The process of refining the Eightfold Buddha Pagoda had proven to be far more difficult than Xiao Yan had anticipated. Even with the time-dilating advantages of the Heavenly Tomb, it took him several exhausting cycles before he could barely manage to complete it. Only then did he finally understand why the Buddha Ancestor of old had never successfully refined a second Eightfold Buddha Pagoda.
This artifact didn't just require rare and powerful materials—the sheer failure rate alone would cause most people to give up before even trying. Xiao Yan had dug up the entire ancestral burial grounds of the Extraterritorial Evil Race, yet in the end, he was only left with two or three Demon Emperor corpses. That put an end to any plans he had for forging a second pagoda.
Fortunately, Xiao Yan was an alchemist by profession and a master of fire. Coupled with his formidable soul strength and the support of the Creation Green Lotus, he barely managed to succeed. If not for those advantages, even with his current cultivation, he might not have been able to complete the Eightfold Buddha Pagoda.
However, the arduous process of refining it had significantly improved his artifact refinement skills. So, once the pagoda was completed, Xiao Yan began experimenting with his remaining materials, hoping to forge other sacred items that might come in handy in the future.
Time passed swiftly. Unknowingly, it had already been a month since Xiao Yan and Qing Yanjing were swept into the territory of the Extraterritorial Evil Race by the chaotic spatial current. A month of constant travel and training within the Heavenly Tomb had brought visible improvements to both of their spiritual energy cultivation levels. Though they had yet to break into the next tier, they were now not far from the mid-level Immortal-grade.
"We're finally close!" When the outline of a continent appeared before them, Qing Yanjing's face lit up with surprise and joy. This was the final location marked on Xiao Yan's map and the ultimate objective of their journey. As long as they could reach it, they could attempt to open the dimensional gateway there and return to the Great Thousand World.
"Wait!" Just as Qing Yanjing was about to charge into the continent shrouded in demonic energy, Xiao Yan's voice rang out. Before she could ask why, his figure appeared beside her, his soul force sweeping sharply across the continent. His expression quickly grew grave.
"What's wrong?" Seeing his rare look of seriousness, Qing Yanjing's heart sank. For something to make Xiao Yan this cautious, the situation must be severe.
"There are tens of millions of Evil Race forces on that continent. All of them are at least at the Sovereign level. And there are over a hundred thousand Earth Sovereign-level experts stationed there," Xiao Yan sighed deeply. "If I'm not mistaken, this place is probably a staging ground for the Evil Race to launch attacks on the Great Thousand World."
"What?!" Qing Yanjing finally understood why Xiao Yan looked so grim. A single Sovereign was nothing to fear. But millions of them gathered together? That kind of force was more than terrifying—it was soul-crushing. And with over a hundred thousand Earth Sovereigns mixed in, this formation could only be described as apocalyptic.
Moreover, such a massive force surely meant that Demon Emperors were stationed here as well. It didn't matter if she and Xiao Yan were both Immortal-grade Heavenly Sovereigns—if they tried to break through such a line, even a Saint-grade Heavenly Sovereign would struggle to get through.
"How could this happen? Did we come to the wrong place?" Qing Yanjing couldn't help but ask. After such a long and arduous journey, just when they were about to escape, they were blocked by a seemingly insurmountable force. For a moment, even she felt lost.
"I miscalculated," Xiao Yan admitted with a sigh.
The information he had obtained about this place came from Duantian's memories. That intel couldn't be falsified—but Xiao Yan had overlooked one crucial point: intelligence is always time-sensitive.
Indeed, back when Duantian last observed this continent, it was just one of the many lower planes occupied by the Evil Race. There had been forces stationed here, but nothing overwhelming. That's precisely why Xiao Yan had chosen this route—it had once seemed like the easiest breach point.
But that data was outdated. In the time since, the Evil Race had clearly turned the place into a massive fortress, garrisoned with an unimaginable army.
"Then let's go find another continent!" Qing Yanjing said decisively. There were many other lower planes occupied by the Evil Race. Even if this one couldn't be used to return, they could find another within the Evil Race territory. There was no need to risk everything here.
"No, we can't." Xiao Yan shook his head. "First, we don't have maps for any other location, which makes finding the hidden lower planes extremely difficult. Second, we've already stirred up too much commotion along the way. Many have noticed something's off and are tailing us. If we try to head elsewhere now, we'll likely collide with pursuit squads head-on."
"Then what do we do?!" Qing Yanjing began to panic. Her suggestions had been rejected one after another. She could only place all her hope on Xiao Yan and pray he had another plan.
"Huuu..." Xiao Yan exhaled slowly, deep in thought. After a long pause, he looked at her worried face and asked gently, "Do you trust me?"
She blinked at the unexpected question, then slowly nodded. She'd seen what Xiao Yan could do. More importantly, at this moment, trusting him wasn't just the best choice—it was the only one.
"What's your plan?"
"I'm going to charge straight in!" Xiao Yan's gaze locked onto the distant continent.
"You're insane!" Qing Yanjing's eyes widened. She had been expecting some clever scheme—but this was just raw, brute force. She even wondered if Xiao Yan had hit his head somewhere along the way. Was this not just asking to die?
"You don't need to worry about anything else. Just stay close to me. I'll get you back home." Xiao Yan's voice was calm, yet firm. As he spoke, he clenched his fist—and a massive, pitch-black heavy ruler appeared in his hand.
This was the weapon he had brought from the Dou Qi Continent, now reforged and strengthened multiple times by divine-grade refining stones. It had finally reached the level of a Peerless Sacred Artifact. However, in this kind of battle, not even a Peerless Sacred Artifact could change the tide alone.
"Even if the road ahead is filled with heavenly nets and hellish traps—we'll charge through them!" With that, Xiao Yan said no more. His figure turned into a streak of black lightning, diving straight toward the continent.
In the blink of an eye, searing heat blanketed the land below. Before the Evil Race forces could even react, a colossal burst of flame split the sky apart, descending like divine wrath itself.
"Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler!"
(End of Chapter)
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