The ancient temple stood amidst the mystical fog, appearing both eerie and serene.

Suddenly, a fierce wind stirred, scattering the yellow fog.

The Immortal Crane, flapping its wings, descended from the sky.

Elder Huayan also emerged from the mist, striding forward, flicking the floating dust in his hand, and stared solemnly at the plaque on the temple.

"Locust Demon Hall..."

The always amiable elder now had eyes full of evil energy, his face dark as he walked into the temple.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Zhang Kui, who had concealed his presence long ago, silently followed him in.

Inside the Locust Demon Hall, another scene unfolded.

The actual space was clearly much larger than the outside. It was a vast emptiness, with only towering bronze pillars faintly visible in the thick mist.

From afar in the mist, a sound vaguely came through, a hissing and crackling that no human could possibly make.

"What exactly does the master want us to find?"

"Just said it was a cage..."

Elder Huayan let out a cold snort, his body suddenly erupting with a mountain-like rising qi mechanism. With a flick of the dust, countless silver lights appeared out of thin air, shooting outward like a rain of stars falling from the sky.

"Who's there?!"

The two old demons ahead immediately shouted warily, emitting a strange black light from their bodies.

Boom boom boom!

The starlight and black light collided, producing a series of explosions.

Unfortunately, the black light just wavered slightly before flashing and disappearing, revealing the forms of the two old demons.

They were actually two octopus demons clad in lock armor, having human-like lower bodies with tentacles on their heads constantly twisting, exposing the hideous petal-like mouthparts below.

One of the octopus demons' eyes flashed with green light,

"It's you again, you reckless fool. It seems today another National Guardian True Man from the Astronomical Bureau is going to perish."

"Nonsense!"

Elder Huayan's eyes were filled with rage.

These two demons had teamed up to harm his friend Qiu Canzi to death, and since this concerned the lives of the world, he could no longer hold back his urge to strike.

Although his Outer Pill Sect wasn't adept at attack and destruction skills, being a National Guardian True Man for so many years and having excavated numerous Ancient Secret Realms, how could he be without some means?

He had several ancient stone talismans hidden in his bosom, having relied on them to escape multiple enemies in the Ancient Secret Realms.

However, Elder Huayan did not act rashly.

The mana of a Celestial Tribulation Realm True Man was so immense that if he fought without restraint, the entire temple might collapse instantly—those ruins outside were their handiwork.

But this was the Locust Demon Hall, and if something were accidentally broken, letting a demon escape, it would be troublesome.

Thinking of this, Elder Huayan's white brows raised, his form flickered, and the duster swung, each silver thread sparking with electricity, accompanied by the rolling thunder crashing down.

During his crossing of the Thunder Tribulation, he'd comprehended some thunder skills, though unable to summon Celestial Power, it was still formidable at this moment.

One of the old octopus demons, instead of being frightened, was delighted, eyes full of mockery, "You old Taoist truly seek death. Today, I'll make you my food!"

As he spoke, black smoke billowed from his body, his entire form seemingly enlarged, a tentacle as thick as a water bucket suddenly shot out from behind, brimming with dense black light, smashing straight toward Elder Huayan.

On the other side, the lighter-skinned octopus demon didn't attack but observed the situation. His whole body was enveloped in rolling black smoke, his sinister face's tentacles constantly twisting while glaring at the Crane Immortal.

The Immortal Crane flapped its wings and cursed,

"What are you looking at, rotten fish? Watch out or Uncle He will peck your head off!"

Roar!

The octopus demon revealed grim sharp teeth and roared.

The Crane Immortal also flapped its wide wings, bristling with white feathers as if ready to strike at any moment.

The octopus demon stared intently at the Immortal Crane, a hint of caution flashing in its eyes—it had faced this crane before; the creature was cunning and sinister, and its red beak was swift and hard to evade up close.

Suddenly, not far behind the octopus demon, a sharp golden sword light appeared from the dense mist, its overwhelming evil energy soaring skyward.

Zhang Kui had made his bold move.

They had set a plan outside—for a swift battle, with Elder Huayan and the Immortal Crane distracting the enemies while Zhang Kui attacked from the shadows.

The octopus demon felt a terrifying sword qi behind it, causing it to panic, its whole body erupting in black light, turning to retreat quickly.

This was its body-protecting skill, inherited from the Immortal Wu lineage, incorporating some bloodline divine power.

But it was already too late.

Zhang Kui's flying sword was already incredibly fast, especially at such close range for an ambush.

As the golden light flashed, the octopus demon's head instantly exploded, flesh splattering, leaving only half a piece squirming slowly.

Yet Zhang Kui dared not relax for a moment, his flying sword rapidly spinning, piercing again and again.

In his mind, there was no skill points gained; the old demon's life force was truly formidable.

Indeed, even with only half its head left, the octopus demon managed to activate its black protective light, with two broad tentacles emerging in an instant.

