The world is without light, mottled and lurid.

An ominous black parasol, blood-patterned drapes, and that eerie woman holding the umbrella...

Seeing all this, Chongyan felt a violent shake in his soul, a deep fear surging in his heart.

Lead the tiger away from the mountain?

Chongyan could no longer dwell on such thoughts; he just wanted to escape, to flee far from here.

But immediately, a searing pain erupted all over his body. It was only then that Chongyan realized, in his brief moment of distraction, countless vines had appeared on the ground.

The ghostly green vines twisted like snakes, binding him tightly. The sharp barbs not only tore the divine statue to pieces in an instant but also deeply pierced his divine soul, pulling his bizarrely shaped head with light scattering in all directions.

"Ah!"

Chongyan struggled and screamed miserably.

In fact, even Zhang Kui didn't quite understand why "Longevity" was so interested in divine spirits. Ever since absorbing the white gauze that sealed the Locust Demon, these changes had intensified.

Many times, even the "Divine Court Bell" was unwilling to approach, keeping distant within the personal space.

But at this moment, these concerns were secondary.

With "Longevity"'s current abilities, trapping a Celestial Tribulation Realm opponent was no problem, but killing them was beyond its power.

Two Celestial Tribulation Realm Centipede Demons had already broken free of the vines, their bodies instantly enlarging into colossal beings five to six meters thick and a hundred meters long.

The insect limbs were sharp as knives, their shells emitted billows of black smoke, the two giant centipedes soared into the air, twisting and spiraling, with grotesque fangs and green poison mist spreading everywhere.

The innate divine techniques of these two bloodline demons were seemingly all focused on poison, countless vines sizzled as they were corroded, emitting white smoke, withering and charring.

Fortunately, the Vine Demon had extraordinary life force, with new gigantic vines shooting out swiftly, coiling around the centipedes like giant pythons.

Of course, the real killer was Zhang Kui.

Inside the space, a buzzing roar resonated, Lu Li's Sword Light converged into a giant sword shadow over a hundred meters long, surrounded by Evil Light, shuttling back and forth in the air.

The upgraded Flying Sword Skill was versatile, capable of transforming into a myriad of form as a Sword Array or combining forces to break through an army, and with Sword Flight, the Sword Light encircled, merging offense and defense.

Against such bloodline demons with massive forms, transforming into a giant sword was most satisfying.

The two centipedes were immediately torn apart, with green blood and chunks of flesh scattered across the sky, the vines wrapped around them, ravenously devouring.

While dealing with the two centipedes, Zhang Kui also kept an eye on that Demon God. Seeing it being entangled by vines, howling in pain, his right hand ignited with Geng Metal Evil Light, forming a claw with his hand, tearing open its chest and thrusting it inside.

Divine Light splattered, like a lightbulb, the Divine Strange Pearl filled with Incense Fire Divine Power was extracted.

Instantly, the Chai Kingdom Demon God Chongyan's soul shattered, the remaining power swallowed clean by the vines.

Gazing at the Vine Demon's longing eyes, Zhang Kui smiled slightly and tossed the Divine Strange Pearl toward it.

The Incense Fire Divine Power was dark and mixed, useless to him, after being drained by the Vine Demon, revealing the original form of an ancient stone sphere...

Inside the main hall of the Insect God Temple, bricks and tiles were scattered in a mess, the dark clouds dispersed, and moonlight shone through the broken roof, serenely.

The original location of the divine statue was now engulfed by a thick black fog, silently surging and rolling like a living creature.

Outside the black fog, there was a hazy glow, like being separated by a layer of frosted glass.

It was Zhang Kui acting, using the Eclipse technique, which not only blocked detection but also made any attempts to backtrack with image-resolving techniques blurry and unclear afterward.

Of course, this also depended on the Tao cultivation and techniques of both parties.

Soon, the black fog dissipated, followed by the lifting of the Eclipse technique, and inside the main hall, nothing remained where the divine statue had been...

......

The dense forest was eerie, with ancient trees lush under the moonlight, casting indistinct shadows, extremely unsettling.

A plume of black smoke came rolling from the sky, it fell into the forest and dispersed, Yin Witch was coughing up blood all over, stumbling and rolling among the fallen leaves.

Her eyes were filled with terror, suddenly spotting a dilapidated solitary grave nearby, she had a flash of inspiration, hurriedly pinching a spell, her eyes turning a lifeless gray-white.

Whoosh~

Yin Witch transformed into a rolling black smoke again, one plume continuing to surge forward, while another slowly sank into the decrepit grave, quickly merging with the underground Yin Qi.

Almost instantly, a gust of Yin wind accompanied by a faint sound of a bell whizzed past, pursuing the fleeing black smoke.

Very soon, this place returned to silence.

