In the shadowy depths of the forest, Wuzhiqi's hundred-zhang demon body had shrunk to only ten zhang tall, barely hidden by the large trees. His white-furred head had three ears on each side, with golden light shining in his eyes, revealing a hint of divine sanctity amidst his fierce demon appearance.

Golden light flickered in his eyes, and the six ears shook slightly. Suddenly, the giant ape spoke, "Great Venerable, you are watching me, aren't you?"

Already solemn, the atmosphere seemed to solidify, becoming suffocatingly dense; the mountain winds ceased abruptly. The golden light intensified in the giant ape's eyes, as if trying to pierce through space to catch sight of the Dragon Shadow atop Wushan.

This frozen atmosphere persisted for a while until, suddenly—

A soft laugh echoed, followed promptly by a dragon-shaped shadow appearing amidst the gloomy, dark forest.

No light shone, yet it distinctly outlined the silhouette; the dragon-shaped shadow moved and assumed an incomprehensibly Mystical posture. The Great Venerable's voice slowly rose, "My old friend, it is indeed impressive that you've managed to detect my gaze. Admirable indeed!"

The Great Venerable expressed his astonishment in a way that felt almost eerily overwhelming.

However, Wuzhiqi didn't seem to appreciate the sentiment, merely responding with a cold laugh, "It's you indeed."

Having cultivated the Ren Gui Water Path, Wuzhiqi, a Devil Cultivator not known for his temperament, should have had no inclination towards Yi Dao. However, with a Great Venerable looming over him, suitability became irrelevant; he had to find a way to delve into it.

Lacking the ability to foresee Heavenly Mechanisms was no problem; the key lay in having the ability to predict and prevent.

Now it seemed this early prevention was indeed effective, allowing him to sense the Great Venerable's scrutiny. Although it wasn't clear, it was certainly better than being completely in the dark.

"Old friend, responding to me like that is somewhat disrespectful. Aren't you afraid I might kill you before you ascend?" The dragon-shaped shadow, perceiving Wuzhiqi's defiance, immediately adopted a more menacing and threatening tone.

"In your heart, there are only interests to gain or lose. If you were easily angered, I would have died a century ago. Why would I still be waiting around now?" Wuzhiqi seemed nonchalant, appearing to have calculated that the Great Venerable wouldn't take action against him.

Having dealt with the Great Venerable for over a century, Wuzhiqi felt he understood him well and had his own strategic considerations.

Don't be deceived by the Great Venerable's apparent disruption of the societal norms, lacking the dignity of a powerful figure, and speaking freely. In reality, this Supreme being was cool-hearted, weighing gains and losses meticulously.

If you were of value, an offense or two wouldn't matter to the Great Venerable. Conversely, if your lack of value was beneficial to him, you could still draw calamity upon yourself, even without direct involvement with the Great Venerable.

If your death proved advantageous for him, that went without saying—it would basically mean courting death in a dignified way.

Like previously when the Great Venerable deliberately instigated the battle at the Golden Dam, Wuzhiqi had readily agreed. No matter how defiant he seemed verbally, his words carried a tender compliance, emphasizing sincerity.

Conversely, when Wuzhiqi had married from the Dragon Palace in the South and established the Huai Water Dragon Palace, showing signs of autonomy, he never crossed the Great Venerable's bottom line, thus living freely for a century.

Now was no different. Since the Great Venerable hadn't taken action against Wuzhiqi, it meant that Wuzhiqi was still of use. Minor offenses were completely inconsequential.

Wuzhiqi even secretly converged near Nether City under the Great Venerable's protection to gain time for healing, aiming to soon venture out to command the winds and ascend to the third grade.

"Old friend, turning into a demon has sharpened your perception; you're almost like a worm in my gut," the Great Venerable praised with a laugh, then added, "I just hope you continue to understand my intentions in the future so as not to upset me. If that happens, no matter how reluctant I am, I will have to eliminate you."

Towards the end of his statement, the Great Venerable seemed almost sorrowful, but his tone remained utterly calm, chilling to the core.

"Understood, understood."

The dragon-shaped shadow gradually faded, and the Great Venerable's voice grew more distant.

Watching the shadow disappear, Wuzhiqi listened intently with his six ears. Once he was certain the other had left completely, he sneered coldly, "I won't let that day come."

With those final words, Wuzhiqi's figure suddenly shrank further, his ten-zhang tall demon body diminishing even more. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a human form—a middle-aged man in a white robe with disheveled long hair appeared in his place.

Then, Wuzhiqi turned into a streak of water light, dashing across the forest and vanishing into its depths.

······

······

Atop Wushan, within the ancient and majestic Taihao Hall.

A figure, whose true form and face remained unclear, withdrew their gaze, murmuring softly, "This Water Monkey has even managed to transform into human form directly; his Realm is significantly higher than before."

Wuzhiqi's hundred-zhang demon body was the foundation that supported his formidable Power, and only such a large frame could sustain the demon energy without any burden. Previously, he could reduce his demon body, but only to about ten zhang at most. Transforming into a human form would involve a significant toll.

Now, despite his severe injuries, Wuzhiqi could effortlessly perform this taxing transformation, indicating his Realm had reached a higher level, perfectly mastering control over his demon body and energy.

