"...... Beneath the dormant volcano, from the leader of the Celestial Serpent Sect." After sending out a wisp of thought, two snake phantoms materialized from below and soared out.

One gold and one silver, the two little snakes moved with incredible speed, arriving in the blink of an eye before Shang Bingjie, blocking her path of retreat. The two small snakes seemed discerning; realizing Shang Bingjie's spiritual power was depleted, they immediately targeted her instead.

Zhou Hong of the Joyous Union Valley made no move, merely standing with the four other Joyous Union Valley experts to seal off the dormant volcano, seemingly to prevent the Celestial Vein practitioners from the Upside-Down Heaven Vein on the other side from crossing over. "From the Solar Star Domain," Ji Changkong felt a flicker of annoyance, but weighing the relative strengths, he chose not to act rashly.

If he had entered this dormant volcano alone, the Celestial Serpent Sect leader would have long since paid for such malicious provocation by having those two little snakes crushed by his hand. Although those two small snakes were condensed from the leader’s soul power, they held little true deterrent for him; with a surge of Heavenly Fire, those two serpents would surely be incinerated to death.

However, Shang Bingjie was present now, and her spiritual power was severely drained. A full-scale confrontation risked her suffering injury, making it nearly impossible for her to return to her true body.

He had no desire to leave Shang Bingjie as a wandering spirit. "The Solar Star Domain?" The Celestial Serpent Sect leader's demeanor softened slightly.

"Which part of the Solar Star Domain?" "The Five Elements Continent; we are from the Chen family of the Five Elements Continent." Ji Changkong transmitted his thoughts after a moment of consideration. Recently, the Xuanyuan Valley of the Five Elements Continent had become widely known throughout the Solar Star Domain, and his own name, Ji Changkong, was spread even further.

Any high-level cultivator in the Solar Star Domain would certainly have heard of him. Both the Celestial Serpent Sect and the Joyous Union Valley were renowned powers within the Solar Star Domain.

Revealing his true name here might invite unnecessary trouble, especially since this was a soul projection, not his physical body descending. In his current soul state, he might not possess enough power to intimidate both the Celestial Serpent Sect leader and Zhou Hong.

If either harbored malicious intent, they might deliberately target him, imprison his soul to gain some advantage. As expected!

Upon hearing he was from the Five Elements Continent, both the Celestial Serpent Sect leader and Zhou Hong looked slightly unsettled. The two small snakes blocking Shang Bingjie subtly retreated a short distance, signaling their lack of ill will.

"So, fellow cultivators from the Five Elements Continent! That's wonderful!" Zhou Hong feigned delight, sounding eager.

"We’ve long heard that the young generation from the Five Elements Continent is extraordinary. For two such young friends to dare venture here is truly astonishing courage!" As Zhou Hong spoke, he and the Celestial Serpent Sect leader worked together to fend off the sticky light clusters swarming towards them.

"We merely passed by and had no intention of disturbing you. If you don't mind, we will depart now, how about that?" Ji Changkong only wished to secure Shang Bingjie's position as quickly as possible before settling scores.

"Little friend, the four below originate from the Upside-Down Heaven Vein of the Sea of Meteorites Domain, who are mortal enemies of our Solar Star Domain." Zhou Hong ignored the question and continued, "Perhaps you do not know, beneath this dormant volcano lies a Dragon Crystal of the Calamity Dragon—an ancient life form from before the Great Destruction, possessing immense power. The Dragon Crystal is the essence of the Calamity Dragon's soul.

Anyone who obtains it will gain a soul power as vast as that of a Ten Directions Celestial Scholar!" The Celestial Serpent Sect leader added, "Little friend, those Celestial Vein practitioners from the Sea of Meteorites Domain below are about to seize the Calamity Dragon Crystal. Our side is slightly weaker.

With the addition of you two, perhaps we can wrest the crystal from their grasp. What do you say?" The Calamity Dragon Crystal?

Ji Changkong felt a jolt. A memory surfaced: back at East Heaven Peak, the branch manager of the Chen Family’s Spiritual Treasure Pavilion had given him a piece of Calamity Dragon bone.

That man hadn't known the bone's origin and thought little of it, but the Origin Poison detected its source and demanded it. The Origin Poison absorbed the bone, refining it into its own body, thereby gaining a true physical form.

