In the end, they confirmed that only the grand witch priest and Old Devil Fang could enter the poisonous lake.

The others stayed outside.

The grand witch priest and Old Devil Fang alternated between deploying their techniques to repel the poison while conducting a large-scale search within the lake. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Suddenly, the grand witch priest’s expression shifted. She rushed straight to the bottom and discovered an ancient stone platform.

As her palm touched the platform, her arm seared with heat, and faint divine patterns flickered on her skin.

"A divine-patterned ancient barrier!" the grand witch priest exclaimed in surprise.

***

At the edge of the Spirit-Suppressing Domain, deep among the mountains, stood a stony forest atop one of the peaks. Two figures, one standing and one sitting, were there in utter silence. They were the Dongji Alliance's leader and Su Nu.

Su Nu’s eyes darted about, filled with terror. She was bound, unable to move. After being forced by the Dongji Alliance's leader to take the Soul-Cleansing Liquid and spirit pills, she had been brought into Dark Valley, where she had remained for a long time, unaware of whom they were waiting for.

Despair filled her heart. Venerable Ye had not harmed her in the trial realm, and she had believed herself safe, never expecting a far greater calamity to await her afterward.

Her instincts had been right. The Dongji Alliance had raised her for another purpose entirely. Yet the Dongji Alliance's leader was one of the most powerful beings in the world; she had no strength to resist.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Two gusts of wind approached. Two figures arrived one after another. It was the Xiyou Alliance's leader and the Beichen Alliance's leader. Seeing the pair, Su Nu’s fear and despair deepened.

The Dongji Alliance's leader stood up to greet them, asking impatiently, "Did everything go smoothly for you both?"

The two alliance leaders had gone to break open the other two main sacrificial altars. Though the task was not as convoluted as the ones in the trial realm, it was far more dangerous.

Both altars were located deep within the inner hall, where spatial rifts were everywhere, unreachable to ordinary human cultivators.

The two alliance leaders looked somewhat pale, clearly bearing hidden injuries, though nothing serious.

"Fortunately, we didn’t fail our task." The Beichen Alliance's leader smiled faintly and asked, "Judging from Daoist Baili’s expression, you’ve succeeded as well? We must thank you for your clever plan, who else could have come up with such an idea?"

The Dongji Alliance leader smiled humbly. "We must also thank you. For the sake of our immortal paths, it was only right to give our utmost effort."

"I'm just afraid that you would give too much effort!" the Beichen Alliance's leader said.

The Xiyou Alliance's leader, named Qingyun, let out a cold snort. Her eyes turned toward Su Nu with open disdain. "The Five-Yin Mystic Body? You actually managed to find one. Even a disciple of mine with a yin-based body would be better than her."

"If we could bring both, that would be ideal. But the three of us, when using the secret technique, can barely protect one person enough to reach Yitian Peak. Daoist Qingyun, don't worry. We’ve already agreed to advance and retreat together. No matter who we bring, the achievement belongs to the three of us.

"Besides, that old devil isn’t a fool. If we can’t find the perfect Nine-Turn Beauty Yin Body to serve as his vessel and try to deceive him with a weaker yin-based body, he’ll think we aren't sincere, and that will be disastrous. The Five-Yin Mystic Body is just right..."

The Beichen Alliance's leader studied Su Nu and said with a tinge of regret, "It’s a pity she’s only at the Core Formation Realm."

After taking the pills and the Soul-Cleansing Liquid, Su Nu’s cultivation had risen sharply, but she had ultimately failed to break through to the Spiritual Infant Realm.

"She’s cultivated for too short a time, with insufficient foundation. Forcing a breakthrough through pills and the Soul-Cleansing Liquid has left her base unstable. The art of ancient devils is just as demanding at this stage, it’s a major bottleneck. Failure is only natural. Still, reaching the peak of the Core Formation Realm should barely meet the requirement. It shouldn’t anger the old devil." The Dongji Alliance's leader explained.

The three of them discussed such horrifying matters right in front of Su Nu, as though she were no more than an object.

