Upon entering the inner hall, they found themselves surrounded by enemies on all sides. The human cultivators certainly would not mind leaving all the demon kings behind.

The Nine Phoenix Monarch, who had remained silent while attuning herself to the Heavenly Phoenix barrier, suddenly stirred, her expression lighting up with joy. "I’ve found the exit!"

Without another word, the Nine Phoenix Monarch’s evasion light flashed, and she darted off in another direction. The other demon kings rejoiced at the news and followed closely behind.

Before long, the Nine Phoenix Monarch halted her flight and descended onto a barren stone mountain. The mountain itself was plain and unremarkable, flat in shape, rising less than a hundred zhang high.

Judging by its base, the mountain should have been majestic, but its top half appeared to have been sheared clean off by a sword, leaving behind an abnormally wide and flat platform.

The summit was just as empty. Standing atop the mountain, the Nine Phoenix Monarch looked up at the sky.

The void above was filled with chaotic energies that had condensed into gray-black clouds, blotting out the heavens.

After a moment of contemplation, she forced out a drop of her blood and essence and merged it into the True Heavenly Phoenix Feather.

Whoosh! Demon fire reignited and shot into the sky.

The Nine Phoenix Monarch’s fingers danced swiftly as she cast a flurry of seals into the demon fire. Gradually, the flames contracted inward, taking the shape of a blazing phoenix.

A strange aura emanated from it. The fiery phoenix let out a clear, resonant cry. The Nine Phoenix Monarch seemed strained. No sooner had the phoenix taken form than she released control and guided it with her hand seals.

The fire phoenix spread its wings and soared into the heavens. Under the tense gazes of the demon kings, it pierced through the clouds until only faint embers flickered within the gray mists.

The next instant, the winds howled and the clouds churned violently. The thick cloud mass began to twist, forming the shape of a new vortex that grew ever larger.

Raging winds swept across the land, forcing the demon kings to summon their true essence to shield themselves as they looked toward the Nine Phoenix Monarch.

When the vortex expanded to several dozen zhang in diameter, its depths dark and unfathomable, the Nine Phoenix Monarch finally spoke. "Let's go!"

The demon kings flew into the vortex one after another. A moment of dizzying disorientation followed, then abruptly, all the chaotic sounds vanished. They felt their bodies lighten as they entered an unfamiliar land.

The Jiao King gasped when he saw the sight before them. The other demon kings froze in shock, their bodies tensed, too afraid to move.

They stood atop a mountain where yin winds howled ceaselessly, the world dim and oppressive. From the surroundings, it matched the information they had gathered earlier. This should indeed be the inner hall of Seven-Kill Hall.

But what made their hair stand on end was the terrifying sight surrounding them. Countless spatial rifts floated nearby, some small as threads, others vast as storm clouds, like gaping bloody maws waiting to devour everything in their path.

These rifts were irregular. Some were as thin as silk, others stretched across the heavens like strips of crimson mist.

They even spotted a long, serpent-like rift twisting and shifting in mid-air. It was a moving spatial rift.

And between the visible ones lurked countless invisible rifts, hidden and unpredictable, the true killers of this eerie land.

The demon kings’ scalps prickled. Even with their power, they felt a chilling sense of dread and the urge to retreat. In such a ghostly place, a single careless step could spell certain death.

The Jiao King, keeping his composure, scanned the surroundings and said solemnly, "The terrain here doesn’t match any of the areas I scouted. This mountain must lie beyond the range explored by the humans. With this many spatial rifts, it seems like our luck isn’t great. We’ve entered deep into the inner hall."

The burly demon with an armored back swallowed hard. "You’re not thinking of forcing our way through this place, are you?"

"We’ll first confirm the True Dragon’s remains. If it’s not too far, we’ll take the risk. Look there. The ground’s spatial rifts are far more stable than those above. As long as we don’t take flight and proceed carefully, we can make it out." The Jiao King pointed toward the mountain’s base.

The others followed his gaze and saw that while there were indeed fewer rifts below, the land was shrouded in thick yin qi, dotted with marshes and flickering lights of barriers. It hardly looked any safer.

"Everyone, stand guard for me." Having made up his mind, the Jiao King prepared to perform the Dragon-Guiding Art.

They were currently before a rock wall, the entrance to this hidden realm. Though it wasn’t necessary to leave through it, the Nine Phoenix Monarch still busied herself with setting up, while the others spread out to keep watch.

Once all was ready, the Jiao King grasped a dragon bone in his hand and began his incantation in silence. Golden light flowed from his palm, seeping gradually into the bone.

As the secret technique progressed, the dragon bone grew radiant, as though plated in gold. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The Jiao King’s eyes suddenly widened, and he spat out a beam of golden mist that merged into the bone.

In that instant, golden light and golden mist intertwined and burst forth with faint dragon roars. The demon kings, already prepared, acted to conceal the anomaly, yet a subtle wave of energy still rippled outward.

Fortunately, the surroundings remained deathly still, and no ferocious beasts were drawn by the disturbance.

The Jiao King closed his eyes, holding the dragon bone tightly as he focused on sensing the True Dragon’s remains.

Time passed slowly. With each passing moment, his complexion paled and his aura weakened, showing how taxing the secret technique truly was. Finally, his eyes snapped open, gleaming with excitement.

The dragon bone trembled violently, almost breaking free from his grip, straining toward a distant direction. The Jiao King quickly ended the technique, and as the golden light faded, the bone fell still once more.

"I found it!" He turned toward the direction the bone had pointed to, his voice filled with delight. "As expected, there’s indeed a True Dragon corpse within the inner hall. It’s not far from here, and by my estimation, that’s also the direction of the exit. It seems like the Spiritual Infant cultivator who obtained the previous dragon bone found it near the same corpse. The closer we move that way, the safer it’ll be."

They had studied the geography of the inner hall thoroughly. The place was vast, and humans had only explored a small portion near the entrance.

Though the human cultivators regarded the inner hall as a forbidden zone, enough fragments of information had spread to form a rough geomantic map. The Jiao King’s words aligned perfectly with it. The direction he indicated indeed led toward the exit and the safest region of the inner hall.

Their hesitation began to fade. Even if they encountered a Spiritual Infant human cultivator, the risk was far lower compared to delving deeper within. For the sake of the True Dragon’s remains, it was worth the gamble.

The Jiao King and the Nine Phoenix Monarch had risked everything to cross into Canglang Sea. There was no reason to turn back now.

"According to our agreement, we’ll take turns scouting ahead. I trust that no one has any objections?" the Jiao King asked.

The demon kings exchanged glances. The burly demon with the armored back shook his head and said, "Alright. You just used your secret technique, and your true essence hasn’t yet recovered. I’ll take the lead for the first stretch."

With that, the burly demon was the first to descend the mountain while the others prepared to provide support.

"Thank you, Brother Hei!" The Jiao King gave a fist-and-palm salute in gratitude.

Sensing the concerned gaze of the Nine Phoenix Monarch, the Jiao King sent her a voice transmission. "Do not worry. My injuries have already healed, thanks to the spiritual herb you brought back from Seven-Kill Hall."

The burly demon transmitted a message, and the demon kings moved out together.