After the silver moon regained her balance, her face was pale. Yet, upon glancing at "Hua Tianqi," she said, "You are me, and I am you. If that person finds out about this, do you think your situation will improve much? Moreover, though he married Linglong, he has always cherished me most. Don't forget—wasn't it you who helped me suppress him and force him to sink into slumber within me?" Hearing these words, the smile on "Hua Tianqi's" face faded, and a surge of fierce anger flashed in his eyes. But then he sneered, turned his head sharply, and with a single hand, gently pressed against a spot outside the magical array. A tremendous roar echoed—suddenly, the white teleportation array through which they had entered collapsed and sank inward, leaving behind a deep crater several zhang in depth. The silver-winged yaksha and the lion-fowl, who had just been retreating toward the array, instantly froze, their expressions turning grave. They halted in their tracks. "Where are you two going?" One who is exactly like the ancient Kōgen Dan-shi from back then, yet radiates such a strong corpse energy—another, though his form has changed considerably, I still recall clearly: this is indeed the spirit-beast that the Kōgen Dan-shi once nurtured. If I'm not mistaken, the Kōgen Dan-shi had already passed away some time before I was sealed. It seems you have preserved his physical body, cultivating and attaining the Silver-Winged Night-Devil stage—my statement must be correct! "Hua Tian Qi" stared coldly at the Silver-Winged Night-Devil. "I didn't expect the Linglong Immortal Princess to so easily discern our origins. To be honest, I myself had several encounters with the Princess back then." The Silver-Winged Night-Devil's expression shifted between gloom and uncertainty, yet finally offered a wry smile. "It was your former self who had a single meeting with the Princess—not you. As for this lion-beast, he was merely a seventh-tier spirit-beast when we first met; now he has advanced to a tenth-tier beast. Clearly, even if he returns to the Spirit Realm, he will surely find a place to "Regardless, I still remember the unparalleled grace of the fairy back then. But what could have been her intention in destroying this transmission array?" Having had her origins revealed, the silver-winged yaksha instead grew calmer. "Nothing at all. Since we've arrived, there's no need to rush off. Perhaps I'll even need your two allies' assistance!" The "Flower Sky Master" said lightly. The silver-winged yaksha's expression darkened. Though the spirit creature had no intention of staying, the destruction of the transmission array meant that finding an alternative path would take time—after a slight pause in thought, she settled into silence. Seeing this, the "Flower Sky Master" turned her attention away from the two spirits and glanced again at the young man of the Xu family and several of Ye family's cultivators, then smirked: "Excellent! Remarkable indeed! I hadn't expected so many human cultivators to have come here, each one of them with such strong修为!" "No matter what esteemed position you hold in the spiritual realm, nor how you've taken form as the host of the Flower Daoist." Our Ye family has only opened the seal of Kunwu Mountain in order to obtain the Celestial Immortal Treasure. Should your esteemed predecessor hand over these Eight Spirit Rulers to me, our Ye family will assist you in escaping this tower!" The white-robed scholar, having carefully listened to the previous exchange, suddenly stepped forward with respectful dignity. "I had intended to express what I had in mind, but it seems my colleague Ye has already said it before me," the young Xu remarked, smiling politely yet with a hint of dryness. Both of them were seasoned and shrewd—upon seeing the flowered, celestial fairy queen take the initiative, they immediately realized they could not possibly prevail through force, and thus both began to actively seek alliances. "The Eight Spirit Rulers? Excellent! Whoever among you has the strength to claim this treasure, come forward and take it. I shall not stand in your way!" The fairy queen's gaze flickered, yet she spoke with complete indifference. Upon hearing this, the senior elder of the Ye family and the young Xu exchanged a moment of surprise, then looked at each other in growing astonishment. "Is it now, after inviting you to retrieve the treasure, that you are beginning to hesitate?" "Hua Tianqi" emitted a mocking laugh. Yet the white-robed scholar and the Xu-family youth反而 grew even more hesitant to move. On the other side, Lady Mu, since Hua Tianqi's arrival, had maintained an expression of intense alertness. Now, as her hand concealed in her sleeve moved subtly, she quietly drew out an object from her storage pouch—her movements exceptionally careful, as if afraid Hua Tianqi might notice. "Since Master doesn't wish to take this treasure, why did you intervene when I was gathering it earlier?" the large-headed monster, who had been quietly observing from the opposite end of the palace sky, suddenly asked sharply. "Everyone else may take their treasures—only you cannot!" Hua Tianqi glanced at the monster calmly and said. "Why not?" The monster's face instantly grew pale, glancing at his missing arm with resentment. "Why? Didn't you just see the avatar of Yuan Sha Sage not long ago?" "What avatar of Yuan Sha Sage? I've never heard of him!" The Great-Head Monster was startled, yet immediately denied. "Though you've only been with this demon for a short time, there's still a subtle aura of the demonic