Gaining that fragment of the Calamity Dragon's origin made the Origin Poison extremely agitated, its power seemingly bolstered significantly. It was then that he learned from the Origin Poison that the Calamity Dragon was an ancient life form, akin to the Four Sacred Beasts, and that other such beings existed in the Dead Star Domain from before the Great Destruction.

If a mere fragment of dragon bone could so greatly enhance the Origin Poison's strength, how much more precious must the Calamity Dragon Crystal be? "Little friend, are you interested in joining forces to seize the Calamity Dragon Crystal?" Zhou Hong invited.

"I care little for the Dragon Crystal itself. But since we are all from the Solar Star Domain, unity is paramount." A flurry of thoughts raced through his mind.

Ji Changkong subtly signaled Shang Bingjie with his eyes, then transmitted his agreement: "We are willing to lend a humble effort. We only hope we won't be a hindrance." "Not at all, not at all!

One more person means one more source of strength!" Zhou Hong quickly replied. Knowing full well that the Celestial Serpent Sect leader and Zhou Hong likely harbored ill intentions, Ji Changkong saw no alternative.

If he insisted on leaving now, neither would readily permit them to go. Because they were mutually suspicious, they would certainly be even more guarded against outsiders.

Their presence provided a measure of security; if he and Shang Bingjie left, their paranoia would only increase, fearing later repercussions. Therefore, despite their wariness toward the Five Elements Continent, the lure of the Calamity Dragon Crystal might still override their caution, making them daring enough to make a move against him.

Seeing through their calculations, Ji Changkong sighed internally. He motioned Shang Bingjie, and they slowly ascended from the dormant volcano.

Under his signal, Shang Bingjie had already altered her features, concealing her peerless beauty. After the Celestial Serpent Sect leader and Zhou Hong stealthily withdrew a distance from the volcano's rim, he and Shang Bingjie cautiously descended, maintaining a respectful buffer from all three factions, constantly wary of any sudden attack.

As soon as they appeared, two of the sticky light clusters—originally focused on the Celestial Serpent Sect and Joyous Union Valley—detached and flew directly toward them. "Insolent juniors!

How dare you covet the Calamity Dragon Crystal?" Inside a cyan defensive sphere, a Celestial Vein practitioner from the Sea of Meteorites Domain spoke coldly, "If you descend, you will only be used as cannon fodder to die." Ji Changkong remained silent, pulling Shang Bingjie along as he weaved and maneuvered cautiously, deftly avoiding the approach of the sticky light clusters. Throughout this process, he deliberately kept his distance from the Celestial Serpent Sect and Joyous Union Valley forces, trusting them even less than the Celestial Vein practitioners from the Sea of Meteorites Domain.

Often, perceived allies prove more perilous than declared enemies—a lesson he had learned vividly from Lei Jia. Shang Bingjie’s silence did not turn her into a burden.

On the contrary, during their rapid soul movements, she expended little spiritual energy; instead, she continuously guided him along the correct paths, enabling him to maintain separation from the light clusters, the Celestial Vein group, and the other two factions. Shang Bingjie seemed to possess an almost instinctive sense of distance, coupled with profound skill in short-range displacement.

As the sticky light clusters closed in, before they could reach Ji Changkong, Shang Bingjie shifted her delicate frame, accurately evading each one. Moreover, she subtly altered the trajectory of several clusters, guiding them back toward the forces of the Joyous Union Valley and the Celestial Serpent Sect.

Ji Changkong didn't know how she managed it, speculating that the memories of her predecessors in Shang Bingjie's mind granted her this uncanny intuitive sense. The fighting never ceased; with their addition, the conflict grew even fiercer.

The experts from the Celestial Serpent Sect and Joyous Union Valley seemed to forget the newcomers, continuing their circling maneuvers around the four Celestial Vein practitioners, bombarding them relentlessly with intricate soul techniques, hoping to shatter the cyan defensive circle formed by the four. While attacking, the experts also had to dodge the incessant assaults of the sticky light clusters.

Ji Changkong and Shang Bingjie wove around the perimeter of the four Celestial Vein practitioners. Since Shang Bingjie's spiritual power was strained, she refrained from attacking, instead clinging to Ji Changkong and constantly searching for paths to evade the viscous clusters, effortlessly guiding him and relieving his concerns.

