Minutes later, Taiyan's sweet voice suddenly sounded from his chest, and Nie Kong felt a stir in his heart; that feeling of being watched reappeared.

At that moment, the Spectral Eagle King shrieked, "Big Brother, look at that mountain below us."

"That's... two people?"

Nie Kong followed the Spectral Eagle King's gaze and saw two ant-sized black dots slowly moving on a barren mountain peak.

This was too much of a fuss!

Nie Kong chuckled wryly, but compared to the complete absence of even half a figure in the 'Spirit-Sealing Marsh' a couple of days ago, the sudden appearance of two herb gatherers today could indeed be considered "something happening."

"Those are two Celestial Spirit Masters."

However, the next sentence from the Spectral Eagle King made Nie Kong frown slightly.

Finally, Celestial Spirit Masters who had received the news had arrived!

But they arrived much later than Nie Kong had anticipated, which he regretted. Although he could utilize Divine Power now, the essence energy from the Spirit Treasures was ineffective, and the spiritual thoughts rooted in that essence energy were also difficult to employ. Otherwise, he could have probed their situation.

"Spectral, are you certain?" Nie Kong pondered.

"Big Brother, I watched them fly in from the north, right outside the marsh."

The Spectral Eagle King quickly added, "Those two fellows below, I don't know how they managed it, I didn't see them using tools like the 'Sky-Floating Jade Plate,' yet their speed isn't a bit slower than ours, except they can't fly..." As he spoke, the Spectral Eagle King's voice abruptly cut off.

"They... they're flying!"

Immediately following this, Qing Yue's voice rang out. The little one opened her small mouth, her eyes nearly popping out, "Grandma, am I seeing things? Isn't this the 'Spirit-Sealing Marsh'?"

Seeing the two black dots gradually growing larger, Nie Kong was also astonished. He made a decisive move and roared, "Spectral, leave the marsh at top speed!"

"Screech!"

The Spectral Eagle King snapped back to awareness, turned its body, and shot north like lightning.

The two black shadows behind them had already surged into the high sky, pursuing them rapidly. Nie Kong's pupils constricted. His Divine Power was indeed formidable, but relying solely on Divine Power to fight against Heavenly Spirit experts would undoubtedly lead to defeat. Moreover, the Spectral Eagle King and Qing Yue could not use Spirit Power right now, and Taiyan's strength would make it difficult to block the attacks of two Celestial Spirit Masters simultaneously.

The only way now was to quickly escape the range of the marsh.

The Spectral Eagle King also recognized the seriousness of the situation, pushing its speed to the absolute limit. It possessed the instinct for flight, and in terms of endurance, even Celestial Spirit Masters couldn't match it, but without the support of Spirit Power, its explosive burst was hard to compare with that of a Celestial Spirit Master.

As time passed, the distance between the Spectral Eagle King and the two Celestial Spirit Masters behind them was closing ever faster. Soon, the gap of several thousand meters shrank to a thousand, and then to a few hundred meters.

Glancing back briefly, the appearances of the two Celestial Spirit Masters entered Nie Kong's line of sight.

They both looked to be in their fifties or sixties. One had thick brows and a broad nose, with a rugged appearance; the other had sunken eye sockets and a long, horse-like face.

"Stop, you can't escape!"

An angry shout echoed like thunder, rumbling through heaven and earth. Looking quickly to the side, Nie Kong could even see the sneering grins on the faces of the two old men in black robes.

Qing Yue kept waving her small hands, urging, "Spectral, faster, faster! Those two old men are almost upon us! If you keep dawdling like that, you'll turn into a dead bird."

The Spectral Eagle King grumbled dejectedly, "This is already my fastest speed. If Spirit Power worked, I would have shaken them off immediately."

Qing Yue scoffed, "If Spirit Power worked, would we even need to run?"

"..."

Listening to the occasional shouts coming from behind, Nie Kong couldn't help but feel a mix of laughter and tears. Truly, fortunes turn—thirty years east of the river, thirty years west. A few days ago, Spirit Masters entering the Spirit-Sealing Marsh would flee in disarray upon seeing him, the green-robed bandit, and the Spectral Eagle King, but now the situation had completely reversed.

Amidst the amusement, Nie Kong was utterly perplexed.

How could those two Celestial Spirit Masters be flying above the 'Spirit-Sealing Marsh'? Did they also possess Divine Power? That was clearly impossible. The Celestial Spirit Continent lacked the complete 'Heart Drum War Chant' to temper the physical body; a Celestial Spirit Master’s body simply couldn't bear Divine Power.

If it wasn't Divine Power, then what was it? An artifact created using Divine Power?

However, when Nie Kong looked back again, he immediately dismissed this conjecture. What enveloped the two Celestial Spirit Masters was absolutely Dark Spirit Power! Nie Kong's brow furrowed tighter. Was the marsh's spirit-sealing effect invalid for Heavenly Spirit experts? That was even more likely. If that were the case, Spectral and Qing Yue's strength wouldn't have been affected.

"Could it be..."

Was that Medicine Spirit playing tricks? Nie Kong's heart skipped a beat.

If that Medicine Spirit truly could manipulate the Illusory Realm, then this possibility was very high. Especially since the Medicine Spirit was growing increasingly enraged by their actions these past few days, suddenly discovering two Celestial Spirit Masters in the marsh and lifting the spirit-sealing effect on them to deal with him was entirely plausible, human nature dictating such a response.

"Stop! Don't run!" The thunderous roar sounded across the world once more.

"Spectral, only a little over a hundred meters now!"

Qing Yue hopped anxiously on Nie Kong's shoulder.

Nie Kong glanced back and saw that in the short time Qing Yue spoke, the distance between them had shrunk to under a hundred meters. At this moment, if those two Celestial Spirit Masters dared to attack violently, they could definitely affect the Spectral Eagle King. Once the Spectral Eagle King was injured, the situation would become even more perilous.

As if to confirm Nie Kong's worries, almost as soon as he had this thought, a gigantic black sword materialized in front of one Celestial Spirit Master and shot toward him. Wherever it passed, the void was sliced open by a dark rift, and a terrifying aura radiated outward.

"Damn it, do they really think the tiger is ill!"

Nie Kong cursed under his breath, gritted his teeth, and summoned the bow and arrows he obtained from the (Underworld Earth). On the way to the God-Slaying Cave, Nie Kong had only managed to collect five black arrows. He had used one at the edge of the beach some time ago, and having forgotten to retrieve it before leaving, only four remained now.

If the arrows fell into the mud below, they might never be found again. Nie Kong had been somewhat reluctant to use them, but now he couldn't afford to hesitate.

Drawing the bow, nocking the arrow...

With a thought from Nie Kong, Divine Power flowed into the arrow shaft, emitting dazzling golden light.

"Whoosh!"

The next moment, the bowstring snapped loose with a hum, and the long arrow shot out like a streak of golden light. In an instant, that golden ray pierced the void and arrived before the ink-black greatsword.

"Boom!"

The long arrow struck the greatsword.

The golden light pierced through the body of the greatsword, and amidst the rumbling explosion, the Dark Spirit Power that formed the giant sword melted away like snow and ice. When the golden light emerged from the sword hilt, the massive black sword had vanished without a trace, and the golden ray continued unimpeded, shooting toward the horse-faced old man behind it!

... ...RO