Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

As Lin Chang’sheng drew his bowstring once again, countless arrows shot out at breakneck speed.

The arrows flew so fast they outpaced even the fiercest raptors in the sky.

The raptors barely had time to dodge before they were struck down, one after another, by the arrows.

Bam! Bam! Bam!—

In an instant, the endless raptors overhead were pierced through by the arrows and dissolved into wisps of black smoke, vanishing into thin air.

But no matter how many demon beasts Lin Chang’sheng slaughtered, they kept pouring in like waves—there was simply no end to them.

"We can’t just keep killing like this. We’ll be dead from exhaustion before they are!"

After fighting for the time it took an incense stick to burn, Lin Chang’sheng realized this wasn’t the way forward.

After all, the slain demon beasts could regroup into even stronger forms.

Meanwhile, their own primordial power was steadily running out.

Lin Chang’sheng figured that if they kept this up, their primordial power would be gone long before they broke the array.

They probably wouldn’t even know who it was that wanted them dead.

He needed to find an array-breaking technique—fast.

Whoosh—

Lin Chang’sheng unleashed his light body technique and shot toward the top of the array.

Below, swarms of raptors chased him relentlessly.

Lin Chang’sheng wanted to see for himself just how big this array was.

When he soared a hundred miles up, he finally reached the edge of the array.

Lin Chang’sheng pulled his Divine Thunder Bow back and fired at the array barrier.

Bam! Bam! Bam!—

Bolts of thunderbolt arrows crashed into the array barrier, filling the air with deafening explosions.

Yet all they did was stir a few ripples—the barrier remained unscathed.

Clearly, this array was not something an Integration Stage cultivator could crack open by force.

If brute force won’t work, he’ll need another plan.

Lin Chang’sheng waved his hand and summoned the Celestial Soul Banner.

This Celestial Soul Banner could collect both souls and corpses.

He wanted to see if these demon beasts were really just condensed souls.

If they were, he could simply take them into the Celestial Soul Banner.

Whoosh, whoosh—

With a flick of the Celestial Soul Banner, the horde of demon beasts charging at him was sucked inside in an instant.

This took Lin Chang’sheng by surprise.

Clearly, the Celestial Soul Banner held immense power over the souls of these demon beasts.

Now things were much easier. Otherwise, if he kept fighting, the demon beast souls would just merge into even stronger forms with every fall.

Even with his stockpile of elixirs, eventually he’d run out of primordial power and die here.

This array was strikingly similar to the one Lin Chang’sheng himself had set up back in the day.

Which is why he knew he couldn’t just keep fighting endlessly.

"Let’s see how many souls you’ve got!"

Lin Chang’sheng spoke coolly, then waved the Celestial Soul Banner and kept harvesting the demon beasts’ souls.

Soon, the demon beasts that were still charging at him turned tail and fled the moment Lin Chang’sheng looked their way.

"Why don’t you come out and show yourself? An array like this? I’ve played with better ones before!"

Lin Chang’sheng scoffed.

Sure enough, seeing that the grand array couldn’t kill Lin Chang’sheng, the enemy revealed himself.

A raging gale rose ahead, and from it emerged a man in the shape of a middle-aged man.

But his ears were furry—clearly, he wasn’t fully human.

"Kid, I have to admit, you’re pretty damn capable!"

The man was obviously surprised by Lin Chang’sheng’s strength, not expecting him to survive the grand array unscathed.

"You’re not bad yourself! To set up a formation like this, you must’ve been at it for years. Too bad—it just won’t work on me."

Lin Chang’sheng paused, then continued, "If I’m not mistaken, you’re from the Fox Race, right? I don’t think I’ve got any beef with you."

"No beef?"

The man snickered, a sneer twisting his lips.

"Bad luck for you, that’s all. Tell me where Qingqiu is, and I’ll let you die in one piece!"

Xiaomu said coldly.

He wasn’t here for Lin Chang’sheng—his real target was Empress Qingqiu.

He had to eliminate her before she’d fully recovered; otherwise, once she was healed up, it might be his own funeral.

"Who’s Qingqiu? Never heard of her. I think you’re looking for the wrong guy."

Lin Chang’sheng replied perfunctorily.

This guy was powerful. If he could talk his way out, that was for the best.

The aura wafting off Xiaomu marked him as a Middle Stage Tribulation Crossing expert.

Lin Chang’sheng didn’t stand a chance of killing him.

Getting away in one piece would already be a win—if anyone could kill Xiaomu, it’d be Xiaobai.

