boy.

"Core Disciple Fang, holding Daoist Hong like that must be tiring. I'll arrange a cave dwelling for you to settle her in. Don't worry, with me here, she won't be in any danger," said the Sixth Star Lord, patting his chest confidently.

Fang Chen nodded and followed him to a cave dwelling. After settling her, there was nothing left to do but wait.

Fang Chen looked at the Sixth Star Lord curiously. "By the way, Eldest Senior Sister's trip to the Major Immortal Realm this time shouldn't be entirely for catching bugs. It seems she went to Han Mountain Temple?"

This fellow likely knows something.