While Ye Qingxuan was lost in thought, an Azure Demon at the Core Formation realm had already appeared not far from him without a sound.
This Azure Demon was none other than the very same Core Formation cultivator who had crossed blows with Ye Qingxuan earlier.
What a coincidence it was—both Ye Qingxuan and this Core Formation Azure Demon had activated their talismans to flee at random. Yet, as luck would have it, the directions they had escaped in weren’t all that far apart.
The distance between Ye Qingxuan and this Core Formation Azure Demon was well within the latter’s spiritual sense coverage.
Having just arrived here himself not long ago, the Core Formation Azure Demon had no need to skulk about like Ye Qingxuan. The moment he landed, he carelessly spread his spiritual sense far and wide, probing the surroundings.
If Ye Qingxuan hadn’t been constantly channeling his Minor Divine Ability—Heaven-Deceiving—through his divine ability seed, he might very well have been detected by that spiritual sense.
After sweeping the area once, the Core Formation Azure Demon found no trace of Ye Qingxuan. A flicker of disappointment passed through his eyes before he casually picked a direction and departed.
Meanwhile, over a hundred li away from where the Core Formation Azure Demon had landed, Ye Qingxuan remained completely unaware that he had once again brushed past the jaws of danger.
He waited a while longer until he could no longer sense the oppressive auras of those several Spirit Transformation experts from earlier. Only then did he stop pondering and prepare to continue his exploration elsewhere in Demon Domain No. 3.
If the spiritual-cleansing effects of the Spirit-Cleansing·Nuclear Explosion Pills were to be promoted across the entire Earth Mystery Realm, the implications would be far too enormous. So Ye Qingxuan ultimately decided to let nature take its course—he had no intention of forcefully pushing the purification effects of these pills within the demon domain.
Besides, for the time being, he wasn’t short on spirit stones.
Putting the matter of the Spirit-Cleansing·Nuclear Explosion Pills aside, Ye Qingxuan naturally turned his attention back to exploring other areas of Demon Domain No. 3.
Although this clone of his hadn’t brought any sixth-grade talismans, it carried over a hundred fifth-grade Nuclear Explosion Pills and over a thousand pills below the fifth grade. Among them were a good number of Spirit-Cleansing·Nuclear Explosion Pills of various grades.
With so many Nuclear Explosion Pills still unused, and his clone having gathered barely any gains so far in Demon Domain No. 3, Ye Qingxuan was hardly willing to slink away empty-handed.
He stopped circulating his Minor Divine Ability—Heaven-Deceiving—through its divine ability seed.
Once again, a barrier of spiritual energy rose around him. Picking a direction opposite to where the earlier energy explosion had occurred, he took off in low-altitude flight once more, speeding away at great velocity.
The commotion around here was simply too massive—Ye Qingxuan didn’t want to linger for even a moment.
As he flew, he couldn’t help but frown at the crackling sparks and piercing sizzles that occasionally erupted whenever his spiritual barrier came into contact with the demonic energy. He’d considered lowering the barrier before; he’d even tested it. While his spiritual energy was purer than first-grade demonic energy, forcibly repelling the demonic qi with his Violet Mansion cultivation was possible but painfully slow.
Without the barrier, the demonic energy would come into direct contact with his body and automatically resist his spiritual power, rapidly eroding his skin. So, during his low-altitude flight, he had no choice but to maintain that spiritual barrier.
The problem was, that made him rather conspicuous.
All the way, his shield flickered with electric sparks, accompanied by that grating sizzling sound every so often. Inside the demon domain, it left him feeling terribly exposed—as if he’d be discovered at any second. His heart couldn’t stop pounding.
Unable to help himself, he glanced left and right once more, unconsciously picking up speed.
Seeing no Azure Demon had spotted him, he breathed a slight sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted was to die before he’d even accomplished anything.
But the moment he relaxed—before he could even catch his breath—his expression drastically changed.
From the woodland below, a figure had already closed in on him. A preemptive attack, fully charged and ready, was already bearing down on him.
There was no time to activate a talisman from his storage pouch. Before he could even react, the strike had already pierced through his body.
His vision filled with the figure that had drawn so close—and the cruel, gleeful smile plastered across its face.