But as for Xiaobai’s odds? Lin Chang’sheng had no clue.

So, the best course was to bluff his way out.

"You reek of her aura and dare to claim you don’t know her? You just won’t learn until you’re staring death in the face! Fine. I’ll grant your wish!"

Xiaomu had no patience for Lin Chang’sheng’s bullshit.

With a flip of his palm, the overwhelming aura of a Tribulation Crossing expert crashed down on Lin Chang’sheng, pinning him in place.

"Stop!"

Just as Xiaomu was about to strike, a white flash burst forth—Xiaobai shot out of the Spirit Beast Bag and launched a sweep of Sword Qi right for Xiaomu.

She knew full well that if she didn’t show herself now, Lin Chang’sheng would be dead meat.

Xiaomu, eyes wide at the incoming Sword Qi, dodged with a flicker of his body.

But when he looked again, Empress Qingqiu was already standing right before him.

She still looked as stunning as ever, just like years before—but her cultivation was now far below her prime.

Judging by the power of that Sword Qi, her cultivation was only at the Mahayana Stage.

"Empress, it’s been a long time. Do you still remember me?"

Xiaomu smirked, clearly not taking Xiaobai seriously. After all, a Mahayana stage can’t stand up to a Tribulation Crossing expert.

Unless she was at her peak, why should he pay her any mind?

"Xiaomu, after all the kindness I showed you in the past, I can’t believe you betrayed us! Still, I’ll give you one more chance. If you’re willing, you can still follow me."

Xiaobai spoke softly, sounding weak—or maybe she was luring him in.

She could kill Xiaomu, no doubt, but she wanted to do it by surprise.

Otherwise, if he was alert, he’d sap a lot of her immortal power.

So Xiaobai decided to play the weakling, lure the tiger, and strike a deadly blow when he least expected it.

"What a joke. If you obey me now, maybe I’ll let you live a little longer. Of course, there’ll be a price to pay for that!"

Xiaomu shot Xiaobai a hungry look—his eyes glittered with greed.

Apparently, it’s not just the Human Race—Demon Race males were just as helpless before beauty.

Having evolved a perfect human body, Xiaobai’s looks and charm were flawless—one could hardly find a single fault.

"I have a request."

Xiaobai pretended to be resigned.

"Speak. As long as it’s within my power, I won’t say no—we have thousands of years of history, after all."

Xiaomu replied, smug as if he already had a beauty in his arms.

"Let Lin Chang’sheng go."

Xiaobai shot a glance at Lin Chang’sheng.

Lin Chang’sheng was completely dumbfounded by her act.

Was she for real with this performance?

"No problem. Killing or sparing one ant means nothing to me! As long as you swallow this pill, I’ll let him leave."

Xiaomu tossed her a blood-colored vial—inside were Blood Pills he had refined.

Anyone with lower cultivation who took this would be completely under his control, at his mercy.

Xiaobai hesitated for a moment, but still uncorked the vial and swallowed the pill.

Seeing Xiaobai obediently take the Blood Pill, Xiaomu was overjoyed—looked like he’d have another sleepless night ahead.

After taking the Blood Pill, Xiaobai stood docilely behind Xiaomu, like she was his loyal servant.

"Qingqiu, oh Qingqiu, never thought the great Empress would see a day like this!"

Xiaomu laughed, thoroughly enjoying turning the once-high-and-mighty Empress into his slave—the sense of conquest was intoxicating.

After his sneer, Xiaomu’s gaze fixed on Lin Chang’sheng. "Kid, your turn to die!"

Then, Xiaomu gathered strength for a palm strike at Lin Chang’sheng—he had no intention of letting him go.

When you root out weeds, you have to get the roots, or they’ll grow back come spring.

He’d only promised Qingqiu to make her take the pill—that was all.

How could he possibly let Lin Chang’sheng off for real?

Whoosh—

But what Xiaomu didn’t expect was that, just at this moment, Xiaobai behind him suddenly attacked.

A sweep of Sword Qi slashed straight through Xiaomu’s waist, sending a shower of blood flying.

"You—you—how...?"

Xiaomu couldn’t believe it. How could Qingqiu, under the control of his Blood Pill, still launch an attack on him?

Could it be that his Blood Pill was useless against her?

No way could Xiaomu have known that Xiaobai’s recovery had already surpassed his own strength.

So, his Blood Pill failed to have any effect on her.

Xiaobai only pretended weakness to save as much immortal power as possible.

Every bit of immortal power she regained required harvesting a massive amount of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.