"Earlier, that rebellious one had already been severely wounded by us and marked with a sensory imprint. As long as they hold firm to the human race's exit, they will be unable to escape. Once our reinforcements arrive, they'll be utterly helpless," said Huang Shi Gong. The green-robed woman nodded in agreement. Then, the two members of the Spirit race exchanged a few low murmurs before suddenly flashing with a burst of light and vanishing into the trees. At the same time, in a private chamber within the city of Luosha, several distinguished figures gathered around a stone table, discussing matters. "Master Lan, you mentioned that this Spirit race member is trapped within the Tomb of the Setting Sun, awaiting our rescue?" asked a tall, slender figure with a string of black Buddhist beads hanging at his neck, addressing a middle-aged man in a white robe. "Correct," replied the latter, "this is the news I just received. During his flight, he was severely wounded by the Spirit race's pursuing forces." At the site of the Sun's Tomb, where he fell ill, compounded by the tight pursuit of the Ling race, it became impossible for him to proceed directly to the City of the Setting Sun. Thus, we will need to go and assist him." The white-robed man spoke slowly, his expression grave. "Blue Brother, what exactly does that Ling race member carry? Until now, he has been unwilling to reveal this truth to us—indeed, he even summoned Master Huangliang out of the mountain, which is quite unusual. For something ordinary, wouldn't you think he would be more relaxed?" The other, a tall, sturdy man with dark skin, also asked. Finally, the man dressed in a broad yellow robe, whose face was unusually pale, responded quietly upon hearing the larger man mention his name: "Master Jin has mistaken the matter. I was not summoned by Master Lan, but rather, recently stirred by inner thoughts, I decided to leave the estate and take a walk—just in time to encounter this situation. Nevertheless, I am equally intrigued by what that Ling race member carries. Master Lan, may I urge you to share the details?" "This is none other than the renowned Huang Lang Ling Jun! And naturally, 'Blue Lord' is the Lord of this setting sun city." Lan said. "Master Lu, Master Jin—should I truly have known what it was, would I have kept silent all this time? I honestly don't know what the Ling Clan representative brought. However, the command I received came directly from the Imperial Palace." The Blue Lord smiled slightly, saying this. "A command from the Imperial Palace?" Both the head-monk and the tall Han man were startled. Even the white-robed figure, who had remained composed, flashed a gleam in his eyes. "Then it seems the matter is personally of interest to the Holy Emperor himself." The head-monk expressed a mixture of belief and doubt. "As for that, I'm not certain. But even if it wasn't a direct command from the Holy Emperor, it still originated from one of the two representatives. What difference does that make, then? Moreover, at the very moment the Imperial Palace issued this command, it dispatched a special envoy to come and meet us in the Setting Sun City." Yet the distance between our city and the Celestial Capital is vast, with several spatial fissures frequently erupting in between. Without sufficient time, the envoy simply cannot reach here in time. Our priority is to ensure that the arriving spiritual race envoy arrives unharmed, so that he may meet the royal envoy from the Palace of the Sacred Court, carrying the object with him. "Blue Lord," said solemnly. "Since this is an order from the Palace of the Sacred Court, we have no choice but to comply. Nevertheless, I am particularly interested in the items brought by this young spiritual race envoy." Huang Liang, the Spiritual Sovereign, smiled lightly. The Head Monk and the Han gentleman exchanged glances, then remained silent. "Very well. Since Master Lu and the two of you have no objections, we shall enter the Tomb of the Setting Sun in two days' time to locate this spiritual race envoy. He is currently hidden within the Tomb of the Setting Sun—" "Who is there!" As Blue Lord was about to reveal the location where the spiritual race envoy was concealed, Huang Liang suddenly grasped the wall of the chamber with one hand and roared aloud. A thunderous roar— a yellow crystalline hand materialized before the wall and seized it instantly. A flash of gray light, and something was torn free from the wall, only to burst apart with a soft "pffft" as it disintegrated into countless gray filaments, shooting out in all directions. "Unfortunate! The Ten-Thousand-Souls Threads!" cried Huang Liang, the Spirit Sovereign, instantly raising her sleeve and unleashing a sweeping wave of golden yellow mist that engulfed her form. The others heard her cry and were all startled. The Head Monk quickly removed the beads from his neck, transforming them into swirling masses of black clouds that shielded his entire body. Meanwhile, the dark-robed man emitted a cold snort, suddenly producing a dark iron shield which he raised in front of himself. As the Blue Commander opened his mouth, a translucent ice lotus bloomed and, with a shimmering glow, his human form vanished entirely. Just as everyone had prepared to meet this unexpected, devastating blow head-on, the swirling gray threads flashed brilliantly, fading and vanishing before anyone's defenses could intercept them. All of them were left stunned. "An illusion!" Master Huanglang reacted first, raising a hand to summon. A yellow crystalline hand shot forth. Upon closer inspection, one could see fine silver powder scattered across the surface of the hand, glowing faintly with a phosphorescent shimmer. Master Huanglang extended a finger, dipped it into the powder, and held it up to examine it closely. To everyone's surprise, the silver powder began to shift colors—first red, then yellow, and then back again—before finally vanishing completely from the tip of his finger. It was the mature-phase phantom flame moth's duplicate that had sacrificed itself. Only this rare spirit