That figure was none other than the Core Formation Azure Demon who had briefly clashed with him earlier. He’d already left, but midway through his flight, he’d been drawn back by the commotion Ye Qingxuan was making. Upon rediscovering his target, he didn’t act recklessly. Instead, he circled ahead of Ye Qingxuan’s flight path and lay in ambush, waiting silently. Only when Ye Qingxuan drew near did he unleash that perfectly timed strike—leaving no room for reaction.
Now that he’d landed a clean hit, he stepped before Ye Qingxuan, his smile twisting into something both cruel and ecstatic.
Ye Qingxuan never imagined that a dignified Core Formation powerhouse would resort to ambushing a mere Violet Mansion weakling like himself. Absolutely ridiculous. He had half a mind to curse and rant, but his strength had already failed him.
Staring at this Core Formation Azure Demon whom he’d only encountered twice, Ye Qingxuan never expected that the very first stop of his clone’s journey would end at the hands of this nameless Azure Demon—someone he hadn’t even taken seriously.
He’d always assumed that with all the trump cards he’d prepared, if he were to fall, it would at least be at the hands of a Spirit Transformation expert.
Who would’ve thought? Who could’ve guessed?
Truly, upon the bumpy road of immortality, not a single moment of carelessness can be afforded.
Countless thoughts raced through Ye Qingxuan’s mind, yet all of it happened in the span of a heartbeat.
In his final moments, watching the Azure Demon draw near with that smile on his face, Ye Qingxuan’s own lips curled into a faint smirk.
A flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes. Before his consciousness returned to his main body, he willed—in a single thought—the detonation of every single Nuclear Explosion Pill in his storage pouch.
The Core Formation Azure Demon across from him caught that faint smile flickering across Ye Qingxuan’s face in his dying moment. A profound sense of unease surged through his heart.
Unfortunately, he was far too close. By the time he sensed something was wrong, it was already too late.
The moment he glimpsed that dazzling radiance of energy, death was upon him.
Exactly how immense the combined blast of over a hundred fifth-grade Nuclear Explosion Pills and over a thousand below fifth-grade would be—no one knew. Because any witness who saw it had already perished.
Even Ye Qingxuan, who had triggered it all, only saw the prelude of his dying clone beginning to energize before his awareness withdrew. He never got to see the full aftermath of those countless pills detonating together.
Once Ye Qingxuan’s clone fell and his consciousness retreated, his body would energize and dissipate completely into the void of heaven and earth.
Within Demon Domain No. 3.
An explosion far greater than before resounded once more, accompanied by an even more violent wave of energy that swept outward once again.
The Spirit Transformation Azure Demon experts who sensed this, as well as the Spirit Transformation squads from the Earth Mystery Realm, all raised their heads and gazed toward the site of Ye Qingxuan’s clone’s fall.
Inside the No. 1 Demon-Extermination Squad, hearing the distant roar and the intense fluctuations of energy, one of Bai Yi’s companions asked:
“Captain, should we go take a look?”
If it was another squad, maybe there was still a chance to rescue someone.
But Bai Yi slowly shook his head. “By the time we get there, it’ll be too late. While we have this opportunity, let’s make the most of it and finish this quickly.”
With that, he turned his gaze toward a sixth-grade demonic vein not far ahead. That vein, along with the Spirit Transformation Azure Demon stationed there to guard it, was precisely the target of the No. 1 Demon-Extermination Squad’s mission.
Once Bai Yi made his decision, the entire squad quickly reached a consensus. They used this opening to set up formations that would mask the impending battle fluctuations, then swiftly launched their assault on the sixth-grade demonic vein ahead.
The other Spirit Transformation squads from the Earth Mystery Realm weren’t idle either—opportunities in battle were fleeting. Taking advantage of the massive disturbance Ye Qingxuan had stirred up, these squads also sprang into action.
Meanwhile, at the site where Ye Qingxuan’s clone and that Core Formation Azure Demon had fallen, all demonic energy within a hundred-li radius had been completely purified.
By the time a host of Spirit Transformation Azure Demon experts arrived in response, the area still churned with intense residual energy waves. But these remnants posed no threat to experts of their caliber.
One of the Azure Demons reached out with his power and drew up a tiny fragment of Azure Demon remains from below. Sensing the signature of its owner, he unwillingly swept the battlefield once more with his spiritual sense. Finally, with a hint of bewilderment, he muttered:
“To kill a mere Core Formation clansman of ours—did they really need to go to such extravagant lengths?”
