"I've secretly come to this realm, bypassing the other elders' notice, not merely to remain hidden and inactive, but to secure greater benefits for our faction. According to the original Saint Ancestor's agreement, whoever establishes a settlement for the human race in the spiritual realm shall be granted disposal rights over half of the territory. Such a significant advantage—naturally, I must strive to secure the maximum benefit for our group!" The black-armored woman said, her expression serious. "It doesn't matter. As long as we secure sufficient benefits this time, what's a mere embodiment that closes itself off for a thousand years? In the meantime, I'll rely on you, my sister, to guard it well and ensure it doesn't truly perish." The black-armored woman spoke slowly. "Rest assured. When I descended to this realm, my original intention was to assist my sister. Yet I never expected to encounter the Blossom of Precious Flowers. Reflecting on our old ties from those days, it truly is heart-wrenching!" Yuan Sha chuckled, her tone wistful. "Hmph. Since the Blossom has chosen a path different from ours, there can be no further ties between us. The principle that 'the victor is king, the vanquished are mere spoils' has always been the unyielding rule of our Saint Clan. Should we have failed in the past, our fate would surely have been far more tragic than that of the Blossom today!" The black-armored woman sniffed, speaking with cold composure. "Perhaps that's true. Yet the Blossom remains one of the Three Founding Ancestors of our Saint Clan. It will be difficult to completely erase her influence." "Many people may not show it openly, yet remain loyal to her in secret," Yuan Sha sighed. "As one of the Founding Ancestors, her influence is naturally far greater than that of ordinary Saint Ancestors. Yet even with such influence, time inevitably erodes it. Over thirty thousand, forty thousand years—perhaps some still remember her loyalty. But after one hundred thousand, or even a million years, that influence fades away entirely. Still, we cannot simply let her drift around aimlessly. When our primary bodies are ready to descend, I will personally assemble a dedicated force to confront her. Even if we cannot eliminate her completely, we will certainly ensure she does not disrupt our grand plans!" The black-armored woman spoke with fierce determination. "Agreed, Sister. Once you've stabilized your condition, we shall immediately return to the Human Clan. When I departed, the defensive seals of the Tianling City in the Human Clan were already largely breached. Perhaps upon our return, we will fully seize and consolidate the city." Yuansha nodded, her face suddenly brightening with excitement. "My other incarnation commands a vast army—composed of the finest troops I've carefully selected. It ranks among the top three armies that have arrived in the spiritual realm. If we can't capture a mere human capital city, that would indeed be surprising!" The black-armored woman spoke calmly, as though unsurprised. "That makes sense. Otherwise, Sister's other incarnation wouldn't have had the strength to send me out to disrupt the humans' minor maneuvers." Yuansha smiled. "Then let's go—hope everything unfolds as smoothly as we hoped!" The black-armored woman raised her head and glanced at the sky, her gaze flashing. "Unfortunately, this time the young man named Han has gotten the upper hand. He's escaped unharmed, and we've lost that advantage." Yuansha, recalling their primary pursuit, sighed with a touch of frustration. The black-armored woman smiled gently, said nothing, yet as she opened her mouth, a burst of red surged forth. Under the red light, a translucent crimson flying chariot, no larger than a few inches, stood out with extraordinary refinement. At the mere prompt of the legal decree, it instantly expanded to several zhang in size. Yuan Sha moved without hesitation, his figure suddenly materializing upon the chariot. The black-armored woman rose and, lifting her long, graceful legs, gently drifted onto the chariot as well. At that moment, a flash of light rippled across the chariot's surface, and it surged forward as a streak of red light, breaking through the sky and racing toward the horizon. Five months later, one of the Three Imperial Cities of the human race—the Tianling City—was finally overwhelmed by the endless army of the demonic forces. Not only did all the immortal cultivators within the city perish in battle, but several senior elders at the Consolidated Stage were also trapped and ultimately surrounded and slain by the high-ranking demonic warriors. Nevertheless, in their final, desperate counterattacks, these human elite figures fought with extraordinary intensity, triggering a spectacular self-sacrifice that claimed an equal number of their counterparts among the demonic Sovereigns, as well as thousands of high-ranking demonic cultivators. Only the newly appointed Ling Huang displayed an astonishing feat of magic, unexpectedly elevating his spiritual power to an unprecedented level, and thus forged a bloody path through the vast army of the demonic forces, escaping with severe injuries. Yet, after the battle, there was not a single trace of him thereafter. In furious outrage, the high-ranking demonic commander ordered the complete extermination of all captured human cultivators within the city and, most symbolically, felled the towering celestial tree that reached straight into the heavens—the very emblem of the city of Tianling. As a result, the entire spiritual city collapsed, with only a fraction of its buildings remaining intact. Nevertheless, the demonic army, though significantly weakened by the battle at Tianling, did not immediately advance to sweep through neighboring regions. Instead, it settled down to rest and consolidate at the site of the fallen city, continuously replenishing its ranks with demonic beasts drawn from the channels of the demonic realm. What struck the remaining human factions in the Tianling Realm most unexpectedly was