Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly as he glanced at the white jade palace hovering high in the sky. After a moment's thought, his escape light flickered, and he shot straight toward it.
Before he had truly drawn close to the palace, the people above had already detected his incoming light.
Immediately, over a dozen blue-armored soldiers, led by a golden-armored Heavenly Guardian, flew out from above and cautiously approached him.
"May I ask if this is Senior Han? This junior has been sent by several Elders to respectfully invite Senior to the Celestial Observation Platform for a gathering." After sweeping his gaze over Han Li's face, the golden-armored guard halted his escape light, bowed, and asked.
"That's right, I am Han Li. Lead the way." Han Li's escape light dimmed as he revealed his form and spoke calmly.
"Yes, please follow me, Senior!" The golden-armored guard turned to the side and spoke respectfully.
The other soldiers also parted respectfully to either side, standing with their hands clasped behind him.
Han Li didn't stand on ceremony and, escorted by these soldiers, flew straight toward a towering platform on the palace.
On this platform, Zen Master Jin Yue and several Heavenvoid City Elders whom Han Li had met before were looking down from their elevated position toward the demons beyond the city walls.
But as soon as they saw Han Li flying over, smiles appeared on all their faces as they greeted him.
"Fellow Daoist Han, you've finally arrived. This time the demon race has come with a truly fearsome momentum — quite different from the last Devilish Calamity. It seems those rumors are indeed true!" Being the closest to Han Li, Zen Master Jin Yue chanted a Buddhist mantra before speaking with open concern.
"Is that so? Have many high-ranking demons appeared?" Han Li's heart stirred with alarm, but his expression remained unchanged as he asked.
"You'll understand the situation once you see it for yourself." Zen Master Jin Yue pointed into the distance.
Han Li's brow twitched slightly, and without a word, he too gazed in that direction.
From this lofty vantage point, the scene beyond the city walls — which would normally be impossible to see clearly — now came fully into view.
Tens of miles beyond the city walls, row upon row of grotesque demonic beasts stretched as far as the eye could see. Some spewed mist from their maws, others growled endlessly — their sheer number was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
At the center of this vast horde lay five colossal creatures whose bodies were as massive as mountains, half-crouched on the ground, sizing up Heavenvoid City with sinister gazes.
They turned out to be a crimson giant ape, two milky-white colossal snails, a black raptor whose feathered wings gleamed like steel blades, and a three-headed purple serpent.
The other demonic beasts kept their distance from these five behemoths, appearing to fear them greatly as well.
However, compared to these five enormous beasts, what concerned Han Li more were the figures drifting above them, each clad in different attire.
From a distance they looked no different from humans, but demonic energy surged from their bodies in towering plumes. There were roughly ten thousand of them, each possessing magical power comparable to the Deity Transformation or Void Refining stages — a truly formidable force.
"Hmm? These people are..." Han Li's gaze flickered as something vaguely came to mind, but doubt crept into his expression.
"If we haven't mistaken, these should all be former human cultivators who ascended from the lower realms to the True Demon Realm. However, since they originally cultivated demonic arts as their primary method and have now been steeped in demonic energy within the Demon Realm for so many years, they can hardly be considered part of our race anymore." Elder Gu, the white-robed elder standing nearby, sighed as he replied.
"In all the previous demon invasions, these demonified humans have never appeared on the battlefield in direct confrontation with our race. It seems this Devilish Calamity is truly extraordinary — could the demon race really be so determined to succeed this time that they've deployed even them?" Fairy Yinguang, still wearing her silver mask, also spoke slowly with a grave expression.
"These people are certainly troublesome. But compared to them, I'd like to know where the high-ranking demons commanding this assault on Heavenvoid City are hiding." Han Li stared at the demonified humans for a good while before suddenly frowning and asking.
"The high-ranking demons are all concealed within that demonic energy. Some had revealed themselves briefly just moments ago, but they've since withdrawn again. It seems they intend to rest and gather their strength within the demonic haze before launching their assault on the city." Zen Master Jin Yue replied, taking up the thread of the conversation.
"Then, Master, have you spotted any Sacred Ancestor-level demons?" Han Li's expression tightened as he pressed further.
"We haven't detected any Sacred Ancestors of the demon race for the time being. However, among the high-ranking demons that showed themselves moments ago, there were indeed several at the Body Integration stage. Given the enormous scale of their forces, it's highly likely that Sacred Ancestors are present. But the Demon Realm has only just encroached upon the Spirit Realm, and the barrier between planes is still immensely powerful. The true bodies of the demon Sacred Ancestors cannot yet break through the dimensional barrier. Even if one does appear, it should be nothing more than an avatar." Zen Master Jin Yue hesitated briefly before offering his assessment.
"If it's only an avatar, then with Heavenvoid City's preparations, we should be able to handle it with relative ease." Upon hearing this, Han Li's expression relaxed slightly, and he spoke with a touch of relief.