that ordinary people can't perceive—something I can see at once. You don't need to deny it, but just now, upon entering the hall, when you saw my soul box, you showed clear ill will. That's true, isn't it? Had it not been for the person who inhabits me awakening me earlier than you, I might have truly fallen victim to your treachery. To use a Soul-Extinction Seal against me—your courage is indeed remarkable!" The "Hua Tian Qi" flashed a green glow in his eyes, his voice suddenly sharp and icy. The white-robed scholar listened, startled, then quickly murmured a few words to the monster, as if trying to ask something. Yet the Great-Head Monster remained unmoved, his face cold and silent. The scholar's expression grew steadily grave. "The Yuan Sha Sage-Founder? Is that what it is? An ancient demon, perhaps?" This time, it was Han Li who spoke up. "Heh, the Yuan Sha Sage-Founder?" Hua Tianqi's face slightly changed, yet immediately he raised his head with a cold smile and answered Han Li's question. Han Li's brows furrowed slightly. His intuition told him that the appearance of the southern ancient demon at Kunwu Mountain was likely closely related to this Yuan Sha Sage Ancestor. Everyone silently pondered, and for a while, the atmosphere grew utterly still. Then, a clear, composed female voice broke the silence. "Do not be deceived, all of you. This woman is not an immortal queen from the upper realms—she is merely the ancient demon sage in the form of a transformation, deceiving us. Should any of you advance and truly take away the Eight Spiritual Rulers, the ancient cultivators used to seal this demon, the demon will indeed be freed. And then, the entire mortal realm will face a great calamity." The speaker was Mu Lady of Hua Xian Sect, who now held in one hand a jade seal about several inches in size, glowing brilliantly, and upon it, a vivid phantom of a five-clawed true dragon, several feet long, shimmered clearly. This true dragon phantom stood facing "Hua Tian Qi," who reared up and thrashed about with fury, as though seeing something deeply detestable. "Imperial Seal of Dragon Transformation!" Upon seeing the object, "Hua Tian Qi" instantly changed his expression, then, without a moment's hesitation, pressed his palm forward into the air toward the young woman. A sharp "crack!" sounded, and a tremendous force—seeming to tear through space—pressed straight down upon her head. The Lady of Wood was startled and quickly raised her jade seal high. At once, a roar of a dragon echoed from the seal, and the dragon form instantly swelled tenfold, shooting off from the object and directly meeting the powerful force in the air. A thunderous sound, as if the very space had trembled, followed, and then the dragon form and the force emitted a brilliant white light before vanishing together in a blaze. In the meantime, both Mu Lady and the graceful woman beside her simultaneously raised their hands, releasing streams of golden and silver light, and the Day and Moon Looms materialized. The two women swiftly shifted their positions and then slipped into the looms. This "Hua Tianqi" saw this, his brows shot up, and as he opened his mouth, a silver beam of light shot out toward the Ling Suo, vanishing instantly. To everyone's surprise, a colossal deer phantom, adorned with strange scales, suddenly appeared without any prior sign or warning, fully engulfing the beam in its mouth, then vanished just as suddenly—seeming as if it had never existed at all. "The Eight Sacred Deer!" Han Li was startled, immediately turning to gaze at the eight Ling Chi. He noticed that the chi rods, which had previously floated gently in the air, now trembled subtly. As the trembling intensified, waves of seven-colored spiritual light radiated from the rods, and gradually, the phantom forms of the eight spiritual beasts became clearly visible. It seemed the sacred artifact was about to be activated. Unfavorable! Upon seeing this, Hua Tianqi's face instantly grew cold, and with a flash of silver light around him, he made no further words and plunged directly into the palace below. The Baoling Chi suddenly emitted a sharp, resonant hum, and soon the surrounding array flashed with brilliant light. The ground trembled violently and cracked open into nine fissures, from which nine additional altars rose with a thunderous roar. These nine altars were several times larger than the smaller ones outside, each bearing a towering golden blade upright upon it—identical in shape and form to the golden blades previously held by the stone automata. Yet these blades were immense, each reaching over ten zhang in height, resembling nine colossal pillars that commanded awe. A burst of proud laughter rang out. "Whoosh!" A dual-headed, four-armed spectral figure shot forth from the magical aura, then instantly stabilized in midair. Nine massive blades radiated brilliant light, each projecting a thick beam of golden blade energy toward the sky. A vast, golden expanse spread out instantly, nearly concealing half the heavens, and pressed down fiercely upon the spectral figure. The figure laughed heartily, then suddenly stopped, startled, and recoiled backward in alarm. Yet, as the blade beams flashed suddenly, a strand of golden light appeared mysteriously atop the spectral figure and plunged down with a decisive strike. "Boom!" The golden light and magical aura intertwined and shimmered. Suddenly, a graceful, elegant figure materialized before the spectral form, extending a slender jade finger to gently press against the golden strand. (First chapter!)