"If your injuries heal, the Dragon Palace would gain another third-grade power. Pity······"

Great Venerable chuckled softly, whispering, "The one who spied on you earlier was not myself."

As he spoke, his gaze fell upon a Dharma Platform that had just been set up ahead.

The double-layered Dharma Platform, round at the top and square at the bottom, took the form of the heaven and earth, entirely colored in mystical yellow. Chains formed of Essence Qi extended from within the platform, firmly bounding a figure above it.

That figure seemed illusory, its form fluctuating uncertainly like a transparent human figure, yet in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a Stone Statue and then into a robust figure covered in Scale Armor, capable of thousands of transformations.

Yet no matter how it changed, it could never escape the bonds of the Dharma Platform.

Previously, the Great Venerable had been busy setting up the Dharma Platform to confine this figure and had no leisure to perform Divination on Wuzhiqi.

Indeed, the one who took action was not the Great Venerable, but someone else.

"One leaf obstructs the eye, old friend. You were too focused on this leaf of mine and forgot to consider other possibilities. But, that's also because I am too formidable; I've never made a mistake over the years, and you trusted my abilities so thoroughly."

The Great Venerable complimented himself with a laugh.

For nearly two hundred years, no one outside the Great Venerable had succeeded in using Echange Skill to foresee the members of the Devil God Sect, establishing the firm belief that no one could divine their fate except the Great Venerable.

Wuzhiqi was wary of the Great Venerable but also highly trusted his capabilities, which led him to think of the Great Venerable immediately upon sensing clues.

That was the moment when the Great Venerable appeared, confirming his suspicions and leading to a rather unfortunate misunderstanding.

"Old friend, you indeed hold a considerable value, but you've crossed my line. From human to demon...eh, from human to demon."

A cold flash crossed the incessant impassive red vertical pupils of the Great Venerable, his gaze fixing upon the confined figure, "Your final value is to test out this new friend who has been in contact with the divine for me."

As if responding to the Great Venerable's words, the fluctuating figure suddenly paused, then dispersed into something formless, and abruptly cracked open, spreading to reveal an almost colorless pupil.

At that moment, inside this pupil, a vague yellow essence circulated, gradually filling the pupil.

A pupil as large as a person and the Great Venerable held each other's gaze, across vast space, marking their formal meeting.

...

...

While two powerhouses of the Devil God Sect were engaged in a strategic duel at the Broken Sky Gorge outside, the waves surged wildly one after another.

The towering mountains on both sides, like curtains of heaven, reached directly into the sky, obscuring the light of the sun and moon while rendering the turbulent waves so insignificant.

Despite the flooding disasters throughout Liangzhou, it hardly affected the Three Mountains west of the Broken Sky Gorge.

A streak of starlight silently arrived at the Broken Sky Gorge, landing on a protruding boulder halfway up the left canyon side, revealing several figures.

Ahead, the mountains blocked the sun and moon, leaving no light visible. Behind, although the sky was cloudy, some moonlight was still visible. The Broken Sky Gorge itself seemed to divide two realms.

"Wuzhiqi is in the Three Mountains, but the problem is, we still don't know his exact location," said Jiang Li, looking at the dark gorge ahead, a flicker of reminiscence in his eyes. Recalling those three days and three nights, he spoke while glancing at Feng Manlou.

Big brother, now it's your turn to do your part.

If they were to follow the original plan, naturally, Jiang Li would continue infiltrating to locate Wuzhiqi step by step. But since Feng Manlou was present, there was no need to exert too much effort, and the simple way would suffice.

Not only Jiang Li, even Tianxuan was covertly observing Feng Manlou, waiting for this fellow to make a move.

If he cooperates, all will be well; if not, then no choice, they must take him down first and get the Great Venerable to cooperate.

Great Venerable, surely you don't wish for Feng Manlou to get into trouble, do you?

Though the approach was somewhat underhanded, dealing with the likes of the Great Venerable, a demonic outlier, dispensed with the need for Jianghu righteousness.

Feng Manlou perceived the intended look from Jiang Li and the covert attention from Tianxuan, feeling a chill in his heart, a witch's Perception telling him that something untoward might happen.

He tugged the corner of his mouth slightly, chuckled dryly, and said, "You see, although the Great Venerable creates storms and carries a load of evil, he actually has great righteousness at heart. When annihilating the Demon Clan, it was the Feng family that led the capacitz, and the subsequent Demonic Attribute Dao Fruits were forged because the Feng family had set restrictions to prevent the bearers from turning into demons."

"By transitioning from human to demon, Wuzhiqi has past the Great Venerable's bottom line, violating the great righteousness of the Human Race. I believe the Great Venerable won't allow Wuzhiqi to trample on the achievements of our ancestors. In pursuing Wuzhiqi, we are indeed helping the Great Venerable eliminate a threat. He will undoubtedly lend his support."

His words carried a righteousness that

might deceive those who were unaware into thinking the Great Venerable was some kind of grand hero rather than the notorious troublemaker he was.

"If he himself was the Great Venerable, his skill of self-promotion too would be unmatched," thought Jiang Li, who was equally adept in self-promotion.

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