But not long after, the ground full of dead branches and leaves suddenly became covered in a layer of frost, as a figure seemed to emerge from the darkness, stepping on the frozen leaves, crushing them into bits.

In the moonlight, it was revealed to be an elder clad in a richly embroidered robe, with crane-white hair and youthful features, appearing no different from ordinary people, except for his eyes, which were densely covered in grid-like patterns, resembling insect compound eyes.

"Come out..."

The old man's weathered voice rang out.

From the lone grave, a plume of black smoke suddenly billowed out. The Yin Witch's face was ashen as she knelt on the ground, trembling all over.

"Greetings, Prime Minister Hu. I failed in my task. I don't know who leaked the news, causing the Fourth Princess to intervene."

"Foolish indeed..."

The old man squinted slightly. "Forget it, the Qian Dynasty has fallen, so you are of no use anymore."

"Spare me, Prime Minister!"

The Yin Witch was horrified, but just as she spoke, her head was suddenly pierced by a spike that extended from the void. A sucking sound followed, and her body quickly withered, finally turning into ashes.

The old man smacked his lips, as if savoring. "Though of the Celestial Tribulation Realm, the taste is somewhat lacking..."

Suddenly, he frowned, looking toward the direction of Fu City, with uncertainty in his eyes.

"Why is the aura of the Insect God gone?"

With that, he traced a circle in the air with his hand, and then spat a mouthful of dark green smoke, which spread within the circle. The dim scene of the Insect God Temple appeared: a scene of ruin, the divine statue vanished without a trace.

"Who meddled?"

The old man muttered with furrowed brows. "Even I didn't detect it... Those humans don't have the ability, and the Fourth Princess doesn't seem like it. Could it be... other families have made their move?"

With this thought, he snorted.

"Let them be arrogant for a few more years..."

Before he finished speaking, he vanished without a trace.

At the same time, on a hill several miles away, the Fourth Princess waved and summoned back her bell. On the ground was a pile of flesh, and an old white-haired Taoist's head rolled in the grass, eyes bursting with bloody holes, white matter flowing out.

After chasing and losing the Yin Witch, the Fourth Princess immediately turned back to hunt others.

This Taoist was named Jin Xuzi. After becoming the National Guardian True Man, he focused on cultivation, ignoring others, but was lured by the Underworld's Path of Longevity to join the Yellow Eyebrow Old Monk's group.

But unexpectedly, he died before he could even set foot in.

In the distance, the Yellow Eyebrow Monk and Xiahou Ba, fleeing separately, both turned pale. They could sense the deaths of the Yin Witch and Jin Xuzi, along with Xiao Qianchou in the Insect God Hall. Out of the five National Guardians, only they two remained.

But they couldn't afford to think much as the Fourth Princess traveled faster than them using her flying instrument.

However, just then, the Fourth Princess's face changed dramatically. The bell on her ankle rang, and she rode a gale towards Fu City.

The Yellow Eyebrow Monk and Xiahou Ba both breathed a sigh of relief and soon gathered at one place.

The battered Xiahou Ba, his single eye glowing with blood, cursed viciously, "That old hag Yin Witch misled me, claiming the Chai Kingdom wouldn't interfere, yet there was a Divine Travel Realm expert guarding. Damn it!"

Yellow Eyebrow Monk, pale and breathless, also suppressed his inner rage. "Indeed, it was this monk's fault for believing that witch's nonsense."

"What do we do now?"

Xiahou Ba's eyes were full of anxiety. "The Mid-Autumn Day is approaching. Do we really have to be at the mercy of the Shamanism?"

"No rush..."

Yellow Eyebrow Monk's eyes were full of shadow. "Actually, with what the Yin Witch said, this monk thought of a place."

"Where is it?"

"Jiangzhou..."

The two muttered for a while, then melded into the night, disappearing.

On the other side, the Fourth Princess hurried back to the Insect God Temple. Upon seeing the missing divine statue, she was immediately furious. With a tidal wave of rage, the entire temple was reduced to ruins.

"Who did this?!"

Flames of rage almost spilled from her eyes. Suddenly, she thought of a possibility and quickly regained her composure.

"In Dianzhou, whoever can act without me noticing, it's likely the Prime Minister and the Marshal. They're the only ones who would do such a thing."

The Fourth Princess, thinking of something, revealed a murderous intent. "Even though Father Emperor is not awake, they wouldn't dare harm me, but being in this place, every move is controlled, leaving no opportunity."

"I might as well leave Dianzhou and seek another path!"

With this thought, the Fourth Princess hesitated no more. A whirlwind arose, and she vanished into the vast night sky...

Atop a hill in Fu City, Zhang Kui took a sip of wine, slowly revealing his form, chuckling. "Tonight's show was lively enough. Looks like when driving locusts, it'll probably be peaceful."

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