insect could briefly transform its body into intangible form to penetrate this location. Yet, a fragment of its consciousness must have managed to escape. Its original body must surely be near the City of the Setting Sun. Our conversation must have been eavesdropped upon quite extensively. Indeed, there is additional qi of the demonic nature on these moth powders—likely cultivated by members of the demonic race. Master Huanglan said this with a face as still as water. Upon hearing this, the blue city commander immediately grew visibly displeased. "We shall depart tomorrow without fail—absolutely no room for the demonic race to gain the upper hand," he declared without hesitation. One hour later, on the slopes of an unnamed small mountain some one hundred li outside the city of Lülu, a young man of graceful appearance sat motionless in meditation upon a flat stone. Above him, a colorful moth the size of a clenched fist gently fluttered its wings, radiating an exceptionally vibrant luminous glow. Behind the young man stood a tall, elegant lady in imperial robes, with phoenix-like eyes and dark brows, a subtle aura of authority and strength about her—precisely the black phoenix clan maiden whom Master Han had once encountered. Yet, once so proud and commanding, she now stood quietly behind the young man, expression respectful and silent. A faint crack of air broke through, followed by a slender gray thread shooting down from the sky, vanishing instantly into the flying moth at the boy's head. At the same time, the delicate youth opened his eyes, clear and bright. He raised a hand toward the top of his head and extended a slender, pale finger. The moth gracefully descended, landing as if undisturbed at the tip of his finger. Suddenly, the light on the moth's body flickered—dimming and brightening, its hue shifting unpredictably. After a full hour, the light stabilized, returning to stillness and calm. "I've always wondered why the old Yellow Rice man appeared in the city," the youth murmured, a curious expression on his face. "It seems he's connected to the spiritual clan. Even the royal court has been summoned—what must be on the rebel's person is no ordinary matter. The phantom flame moth's presence wasn't wasted after all." After a moment of silence, he tossed the moth once more onto his head and then descended from the stone cliff. "Miss Xiao, I've heard that the young girl your Black Phoenix clan recently recovered has true blood of a mutated Great Phoenix—remarkably gifted, having already reached the fifth rank in a short span of time. Is this truly so?" The young man suddenly turned to the young lady in imperial court attire and asked. "Your senior, Master Huan, is correct," replied the lady in court attire respectfully, not wanting to miss the opportunity. "Indeed, Dai has some real talent!" "Heh, it's quite coincidental," the young man smiled. "Our Qiong Shu clan has also produced a promising young person—not particularly young either. How about we establish a marital alliance between our two clans?" The young man suddenly brightened. "That... I appreciate your kind gesture, Master. Naturally, I would be honored to accept. However, Dai is the direct granddaughter of the junior clan chief, so I cannot make that decision on my own," the lady in court attire exclaimed, though she maintained a polite smile. "I am well aware of this." I only asked you to deliver this message to Gong Sun brother. The young man I mentioned is no ordinary one—his status is quite befitting the young lady." The young man spoke calmly. "Yes, I will make certain the message reaches its destination." Upon hearing this, the court-dressed woman breathed a quiet sigh of relief and immediately agreed. "Very well. As long as Gong Sun brother agrees to this matter, once this is settled, I will send someone to formally propose to the noble families. You've heard part of what I said earlier—there's a Ling clan member who has come to join the Human clan, apparently carrying something of great value, even drawing the attention of the Imperial Palace staff. I didn't know about this before, so it's not a big deal. But now that I know, I cannot allow the Human clan to succeed in this. You, the Feng clan, all possess the spatial aptitude—immediately enter the Sunset Tomb, gather our妖 clan members, and spread this news. Make sure to outpace the Human clan and locate that Ling clan member. I will quietly follow the elderly Huang Liang and the others." The young man's voice grew clear and composed. "Yes, we shall carry out "The lady in court attire spoke respectfully. Then, with a single gesture of her hand before her, a shimmering arc of white light instantly appeared. The woman swayed slightly and vanished into the arc. The young man remained in place, murmuring to himself for a long while before a golden glow surged up his body, carrying the moth with him, and slowly descending into the ground, likewise disappearing. Not long after, both human and immortal beings within the Sunset Tomb received simultaneously a command from the upper echelons—urgent, demanding that they find a Ling race member who had infiltrated the tomb. Each side offered astonishing rewards, including rare elixirs capable of dramatically enhancing cultivation levels and hundreds of thousands of premium spirit stones. The bottle of Tianxin Elixir from Huangliang Lingjun was notably included among these rewards. The Sunset Tomb became agitated, and under such generous incentives, everyone devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the search for this Ling race guest. Originally, when the human and immortal clans came into contact, they often felt their strengths were comparable, and under mutual suspicion, they would sometimes coexist peacefully, each pursuing their own paths. Now, under the incentive of generous rewards, they have become increasingly wary and restless, engaging in frequent conflicts! As for all this, Han Li, a lone figure, was completely unaware. At this very moment, he was facing his first perilous battle since entering the Sunset Tomb! (Second update!)