"Let's go. You were quick enough just now, but you may have alerted others." The woman in palace robes suddenly put away the compass in her hand and spoke in a flat tone.
With a wave of her sleeve, a burst of pink radiance erupted, sweeping both herself and the black-armored giant into its glow. The light condensed into a sphere and shot upward into the sky, spiraling once before piercing through the void at tremendous speed.
Their heading was straight toward the coral archipelago ahead.
Within the streak of light, the woman in palace robes gazed forward with narrowed eyes, her expression perfectly serene.
The black-armored giant stole a few glances at her face, and after a long moment, he finally could not help but ask, "Master, at that final moment — why did the altar suddenly shatter? Are you all right?"
"Nothing serious. The backlash from the casting was simply stronger than expected, which is why I ultimately lost control of it. However, I'm perfectly fine. It's just that all eight of my substitute puppets were destroyed. Until I can craft replacements, I won't be able to use divination for quite some time." The woman in palace robes offered no concealment, answering in a measured tone.
"Is that so? Then Master's divination just now..." The black-armored giant's heart tightened, and he murmured under his breath.
"Rest assured. Although the casting wasn't completed in full, I still obtained some hexagrams. The problem is that the portents they carry are rather difficult to interpret — far too vague, with what appears to be certain self-contradictions. But one thing is certain: this group of people is indeed closely connected to the recovery of my cultivation. We'll tail them closely and avoid detection. I need time to think before I can truly decipher it all." The woman in palace robes spoke with an even, unhurried cadence.
"Yes, Master. Then let's hurry after them! Not only have they gathered this many Body Integration cultivators, but they've also traveled all this way to such a remote place. Their purpose must be truly extraordinary." The black-armored giant was briefly startled by her words, but quickly replied with a respectful bow of his head.
"Regardless of what they're after, following them will eventually reveal the truth." The woman's expression did not change.
"Master has already secretly planted a mark on that human woman. They're out in the open while we lurk in shadow — there's no way they can shake off our tracking." The black-armored giant grinned, showing his teeth.
This time, the woman in palace robes merely nodded and offered nothing further.
Seeing this, the black-armored giant wisely kept his mouth shut.
……
Several hours later, above a colossal coral island spanning hundreds of miles.
Han Li and the rest of the group, concealed beneath the protective aura of the Qianqiu Saintess's treasure, had already halted their flight and hovered thousands of zhang above the ground, gazing from afar at a demon stronghold in the distance.
The stronghold occupied nearly half the island. Surrounding gray walls rose to a height of roughly a hundred zhang, and layer upon layer of densely packed restrictions blanketed the area around it. Several black barriers of light enveloped the entire fortress.
On the ramparts, demon guards wielding all manner of weapons could be seen everywhere, while overhead, strange two-headed birds circled and soared through the air. Within the stronghold itself, squad after squad of demon soldiers patrolled ceaselessly in every direction — the defenses were extraordinarily tight.
And above it all, a massive expanse of dark clouds churned and roiled, covering an area of several hundred acres. Continuous thunder rumbled from within, punctuated by flashes of silver lightning that flickered on and off, lending the scene an air of grim dread.
"Are you certain this is all there is at the location Brother Long spoke of?" The Qianqiu Saintess surveyed the distant stronghold and spoke in a dark voice.
Several of the other Sacred Spirits had similarly grim expressions.
As for Han Li and the feather-robed young woman from the Ye family and the other human cultivators, they said nothing, but the looks they cast toward the Long Family Ancestor were tinged with undisguised doubt.
"Fellow Daoists, please don't misunderstand. I only recently sent scouts here to investigate. The demon forces garrisoned here were originally far fewer than this — what had been built was a much smaller outpost. It has expanded to this degree entirely beyond my expectations. It seems the local demon forces have suddenly reinforced the area with a large number of troops, resulting in this drastic expansion." The Long Family Ancestor let out a bitter laugh and hurried to explain.
"Hmm, I believe Brother Long would not deceive us on a matter of such importance. But what do you propose now — should we find a different passage? After all, with so many demons stationed here, there's likely a Demon Sovereign overseeing the garrison. Our original plan may no longer be viable." The Qianqiu Saintess's expression shifted several times before finally settling into something more composed.
"Finding another location at this point would take too long. Of all the demonic spatial nodes I've identified, this one offers the most suitable passage for us. At any other site, even if I could reach the Demon Realm, it would be far too dangerous. Besides, although this stronghold is larger than expected, what are the odds that a Demon Sovereign is actually stationed here? That said, our original method of infiltration won't work for this situation. The False Demon Pearls, while wondrous enough to deceive the senses of high-ranking demons, offer only limited resistance against restriction-based defenses. With so many restrictions deployed here, if even a few powerful ones are mixed in among them, we could be exposed and find ourselves surrounded by an army of demons. I say we simply conceal ourselves and fly directly toward the node. The moment we're detected, we force our way through. With the combined strength of everyone here, if one or two Demon Sovereigns dare try to stop us, we simply join forces and cut them down. Once we're inside the Demon Realm, we'll be like dragons plunging into the sea — they won't be able to pursue us at all." The Long Family Ancestor pondered for a moment, and a flash of murderous intent crossed his face.