Li Hentian was, after all, Li Hentian. Even though the Ghost Demon King was formidable, he still could not prevail against him. Those evil powers condensed by the Ghost Demon King from the deep Yin Qi of the Yin Si Pass vanished without a trace under the radiant light of Li Hentian's scorching sun dharma wheel.

It seemed the Ghost Demon King also knew whom not to provoke.

Li Hentian stood before Ji Changkong, frowning as he watched the direction in which the Ghost Demon King's aura was rapidly receding. "After battling the Blood Emperor Liu Yunfei Crane, the Ghost Demon King must have sustained some injuries. Otherwise, given his temperament, if he felt he could kill us, he definitely wouldn't retreat even a single step!"

Ji Changkong wholeheartedly agreed with Li Hentian's assessment, slowly nodding. "Indeed. The Ghost Demon King is inherently vicious, and our divine souls are precisely the source for his continuous evolution. As long as he believes we pose no threat to him, he won't flee; instead, he will attack us with the fiercest offense!"

The two men immediately reached a consensus: the Ghost Demon King must have been injured, which is why he was hiding in the Yin Si Pass to recover. His recent absence from causing trouble in the Eastern Sea merely indicated he hadn't fully recovered and lacked the confidence to gain an advantage over the Blood Emperor Liu Yunfei Crane.

Without further hesitation, Ji Changkong and Li Hentian pressed on, with Li Hentian clearing the path as they rapidly swept into the depths of Yin Si Pass.

Along the way, the gathered evil spirits watched the two silently, but regrettably, not a single one dared to approach. Furthermore, as Ji Changkong and Li Hentian charged forward, the spirits ahead actively moved aside, fearful of obstructing their path.

The might of Li Hentian's scorching sun dharma wheel was truly terrifying. Numerous evil spirits were incinerated to ash by the horrifying thermal energy of the wheel. Even spirits lacking great intelligence instinctively perceived the danger and naturally dared not provoke these two formidable adversaries.

After the Ghost Demon King concealed his figure, the evolved demon-ghosts—those with four ears and two horns—immediately charged into the deepest recesses of Yin Si Pass at top speed. The ordinary demon-ghosts that hadn't evolved had already been burned to death by the thermal energy of those who ventured too close earlier.

Ji Changkong and Li Hentian released the power of their divine souls, vaguely sensing the thick Yin Qi emanating from within Yin Si Pass. The aura of those two-eared, four-horned demon-ghosts also quietly leaked from the depths, allowing the pair to confirm that the Ghost Demon King was still deep inside.

Their divine souls were cautiously released; their expressions remained normal, but inwardly they were highly alert, flying toward Yin Si Pass at a measured pace.

Successive small islands appeared beside them. On these islands, faint gray smoke lingered restlessly, haunted by evil spirits. Piercing, chilling cries echoed from all directions... r...

Suddenly, a considerably larger island leaped into their view. This island was different from the ones they had passed. This island was blanketed in bizarre vegetation, but these plants did not appear vibrant and flourishing; rather, they looked withered or on the verge of decay—lifeless and utterly devoid of vigor.

The foliage on the island was a rare, ashy white. The leaves hung listlessly, some drooping directly to the ground, entirely lacking any semblance of life.

Li Hentian's eyes gleamed slightly. "It should be Yun'er's location..."

"What is this place? It's strange; the island is covered in plants, yet they all look on the brink of death. It seems this island is rather sinister..." Ji Changkong swept his gaze across the island, absorbing the surrounding scenery before asking doubtfully.

"Yes, in this area of Yin Si Pass, this island likely possesses the heaviest Yin Qi. This island is called Yin Si Island. Due to its unique location, Yin Si Island can gather the Heaven and Earth Yin Qi from all directions. The reason this region has such dense Yin Qi is because of Yin Si Island's function!"

"Yin Si Island? Gathering Heaven and Earth Yin Qi?" Ji Changkong lightly exclaimed. "Was this Yin Si Island formed naturally, or was it deliberately created by someone?"

Shaking his head, Li Hentian replied, "I'm not sure. Yin Si Island has existed in the Eastern Sea for far too long. From the moment people first discovered this cluster of islands, Yin Si Island has been slowly accumulating the surrounding Heaven and Earth Yin Qi. No one can say whether it formed naturally or was deliberately laid out by someone later."

"Demon-ghosts are naturally drawn to Yin Qi. That Gray Peaks Mountain area also has heavy Yin Qi. The denser the Yin Qi, the more conducive it is to the Ghost Demon King's recovery and evolution..." As he spoke, the two had already arrived on Yin Si Island. Closing their eyes to feel the Yin Qi, Ji Changkong added, "The Heaven and Earth Yin Qi on Yin Si Island is significantly more potent than in Gray Peaks Mountain. There must be places on the island where the Yin Qi is even heavier. The Ghost Demon King certainly chose the right spot."

Li Hentian stared straight ahead, releasing his divine soul power and slowly letting it spread across Yin Si Island. After a moment, Li Hentian stated, "There are several spots on the island with heavy Yin Qi. The Ghost Demon King must be in those places with the heaviest concentrations. Let's go."

