The entire gorge was filled with desolate yellow rock. It was rare in the Spirit-Rich Demon Realm to find almost no spiritual grasses or trees growing here.

Ye Qin followed the Saint Emperor, Ghost Lord, Old Man Hen Shan, and the Lotus Blossom Clone as they sped through the canyon, feeling a powerful surge of Earth Elemental spiritual energy rush toward him. A chill ran down his spine. It was precisely this dense Earth Elemental spiritual energy that enveloped the gorge, rendering the place barren.

Swish, swish...!

Five figures landed before the mouth of a cave.

The cave was shallow, only about two to three hundred zhang deep, but it was remarkably wide and bright, visible almost entirely from the outside. The four walls were bare stone. The rock surfaces shimmered with a yellow light—it was crystallized Earth Elemental spiritual energy, condensing into solid gems. The atmosphere inside and outside the cave was lifeless, dull, and somber.

A massive Black Tortoise lay dormant within this cavern among hundreds of others, emitting extremely slow, deep breaths. Its colossal body nearly occupied the entire space. Its shell was covered with a thick layer of pale yellow dust, suggesting it had slept there for hundreds or even thousands of years to accumulate such a coating.

The cultivation methods of the Demon Race were completely different from those of the East Sea cultivators. They relied on innate instinct, drawing spiritual energy from heaven and earth into their bodies. The demonic power within their Demon Cores grew slowly with the passage of time. Even in deep slumber, their demonic power continued to increase.

The lifespan of the Demon Race was incredibly long. While East Sea cultivators measured initial lifespans in centuries, the Demon Race often calculated theirs in hundreds or thousands of years. The more advanced the lineage of a demon, the longer its natural lifespan. This explained why higher-ranking demonic races produced more Demon Sages—a demon beast that could live for millennia was naturally more likely to mature into a high-tier beast than one whose maximum life was only a few hundred years.

As one of the higher races in the Demon Realm, the Ancient Rock Black Tortoise was inherently endowed with a lifespan measured in tens of thousands of years, a longevity almost defying the heavens. As long as it avoided natural predators and survived the myriad unforeseen calamities of heaven and earth, achieving transformation into a Demon Cultivator and reaching the Sage realm was a certainty.

A Black Tortoise that had lived for ten thousand years could certainly be called an Ancient Beast by East Sea cultivators.

The mountain-sized Black Tortoise opened a pair of eyes as large as bronze gongs. Its dull, yellow gaze reflected the five slender figures, immediately shooting out terrifying, sharp glints. It had been slumbering and cultivating in this great gorge for thousands of years. At the peak of the Twelfth Order, it was only one step away from the Demon Sage realm. Few foolish demon cultivators dared to seek provocation here.

Yellow light burst forth from the Black Tortoise’s outer carapace, coalescing into numerous earth-elemental shields, each dozens of zhang in size and solidifying like physical constructs. Its natural shell defense was already top-tier; combined with these Earth Elemental shields, even a Demon Sage would likely struggle to harm it in the slightest.

"Roar!"

A tortoise bellow erupted, shaking the mountains and splitting the earth!

A massive area was pierced by sharp stone spikes, dozens to hundreds of zhang long, shooting up from the ground to cover the assembled cultivators.

"Saint Emperor Overlord Body Great Divine Art!"

The Saint Emperor roared. His golden robes billowed, and bursts of golden light formed a protective aura, like golden battle armor. With a wave of his hands, four massive golden pillar artifacts appeared, and he strode toward the Black Tortoise. Every footfall landed heavily, cracking the ground.

Though appearing slow, he instantaneously covered hundreds of zhang. The four golden beams struck directly at the Ancient Rock Black Tortoise. Among the group, perhaps only the Saint Emperor dared to meet the Ancient Rock Black Tortoise head-on.

Clang!

The Saint Emperor's artifacts shattered the yellow shields one after another, striking the Black Tortoise’s shell. The collision of gold and yellow erupted in blinding light.

