The man spoke with great sincerity, but there was no way Wang Ping and the others would believe him. For these people to dare pull something like this right under the nose of the Daoist Scripture Hall, they must have had a backup plan.

Dan Chen’s response was the most direct. He raised his hands as if lifting a great cauldron, summoned his Pill Furnace, and brought it smashing down on the head of the woman in the lead.

BOOM!

As the Pill Furnace crashed down, the very space around it seemed to collapse. But the woman’s figure transformed into a sea of fire, deftly dodging the blow. The white-haired man to her left simply turned into fire himself and rammed straight into Dan Chen’s Pill Furnace.

CLANG!

A dull, metallic clang rang out. The Pill Furnace was engulfed in flames, but the searing heat had no effect on it whatsoever.

Dan Chen formed a hand seal and shouted, "Collect!"

Instantly, a brilliant red light erupted from the Pill Furnace, and a powerful suction tried to pull in the flames that had ignited the clouds below. CRACKLE... 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

A continuous series of sharp cracks, like firecrackers, echoed as the flames exploded, blocking the Pill Furnace’s suction. A wisp of fire even tried to creep toward the sky on Wang Ping’s side.

"You’ve crossed the line..."

Yunshan, like some sentimental scholar, gently flicked his right hand. Spiritual Qi fluctuated, and a transparent barrier materialized from thin air, blocking the encroaching flames. The moment the barrier and fire made contact, a new series of explosions erupted, shaking the ground below. The teahouse trembled violently, on the verge of collapse. The mortals inside could only cover their ears and writhe in pain on the floor.

"I’m taking it in!"

Dan Chen roared, and the lid of his Pill Furnace shot into the sky. The suction from the furnace’s mouth created a vacuum in the surrounding space as it moved rapidly, attempting to absorb all the flames from the sky.

"Dan Chen, I’ve shown you respect as a senior by holding back. Don’t push your luck!"

The leading woman roared, igniting even more Spiritual Qi. The massive blaze connected to the white-haired Cultivator currently battling Yunshan. Then, without warning, the Cultivator with crimson skin charged toward the Pill Furnace. As he moved, his skin grew even redder, and golden cracks began to appear across his body.

"He looks like he’s about to self-destruct!"

Wang Ping slapped two Armor Talismans, one on Yunshan and one on Dan Chen. Then, twenty Golden Armor Soldiers formed a protective formation in front, while a kill array composed of seven iron-bamboo swords slashed the incoming man to pieces.

’How could it be that easy?’

Just as Wang Ping was wondering about this, the shredded corpse pieces flared with fiery light. They first absorbed the surrounding flames that had just been ignited, and in the blink of an eye, the temperature soared to a critical point. Below, the six Qi Cultivators from the Daoist Scripture Hall who were escorting goods were instantly vaporized by the high temperature. The people in the teahouse, though protected by Yunshan and in no mortal danger, all fell into a deep coma.

"It really is going to explode..."

As Wang Ping spoke, he quickly activated the Spirit Gathering Array around him and slapped his storage pouch. He took out a pre-prepared Sealing Array. The next moment, the sky was obscured by countless intertwined vines that formed a protective barrier around Wang Ping, Dan Chen, and Yunshan.

A series of explosions immediately followed. The temperature of the corpse fragments had reached a critical point, and they had indeed detonated.

Just as the blast wave was about to expand outward, the vines completely enveloped the area. A series of muffled POPS and CRACKLES could be heard from within.

Most of the explosion’s destructive force was suppressed by the Sealing Array Wang Ping had created!

Over there, the crimson-skinned Cultivator who had just been sliced to pieces was actually reborn amidst the Blazing Flame. He was absorbing the fire to recover, looking as if he could repeat the same move at any moment.

"That’s a fusion of a false spirit from the First Sect and a human. Be careful," Dan Chen warned Wang Ping.

But his words had barely left his mouth when the three figures across from them quickly fled into the distance. At the same time, in the area they had just vacated, the body of another crimson-skinned Cultivator began to heat up rapidly.

Just as Wang Ping and the others were about to give chase, a Bronze Grand Clock appeared out of thin air. As if it could prop up the heavens and the earth, its appearance instantly trapped the three of them—and the surrounding dozens of miles of land and sky—within it.

CLANG!

As the bell tolled, the earth trembled. The three of them were struggling inside.

A glint flashed in Wang Ping’s eyes. He recognized this bell. It was the same one Young Master Ming had used when they fought. And it was enhanced with the ’Giant Object Technique,’ which required the bloodline of the Demon Race to cast!

At the same time, seeming to come from the distant horizon yet also right before their eyes, a seven-colored beam of light streaked across the sky at a speed invisible to Wang Ping. Its target was Wang Ping, Dan Chen, and Yunshan.

Wang Ping felt his soul locked in place by an immense, oppressive force. He subconsciously wanted to flee, but his soul kept his body rooted to the spot.

At the critical moment, Wang Ping thought about using an Illusion Technique to escape. But as soon as the idea formed, his vision flipped upside down. Far from being alarmed, he felt a sense of relief. ’This is Daoist Zi Luan’s aura. He’s using a Transfer Talisman, the signature Talisman of a Third Realm Taiyan Cultivator.’

When his vision returned to normal, the Bronze Grand Clock that had trapped the three of them had been overturned. A pitch-black cavern had appeared in the sky, from which a pair of massive, flaming hands reached out. The hands seized the three Evil Cultivators and a newly-appeared Artifact Cultivator, who had seven different colored Magical Artifacts floating around him, and cupped them in their palms.

The next moment, the four of them were pulled into the black cavern, which then vanished without a trace.

"Spatial teleportation?" Dan Chen asked, his face full of confusion.

"No, it was more direct than that. They used a fire spirit to violently rupture a minor spatial node, achieving a long-distance teleportation," Zi Luan replied with a look of regret. Then, with a gentle wave of his hand, the destroyed mountain forest and vegetation below were restored to their pre-battle state at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Dan Chen glanced at Wang Ping, and seeing that he had no intention of speaking, asked, "What happened? This isn’t what we planned. Weren’t we supposed to be the ones profiting from the conflict? How did we end up in a direct clash with the First Sect?"

"There was a slight deviation from the plan..."

Zi Luan’s eyes flickered, and he gave a self-deprecating laugh. "It was Junior Brother Xiu Yu who meddled. The intelligence was altered by the time it reached both us and the First Sect."

"Your twisted sense of humor ruined this opportunity," Dan Chen said irritably.

"No matter. There will be plenty of opportunities to cause them trouble in the future. Now is not the time for a major conflict." Zi Luan turned to Wang Ping. "After going through this, those two believers from the First Sect should change their minds and be willing to have a proper talk with you."

"I hope so," Wang Ping nodded.

...

The appearance of the Outer Realm Demon was somewhat different from what Wang Ping had expected. He had imagined it would be something twisted and disgusting, but it turned out to be quite beautiful. Overall, it was a high-temperature red gemstone that emitted a fiery glow. When its light bloomed, it revealed countless glittering crystals, making it look like a sunflower made of Gold.

It had already been delivered to Qianmu Temple. Wang Ping placed it inside a Sealing Array constructed from hundreds of ’Entanglement Technique’ spells. The conditions for it to generate Demon Soldiers required sufficient heat, and for a spiritual Magical Artifact to be placed in the hottest area. Through a process of firing and assimilation, the artifact had a chance to be upgraded into a Demon Soldier.