Ji Changkong nodded and followed behind Li Hentian, flying toward a specific direction while they talked. Being with Li Hentian, a Nine Palaces Heavenly Scholar, often allowed him to skip the step of soul sensing. Having reached the Nine Palaces Heaven realm, Li Hentian naturally possessed a superior capability in soul perception. With him present, Ji Changkong didn't need to exert himself as much.

A swamp came into view. In the swamp's grayish-black sludge, a few lifeless flowers had withered. A ghost-fire-like phosphorescence flickered within the ashy-white stamens, giving anyone who saw it an ominous feeling.

In the depths of this swamp, the sludge slowly churned. As the sludge moved, those pale flower buds swayed gently, as if weakly uttering some complaint.

As soon as Li Hentian arrived, he manifested the scorching sun dharma wheel he held. The wheel miraculously shrank slightly and abruptly plunged into the sludge, vanishing without a trace.

Ji Changkong could sense the scorching sun dharma wheel shifting position within the mud, slowly probing deeper... The Heaven and Earth Yin Qi on Yin Si Island was dense, but this particular location was even more concentrated. As someone in the Seven Stars Heavenly Peak realm, just standing above the swamp, he felt bone-chilling cold, unaccustomed to the Yin Qi billowing up from the depths.

The scorching sun dharma wheel probed beneath the swamp, wandered in the mire for a while, then emerged from the sludge, returning to Li Hentian's hand.

Shaking his head, Li Hentian said, "He's not here. Let's move on and check another spot."

Ji Changkong nodded, saying nothing, and followed Li Hentian as they searched the island for traces of the Ghost Demon King.

Soon, the two had scoured all areas on Yin Si Island where the Yin Qi was relatively heavy, but regrettably, they failed to find any sign of the Demon King. It was unclear where the Ghost Demon King was hiding that he wouldn't be lurking in these places of densest Yin Qi.

Though the search for the Ghost Demon King yielded no results, Ji Changkong had an unexpected gain.

The Yin Qi on Yin Si Island was extremely heavy, and in the places where it was most concentrated, there often existed Yin-natured spiritual treasures born from the Heaven and Earth Yin Qi. Though they didn't find the Ghost Demon King, the two discovered quite a few Yin-natured spiritual treasures in those heavy Yin Qi spots—treasures rarely seen elsewhere.

Ji Changkong naturally was not polite. Any Yin-natured spiritual treasure he found could not escape his collection. In this short time, though he hadn't located the Ghost Demon King, his Interspatial Ring had definitely grown heavier.

"Where could he be?" Ji Changkong looked around, his gaze sweeping across different regions, letting his soul-sensing power expand to quietly perceive the Ghost Demon King's location.

Unfortunately, what Li Hentian could not achieve, he also could not. Having spread his divine soul across Yin Si Island, he was certain his soul had traversed the entire island, yet he still couldn't detect the Ghost Demon King's presence.

Ji Changkong reluctantly gave up.

Li Hentian frowned, stating gravely, "It seems the Ghost Demon King's intelligence has indeed improved significantly. He must know we would come to Yin Si Island to search the heavy Yin Qi areas, so he deliberately avoided them. This complicates things..."

The Ghost Demon species, a new type of life form, differed from humans in their essence. They were highly adept in soul power and skilled at concealing their auras. As the pinnacle existence among these creatures, the Ghost Demon King's soul power was even more miraculous; he could divide his soul into many strands. If he truly focused on concealment, he would indeed be very difficult to find.

Li Hentian furrowed his brow slightly, continuously drifting his divine soul toward other regions of Yin Si Island, even beginning to push his soul power underground, hoping to locate the Ghost Demon King this way. Regrettably, whether he had already left Yin Si Island was unknown; no matter how hard Li Hentian tried, he could find no clue.

"On Yin Si Island, the Ghost Demon King can utilize the Yin Qi between heaven and earth to recover, just like when we exhaust our internal energy and seek out places rich in spiritual energy to cultivate. Here, given enough time, he can recover completely. Next time he surfaces in the Eastern Sea, the harm will certainly be greater..." Li Hentian murmured somewhat unwillingly.

"I'll try summoning someone; perhaps they can find the Ghost Demon King." Suddenly remembering the Primordial Poison, Ji Changkong said.

"Oh?" Li Hentian was startled and looked at him somewhat curiously. "You have a way?"

"I don't know if it will work, but that fellow's life form is also different from ours. Perhaps he has a method..."

Under Li Hentian's half-believing gaze, Ji Changkong began to connect with the Primordial Poison, using his soul power to communicate with it.

The last time the Primordial Poison was on White Bone Island, it released its venomous power to deal with the three great elders of the Guiyuan Sect, infecting the souls of all three elders with potent poison. This caused the souls of those three Guiyuan Sect elders to fail at a critical moment, resulting in them being devoured by the Sky Turtle Dragon.

Having expended some of its toxic power, the Primordial Poison urgently needed to recover, so it retreated into the Tianyuan Bead and had not emerged since.

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