Time passed slowly, and aside from the waves of hot winds rolling across the desert, nothing unusual seemed to be happening around the sky. "It's been this long, and still no sign of him. Hasn't that young man backed out at the last minute and simply vanished somewhere along the way? To prevent the fearsome demon from spotting them, we've actually sent no additional personnel to secretly monitor these two." Finally, a tall man with reddish hair in the light array grew impatient and whispered to his neighbor, a plump elder. "Master Cheqi, rest assured—since we've set this trap, we're confident it will succeed. Though we don't yet understand why the demon has been relentlessly pursuing these two for so long, our earlier investigations show that the demon has never shown any signs of letting go. As long as the young man named Liu Six-Wings proves a bit more astute and guides the demon here, there's no doubt it will work." The elder smiled gently and replied in a soft voice. "With your explanation, I'm now at ease." To be honest, that demon truly is that formidable. This time, besides our twelve Great Perfection Masters, they've even deployed two colossal arrays—one celestial and one terrestrial—and have summoned the Yellow Wind Map, the foundational treasure of the Blood-Bone Sect. With this divine artifact and these celestial-terrestrial arrays, they should be able to literally transmute and consume the demon alive. Then why do we need to intervene at all?" The bearded man nodded in agreement and then, with a touch of curiosity, added, "I'm not entirely certain about this myself, but since the senior masters have treated it so seriously, there must be a sound reason. Simply consider that this demon has managed to single-handedly eliminate three Great Perfection Masters and has boldly blood-sacrificed hundreds of millions of life forms across the continent—such a feat surely warrants our respect and this level of attention." The plump elder paused and then said. "I'm still curious about this individual's origin. How did he emerge? Did he have been quietly cultivating in a certain region all along, or is he a transcendent master who arrived from another realm?" The bearded man thought for a moment and then asked again. "This doesn't require much thought at all. Regardless of this person's origins, having committed such actions that provoke both heaven's wrath and public outrage, the several great sects absolutely cannot allow them to survive. Otherwise, where would our faces be placed? How could we stand firm in the realm of blood and heaven?" The plump elder, after stroking his somewhat round and stout chin, chuckled. At the same time, in a great city distant from the desert, within a golden spire hall, four senior cultivators with distinct energies stood together, gazing at a hazy, luminous screen at the center. The screen continuously displayed shifting scenes, clearly reflecting every corner of the desert. Among the four, the green-robed elder was none other than Bi Ying. The other three were a middle-aged man dressed in scholarly robes, a middle-aged woman clad in a vibrant, multicolored robe of霞, and a distinguished man with eagle-like eyes, wearing a long crimson robe. All four remained silent, quietly observing the scenes on the screen, their expressions calm and composed, with no words exchanged. ...Half a day later, a sudden burst of sound rippled through the desert's edge, and a shimmering crystal light materialized, then, with the terrifying speed of near-instantaneous teleportation, flashed once and plunged directly into the heart of the desert. Almost immediately afterward, a vibrant seven-colored cloud flashed into view at the horizon, from which a cold, composed man's voice issued: "You've truly infuriated me this time. I've grown weary of this cat-and-mouse game. Let this game end today." As soon as the words fell, a thunderous roar erupted within the cloud, and it surged forward as a streak of seven-colored lightning. With one fleeing and one pursuing, they traversed nearly half the desert in the time of a cup of tea, reaching the central region. As the shimmering light faded, a snow-white eight-winged centipede and a beautiful woman dressed in silver court attire emerged in the cold radiance. The massive centipede rolled to a stop and then transformed into a young man clad in a white robe, adorned with golden and silver spiritual patterns. The young man appeared pale, and as soon as he materialized, he immediately turned to gaze back. A thunderclap echoed in the void behind them, and a bolt of lightning shot forth, striking precisely where they had come to a halt. The six-winged being narrowed his eyes, instinctively stepping back; behind him, a flash of cold light rippled, and his eight nearly transparent wings shimmered once more, preparing to transform into a colossal centipede and flee again. At that moment, the heavens and earth suddenly roared, the ground trembling as an invisible suction force surged upward from deep within the earth. The seven-colored thunderbolts trembled, caught unexpectedly by this force, and suspended mid-air—revealing a young, frail figure dressed in black robes. None other than the true celestial sage, Ma Liang. Below, in the desert, countless colorful light pillars pierced through the sand grains, rising straight toward the vast heavens. As the ground shook, a colossal, ever-expanding magical array emerged from beneath, its inner surface hissing with activity. From within, a dense cluster of blood-stream disciples materialized, instantly forming a refined and intricate formation, and began chanting in