"What? You really plan to give that old devil a Spiritual Infant body?" The Xiyou Alliance's leader sounded impatient. "Enough talk. Remove the restraints on her, I need to plant my safeguards."

The Dongji Alliance's leader showed no objection. He raised his hand, and the power binding Su Nu was lifted.

Su Nu immediately turned to flee, but before her foot could touch the ground, she was frozen in place once more.

"Quite the bold one!" The Xiyou Alliance's leader snorted coldly. With a wave of her hand, Su Nu was flung backward.

Then she flicked her fingers, and strands of light formed layers of barriers that combined into the shape of a spirit talisman, descending slowly toward Su Nu’s forehead. Before it could touch, the Beichen Alliance's leader intervened. "No! The forehead is too obvious. The old devil might sense it."

The Xiyou Alliance's leader glanced at him, frowned slightly, then shrank the spirit talisman and embedded it instead into Su Nu’s left wrist, where it vanished from sight.

The Beichen Alliance's leader and the Dongji Alliance's leader each took their turn to act.

The Dongji Alliance's leader left behind a sword phantom, hidden within her other arm, while the Beichen Alliance's leader formed a ring phantom that encircled her waist. After checking everything carefully, the three were finally satisfied.

Su Nu could not resist at all. She could only watch helplessly as her own body was turned into a pawn at their mercy. She felt nothing when the barriers entered her body, but she knew for certain that nothing good would come of it!

After leaving their hidden safeguards, the three alliance leaders stood around her, their palms glowing with true essence. Runes appeared and faded before finally merging into a transparent light shield that enveloped Su Nu.

"Let’s go." The three took Su Nu with them and sped toward Yitian Peak.

As soon as they entered the Spirit-Suppressing Domain, a crushing pressure descended upon them. The light shield creaked and twisted under the strain, forcing the trio to channel even more true essence until the light shield stabilized.

Su Nu remained unharmed. Afterward, they continued straight toward Yitian Peak.

***

On the other side of the Spirit-Suppressing Domain...

Inside a mountain cave, several figures sat cross-legged, all with their eyes closed in meditation. They were completely still and silent, resembling lifeless corpses.

Among them was none other than the Devil Lord. The Devil Lord suddenly opened his eyes. A sharp gleam flashed across them as he stood up and said, "They’ve finally arrived. Daoist Mou, it’s time for us to move."

A shadow flickered near the edge of the cave, followed by a strange laugh. "I thought your plan had failed after all this waiting."

"I have prepared for this moment far too long to return empty-handed. I was merely waiting for a few more players to take the stage..."

The Devil Lord turned to the others and said, "Fellow Daoists, remain outside for now. If anything unexpected happens, I will draw the enemy down the mountain. Be ready to activate the Five-Element Carnage Array at any time."

"Understood!"

The Devil Lord and Old Devil Mou stepped out of the cave, concealing their aura as they quietly approached Yitian Peak.

"This time, I will be relying on your assistance, Daoist Mou," the Devil Lord said through a sound transmission.

Old Devil Mou replied coldly, "I’ve become a beaten dog thanks to you and that old bastard. My foundation was shattered, and I had to spend all my treasures just to recover eighty to ninety percent. If I can’t heal properly, not only will breaking through become impossible, even maintaining my current cultivation will be difficult. Now I have no choice but to depend on you for treatment. How could I dare defy you?"

The Devil Lord smiled faintly. "Rest assured, once this is done, I will shoulder all grievances on your behalf. Lingzhuzi will not trouble you, and I will do everything in my power to help you break through to the late stage of the Spiritual Infant Realm."

"And that brat from the Qiongyu Merchant Guild, I don’t care if you have to scour the heavens and the underworld, you must drag him out for me!" Old Devil Mou said through gritted teeth.

His current miserable state had all begun with his attempt to capture Qin Sang. What infuriated him even more was that after paying such a heavy price, he still had no idea what that man even looked like.

The Devil Lord’s expression turned peculiar. "You've probably frightened him so much that he’s gone into hiding. As long as he’s alive, he can’t stay hidden forever. I will mobilize every resource in the devilish faction to find him. I truly want to see what kind of person could drive one of the great figures of the devilish faction into such a state."