that these demonic clans had begun constructing extensive fortifications and strongholds across their occupied territories, and had even planted strange, dark, slender magic trees that emitted weak streams of magical energy—clearly intending to establish long-term human habitation. Panicked, the human factions urgently relayed these developments to other human outposts. Not long after, major strongholds such as Tianyuan City were all informed—though they displayed only a measured surface response, internal stirrings naturally intensified. ... At the edge of the Wood Clan’s territory, deep within a primeval forest in the wilderness, a cluster of towers rising over a hundred zhang in height and stretches of gray-white city walls formed a compact, small-scale stronghold of about a li in diameter. Within this stronghold, magic energy surged, and squads of armored demonic warriors could be seen patrolling the walls in orderly formations. High above the fortress, a dark, roughly acre-sized opening shimmered faintly within the magical aura—precisely one of the convergence points where the realms of magic and humanity intersect. Yet compared to the several grand "nodes" within the human realm, this one was remarkably small and insignificant, utterly incapable of being held in equal regard. The ordinary magical beings patrolling within the fortress themselves appeared pale with a faintly rosy hue and possessed only modest cultivation levels, suggesting they were not among the true elite of the magical race. This was entirely expected—such a modest node could naturally accommodate only limited magical forces for defense. Indeed, this was already a situation in which the number of convergence points within the woodfolk realm far surpassed those of the human and fairy realms, otherwise this very fortress of the magical race would never have come into existence. Nevertheless, the widespread scorched trees and the uneven, cratered ground surrounding the fortress indicated that the area had endured numerous battles, though the eventual losers were clearly not the magical forces stationed here. Of course, this is also because the major wood-based powers had never regarded such a modest magical node as significant, instead concentrating their true strength on the larger, more threatening "nodes"—and thus merely launching passive attacks. However, for the smaller, local wood-based factions, this node remained a thorn in their side, an undeniable obstacle they would not easily relinquish. Consequently, they organized regular assaults, sending fresh forces every few periods. Yet each time, these efforts ended in failure. Meanwhile, under the continuous influx of reinforcements from the magical fortress, the node itself gradually grew stronger with each attack—showing a clear trend of becoming more resilient. This development sparked growing alarm among neighboring wood-based factions, who now launched attacks with increasing frequency. One day, deep within the forest some fifty miles outside the fortress, a series of wood-clad troops, dressed in yellow and green wood armor, appeared unexpectedly, moving steadily toward the magical fortress through the art of wood-style teleportation. Although their levels of cultivation varied, the wooden-clan members moved silently and uniformly, displaying a well-trained demeanor. Among them, an elder at the stage of First Immortality and a pair of middle-aged adults at the late stage of Spiritual Transformation were the most accomplished, clearly leading the group. They not only walked at the forefront of the procession using teleportation techniques, but also exchanged careful conversations among themselves. "Master Bamboo, I truly owe you a great deal this time," said the neatly-faced middle-aged man, expressing his deep gratitude. "As long as we succeed in capturing this demonic clan stronghold, our several families will surely offer our heartfelt thanks upon returning home." The elder shook his head, appearing somewhat concerned. "It's nothing at all. After all, I am also a member of the wooden clan, and it is only natural that I contribute my share in the struggle against the demonic forces. However, I have taken considerable risks—traveling this far with no one from my own family to support me—making this campaign especially perilous. We must therefore achieve a swift and decisive victory." "Zhu has confidence. This time, several of our clans have drawn upon nearly all our strength, with the intention of securing a decisive victory. Otherwise, if the conflict drags on, it would be detrimental to us. Based on our previous engagement, the highest-ranked magi within the fortress are no more than four high-tier Shenyin-level demonic beings. With Zhu's presence, we are certain to overcome them this time." Another female member of the Mù clan, whose complexion was unusually pale with no trace of color on her face, also whispered her message. Upon hearing this, the elder's expression relaxed slightly. After a few more low murmurs of discussion, the three high-ranked wooden-clan members fell silent and focused intently, leading the group steadily forward. Yet neither the three high-ranked wooden-clan members nor the thousands of ordinary wooden-clan followers below could have imagined that a gray, hazy cloud above the forest was quietly observing them through two luminous blue eyes. The one who owned the eyes wore a light green robe and looked like a young man in his twenties—none other than Han Li, who had not appeared for several months. As he surveyed the wooden-clan procession below, he glanced toward the distant fortress of the magical clan, his face showing thoughtful contemplation. Suddenly, a faint smile touched Han Li's lips. With a subtle shift in posture, his form blurred and became indistinct within the cloud, eventually transforming into a barely perceptible green silhouette that surged out of the gray mist. Floating gently through the air, he followed closely behind the wooden-clan group, heading toward the magical clan's fortress.