unison, channeling their magical artifacts through the power of the great array. The sky suddenly brightened. As if a formless barrier woven like a light veil vanished in an instant, a vast luminous array, spanning the entire heavens, came into view. With a steady downward pressure from the center, an astonishing ripple of energy immediately filled the void. The young man in the black robe stood midway between two colossal spell arrays, appearing no more than a speck of dust from afar. At that moment, the light array shimmered, and twelve Blood-Path Grand Masters surged forth, then blurred into focus, materializing instantly around the black-robed youth. They stood at a distance, coldly observing him without a word. Despite being suspended in midair, the black-robed youth showed no signs of alarm. Instead, his expression grew dark as he scanned the surroundings. A shimmering aura rolled across his body, and with a sharp tearing sound, his form instantly returned to normal. "You've got quite the nerve," he said, his voice steady. "You've laid a trap, concealed your intentions, and summoned so many to ensure my demise here." "The young man in black robe, facing the two great arrays and so many cultivators at the peak stage, merely sneered and said, 'Hmph. You dared to sacrifice hundreds of millions of lives on this continent—did you not expect today's situation?' A cultivator enveloped in a thick aura of blood gas replied with a snort. 'Indeed, I had some expectations, though I never anticipated that you two would have allied with them. Well, this pursuit game has grown tiresome. After eliminating you, I shall personally settle matters with those two.' The young man glanced at the two six-winged cultivators who had quietly retreated toward the distance, and said calmly. 'Such bold words! It seems he's only willing to yield when the coffin is delivered. Why waste time talking to this fierce demon—let's strike!' Another elder, barefoot and dressed in a sooty robe, shook his head and roared. As soon as he spoke, he waved his sleeve, and a clear ringing sound echoed from his body, launching a dozen blood-colored flying swords instantly." Other Mahayana schools also each have their own specific hand-seal techniques, through which various treasures surge forth in abundance. At the same time, the great arrays in the sky and on the ground emit a resonant hum, and countless characters emerge, slowly rotating upward. In the sky, streaks of luminous light ripple and coalesce, eventually forming a vast, sky-reaching mirror that spans the heavens. The mirror's surface is initially silvery and shimmering, but upon a sudden roar, countless silver filaments burst forth like a downpour. On the ground, within the array, a cascade of white light rises and envelops the dense crowd of figures instantly, then solidifies into an immense character—“Seal.” As soon as the “Seal” character takes form, the young scholar in black robes feels the surrounding void shift, and waves of law-based fluctuations radiate outward from him. Yet, facing such a scene, the young scholar only smiles, lifting the corner of his mouth. At that very moment, an overwhelmingly terrifying aura surged forth from his body, and simultaneously, a series of purple-gold chains erupted across his surface, flashing with an intense, blinding brilliance. The center of the desert dimmed, and the primordial energies of heaven and earth rushed violently toward a single point, as if funneling through. ...At the edge of the desert, a masked man had appeared unexpectedly in the air—none other than Xiao Ming, the Supreme Senior Elder of the Xue Gu Men. He had been standing motionless, hands behind his back, until a cataclysmic surge of power erupted from a distant point, causing his expression to instantly tighten. "Even the celestial array seems unable to contain him. It appears we must activate that artifact without delay," he murmured, his mind sensing the powerful waves of disturbance unfolding far away. As soon as he finished speaking, he opened his mouth and expelled a yellowish scroll, which spun smoothly before him, then slowly unfurled vertically, revealing a detailed map of the desert terrain. The shape of the desert depicted in the painting was exactly the same as the one before him. Xiao Ming merely silently pointed at the map with his finger, and at once the scene before him trembled—what had seemed a lifeless painting now stirred and moved with the vitality of a living thing. Meanwhile, under the influence of an eerie force, the surface sand of the entire desert began to roll in a rhythmic, frenzied pattern. "Wind rises!" Xiao Ming changed his hand seal and, with a low command, pointed again at the painting. At once, at the edges of the depicted desert, the image twisted and blurred, then revealed wisps of faint yellow mist that began to drift gently upward. At the same time, a wave of disturbance rippled out from in front of Xiao Ming, and a series of yellow-hazy misty patches materialized out of thin air, swiftly coalescing into towering gales that surged in increasing numbers and aligned themselves in a continuous line. A solid wall of yellow-hazy wind, stretching to the very horizon and beyond, instantly materialized. And at the same time, the very same scene unfolded across the entire edge of the desert. "Go!" Xiao Ming flicked his sleeve and immediately activated his spell with unwavering determination. At once, the roaring winds from all around surged toward the center of the desert, rolling in waves, lifting plumes of sand and mist, and growing stronger and more powerful with each passing moment.