Freed from worrying about the sticky orbs, Ji Changkong could unleash his hand fully, secretly firing soul beams to test the resilience of the defensive sphere. When a soul beam struck the cyan barrier, it felt like hitting compressed sponge—a sensation of no purchase, achieving seemingly no effect.

The Nine Palace Celestial Scholars from the Celestial Serpent Sect and Joyous Union Valley knew better. They focused their power, hammering repeatedly at one specific point on the defensive circle, unleashing various soul secret arts upon that single spot.

The Celestial Serpent Sect’s little snakes slithered near the cyan perimeter, occasionally spitting out dark-green venom, injecting it into the barrier, seemingly attempting to corrode it through this method. The Celestial Serpent Sect specialized in poison, but apparently, it was ineffective against the four Celestial Vein practitioners.

The snakes spat forth copious amounts of toxic fluid, yet they failed to corrode the cyan sphere. Worse, the snakes themselves were soon enveloped by the binding sticky substance, disappearing one by one with wisps of light smoke rising from them.

The Joyous Union Valley fared even worse. Their potent soul-charming techniques proved utterly useless against the four Celestial Vein practitioners.

The four seemed inherently cold-blooded. No matter the seductive allure displayed by the two exquisitely beautiful women from the Joyous Union Valley, the practitioners remained impassive, their eyes filled with a frigid coldness akin to winter frost, devoid of any emotion.

Since the experts from the Celestial Serpent Sect and Joyous Union Valley could not breach the cyan barrier and still had to constantly contend with the sticky light clusters, it appeared highly likely that these two factions would ultimately be defeated. Ji Changkong, now entangled in the fray, analyzed the situation without pause while dodging, searching for a strategy beneficial to himself.

Suddenly, one of the exquisite beauties from the Joyous Union Valley, instead of shaking the cold killing intent of the Celestial Vein practitioners, was momentarily impacted by the bone-chilling wave of negative energy emanating from their eyes. That single moment of distraction sealed her tragic fate.

Three pale-blue, crescent-shaped light blades—each as large as a scythe—flew out soundlessly from between the practitioners, carrying a lethal intent to reap life. In an instant, they pierced the beautiful woman’s body, causing her ethereal form to immediately shatter into fragments.

Shattered along with her phantom body were her soul imprints. Like a dazzling firework, the soul of that Joyous Union Valley Nine Palace Celestial Scholar suddenly exploded, its residual spiritual energy rapidly dissipating into the heavens and earth.

Ji Changkong’s soul lurched violently. The next moment, a vast net of destruction, condensed purely from soul power, instantaneously materialized and spread across that area, blocking the trajectory of the three crescent-shaped blades.

"Collect the scattered spiritual energy!" Ji Changkong’s soul power shifted again; using his own strength, he propelled Shang Bingjie forward, pushing her directly into that space. Shang Bingjie reacted instantly, immediately gathering her soul power to envelop the scattered spiritual energy—which looked like pinpricks of starlight—swiftly collecting and absorbing the remnants of the deceased Joyous Union Valley Nine Palace Celestial Scholar to replenish her severely depleted spiritual reserves.

This fallen Joyous Union Valley Nine Palace Celestial Scholar had cultivated at a higher realm than Shang Bingjie, having dwelled within the Nine Palace Celestial Realm for perhaps a century; her soul strength was clearly superior to Shang Bingjie’s. Even the residual spiritual energy, under Shang Bingjie’s focused collection, brought her immense benefit.

In the span of a few breaths, her spiritual power recovered to ninety percent, making her fully capable of continuing the fight. Soul darkness flickered across the Net of Destruction; the three crescent-shaped blades, which had begun to retract after striking, were halted by the net.

When the Celestial Vein practitioners' crescent blades contacted the Net of Destruction, Ji Changkong's soul shuddered violently, as if struck by a massive hammer. His thousandfold refined soul momentarily felt as if it were on the verge of collapse.

Powerful! With just that brief test, he realized how formidable these Celestial Vein practitioners were.

The sheer soul force exerted on the crescent blades alone carried such terrifying impact; their full power would surely be even more dreadful. The Net of Destruction could not fully withstand the assault of the three crescent blades; after five breaths, it fractured into pieces.

Fortunately, in those five breaths, Shang Bingjie had accumulated sufficient spiritual energy and was no longer a burden on him.