The Ancient Rock Black Tortoise was forcefully driven back several zhang, but its shell bore only four foot-sized pits. Compared to its massive two-hundred-zhang shell, these marks were negligible, causing the tortoise almost no injury.

The Nascent Soul cultivators observing from a distance were aghast. They all knew the Saint Emperor’s strength; even if the Desolate Spirit Ghost Lord and Old Man Hen Shan joined forces, they could not withstand a direct assault from the Saint Emperor.

Angered, the Ancient Rock Black Tortoise roared and raised its colossal paw to slap the Saint Emperor. Despite its immense size and clumsy appearance, its speed was unbelievably fast—a flash of yellow light, and the giant paw swept down.

"Old Daoist Hen Shan, strike!"

Unable to injure the Ancient Rock Black Tortoise with one blow, the Saint Emperor immediately retreated rapidly, unwilling to engage in a direct clash.

A hundred zhang behind him, Old Man Hen Shan saw the situation and immediately waved the staff in his right hand, pointing forward. A stream of icy white energy shot out.

This cold, white stream was accompanied by a series of "crack, crack" sounds, freezing even the surrounding air as it struck the Ancient Rock Black Tortoise. Given its immense size, the tortoise made no attempt to evade the icy stream. A layer of frost several zhang thick coated its body, nearly freezing and locking it completely in place.

But before Old Man Hen Shan could celebrate, a large number of earth spikes and stone shoots erupted from beneath the ground. The ice seal shattered, and the Black Tortoise emerged. It lifted its head and roared, causing massive meteorites, each weighing ten thousand jun, to descend from the sky, covering several miles around.

The Saint Emperor retracted his artifacts and lunged toward the Black Tortoise again.

The Desolate Spirit Ghost Lord hovered nearby, awaiting an opportunity to strike.

Ye Qin and the Lotus Blossom Clone watched from a distance and did not advance. Their cultivation and strength were inferior; rushing in would be useless and might even cost them their lives if they were careless.

The Lotus Blossom Clone observed for a moment, frowned, and said, "This Black Tortoise’s defense is astonishing, and its spiritual power is profound. It will likely be a while before a winner is decided. Let's go into the valley first. The place where the Purple Spirit Returning Yang Grass grows should not be far. Let's see if we can gather some."

"Agreed," Ye Qin naturally consented. The Saint Emperor and the other two had successfully engaged the Black Tortoise, providing the perfect opportunity to enter the valley.

This great gorge had only one path, winding toward the depths. This was the area where the Ancient Rock Black Tortoise slept and cultivated; no other demon beasts had nested nearby.

The two soon entered the deeper parts of the gorge.

The depths of the gorge ended in sheer cliffs, the rock faces steep, leaving no passage forward. Yet, there was no sign of the Purple Spirit Returning Yang Grass here. In fact, not a single ordinary spiritual grass grew in this area.

"The fragment of the Jī Míng Great Law recorded that the Purple Spirit Returning Yang Grass grows in the innermost part of this gorge, where the rosy light shines. Why is it not here? Has this place changed completely over tens of thousands of years since the ancient powerful cultivators visited, leaving no Purple Spirit Returning Yang Grass?"

The Lotus Blossom Clone showed doubt. Their entire party had traversed the Sea of Demons and risked great peril to enter the Demon Realm specifically for this grass. If they failed to obtain it, everything would have been in vain.

The Lotus Blossom Clone fell silent, somewhat disappointed. Seeing no spiritual grass in the valley floor, he looked up toward the canyon’s precipitous cliffs. A faint mist drifted above the gorge, hazy and indistinct. Distantly, a rosy light could be vaguely discerned in the sky.

"The heavy Earth Elemental energy in the valley prevents most spiritual grasses from growing. Perhaps the Purple Spirit Returning Yang Grass is atop the sheer cliffs? The place where the rosy light shines should be above the precipice—that's the most likely spot."

The Lotus Blossom Clone pondered, then flew upward toward the sheer cliff face.

Ye Qin paused slightly. Since they were here, he might as well look.

The two figures shot skyward.