But before it could strike, Zhang Kui waved a hand, shouting with a thunderous roar, "Stabilize!"

The octopus demon, in sheer terror, found itself completely frozen, unable to move. Though it lasted only a moment, it could only watch helplessly as the golden light filled its entire vision.

"Haha, good lad!"

The Crane Immortal laughed heartily, its broad wings flapping, conjuring countless feather-like wind blades out of thin air, cascading like a rainstorm toward the other Octopus Demon.

The companion was instantly killed, and the other Octopus Demon was already so frightened that it oozed a cold aura. Without a word, it turned and flew into the depths of the thick fog.

"Dream on!"

Zhang Kui snorted coldly, and the Lu Li Sword, accompanied by the Geng Metal Evil Light, chased straight after it.

Elder Huayan and the Crane Immortal were even faster, and the three of them quickly caught up with their target.

At this moment, three against one, it seemed foolproof, but Zhang Kui widened his eyes and hurriedly retracted the flying sword.

Elder Huayan and the Crane Immortal were also bewildered and stopped in their tracks.

They saw the Octopus Demon standing with its back to them, twitching unnaturally all over.

In front of the Old Demon, a high platform appeared, and on it hovered a giant bamboo cage two meters tall.

The bamboo cage was woven very crudely, like a child's random creation, with netting of various sizes.

Yet, despite the long years, the bamboo remained as green as new. The entire cage was wrapped in white gauze, pulsing with a heartbeat-like glow, casting the shadow of a massive, grotesque insect.

Locust Demon!

Zhang Kui's face was solemn.

Even more terrifying was that the white gauze inside the bamboo cage had already been corroded, forming a hole.

Streams of blood-yellow evil qi twisted like snakes and disappeared upon reaching the ground...

......

Outside the Ancient Secret Realm, by the shores of Red Water Lake.

The Blood Weng Zhong and the black Painting Studio were still in a standoff with each other. Neither spoke, but their auras continued to rise.

Evidently, having sent so many elites in only for them to disappear without a trace, the owner of the Black Painting Boat was getting restless.

At this time, far away in the Capital City, State Preceptor Cui, sitting cross-legged with eyes closed, also wore a grim expression.

He had just received word that the Sealed Demon Cave was showing instability.

The National Guardian True Man is a pillar of the Court. Losing even one is a significant loss, let alone two.

And that Zhang Kui—news just came in that he had slain a Celestial Tribulation Realm Demon. Everyone judged this young one's future as limitless.

What dangerous thing is inside?

Could they already be dead?

At that moment, the towering Blood Weng Zhong suddenly turned to look at the eastern sky, and State Preceptor Cui's divine soul gave a soft sigh, turning into a streak of blood light soaring into the sky and disappearing beyond the horizon.

The Sealed Demon Cave must be suppressed, and strong reinforcements had also arrived on the other side. Although helpless, this matter could only be set aside.

As soon as the Blood Weng Zhong left, the once snowy sky grew even more somber. A gigantic black shadow, covered in tentacles, slowly appeared in the clouds...

"Immortal Wu, what is the meaning of this!"

The owner of the Black Painting Boat seemed somewhat angry.

Yet, there was no response in the sky.

At the river's mouth, five Octopus Demons of varying sizes appeared, ignoring the Black Painting Boat, and together entered the water, diving into the blue Secret Realm circle.

The voice of the Painting Boat's owner instantly turned cold.

"Immortal Wu, this Ancient Secret Realm is peculiar; my people have yet to return. Are you eager to steal the credit?"

Immortal Wu in the clouds still said nothing.

And the owner of the Black Painting Boat also fell silent, as the yin qi around the boat grew increasingly dense...

......

Inside the Locust Demon Hall.

Zhang Kui's face grew increasingly grim.

At first glance, he felt this bamboo cage seemed familiar, suddenly recalling the scenes on the Water and Land Hall mural:

Several ferocious-faced Divine Generals were tightly binding the Locust Demon with iron chains, while behind them an old man with kind eyes carefully held this bamboo cage.

Moreover, he remembered that whether it was the Drought Fiend or the Black Demon Dragon, all had been skinned and dismantled, refined into artifacts for suppression.

But only the Locust Demon was trapped, and the bizarre evil qi it emitted could only be scattered, never eradicated.

Could it be that this demon is immortal?

At this moment, the Octopus Demon controlled by the evil qi suddenly knelt on the ground, making an indiscernible sound from its mouth, as if it were both a priest and a curse.

"Quickly stop him!"

Elder Huayan exclaimed.

Without hesitation, Zhang Kui unleashed his flying sword; a flash of gold light instantly obliterated the kneeling Octopus Demon, destroying even its divine soul.

But it was already too late.

The giant bamboo cage suddenly shattered, and boundless blood-yellow evil qi surged skyward, instantly blasting the roof of the entire hall apart.

In the suffocatingly dense blood-yellow evil qi, countless pairs of eyes slowly opened, igniting with blood-colored flames...

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