The gorge soared five to six thousand zhang high, almost touching the clouds. The higher they ascended, the more distinct and clear the rosy light above became. It seemed very likely this was where the Purple Spirit Returning Yang Grass was rooted.

Ye Qin also grew excited.

The two flew up to a high point on the cliff and landed on a peak overlooking the great gorge. From this vantage point, their view suddenly expanded. Behind the peak lay the great gorge, but in front stretched a vast, trillion-mile plain.

Ye Qin scanned his surroundings, searching for any trace of the Purple Spirit Returning Yang Grass.

It was then that his gaze swept across the great plain and witnessed a magnificent and breathtaking sight... In the far distance across the plain stood an unbelievably gigantic complex of palaces. The palace cluster rose from the Demon Realm’s flatlands, possessing immense grandeur, piercing the clouds and climbing skyward toward the horizon, tier upon tier. Its apex was unseen, as if it were stabbing through the heavens. The ground beneath it cast a huge shadow that seemed endless.

Surrounding the palace complex for tens of thousands of li in the sky were numerous dark specks—demon cultivators. In the Demon Realm, only Demon Sages or higher-ranking demons possessed the right to fly freely. Ordinary low-level cultivators dared not take to the air.

Ye Qin was speechless with shock. The gorge peak he stood on was five thousand zhang high, already within the clouds. But this peak was incomparable to that massive palace structure; it was like an ant on the ground gazing up at the firmament. That palace cluster stood in the center of the Demon Realm's great plain, likely no less than a hundred thousand zhang tall.

"Legend states that within the Demon Realm, there is a magnificent Sacred Hall, the core hub of all races in the Demon Realm, named the Twilight Sacred Hall. This... is this the Twilight Sacred Hall!?"

The face of the Lotus Blossom Clone was filled with horror. With the Saint Emperor's status and experience, he naturally knew of such a sacred place in the Demon Realm, but he never expected to see it with his own eyes.

Ye Qin was even more stunned, his mouth agape, unable to speak. Was this the same Twilight Sacred Hall mentioned by the Fox Maiden Demon Sage and the Three-Legged Crow Demon Sage? The grandest immortal edifice in the East Sea Cultivation World, Immortal Que City, occupied an entire ten-thousand-li island, vast as it was, but it was not very tall; perhaps less than one-thousandth the scale of this structure.

Ye Qin remained frozen for a long time before regaining his senses. The Twilight Sacred Hall was actually extremely far from this valley; if not for its sheer, magnificent scale, it wouldn't have shocked him so profoundly.

Finding the Purple Spirit Returning Yang Grass was more important.

He looked around the gorge peak. On a section of stone wall at the very top of the gorge, bathed in the setting sun's afterglow, enveloped by dazzling, nine-colored radiance—red, orange, gold, green, and blue light—a patch of pale purple, vibrant little grass grew. It was no larger than half a mu and nestled on the sun-facing side of the cliff, absorbing the essence of the sun, moon, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

"Purple Spirit Returning Yang Grass! Wait, why does this rosy light look so familiar!"

Ye Qin was about to step forward when a thought struck him, and he halted in shock. The rosy light emitted by the Seven-Hued Dharma Beads used by Jiang Ran of the Precious Hued Palace was remarkably similar to the light radiating from this cliff face. That nine-colored light was extraordinarily potent. While the Precious Hued Palace’s Dharma Beads were formidable, they were created from externally collected materials.

While Ye Qin pondered how to deal with the radiating light, the Lotus Blossom Clone tossed out a storage pouch.

Whoosh!

A smaller silver-armored guard, radiating silver light and standing a zhang tall, landed on the peak and darted toward the stone wall shrouded in light at the very top. This silver-armored guard, having been refined by the Saint Emperor, was noticeably smaller, but its silver radiance was purer. This was the first time Ye Qin had seen this Tenth Order, Nascent Soul-level silver-armored guard since the Saint Emperor borrowed it for refinement. Clearly, the Saint Emperor had anticipated the difficulty of obtaining the Purple Spirit Returning Yang Grass and had prepared accordingly.

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